Post by account_disabled on Jan 7, 2024 21:56:55 GMT -6
Owner ArticlesDigital Management and Leadership Written by Kate Toon This article was written by Kate Toon who will be presenting a webinar on social media advice on September 6th at 8am (Australian Eastern Standard time). Register today! Just because you are a small business, agency, or freelancer doesn’t mean that you can’t dream big. After all, growing through innovation isn’t just for the big corporations. However, most people in service-based businesses seem to think that in business we must have that one big idea. The life changer. The amazing innovative product or service. The killer launch. The smash hit. That one magic thing that finally tips the balance in their favor, opens the floodgates,and lets the cash flow in. But I disagree! For me it wasn’t one big idea that helped me reach six figures (and beyond), but rather lots of small ideas. Little wins that added up over time.
It was about fixing small failures and recognizing opportunities for improvement. WhatsApp Number Yes, it may sound less exciting and far from entrepreneurial, but for me mopping up the business crumbs rather than chasing the big fat bread bun worked. So, based on what I’ve learned, here are the ways I think a service-based business could make more money: Tip 1: Charge more Yes, I know this sounds pretty obvious: charge more, and you’ll make more money. But it’s amazing how hard some business owners find it to increase their rates. And often those rates are based on little more than a quick skim of their competitors’ rates and a passing thought about profit margins. They set their prices without a thought as to whether they’ll support their cost of living or give them a decent rate of profitability.
I recommend upping your prices with inflation every year. But you should also consider a larger increase as your experience and abilities improve. Most clients and customers will wear a 10% increase without really noticing. It gets trickier at 20%, so I prefer a strategy of incremental increases rather than a giant leap. Tip 2: Specialize We all know we’re happy to spend more on a specialist than on a generalist. I’ll wait three months and pay a premium to have a consultation with a renowned neurosurgeon. But I’m frustrated when I have to wait ten minutes to see my low-cost family doctor. Specializing can help you: Skill up on your area of expertise Build a reputation in the market for what you do Streamline your marketing so you can focus on your core customers Clean up pricing and processes.
hours, you agree to complete a set number of tasks. This lets you charge a monthly fee for an agreed level of service, or break down an annual fee into smaller chunks. For example, you may use your accountant only at tax time and get one monster bill at the end of the year – which is hard to budget for. Alternatively, you could ask if you can pay a little each month – so you can budget it all out. Become a world class digital marketer Memberships and subscriptions For service-based businesses, this can be a great way to support your clients in a more cost-effective way. Chances are you’re giving similar (if not the same) advice to all your clients. Setting up some kind of membership or group for a monthly fee is a great way to turn that expensive one-to-one service into a more accessible one-to-many.