Artists don't charge by the hour
The dollars for hours business model limits the ability to achieve financial freedom and create a lifestyle that allows you to have loads of time to spend with family, friend, self-care and vacation. The reason why dollars for hours is profit prohibitive is because it creates a ceiling that leaks negative cash flow.
What I mean by a ceiling of negative cash flow is that once you hit that ceiling, your choices are only to stay where you are or slide backward with your income. Most entrepreneurs can only create an income of $100,000 when working one-on-one with clients. If you work 20 hours per week with clients, the other ten to twenty must be spent marketing to replenish those clients. 20 hours per week at $100 per hour is $2,000 per week, or about $ 8,000 per month, which becomes almost $100,000 per year.
If you take some weeks off for vacation, or take summers off to spend time with the kids, you can see where the leaks are that can create negative cash flow. Dollars for hours means when you’re NOT putting in the hours, your income takes a hit.
Therefore, it’s crucial to implement marketing strategies that allow you to leverage your time and talents and also provide multiple streams of income so you can take time off and still enjoy a healthy income.
There are 4 key strategies you can add to your marketing plan today to allow you to break through that financial ceiling which is blocking you from reaching abundant financial success.
1. Create Your Signature System: Your signature system is what sets you apart from your competition and allows you to create credibility with your expertise and the proprietary methods with clients. If you have a signature system you can easily raise your fees and charge what you deserve for your knowledge, experience, talents, and gifts. It prevents customers from shopping your “Shed Fat Fast, Shave 5 Years Off Your Face and Shine in Time for the Holidays” signature system program against your competitor who is offering nutrition sessions.
See the difference? It’s essential to have a signature program so you can raise your rates and charge what you’re worth, not to mention attract clients who will happily pay you what you deserve.
2. Design Your Profit Pyramid: Your profit pyramid is your marketing plan at a glance that sets the bar high for your income and spells out step~by~step how to meet and even surpass your income goals. Some old schoolers still refer to this as the “marketing funnel” or the “money mountain”. Start at one end with your free and lower priced products, programs and services, and work your way to the other side with a graduated pricing model which will lead your ideal clients on auto-pilot to invest in your higher investment offerings.
3. Add Products: Almost every business has an opportunity to offer profitable products and programs. There are a multitude of ways to accomplish this, from creating an e-store of digital products on your website, to offering a membership program, to offering products and programs from affiliates. Products can be utilized as bonuses and upsells which can create lucrative cross-promotional opportunities at many levels.
4. Work with Many: One of the best ways to leverage your valuable time is to move from a one~to~one model to one~to~many. Creating group programs allows you to work with more clients who might not be able to afford more expensive private programs, yet allows you to work less hours for more money.
I once heard a great story that might help you put making what you’re worth into perspective. A woman happened upon a street fair, and was surprised to see Picasso (of all artists!) doing portraits. She couldn’t believe her luck. So of course she sat down to have her portrait drawn. It only took him ten minutes to sketch her, and when he handed the finished artwork to her, she loved what she saw. She said to him, “This is amazing, how much do I owe you?”, to which he replied “six thousand dollars”. “Six thousand dollars!” she said, “but it only took you ten minutes.” Picasso replied to her, “No maam, it took me a lifetime”.
Do you charge by the hour or by your experience? Which of these strategies will you start with first to begin revamping your business model so you can make more money in less time? Please leave me a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts.