0:00

The formula for consistent profits in

0:02

a $1 million business. The big

0:04

mistake that business owners make. Most

0:06

business owners think that making more

0:08

money is the answer. They think

0:11

that money will solve their problems.

0:13

So they keep trying to make

0:15

more. They start to focus on

0:17

marketing and sales and think that

0:19

it's going to be the answer.

0:22

to all their problems. But that's

0:24

not the truth. You can have

0:26

a million dollar business and still

0:28

struggle financially if you don't focus

0:30

on profit instead of just revenue. So

0:32

think of it this way. Revenue is

0:35

like how much water you pour into

0:37

a bucket. Profit is what's left over

0:39

in the bucket after all the leaks,

0:41

aka expenses, right, are gone. So if

0:43

you don't manage those leaks, it doesn't

0:46

matter how much water you add, it'll

0:48

keep draining out. If you've ever lived

0:50

paycheck to paycheck and you get a

0:52

raise and for some reason you keep

0:54

living paycheck to paycheck, it's exactly how

0:57

it is in a real business. So

0:59

let's talk about how to get out

1:01

of that rut. There are three steps

1:03

to becoming a more profitable business.

1:05

And in this video, I will show

1:08

you number one, how to shift your

1:10

mindset. How to think like a

1:12

revenue generator instead of just spending money.

1:15

Number two, make data-driven decisions. We're going

1:17

to use your numbers, your previous

1:19

numbers, to guide your choices instead of

1:21

just guessing. And then number three, control

1:24

expenses the smart way. We need

1:26

to keep your costs in check so

1:28

more money stays so more money stays

1:30

in check so more money stays

1:32

in your pocket. By the end

1:34

of this video, you're going to

1:36

know exactly how to make every

1:38

dollar in your business work for

1:40

you instead of working harder just

1:42

to try to keep it. for

1:45

over 20 years and my businesses

1:47

produce over $10 million in annual

1:49

revenue. All right, let's get to

1:51

it. Step one, we need to

1:53

shift to a revenue generator mindset.

1:55

Most business owners get this wrong.

1:57

A common mistake is thinking about

1:59

expenses as of investments. So

2:01

a bad mindset is saying things like

2:03

payroll is expensive marketing costs too much.

2:06

I can't afford that a better mindset

2:08

is How can I make sure every

2:10

person on my payroll helps me bring

2:12

in more money? Is my marketing bringing

2:15

in more customers than it's costing me?

2:17

And if not, how do I fix

2:19

that? Your team should be generating revenue.

2:21

Every single person on your team should

2:24

either, number one, make money directly, which

2:26

means sales, marketing, customer retention, right? or

2:28

they support money-making efforts. So whenever I

2:30

say they should either directly or indirectly

2:33

make the company money, somebody always says,

2:35

what does indirectly mean? Right? Well, think

2:37

about this. If I hire an assistant

2:39

to come in and check my email.

2:42

She might not have money-making opportunities in

2:44

my email, but if she frees me

2:46

up one hour a day and I

2:48

get to now go do money-making activities,

2:51

she has indirectly made the company money.

2:53

But the big problem is you hire

2:55

somebody, you pay them, but they aren't

2:57

actually helping generate revenue or maybe you

3:00

didn't get stronger and making more money

3:02

either. So what's the solution here? Well,

3:04

first of all, you do a time

3:06

audit and you track... What is everybody

3:08

doing? And how do I remove or

3:11

automate those low impact tasks so that

3:13

they can focus on activities that actually

3:15

support the revenue? Here are some key

3:17

questions to ask yourself. Does every dollar

3:20

I spend help my business grow? Is

3:22

my team actually profiting? Are they focusing

3:24

on the right work that moves the

3:26

business forward? And I'm telling you before

3:29

you go and chase more sales or

3:31

think you need to spend more on

3:33

marketing. Fix your team's efficiency first. It

3:35

will increase your profits without you having

3:38

to increase your revenue. We have so

3:40

many clients that come in thinking I

3:42

need to grow the business. And when

3:44

they say grow the business, what do

3:47

they mean? They mean they need to

3:49

make more. money. And shockingly, one of

3:51

the first things we do before we

3:53

teach them to go add more to

3:56

their chaos is we clean up. And

3:58

they are so surprised to see how

4:00

they could make more money, keep more

4:02

of what's left over, without growing the

4:05

top line. Now imagine if we did

4:07

that, like eventually we'll get to growing

4:09

the top line, but let's clean up

4:11

the mess you've got first. Step number

4:14

two, make data-driven decisions. So let's talk

4:16

about why you need to track your

4:18

numbers. Most business owners are guessing instead

4:20

of looking at actual data. They say

4:23

things like, wow, we're having a bad

4:25

week this week, or you know, it

4:27

just feels a little slower than it

4:29

did before, or last month, or last

4:32

year. And when you go off of

4:34

feelings and not facts, it leads to

4:36

bad decisions and wasted money. So we

4:38

have a rule here at Well Oil.

4:41

always check our business metrics by the

4:43

seventh of every single month and before

4:45

you think well my CPA doesn't get

4:47

it to me that faster that's just

4:49

not how pause you are in charge

4:52

of your business so whoever you're working

4:54

with you are going to make sure

4:56

that you get those numbers by the

4:58

seventh of each month that is a

5:01

non-negotiable for me and if your CPA

5:03

or accountant doesn't have capacity or capability

5:05

to get it to you it's time

5:07

to change people so let's talk about

5:10

what to review every single month well

5:12

Definitely revenue. I know I said that's

5:14

not our main focus, but you do

5:16

need to know how much money came

5:19

in Then we need to go but

5:21

how much was left over then we

5:23

compare these numbers to last month or

5:25

sometimes we have to compare it to

5:28

the same time last year. So some

5:30

businesses, September is nothing like August. So

5:32

you're better off looking at this September

5:34

and then last September, right? Or you

5:37

might want to look at what happened

5:39

last August into September. And then what

5:41

happened this August into September. That is

5:43

going to give you a clearer picture

5:46

of what is going on in your

5:48

business. You will also want to be

5:50

looking at your key performance. KPI's. So

5:52

the question is, did your team meet

5:55

their goals? You want to think of

5:57

this like a car dashboard. If you

5:59

get in the car and there's a

6:01

check engine light on, you wouldn't just

6:04

ignore it, right? Your numbers are telling

6:06

you what's working and flashing what's broken.

6:08

So let's talk about how do we

6:10

use this data. Once you have all

6:13

those numbers, ask yourself, what changed last

6:15

month? Did sales go up? Why? Did

6:17

sales go down? What happened? Where are

6:19

we losing money? Is there an expense

6:22

that's too high? Are we starting to

6:24

overspend on something that's not actually producing

6:26

a return? I'm like a detective inside

6:28

of these numbers. I'm asking, you know,

6:31

what's actually working and I'm doubling down

6:33

on what's bringing in money. So the

6:35

bottom line is you don't just want

6:37

to track your numbers. You want to

6:39

use them to make the decisions moving

6:42

forward. So if something isn't making you

6:44

money, fix it or get rid of

6:46

it. And then step number three. start

6:48

spending and expense ratios. This is one

6:51

of those things that everybody wants to

6:53

know. Stacey, what is the amount of

6:55

money I should be spending on marketing?

6:57

What is the amount of money I

7:00

should be spending on payroll? What percentage

7:02

rate? We'll get there, so hold tight

7:04

with me. Now, let's discuss why controlling

7:06

costs are key. If your expenses are

7:09

out of control, it doesn't matter how

7:11

much you sell. You will never keep

7:13

enough money. I am telling you, we

7:15

work with business owners in the multiple

7:18

six-figure range, seven-figure range, eight-figure range. I

7:20

have seen businesses at every level spend

7:22

as much money as they're making, literally

7:24

zero dollars left over. Or be it

7:27

seven or eight figures and still be

7:29

negative. They come in with really bad

7:31

habits that they could not let go

7:33

of and we have to try to

7:36

undo a lot of it. The good

7:38

news is it can be undone, but

7:40

you've got to be serious about this.

7:42

So here's a simple way to check

7:45

your spending. business expense ratios. Now, I

7:47

could tell you what they should be,

7:49

but every business is different. Now, you've

7:51

probably heard things like, well, payroll should

7:54

be 30 to 40% of revenue, right?

7:56

Or marketing should definitely never go over

7:58

15%. And then your fixed expenses like

8:00

your office rent and your software should

8:03

never be over 20%. There are gurus

8:05

out there telling you these hard numbers.

8:07

But I've worked with hundreds of businesses

8:09

and I can tell you that some

8:12

spend more than 20% in marketing and

8:14

they have a healthy market margin. I've

8:16

seen payroll at 60% with a very

8:18

healthy business. So all that said. you

8:21

just need to know your numbers. And

8:23

ask yourself, well what am I currently

8:25

doing? How much was my marketing budget

8:27

last month? What percentage of my revenue?

8:29

What percentage was payroll? What about my

8:32

hard cost? Know your numbers, but then

8:34

know the big number. The profit or

8:36

lack of profit is going to tell

8:38

you the truth. So I'm not here

8:41

to tell you your one number is

8:43

too high and it's too low. I

8:45

just want to know what's the bottom

8:47

line? And that will tell me if

8:50

your numbers are in alignment or not

8:52

or if there's work to do. And

8:54

the biggest profit killer of them all

8:56

is keeping unnecessary costs. So your challenge

8:59

is to audit your expenses. Go into

9:01

your bank account, go into your credit

9:03

card and look at every single thing

9:05

you're spending your money on. And ask

9:08

yourself, okay, if this $79 software, did

9:10

it make me more than $79 this

9:12

month? Right? Is it a revenue generator

9:14

or is it an expense? Get a

9:17

red highlighter and a green highlighter and

9:19

start documenting which ones are which? Ask

9:21

yourself, is this cost necessary or is

9:23

it a waste? If I started over,

9:26

would I still spend money on this?

9:28

Can I cut, reduce, or automate this?

9:30

Now I will say you may be

9:32

on contract for something for the next

9:35

12 months. You may have signed an

9:37

annual software agreement. Here's what I will

9:39

tell you. As frustrated as you are

9:41

that you realize, wow, I've signed up

9:44

for a $150 a month software and

9:46

I've prepaid for the year or I'm

9:48

committed for the next 12 months, my

9:50

suggestion to you is to continue to

9:53

pay that bill. Clean this up as

9:55

fast as you can. Now if you

9:57

realize, I've committed to something for 12

9:59

months or I signed an annual agreement

10:02

for this or that software I paid

10:04

in full and it's paid up through

10:06

the next seven months. Sometimes we've done

10:08

that. And I will tell you this,

10:11

I just bite my tongue and continue

10:13

to make those payments until I'm out

10:15

of my contract. As somebody who's in

10:17

business, I want to be as respectful

10:19

to the other businesses that I've made

10:22

a commitment to. So yes, sometimes you

10:24

are finishing out something that you know

10:26

is not producing a return. Now could

10:28

you go back to a company to

10:31

renegotiate or talk to them about what

10:33

you're seeing or why you're not using

10:35

it? You absolutely could. But if you're

10:37

under contract and they are saying, no,

10:40

you do need to continue to pay

10:42

this. I personally would continue to pay

10:44

it. I do believe in that whatever

10:46

behavior you have, you will attract back

10:49

into your own business. And trust me,

10:51

you don't want your clients doing that

10:53

to you. Now the good news is,

10:55

you have some things you're not under

10:58

contract for. You've paid one time or

11:00

you're doing it month to month. Go

11:02

get rid of those and then make

11:04

notes for, hey, that contract ends in

11:07

November. I want to make sure October,

11:09

I send them a message that I

11:11

will not be renewing, or I want

11:13

to end that software subscription. Now if

11:16

you're spending more than you're bringing in,

11:18

you don't have a real business. You

11:20

have a cash. So we need to

11:22

fix your expenses first. And my biggest

11:25

tip is don't be delusional, especially if

11:27

your business is going backwards. Sometimes what

11:29

happens is I work with really successful

11:31

business owners, people that already have hit

11:34

sometimes seven, eight figures. And I had

11:36

a lot of people go through this,

11:38

especially during the pandemic. They were a

11:40

seven figure, very successful, very healthy business.

11:43

the pandemic hit them hard. Business was

11:45

shut down and their revenue went backwards.

11:47

But they kind of had this entitlement

11:49

that, well, I'm a seven figure business

11:52

and this is what we spend and

11:54

these are the things we have and

11:56

they were spending more than they were

11:58

making and I had to say, you've

12:01

got to get your expenses back under

12:03

control, you've got to cut some things

12:05

out and they couldn't fathom getting rid

12:07

of people on their team. They couldn't

12:09

fathom not having a specific service or

12:12

thing they got accustomed to. But unfortunately

12:14

when your revenue. dips, your expenses have

12:16

to follow if you want to get

12:18

back up to winning and being at

12:21

the top. So don't be delusional. Get

12:23

to break even as fast as possible

12:25

and then start working your way back

12:27

up. My final thoughts here is stop

12:30

playing the revenue game. And I'm talking

12:32

to the old Stacy because I love

12:34

big revenue numbers and I'm sure you

12:36

do too. You're a high achiever, you're

12:39

a powerhouse, you want to scale. But

12:41

the truth is... profit, not revenue, is

12:43

what actually pays your bills. It's what

12:45

builds your wealth. It's what gives you

12:48

the freedom. So the mindset shift you

12:50

need is stop asking, how much money

12:52

did I make? And start asking, how

12:54

much money did I keep? So your

12:57

next steps, by the seventh of every

12:59

month, I want you to start reviewing

13:01

your numbers. Then I want you to

13:03

find one expense to reduce or cut.

13:06

Just one. And let me tell you,

13:08

it's going to be really easy. And

13:10

in fact, you're not going to do

13:12

just one. You're going to do that

13:15

activity of going back over the last

13:17

30 days, and you're going to find

13:19

a ton. And I would love for

13:21

you to come back under this video

13:24

and tell me how much money did

13:26

you save by cutting out expenses that

13:28

just weren't necessary. And if this just

13:30

feels overwhelming to you, join our well-oiled

13:33

operations program where we can help you

13:35

set up these systems and tracking tools

13:37

to help you scale profitably. Sometimes you

13:39

just need a sounding board. You need

13:42

somebody to talk to. You need that

13:44

accountability. And that's what

13:46

we do here at

13:48

Well at Well Oils Operations.

13:50

time to drop the

13:53

ego. the Stop focusing

13:55

on on how high

13:57

that number is

13:59

and is, you hit you

14:02

seven or eight

14:04

figures or eight start bragging

14:06

about your profits. your

14:08

Start focusing on

14:11

that bottom line, what

14:13

is left over over.

14:15

trust me, you

14:17

will be so much

14:20

happier you did.