Could you 10x your income, or do what you do now in a tenth of the time?
The short answer
The 10x Challenge asks one question about your business: could you make ten times what you make now, or make what you make now in a tenth of the time? You don't have to hit either. The point is that a goal that big stops small tweaks from being enough, so you quickly see which parts of your business are pulling their weight and which ones you could let go of.
Why 10x and not double?
When business owners set goals, it's almost always "double". Double the turnover, double the clients. I hear it all the time: "everyone says they want to double their money... it's always double."
The trouble with doubling is that you can usually get there by doing more of what you already do. More hours, more clients, more of the same work. Which is exactly how a lot of us ended up working 50-hour weeks in the first place.
Ten times is different. You can't 10x anything by working harder, because there aren't ten times as many hours in the week. So you're forced to think differently about how the business works. Which clients would you keep? Which services would you drop? What would you have to stop doing yourself?
Those are the questions that actually change a business.
Two ways to 10x
There are two versions of the challenge, and you can pick either.
The first is 10x your income: what would your business need to look like to make ten times what it does now? Forget working harder. Ask what would have to be true.
The second is 10x your time: what would it take to make what you make now in a tenth of the hours? If you work 50 hours a week, that's five. If you work 40, it's four.
That second one is the version I've lived. My old business took around 50 hours of my week. Now it takes about two, in a normal week. I didn't get there by squeezing more into each hour. I got there by asking what the business actually needed from me, and it turned out to be very little.
What happens when you try it
When you start answering the 10x question honestly, a few things tend to jump out.
You see which clients bring in the most money for the least hassle, and which ones you'd happily never hear from again. You see the services you only offer because you always have. You notice the jobs you do yourself that don't need you at all. And you start spotting what could be sold more than once, instead of starting from zero with every new client.
Most people don't end up 10x-ing anything straight away. What they end up with is a much clearer list of what to change first.
Try it now: five questions
Grab a notebook and give yourself 20 minutes with these.
If I could only work four hours a week, what would I keep doing?
If my business had to make ten times what it does now, which one offer would I build it around?
Which clients would I stop working with if I didn't need the money?
What do I do every week that someone else could do with a bit of training?
What do I sell that could be sold more than once?
Don't overthink the answers. The first thing that comes to mind is usually the honest one.
Why I'm doing it myself
I'd never ask anyone to do something I wasn't doing myself, so I've just started my own 10x Challenge. I'm sharing how it goes as I go, including what I'm changing, what's working and what isn't. If you'd like to follow along, you can add my behind-the-scenes 10x journey when you join the challenge.
What's in the 10x Challenge?
The 10x Challenge is a short, practical challenge to help you step back, rethink how your business works and spot the changes worth making first. It's a one-off payment of £9 (usually £27).
Who it's for
It's for service business owners who are busy, doing well on paper, and starting to wonder whether this is it. You might want to earn more, work less, or just stop feeling like everything comes back to you.
It's probably not for you if you're just starting out and don't have clients yet, or if you're looking for a get-rich-quick plan. This is about rethinking a business that already works, so it works better for you.
Questions people ask about the 10x Challenge
What is the 10x Challenge?
It's a short, practical challenge for service business owners. It asks whether you could 10x your income, or make what you make now in a tenth of the time, and uses that question to show you what to change first in your business.
How much does the 10x Challenge cost?
It's £9 as a one-off payment, reduced from £27.
Is it realistic to 10x a business?
Sometimes, but that isn't really the point. Aiming for 10x makes you look at the business differently, and most people come away with a handful of changes that make a real difference to their income, their hours or both.
Do I have to want to grow my business?
No. Plenty of people use the time version instead: making the same money in a fraction of the hours. For a lot of business owners, that's the more appealing one.
Ready to try it?
Start the 10x Challenge and see what your business could look like.
