There is no reason running a business needs to feel like lugging around a mountain on your back. Every business owner wants to see their profits increase and have time to breathe, rest well, and enjoy life along the way. The good news? You don’t need to kill yourself to become more financially responsible.
A lot of entrepreneurs feel like more profit equals more stress, longer hours and never-ending sacrifices. But what if I were to tell you that some of the most successful entrepreneurs have actually managed to increase their income, even as they slashed the number of hours they put in? They have found smart tricks to make their lives work harder than they do.
This article will give you real, proven ways to increase your business profits without adding more stress into your life. You’ll discover how to work smarter, not harder, have your money work for you and create a business that includes a life rather than consuming it. Whether you’re driving a small startup or leading an established company, these tactics will help you strike that sweet spot between profit and peace of mind.
Quit Chasing Every Customer That Comes Through Your Doors
Here’s a fact that may shock you: not all customers are worth having. So many business owners work themselves into a tizzy trying to be all things to everyone, but the key to making more money with less effort is in being selective about who you serve.
Think about it like dating. You aren’t going to marry the first person that you meet, are you? A customer is no different. Some customers suck your energy, require constant support and hardly do anything for your bottom line. Others like your work, pay on time and send you more business via referrals.
Begin by understanding who your most profitable customers are. See who’s spending the most, giving you the fewest problems and coming back again and again. These are your golden geese. Now direct your marketing and energy toward getting a whole lot more people like that. Shedding the constant dilution to be everything to everyone that thinking quantitatively over-optimizes will allow you to see that focusing on the right few will become easier and more lucrative.
Develop a basic profile of who your perfect customer is. What problems do they have? What can they afford? What are the best ways to reach them? Use this as a filtering profile. One of the quickest ways to reduce stress and grow your business at the same time is learning how to say “no” – starting with wrong-fit customers.
Put Your Pricing To Work For, Not Against You
It means most businesses are underpricing their product or service and trying to make up for it with volume. This results in a punishing hamster wheel that you run constantly but never get anywhere. The solution? Fix your pricing strategy.
Increasing prices often is scary, but here’s what typically happens: You give up a few price-sensitive customers, and revenue from everyone else more than makes up the difference. And you’ll have fewer customers to deal with, and less stress.
Consider these three pricing approaches:
Value-based pricing instead begins with the value your customer receives from using your product or service, NOT what you pay to produce it. If your service saves a client $10,000, and it costs them $2,000 to get that money, you know it’s not too much — it’s actually a bargain.
Tiered pricing means that there are different services at different price ranges. This allows customers to pick what fits their budget — and then nudges them toward an upgrade. Consider how many software companies have free, professional and enterprise plans.
Premium positioning means being the high-priced option in your space. This draws customers who value quality at a fair price, and who are usually easier to deal with. They know that good work is expensive.
The Power of Automation: Your Quiet Force to Profits
Consider having employees who work 24/7, never whine and never take sick days, and that cost you next to nothing. Automation tools will do to your business what steroids do to a weightlifter.
There’s nothing sacred about automation in the hands of tech giants any longer. All but the very smallest businesses can now automate everything from marketing email to appointment scheduling, invoicing to social media posting. Each task that you automate allows you to claim back time to do the work that actually grows your business.
Begin with higher-frequency tasks. If you’re sending the exact same email over and over, save it as an automated welcome sequence. If you have to keep personal track of invoicing, use accounting software that automatically sends reminders about payment. You won’t have to worry about spending hours on social media if you schedule your posts with automation tools. Make sure your best performing content is pinned in the tool.
The wonderful thing about automation is that it does this while you sleep. You could be on vacation, and your business would still be operational, making sales and serving customers. This is not a matter of taking the human touch out. This is freedom to give that human touch where it counts most.
Create Systems That Work Without You
Your business should be an asset, not another job. If you can’t take a day off without everything collapsing, you don’t have a business — you have an anxiety-inducing job that is going to suck the life out of you.
Making systems is all about documenting how things are done in your business. Document how you carry out common activities. Write checklists, templates and procedures that anyone could follow. It may seem like a tedious process, but it’s a lifelong investment that pays unlimited dividends.
When you’ve got systems, then you’re able to delegate. You can hire, or contract out pieces and not waste hours trying to explain what you want them to do. You can go on vacations without the phone ringing every minute. You can even grow your business because you’re no longer the bottleneck.
Start small. Choose one repeatable task and write down every step. Then move to the next. Eventually, you will create an operations manual that makes running your business effortless.
Revenue Isn’t Everything — Focus on Profit Margins
This one is a lot like the previous tip, but it needs to be repeated because so many people fail to follow this advice.
A lot of businesses rejoice when they start seeing higher revenue, but if your expenses are gnawing away at any profits, you don’t have anything to celebrate. A business that pulls down $1 million with costs of $950,000 is in worse shape than one budgeting for $500,000 in revenue and managing on a lean staff with costs of about $300,000.
Review your expenses monthly. Question every recurring charge. Do you actually need that high-end software subscription? Are you purchasing supplies at the right price? Can you negotiate to get a better price from vendors?
Seek “profit leaks”—those little costs that whittle away over time. That monthly $50 subscription you never use adds up to $600 a year. Ten of those, and you’ve unwittingly lost $6,000 in profit.
Here is a simple exercise: Write down all your expenses and classify them as essential, helpful or unnecessary. Cut the unnecessary ones immediately. Review the helpful ones — are there less expensive alternatives? For those crucial costs, negotiate on price or terms.
The Power of Recurring Revenue
One-off sales establish a stressful feast-or-famine cycle. Recurring revenue generates predictable income which allows you to sleep at night.
Subscription models, retainer agreements, membership programs and auto-shipment all build in recurring returns. Instead of having to constantly chase down new customers, you have steady income that increases over time.
And consider ways you could add recurring payments to your business. A restaurant might charge a monthly subscription for its meals. A consultant might sell monthly retainer packages. A traditional product business may want to develop a members only club with special perks.
The magic of recurring revenue is predictability. When you’re certain that $10,000 is going to come in next month from your existing customer base, you can plan better and worry less and focus more on growth rather than survival.
Maximize What’s Already Working
Too many businesses chase new strategies and overlook what’s already working. It’s the equivalent of planting new seeds while allowing your fruit-bearing trees to die.
Analyze your current profit sources. What products sell best? And what are the most profitable services? What are the channels that have the highest customer acquisition? Double down on these winners.
If a product accounts for 40 percent of your profits, how do you sell more? Could you create variations? Bundle it with other items? Market it more aggressively? For the most part, the simplest profit gains result from doing more of what is already working.
This also applies to customers. If 20 percent of your customers generate 80 percent of your profits (a common one), work on keeping them happy and finding more like them.
Strategic Partnerships: How to Increase Your Reach Without Increasing Your Effort
Everything doesn’t have to be on you. Strategic partnerships allow you to tap into new customers, resources and knowledge without the pain of reinventing the world.
Find companies that serve the same customers but are not competitors. Florists, venues, caterers are potential partners of a wedding photographer. A personal trainer might team up with nutritionists and sports equipment shops. These alliances form referral networks that are mutually beneficial.
Joint ventures and partnerships can also broaden your capabilities. If a client requires a service you don’t provide, collaborate with someone who does and share the revenue. This is revenue without you needing to learn new skills or hire new employees.
The secret to having partnerships that don’t stress you out is finding people who share your values and pace of work. A bad partnership induces more stress than working alone, but a good partnership multiplies the results and divides the burdens.
For more insights on building strategic business partnerships, check out Harvard Business Review’s guide on creating successful partnerships.
Master Your Time As If Your Profits Depended On It Because They Do
Time management isn’t just about doing more— It’s about doing the right things that bring more profits. Busy doesn’t equal profitable. You can work 80 hours a week and still have no money coming in if you’re focused on the wrong things.
For a week, begin to notice how you use your time. Record every activity and how much time it occupies. You will likely find that only a fraction of your time is spent on activities that make you money. The remainder is consumed by emails, meetings, administrative chores and fire-fighting.
Now, place your activities in one of three categories: high value generating profit directly; mid-value supporting the generating of profit; and low value, which could be cut or outsourced. The idea is to have 60-70% of what you do in high yield activities.
Delegate or eliminate everything else. If a task is not adding revenue, and only you can do it, ask yourself why? Most businesspeople keep the very tasks they should be delegating for no reason but that “it’s simpler to do myself.” This kind of thinking is what leaves you stressed out and your earnings limited.
The Secret Cash in Customer Retention
It’s also five to seven times more expensive to acquire new customers than it is to hang on to what you’ve already built. But many businesses lavish all their effort chasing new customers, while paying scant attention to the gold mine of people who have already bought from them.
Your current customers already trust you. They have tried your product or service. They are much more likely to buy again, than someone who has yet to make a first purchase. But they are the ones who tend to get pushed aside in favor of flashy ad campaigns designed to attract strangers.
Create a customer retention system. This might be in the form of follow-up emails, loyalty schemes for repeat bookings or exclusive deals, birthday vouchers or just checking in to see if everything was all right. Small gestures create big loyalty.
Your customer lifetime value is the total profit a customer generates over their entire lifespan with your business. A customer who spends once may be worth $100, but if you get them to return repeatedly, they can rack up a thousand dollars in spending over several years. Now spending a little money up front to retain that talent seems to be the sensible thing to do.
Technology Investments That Pay You Back
Technology should be about making your life easier, not more difficult. And the right tools are to multiplying as stress is to adding.
Put your money towards tools that solve a specific problem in the way you run your business. If you often lose track of information about customers, it is time to add a customer relationship management (CRM) system. If you are having a hard time managing inventory, invest in inventory software. If coordination is a nightmare, lean on online booking tools.
It’s the difference between “invest” and “spend.” Technology that works well should justify its existence by saving time, avoiding mistakes or growing revenue. A $50-a-month software subscription that saves you 10 hours of work is a good deal. And those 10 hours can be spent doing things that will net you much more than $50 in profits.
Avoid shiny object syndrome. You don’t have to use every new tool or platform. Pick technology that solves problems you’re actually having. Begin with the most painful issues and work your way down.
Know Your Numbers
You can’t track what you don’t measure, but you also don’t have to turn into an accountant. All you need is an understanding of a handful of crucial numbers that tell you how your business is actually doing.
Three numbers are paramount: gross profit (what you take in after subtracting direct costs), net profit (all that’s left after all expenses) and cash flow (real money going out and coming in). Many businesses that are making sales go broke because they simply run out of cash.
Monitor these figures weekly or monthly at a minimum. The last thing you want is to find out at tax time that you’re losing money. When you can spot your numbers, you can make small course corrections before small things become big ones.
Create straightforward financial dashboards or reports that reveal your key metrics instantly. What you don’t need is complicated spreadsheets — just information that helps you make good choices. Most accounting software programs produce these reports automatically.
Generate Multiple Revenue Streams From One Business
Many of the most stressed business owners depend on just one income source. When that well dries up, it’s panic time. Savvy entrepreneurs figure out how to monetize and profit from their expertise and assets in multiple ways.
Consider what you’ve already been given. If you offer a service, could you create a course showing other people how to do it themselves? If you sell products, could you provide installation, maintenance or consulting services? If you are someone with expertise, could you speak, write or coach?
And most other similar services are relatively easy to maintain once configured. You make the course once and then you can sell it hundreds of times. A brand extension of a product line requires existing production and distribution. Consulting uses what you already know.
The idea isn’t that you should scatter your attention to the winds, but rather wring maximum value from work you’re already doing. The more streams the better, because they are not dependent on any one source.
The Real Secret: Create a Business That Works for Your Life
Here’s the big fat truth about peace and profits: Your business should exist to support your life goals, not eat up your life. Money is one thing, but health and relationships and happiness are other things.
Begin with what constitutes success for you. Is it a certain income level? Is it having time for family? Is it freedom to travel? Is it making an impact? Get real with this; chasing what someone else would call a success is a perfect recipe for stress.
Then build a business around that definition. If freedom matters most, construct systems that allow you to work remotely or even go on lengthy breaks. If impact is the highest priority, then patterns of service matter more than breadth. If income is what matters, optimize for profit margins, not prestige.
So many entrepreneurs create successful businesses they can’t stand. They make jobs they can never leave, tied to duties they hate. Reframe this by asking yourself something daily: “Is this business serving my life, or am I serving this business?”
Your Path Forward: Acting Without Overwhelm
Now that you have learned numerous ways to make more profit without stress. But reading about strategies will do nothing for you — you have to act. But where to begin?
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Sounds like a recipe to me for the very stress you’re seeking to avoid. Instead, choose one action plan that you either like the best or solves your biggest problem right now.
Perhaps that’s pricing, because you know you’re underpricing. Maybe it’s putting one mind-numbing, hour-wasting thing on autopilot, to be done automatically for you each week. Or perhaps it’s just saying no to problem customers so you can spend more time on great ones.
Start there. Just do one of these changes and see the results before you continue on to the next thing. Tiny, steady changes build up over time into huge transformation. You might already be running a more profitable, less stressful business six months from now just by doing these strategies one-at-a-time.
Frequently Asked Questions About Stress Free Profit Growth
How long does it take for these strategies to work?
Some strategies work immediately. Price increases or elimination of unnecessary costs can have an effect on profits within days. Other tactics such as systematizing your business or setting up recurring revenue can be weeks (or months) in the making but offer long-term gains. The majority of business owners notice a significant change within 30 – 90 days when they implement only one or two strategies consistently.
Won’t higher prices lead me to lose customers?
You may lose some price-sensitive customers, but generally you keep most of your customer base and make more profit per sale. After all, the customers you lose are usually your most demanding and least profitable to begin with. Plus, higher prices attract better-quality customers who appreciate your work and cause fewer problems. The results, it seems, generally lead to higher profits without the added headache.
What if I don’t have the funds to invest in automation or tech?
Get started with free or inexpensive tools. Plenty of really good business software is offered on free tiers or under $20 a month. You can even start by automating a single process with free tools such as email autoresponders or scheduling apps. The time you save can be used to do money-making activities, then upgrade tools further down the road. And keep in mind: Automation is an investment that compounds.
How do I know who my ‘perfect’ clients are if I’m just starting?
Start by studying your existing customers or clients, even if there are just a few. Who was easiest to work with? Who paid without complaining? Who appreciated your work? Search for patterns in their attributes, issues, and behaviors. If you’re just starting out, consider who would love your product or service most and receive the best results with it. That is your point of departure for honing in on your ideal customer.
Do any of these strategies apply to any kind of business?
Yes, but you must use them in different ways, depending on the industry. No matter your industry, be it restaurant, consulting firm, online store or service business, you can focus on better customers, price more effectively, cut costs, automate processes and build systems. The particular tactics vary, but the principles are universal. A restaurant could automate reservations; a consultant might automate invoicing; but they both derive value from automation.
What if my business is already making a profit, but I am still stressed?
Profitability without peace probably indicates that you’re trading too much of your time and energy for money. Focus on the things that buy your time back: automation, delegation, systems and recurring revenue. Also explore whether you are serving too many wrong-fit customers, or saying yes to opportunities that drain you. Sometimes less revenue with better margins and more freedom may be the way to go, as opposed to maximum revenue.
How do I figure out what strategy to start with?
Ask yourself two questions: What actually stresses me out the most right now? and What would have the greatest effect on profit with the least amount of effort? The response to these questions will indicate where you begin. If cash flow keeps you up at night, think about recurring revenue and payment terms. If you’re swamped, then investing in automation and systems is where you should be spending. If the profit margins are low, you can begin by focusing on pricing and cost reduction.
Bringing It All Together
Growing your business without driving yourself into the ground isn’t just possible—it’s the only way to build a business that can sustain you in the long run. The techniques in this article provide you with a roadmap to focus more on working smarter instead of just harder as your profits increase.
Be also aware that stress typically occurs when working in the business and not on it. But when you spend all day putting out fires, accommodating the problem customers and doing low-value activities that aren’t your highest pay-off work, you’re running as fast as you can yet getting nowhere at all. You need to deliberately break this cycle, or else you will keep doing what you do.
Start with one strategy today. Choose the one that is most exciting or addresses your greatest frustration. Don’t move on to the next until you are doing it regularly. These are not quick or Band-Aid fixes — they are fundamental shifts in how your business operates.
It may not be the most industrious business owners who succeed. They’re the smartest workers. Businesses that pay them to be free, fulfilled and at peace. Now you know how to do the same.
The first step to stress free profits is choosing to do business differently. Decide that today, take your first step and enjoy seeing both your profits and quality of life grow together.
