In a different life, I worked hospitality and I mainly worked as a waitress for small events companies.
I generally enjoyed it, especially when I worked with my chosen A-Team. We had so much fun during our shifts.
Around Christmas time, business boomed. At some venues, 2 or 3 events could be running alongside each other and by the time Christmas day came around, I was toast. I couldn’t bear the thought of the day, simply wanting to be locked in a padded room all by myself. I didn’t even need snacks. I had plenty of those in the 6 weeks leading up to it (I still think about those crispy prosciutto-wrapped scallops and salivate. They oozed deliciousness).
Throughout the year, the same packages would be on offer but the rooms would never be chock-full of people.
Bodies were wedged in so tight, you could barely get a tray with hors d’oeuvres through a crowd. Especially not when you had the canapé-vultures standing at the kitchen door ready to swoop on you as soon as you walked out with full platters (if you’re guilty of this behaviour, that’s what we called you).
At any other time of the year, we could set the tables and leave plenty of room between seats, allowing people to move their arms freely while dining.
During Silly Season, however, not an inch of space was available between the chairs at sit-down dinner. Place settings were just about on top of each other and I pity the people who wanted to try butter a roll, reach for their wine or tried to cut a piece of steak. It was tight!
At the cocktail parties, if you happened to have picked a spot at the wrong end of the space your fate was sealed to never see a morsel of food or a drop of alcohol. You needed crowd-surfing skills to achieve either of these options.
When it got to the end-of-year shenanigans, maximum capacity was definitely (over)reached for each and every room occupied in the venue.
Why am I telling you this story?
While it definitely wasn’t pleasant for those attending the party, it was the only time of the year where the $/head calculation actually made the company a decent profit.
*cue intro to your business*
In your business, you kinda want to sit quite close to the no-inch-between the chairs when it gets to your capacity and working ‘at capacity’.
Working at capacity = You’re bursting with opportunity, customers and money!
You have a waiting list of clients waiting to pay you and you have no way you could serve them. It’s not a thought in your head, a wish, an idea, the line is there.
What it also means is that you work in a super-efficient and productive way. The reason why you can’t serve those clients is not that you procrastinate, watch a season too much of your favourite Netflix show or went down a rabbit hole on the internet (my favourite is reading up on unsolved murder cases. I still feel I could have been a profiler for the FBI).
It’s because you aren’t able to give the service that makes you the most money in your business because you have a full client roster and still do all the administrative tasks yourself too.
For solopreneurs, that’s what I call the sweet spot! It’s THE perfect moment to start laying the foundation to hire a team member.
This is the time, where you are bogged down with tasks that you can outsource for let’s say $40/hour while you can make upwards from $300/hour then you know the time is right!
That’s the room filled with the maximum number of people at the event it’s able to accommodate and gets maximum return on investment.
If you work at capacity and you have smooth systems set-up tried & tested by you over and over again and you also know exactly what your behind-the-scenes tasks are and how long they take to execute, you’re definitely ready to put the ‘We’re Hiring’ sign out there.
When women talk to me, telling me they’re frantic, overwhelmed and just want things taken off their plate and when I dig deeper they don’t even know what they have on that plate, I know that they don’t find themselves in the above situation.
You’re treating your business as the venue hiring out the best room for the least amount of people attending and throwing money out the window.
Learning the skill to balance your calendar with business and personal items, work efficiently, build your client list and run your business as lean as possible when you are growing is priceless.
Maximum Efficiency = more revenue
This doesn’t mean you’ll feel suffocated or put into a straightjacket. I promise you, you’ll have time to let your mind roam freely, have more free time and get more done than you ever thought possible.
Doubting Thomas? Hmmmm…
But slightly curious?
Let’s chat and allow me to completely geek out on efficiency and adding more money to your wallet.
Book an obligation-free call with me here. I love to connect with other business owners and hear what you’re up to.
Planning will set you free.
Love,
Joyce xo