Most business owners can tell you how busy they've been: new clients, completed projects, products sold, networking events, marketing tried. But here's a harder question: which of those things bring you your best income?
By "best," I don't necessarily mean the biggest check. I mean the activities, clients, products or services that bring you the most dependable, profitable income without requiring a disproportionate amount of your time, attention and energy.
Over my years in business, I've developed a couple of referral partners who meet my ideal clients earlier in their business life cycle than I would. One often brings me in to collaborate with new clients. I spend part of a day each month helping with an event he runs, learning about innovative technologies that fascinate me, and sometimes we find joint clients. That's a pretty good return on my time, and it's exactly the kind of thing this exercise is designed to help you spot.
Start with the money
Look at the income your business has generated so far this year. Don't just look at the total—look at where it came from. Which clients produced the most revenue? Which products or services? Are there customers who buy repeatedly, or work that produces smaller amounts but adds up to substantial, steady income?
A large client may look terrific until you consider how much extra time you spend servicing that account. A smaller client who works with you regularly pays promptly and rarely requires extra attention may actually be more valuable. Your highest-priced product may not be your most profitable, either. Something less exciting may sell consistently and quietly contribute to your bottom line month after month. Steady can be very profitable.
Now look at how the business came to you
How did those good clients find you? Last month we talked about selective follow-up with new people you meet. We do need new connections, but constantly starting from scratch isn't very efficient, which is why a good referral partner, like the one I mentioned above, can be worth so much more than a stack of new business cards.
Which works better to bring in new income: An email to people who already know you? Or a month of trying to reach strangers through social media?
I wonder about LinkedIn these days. It seems to have shifted toward fancy articles and glossy photos designed to stop the scroll. Its original purpose was helping us meet people through our own connections. Does that mean LinkedIn has no value? No—it means I should ask what value it's producing for my business.
We once produced a print version of this monthly newsletter. One day a woman walked into a weekly lunch I hosted and said, "I've had this newsletter on my bulletin board for a year. Now I'm finally ready to work with you." Some activities take time to pay off.
The mentors I worked with early in my coaching business taught me to always have "something to invite people to" as a follow-up to networking. That weekly lunch worked well for years, until COVID killed it off. Now I host a business conversation online—you're welcome to join us too (details below).
Patterns matter. If you've been doing something regularly for a year or two and can't show a client, referral, sale, or useful relationship that came from it, it's reasonable to ask why you're still doing it. But don't get stuck on the dollars alone.
Visibility, goodwill, and professionalism will build your social capital as you go.
Looking beyond revenue
Not all revenue is equal. Two clients may each bring you $10,000 and be vastly different for your business. One pays on time, respects your expertise, is pleasant to work with, and refers other good clients. The other negotiates every invoice and causes you to spend hours doing work you never intended to include. Same revenue, very different value.
So, consider profitability, but also predictability and effort. Which customers return? Which products have healthy margins? Which work leads naturally to more good work? What creates steady income? And, just as importantly, what part of your business do you really love to do?
Then do something with what you learn
This exercise isn't about creating another spreadsheet to admire—it's about making choices. If your best clients come from referrals, cultivate those relationships. If one service is profitable and easy to deliver, promote it. If repeat customers provide your steadiest income, encourage more of them to return. And if something takes hours but produces little, it may deserve less of your time, or none.
We, small business owners, tend to add things: another marketing tactic, product, networking group, offer. Sometimes growth really does come from adding. But sometimes the better opportunity is sitting in the business you already have.
How can you do more of what is already working? The answer may make your business not only more profitable, but simpler
and more fun to run.
Lorette Pruden has helped hundreds of small business owners, sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders grow their businesses and manage that growth since 2000. She specializes in the Formerly Corporate—so many small business owners who’ve worked with her come from a corporate background that she finally wrote the book on it.
