Most businesses aren’t making millions. In fact it’s hardly any. Only one in 20 small businesses hits seven figures in annual revenue. Even fewer maintain it. Reaching that milestone sets you apart in a serious way.
95% of businesses have fewer than ten employees, and the stats say that only businesses with 10 or more tend to break the million-dollar mark. But you don’t need a big team. It’s never been more possible to make waves as a compact business unit, you just need to be smart.
To get what most people don’t, you have to do what they can’t. Or won’t. But maybe that’s simple. What if the difference between you and a million dollar business owner was a few different ideas, a few better processes, or a different way of structuring your offer?
Million dollar business models: make 7-figures in revenue
Repeatable monthly income
To make a million dollars in a year you need to make just over $83k a month. What’s stopping you? One hundred clients spending $833, or a thousand spending $83. 28 spending $3k. 5 spending $16,600. Whatever your business, there’s a combination of client number and monthly fee that would hit your goal.
The subscription economic market is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2025, so there’s plenty of potential to go around. Look at your business. Look at your offer. Figure out how to turn it into a monthly package that clients are keen to commit to. Add value, reach product market fit, keep going. Recurring revenue is a dream. When clients stay by design, you can focus on retention over signing up new ones.
Annual subscriptions
Monthly recurring income is great, but you really win big when clients pay by the year. To hit a million in annual sales takes some similar maths. One thousand clients paying a $1000 a year. 5000 paying $200. 200 paying $5000. Decide your price and stick to it. Lay the offer out and make it irresistible.
When someone commits for a year, you have more time to win them for the longer term. They’ve paid their fee, they’ve sunk their time. Now spend yours proving that they made the right decision until they start to refer their friends. If 250 clients paying $1000 a year each bring three friends in on the same deal, you’ll hit seven figures in record time.
High ticket sales
If splitting fees into smaller batches doesn’t work for your business, think bigger with your rates. What if you made one $250k sale every quarter? What if you spent all year securing a single, million dollar deal, or signed ten clients at $100k each? People no smarter than you are commanding these types of fees with resources they already have. You can join them. It’s lonely at the top. You’re vying for budgets that smaller thinkers don’t realise they could access.
Run some thought experiments. Chat to an aspirational friend. Consider how you could add the most value to someone’s world or business, or how you could enable their huge success and take a cut. Making them $10m and charging 10% commission is a solid strategy and a no brainer for the right person.
High volume, low cost
Making a million dollars a year means making $2,740 a day, weekends included. It’s by no means impossible. Just $342 per working hour, 365 days a year. There’s a combination of your knowledge, skills and pirate moves that could well make that income.
Get creative. Test selling tripwires for $27. Create digital products that cost almost nothing to deliver. Write books with timely titles and sell thousands of copies. Build online courses about an area of your expertise. Sell physical products in bulk quantities. More mass market less rifle shot. This might take lots of trial and error. A hundred sales at $27 per day seems like a lot until you crack the code.
Secure a million dollar exit
You might not need that much revenue to sell your business for a million dollars. The average EBITDA (a measure of profit which stands for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) multiple for small businesses generally ranges from 3 to 5, or 0.5 to three times revenue.
If you can make between $200k and $333k in profit, a million dollar exit is on the cards. To get the exit, set your eyes on the prize. Figure out which costs are essential and which are nice to have. Double down on your most profitable products, services or customers. Be ruthless about sales, and start talking to companies who could acquire yours. You could be closer to this than you think, just get intentional now.
Become a million dollar business owner: choose a business model
Stop overcomplicating success. Decide your business model and be strategic. Identify your clients, narrow down your offer and test marketing channels until orders are rolling in. You can make any way forward a success as long as you focus. Repeatable monthly income or subscriptions paid by the year. High ticket sales, high volume, low cost, or building up to secure a big exit. If it’s possible for one in twenty, it’s possible for you.
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