Marketing Business Increases Profit Margin with the Impact Lab
This Impact Lab participant once struggled with profitability. Now, she has a clear plan for growth.
Gwen Beren, founder of Illuminous Marketing, loves helping companies grow with SEO and digital marketing solutions.
But, like many business owners, Gwen struggled with her business' profitability – even as she brought in significant revenue.
When she joined the Impact Lab, our finance experts were able to analyze Gwen's finances and plan for sustained profitability.
The challenge
Gwen's business was facing several key issues:
Lack of profitability: The company could have been more profitable despite high revenue.
Employee hours management: She struggled to manage non-billable hours and needed a unified data tracking system.
Niche market identification: Assistance was required to pinpoint a niche market.
Where mission edge came in
Sometimes, all it takes is fresh eyes and a new perspective. That's precisely what our finance experts did to help Gwen get her business on a path toward profitability and scalable growth.
Here are a few specific ways we helped Gwen during her time in the Impact Lab:
Financial analysis: Our experts conducted a quick analysis of Gwen's financials to identify factors that were limiting her profitability.
Employee hours management: To increase Gwen's business's profitability, she needed to know where all the dollars were going. So, our experts helped her create a table to measure hours spent on each project versus budgeted hours.
Niche targeting: Gwen discovered a niche market with law firms, and our experts supported her in targeting this specific market.
Expense reduction plan: Gwen developed a plan to reduce her expenses, enabling her to pay herself and address company debt.
Pricing template: Gwen created a new one to ensure profitable bidding for future jobs.
Contract language: Gwen added language to contracts for an annual rate increase of 5%, protecting her from the temptation to undercharge.
Financial planning: We assisted Gwen in drafting a financial plan for the remainder of 2023 and helped her to develop strategies for 2024.
Employee hours template: Gwen walked away with a template to manage employee hours to align with bid allocations.
The results
Now that Gwen's systems were in place to reduce expenses and target a niche market, her business became set up to be profitable, starting the next month.
Gwen also completed a 2023 draft financial model, which paved the way for her to pay herself and address her company's debt.
This year, Gwen has a detailed roadmap for sustained profitability to grow her business without debt or lack of income.
Moving forward, Gwen will leverage monthly reports from her accountant for effective company management to increase the transparency surrounding her financials.
You can see results, too
Gwen's journey with the Impact Lab demonstrates the importance of strategic financial analysis, tracking expenses, niche targeting, and specific pricing strategies that can lead to profitability.
Because our experts believe with the right plan in place, the sky's the limit.
If you're a small business owner who could use tailored support to get your finances back on track, we'd love to see your name on our waiting list.
The Impact Lab is completely free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Want to keep the inspiration going? Read more success stories.
See how Impact Lab could help you gain financial clarity for your business in 2024
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