Creating Consistent Income

Who doesn’t want consistent income? It’s something that business owners bring up a lot, whether they’ve transitioned from traditional, salaried employment or they’ve always been in business for themselves. While they talk about consistent income for the business, deep down, they want it for themselves as a person.

So it felt like the right time to put out a few practical ideas to address this, as well as provide some considerations if this feels tricky to implement.

And remember, we’re talking about money, which can activate your nervous system. Remember to notice and take care of your nervous system!

Practical Tips for Creating Consistent Income

People tend to think the practical side is the hard stuff, but it can be straightforward, particularly when you’re going from small ‘small business’ to medium ‘small business.’ Here are some ideas, from a non-business coach who loves thinking about small business.

Keep a separate business account for owner’s comp and pay yourself a set monthly amount

If you have a business that generates enough profit to live the lifestyle you want, a little structure can help you feel at ease. If you’re in the wellness industry, summers can be harsh. People start going on holiday, focusing on spending time with their families instead of chilling with the acupuncturist. Seasonal businesses can also struggle with ups and downs (wedding photographers, anyone?)

The critical piece, then, is managing the cash flow. That’s where putting money into a different account earmarked for your compensation comes into play. If you know your pricing and the amount that is ‘owners comp’ from each transaction, then putting that amount in a bank account, separate from your business operations and personal accounts, can be a game changer. You can then pay yourself consistently, even through ‘slow’ months.

Review Your Offerings to Account for Seasonality

If you’re the previously mentioned wedding photographer, you know the pains of seasonal work. Is there something you can offer that would align with you and your brand that would feel fun and easy? If you’re that previously-mentioned wedding photographer, you could consider offering boudoir photography in the off-season in a studio you rent by the session.

Consider Recurring Revenue Models

Can you shift your business model to include recurring revenue for consistency? This isn’t to say you will only work on a recurring revenue basis. You can still do one-off transactions that fill you with delight! There might also be an outside-box model for recurring revenue that makes you happy.

A business coach friend recently mentioned a story about a florist who was struggling with high waste and the struggles of making most of their income on Valentine's Day, Mother’s Day, and Christmas. They shifted their thinking and approached high-end restaurants, doctor’s offices, and similar commercial clients to offer a floral subscription. This meant the commercial clients could take ‘buying flowers’ off their to-do list, and the florist reduced waste and increased consistency and profits, all while building value in their business. Win-win-win!

Simple right? What to do when it’s not

The truth is, some of those practical things can be super straightforward, but don’t feel it because of the thoughts and emotions we carry inside. Other times, we might be able to create the plan, but every time you go to action anything off the plan, you find yourself distracted and procrastinating.

Here are a couple of stories to help illustrate the point.

Meet Melissa

Melissa is incredibly reflective and highly self-aware, so it didn’t take long for us to get to ‘money is a weapon.’ Feel the weight of that? No surprise that a belief like that could drive you to avoid money unless you desperately needed it.

Say Hi to Amy

When I talked to Amy, they spoke at length about wanting consistent income. When we did a different journaling exercise, they mentioned their dream was to pay themselves between $10,000 a month and $50,000 a month, depending on what travel and exploration they wanted to do that month. Did you catch that?

It took a while for them to realize how, on the one hand, they were asking for consistency as a goal, and on the other, they were trying to manifest inconsistency.

What then?

The question then is about how you will be best supported through this.

For some people, talking it out and then seeing how this belief makes sense in the context of their lives is enough for them to make shifts. They can start practicing self-compassion, tend to the needs of their wounded self, and take care of their today selves too.

Sometimes talking it out is impossible (thank you to our good old brain for keeping us safe by keeping us ignorant). Sometimes talking it out is something you just don’t want to do because you’ve spent enough time in the wrong therapist’s chair, sitting in your crap. In those situations, I’ve found energy work powerful for my clients and me (and if you ever want to grab a coffee and gab energy healing modalities, let’s talk!)

Your take-away

There is a lot of value in going ahead and implementing practical solutions first. Go into it with a sense of playfulness and exploration, knowing that any data you get from this exploration will tell you where to focus your attention. It may be in that practical, physical world, and it may take you into your internal world. But it’s much easier to plan subsequent steps when you start moving and gathering data.

Tried those practical steps and struggled to get them working? Let’s talk about what might be behind that.