Leveraging A Service-Based Business

I just wrapped up work on a new project. It took some time to get the tone and voice right for what I wanted to do. But the bonus is that it’s something I can sell, over and over again. With marketing, it will become something that brings in income, but doesn’t require me to provide a service. 30 minutes a day in marketing may generate 5 sales, but I couldn’t consult with 5 clients in that period, no matter how hard I tried.

That’s the tough part about working in a service-based business. All too often, you are limited by hours in a day and how much service you can pump out. If you work too long and hard, the money comes in but you burn out. Slide too far the other way, and your finances suffer.

So it’s especially important that you learn how to leverage your time as much as possible. A great way to do that is through duplication. For example, what do you do, over and over again, with a new client or a prospect?

As a service professional, you’ve probably got some kind of routine. It may be 5 questions you always ask, or maybe it’s 5 things you wish every client brought with them to your first meeting. So, what if you created a web video, or an email handout, or an MP3 download/podcast, and got it into the hands of clients or prospects before your first meeting? Chances are it would save some time, and maybe even increase the prospect’s confidence in you (after all, they may not be sure what they want/need either). Plus you’ve got the first steps to creating something that you can use for marketing, or even build on to create a product. And, 5 potential clients could review it simultaneously. It’s almost like cloning yourself!

Every time you create something you can sell, rather than something you must do, you leverage your time a little bit more. It might be a slow build, but I can guarantee you’ll be happy with the results in the end.

In Section 6 of Smart Business Stupid Business we talk about finding out your true hourly rate, and how to start the leveraging process to create some passive income. Chances are you’ve got lots of valuable stuff in your head, or on your computer in one form or another. Refine it, and you can begin the process to reclaim some of your time, while your business keeps moving forward.