How to translate support into capacity (and revenue)
Many thought leaders get excited about sales and run with the dopamine. (me included)
Often in a scoping and proposal process, the prep and the communications in between aren't factored in. The same happens on a calendar.
It's like forgetting travel time between meetings - technically you can get from the 2pm to the 3pm, but you'll arrive frazzled.
The Numbers Game Changes With Support
Let's spell out the reality of what it takes to run a thought leadership practice with life by design. I assume you don't have a job because the idea of working full-time hours is simply not for you. So let's assume you want to average 30 hours per week.
Realistically, without a team member, your capacity for delivery (including prep time) will sit around 15 hours. This will fluctuate depending on primary mode - speakers and facilitators have more travel and prep time than mentors and coaches.
When you bring on a team member, you're able to outsource a bunch of the things blocking you from more delivery and creativity time. Anecdotally, I've heard a few business owners say, "When I bring on a business manager, I can easily see the relationship between my sales going up (~$100k year over year)."
And you'll see here in this practical example that the numbers add up:
If you now have the capacity for 20 hours of delivery instead of 15, all the while your admin, finance, and positioning/marketing presence doesn't take a hit, here's what can happen:
Work 48 weeks per year
5 additional hours of delivery at ~$500 per hour = $120k
(Now I realise you don't charge by the hour, that's the point, but please indulge me for the sake of this scenario)
Remember, this is based on a team member only taking over 5-10 hours of work per week. So we're talking about a $20-30k investment for that return. #nobrainer.
If you invest in someone for 20-30 hours per week, your gains multiply from there. Delivery prep can be outsourced and leveraged, giving you another 10 hours of capacity per week. And they have the capacity to build systems that minimise heavy admin work and pay dividends for your business into the future.
At this level of support, you're looking at:
Client onboarding and project management
Content creation and social media management
Systems building and process optimisation
Travel coordination and logistics
Advanced CRM management and reporting
This could bring your delivery capacity to 25+ hours per week - that's an additional 10 hours from your original 15. At $500/hour over 48 weeks, that's another $240k in revenue potential.
And the key is that while you're deep in delivery doing the things you love - your content is staying fresh, your website, your blogs, your email communications are all ticking along so you can avoid the dreaded feast and famine cycle that is all too common.
You know the pattern: intense delivery phase (feast) where marketing stops, followed by scrambling for new clients (famine) because your pipeline went cold. With proper support, your marketing and positioning efforts keep humming while you're in delivery mode.
But it's not all about the money. It's about the freedom and energy that this support creates that translates to you:
having more impact
having more time to develop your IP which creates legacy-style content
actually enjoying the business you built instead of feeling trapped by it
the safety in your nervous system that cultivates value-aligned decisions
Remember: this isn't about working less for the sake of working less. It's about designing a business that supports the life you actually want to live, while creating the impact you're here to make.
What would become possible if you could focus purely on delivery and impact?
Thinking of you and your impact....
Katee
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