116. The 3-Question Business Audit You Can Do Right Now

I've done maybe a dozen business audits since I started offering them, and I've seen the same three things come up as the undercurrent of every single one.

So today I'm sharing the framework I use so you can audit your own business right now. Because here's what I find nine times out of ten: what you're building now is not actually going to get you to your goal. Sometimes it's a placeholder. Sometimes you're working really hard toward something you haven't actually consciously chosen.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the three questions to ask yourself that will reveal what's really going on in your business, plus real examples of immediate shifts that came from these audits.

Because awareness is the first step. You can't fix what you don't know is broken.

Free business audit calls (45 minutes): dancingleafsolutions.com/business-audit

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Andrea Elibero: Andrea here, your host and passionate business coach and scaling strategist for soulful service providers and coaches. Welcome to another episode of Solepreneur Scaling Stories. Have you ever wanted to look behind the curtain of your fellow entrepreneur's business to see what actually went into scaling it?

[00:00:22] Andrea Elibero: Well, you are in for a treat 'cause that's exactly what we are doing here. In each episode, we will be uncovering the truth of the lessons and the stories behind what it truly takes for sold entrepreneurs to scale their businesses intentionally. I'm hoping that their stories will help you to unlock the true potential of your business so you can create your own soulful, abundant, and aligned laptop lifestyle through intentional scaling.

[00:00:46] Andrea Elibero: So whether you're just starting out on your scaling journey or you're a seasoned entrepreneur seeking inspiration, this episode has something incredible in store for you. Are you ready to rise, grow, and create a business that fully supports your dream life? Well, let's dive in. [00:01:00] Before we begin, make sure to hit that subscribe buttons.

[00:01:03] Andrea Elibero: You never miss an empowering episode filled with real stories and soulful insights.

[00:01:10] Andrea Elibero: Hello my friends and welcome back to Solepreneur Scaling Stories. Today I am going to talk about business audits and how you can do a self-audit. And this comes from the fact that I do a few of these per month. I've done like maybe a dozen or so since I've started and. I have seen the same three things that are kind of like the undercurrent of every single business audit, and I want to share those with you so that way you can use this framework and do this on yourself.

[00:01:45] Andrea Elibero: So let's dive into it. The very, very first thing to notice is energy. And so what do I mean by that? What I mean is when I'm on an audit and somebody's talking me through their business, they're describing what they [00:02:00] do, their services, their clients, all of that, their journey I am looking for where they look to be more energized, where they're excited, and I'm looking for also on the other side, where there seems to be more of a dip, where they're a bit more like.

[00:02:15] Andrea Elibero: Frustrated or a bit things feel a bit more heavy. And so that's what I do on my audits because this gives me a lot of data, and I'm going to tell you what that is in a second. So for yourself, if you are doing this, if you want to audit your business on your own, and I highly, highly recommend that you do, I invite you to think about the different parts of your business, think about your offers, think about your.

[00:02:38] Andrea Elibero: Clients, think about all the different services that you do. Think about the things that you're doing to run your own business. The where you're showing up for marketing things, all of that. And what are the spaces within there where you feel the most energized, and where is it that you feel really drained after you do something?[00:03:00] 

[00:03:00] Andrea Elibero: So I'll give you an example. So for myself. When I am, when I get off of a coaching call, I feel super energized. I'm like, oh, this is amazing. Like, that was so good. It's like every single time, like I love it. It energizes me. And something that drains me is making some content, depending on the type of content for, let's say like the Instagram, like graphics or things like that, like that feels draining to me.

[00:03:29] Andrea Elibero: So what does this mean for. Like in this example. So for me, it means that coaching and coaching calls are amazing, right? Like, that's what I should be doing more of, and that means that I am in alignment with what I should be doing. Now in your case, if we look at your, if you look at your services, at your different offers and things that you're doing.

[00:03:52] Andrea Elibero: How much time are you spending doing things that you actually love doing that energize you? That lift you up? Hopefully it's the majority of the time, right? [00:04:00] Because if you're not doing that, then you should be thinking about like, oh, like maybe I should really be focused on these other things, or creating a core offer on this other things.

[00:04:09] Andrea Elibero: That really are exciting to me and that I actually really enjoy doing. And then the things that feel heavier, how can we do them a little bit less? And so let's say if you're somebody who's like, oh my God, Instagram feels really draining. Well, can we lessen that and then focus our efforts on a different marketing?

[00:04:25] Andrea Elibero: Platform or a way to talk about what you do that feels better for you, right? So it's all about the energy and where do you feel good? Where does it feel draining? And it's your business. And I guarantee that you are going to be making more money by doing the things that energize you more. So that's number one.

[00:04:42] Andrea Elibero: Number two is your vision. And so something that in these business audits that I ask everybody is to talk about what their version of success looks like. Both in, okay, what's your dream life? And [00:05:00] it's a Tuesday. What are you doing that day that. It would be really amazing. Like what are you working towards?

[00:05:10] Andrea Elibero: What does that Tuesday look like for you in detail? And the answers are really interesting. Right? So it's both. Sorry, I left out one thing. Very important also, what is your financial goal? So what's your vision financially in your day to day in your business? If you could wave a magic wand and in a year your business looks like exactly what would feel like, feel so good, what would that be?

[00:05:35] Andrea Elibero: And this, what is the thing that I'm looking for here? It is that a lot of times what happens, especially with done for you service providers, is that they are building businesses reactively. It's kind of like putting the puzzle pieces together, building the plan as you go. Taking on client by client, figuring it out and just kind of like going, going, going and never [00:06:00] pausing to see, wait, is this actually aligned with, uh.

[00:06:03] Andrea Elibero: The reason that I started my business in the first place, like is what I'm doing now, is this going to get me to my ultimate goal? And so for you, if you are doing a self-audit, I invite you to ask yourself to describe your version of success as concretely as you can. What hours are you working? What income are you looking for?

[00:06:23] Andrea Elibero: What type of work would be really cool? How do you feel? In your business, right? And like all those types of questions. And now look at your current business. Is what you're building right now going to get you to that goal, to that vision that you have? Or is it actually leading you somewhere else? And so this is really interesting because I find nine times out of 10 that.

[00:06:48] Andrea Elibero: That is not the case, right? The things that are being built now are sometimes they feel like placeholders or sometimes they are actually like framed that way. It's like, oh, I'm doing this now, but what I really want to be doing is the [00:07:00] this other thing. And it's like, well, why are we doing this when we want our right?

[00:07:04] Andrea Elibero: Like, you wanna be doing this other thing, we can do that. And or there was a lack of realization of, wait, wait. This is my income goal, but the way I'm working now. It's impossible to actually make that income because of like, I, the, the capacity, right? I don't actually have the capacity to do that. And so these are really important questions to ask yourselves because you're working really hard and you want it to be worth something.

[00:07:31] Andrea Elibero: So are you working really hard towards a goal or are you working hard towards something that you haven't actually consciously chosen? And number three is the time reality check. So now you know your energy lies, you know what your goals are. And so now it's like, what are you doing right now? Where is your energy actually going?

[00:07:56] Andrea Elibero: Like in reality? What is happening with your [00:08:00] clients? Who's taking up the most hours? Are you, are they somebody that you love working with? Are you doing things for them that you love doing? Is what you're working with on them the thing that's going to take you towards or move you closer towards your actual ultimate goal?

[00:08:13] Andrea Elibero: What tasks are you doing that's taking up so much time in your week? You know, are you doing things again that's going to get you to where you want to go? Are you spending so much time on other things that are keeping you. S stale. That's keeping you plateau, that's keeping you stuck where you are and what's getting done out of habit versus out of intention.

[00:08:35] Andrea Elibero: And so this is where either the math makes sense or it doesn't, and nine times out of 10, again, there is at least one thing on that list that has nothing to do with the goal and really needs to be worked on. Clearing away, clearing that away. So that way there is space and there is room, and there are clear steps to get towards the goal that you have.

[00:08:58] Andrea Elibero: So for yourself, I [00:09:00] invite you to, if you're looking at your time and see, you know, what's going on there to act, to do this audit. So where are you spending your time? So maybe over three days, over a week on, honestly, as you can. Act like literally map out, say, okay, I'm spending this much time doing that, this much time doing that, and now look at that in comparison to your version of success from the second question, and how much of what you're doing is actually leading you to that thing.

[00:09:32] Andrea Elibero: And so oftentimes this reveals again, a handful of things that feel productive but are that are not moving the needle for you. And then there's like one obvious one that often comes up that's a place that can start right away to be like, okay, let's shift at this. And so then. Once we name all of these things, it's all brought to the surface.

[00:09:51] Andrea Elibero: There are two layers of things that can be done to now start to move the needle. Move the needle. And the first one is like the [00:10:00] immediate action things, right? So there are quick wins that it's like, okay, we can very much. Um, remove this pain point, kind of like, you know, things that can be done like right now, like pretty easily to get you closer to where you want to go.

[00:10:13] Andrea Elibero: So, for example, I have a couple of examples for you. So one is one client came, did an audit and she was like, no, I'm happy. And I just needed a little more consistency. But when we started to dig in, it became clear that what she actually wanted was a team, and she actually had this bigger vision, but she was holding herself back.

[00:10:35] Andrea Elibero: She was using this gratitude as, no, I need to be thankful of what I have now as. This kind of like barrier, you know, it kind of like felt easy and safe to stay here, but using it as a reason to not ask for more, and actually calling that out and naming it unlocked her in a way where now she feels more free and is excited to now build [00:11:00] towards this bigger vision that she has and she has given herself permission to do that.

[00:11:04] Andrea Elibero: Another thing that. Another thing that, um, was uncovered, that's like an immediate thing, was about timing. So I had another person who had a clear vision of where she wanted to go, but she was like, no, but I'm not, I can't do that yet. And I asked her, well, why not? And she didn't have a reason. Right? So it wasn't like timing.

[00:11:28] Andrea Elibero: It wasn't, it wasn't anything, it was a story that she was telling herself, and she was telling herself that for so long that it felt like fact. And again, calling that out really shifted something for her in that moment and she realized like, oh, I can build this thing right now. A third example is another client who kept circling back to whether she could afford to invest in herself and in her business.

[00:11:53] Andrea Elibero: And what we uncovered here was a pattern of consistently putting everyone else's needs before her own, [00:12:00] her clients, her family, her friends, everybody, even the pets. So the hesitation had nothing to do with her finances per se, but it had to do with her feeling worthy and. Where she was choosing to prioritize and her guilt about prioritizing herself.

[00:12:19] Andrea Elibero: And then the last example I'll give you is that I had a client who was doing quote unquote, the right things marketing wise, but she was saying that, oh, everybody that she talks to can't afford her. And we uncovered that. The reason for that was that what she was saying, the messaging she was using was speaking to people at.

[00:12:37] Andrea Elibero: A newer business owners at that income level and not her actual ideal client's income level. So we just had one messaging shift and how she talked and that was able to then talk to the people at a higher level who would be able then to afford her. And so those are some examples of some immediate things, uh, that come from these [00:13:00] business audits.

[00:13:01] Andrea Elibero: And I guarantee you that for yourself, you'll be able to realize, have this realization of something, at least one thing that you can do right now in order to, again, move your business one step closer towards the bigger goal that you have. And then we have some longer term things, right? So things to kind of like restructure in the business itself.

[00:13:20] Andrea Elibero: So getting the business model pointed towards the goal, and that looks different from everybody. Um, but for some people. Or it could be, actually it looks different for everybody, but I can almost guarantee you that most people need all of the different levels. Um, so for some people their biggest thing is the offer.

[00:13:40] Andrea Elibero: So what they're selling doesn't actually match where they want to go, whether it be in terms of level, in terms of this is what their u unique magic is, what they excel at in terms of pricing or all of those things. And no amount of marketing is going to fix that, right? So that's one big thing for others.

[00:13:58] Andrea Elibero: Maybe it's a pricing and [00:14:00] boundary issue where it's like, okay, like this could work on paper, but it's built around having them always available, which means that their income is tied to ours, which means that, again, there's a cap, and if there's like one week where they're not feeling well, then everything falls apart.

[00:14:15] Andrea Elibero: Right? Or maybe for other people, it's more of something about their positioning and messaging, how they talk about their offers, how they talk about their business, and maybe they're attracting the wrong clients entirely, which means that they're always. Feel like they're starting from scratch or they feel very like nebulous, very cloudy in terms of how they're actually talking about what they do, and they're not building momentum in bringing in clients consistently.

[00:14:38] Andrea Elibero: And so when I use the word restructure, that can feel really heavy, but it's really not about blowing up your whole business. It's really about intentionally shifting one thing at a time in the right order. So that way you have this. Really strong foundation and you have so much clarity that now all the pieces are coming together and you can [00:15:00] realize your dream.

[00:15:00] Andrea Elibero: And that's something that happens over the course of a few months. It can be three months or six months, but. It doesn't take years, right? It takes a few months, and it all starts with knowing what the core issues are that you are struggling with. Because if you don't know that you cannot fix it and you cannot get on the road to where you actually want to go to realize your dream.

[00:15:23] Andrea Elibero: So the point of all of this is that you don't have to kind of just like go and like build your business reactively and. Not know what's going to happen with it, right? You having awareness, you need to do something, you need to take some sort of step and. It starts with this awareness and then you build off of that and then in such a short amount of time, then you actually have this business that you're like, holy shit.

[00:15:51] Andrea Elibero: Like I love this. Like what happened? Right? So let's recap. So the three things, three questions to ask yourself are, hold on, I need to scroll back 'cause I have this [00:16:00] written down. One is the energy. So think about the different parts of your business, your clients, your offers, the work itself. Where does talking about it feel easy and alive?

[00:16:10] Andrea Elibero: And where does it feel heavy or flat? Number two is the vision. So describe your vision of success as concretely as you can, hours, income type of work, how it feels day to day. Look at your current business, is what you're building going to get you there, or are you going in some other direction entirely?

[00:16:26] Andrea Elibero: And number three, again, is about your time, where you're spending your time now. So do an audit. Write down how you're spending your time over a few days a week, as honestly as you can. Compare it to the success that you want to have, your goals, your vision, how much of that is actually getting you to that place.

[00:16:44] Andrea Elibero: And then identify something you can do right now, uh, that will start shifting things to get you there. And if you just. Heard about all of that, and you're like, okay, let me dive in, [00:17:00] right, and like, amazing. Please share with me what you found, and if you want somebody to do it with you, somebody who is an expert, who has been doing this now and can help you to dig up all of these things, I am inviting you to do that with me.

[00:17:14] Andrea Elibero: I have free business audits there, 45 minutes long. I ask you. All the questions and I give you the immediate things and the longer term things that you need to do in order to realize your vision. Now, I only do a few of these per month, so grab your spot. It is dancing leaf solutions.com/audit. It will be linked below, and I cannot wait to see you on your business audit. 

[00:17:40] Andrea Elibero: Thank you so much for joining us today. I really hope you found inspiration and insights from today's episode. You know, scaling your business intentionally and from the inside out is a transformational process, but I'm here to support you every step of the way. Head on over [00:18:00] to dancing leaf solutions.com/resources for free tools to help you do just that.

[00:18:05] Andrea Elibero: And thank you again for being a part of the Solepreneur Scaling Stories community. Your presence and dedication to growth inspiring me every day.