How to grow from a five-figure entrepreneur to six-figure entrepreneur

Many online business owners dream of becoming six-figure entrepreneurs. It’s easy to understand why. Crossing the $100,000 profit line is an exciting milestone worth celebrating. And while it’s a dream for many, crossing the six-figure line can feel like an unrealistic business goal.

The good news is that becoming a six-figure entrepreneur is possible. But you have to be ready to take the necessary steps to help you grow from a five-figure to a six-figure business owner.

Five-figure business vs. six-figure business

The difference between a five-figure and a six-figure business is in the numbers. If your business brings in anywhere between $10,000 and $99,999 per year in profit, you’re running a five-figure business. Once you cross the $100,000 mark in profit per year but don’t exceed $999,999, your business is considered a six-figure business.

Another thing that sets five and six-figure businesses apart is structure. Most entrepreneurs can work solo on their business and sustain it while in the five-figure bracket. However, that changes once they cross into six-figure territory. As your business scales, it needs more hands on deck to sustain, so most six-figure entrepreneurs invest in building a team to help them.

The bracket for a six-figure business is very wide, so it’s important to note that there is a difference in the way a business and an entrepreneur running it operates. The structure of your business when you’re making $100,000 might look very different compared to a business that makes $700,000.

How to know when you’re ready to level up to six-figure entrepreneur

Every online entrepreneur is different and will want to run their business the way that best works for them. So, when it comes to finding the answer to the question, “am I ready to level up?” it’s hard to say what works for everyone. Building your money confidence might also be one of the steps to take when trying to level up.

However, if you’re wondering whether your online course business is ready to cross into the six-figure territory, that alone might be a sign that you’re ready.

Here are a few other things that can indicate that you’re ready to scale:

• You feel too comfortable: Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. If you find yourself comfortable in your business, it might signify that you need a new challenge, and it’s time to work on scaling to six figures.
• You reached your income goals: If you have achieved all the income goals you set for your business, you might want to set a new goal and set it higher than before.
• You are in demand: An influx of interest from new clients and students is a sign that you might need to level up and take your business to the next level.

5 Steps to help you transition from five to six-figure entrepreneur

Step 1: A mindset shift

If you want to be a six-figure entrepreneur, the first thing you’ll need is the right mindset. You have to think like a six-figure entrepreneur. You have to believe that you deserve to make money and that your business is valuable to your students.

To become a six-figure business owner, you will need to step away from your business and see the bigger picture. Instead of working inside your business, you’ll want to start working on your business, and that is a huge mindset shift that will require work and time to happen.

There are also things like your time to consider. Five-figure entrepreneurs often trade their time for money. As a six-figure business owner, you’ll want to start looking at your time as your most valuable resource and be protective and strategic about allocating it.

It’s also important to learn to prioritize yourself as an entrepreneur. There are so many hours in a day and so much energy and willpower you can give away. And you want all your energy to go towards the business tasks that matter and bring the most value to your business.

Step 2: Do things you haven’t done before

What got you to five figures in profit won’t necessarily get you to six figures. That’s the way the business works. So, you have to be open to leaving your comfort zone and finding new strategies and ways to scale and grow your business.

For example: Let’s say you have an online course teaching people how to do nail art at home. And your main marketing strategy that brings in new students is social media. To scale your business to six figures, you want to expand your reach and get more eyes on your online courses.

While using social media as an organic way to market your course worked perfectly to help you build a five-figure business, crossing that six-figure mark might require tapping into other marketing channels — like paid advertising. Paid ads on social media will allow you to reach a broader audience and attract new students you need to level up.

Doing new, untested-before things within your business when you want to level up is crucial for success. It will allow you to expand your reach, test your abilities and resilience as an entrepreneur and help you cross that six-figure mark.

Step 3: Connect with other six-figure entrepreneurs

Motivational speaker Jim Rohn said, “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” This sentiment holds a lot of value when it’s time to level up from five to a six-figure business. If you want to scale and grow to a place with your business you haven’t been before, you want to connect with people who are at the level you want to be.

Being surrounded by other high-level business owners will keep you inspired and motivated. It will also help you believe that anything is possible and maybe even open the doors to new opportunities for your business.

There are many ways how you can go about meeting likeminded six-figure entrepreneurs and building honest, meaningful connections with them:

• Connect on social: Follow business owners you admire and interact with the content they publish on their social media profiles. With time, they’ll notice you, and you’ll be able to further connect with them on a more personal level.
• Attend conferences: This is the best place to meet like-minded entrepreneurs. Everyone attends conferences ready to learn new things and meet other business owners who share the same fate. So, look up local conferences you’re interested in and attend a few.
• Join online communities: Online business communities are a great way to connect with other entrepreneurs. For a monthly fee, you get access to business resources and private groups where you can talk and connect with other six-figure business owners.

Step 4: Automate and outsource

If you want to take your business to the next level, you’ll need to review your current business systems and determine what works and what needs to go to make space for something better. You’ll also want to decide what needs to be automated within your business, so you can better manage your time.

Things like generating invoices, processing payments, and sending out email marketing campaigns should be automated to utilize your time working on your business. The same goes for admin tasks like answering emails and writing social media captions. Outsource these low-level tasks to make time for more important ones like launching a new online course.

Step 5: Invest in your business

Running a six-figure business requires more investment back into the business. Here are a few examples of where you will be investing your money:

• Business coaching
• Hiring a team
• More advanced tools
• High-level training
• Insurance
• Office space

As a six-figure business owner, you’ll want to get comfortable with investing in your business when it’s needed. You might want to start by investing in coaching to help you with the personal mindset shift and invest in building your team to help you manage and grow your business.

At the start, spending a lot of money on your business can be scary. But if the investment will help you level up, it will pay off in the long term.

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