The #1 Thing Service Providers Shouldn't Do If They Want to Grow
Episode 580: Show Notes
This week we dive into the top mis-steps we see businesses making when they want to grow. Side effects may include: burnout, overwhelm, stress, shutting down your business, getting a full-time job that you hate, or not reaching the income goals that you say that you want to achieve. We’re here to interrupt that vicious cycle and get a fresh perspective on exactly what’s causing these troublesome symptoms in your business!
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The difficult truth and the number one problem for so many business owners is that they have diverged from an alignment with their business and the skills they’ve spent years crafting and honing in on. And if they didn't stray so far from where they began, then they would reach their goals so much faster! If this sounds like you, don’t worry, you are not alone! Almost all the prospective business owners we’ve spoken to have a misguided notion of what it means to leave their jobs and start a business. More specifically, what pursuing a digital-based offering, with a low ticket item and a membership structure truly entails. In our conversation, we get into the popularity of this approach, how online education doesn’t paint the full picture, and how you should be changing your mindset to achieve the growth you want for your business. Make sure you tune in to hear it all and see the full picture!
The Biggest Mistake Highly-Skilled Service Providers Make When They Want To Grow.
Time and again we’ve spoken with prospective clients looking to leave their jobs and start or grow a business, and almost all of them have very similar things in common. They are frustrated with their jobs and have a vision of what they’d like their new business to look like. They want freedom in how they spend their time, to be able to work from anywhere and have a small but mighty team, and they want all of these wonderful things, while also not sacrificing the income from their current job. While these aspirations are very worthy goals, it’s essential to have a plan in place. And so often their initial plan is centered on creating a digital offer that needs to include a low ticket item and digital memberships. The truth is that while you can have success on this path, it takes a lot of hard work and many many hours of building email lists and a following, which is why we feel that it’s important to have this tough love conversation with our listeners and our followers. We want to spare you the grueling and challenging process that we went through.
The Tough-Love Talk That All Struggling One-to-Many Model Business Owners Need To Hear
Very often prospective business owners don’t realize the tremendous amount of work that goes into building a digital membership-based platform from scratch. In our transitions from high ticket clients to a digital offering, with a one-to-many model, we went from selling 20 000 dollar services to charging a 17 dollar a month membership fee. And we had to be prepared to start with terrifyingly low membership rates, which took years to improve upon. It’s taken thousands of hours, but we have been able to accrue a substantial email list, and our collective audience is made up of 1000s of people, including listeners, subscribers, Instagram followers, and Facebook groups. We have built intimate communities and broad communities, we have content, we have a website that's been in existence for six years, which also has kick-ass SEO! We’ve partnered with reputable brands and have gained loyal students, plus we’ve had success in selling thousands of products, all of which to say that we have spent years building a substantial history to speak on our behalf. We are supported by a team and an ad budget, plus extensive revenue and time which means we have the ability to take a loss on something and we can be sure that it will pay off thanks to our years of experience. All of this, to demonstrate the time and energy we’ve put into gathering these assets. It’s crucial for new business owners to realize that starting from scratch means they don’t have any of this type of support.
It Is So Much Easier To Double Down on What’s Already Working for You
While it may seem that we are giving this tough-love talk in order to scare you, the truth is that we want it to be a wake-up call, because it is so much easier to double down on what's already working for you. So the first thing you need to do is recognize what you are already skilled at, whether you went to school for it or have honed your skills by practicing it in your job for months or years, they’re equally valid. Whatever your skillset is, whether you're project managing, or form part of a social media marketing team, perhaps you're designing, or writing, either way, you have valuable experience that you can build on. And while it’s easy to get swept up in the noise of what starting your own digital offering can give you, it’s important to have an informed perspective on the huge amount of work and sacrifice that entails. You also need to bear in mind that a large percentage of online education has devolved into selling you the idea of starting a digital membership business without being upfront about the downsides.
How To Actually Achieve The Goals You Say You Want To Achieve (Not Just Financially)
So many of the clients we’ve been working with are incredibly skilled at what they do and shouldn’t be discounting their prices to the degree that they plan to. We hate seeing business owners not operating in their zone of genius, who don't get to do the things that are fun for them anymore. It’s so difficult to see them not reaching their financial goals, or how they're super stressed out, because the highs and lows are incredibly stressful. On top of that, they have yet to achieve the time freedom that they aspired to in the first place. And all of this is avoidable if you stay focused on the skill set that you currently have. That’s why we want you to ask what it is that you want and why, and how you want to get there. Because we can help you get there in the least painful way possible by slimming things down. Even if you’ve already tried the digital membership-based approach and have struggled with sustainability, you’ve still gained niche experience and expertise. We’ve learned that a scarcity mindset prohibits growth, but once you shift to new expectations, then growth becomes the potential for you.
Quote This
Here's the thing, if more people stayed in alignment with the business they actually started with a skill set that they're highly trained in and they didn't stray so far from where they began, then they would reach their goals so much faster.
Highlights
The Biggest Mistake Highly-Skilled Service Providers Make When They Want To Grow [0:02:03]
A Tough-Love Talk All Struggling One-to-Many Model Business Owners Need To Hear [0:05:05]
It Is So Much Easier To Double Down on What’s Already Working for You [0:07:59]
How To Actually Achieve the Goals You Say You Want To Achieve (Not Just Financially) [0:18:15]
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Abagail & Emylee
The Strategy Hour Podcast
We help overwhelmed and creative entrepreneurs break down their Oprah-sized dreams to create a functioning command center to tame the chaos of their business. Basically, we think you’re totally bomb diggity, we’re about to uplevel the shiz out of your business.
KEY TOPICS
Growth, Digital Offerings, Membership Based, Low Ticket Item, High Ticket Item, One-to-Many Model
