You are a service based business. Do you really know what that means?
Service is defined as to repair, maintain or provide something to someone.
A service based business is intended to help, aid or do someone a service. To enhance or empower another individual, family or organization so they can provide assistance to someone or something else.
Service Based Businesses provide value to their customers through intangible skills, expertise and time. This is different than a product based business that sells something that is a tangible object or physical product.
There are three types of Services. Business services, social services, personal services. When starting out in your business, don’t try to fulfill all three with what you offer. That confuses buyers and most of the time they are only looking for one form of service. A confused buyer doesn’t buy, so keep it simple to one of the main services. Once you are established and have a great community you can create other types of services that are add on values to increase.
If you love working with clients and enjoy variety then a service based business is a good choice for you.
Often service based businesses have one time jobs or projects where you keep putting yourself out of business with verses recurring business like most product based businesses.
If you are going to add a secondary product, make sure it relates to or compliments your service based business. There are some great service based business ideas out there. I hope that one of these below will get you started in creating more cash flow opportunities. You can also download the 25 Ways to Make More Money in the Next 30 Days mini workbook from my website and find some hidden gems in your business.
How can you add other opportunities to your service based business to increase revenue?
- Add extra value to your services to create more cash flow. What else can you add to what you are currently doing that would add more value to your clients experience?
- Become a speaker, pick a topic that relates to your main service, then get out and speak to groups of people in organizations, associations and networking groups to share what value you offer in your business. This helps to grow your list and build a community of people to share your services with.
Create a product package for your hourly services. Instead of charging per hour create an eight week or six month program (or some sort of grouping that works best for you) so they are with you more long term and create longer term success for those clients. (You can share this when you speak and can make an offer.)
Increase your hourly rate on an annual basis. Your income level is up to you! I hear people say all the time “I can’t raise my prices”! Yes you can, but not necessarily the way you are thinking. What if you reduced your time for the same price? Same price but instead only give 45 minutes instead of an hour. As you grow in experience then you knock your time down to 30 minutes for the same price. What if you raise your new client’s pricing and allow your long-term clients the same price they are used to? There are so many different ways to give yourself a raise without increasing the price. You can always reach out and schedule 30 minutes with me and pick my brain on this topic.
Improve your credentials to repackage yourself. Keep improving your skills, getting educated and sharing the value with your clients. As you improve as a service based business you can offer more to your clients. Then you repackage and upgrade your title. Here are a few examples:
- Bookkeeper – Accountant
- Copy writer – ghost writer
- Barber – Hair Dresser
- Life Coach – Master Coach
- Mentor – Consultant
- Web Designer – App Designer
Create a maintenance package that solves client’s current or potential problem create a customer support package. For example: Coaches often help the client complete on a goal. Once the goal is complete many time the clients is done and the coach moves on to the next client. What if you had a maintenance package that they can purchase at a reasonable price where they would continue to call you when they have a challenge or are ready to move forward on the next goal? Offering a six month or yearlong maintenance package will help you retain the client and keep them from moving to the next coach that is whispering in their ear. The maintenance package could include emails, monthly or quarterly Q&A calls for basic coaching and text message questions. Keep it simple and keep them close.
Create memorable experiences with your clients. From onboarding to concluding the customer connection you want to make sure your service based business creates a memorable time so your clients will want to refer you to their friends and colleagues. Here are a few ideas to help you create a memorable customer experience:
- Welcome your new clients with a personalized email, send a welcome note in the snail mail or send a gift box that makes them feel welcomed. (Don’t send cheap marketing materials here!)
- Increase your touchpoints with your clients. Send them cards for birthday’s, anniversary (relationship or working with you anniversaries are good too) and unique holiday’s so you are the one they remember.
- Upgrade opportunities. VIP Day options, eBooks, new content, first to register for a training or Q&A calls.
- Provide fast customer support. Deliver great, quality products and services to every clients and if there is an issue then deal with it right away. So many small businesses will try to brush problems under the rug… Don’t be one of them! Deal with the problem quickly and be open to customer feedback. I promise if you do that you will learn a lot in your business and create better customer experience for future clients. Being an entrepreneur means you are going to make mistakes so own up, fix it, move forward and make it better for the next client.
There are many other ways you can create opportunities to add to you service based business to increase your revenue. Pick one of these service based business ideas and work on that one idea until you get the kinks out of it and then move to the next idea.
Most often, people want to implement all the ideas at once and will become overwhelmed that they quit all of them and then come back and say “it didn’t work”. Of course, it didn’t work, because you were being pulled into too many directions at once. What you focus on is what you most often can create success with. Keep your focus on one idea and run with it until you have it down like a well-oiled machine, then move to the next idea.
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