If someone asked us, “What do you believe allowed your business to experience meaningful growth over the past 3 years?” We would say, “Productivity.”

You see, about 6 months after we ‘launched’ With Grace and Gold, we hit a roadblock; as our business gained momentum, we were at a stand-still. How could we manage our new clients? How many clients could we manage? How could we serve our clients well and market our business along the way?

After months of trial-and-error, our business soon became a well-oiled machine. We were able to serve our clients wholeheartedly, determine how many clients we could manage in a given month or season, and we could market our business consistently along the way.

3 Productivity Practices That Increased Our Revenue

1. We eliminated distractions. We determined designated business hours. We realized that ‘dabbling’ in work for 12 hours per day was not only unhealthy, but it was also unproductive. We learned to stop believing ‘activity’ was ‘progress.’ We turned off our push notifications, we created designated ‘office’ areas in our homes, and we focused wholeheartedly on the task(s) at hand. By giving our undivided attention to our business during those set business hours, we were able to work more productively – and to produce better work as a result.
2. We started saying no a lot more. As our business began to flourish, we began to receive e-mails about various opportunities: presentations, speaking engagements, app reviews, and more. While at the start of our business journey, we may have said yes — we eventually learned to say yes to the opportunities aligned with our vision and mission in mind. If the opportunity doesn’t align with our vision and mission, we say, “Thank you so much for your consideration! At this season in our business, we are unable to participate.” Saying no has become easier to do, because we know that, by saying no, we’re giving the best experience possible to our clients — and that’s what business is all about!
3. We eliminated areas of our business we couldn’t manage. Would you believe With Grace and Gold began as a branding and web design business and a print shop? (Yes, we designed fun prints for your home or office!) Within months, we eliminated this area of our business, because we simply couldn’t manage to serve our clients well and run a print shop. While we love prints — and we loved designing them, we knew our print shop wasn’t furthering the mission and vision of our business. In fact, it was taking away from the mission and vision of our business. Is there a productivity-draining area of your business you’re holding onto?

A combination of these practices — and some major system-creation within our business allowed us to flourish emotionally, creatively, and financially.

Since 2014, With Grace and Gold has provided brand and web design for creative small business owners. Hire With Grace and Gold or shop With Grace and Gold’s pre-made designs and Showit website templates – and come away with an elevated brand and web design for your small business!