5 things to fix now to make more profit (not just sales) in 2027

* Transcript created by AI – may contain errors or omissions from original podcast audio

 We are glaring down the barrel of a new year. You won’t create a different result in 2027 if you bring into the new year the same habits and patterns that you’ve been carrying this year. One of the biggest things that affects your ability to live and enjoy your life is how much profit your business is making.

I know I bang on about the difference between sales and profit, and the reason is profit is really what makes all the difference in how you actually get to enjoy your life. If you’ve found yourself in a pattern of making decisions in a hurry, of avoiding your numbers, and trying to squeeze more work into an already full week, what’s actually gonna change if you don’t change things?

Probably nothing. So in today’s episode of the podcast, I’m showing you how to set yourself up for your best year yet in 2027.

 I see business owners working so hard to get to that next level of sales. But ironically, the same things that they are doing, and maybe that you are doing, actually make the problem even worse. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you’ve hired because you were drowning. Or you’ve taken on more clients because you wanted more cash.

But then you get to the end of the year and you think, “How have I worked this hard and still not got the result I wanted?” So today, I’m gonna share with you five things to fix now if you wanna make more profit, not just sales, in 2027.

If I haven’t even started yet and you’re already thinking, “Yes, I actually need to sit down and work through this,” that’s exactly why I’m running my upcoming business planning workshops, which are to help you map out your most profitable year yet in 2027.

There’s a link in the show notes for this episode, and I’ll share more about it at the end. But for now, I want you to start having a think about whether you are really ready to break some old habits and create some new outcomes. So fix number one, we’re gonna do. I want you to step out of the business, do some intentional planning, and get really clear about what it is that you’re building.

Every year, my hubby and I, we hire a hotel room, we take a day out of business, and we step back and we undertake a, an overall business planning process. For us, we actually do our business and our life planning process at the same time. And I know what you might think, “I’m too busy to do that.”

Because when you’re in the middle of running a business, there’s always something that feels more urgent than planning. And you’ve got that heaving inbox, clients, the team. You can easily fill your days dealing with what’s immediately in front of you, and never get around to actually stepping back and working out, “Is this really helping me to go where I wanna go?”

So you have to intentionally create that space. And I want you to start with this question: What do I want my business to actually deliver next year? So in this process, you’re gonna really think about how much profit do you wanna make? How much do you actually wanna be paying yourself? How many days do you wanna be working?

What kind of work do you wanna be doing? What kind of clients do you wanna be working with? Because saying, “I wanna grow,” it’s not really enough to guide serious decisions.

Over the years, I’ve helped some clients make some pretty significant decisions when they do finally step back and look objectively at the business. I’ve done this before through my planning workshops. I also do these one-to-one premium VIP strategy days. And over the years, I’ve been part of some pretty cool life-changing decisions.

Some of them have been hiring new roles, completely restructuring the team, restructuring the pricing and offers that are actually out there with your clients. Sometimes it means mapping out a completely new marketing direction This is the stuff that you actually get to do when you stop, slow down, and step back, is to holistically look at the business and see what needs to change.

Another thing that I want you to do in your planning session is to get really intentional about planning rest. Put your holidays and your time off into your calendar. If you do yoga, schedule that into your week, or get regular massages. Whatever it is that you need to do to really look after you, actually put that into your plan

And that is a perfect segue into fix number two, which is to focus on your nervous system regulation. At the scaling stage, it can really feel like you’re spending your entire days just putting out fires. You solve one problem over here and three more arrive. This can start to become your new normal, that you’re just running the business reactively.

And what happens when this is unfolding is that you’re not looking after yourself and your nervous system. I’m gonna be honest, I am certainly not immune to this. I spoke to my therapist about it this week actually, and she reminded me that sometimes we just need to get back to the basics. Because if you’re constantly feeling rushed and exhausted, you’re not making your best decisions.

So have a bit of a reflection. How are you sleeping? Are you getting exercise in? Are you eating properly? Drinking plenty of water? Are you carving out time for meditation or whatever it is that you do to help regulate your nervous system? These things can sound obvious, but often it’s these things that we forget, and they’re the first things to go when business gets busy.

So rather than committing to a year of pushing harder, ask what actually needs to work differently, and how do you need to intentionally create that? Maybe it means more support or clearer boundaries. But what are the, the clear things that you’re gonna put in place to work on regulating your nervous system?

Fix number three is to build the support your next stage needs. So if you’ve got big growth goals for next year, have you got the structure and support around you to get to that next level?

And calling out the elephant in the room, can the business actually afford that? Support can look like lots of different things. Hiring new team, for example. And there’s another kind of support I want you to think about here too. The people you spend your time with. Do you have biz friends in your world who understand the stage of business that you’re at?

People that you can have conversations with about hiring, pricing, growth? Because when these conversations become normal, you hear different ways of thinking. I’ll give you an example. I was explaining a business challenge to a friend just this week, and she said, “I know exactly who you need to talk to.

That’s exactly what she does.” And she connected me with someone to help me navigate through this particular challenge. And this is really why I’m very passionate about people getting together in person. The conversations you have in real life can be so incredibly valuable. So as you’re planning your level of support for the year, how are you getting in the right rooms?

How are you getting that next level of support that you need for your next level of growth? 

Fix number four, you know I’m gonna say it. Your finances need to have a regular place in your diary. If you want more profit next year, your numbers have to be a part of how you run the business. If you find out later that a decision you made didn’t really leave you with much money after it’s too late to change that result.

So you wanna be really proactive with staying across your finances 

And this all starts with building a financial plan, actually translating your goals into a month-by-month plan. Because what can often happen when you have growth goals is that you aren’t really thinking about all the different moving parts 

Setting an annual target can hide a lot, and that’s why I’m a big believer in mapping out both your sales and your expenses month by month. It helps you to see what you’re actually doing profit-wise throughout the year. If you hire someone in March, how long is it until that actually converts through to additional sales in your business?

Once you’ve got your financial plan, you then need to create a cadence or a plan for reviewing it 

The number one thing I recommend that you put into your calendar is a monthly review of your financial results against your plan. What was the goal? What actually happened? And what needs to change? You can’t afford to wait until the end of the year to discover that something hasn’t worked. Another thing to remind you of here, remember that profit and cash are different.

Your reports can show a profit and you can still have cash pressure, so it’s really important that you understand both. The reason you need to review your numbers is to help you make decisions while you still have time to change the outcome. So if a service isn’t profitable, you can investigate it. If costs start creeping up, you can respond.

If something’s working really well, you can do more of it. And this is why being numbers led is so important 

fix number five: put in place an accountability process. Most of the business owners I work with are smart, capable people. They usually know at least some of what needs to change, but knowing and doing are two different things because urgent work is gonna keep on arriving. The patterns you’ve developed are very hard to spot when you’re inside them, and this is why I believe so strongly in mentorship and accountability.

Because having someone who can challenge your thinking and come back to what you said you were gonna do and keep you accountable to it is really what shifts the needle. Someone who steps in and says, “What’s going on? Why haven’t you done this?”

A good mentor will help you recognise when the plan needs to change. It’s about giving your goals consistent attention and making sure that you are actually taking responsibility for completing that next step. As you plan for 2027, think about how you are gonna set yourself up for success by actually getting the support to implement. Who’s gonna keep you on track? And who’s gonna make sure that you actually deliver on the strategy that you put in place?

If you’ve been listening and realising you really need to come up with a bit of a strategy so that 2027 is a breakthrough year for you, I’d love to invite you to come along to one of my business planning workshops, which are called Map Out Your Biggest Profit Year in 2027.

At this stage, I’m running two. One is at the Gold Coast on the 12th of November, and the second is on Brisbane on the 18th of November. These are full day workshops in person where you’ll be surrounded by business owners who are doing big things in their business. This is an opportunity to step out of the day-to-day running of your business and give next year the proper attention that it deserves.

We’ll have a look at what it is that you want to achieve, the strategy and support you need to get there, and of course, the numbers behind it. So we’re gonna map out your month-by-month profit plan, including the investments you need to make, and also we’ll be setting your revenue and sales target.

You’ll also be in a room with other business owners at a scaling stage too, who are taking the time to think seriously about their next stage of growth.

In the ever-changing world of AI, there’s so much power in being in the energy of other humans, particularly those who are at a similar stage with similar goals. And this is the work we are making space for at the planning workshops. So if you want 2027 to deliver more profit, more intention, and a business that’s gonna support you to live the life of your dreams, I’d love to have you in the room.

The booking details are in the show notes for today’s episode. Like I said, at this stage we’ve got both the Gold Coast and Brisbane, so come along, book your place. Because you won’t create a different result by carrying the same habits and patterns into next year. Now is the time to create your plan if you wanna create big results in the new year.

* Transcript created by AI – may contain errors or omissions from original podcast audio