Part 1: Revenue

You’ve probably heard it before: “Revenue is just a vanity metric.  What matters is profit.”

And sure, when people post Stripe screenshots on social media to flex, it can feel that way. But here’s the truth:

If you ignore revenue as just a vanity metric, you’re missing what it actually is — a performance metric that reflects how well your sales and marketing system is working.

In Part 1 of this two-part series, I want to walk you through how I discovered this firsthand. I’m using my prior company in event lighting as a case study — because it went from four years of frustratingly low sales to generating over $2.6 million in revenue the next six. And the only thing that changed?

I got in sync with the customer journey — and I built my entire marketing strategy around it.

Revenue = Sales. Sales = Marketing.

Let’s start with the basics.

Revenue is created by sales.
Sales are created by marketing.

Marketing's job is to move qualified leads into your sales process. That doesn't always happen in a straight line. It usually takes time — and happens in stages. Those stages make up what’s called the customer journey.

The customer journey is the foundation of your sales and marketing. If you’re unclear on how your customer buys — the sequence of their decisions, the timing, and the influencers — then your marketing will always feel like guesswork. And your revenue will show it.

My Case Study: From $27K to $2.6M in Revenue

Let me take you back. I started my event lighting business in 2009. From 2009 to 2012 — four full years — I generated just $27,000 total.

Then from 2013 to 2019, I generated $2.6 million in sales.

So what changed?

I didn’t add more services. I didn’t hire a sales team (not until later).
I simply stopped trying to market to everyone — and started focusing entirely on aligning with how people actually bought lighting for weddings and events.

Before we go further, quick note: while the revenue looked great, profit was a different story, which I’ll break down in Part 2 of this series. For now, let’s focus on the marketing problem — and how fixing it changed everything.

Why the Revenue Was So Low (Despite Doing “All the Right Things”)

In those early years, I was doing everything I was told to do:

• Advertising in wedding magazines
  

• Attending bridal expos
  

• Networking with vendors and venues
  

• Posting on social media
  

But nothing seemed to stick. The sales were a slow drip.

Then one day, a venue manager pulled me aside and said something I’ll never forget:

“I love working with you, but your website looks so bad I’m embarrassed to refer you.”

Oof. But she was right.

That one comment led me down a rabbit hole that completely transformed my business. I realized I needed to stop focusing on tactics and go deeper into how people actually made decisions in this industry.

The Hidden Funnel: Super Connectors

What I discovered was eye-opening.

Almost every lead I had ever gotten came from referrals, not from my own marketing.
But not just any referrals. They came almost exclusively from what I call super connectors:

• Venues
  
  

• Planners
  
  

• Caterers
  
  

• Rental companies
  
  

These were the people who were already part of the event design process. Lighting was an element of the room setup — and these vendors were the ones shaping the space and recommending services.

If they trusted me, I got referred. If they didn’t, I was invisible.

Once I understood that, everything changed.

The Customer Journey (for Event Lighting)

Here’s how the customer journey actually worked in the wedding world:

1. Unawareness
   Not yet engaged or not thinking about wedding vendors at all.
   

2. Realization
   “I just got engaged — time to plan a wedding.”
   

3. Research
   Look at venues, planners, Pinterest boards, and magazines.
   

4. Next Clear Step
   Book the venue or hire a planner (sometimes a caterer or rental company plays this role).
   

5. Next Clear Step
   Work on room design: florals, furniture, lighting. This is where I entered the picture.
   

6. Retention
   Do excellent work so super connectors keep referring you.
   

7. Advocacy
   Go above and beyond — become the only option they recommend for lighting.
   

Key Insight: I wasn’t selling to couples.  I was selling to the people they trusted — their vendors. That was my real sales funnel.

The Turning Point: What I Changed

1. Cut Out the Noise and Clarify Positioning

Up until that point, I was following outdated advice from a mentor who built a successful event company back in the ‘80s. He told me to be a “one-stop shop.”

But couples today don’t want that. They’re putting tens of thousands of dollars into a once-in-a-lifetime event. They want specialists, not generalists.

So I dropped the “we do it all” message.  I repositioned myself as a lighting designer for weddings and special events. That’s it.

2. Created a Moment: The Styled Shoot

Styled shoots were a trend in the wedding world where vendors came together to create a beautiful event setup, purely for photography and PR.

I organized one myself — invited the top vendors I wanted to work with, designed the lighting, and made sure the photos looked incredible.

It was my way of showing the market who we were now — and building trust with the people who could refer us.

That year, our revenue jumped to $64,000 — up from $13K the year before.

3. Invested in Branding and a New Website

Remember that venue manager who said she was embarrassed to refer me?
She wasn’t alone. Others had said the same thing — they just didn’t say it out loud.

So I hired a professional branding firm. Invested $20,000 — a massive risk at the time (I took out a second mortgage). Friends, family, even industry peers said I was crazy.

But when the new brand and site launched, I pushed it out to my network. In February 2014 alone, we saw a 400% increase in new leads.

4. Productized My Marketing for Super Connectors

Here’s where it all came together:
I productized the way I supported my super connectors.

Instead of hoping for referrals, I made it easy and desirable to refer us.

• I conducted site visits, offered advisory on electrical layout, and provided room schematics the venue manager could use for planning.
  

• Gave them visuals and decks to include in proposals.
  

• Helped them upgrade their booths at wedding shows with free lighting setups.
  

• Provided planning tools that made them look good in front of their clients.
  

My marketing wasn’t about ads or social posts. It was about arming my referral network with tools to close the sale for me. That’s productized marketing. And it worked.

Revenue Is a Mirror — Not a Vanity Metric

Here’s the punchline:

Revenue tells the truth about how well your marketing and sales systems are working.

If your revenue is flat, it’s not a pricing problem.
It’s not a “people just don’t get it” problem.
It’s a system problem.

Revenue is the signal.
It shows whether your business is connecting with how your customers actually buy.

A Parallel Journey: Web Design Clients

I've seen this exact revenue-to-strategy pattern repeat itself in the web design world—just from the other side of the table.

For many service providers or solo business owners, the customer journey into marketing support looks more like a winding road than a straight path. Some think they need a new website. Others are chasing lead gen tactics. And some just feel like their entire brand is falling flat.

Here’s how that journey often unfolds:

1. Unawareness – Business is okay. Leads are coming in. Marketing takes a back seat. There's a sense of stability, even complacency.
   

2. Realization – The pipeline starts drying up. Things slow down. What used to work isn’t working anymore. Competitors are pulling ahead. There’s a growing sense of urgency.
   

3. Research – They begin scrolling social, asking colleagues, watching YouTube videos, downloading free guides—grabbing at anything that looks like a solution.
   

4. Next Clear Step – This part is all over the place.
   

   • Some decide they need a new website.
     

   • Others jump into ads or social media management.
     

   • A few try to overhaul their entire brand.
     But almost all of them are reacting to symptoms, not solving the root problem. They're piecing together tactics without a strategy.
     

5. Next Clear Step (Eventually) – At some point (often after a few misfires), they realize what they actually need is clarity—so they hire a consultant, strategist, or agency to help them make sense of the chaos.
   

6. Retention – If you help them make real progress—not just deliver a pretty website—they’ll come back, refer others, and look to you as a long-term partner.
   

7. Advocacy – True referrals and evangelism only happen when they see you as part of their success story—not just a one-time fix.
   

The trap: If they come to you hoping your service alone will “save” their business without having a clear strategy, it can backfire. Even if you do great work, you become part of a broken system. And when that system fails, they’re not likely to refer you—even if it wasn’t your fault.  Vet your leads carefully. 

Final Thoughts (and What’s Coming in Part 2)

Revenue can get a bad rap as a vanity metric. But when viewed correctly, it’s a scoreboard for your marketing and sales systems.

You can’t have profit without revenue. And if you’re not making consistent sales, you don’t have a real business — just a brand with potential.

In Part 2, I’ll share what happened after the revenue started flowing — and how operational issues nearly broke everything I had worked for.

Let’s just say growth isn’t always a good thing… if you’re not prepared for it.

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