How to Scale a Service Business (7 Low-Stress Methods)

You’ve spent the painstaking nights and weekends starting your service business, it’s gained momentum, and now you’re wondering how to scale it up. First, give yourself a mental pat on the back! Way to go! So how exactly do you turn a humble homegrown operation into a smooth and streamlined profitable machine? Like turning water into wine, or spinning straw into gold, it might seem like magic. But there’s no sorcery involved here – just strategy, implementation, and consistency.

This might sound obvious, but scaling up isn’t about inflating your operation overnight. Even though a quick cash influx might sound appealing, that almost always comes from unsustainable practices or tactics. That’s why if you’re truly desiring a sustainable business engine, rather than something that ebbs and flows unpredictably, scaling up with intention and from careful planning is the way to go. From crafting a resilient business model that keeps revenue rolling in to unleashing powerful marketing strategies – these are the crux of long-term success for a service-based business.

The Fundamentals of Scaling a Service Business

In any service-based business that’s ready to scale up, you have a steady flow of clients and customers, you’re delivering high-quality services with predominantly positive client satisfaction, and have some funds to invest in scaling up.

But did you know a whopping 70% of startups fail due to premature or dysfunctional scaling? And startups that scale properly grow about 20x faster than startups that scale prematurely? That being said, some common pitfalls of scaling a startup include spending too much on client acquisition before establishing true product/market fit, investing in all of the marketing channels before identifying the ones that make the most sense, and hiring for roles you don’t need right now but think you’ll need in the future.

That’s why it’s crucial to have a full picture and understanding of where your business currently sits and if it’s genuinely in a strong position to scale up.

Before you move forward, ask yourself and think about these questions:

1. How exactly do I want to scale up? Do I want to sell more of my existing services? Do I want to create a brand new service? Do I want to expand into a new market or double down in my current one?
2. Do I myself want to take a more active role in scaling up or a more passive one?
3. If my scaling efforts fail and those invested funds end up having a negative ROI, will my business still be ok and safe?
4. How will I take care of my mental health if my scaling up efforts don’t go as planned?

How to Develop a Robust Approach to Scaling

To scale up your service business, you need more than just ambition. To kickstart substantial growth, you’ll need to construct a robust business plan that allows for increased profits without diminishing the standard of your services, introducing difficult new bottlenecks, or without putting too much stress and pressure on your existing team.

Streamlining and Automation: Making Processes More Efficient

A major part of creating effective standard operating procedures (SOPs) is streamlining tasks where possible. This involves identifying repetitive or time-consuming processes in your workflow and then either automating them using modern technology solutions or hiring someone for those tasks.

For example, if leads are currently having to call your business to set up an initial consultation or learn the details about your services, that means you’re not utilizing technology to its fullest extent. Not only do most people prefer taking care of inquiring in a couple of quick, easy steps, but having leads submit a quick form on your website after exploring your services also saves your business a lot of time. But remember: it’s not about replacing humans with machines – it’s about letting technology do what it does best so that the folks on your team can focus on higher-value tasks.

As a service-based business, check out this automated call scheduler, this tool for setting up automated SOPs, this all-in-one client manager, and this beautiful and easy-to-use email marketing tool.

You already know we can’t move forward without talking about artificial intelligence (AI). With its post-2022 explosion, businesses are implementing technologically advanced SOPs now more than ever. If you’re unfamiliar, there’s a million and one ways to use AI in your service-based business. From customer insights to predictive analytics to marketing copy to chatbots, AI isn’t going anywhere. And for good reason – a Thomson Reuters report found that professionals can save up to 12 hours per week (per week!) by using AI within five years. Put another way, this could mean hiring an additional role for every ten team members. That’s a lot of potential efficiency!

Lastly, the trend of productizing services is only growing. If you’ve never heard of this before, it’s the process of designing your services into easily digestible, easy-to-understand packages. So, for example, as a florist you could productize your services into those for weddings, those for corporate events, and those for funerals. Not only does this make it easier for people to book your services, it also allows you to really fine-tune services into each purpose’s specific needs.

Training Opportunities During the Scaling Process

The success of scaling doesn’t solely rely on having efficient systems; you also need capable team members who understand these systems inside-out. That’s when providing training opportunities during the scaling process becomes crucial.

Just like AI can’t magically set itself up in the best way possible for your business (yet, anyway), your employees also can’t maximize your technological investments unless they know how to do so. Most, if not all, online tools have comprehensive, in-depth training materials available for free online. If you’re not sure where to start, try searching ‘how to easily use [tool]’ and ‘best ways to use [tool] in business’ on YouTube.

Focus On Profit

Above all else, of course, you’re running a business and that business depends on profits. A potentially smart start to scaling is revisiting your pricing strategy. It might sound as exciting as watching paint dry, but it’s essential for sustainable scalability. You price your services too low and it can be a race to the bottom to attract that wider market. You price your services too high and you might only see a new lead every three months.

There’s no perfect pricing, but your market will give you a pretty good idea of what they are and aren’t willing to pay for any given service. Jason Cohen, founder of WP Engine, recommends creating more willingness-to-pay via delivering higher value and then splitting the difference between generating profit and ensuring customer savings. This way, everyone gets what they want while no one gets burned or taken advantage of.

If you’re not sure where to start, try taking a look at what others in your space are doing (with a huge grain of salt!). Just because another business has certain prices, doesn’t mean they’re doing well. The more data points you have, the better – you’ll want to check out at least 15 or 20 competitors to get a better understanding of what services potential clients and customers are comparing before inquiring for their needs.

Implement Effective Marketing Strategies

Growing a service business is like baking the perfect cherry pie. You can’t just slap together random ingredients and hope for the best. It’s all about using proven recipes – or in our case, proven marketing strategies.

Social Media For Your Service Business

Social media isn’t just funny cat videos and appetizing food photos anymore. Leveraging social media platforms can do a whole wonder of things for your business! From building brand identity and recognition to deepening customer-business relationships to opening up unlimited opportunities, having a solid social media presence for your business is almost a non-negotiable these days. Of course, if your target market is 80-years-old and above, then social media might not be the best investment for scaling up. But for all other businesses, all other age groups spend a lot of time on social media.

In today’s digital age with smartphones practically attached to our hands, organic content marketing plays a vital role in building relationships with existing customers while attracting potential ones. But remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Building a following on social media takes time! Don’t feel bad if your accounts aren’t growing as fast as you want them to, especially if you’re new to social media marketing or you have a traditionally unsexy business. Also, what’s working great for someone else doesn’t necessarily mean that’ll work great for you – in fact, you’ll almost certainly need a different strategy because all businesses are inherently different and start at different places.

When choosing which social media platform to invest resources into, it comes down to which one you believe (after market research, client/customer research, and a cost-benefit analysis) will generate the most profit (i.e. the greatest positive return-on-investment). Of course, it’s impossible to know the future but you can make a smart decision knowing which platforms (like Instagram or TikTok) offer what.

You might also want to consider the current landscape and track record of that company. For example, Instagram makes frequent changes to its algorithms so you’ll need to be able to stay agile and adapt quickly. Whereas X (formerly Twitter) is now owned by Elon Musk, who prefers to do things a certain way like trying to ban links to certain platforms back in 2022. Also, all companies have their own privacy standards and policies.

Gain Traction Through Social Media Ads

If done correctly, social media advertising offers another avenue for getting your business in front of prospective clients and customers –  especially with smart, strategic targeting set up.

Paying for ads on social media is most helpful when you’re just starting your Instagram account and don’t have any followers. You can run different kinds of ad campaigns, like one for gaining followers or one for getting more email subscribers. Running ads is also helpful when you already have a strong follower base and just want to reach new people without posting organically. Of course, you should regularly keep track of how much you’re spending on ads and if what you’re getting out of it is worthwhile. Side note: hiring a trusted social media ads expert may be the way to go if you don’t know where to start!

Make Your Online Home Work For You 24/7

If your service-based business has a website (which it probably should by the way!), a hugely profitable way to scale up could be search engine optimization (SEO). This is the process of fine-tuning different elements of your website (both behind-the-scenes and what’s visible on the actual site) so that search engines like Google and Bing rank your website higher than your competitors. When that happens, ideal clients and customers are much more likely to click on your website instead of your competitors’ sites, earning you more sales.

SEO services, similar to other online digital marketing services, tend to be an investment of at least $1000 per month. However, PLEASE BE AWARE that there are a ton of scammers and unethical folks offering SEO services. If anyone makes any guarantees like they’ll get you ranking #1, RUN. It’s impossible to make any ethical promises with SEO because ultimately Google controls its algorithms – just like it’s impossible for social media managers to make any ethical promises regarding follower counts, for example.

When it comes to investing in SEO, you can go a number of routes: 1) hire a trusted SEO provider, 2) hire a full-time/part-time SEO employee, 3) learn it and implement it yourself. All three options have their pros and cons, so it’s important to think those through depending on the ins and outs of your unique service business.

Leverage Partnerships and Sponsorships

Partnerships are such an underrated way to scale up a service business. Think of it as tapping into an already engaged audience, but with less legwork. Let’s say you strike up a partnership with another complementary business. Now, their clients and customers are getting to know about your services without you having to spend money on customer acquisition.

This is the power of symbiosis in action. Of course, you should keep in mind that business partnerships need to benefit both parties – especially if you’re looking for a sustainable, long-term partnership.

Whether you already have connections you’re exploring or just starting to build a business network, you’ll want to prioritize setting up a partnership with a complementary business to yours. For example, if you’re a social media manager, complementary businesses might be pinterest managers, copywriters, and graphic designers. If you’re a florist, complementary businesses might be event venues, wedding planners, and funeral homes.

Beyond partnerships, sponsorships can be another great way to grow your business. They’re generally more straightforward and easier than partnerships to set up because all it takes is usually some financial investment.

Some examples of profitable sponsorships are:

• Sponsoring a local sports club, event, charity, or festival
• Sponsoring a Facebook post in a Facebook group where your ideal clients and customers hang out
• Sponsoring a blog post on a website and/or blog that attracts your ideal clients and customers

If you have the funds, you may want to test a few strategic sponsorship placements in different mediums to see which one performs the best. That way, you’ll know to keep placing sponsorships in that medium (until it’s no longer profitable, anyway).

The Power of Community Engagement

If your service business serves your local community, then taking part in community events is not only good PR – it’s solid marketing too. By sponsoring local things, such as sports clubs or festivals, you’re positioning yourself front and center of a highly engaged group of people. This increases your brand visibility while also showing that you’re invested in the community.

You’ll just want to make sure that the audience is composed of your ideal clients and customers. Like you probably wouldn’t want to sponsor an electronic dance music festival if your services are for the elderly!

Build an Effective Team As You Scale

Scaling up a business likely involves hiring for roles (full-time, part-time, freelance, or contract) either before or after making investments Before making an investment, you may want to hire for a role that’s necessary to support that upcoming investment. On the flip side, after an investment, you may want to hire for a role that became necessary as a result of profits from that investment. Your team members are the movers and shakers behind your service business, so you’ll want to make sure you hire smartly and strategically. But how do you identify the right team members?

• Hunt for go-getters who take initiative rather than waiting to be told what to do next
• Seek out those who possess strong communication and personal relation skills (job skills are learnable, but finding the right match based on how someone communicates and deals with problems is more important)
• Look for versatility – individuals comfortable wearing multiple hats can adapt easily as their role evolves with your growing service-based business

Finding such exceptional talent is half the battle; keeping them motivated and engaged forms the other half. Empowering team members comes into play here. Give them autonomy over their tasks, seek out and genuinely hear their opinions, and involve them in decision-making processes where appropriate.

But remember, even superheroes need guidance and leadership. Consider offering regular training opportunities that allow staff to shine in their respective areas while also fostering teamwork, as well as fun team-building exercises and field trips (like escape rooms). After all, synergy among team players is essential when it comes down to delivering high-quality services consistently.

All of these methods of scaling up your service-based business take patience, strategy, determination, and solid resources. Because all businesses are different from each other, try not to compare what someone else is doing to what you’re doing in your business or how your business is performing to how someone else’s business looks like it’s performing. And if this all feels overwhelming to you, try to re-focus your attention and plan just the next couple of steps in front of you. Yes, future 12-month planning is smart to do, however, if it’s feeling like too much then that’s probably a sign you need to take a step back and take a deep breath.