4 Strategic Shifts that Will Take Your Business to $1 Million Hitting the seven-figure mark is abundantly possible with the right focus, strategy and level of consistency.
By Blake Nubar
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The New Year is always an exciting time; the clock resets and entrepreneurs have a new opportunity to accomplish goals, make more money and continue to build their empires.
Of course, generating more income is a popular New Year's resolution, along with audience and customer base, and 2022 is your opportunity to grow revenue beyond the seven-figure mark. After all, while money may not be the be-all-end-all, it certainly removes financial stress and gives you more options.
As someone who has built businesses to the multi-million-dollar revenue level, and after having helped more than ten thousand clients attain success, I've pinpointed four strategic shifts that will help take you to that altitude, as well as put foundational elements in place to make sure you both reach it and keep rising.
1. Go deep instead of chasing trends
Crypto, NFTs, virtual real estate, opportunities in the Metaverse and other trends sound exciting, but can ultimately be a distraction for entrepreneurs who don't have an established business model. And you've no doubt seen them, those who move from trend to trend and constantly show up on your social media timeline with a new business angle. One week they're a Clubhouse expert, next month they're going to teach you about NFTs.
Some of the greatest entrepreneurial minds and legacy businesses took a different approach, however — one of going deep, of planting their flag in the ground and saying, "This is what I do," then continually working to build it.
When you chase trends because you think that's the key to cracking the revenue-generation code, you confuse an audience, and confused consumers won't buy. You're not seen as an expert in anything because you're constantly switching that thing, so pick a topic, choose a model and go deep. Build social proof around what you do, continue to be a student of your craft and show up with content that showcases your expertise.
Related: 3 Reasons Your Business Hasn't Grown During the Pandemic
2. Balance adding value with keeping premium content paywalled
Publishing value-based content is a great way to build trust with consumers and showcase expertise — leveraging material on social media, your blog, via podcasts and YouTube channels and other places that your ideal target client frequents. However, while you do want to add value all the time, you should be saving the good stuff for those who pay for your products, services and offers. The reason why too many entrepreneurs don't generate revenue from content marketing is that they're giving away too much.
When you give away the steps of a solution, consumers will try to figure the rest out themselves. A large segment of them still believes they can band-aid together free information and use it to build a business, but seasoned entrepreneurs invest in expert advice because they understand its importance. So give away value, but save the process and other essentials for those who pay to join a premium community. Let your content create curiosity and awareness so that consumers want to know more.
Related: How Experts Use Content to Create Brand Authority and Increased Sale
3. Make consistency and focus your bywords
It takes a lot of grunt work to build a million-dollar-plus enterprise — long periods doing what feels like boring tasks, and that tedium is the place where too many entrepreneurs get distracted and unfocused. Big businesses are built by entrepreneurs who embrace focus and consistency as default settings, with an unwavering eye on creating a path and clear goals.
It's vital for you to do the same: to be consistent and focused on the tasks that build your company, just remember to keep that steady focus on a path that makes sense for you, and not just mimic what worked for someone else.
4. Use "blue ocean" audience-building tactics
Does it ever feel as if you're seeing the same things from the same people and trying to get the same customers? That isn't just your imagination, in part because social media algorithms are programmed to show us a lot of the same; we tend to see others who do what we do. The hitch is that building a seven-figure business happens when you build an audience and customer base outside our immediate exposure circle, also known as a "blue ocean" audience.
So, do market research and find what groups, social media networks and other places online your ideal target consumers might frequent, then see what other (and broader) service providers are there and how they're servicing their market, and determine what's worth your time based on market saturation.
Hitting the million-dollar mark this year is completely doable with the right focus, strategies and level of consistency, you just have to find what works best for you and go deeper into what you're best at.
In this age of few-second pitches, flashy images of success are all around us, but remember that these are highlight reels, not complete pictures, so don't get drawn into business opportunity distractions. Instead, focus on tried-and-true strategies that have built businesses since the dawn of entrepreneurship.
Related: 4 Ways to Build a Seven-Figure Brand and Sellable Business
