6 steps to build a six-figure business 2023

Building a business requires a lot of determination, discipline and hard work. It is said that 1 out of 5 new businesses fail within the first year and this could be for a number of reasons. Some of those reasons could be: running out of cash, not selling enough or simply no longer having the burning desire to keep going.

Whatever the reason may be, this blog will discuss 6 steps to build a six-figure business and is based on my own personal experience of building my accountancy firm (AO Accountants Ltd) from 0 to 6 figures within 5 years.

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1. Build on your passion.

When times get tough and lonely in business, your passion will always pull you through. This is why it is essential you build a business based on what you have passion for. Possessing passion for your business is a major step to build a six-figure business because passion will always show in the services or product you produce. Servicing a client’s needs, with passion for what you do, is a key aspect in getting your business off the ground.

In the early days of my first business, I always had a burning desire to get the business off the ground. This meant I was always working on the business every chance I got and to me, this was not work, it was building my passion which I enjoyed then and still enjoying 6 years later.

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2. Start now. Start today.

Following on from the first point above, you will never truly be 100% ready to start building a six-figure business. I recommend you start now and start today with the resources you have to hand. The earlier you start building your business, the earlier you get the business out into the world and the sooner you can start attracting clients. The easiest place to start is to decide a business name and incorporate the business, this takes about 30 minutes to do via Rapid Formations.

I incorporated AO Accountants in January 2016 and looking back on that time I would not say I was 100% ready but I decided to start anyways. Little did I know that a series of small steps everyday for a number of years would lead to a six-figure business. I recall being in a full-time job at that point but on my lunch break I would be designing my business logo or adding content to my draft website. I did something small but significant every day and this was key in building my six-figure business.

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Little did I know that a series of small steps everyday for a number of years would lead to a six-figure business

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3. Build while employed for stability.

It is understandable that building any business may take some time before generating income to overtake your full-time job. You can build your business while being employed full-time. The benefit of this is that you get stability with a regular income whilst taking small but mighty steps to build your business in your spare time. This regular income will ensure you keep the bills paid, able to provide for yourself and/or your family and also able to spend small amounts on getting your business off the ground.

As mentioned above, I was working on my business while I was employed full-time. This allowed me to get paid every month while building the business of my dreams. I recall putting about £900 into the business account at the very beginning to help pay for things such as a good quality logo, very basic website and licence costs etc. Without a full-time job, there was no way I would be able to put money into the business and watch it grow over the years.

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4. Always add value to customers.

Adding value to your customers should always be at the fore-front of any business decisions you make. Afterall, your customers are the biggest asset in your business. You should be willing to go the extra mile regardless of any monetary benefit you would receive in return and with this kind of mindset, you will be sure to build a six-figure business. You quickly learn that word of mouth is a hugely significant form of advertising in the business world. By adding value to current customers, they will in turn recommend your business to others.

Having built my business over the years without spending much on marketing, it became apparent that word of mouth was the best form of advertising. I worked with numerous clients who were extremely satisfied with the service provided and in turn recommended people they knew. This saw AO Accountants onboarding new clients almost every month and we ensured to add value to every single client.

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5. Keep improving systems and processes.

Establishing great systems and processes is vital for the survival of any business. Systems and processes are like the foundations of business and it is essential to get it right from day one if you are to build a six-figure business. Cloud technology is a massive component in business nowadays so getting onto the cloud and building processes around the cloud are highly recommended. Businesses are slowly transitioning away from rigid desktop software which meant you had to be in a certain place to be able to access business documents etc. The introduction of cloud technology means that business owners can now access business records from any device and location in the world.

A major factor in setting up my first business was that cloud technology was still relatively new and I was keen to offer Accountancy services via cloud software. This meant I could provide real-time information to my clients, which would allow them to make key business decisions. The internal software we used at the very beginning are not what we use today, so it is imperative to keep improving systems and procedures in order to build a six-figure business.

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6. Niche, Niche, Niche.

There are many benefits to niching your business such as positioning your business as experts within a particular field. After a few years in business, you may realise there is a particular customer profile you enjoy working with more than others. If that is the case, you should look into niching to this particular customer profile which in turn means you add more value and are more likely to enjoy your work at the same time. Niching your business may also be in line with rebranding your business as a whole, which could give your business a brand-new look and direction.

It took me about 4 years to rebrand and niche my accountancy business to creative companies and individuals. These were the customers I enjoyed working with the most and decided to pivot the business around this particular customer profile. Since pivoting the business, we have noticed a significant increase in leads and the main reason we get from customers is that they prefer working with an expert in their particular field. This meant that they could refer us to their friends and network. It is highly likely that their network contains people just like them and this could do wonders for building your six-figure business.

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In summary, building a six-figure business is not an easy goal to accomplish but with the help of the above steps, it should put you in the right direction. There are other ways to scale a business rapidly such as acquisitions, but who is to say you have access to large capital especially in the early days of your business. The 6 steps above are based on my own personal experience of guiding my first business AO Accountants from 0 to 6 figures in 6 years.

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Photo by Andrea Natali on Unsplash

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