“How much money can I really make?”

Hello Friend!

The one year build-up to me finally taking the leap was agonizing.

The leap? Leaving a highly paid, C-level job to pursue my big, hairy, audacious goal of writing a book and launching my own business.

My heart was fully in. My mind wasn’t.

And the reason for that? You might’ve guessed it… financial security.

“If I leave, how much money can I really make?”

All three of my kids were still at home, and being a responsible provider heavily weighed on me.

It felt financially reckless to make the leap. So, I stalled. To be honest, it was a mental mind fuck.

The conversation I was having with myself wasn’t unique.

In fact, today it’s one of the top questions I get from people who are considering launching something of their own or people who are in the middle of building it.

They wonder whether they’re going to be able to pay their bills, put food on the table, and in many cases, maintain a standard of living they’re comfortable with.

If this is you, you’re in the right place.

Limiting Beliefs

Let’s start with mindset. A decision to leave is actually a trading of risks.

There’s the risk of staying. Most people view staying as “no risk.” But we know that’s fundamentally wrong. In companies, we can still experience negative events that impact our financial security. Layoffs. Corporate restructuring. Missed bonuses.

And there’s the risk of leaving. What if I don’t make as much money as I did? Or no money at all? While the risk of staying is often discounted, the risk of leaving is often overstated.

Here’s why: if your employer is paying your salary, they are only doing it because they are completely certain they can pay you less than market rate. If there isn’t an ROI, it doesn’t make sense for them to keep you on payroll. They would just outsource you.

And with so many companies driving aggressive AI restructuring, the ROI is less and less for them to keep you.

Knowing all of this, it’s important to ground the financial risk in reality, not some false fear narrative.

Market Rate

Your value in the marketplace (not in life) is tied to the size of the problems you solve. So understanding what’s feasible from a money POV starts there.

As an example, one of my client’s organizational health work generates excellent income. It’s because when executive teams aren’t on the same page, it can cost their business millions or even tens of millions of dollars.

The same is true for you. If you were starting your own thing tomorrow, or even started something yesterday, what is it costing your potential clients to live with the unsolved problem they have?

The higher the cost of the problem, the higher income potential you could expect.

How Much Time Can You Save Your Client?

What I’ve learned in my 11-year entrepreneurial journey is that potential clients don’t usually say no because of price. Instead, they say no if the time commitment for them is too high.

When you launch your own products or services, there are three different models of delivery that impact price.

Done By You, Done With You, and Done For You.

Done By You requires your client to do most/all of the work on their own. This is like selling a digital course or a book. You’re providing insights, but they have to apply it on their own. This provides the least amount of value to your clients. So the ticket price is lower and requires massive funnels to convert.

Done With You requires your client to do some of the work, but you are guiding them through the process. With this, you accelerate their time to value and help them shortcut around common pitfalls. This includes offers like 1:1 coaching, group coaching, workshops, etc. This is a higher ticket value than Done By You and really varies in income potential.

Done For You requires little to no work from your client. In fact, they're outsourcing it all to you. They want you to do the thing for them, which provides tremendous value through time savings and leverage. Examples include leading projects, designing and/or implementing solutions, etc. This is usually the highest ticket value but will likely limit the number of clients you can serve.

And there’s more…

This newsletter is already pretty lengthy, but there are a few more factors you should know about.

So, I want to invite you to a free upcoming Zoom session where I’ll be answering this question more fully. And this will include plenty of time for an ask me anything on everything related to how much money you could really make.

This will also include me being fully transparent about where I made most of my money and how much I made in those categories.

And we’ll even have time for 1-2 people to share their ideas, and I’ll spitball live what I think it’ll be worth in the marketplace.

I’ll have a special guest, Patricia Wooster. She’s my partner in The Unignorable Business Studio. Together we’ve helped entrepreneurs position and price their offer, overcome much of the marketing/sales brain damage that most people dread, and help them achieve profitable growth.

We’re meeting at 3pm ET on Thursday, July 30th. It’s going to be a casual environment where we can all learn from each other.

To attend, send an email to chris@theunignorable.com with “I’m in!” and I’ll send you a Zoom link.

There won’t be a recording of the session so if you want to learn, you need to be there.

Your coach,
Chris

P.S. Patricia and I open the next Unignorable Business Studio cohort in August. Most experts waste time and money building their own business. You shouldn't have to. Ten live sessions. Small private room. We help you design, launch, and sell your offer. Learn more about how this program can specifically help you.

Here’s what Dr. Julie Basler said about her experience:

“I left a career as a college president to build Strong Teams, and I had the expertise but not the packaging. Chris and Patricia gave me both: a real offer, a name for it, and sales language I could actually use. Ten weeks in, and I have something concrete to put in front of buyers instead of a vague idea in my head. If you’re an experienced leader trying to turn what you know into a real business, this is the fastest way to get there. These two are a powerhouse and a wealth of knowledge. I am so thankful I learned from the best of the best.”