Q4 2016 started off dire. A much needed vacation unfortunately meant no revenue for the entire month of October. But we finished strong. Read on to find out more.
October was a very rough month. Two vacations, one in September, another in October, meant that I wasn't working much on dealflow. The consequence was absolutely zero revenue for the month of October. While the vacations were much needed, I definitely learned a lesson about just how quickly the work can dry up when you're not actively doing sales.
Thankfully in November we picked up a very good gig with a non-profit in the climate change space. They had 3 projects and some very tight deadlines. We successfully delivered all 3 projects on time and I got an opportunity to do some project management while the rest of the team did the bulk of the development.
The climate change client work carried us through the end of the year and we wrapped with them in mid January.
2016 saw total revenues of ~$185k, growing ~300% from the previous year. This translates to an average monthly revenue of ~$15k/mo and average monthly margin of ~74%.
Reflecting on 2016, we made a number of mistakes that I think we can avoid next year and hopefully grow revenue even more.
We wasted a great deal of time trying to market high dollar services via cold email. High dollar products/services are difficult to sell via email as there simply hasn't been enough trust built up with potential customers. Perhaps if our audience was larger we could have pitched our existing audience but my belief is that we're still too small. Unfortunatley the idea of systematizing a sales pipeline sounded fantastic and it distracted me for at least 2 months.
I have a number of goals for 2017 including more conferences and speaking engagements. We're going to actively try some inbound marketing, as opposed to solely outbound. I already have 1 speaking engagement lined up for Q1, I'll be booking several more for the year, and I'm headed to MicroConf in April.
Another goal for 2017 is to launch another digital product or service. We need some other revenue stream beyond our consulting services. I'm super proud of our P&L for 2016, especially given it was our first real year in business, but in order to progress we need to either increase deal flow and/or release a killer product or service that really resonates with customers. Stay tuned for a couple launch emails in the coming months.
If you're interested in working with us or know any one who might be, get in touch with us via our contact page. We are currently paying 15% for referrals, so hit up your network and get in touch!
As always, thank you all for your love and support. Wishing you all a fantastic 2017. If you find these useful, or have any questions, don't hesitate to comment or reach out!
