278. The Key Differences Between a $100K and $500K Business (and How to Scale)

If you're stuck at six figures and wondering how to scale to half a million, the answer isn't working more hours or booking more clients—it's about making smarter decisions. 

In this episode, you'll learn how to diversify your lead flow, make marketing a daily priority, and implement systems that free up your time while increasing revenue. 

Scaling isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing the right things consistently.

As mentioned in this episode check out episode 249, where I talk about my secret hack to taking back my time and finding time every single day in my business to make marketing a priority.

========================= 

EPISODE SHOW NOTES BLOG & MORE:

https://weddingproceo.com/difference-between-100k-and-500k-business/

=========================

JOIN THE 1%

We’ll help you scale to your first 6- or 7- figure year. 

https://www.weddingproceo.com/application

=========================

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Wedding Pro CEO Podcast. If you find these strategies helpful, make sure to share this episode with your fellow wedding pros. And remember, in the world of weddings, it's all about building genuine relationships and showcasing your best work. Until next time, keep shining, CEOs!

SUPPORT THE PODCAST! LEAVE A REVIEW HERE: https://ratethispodcast.com/swd

Have a question you’d like Brandee to answer? Ask here: http://bit.ly/3ZoqPmz

=========================

Take the Wedding Pro CEO's free GAP assessment

Chapters

• 0:00 It's Not About Getting MORE Leads
• 0:55 Lead Flow
• 3:04 Marketing Effort
• 4:30 Systems and Strategies
• 5:36 Recap - Start Doing this Today
• 6:58 Learn to Take Back Your Time

Transcript

Brandee Gaar (2): 0:00

If you're already making 100, 000 in your wedding business, but you're struggling to figure out how you could possibly get to 500, The gap isn't what you think. It's not about working more hours or finding more clients. It's about making smarter decisions. I've been in the wedding industry for over 17 years and grossed over 6 million in revenue. And one of the hardest things I had to learn in my business was how to stop grinding, stop hustling. Once I got past that first six figures, because that hustle won't take you to that half a million dollar mark. It'll lead you straight to a road of burnout. Most wedding pros plateau around that first six figures because they focus on the wrong strategies. Scaling to half a million requires a shift in mindset, marketing and strategies. going to show you the exact steps you need to take to bridge that gap from your first six figures to your first half a million. And spoiler alert, it's not about getting more leads. Okay, so key difference number one between that first six figures and that first half a million is lead flow. Where are your leads coming from? before you hit that first six figures, your lead flow is either inconsistent or it's all coming from one lead source, typically a venue or another partner that refers you. And while this is amazing to scale up to those multiple six figures, you're going to need to diversify that lead flow. So what does that look like? We want to continue to get those referrals and possibly even expand into multiple referral sources from vendors and venues in your market. But we also want to look at having lead flow from social media and from SEO. So to hit that half a million dollar mark, to start seeing those multiple six figures, you're really going to want to lean into understanding how to grow your traffic to your website from SEO marketing and keyword research, and you're going to need to understand how to use social media as a sales funnel instead of just a place to post pretty pictures. This also looks like creating relationship marketing, both in your network, going to networking events, having coffee with local vendors, but also online on Tik TOK, on Instagram stories through your feed and on threads. Don't sleep on threads. I promise you, this is where a lot of the engagement is happening. You also want to make sure that all of your marketing has a strategy. When you go to a networking event, who are you there to meet? What's the ROI from it? Why exactly are you going and spending those three hours out of your office, away from your business and your family. Make sure that you understand you go in with a strategy. You go in with a plan. The same can be said with your social media. Make sure that you're not just going there to post because someone told you to. You want to go and post with a strategy, the intent to get followers. To know, like, and trust you and to become paying clients. I want you to think about right now, how many different places are your leads coming from? If they're only coming from one or two sources, what happens when one of those sources dry up? Because we all know that it's like a game of musical chairs in the wedding industry. All you need is one person to stop being in business or to move venues and that lead source could be all gone for you. Key difference number two between a six figure business and a multiple six figure business Is there marketing effort? And when I say that, what I mean is that often when you're in that first six figures, your marketing is kind of an afterthought. You know, you need to do it, but you have a billion other things to do and you're wearing a hundred other hats and marketing tends to get pushed to the wayside. You're just struggling to keep all the balls in the air. But when you're scaling to multiple six figures, marketing becomes priority number one, because you know, if you don't have leads, you don't have sales and therefore you won't have a business. So, I want you to think about it right now, CEO. Are you even marketing consistently? How much of a priority are you putting on the marketing of your business? Because posting once a week won't cut it when you're scaling to half a million. With a multiple six figure business, marketing isn't optional. You have to make it a priority every single day in your business, no matter what you feel like, even if it's just showing up to engage on other vendors accounts, which is highly strategic or just showing up to post a story and to be authentic. The other thing I want you to remember here is that marketing isn't about going viral. It's about finding the right eyes who need to see your content. to become followers, to then become paying clients. So don't focus on virality. Think about hitting those core desires of the couples that you love working with, your dream couples, and speaking right to those desires so that you can engage and create a connection with them that they can't resist. Okay, key difference number three between that first 100, 000 and those multiple 100, is gonna be systems and strategies. A business that is still trying to hit that first 100, 000 is often reactive. While a business that's scaling to those multiple six figures operates on strategy. You need systems in your business that's going to reduce your day to day workflow while increasing your productivity and sales. So what does this look like? It looks like going back to our example of relationship marketing. We don't just want to post and ghost. We don't just want to like go to a networking event and collect as many business cards as we can. We really want to have a strategy and pour into those relationships that are going to have the most ROI. Now, don't hear me say that relationships are all about what can they do for me, but it does help when you have a strategy as to where to spend your time. There's a limited number of hours in every single day. Every single one of those hours that you spend needs to have a great ROI on increasing the revenue in your business. where can you pour that relationship building in your business to create the most referrals back to your business? So what can you do today to start scaling from that first hundred thousand that you hit to now turning that into multiple six figures? Number one, identify where your leads are currently coming from, and let's look at how we can diversify that lead flow. Number two, I want you to commit to every single day of spending at least 15 minutes engaging with other vendor accounts on threads, TikTok, and Instagram. The next one is to schedule three reels that are going to go out this week. Yes, CEO, you heard me. It's time to take action. Action takers are the ones who are scaling to those multiple six figures and I want you to schedule three reels this week that are speaking directly to the core desire of your ideal customer. I also want you to go ahead and start looking at the networking events in your area and schedule to attend at least one per month. That's going to really drive a big ROI into your business. And here's the thing I want you to remember when you're doing this scaling, when you're looking at how do I get from this first six figures all the way up to that half a million dollar mark. Scaling isn't about doing more. It's about doing the right things consistently. Listen, finding the time to fit marketing into your business every single day is overwhelming. I totally understand that. But I promise you that if you focus on finding the time to do that and make it a priority in your business, you are going to start to see those multiple six figures roll in. If you're listening to this and you're like, Brandee, this sounds great, but I literally do not have time. I hear you, CEO, wearing all of the hats, being a small business owner can be overwhelming, but I want you to check out episode 249, where I talk about my secret hack to taking back my time and finding time every single day in my business to make marketing a priority, because here's the thing without marketing, you don't have sales. And without sales, you don't have a business. CEO, thanks so much for being here every single week and I will see you next time.