7个理由，你的小生意或自由职业无法赚到足够的钱（上）
In a recent post, I answered a question from a small-business owner not generating enough sales. But what if you have sales and are still not making enough money?
在最近的一篇文章中，我回答了一个小企业家的问题。但如果你有销售资源，但仍然没有赚到足够的钱怎么办？
Here are seven reasons your small business is not making enough money.
以下是你的小生意没有赚到足够钱的七个原因。
1. Current business area is lower-paying than previous corporate role. 1. 目前的业务领域比以前的公司职位薪酬更低。
This particular small-business owner is not making enough money when she compares her current consulting business to her previous corporate role -- “I have *not* reached my corporate salary (not even close)” despite strong sales and clients results. However, this may not be a fair comparison.
当这位小企业主将自己目前的咨询业务与之前的公司职位进行比较时，她并没有赚到足够的钱——尽管销售和客户业绩都很好，但“我还没有（甚至还没有达到）公司的薪资水平”。然而，这可能不是一个公平的比较。
A previous job might serve Fortune 50 clients, while the current business serves mom-and-pop businesses. A previous job might deliver long-term, multi-departmental projects, while the current business is a solo consultancy with smaller, discrete pieces of work. Make sure the money potential is there in your current business before you expect it to replace your previous corporate salary.
以前的工作可能服务于财富50强的客户，而现在的工作则服务于夫妻店。以前的工作可能会交付长期的、多部门的项目，而现在的业务是一个单独的咨询公司，有更小的、离散的工作。在你期望它取代你以前的公司薪水之前，确保你当前的业务中有潜在的资金。
Depending on your financial obligations, you may not need to replace your salary. Compensation is not just monetary -- there are psychic and lifestyle benefits that make up for the lower pay. However, if you do want to make more, then look at your revenue potential. If you charge by the hour, can you charge a high enough rate and book enough hours that you can replace or exceed your corporate salary?
根据你的财务义务，你可能不需要更换你的薪水。薪酬不仅仅是金钱上的——还有心理和生活方式上的好处，可以弥补较低的薪酬。然而，如果你真的想赚更多，那就看看你的收入潜力吧。如果你按小时收费，你能收取足够高的费用并预订足够多的时间来取代或超过你的公司工资吗？
2. Pricing is too low. 2. 定价太低了。
That said, if your current business is in a similar market as your previous corporate job and you are still not making enough money, this is a legitimate concern. You should expect to match, if not exceed, your former salary (after all, you are now taking on the risk of developing the business).
也就是说，如果你现在的公司和你以前的工作市场相似，你仍然没有赚到足够的钱，这是一个合理的担忧。你应该期望自己的薪资与以前持平（如果不超过的话）（毕竟，你现在正在承担发展业务的风险）。
So, if you are doing similar work but not earning as much money, look at your pricing. You may be charging too little -- a small price for a small shop, rather than a big price for a big company. You might have strong sales, but are you pricing high enough with each sale, or at least your average sale?
所以，如果你在做类似的工作，但赚的钱不多，看看你的定价。你可能要价太低——对一家小商店来说，这只是个小价钱，而不是大公司的大价钱。你可能有强劲的销售，但你的定价是否足够高，或至少你的平均销售？
3. Costs are too high. 3.成本太高了。
A consulting or services business typically doesn’t have as complicated (or high) a cost structure as a products business that has materials, manufacturing, storage and distribution costs. However, all businesses have costs, so when you are not making enough money, you have to review yours.
咨询或服务业务的成本结构通常不像产品业务那样复杂（或高），产品业务包括材料、制造、存储和分销成本。然而，所有的企业都有成本，所以当你没有赚到足够的钱时，你必须重新审视你的企业。
For example, my services business has costs, including office rent, accounting and legal fees, technology and equipment and travel and entertainment. If you have strong sales but don’t feel you’re making enough money, then your cost structure may be too high for the prices you are charging.
例如，我的服务业务有成本，包括办公室租金、会计和法律费用、技术和设备以及旅行和娱乐。如果你的销售业绩很好，但你觉得自己赚的钱不够，那么你的成本结构可能对你的要价来说太高了。
Do you need ongoing office space? Do you need that professional membership? Do you need that subscription? In the 10+ years I’ve been in business, I have pruned a number of support services that turned out not to return enough for the cost. Many of these services aren't too expensive on an individual basis, but in aggregate, they can impact your profits.
你需要持续的办公空间吗？你需要专业的会员资格吗？你需要订阅吗？在我从商的10多年里，我已经精简了一些支持服务，结果证明它们的回报不足以弥补成本。这些服务中的许多在个人层面上并不太昂贵，但总的来说，它们会影响你的利润。
4. Volume or turnover is too slow. 4. 成交量或营业额来得太慢。
Let’s say your costs are minimal and your pricing is in line with your market. Your profit seems high each time you make a sale, but you are still not making enough when you draw each week, month or quarter. Your individual sale might be just fine, but you are not making enough of them.
假设你的成本是最低的，你的定价与你的市场相符。你的利润似乎很高，每次你做销售，但你仍然没有赚足够当你每周，每月或季度。你的个人销售可能还不错，但你做得还不够。
This particular reader is getting results and referrals, so not having enough volume isn’t a reflection of not doing a good job. It could be simply be caused by a long selling cycle or a conscious decision to not take on as much work. If it’s a conscious choice to limit your number of clients, then you have to charge a premium to each client. If your selling cycle is so long that you inadvertently limit the number of clients, then you have to focus on speeding up the process from the time a client hears of you until they decide to buy.
这个特定的读者正在获得结果和推荐，所以没有足够的数量并不是没有做好工作的反映。这可能仅仅是由于一个长期的销售周期或者一个有意识的决定不承担那么多工作造成的。如果你有意限制你的客户数量，那么你必须向每个客户收取额外费用。如果你的销售周期太长，以至于你无意中限制了客户的数量，那么你就必须集中精力从客户听到你的消息到他们决定购买你的产品，加速这个过程。
