Diamond Effect - Strategies to Build a Service Business Worth Owning

This show and episode are dedicated to helping small service-based businesses thrive.
Today we're exploring the topic of business continuity and teh way I use it and interpret it for the work I do with my clients.
We’ll be discussing essential strategies to ensure your business continues to operate smoothly and is not dependent on:
1) One key individual (yourself as the CEO and owner included because you do need vacation)
2) One or two large clients
3) One contractor, agency, or supplier
Your business and you are best served when you build it as a resilient and independent entity. And this episode is meant to help you start that journey.

And if you'd like my help to achieve that while doubling your income without adding more work, book a sales call with me here - https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call

Even if you’ve run your business for 10 or more years and you think you can’t grow it much more, you can. Especially if your growth has been minimal or non-existent in recent years.

You haven’t tried everything yet. There are still more tactics you could apply in a strategic way to grow further and faster. 

I'm illustrating this in today's Maggie's Moment by sharing my story of when right before I immigrated to Canada, I worked as a sales representative in the fashion industry in Poland. So tune in and listen.

A fun fact that I'm not sharing in the audio is that when I announced to my boss (a former Turkish NATO Officer with no BS approach) that I was leaving the job to immigrate to Canada, he got super emotional. He and his wife gifted me a beautiful pearl necklace as a parting gift that I wear to this day. 

This experience taught me that you can always get more clients if you have a valuable offer they want and a strategy to market and sell.

No matter the economy. No matter how “slow” the industry is or how new you are to it. But it’s your job (not your clients’) to figure out how to get in front of them and communicate that value, so they choose your offer over someone else’s.

With my T.O.P. CEO Winning Strategy and Owner-First approach, I help my clients do just that. Figure out how to sign more and more clients effectively and consistently so they can double their business without adding more work to their schedule.

When you coach with me one-on-one, together we create the Winning Strategy tailored to who you are and the goals you have for yourself and your business. Then, we break it down into simple steps and week by week I help you successfully implement them. We eliminate time-sucking tasks that don’t make you any money to replace them with ones that do.

So that your income doubles, but the daily busyness and overwhelm disappear.
Book a sales call with me here  - https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call and let’s start doubling your business today. 

Figuring out how to grow your business revenue could be easier than you think.
In today's podcast, I'll walk you through and help you create your very own custom to do list to double your business revenue without adding more work to your schedule.

Imagine that in three hours you have a meeting with a potential client to discuss your services proposal. Yet you’re still going back and forth on your pricing. 

You’re trying to gauge what clients “can afford” as you don’t want to lose them. But at the same time, you don’t want to go too low and feel like you’ll be working for free if they accept. 

This is not the first time this situation has happened. Every time you have a potential client with a larger more custom request, you go through this vicious circle. 

• You talk to the client and understand the request. 
• You work on the quote for a long time and it takes you till the final hour to decide on the price.
• As you do it you question the value of your services and lose the belief that the client will see it and still want it once you price them fairly. 
• You send the quote or present the proposal with anxious thoughts swirling in your head and at best close 30% of those clients. 

Your inability to confidently set prices that accurately reflect the value you provide is finally getting on your nerves. You know you’re missing out on so many exciting and well-paid projects because of that. Yet you don’t know how to change this cycle. 

In today's Maggie's Moment, I talk about 3 things you can do to change this cycle.

1. During your initial call or visit with the client, ensure you collect all the information you need to confidently price the client's request. That includes not only what they want done but also why. 
2. Establish a quoting framework for your most common projects/ types of services that can guide you as a foundation even with every custom request. 
3. Before presenting the proposal to your client, sell yourself on the value of your services to them. Be clear on how you’re meeting and exceeding their needs and wants.
   
   

When you coach with me 1 on 1, I help you work through those 3 steps simply and easily. With my T.O.P CEO Continuous Success Recipe, we transform your current quoting practices into a repeatable and streamlined process you’ll use going forward. 

The process will save loads of time. It will help you show up confidently to the proposal meetings knowing exactly why your clients should choose you over the competition, even if your prices are higher. You'll also end up securing more projects and making more money. This is how I can help you double your business without adding more work to your schedule. 

Spending time working on creative and fun projects is way better than dwelling on preparing quotes that don't close and then being frustrated with the whole process.

You know it’s high time to resolve your quoting issues. Your ability to maximize revenue and grow your business hinges on getting it right.
Book a sales call with me here now and let’s start working on it - https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call

In today's episode, Maggie talks about the critical role of planning in fostering business growth. She distinguishes between project planning and weekly planning, outlining their respective benefits in saving time, maintaining focus, and enhancing client satisfaction. Project planning is vital for service-based businesses, ensuring timely and successful project completions through realistic deadlines and risk management. Meanwhile, weekly planning allows you to streamline routine tasks and prevent scheduling conflicts.

Key Moments:

Benefits of Project and Weekly Planning (00:01:42) Maggie discusses the benefits of project planning and weekly planning, emphasizing time-saving and stress reduction.

Project Planning and Its Importance (00:02:55) Maggie explains the significance of project planning, using examples of service-based businesses and the need for strategic planning.

Key Considerations in Project Planning (00:05:19) Maggie delves into the essential elements of project planning, including deadlines, milestones, and risk assessment.

Weekly Planning for Business Effectiveness (00:16:38) Maggie highlights the significance of weekly planning, emphasizing proactive time management and effectiveness.

Implementing Planning for Business Growth (00:21:33) Maggie discusses the integration of strategic, project, and weekly planning in business growth and offers coaching services.

Ready to double your business without adding more work to your schedule?
Book a sales call with Maggie here. https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call

In today's difficult economy, everyone seems to be a bit more anxious, and on the edge. And that can lead to unnecessary deterioration of service provider-client relationships when unexpected challenges arise.

In this episode, we dive into the three essential strategies for mastering client relationships.
1) A robust sales process
2) Contracts, policies, and procedures that establish clear rules of engagement and service delivery.
3) Effective, excellent, and frequent communication

If you are a service business owner looking to double your business, even in today's economy, I can help you. With my coaching, you will achieve it without adding more work to your schedule and rather by reducing stress, overwhelm, and a lot of frustration. Book a sales call with me here https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call

In my latest podcast episode, I dive into the world of data analytics for CEOs and business owners. It's not just about having the information; it's about understanding financial, marketing, and operational data to make informed decisions. 
For example, did you know that tracking your conversion rates, profitability, sales cycle length, etc. can lead to catching opportunities you might otherwise miss? Through real-world examples, I illustrate the transformative impact of data analysis on business improvement. Let's discuss the power of numbers and growth!

Ready to double your business without adding more work to your schedule?
Book a sales call with me here. https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call

The importance of tracking financial numbers (00:01:22) Maggie emphasizes the significance of tracking financial data for business growth and decision-making.

Types of data to track in your business (00:02:27) Maggie discusses three types of data that CEOs and business owners should track and the importance of being informed for better decision-making.

Using data to improve business performance (00:03:33) Maggie explains the necessity of understanding and learning from tracked data to improve business performance and make informed decisions.

Using data to address business challenges (00:04:38) Maggie provides a specific example of using data to address a client's sales process challenges and the importance of having visibility into business operations.

The significance of current and past data (00:07:48) Maggie explains the importance of having access to both current and past data for understanding trends and addressing potential issues.

Tracking financial numbers for business success (00:10:03) Maggie highlights the importance of tracking financial data, including income, expenses, and profit, for business success and growth.

Utilizing marketing and sales data for business control (00:13:33) Maggie discusses the importance of tracking marketing and sales data for better control, confidence, and independence in business operations.

Operational data for business complexity (00:17:10) Maggie explains the significance of operational data, such as client complaints and project timelines, as businesses grow in complexity.

Let's be real, we are in the 21st century with 99.9999% of your ideal clients using technology, and especially e-mails. 
Embracing email marketing in your service business to the fullest can save you lots of time, generate many more sales on auto-pilot, make it easy for clients to refer, and help you strengthen the relationship you have with them without spending hours and thousands of dollars on writing cards, taking them out for lunches or texting them and trying to track all of it.
Today's Maggie's Moment shares three must-known tips when using emails as part of your marketing strategy. 

Have you ever clung to a business dream with the same tenacity you'd hold onto the last cookie in the jar—only to worry it might crumble? That's where my entrepreneurial journey began, and it's the heart of the latest Diamond Effect Podcast episode.

Snuggle into the behind-the-scenes tales of my transformation from a hopeful dreamer to a six-figure CEO. It's been a rollercoaster ride, balancing a corporate job, an executive MBA, and family life. And when the COVID-19 curveball was thrown into the mix, it tested us all like never before. But through strategic planning and high-performance habits, I was able to create progress. These little victories became the building blocks of momentum, steering my coaching business to the point where I moved it from a side hustle to a full-time gig.

In this episode, I take you through my personal playbook of doubling business revenue—over and over. It's not just about the numbers; it's about the mindset shift from employee to CEO, the resilience built from setbacks, and the support systems that are the scaffolding of any success.

So, if you're itching to catapult your business to the next level, this episode is your beacon. Join me, and let's double your service business (and more) together.
To get my 1 on 1 help in getting there, book a sales call with me here -  https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call

As I look back on how I started my business and what allowed me to keep doubling it since then.  And how I work with my clients to ensure they get similar results.

We always start with the basics.
A solid business foundation.
One that supports your CEO decisions and guides your actions.

In today's Maggaie's Moment, I walk you through what that foundation is and why it is so critical to create it.

Ready to scale your service business without overwork or overwhelm? Book a sales call with me here - https://calendly.com/maggie-s2l/discovery-call