6 ways to scale your online, service-based, business

Want to know about the 6 ways to scale your online, service-based, business? If you are currently providing a one-to-one service online you might feel a bit limited. In order to make more money, you have to work more hours or raise your prices, and if you don’t want to do either you are stuck. But there is another way – introducing a scalable offer into your business. Adding a scalable offer will enable you to work with multiple people simultaneously or completely break the relationship between the number of hours you work and the income you can generate. Keep on reading to find out the 6 ways to scale your online, service-based, business.

This page may include affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. 

 

Knowing you want to scale your online, service-based, business and deciding how to scale your business are two very different things. The reality is there is more than one way to scale your online, service-based, business and, shock horror, all of them can work.

 

Now the likelihood is you’ve already probably already come across some ways that you can scale your business. The online space is full of people teaching people to do exactly the same as them. The course creator who is telling you to buy their course so you can experience the dream of passive income by selling your own course. Then there is the membership designed for people who want to run their own memberships and, of course, there are coaches who run group programs on how to successfully run group programs.

 

It can be hard to know what is best for your business, and who to trust, which is why I’ve written this blog post. I’m sharing 6 different ways to scale your online, service-based, business and highlighting some of the common pros and cons. Every option has pros and cons. I’m here to share what they are so you can make an informed decision when choosing what you want to add into your own business.

 

6 WAYS TO SCALE YOUR ONLINE, SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS 

Scalable offer option 1: A Membership

A popular way to scale your online, service-based, business is through creating a membership. An online membership is where a host or leader creates content, that only members can access. In many cases, the membership will also enable members to be able to communicate with each other and have a level of access to the host or leader.

Pros

• A membership allows you to have a form of monthly recurring revenue in your business. This provides the business with a fairly predictable income stream.
• Great way to build a strong community of raving fans and brand ambassadors.
• Have the opportunity to cross-promote and sell other services.

 

Cons

• Usually priced at a lower price point so means you have to get a sufficient number of people in to be worthwhile.
• Will usually require you to be creating new content or making live appearances to ensure people stay engaged and see the value of staying in the membership (This is usually not a passive income stream).

 

Scalable offer option 2: A Mastermind

The idea of a mastermind was made popular by Napoleon Hill after he mentioned the concept in his book Think and Grow Rich. However, the majority of online businesses don’t offer true masterminds. In the online world, the world mastermind is usually used to describe when a host or leader supports a ‘small’ group of people in a group format. Unlike a membership where the customer can usually decide to join and then leave when they would like since it is a rolling contract, a mastermind will usually have a set duration such as 6-months or a year.

 

Pros

• The price point for masterminds is usually much higher than membership so the revenue potential can be great.
• Masterminds can be used as a way to extend the lifetime customer value.
• Don’t require the same amount of upfront work as a course, group programme or membership as people are joining partly for content, partly for access to the host and partly for access to the community. Therefore, the pressure to have a whole course or masses of resources available isn’t necessary.

 

Cons

• A mastermind should have a limit on how many people can sign up so whilst the revenue potential could be great there should be a cap on it.
• People join a mastermind for access to the leader and to the rest of the group. As the leader, you need to ensure you are able to bring together a good enough group of people.

 

 

NEED HELP CHOOSING WHAT IS THE RIGHT SCALABLE OFFER FOR YOUR BUSINESS IS?  With so many options it can be difficult to know what is best. I help coaches, consultants and online service providers to choose their scalable offer and then create a marketing strategy to successfully sell their new offer. To discuss your specific needs and find out about how I can help you book a free introduction call.

 

Scalable offer option 3: A group program

Another way to scale your online, service-based, business is by adding a group program (or group programme for my American readers). A group program is where a group of people work their way through a course, but rather than it being self-study there will be interaction from the program host or leader. There will be a clear promise about what you’ll experience in the program and usually, there will be guidelines around how long it will take you to go through the program.

 

Pros

• Can sell before you create. Since the material is often taught live (at least the first time) there isn’t the pressure to create everything upfront.
• Can involve less tech than running a self-study course
• You can get real-time feedback so a great option for experimenting with moving from one-to-one to one-to-many.

 

Cons

• If you decide to run your group program in cohorts there will be periods between launches where you can’t sign new clients.
• Involves you actively teaching so not a form of passive income

 

Scalable offer option 4: A self-study digital course

A very popular way to scale your online, service-based, business is through an online course. If you already have knowledge and experience it should be easy to package that up and create a self-study digital course. I would argue that digital courses are probably the most common way that online, service-based, business owners decide to scale their business. They are the poster child of passive income, which makes them very popular. However, for everyone who has made millions through their course, there are many more business owners with a course that is lying dead on their website.

 

Pros

• If a 100% self-study course then it is a form of passive income.
• Low to mid-price courses can be a great introduction to your business with customers becoming clients in the future.

 

Cons

• You’ll have to create the course in advance.
• You’ll need to have someone to deal with customer service.

 

Scalable offer option 5: Digital Products 

Another way to scale your online, service-based, business is through digital products. Some people will class digital courses as digital products, but because I know some people aren’t interested in creating courses, but might have a great idea for a digital product I have separated them. Digital products can be a great additional income stream, but also offer you a way to make the experience of your current clients even better. Some common examples of digital products are workbooks, templates, spreadsheets and apps.

 

Pros

• Less technical to create and deliver than a course or membership
• Small amount of time required to create
• Passive income stream

 

Cons

• Often have a very low price point so will take a large volume of sales to become a considerable revenue stream.
• If a downloadable resource it is easy for people to share with others

 

Worried about what tech to use to scale your business? Whether you want to offer a membership, a group program, a digital course or digital products Kartra will make it so easy. Find out more in this blog post ‘ The must-have tech tool to scale your online business with ease’.

 

Scalable offer option 6: Physical products

Just because you are currently providing a service doesn’t mean you can’t scale your business by deciding to offer physical products. Lots of online, service-based, businesses will add merchandise or a limited line of physical products that are related to their business. For example, a number of my peers in the business and marketing space, sell physical planners as they are popular with business owners and entrepreneurs.

To make this work the key thing is to think of physical products that make sense for your brand to sell and that your current audience or clients would be interested in. Once you’ve worked out what you could sell you’ll then need to think about the ordering and distribution process. There are two main ways you can go. You can go the traditional route of selecting your products, get them created and delivered to you. Then you are responsible for managing all of the selling and fulfilment process. An alternative is to go the drop-shipping route. This is where an item is only created once an order has been placed. You create the designs in advance, but then another company is responsible for making the product once ordered and then getting it delivered to the customer.

Pros

• If you go the drop-shipping route it can be a form of passive income
• Can get be great for brand awareness as your customers can share your products with other people (either in real life or through content)
• Can be a great way to help your community feel more connected to your brand

Cons

• If you don’t go the dropshipping route you’ll have to pay for the products upfront, be responsible for arranging the packaging and postage of products, and deal with all the customer enquiries and support

 

That’s it! You now know 6 different ways to scale your online, service-based, business. 

As you can see from the 6 different ways to scale your online, service-based, business you have lots of options. Each different way has pros and cons so you’ll need to work out what is right for your business. Ask yourself “What is the desire behind scaling my business?”

Are you looking to have limitless revenue potential? Do you want a passive income stream? Do you want to impact more people? Do you want to help people who can’t currently afford your one-to-one services? Do you want to increase brand loyalty? Answering these questions will help you then be able to work out what scalable offer makes sense for your business and the goals of your business.

In the comments, I would love to hear what you think is the best scalable offer for your business?

 

WANT TO GROW A THRIVING ONLINE, SERVICE-BASED, BUSINESS THAT GIVES YOU THE MONEY AND TIME TO LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE?  Most business owners want to scale their business so they can have more freedom and still make great money, but if you aren’t careful you can end up trying to sell more things and not make more money (and making your business more complicated in the process). If you are ready to take your business to the next level by expanding your business model and income streams I’m here to help. I’m a Chartered Marketer that specialises in supporting coaches to grow their business strategically but without selling their soul. To find out more about my 1:1 business and marketing mentoring programme click here And to discuss your precise needs book a free, no-obligation, introduction call to discuss your business here.