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Monetizing, Scaling – Making Smart Choices Affects Your Advocacy Practice and Income
An email this week comes from one of our APHA members, who I will call Bernice, who reminds me of how easy it is to lose sight of what is important to us when it comes to building our advocacy practices. Bernice is in the process of entering a business plan competition which, if she wins, will provide her with a $10,000 grant to help her grow her practice. Her concern is, that in order to win the money, she is going to have to write a business plan that’s about “going big.” From her email to me: “We have retired execs who are mentors, and they just don’t see how I’m going to go “big” with this business.” So she wanted to know if I have suggestions for how to build that in. “So, as I push forward to make this a “winning” business plan entry, what do you see as the most viable way to monetize our businesses to take it up several notches?” A few important points for all of us to consider: Bernice is asking about two aspects of growing a business: monetizing and scaling. Monetizing simply means finding more ways to maximize the income from the work she is doing. Scaling refers to the growth of a business – more products or services, more employees, more customers and of course, bigger income to support all of that (and hopefully more profitability too.) To which I say… whoa! Wait a minute! Who says any of that is important? Now, at first I expect you’re reading those words and laughing. Of course they are important! (you’re thinking.) Who doesn’t want their business to make more money and to grow bigger? To which I will respond… Making more money? Of course. But growing bigger? Maybe you DO and maybe you DON’T. The answer lies within your own goals. When you decided to become an advocate, what picture of your own work did you have in your head? Did you picture yourself as the advocate – the person doing the advocating? Do you see yourself working hand-in-hand with your…
