TL;DR: This Week in The Digital CEO Weekly
✅ A hidden lesson inside my recent viral reel, and why low engagement doesn't always mean low impact.
✅ Real indicators of profitability that most business owners miss (plus my free 12-page Profitability Playbook to help you spot them fast).
From the Desk of James Wedmore:
This week, we're talking about one of the most important conversations that we can never get enough of: profitability.
It's been a recent conversation on my podcast and inside my programs, and I want to make sure I have that convo with you here in the newsletter.
AND... I also want to update you on other things that I'm working on, like...
I WENT VIRAL! 1.7 Million Views!
Yes, this week I created a brand new Instagram account and I went viral! A 7-second video got over 1.7 million views in 3 days! That's insane.
This is my dedicated account where I'm documenting the Star Wars-themed movie theater that I'm building out in my basement. Apparently, there's a lot of people that want to watch my journey!
(If you wanna follow along too, click here!)
Now, I share this for a few reasons. The first reason: it's not you!
Look, the reality is... my team and I put a ton of time and effort into the content we put out on the James Wedmore account. We are so happy if a reel gets over 5,000 views. That's a huge win!
Yet here's a couple of random videos on this new account that are all DIY in nature and they immediately blow up! Haha!
Consider the fact that if you're in the coaching or teaching business, that's not the primary thing that people want when they go to Instagram. People aren't going to Instagram because they want to be educated. No, it's distraction, it's short-form entertainment. So when you put your tutorial videos and coaching content on Instagram and you have low views, just remember that's OK! Because it's quality, not quantity.
However, I will make an argument that all of us should be doing long-form content. Long-form is where people are actually learning, and because it's long-form, they spend more time with you.
There's another reason I'm sharing this account with you. I love to have fun, and you need to as well. Business can be tough and it can also be extremely rewarding, but regardless, it's important that you have a life outside of your business. Your business is here to give you energy, give you life... not take it away.
I am having an absolute blast building this Star Wars movie theater and collaborating with Jennifer on all the ways that we can design it. And I believe at my core: when you are happy, having fun and following your heart, anything and everything you do will be successful.
Ok... now the Profitability Stuff:
First, I want to let you know I've gone ahead and written an extensive 12-page report. It's absolutely free, and it dives into all of the specifics of how I believe any digital product-based business or coaching business should operate to stay profitable.
You can access it here:
https://www.jameswedmoretraining.com/offers/ytdSiSBY
There's nothing for sale. No pitch, no funnel, nothing. Just 12 pages of what I think will really help with the profit margins in your business.
Most of the gurus don't talk about this stuff because it isn't fun, sexy, or exciting. However, profitability is exciting.
Here are just a few of the things that I cover in that report that you should keep your attention on immediately:
👉 The health of your business is measured by the profitability percentage.
👉 This profitability percentage needs to be at least 50% for digital product-based businesses after you're making $40,000 a year in revenue.
👉 It's also important to note that this percentage is calculated by taking your total gross revenue and subtracting operating expenses.
I see a lot of people miscalculate the true profitability in their business. That's understandable; there's a lot of things that you can invest in, and your CPA will advise you to write off for tax purposes, like that course you bought or the mastermind you joined or the consultant you hired.
These are all expenses that you would probably be advised to write off. Wonderful! But those aren't operating expenses.
The true health of your business is measured by how much you made minus how many operating expenses you had that were required to make that money. It's more common than not that businesses, even when they're making good money, are not that profitable.
If there's one principle and key truth that I could share with you: your lack of profitability... is NOT a sales problem.
Let me say that again for the kids in the back of the room. If you're struggling to maintain a healthy profit margin, more sales ain't ever gonna fix it. Just like a leaky bucket full of holes doesn't get solved by pouring more water into the bucket.
This is a spending problem. Period.
You see, when entrepreneurs start making money, they tend to have less time. When they have less time, they just throw money at the problems that they don't have the time to fix. They end up wasting that money on things that don't have ROI.
They hire overpriced freelancers or expensive website packages, or they hire way too early, spend way too much and attract team members that never produce ROI or a value for the company.
If this is you, please make sure you read through the entire report that I created. I tell you when you should start hiring, who and how much you should pay if you want to maintain this profit margin.
But I will reiterate: once your business is making over $40,000 per year, you need to maintain a 50% profit margin minimum, or else you are spending recklessly and unneccessarily.
And I'll even go as far as saying this: if you can't clean up or get your business to a profitable level now, it's damn near impossible to get it to the next level.
This conversation and topics like it are so important. Everyone WANTS to own a business today, but few people ever ask themselves if they want to actually be a business owner. The reality is that running a business is a skill, and it's not the skill of an entrepreneur. This is what people don't really understand.
Entrepreneurs don't make great leaders or great business owners. Entrepreneurs are just capitalistic inventors. They start stuff, they have great ideas, they take risks, but a business owner is someone that builds something sustainable, something that lasts, something with a solid foundation.
I've been saying this for years now, but it's for the call of the death of the entrepreneur.
If you truly want a business that gives you the life, the freedom, and the fulfillment that you want... You're going to need to learn how to be a business owner and how to build the business like an actual business.
That's why I hope you'll stick around and continue to read snippets of my weekly newsletter, because that's where I want to share these things with you.
Consider, as you're listening or reading what I'm saying, that the individual writing this is someone that has now been doing this for 20 years. I have been consistently building, growing, and scaling a business for 20 years.
I understand you want to learn the latest Instagram hacks from your favorite influencer, and you should! But not at the behest of the true, lasting principles and philosophies of creating something that can stand the test of time. A healthy, lean, and mean profitable business machine that gives you life.
That's the goal. That's a BUSINESS BY DESIGN.
Thank you :-)
-James
New on The Mind Your Business Podcast:
The Best-Kept Secrets to Creating Million Dollar Messaging in Your Business
I recently hosted my three-day Million Dollar Messaging workshop, exclusively for our Next Level members – and this is one I run every single year for a reason.
Because when your messaging is dialed in, it becomes part of the 5% of activities that create 95% of the results in your business.
And the breakthroughs? Pretty wild. Like...
I wanted to share this gold with you too, so in this episode I'm breaking down how to create messaging that doesn't just "sound good", but actually makes your audience feel seen, connect with you deeply and naturally want what you're offering.
