When you are choosing to spend your time, energy, money, etc on ANY type of task or idea, any goal or plan... Do you know what the return on investment IS for that thing? It's time for you to do a small business ROI audit!
Topics we're addressing in this article:
- Why doing a small business ROI audit is so important.
- Know Your ROI (return on investment): the video version of this blog post!
- 6-question small business ROI audit.
- Example of the ROI audit in action, using my Productivity Powerhouse e-course.
- Your next steps after doing the small business ROI audit.
Who am I to speak on this topic?
Hi! I'm Sagan, a Solopreneur Productivity Coach — I work with clients to create customized anti-hustle productivity strategies, develop your intrapersonal skills, increase personal fulfillment in your business and life, improve your work/life balance, and elevate your experience as a solopreneur!
I've been in business for over a decade in a variety of industries (started out as a freelance writer and editor, did some social media management and nutrition consulting for a while, and worked as a professional blogger before becoming a coach for other solopreneurs)...
...so as you can imagine, I've done quite a few ROI audits over the years 🙂
Why doing a small business ROI audit is so important
Knowing the ROI in your business is important because it can help you determine whether it's "worth it" to do that thing or not — or if there's something else that would be a better use of your time/energy/money etc.
One of the major problems that many solopreneurs struggle with is trying to juggle it all, and to keep on top of all the many tasks in their business.
...But by being a lot more strategic and continuing to evaluate everything in your business — at every step along the way — you'll be able to save yourself a TON of time, energy, and money.
You can do a simple ROI audit for basically ANYTHING in your solopreneur business!
Do you prefer watching/listening to reading? Here's the video version of this blog post:
How does the small business ROI audit work?
Take anything that's on your mind or your to-do list, and plug it into this simple assessment...
- What is your desired ROI with that thing? (AKA, what do you hope and/or expect to get from it? Why are you considering it? What are the benefits of doing this, and what attracted you to it?)
- Is that desired outcome worth the time/energy/monetary investment you intend to give? (You can often break this down by doing simple math here, and assigning a dollar or time value to that item)
- If you do NOT do this thing, how does it affect you? (Also take into account how it affects your business!)
- What would MAKE it worth it to you? (Would something else sweeten the pot for you? You might realize at this point that the thing isn't worth it to you, in which case, you can end the assessment here!)
- What happens if you do NOT get that desired result? (In other words, is the chance of GETTING your desired ROI worth more to you than the possibility of NOT getting your desired ROI?)
- What needs to happen, or to change, or to do more research into, in order to improve the ROI on this thing? (E.g. What questions could you ask, what guarantees are in place, what additional options could you add-on to improve the odds of getting your desired results?)
Doing this simple ROI audit helps relieve some of the unnecessary "busy work" you might be doing right now — which means you'll be able to overcome toxic productivity and escape hustle culture as a result of doing a solopreneur ROI audit.
The other benefit is that it also helps to relieve any FOMO you might be experiencing!
Why? Because you won't have to feel like you're missing out on a thing: You have strategically assessed it, and you KNOW that you've made the best decision.
You are eliminating the potential for regret by doing a small business ROI audit for EVERYTHING in your solopreneur business.
Anyway, I'm sharing it with you today because I was using this ROI audit while I was applying some Productivity Powerhouse methods to my own business, and I wanted you to benefit, too 🙂
(Productivity Powerhouse is my signature anti-hustle e-course designed especially for solopreneurs to take back your time/energy, attain personal fulfillment and professional excellence, get clear and focused on your goals, and become a motivated action-taker. I use the Productivity Powerhouse methods every day in my own life and business!)
While we're on the subject of ROI and Productivity Powerhouse...
Example of the small business ROI audit
Let's plug Productivity Powerhouse into the above ROI assessment so you can see how this works:
1) What's your desired ROI?
Put simply, Productivity Powerhouse gives you more time, energy, confidence, productivity, organization, joy in your work, better boundaries and communication, and improved work/life balance.
Typical results = saving 6 - 8 hours/week (and a number of people save 10+ hours/week), along with increased energy to use that time however you please!
In this case, an example of your desired ROI is time freedom.
2) What's your investment?
This e-course is a one-time payment of $1,197.
Even if you ONLY saved 4 hours/week in Productivity Powerhouse, (which, as mentioned above, would be quite low in comparison to the typical results people get) and if you didn't get ANYTHING else from the above Desired ROI — and I KNOW that you'll get at least *some* of the above! — you'd still save 208 hours in the first year alone.
Productivity Powerhouse compounds interest:
You continue to save that time, PLUS MORE as you fine-tune your skills, for years to come. You can imagine how many hours have been freed up by those solopreneurs who joined the program when I first launched it in 2019!
So the question is this:
Is getting back 200+ hours of your time worth spending $1,197?
...If you value your time at more than $6/hour — which I KNOW that you do — then YES, it is worth it!
3) What happens if you DON'T get Productivity Powerhouse?
You'll be exactly where you are right now — and that may include:
- Feeling tired or overwhelmed by everything on your task list.
- Being scattered and frustrated.
- Stuck burned out and over-working (yet somehow not seeming to get farther ahead in business).
- Constantly reactive rather than proactive in your actions.
- Always scrambling to put out fires.
- Not making the progress you want on your goals.
4) What makes Productivity Powerhouse worth it to you?
Is your time and energy worth it?
Is enjoying your business, creating higher-quality work, and having better work/life balance, worth it?
Productivity Powerhouse does this for you.
5) What happens if you DON'T get your desired ROI?
Even if you don't get all of your desired ROI, you'll still be better off than where you are if you're currently spinning your wheels and overwhelmed!
(And also, this blog post answers this exact question for you.)
6) What can you do to *guarantee* your results with Productivity Powerhouse?
If you have ANY questions about Productivity Powerhouse, feel free to contact hello[at]saganmorrow[dot]com so we can discuss!
But otherwise, I want you to know that I've designed Productivity Powerhouse so that it dramatically increases your chances of success.
The curriculum is robust, featuring a variety of tools to keep you accountable depending on your learning style and how your brain works, and it is extremely step-by-step...
...plus it's fully customizable so that you can make it work best for YOU.
Now it's your turn...
You've seen the ROI audit in action with our example of inserting Productivity Powerhouse into the 6-question assessment — and now, you can do the same with ANYTHING in your solopreneur business!
For example, you can use this small business ROI audit to help you make decisions about...
- Taking a certification program, doing continuing education, or enrolling in an online course.
- Creating a brand-new offer for clients and customers.
- Investing in software or other business tools to help manage the day-to-day operations.
- Joining a solopreneur productivity coaching program.
- Collaborating with others in your industry.
- ...etc!
Your next step after the ROI audit
Your next step is to make the decision, one way or another:
After everything you went through in the assessment, does the thing feel "worth it" to you — or not?
Only YOU know the answer to that question!
Bringing it back to our Productivity Powerhouse example...
What do you think:
Are you ready to experience this kind of ROI, and get back your time and energy in business?
Productivity Powerhouse is designed especially for solopreneurs — just like you! — to help you attain time freedom, overcome toxic productivity, enjoy a true lifestyle business, experience your dream version of work/life balance, fall back in love with your business, and eliminate burnout...
...You'll learn how to become a cozy business, anti-hustle productivity ROCKSTAR!
