In this post we’ll explain the different business models you can use to scale your 101 business, the good and not so good side of each option.
We’ll provide you clarifying questions that will help you make a strategic decision of which model will suit you best and take action towards the growth you’ve been waiting for.
We will focus on the scalability options for service providers and coaches in the online industry.
What are the Different Business Models and Why Does it Matter?
Understanding your options is key to your business success. You don’t want to commit to something that is not aligned with you just to make more money, do you? That is usually not sustainable in the long run.
If you are like me and most of my audience, we are driven by helping people and by our mission – not by money – and if/when we make decisions solely based on money, we will get frustrated and unhappy with it. (Believe me, I’ve seen this happen many many times)
So let’s get to it.. Here are the most known options:
#1 Group Program
Most of the coaches or service providers take the route of creating a group offer to scale their business, which is a valid approach and works well for many of them.
#2 Courses
Creating and launching a course is another option and a bit less work then the group program, as you don’t need to add live components to it. Once you’ve developed it, you can sell on evergreen and have it as an extra revenue stream.
#3 Agency
Scaling through an agency means leveraging subcontractors or employers to do the work you are currently doing. Training them to be a version of you and deliver the same quality of work as you do.
Keep reading for pros and cons for each model and decide which one is the best fit for you.
There are 5 things you should keep in mind before choosing your next move.
#1 Choosing the right business model
One of the first steps you need to take is deciding which business model works best for you and what is your scalability plan.
As I mentioned before, you can scale by creating a group program, a course or going the agency route.
If you go the group program or course route, that means becoming a teacher which may be a completely new skillset you’ll need to develop.
It also means detaching from your client outcome/results and understanding you can not scale to a different business model and expect your clients to have the same results as they were having while working with you 101.
A course or group program can have many different structures as well but in general when you are starting to scale, you’ll most likely be the primary person delivering on that offer.
So the content, the calls, and anything else you include will mean more work for you.
You can open up your schedule as you won’t be doing as many 101 but you’ll have regular appointments on the group program model.
On the course model it will depend if you are running it live or if it will be pre-recorded.
As you can see, there are a lot of variables which means you need to really look at it strategically and see what will work best for you.
So far I’ve been mainly talking about group programs or courses but what about the agency?
If you want to scale through an agency, that means you’ll need to become a true leader and a master of delegation. You’ll also need to be a teacher and train your subcontractors or employees to perform the work you’ve been performing on your own.
The result/outcome your client will expect should not change, what changes is that you are not the only one delivering it.
That works whether you are a coach or a service provider.
If you are a service provider, you’ll be looking to hire people with a similar skillset and who knows how to work on the platforms or service you deliver and want to be part of a team.
If you are a coach, you’ll be looking for other coaches who work on a similar line of coaching or have relevant experience around that line, which you can then train them on your methodology and coaching style.
Either way means releasing control, trusting your team members and stepping up big time to a leadership role.
The idea is to remove you from client facing activities and let your team take over that. Your focus would be on team facing activities and ensuring they are happy, delivering results as expected and keeping your turnover rate low.
An agency style asks you to be a CEO more than any other scalability style mentioned above.
#2 Creating your new offer suit
Once you decide on the business model you’ll want to pursue, then you need to create your new offer.
The first thing is to design an offer that is in alignment with you, your style and how you want your business and life to be.
For example, if you are looking for more free time and a clean calendar.. you won’t want to add a lot of group coaching calls on your week, or even consider a biweekly or monthly call style instead of weekly.
For the course, considering how you’ll deliver and market it is extremely important. You wont need to add calls but you’ll need to have a great marketing plan to consistently sell it.
Here it is important to do some research, see what is already existing in the marketplace, understand your competition for that particular offer and price point as well.
Once you do your due diligence and have a clear picture of where your offer would stand in the marketplace, you can continue to develop it.
Quick checklist for you:
- Define the outcome of the offer
- Get clear on the results your client will get and the transformation you’ll provide
- Define the scope of the new offer
- Define the price point
- Define how you’ll onboard new clients
- Define how you’ll deliver the on the promise to your new clients
#3 Launching your new offer
When you are clear on your offer, it is time to launch it on the marketplace.
Creating a good marketing strategy and plan is essential to your success.
You may have great leads already that could buy a beta version of your new offer, or you may need to start from scratch sourcing your leads.
At this point, it is really relative to where you are with your marketing efforts and how much traffic and visibility you already have.
If you have an audience ready to buy, go for it and put your offer out there.
If you still need to build an audience for the new offer, then plan more carefully your marketing strategy to accomplish your goals.
A few prompts to help you decide:
- Do I have a warm audience who is ready to buy my new offer?
- Will my current sales and prospecting strategy work for the new offer?
- Do I have a good size audience that can benefit from it? (Email list, social media followers, website traffic, podcast listeners, etc)
- Have I ever launched an offer before? If yes, what worked and what didn’t work?
- Do I have strategic partners that I could use to promote my offer? List a few names.
- What would be the most aligned approach to launching an offer for me?
#4 Test, Tweak and Improve
Test, Tweak and Improve your offer and your launch strategy.
No matter how much we plan and prepare to put something out to the market, there is always room for improvement, so taking it as a new learning experience is crucial and it will be the differentiating factor to your success and scalability of your offer.
Be open to changing it and pivoting after your first try. You may realize it wasn’t what you expected and that is ok, you can change and adapt.
Ask for feedback from your clients to understand what you can do better on your next round.
Do your due diligence and evaluate what worked and what didn’t work on your launch, onboarding, delivery, sales and more..
Improvement is what makes growth happen. Remember that!
#5 Scaling
Here the fun begins.
When you hit the scaling stage, you’ve already delivered your offer the first time and notice a couple of improvements for the second round.
You realized what you liked and what you didn’t like, and you were able to adjust it accordingly.
You are happy with the results you are offering, you’ve a list of happy clients that got the transformation you’ve promised, you are confident on what you are doing and can’t wait to serve more people and help others with what you’ve built
So it is time to step up the game and bring more leads and more clients.
It is time to strategically plan your business growth and scalability.
For this next level..
- How many clients do you want to have?
- What do you need to have in terms of systems and operations to support that next level of growth?
- What needs to change on your marketing efforts to attract qualified leads that will help you achieve your sales goals?
- How many people will you need to hire?
- What do you need to have in place to legally protect your business?
- Are you ready to handle the growth you desire?
- What will that mean for you? How much time will you need to dedicate to the business?
- How will you need to grow and what skills will you need to develop to be the leaders of your own business once you hit the next level of success?
So forget the cookie cutter options and the launch formulas out there.
Create something authentic and aligned with you that you will be passionate about in the long run.
Take your time to evaluate what the best option is for you and once you do, act on it!
If you need help to develop your new offer from concept to delivery, book a call here and let’s talk.
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