How to scale a service business & earn more money
You’ve started a business, and now you’re ready to scale so you can increase your income and maybe even work less. Below, I’ll walk you through how to scale a service business with 10 practical tips and examples to help you meet your goals.
As a business coach for service providers, I often work with people who want to scale but struggle to maintain clients, charge appropriate rates, and effectively balance their workload. If you experience any of these challenges, scaling can feel like climbing a mountain. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Business scaling vs. growth
Business scaling typically involves increasing revenue with little to no additional overhead costs, while business growth often involves spending more to make more.
It usually makes more sense for service providers and small businesses working with a tighter budget to focus on improving offers, workflows, and marketing strategies before setting their sights on big growth goals. As you’re able to invest more money, you can grow your business by adding resources like team members and technology.
How to scale a service business: 10 practical tips
To scale your service-based business, you want to refine your offerings, build a strong brand, prioritize marketing, and focus on other business growth strategies, which we’ll discuss more below.
1. Refine your offerings
As you scale your service-based business, you want to fine-tune your offers to ensure you’re working efficiently and meeting clients’ needs.
When refining your offerings, consider the following:
Your unique strengths: What are your strongest skills and unique selling points?
Your target audience’s biggest pain points: What do people most ask you for help with?
How you can provide support: What specific services can you most efficiently deliver?
To learn more about streamlining your offerings, download my simplified business playbook – a free, actionable guide to help you grow a sustainable business.
Once you refine your offerings, make sure your marketing content effectively showcases this. This can help you pre-qualify leads and book new clients more quickly.
2. Build a strong brand
When we think of strong brand awareness, we often think of large companies known across the nation or even the world. However, smaller service businesses can also build a strong brand within a smaller community.
"Building a strong brand can help you get more clients and make more money,” says Brittany Wong, Owner and Brand Strategist at Happyland Creative. "Customers buy from businesses they know, like, and trust, and branding can help you build that rapport."
Wong suggests the following for building a strong brand:
Consistency: Showing up for your customers in a predictable way helps them feel more comfortable with you and builds trust, making them more likely to pull out their credit cards. Consistency puts customers at ease because they know what to expect. Brand voice is an excellent way to be consistent.
Strategy: Determine where you want to go and who you want to reach in your business, then make a plan to get there. A strategy will help anchor your business decisions and allow you to go farther and higher with your brand, rather than going wherever the wind blows.
Know your audience: Without customers, you don't make any money, so figure out who needs or wants what you're selling and learn everything about them. Think of it as a teenager with a crush – you want to go to the same places they're at, know their interests so you can strike up a conversation, and grow a connection.
3. Prioritize marketing
If you’re ready to scale your service business, you’ve got to prioritize marketing. Although it can be time-consuming, it’s necessary for creating a scalable business. Small businesses with a marketing plan are about seven times more likely to have marketing success than those without a plan.
Common marketing approaches for service-based businesses include:
Blogging: Write blog articles that cover topics your target audience wants to learn more about
Email: Send regular emails (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) to your email list sharing service updates, helpful tips, and special offers
Social media: Create content similar to that of blog articles and emails
Referrals: Encourage clients to share your information with their network, and consider setting up a referral program
I typically tell my coaching clients to implement at least one marketing strategy that they can execute at a high level, and ideally no more than three if they’re just getting started with marketing. The key is to make marketing a sustainable practice in your business so you can stay consistent with it, rather than biting off too much and burning out. Once you have one successful strategy in place, you can expand.
4. Automate tasks
Automating means using technology to simplify otherwise time-consuming and tedious tasks. This can allow you to spend more time on other projects that help you increase income and/or work less.
More than 40% of businesses say automation allows for increased availability, and 45% say it results in better work quality – both crucial for scaling your business.
Tasks you might automate include:
Invoicing and accounting
Social media scheduling
Client onboarding
Email marketing
5. Streamline processes
Many service providers spend a lot of time on repetitive tasks, like client onboarding and creating marketing content, especially in the beginning stages. Streamlining your processes allows you to increase productivity, which can help you improve your income-to-work time ratio.
The following can help you streamline your processes:
Identify inefficient areas in your workday
Create consistent processes for repetitive tasks
Use technology to automate repetitive tasks
Regularly monitor your processes and make changes as needed
An example of this in action would be streamlining your client onboarding process by identifying what steps you need in place. Then, use a CRM (customer relationship management) tool like Click Automations or Honeybook to organize the process.
6. Gather feedback
More than 80% of companies of all sizes report that feedback is beneficial to their business. Feedback from your previous and current clients provides useful information to help you improve your services and continue doing what’s working. You can also share feedback as social proof to help you get higher-paying clients as you scale your business.
Surveys and client testimonials are popular ways to collect feedback. You can share online surveys with clients that ask a mix of open and closed-ended questions to gather opinions about your work together. You can also collect testimonials through your survey and/or Google Business Profile to then share on your website and social media accounts, which is important since 71% of consumers either always or regularly read reviews.
7. Improve client retention
Depending on the type of service you offer, client retention can be a scaling superpower.
Client retention allows you to spend less time securing new clients and continue working on projects you enjoy. For example, if you’re a copywriter, consistent retainer work is often more beneficial for scaling than one-off projects. Over time, you can also increase your rates with long-term clients, who are less likely to negotiate if they value your work.
Excellent customer experience is key for client retention. More than 70% of people say they’d even be willing to spend more with a brand that provides a great customer experience. You can offer a good experience by delivering the work you promise, having consistent communication, and quickly acting on feedback.
Nearly 75% of consumers also say they want to be treated like a person, not a case number. Therefore, client relationships are key to customer retention. Be kind and respectful, and genuinely connect with each client as an individual.
8. Consider delegating or outsourcing
If you’re trying to scale a service-based business without making a significant financial investment, you might not want to hire support. However, delegating or outsourcing can help you increase your efficiency and focus more on your core money-making skills.
Delegating means assigning tasks to an employer on your team, while outsourcing means hiring an outside person (usually a freelancer) for support. Outsourcing is usually the best option for scaling a service business on a budget since it’s usually more cost-effective.
Tasks you might consider handing off to someone else will vary depending on your type of business, but can include:
Admin work
Bookkeeping
IT support
Editing
9. Increase your rates
Improving your business for growth also means you can usually raise your rates. For example, if you’re getting more leads due to your marketing strategies and client feedback, your value increases.
Raising your rates also allows you to spend less time working in your business and more time working on it. You can create better systems, outsource, and even work less if you want.
One of the most common struggles my coaching clients have is feeling unsure about raising their rates. But more often than not, it’s time to charge more.
A few signs it’s time to increase your rates include:
You’re consistently booked
It’s been at least a year since you increased your prices
You have reviews and/or case studies showcasing your value
Your business expenses are growing
10. Create and sell products
As a service provider, you’re usually trading time for money, which can create a revenue ceiling. Selling products or digital resources can make it easier to scale a business.
I recommend following the above tips for how to scale a service business before creating and selling products, as this can be time-consuming. It’s better to do this when you’re in a place where you can work less on your services and/or have the ability to outsource.
Your products should align with your service(s), but options vary depending on your niche. Typically, service providers sell e-products as they’re easier to maintain and have little to no overhead costs.
Examples of different types of service providers and possible products to sell include:
Copywriters: Copywriting course or e-book
Website designers: Website templates
Photographers: Photo presets
Interior designers: Templates for renovation projects
Coaches: Digital planners
Get support scaling your service business
I hope you found this article helpful and are ready to start scaling your service-based business. As you refine your offers, prioritize marketing, streamline processes, and more, you’ll be on your way to increasing your income and creating a fulfilling business.
Scaling a business isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. Start small, take it step-by-step, and work your way towards achieving your goals.
If you’d like support scaling your service business, feel free to explore my business coaching offers. I offer business and marketing strategy support to help service providers with a solid foundation get clarity and take action.
If you’re ready to chat and learn more about service business coaching, book a free discovery call here.
