The information to Win in Business, the information to Win in Life, all wrapped up in one winning, weekly email. Winformation Weekly.

My 14 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m as well as the life that goes with it.

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Simon Says

Winformation this week...

It’s Winformation’s 1st birthday! One whole year of stripped back advice and insight from the world of entrepreneurship and business operation. You won’t get rented Lambos and copied Instagram captions here. This is real world, lived experience from someone that has grown a business from two slow laptops in a garage to a £100m Sunday Times UK Employer of the Year. Now..self publicising intro over, in the absence of not a single birthday present or even card coming my way for the newsletters 1st birthday (thanks for that!), I thought I would give a present away instead. I have a 1 Hour Coaching/Mentoring Call with me worth £650 up for grabs for free. I want this to go to the person I believe I can positively impact the most. So please reply to this with who you are, what you would need coaching/mentorship on. I will reply to everyone regardless but will choose just one person to jump on a call with.

If social media is to be believed you can make £1m in 90 days, or start and sell a business for way more than that in 6 months...that’s if you buy the £997 course (of course!). I hate to break it to you, but that just doesn't happen. You can however add huge chunks to your income with just some small (10%) tweaks. Welcome to the 10% rule, in today’s One Idea to Win in Business.

In today’s One Idea to Win in Life we look at the difference between managing and leading, and why one is likely to make you far more miserable than the other.

One Idea to Win in Business

The 10% Rule: The Easiest Way to Grow Your Business by 33.1%

Want to know how to add large chunks of revenue to the bottom line with only 10% positive tweaks? You don’t need a moonshot idea. You don’t need a viral moment. Let’s look at the 10% rule, the brainchild of Jay Abraham (all round marketing god).

The 10% rule is a deceptively simple concept that, when done right, can compound into some very real, very bankable business growth.

It goes like this: there are only three ways to grow a business:

1. Get more customers

2. Charge more per transaction

3. Get people to buy more often

Now, if you increase each one of those by just 10%, your business doesn’t grow by 10%. It grows by 33.1% because the growth compounds across each area. This isn’t Insta bro hustle rubbish. It’s straight up Tuesday morning maths!

Let’s run with it:

• You currently have 100 customers

• Each pays £100

• They buy twice a year

That’s £20k in revenue.

Now increase each by 10%:

• 110 customers

• £110 average spend

• 2.2 purchases a year

Your £20k is now £26,620 – all from focussing on 10% growth from the key 3 markers.

Let’s break this down for two types of people. Someone about to start a business, and someone five years in and wondering why things feel...a bit stale.

If you're about to start:

Forget the big fanfare and launch party, start small. Most first-timers try to solve everything in one go, perfect product, crazy traffic, big splash. And when they don’t hit those numbers immediately, they think they’ve failed.

Do this instead:

1. Pick one small channel to get customers. Not “build an audience” just find 10 paying people. Instagram DMs, WhatsApp groups, Twitter replies, flyers. Whatever.

2. Once you get them in, don’t scale yet. Figure out if you can nudge the price up by offering something more premium. Better packaging, faster delivery, bonus service.

3. Finally, encourage repeat purchases. Don’t assume they’ll come back. Remind them. Incentivise them. Ask them.

The goal is to test the model, and then gradually apply the 10% lens: “Where can I make a small improvement that actually moves the needle?” List 20 ideas that will nudge each of the key pillars ahead. The first 10 ideas will come quickly, the next 5 will be a bit harder, but those final 5 ideas could provide some gold. You now have 10 proven sales and 60 ideas to nudge the 3 needles 10% ahead. Priortise the ideas in terms of cost v predicted outcome. Start at the top and work down. Simple when you say it like that.

If you're 5 years in:

This is where the 10% Rule really shines. Because let’s be honest — you probably have:

• Decent turnover

• Some loyal customers

• And a slightly terrifying ceiling you keep bumping into

The answer isn’t always “new product” or “hire a marketing agency”. It might just be optimising what you already have.

Here’s how to apply it:

Customers (+10%)

Where’s the low-hanging fruit? Referrals? Affiliate programme? Reactivating old customers who ghosted you in 2022? You don’t need 1,000 new leads. You need 10% more of the right ones.

Price (+10%)

When was the last time you raised your prices? If your product or service is good, 10% won’t spook most customers but it will make a real difference to your margin. Test it on a segment. Package it better. Explain the value.

Frequency (+10%)

Can you create a habit? Subscription models. Loyalty schemes. Re-order prompts. Make it easier for customers to come back and give them a reason to do it sooner.

See if it works for you, let me know how you get on.

One Idea to Win in Life

Why Most Managers Are Miserable and How to Lead Instead

The Wall Street Journal have reported that only 27% of managers are “happy”. That means the vast majority of people that manage others are just straight up miserable. Let’s face it, did you slog your guts out at uni or climb the corporate ladder to have to keep pulling up Susan for being a few minutes late back from lunch. The issue is too many people see leading others as simply “managing” and not “leading”. There’s a big different. Here is how to lead, and not just manage!

1. Vision first, goals second. I am passionate about having goals and working each day to achieve them. All managers should certainly have goals. When thinking as a leader you have something even bigger in mind. That is a vision. A purpose that all your goals serve. Instead of going around in circles doing other people’s bidding. If you are lost for a moment of stress, your vision is a reminder for what all this is for. That vision can inspire people other than yourself, which means they’ll join you in tough times in pursuit of it.

2. Seriously, ditch the comfort blanket. Better still, burn it. That’s the problem with success. It’s the same problem with failure. Going through the same routine doing the same thing, the same way, time and time again. Leaders don’t just like change, they love and embrace it. They know that life is change.

3. Inspire. By showing leadership you can get people to believe in you and follow. You don’t do that by cracking a whip. It is about being brave enough to coach and support people to develop, rather than micro-manage them. Don’t be afraid to delegate, you can’t do it all alone.

4. Two different rights. Doing things by the book is commendable. It is the right thing to do and is a way of doing things right. But what is the book you’re doing right by? It is better to do the right thing than simply do things right. Then it is you who is shaping how you live and work.

5. Looking to grow. It is not about leaders being better than managers. Although it does help when managers choose to lead. It’s about looking at what can be improved upon. And what could be done differently to achieve that. It’s also about looking on the bright side and the art of what is possible. Leaders manage to do this, so managers too, can take that lead.

Win or Wonder?

Ask Me a Question…

No matter where you are on this mad journey. Starting out, scaling up, or somewhere in the messy middle feel free to ask me anything.

Business, life or mindset, I read and reply to every question. The best ones will get featured in future editions of Winformation, with your permission of course!

To ask, just hit “reply”, type your question and send. That’s it. No forms. No fuss.

Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!