We're halfway through 2021, Are You On Target? EP #197 - Shorty

G', day, guys. It's Dan Lenny here. Push my microphone up a bit better. Welcome to this episode of the how to Scale a Video Business Podcast. Did you know we are halfway through 2021? So we've just come off a coaching call, and this is our quarterly planning call.

And what we've been looking at is primarily, you know, how are your numbers looking for halfway through the year? Because whatever goal you may have set yourself, if you have indeed set yourself a goal, which you should have done.

Is. But at the halfway point. And so it's a great time to measure how things are going. And, you know, if you're not tracking these kind of numbers, then it's a really good idea to start tracking them because, you know, growth in business from a freelance perspective back in the day was always a bit haphazard. It was always a little bit, you know, up and down. We often talk about the roller coaster or the feast and famine, and it's mostly because the. There's no system and there's no means of tracking consistently. And so we're very big in the VBA at tracking and making sure that you are on target and that you're actually achieving the goals you set out. One of the biggest shifts you can make when you move from a kind of freelance mindset to a business owner mindset is that shift towards not just kind of putting your finger in there and thinking, well, you know, what's. What's going to happen next month, I hope someone calls, is actually to have some predictability to set yourself some sales targets of not just what you want to generate in revenue, but more importantly, what you want to keep in profit. Because, you know, there's the old saying, revenues for sure, profits, the door, meaning that, you know, it doesn't matter how much money you generate over a year in terms of income, it's what you keep that counts. And if you spend too much, you keep less of it. And if you're not making enough profit, then, then you're not sustainable as a business. And that was a huge lesson for me when I sort of flicked the switch from the freelancer mindset to more of a producer, company owner mindset. And there's definitely a shift. And look, none of this stuff is easy, okay? It's simple. It's simply that you have to set some targets and build a system for attracting clients into your business, nurturing them till they're ready to buy. Having a process and a script in place to help sell those clients into the best possible offer you have, that helps Them achieve their outcomes. And generally speaking, when that happens, you'll find yourself also making the most money. So you know that process of tracking is very, very important. And you have to do it monthly and then review it quarterly. So at the halfway point of this year.

If you are not yet achieving the halfway point of your profit prediction or your goal, then what you need to do is adjust the following six months or the next six months to allow for that. So if you were, you know, in a position where you were trying to achieve a certain number and you're a bit behind, then what you need to do is add that on to the rest of the year and adjust your sales target accordingly. So what, what makes this, and if you have achieved your halfway point goal fantastic? A phenomenal book called Great Great by Choice by Jim Collins talks about the 20 mile march. And that is what you want to be achieving. You want to be achieving a nice, consistent, routine number coming in every month. I'm very pleased to say that most of my clients are in that position because we drum into them the importance of consistency, the importance of showing up every week, the importance of managing and tracking the right data. And look, it's something you just learn like anything. You learn to color grade it, you learn to shoot. It's just a skill you learn and a business skill. But when you focus on the numbers and you focus on the, the growth and, and, and knowing what the number should look like, it kind of takes a lot of thinking out of the equation. If your target is to get to, you know, a certain figure, then, you know, you know, month on month, how that's looking. The other thing that we do is we evaluate, you know, your strategic goals, like what, what is it you're looking to achieve this year? Maybe, maybe you want to work, work four days a week.

But maintain the same income. That's something my colleague and client and friend Tim has done. He has three children and he wants to spend time with the kids and with him and Jen, they manage looking after the kids together. So Tim is able to work for a period. He was working three days a week. He's gone back up to four days a week because he wants to grow his business and they're looking to take on a studio and just have some growth, but it's a choice rather than a necessity. Or my client Ben, who has just won a match massive contract and has hired a couple of team members, his daughter was 6 at the weekend, had a party and as he said to me on the chat the other day, he said you know, they grow up so quickly. That's why I want to be able to be around to enjoy that. And so many of our members have young families. And a big part of our philosophy and our mission is to build businesses that create fulfillment. You know, we're not in the video business. Seller here doesn't exist just purely to make money. I mean, you will if you join and you implement the strategies it's guaranteed, but it's more about a conscious approach to fulfillment. You know, I just yesterday went down and recorded episode 200 of the podcast, which would be coming out next week, and I decided to just share my story. And I went. Then I sat on the beach, which is 400 meters from my house, and shared my story because it's not something I've done before. So that's coming up next week, so look out for that. But more importantly is, are you fulfilled in the work you are doing? That's a really important question to ask yourself. Are you fulfilled in the work you're doing? Are you fulfilled in the income that you're generating from that work, or are you not? And it's kind of a binary question. Either you are or you aren't. And if you are, all power to you. Fantastic. I'd love to hear your story, maybe have you on the show as a podcast guest. But if you're not, I want you to ask yourself the question, why not? Are you someone who has spent an enormous amount of money on toys? And by toys, I mean gear and other toys that, you know, when things were going well, you treated yourself to the very latest and greatest, but perhaps things aren't going so well now, and you're staring at that gear. We've all been there going, oh, that. That camera didn't actually bring me in any extra work. So, you know, I want. I always want to be very honest in this podcast and talk about the reality, which is, you know, if you're not achieving what you want, then you have to look in the mirror and accept that you are responsible, nobody else. It's as pure and simple as that. It's confronting. It's hard, but there's always the opportunity to change. There's always the opportunity to do something different. You know, they say the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The very next best time to plant a tree is today. So if you're not achieving the goals you want and you want to be, then have a think about that, and I will see you on Thursday. Ask yourself this. Has owning your own video business been everything you dreamed it would be. What when you first got started? It might be hard to admit, but think about whether you're genuinely achieving everything you set out to when you made that decision to grab the camera and go it alone. Are you really working less? Are you really earning more? And are you really in control? The chances are you're bloody good at what you do, but you're having to work like a dog, 70 plus hours a week. Whether it's filming, editing, marketing, or any of the other jobs that you come with Being the big boss of your own video company. When you're managing projects, constantly searching out for new clients and worrying about cash flow, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture or make real progress. Let's face it, that stress is the last thing you need when you're trying to run a profitable company that supports you and the people you care about. Truth is, a business that provides financial, professional and personal freedom really is achievable. But maybe you've got that nagging feeling that you're overworked, lacking stability, and struggling to get to where you really want to be right now. It could be that you just don't know how to make a positive change on your own. So I created the Video Business Accelerator coaching programs to really supercharge your video business. With these unique coaching programs, you'll learn all the tools you need to get complete confidence in the success of your video business. You can take the first step on your journey to a successful business that doesn't control your life. Let me show you how. Head over to Denleny.com and click on Accelerator.