If you want to make more money in 2025, there’s one foundational truth you have to accept:
To be paid like a professional, you need to act like one.
“Professionalism” is the foundation for how successful people think, act, and grow their businesses.
Over the years, I’ve seen time and again that it’s not just talent, skill, or luck that drives revenue—it’s about execution.
And the key to execution?
Operating like a pro.
Let’s dive into what it really means to act like a professional.
Here are six practical examples to elevate your personal brand or business this year so you can make more money.
1. Professionals Use CRMs
The first non-negotiable is having a CRM, or a Customer Relationship Management tool.
If you’re still relying on sticky notes, random spreadsheets, or scattered business cards to manage your contacts, you’re not running a professional business.
A CRM is more than a contact list—it’s a database that tracks your relationships with prospects, customers, and former clients.
It allows you to segment your audience, track communication, and stay organized.
Yes, setting up a CRM can feel painful at first, but the payoff is massive.
(It’s one of the reasons Brand Builders Group created tools like the Instant Automation Toolkit to help our clients make the transition.)
So if you want to grow your business, you have to streamline how you manage relationships. Period.
2. Professionals Make Data-Driven Decisions
Pros don’t rely solely on gut instinct.
As much as we’d all love to “trust our intuition,” that’s not a sustainable business model.
Professionals rely on data to drive their decisions.
And I’m not just talking about financial data.
There’s marketing data, sales data, and even product performance data that you need to track.
For example:
• How are customers finding you?
• What’s your conversion rate from free calls to paying clients?
• Which products are people upgrading to and why?
Every department in your business—marketing, sales, operations—produces data.
Collect it, analyze it, and let it guide your strategy.
3. Professionals Build Funnels That Work While They Sleep
If you’re serious about growing your personal brand or business, you need funnels.
A funnel is simply a system that takes someone from hearing about you for the first time to becoming a loyal customer.
It’s about nurturing relationships automatically so you can focus on delivering value.
For example, if you visit roryvadenblog.com, you’ll find a section with free trainings.
Those trainings are packed with valuable content, but to access them, you need to provide your email address.
From there, my team follows up with resources, tools, and offers to deepen the relationship.
It’s not complicated, but it is strategic.
And it’s essential if you want to scale.
4. Professionals Have SOPs
No matter how smart or hardworking you are, no business can outgrow the strength of its systems.
That’s why professionals rely on SOPs, or Standard Operating Procedures.
SOPs are detailed instructions for how every part of your business operates.
From how you onboard new customers to how you handle chargebacks, every process needs to be documented.
Why?
Because consistency and efficiency drive profitability.
If you ever want to sell your business, your SOPs will be one of the most valuable assets you can offer.
They’re essentially the playbook that shows a buyer how to run the business successfully.
5. Professionals Create Role Mappings
Another pro move is creating role mappings for your business.
Role mappings outline the specific responsibilities of every person on your team.
They clarify who is responsible for what, so nothing falls through the cracks.
This system does three things:
1. Helps you identify gaps where you may need to hire
2. Ensures accountability—everyone knows what they’re responsible for
3. Makes it easier to evaluate performance
If you’re still trying to “figure it out as you go,” it’s time to pause and map out your business on paper.
6. Professionals Master the 3 P’s (People, Product, and Processes)
Ultimately, acting like a professional comes down to mastering the 3 P’s:
1. People: Who do you need on your team? How will you hire, train, and manage them?
2. Product: How can you make your offering exceptional?
3. Processes: What systems do you need to create to ensure consistency and efficiency?
When you start thinking about your personal brand or business in these terms, you’ll begin to operate on a whole new level.
Making Money Isn’t Luck—It’s Execution
The truth is, making more money isn’t about luck or talent.
It’s about executing the fundamentals.
This year I want to challenge you to think bigger.
Treat your personal brand like a real business.
Ask yourself:
• What systems do I need to create?
• Where can I become more organized?
• How can I act more like a professional?
And if you’re ready to take things to the next level, let’s talk.
You can schedule a free personal brand strategy call with my team to see how we help people like you streamline their operations and scale their income.
This year can be your most profitable yet, but only if you commit to acting like a pro.
