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Want to know how to build a service-based business on your terms? As a service provider it is easy to find yourself in a situation where you are running around after your clients and not really creating the business you really want to. Keep on reading to find out how to build a service-based business on your terms.
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HOW TO BUILD A SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS ON YOUR TERMS
1. Decide what work you will and won’t do
As the boss of your business, you can decide exactly what services you will and won’t provide. Even within your specific skill set, you can decide what you will and won’t do. Now this might be quite revolutionary for some people, especially freelancers who have got used to taking on contracts where the client is in control. However, as a business owner you can set the rules. You can turn around and create clear services and say that you can be hired to do X, Y and Z and nothing else.
2. Get clear on who you will and won’t work with
Ultimately your clients will dictate a major part of your business experience. Sign great clients who you love working with and you are likely to enjoy your business. However, sign nightmare clients and you’ll find yourself pulling your hair out and wanting to quit. That’s why it is important to get clear on who you will and won’t work with.
Rather than having this in your head, I want you to write it down. When you have clear dealbreakers written down it will make it easier for you to turn a potential client down.
If you want to go a step further you can even have this information on your website so people can see in advance who you will and won’t work with. This should help reduce getting non-ideal potential clients enquiring in the first place.
3. Set clear boundaries with your clients
Even an ideal client on paper can become problematic if you haven’t set clear boundaries. If you are proving an ongoing service, for example, a coaching or mentoring programme, then make it crystal clear what someone can and can’t expect for you. A key boundary that should be set is how you can and can’t be communicated with. Make it clear what communication channels are acceptable, what hours you work and how long people can expect to have to wait to get a response from you. Once you’ve set those boundaries you’ll need to stick to it.
Find out more about setting boundaries in your small business here.
4. Find a marketing and sales strategy that works for you
By this point you should be doing work you enjoy, with clients you like and clients are communicating in adherence with your rules. This definitely sounds as if you are well on your way to running a service-based business on your own terms. However, as a business owner, it is likely that you aren’t just doing the client work. You are probably having to do the marketing and sales too, which brings in another opportunity for you to follow someone else’s rules or do it your way.
Now marketing your business is essential and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Chartered Marketer and obsessed with all things marketing. The reality is if you want to keep on signing new clients you will need to be consistently marketing your business, generating leads and taking people through a sales process. Marketing and sales might be compulsory, but the way you decide to do it can absolutely be up to you.
When I work with clients I try very hard not to say anything is essential. I highly recommend having a website and having an email list, but other than that I pretty much think you can do whatever you want as long as you have mapped out your customer journey and are ensuring that you have ways to make new people aware of you, then you have the opportunity to engage them and finally there is a way for them to buy from you. As long as those three steps are covered you can do it however you would like.
Find out more about mapping customer journeys here.
There you have it! You’ve now know how to build a service-based business on your terms.
Whilst it is very common for service-based businesses to end up in a feast or famine sales cycle I hope by now you can see that it isn’t inevitable and there are so many different things you can do to avoid this trap.
In the comments what tips you are going to use going forward?
WANT HELP GROWING A THRIVING BUSINESS ON YOUR TERMS?
I work with solopreneurs and (super) small service-based business owners to get clear on their business goals and then implement the right growth, marketing and sales strategies to achieve those goals. I believe wholeheartedly that by clear on what you want you can build the business of your dreams and also have an amazing life too.
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