Years ago, my sister would come over for Sunday dinner, and once the dishes were done we would sit at the kitchen table and talk about the business of business. She was a veterinarian. She had graduated a few years before, worked for another vet, and now she wanted to open her own clinic!!
One night I asked her a question I still remember…… “In all your years at university, how many business classes did they offer you?”
She thought about it. “Maybe one semester. One course.”
So after SEVEN years of university preparing to become an expert in her craft, she was sent out into the world with half a course on business. No wonder she had no idea where to start!!!
So that’s where we started. Week after week, at that kitchen table, we talked about two things — what to charge, and what the numbers needed to look like a year from now. Pricing and projections. Not glamorous, but it’s the stuff nobody had ever taught her.
And it worked! Her clinic grew quickly and became extremely profitable, and years later she sold it and retired. That was my very first experience helping an expert start a business, and honestly, I had forgotten all about it until recently.
A room full of nurses
Not long ago I gave a virtual presentation to CASERNS, the Canadian Association of Self-Employed Regulated Nurses. As I was preparing, it hit me…… these were nurses who spent years becoming exceptional at their craft, and then went out on their own with the same thing my sister had. Half a course on business, if they were lucky!
Now what does a vet clinic and a group of nurses have to do with your firm?
Everything, my friends!
The problem isn’t the profession
Lawyers spend years in law school, and nobody teaches them how to price a service or lead a team. Accountants spend years mastering the numbers, and nobody teaches them how to market their own firm. Bookkeepers, consultants…… it’s the same story every single time.
You trained to be exceptional at the work. Then you hung out your shingle, and the business side of things you figured out as you went. Or you didn’t figure it out at all, and you just kept working harder and wondering why it never got any easier!
Maybe you just had your best revenue year ever and you’re totally burnt out. Maybe you can’t remember the last time you said no to a client, or took a week off without checking your email from the beach. Maybe you look at your bank account in December and wonder where all that revenue actually went…… Sound familiar?
Just to be clear, this is not your fault! It isn’t a gap in your character but a gap in your training — and training is fixable.
How do I know? Because I’ve been there too!! For years I hated looking at my business numbers, not because I didn’t understand them but because I was ashamed I hadn’t hit my goals AGAIN. So I avoided them, which of course made everything worse……
Start where my sister started
So if you’re wondering where to begin, start with the same two things we talked about at that kitchen table.
Pricing. Most of the firm owners I talk to are underpriced, and not because they don’t know their value. They priced by the hour when they started out, they’ve been afraid to raise their fees ever since, and now they’re full of clients who pay too little and need too much. Your price picks your client! When you price to the outcome you deliver instead of the hours you put in, you can serve fewer, premium-paying clients and actually make real profit.
Projections. Do you know what your revenue and profit need to look like a year from now? Not a guess, not a hope, but a number you check every week? That’s what a weekly CEO Sanity Sprint is for — one hour with yourself, looking at your numbers and your priorities, so you’re steering your firm instead of reacting to it.
Profitable isn’t the whole story
Here’s what I mean. My sister built an extremely profitable business, and I’m so proud of her. But it wasn’t all roses — a business that runs on its owner always takes something from her, and that’s a story for another time.
What I’ve learned in 40+ years of owning businesses is that real profit is only half of it. The other half is a firm that can run without you in every decision, so you get to enjoy what you built. That’s why I work 2.5 days a week now. It’s not an empire but it works for me!
So let me ask you…… When did you last raise your prices? Do you know what your numbers need to be a year from now? If you stepped away for a month, would your firm keep making money? And who taught YOU how to run a business?
If those questions made you squirm a little, good! It means you’re ready to fix the gap nobody told you was there. And if you’d like some help with that, then let’s chat!!! Book a CEO Strategy Call at dianalidstone.com/apply. It’s a conversation, not a pitch.
