These are crazy, chaotic times we are in. You have lots of unknowns.

Are you bringing in business — and income — today? If you are, that’s great.

Can you maintain a positive cash flow? And for how long?

Do you have a rainy day fund? How long will it last?

How long can you stay the course before making changes? And what changes can you make?

Even if you are in a positive cash flow position, you need to think about what will happen in the future. Right now.

While you do have unknowns, one fact remains. You are in control when it comes to your business.

Part of getting through the chaos is making sure you’re in a better position once you get to the other side. Here are some ideas to help shift your business as we move forward.

How often do you wear your CFO hat?

You know, the one where you look at the numbers. I realize that lots of creative types do not want to look at numbers.

After all, what could be creative about numbers? They are straightforward, no shades of gray here.

True, the numbers in and of themselves are not creative.

What is creative is what you get to do as a result of looking at them.

You can create new designs or new classes. You can bring on an apprentice to help you. You can look for new markets for your art. You can look at ways to expand and make a bigger impact.

The problem is that you have to know what the state of your business really is.

And the only way to do that is to look at your numbers.

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If you are in business, your goal should be to make money. Sure you have other goals that revolve around making a difference or sharing your art or building a legacy. I know that I do. Problem is that you can’t make as much of a difference if you aren’t making a profit in your business.

Making a profit is tied to increasing your revenue or decreasing your expenses or both. In truth you can only increase your revenue in three ways.

First, you can raise your prices.

Second, you can sell more to your current customers.

Third, you can find new customers.

This post focuses on six ways that you can increase your revenue. Some you may already be doing. Some you may have thought of and not tried yet. Some may be new to you.

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