Today I want to talk to you about the perception of going from growth to maintenance. For many business owners it can feel like you are failing but maintaining is not failing. You don’t have to grow every year to be a success. You just have to get clear on where you are and where you want to go.
In this episode we will cover:
- Growth
- Maintenance
- Knowing your KPI’s
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Disclaimer:
The Legalpreneur Podcast is advertising/marketing material. It is not legal advice. Please consult with your attorney on these topics. Copyright Legalpreneur Inc 2022
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Episode 238: Going from Growth to Maintenance Transcript
Andrea: [00:00:03] Welcome to the Legal Pioneer podcast. I’m your host, Andrea Sager, founder and CEO of Legalpreneur Inc. As a serial entrepreneur and someone that works exclusively with small business owners legally protecting their business, I’m dedicated to covering common legal issues faced by business owners, providing you with the business knowledge you need to catapult your businesses growth and showing you just how some of the world’s most elite entrepreneurs have handled these legal and business issues themselves. In true attorney fashion, the information in this episode is not legal advice. This is for informational purposes only, and you should always consult with your attorney before implementing any of the information in the show.
Andrea: [00:00:46] Hi there. Welcome back to another episode of the Legalpreneur Podcast. I’m your host, Andrew Sager super pumped about today’s Friday episode, All About business. We are going to be getting into the details of changing from growth mode to maintenance mode. So a lot of times when we are starting out in business, we start to make a lot of money or start to make more money than we’ve ever made before, and we get into growth mode, which means that we’re trying to grow and scale the company. Well, last week I talked about what to do if we’re headed towards recession, basically making sure that we have enough runway for the next 12 months in case shit hits the fan, all goes wrong when it comes to business. Well, now I want to talk about actually getting into maintenance mode and what that means. But first. I am so excited to share with you that from now until the end of the year, you can sign up for the Legalpreneur membership for almost half off. It is normally $349 a month or $3499 for the year, but from now until the end of 2022, you can sign up for $199 a month or $1999 for the year. You get all access to your own attorney, unlimited emails, 130 minute phone call, a month, document review, access to all of our contract templates, plus a discount on additional services. And once you get started, we get you rocking and rolling with a business audit, which is where we outline exactly what protection you currently have and what protections you still need.
Andrea: [00:02:12] We lay it all out for you. That way you can get started working with your attorney, knowing exactly where your relationship is going. Get signed up. The link is in the show notes and we are so excited to serve you in the Legalpreneur membership. So when we are growing in business, that means we are constantly trying to bring in more business and grow the company. So maybe this past year or maybe for 2022, you were at say $100,000. And the goal for next year is to get to $200,000 to double. I’m just making up numbers here. So normally in growth mode, you have bigger goals one year to the next, but sometimes. The goal isn’t to get bigger, it’s actually just to maintain where we’re at. And there’s no right or wrong answer for everyone. It’s just where are you? It’s different for everybody, depending on where you are in business at the time. So for the past number of years, we’ve been in growth mode, always trying to grow. And over the past year we. We kind of have been in growth mode, but really we’ve been just trying to maintain where we are in order to build the foundations of a true startup. So it is very different being a small business, which is what the law firm was, and then going to a tech startup, which is what Legalpreneur is. So we’ve had a it’s been a huge learning curve. By the way. I will gladly do an episode on this if y’all have specific questions about going from small business to startup.
Andrea: [00:03:44] But I knew it would be a huge growth curve, but it’s actually been more than I thought and we really have been in maintenance mode over the past year and I want to talk about that because it looks like we are heading to some tougher times. And I don’t want to say this is for everybody across the board. Some people may be booming. Some people may have to shut down their business. Some people may just have to really pivot. But I want to make sure this is covered because across the board, I’m very tapped into the industry as a whole, the whole business industry. So whether you’re a small business, a startup, no matter what kind of business you have, I see it and I see that there are a lot of weird things going on in the market today. So I want to make sure that you all are prepared for either going into maintenance mode or having to pivot or shut down. But I want to talk about maintenance mode because a lot of people feel like they are a failure if they’re not in growth mode. And that’s not the case. I want to make sure you change your mindset around that, because if you’re not growing the business, it does not mean you’re failing. You do not have to grow every year in business. I remember I learned this when I had the boutique. I remember Ashley Alderson, founder of the Boutique Club. She was talking about it one day and because somebody was asking like, Hey, I really just don’t want to grow.
Andrea: [00:05:00] I just want to maintain where I am. And I remember Ashley talking about that, and that was the first time that I had heard, Hey, you don’t have to continuously grow. And I was like, Oh my gosh, this makes so much sense. So. If you’re not growing, don’t think you’re a failure. Now, if you’re not happy where you are because you’re wanting to leave your 9 to 5 and you want to grow to get to that point, that’s different because you’re still trying to leave you the 9 to 5. But if you’re making making more than enough to pay for all your bills, you don’t always have to be growing. Like I’ve talked briefly before about lifestyle businesses versus building the cell. And if you want a lifestyle business, that’s completely fine. Nothing wrong with that. So it may also mean you’re not trying to grow every year. So if you’re going into maintenance mode, it does not mean you’re a failure. So maintenance mode means that you’re just not trying to actively grow the business, but you do need to make sure that you have your numbers down pat. You need to know your KPIs, your key performance indicators. That way you know where they are and you know how to make sure that you are maintaining the business where it is. So let’s say if you have your revenue is 150,000 a year, you want to make sure that you personally are taking home 60,000.
Andrea: [00:06:18] I’m just making up numbers here. Well, if you have let’s say you lose X number of customers, you still need to make sure you’re bringing in that many customers to make up for. That money that you’re losing from the other customers. Now, this is going to be so wildly different, whether you have a product based business, if you have a service based business, and in that service you have memberships or if you just have one off product. So this is going to be so different for everybody figuring out what, number one, what your KPIs are, and then to measuring to track, hey, how many new customers do I need to bring in for this? For this? If I lose something, actually that’s okay, because I’m and what you really want to figure out is. Where you are revenue wise this year versus where can I be if I don’t bring in another customer? Like, how many customers can I lose? How much revenue can I lose? Because if you have a membership that’s bringing in recurring revenue, it doesn’t have to be specifically a membership, but just some kind of recurring revenue that’s bringing in 250,000 a year and you’re actually profiting 100,000. Well, you probably don’t even have to work over the next year as long as you’re maintaining the customers that you have and you still may be able to have a profit. So you really just want to get very concrete on what your numbers are. Know what your KPIs are and know what you as a business owner need to take home.
Andrea: [00:07:42] Now, remember, as a business owner, a lot of our expenses can actually be offset by the business. A lot of your meals can be offset by the business. I’m not here to say every meal. Make sure you are talking with your accountant about this, but a lot of your expenses can actually be offset by the company. If you’re wondering which expenses. Go chat with your accountant. If you need one, reach out to me. I can. I always love giving references and giving recommendations. But the goal of going into maintenance mode is, remember, it’s not you’re not failing. It’s actually a great place to be because growth mode can be really taxing. It can be really hard on you after a while. That’s how people get burnt out because they’re trying to grow, they’re trying to grow. But if you get into maintenance mode, you know, hey, we have a good thing going right here. We actually don’t have to keep trying to grow the business. We can just maintain what we have. And so getting into maintenance mode. Just remember, it’s not failure. It’s just literally maintaining what you have. And main thing I wanted to share with you is don’t feel like you’re a failure going into maintenance mode. It’s actually a really successful place to be because you don’t have to continue growing. It means you’re happy. Possibly you are very happy where you are right now and maybe it’s you’re not very happy. But going into I hate saying going into recession, just weird times in the economy, you don’t know what’s going to happen business wise.
Andrea: [00:09:09] And so if you don’t have these huge growth goals, you just want to hold on to what you have. That is perfectly fine. That is great. It’s a great place to be. I know this was kind of a jumbled episode, just talking about maintenance mode, but the main takeaway here don’t view maintenance mode as failure. View it as maintaining what you have and holding on to what you have until the market gets to a more stable place. And if you want to grow, grow, that is your prerogative. You can do absolutely whatever you want in business. But I just want to share this with those that view maintenance as failure or if they’re not growing, they’re failing. That’s actually not the case. And maybe you’re not making any money right now, but you’re producing content, you’re building an audience, and that’s a wonderful place to be as well if you don’t need the revenue because you can just keep building and building and building that trust and then when your time to turn the faucet on. Here comes all, all your customers. All right. Let me know if you have questions about maintenance mode. Don’t be afraid of it. It’s actually a great place to be. But in order to get in maintenance mode, you need to get really clear on your KPIs, get really clear on your numbers. That way you are maintaining those numbers over the next year. All right. I’ll see you next time.
Andrea: [00:10:24] Here at Legalpreneur, we’re committed to providing a supportive legal community for all business owners. I know how scary the legal stuff can be. If you found this information helpful, I would be so grateful if you could share it with the fellow business owner. And quite frankly, it doesn’t cost anything to rate, review or subscribe to the show. Your support helps me reach more listeners, which allows me to support more business owners in their entrepreneurial journey. Have any questions or comments about the show? Feel free to drop me a line on Instagram. I promise. I read all of the messages and comments, and if you want to be a guest on the show or know someone that would make a great guest, simply fill out our application form and a team member will reach out if we think it’s a good fit. I’ll see you in the next episode.
