Growing a service-based business (I am running a high-school tutoring business) is hard. It involves mastering many different parts of the business at the same time. I have been able to scale my company over the last two years, growing headcount from one to five and 3x revenue. As I’ve scaled our company, I’ve learned a few valuable lessons that have made all the difference. These insights are not just strategies but guiding principles that have driven our success. They can be applied to any person in the service industry.
1. Define Your Distribution Strategy Early On
Unless your product or service is truly one-of-a-kind, you need a solid distribution strategy so that people find out about your business. You can wait for word of mouth, but this can take a long time and has no scale (especially if you are just starting). This is often the make-or-break factor for any business. The strategy you choose must be tailored to your specific product or service and target audience.
For us, our primary focus has been SEO (Search Engine Optimization). We identified that a significant number of our potential customers search for tutoring services on Google. Moreover, we recognised that the space is highly fragmented with no real big players who dominate search rankings. Thus, for us, SEO was an obvious choice. As a result, since investing in our SEO, we have been able to generate a very steady pipeline of leads of customers who discovered us via a google search.
SEO might not be the best fit for your business though. It is a long-term play and demands patience and consistency. If SEO isn’t the right fit for your business, or you don’t have the time to wait, you need to find the channel where you have an outsized advantage. Knowing where your customers are and how best to reach them with the right message is critical.
2. Focus on One Distribution Channel at a Time
Especially for small businesses with limited resources, it’s tempting to try a bunch of different marketing channels simultaneously—social media, Google Ads, content marketing, influencer marketing, the list goes on. But in reality, when you spread yourself too thin, you end up doing none of them well. Cracking a distribution channel will take your undivided attention and focus.
For us, we decided to focus all our energy on SEO first. We experimented, learned from our mistakes, and optimized our efforts until we had a well-oiled machine driving consistent traffic and leads. Only after mastering SEO did we begin exploring other channels. This approach allowed us to allocate resources efficiently and avoid the burnout that often comes with trying to juggle multiple channels at once. The key is to figure out one channel thoroughly before moving on to the next. It’s far better to be excellent at one thing than mediocre at many.
3. Build Detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Every operations team should have a comprehensive SOP document for every process in the business. An SOP should outline where all useful information lies, how to complete a task, and even provide guidance on soft skills, like handling objections or crafting effective messaging. This step is often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of daily operations, but its importance cannot be overstated.
While developing SOPs can be time-consuming, the benefits are twofold:
- Streamlining Processes: Creating an SOP forces you to think holistically about your processes. You start to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas of improvement, ultimately streamlining operations and saving time.
- Reducing Key-Person Risk: Key-person risk is a major concern for any growing business. If a crucial team member leaves, they might take their knowledge with them. SOPs help mitigate this risk by ensuring that vital knowledge stays within the company, making onboarding new staff and internal handovers much smoother.
I highly recommend using tools like Loom for SOP creation. Instead of reading through lengthy documents, team members can watch engaging, step-by-step videos that are quicker to produce and much more accessible.
4. Think About Automation Early
Automation can seem like a complex and complicated endeavour, but there are some really basic things that can be automated by anyone. Almost every business has processes that can benefit from automation, and it doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Automation exists on a spectrum; it can be as simple as setting up a few automated workflows with tools like Zapier or as complex as custom-built solutions integrated into your CRM or ERP systems.
Early on, we explored various automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks, from customer onboarding to data entry and follow-up emails. We started small, identifying low-hanging fruit like automating appointment reminders and customer follow-ups. This saved us hours of manual work each week and allowed our team to focus on higher-value tasks. Zapier, for instance, offers pre-built automations that can help streamline a variety of tasks, from marketing to operations. Start small, and gradually expand your automation capabilities as you see what works best.
You can even build in some contingencies into your automation if you have nuances or specific situations you need to handle. For instance, we generate feedback emails using Zapier. However, due to the structure of some of our customer accounts, it is important that we review the emails before they are sent so that we can add or exclude any details. The bulk of the process is automated, but we have a small human intervention for the final step.
5. Promote the Benefits, Not the Features
When marketing your product or service, it’s easy to get caught up in talking about the features. But the reality is, features are often forgettable, and they don’t create a strong emotional connection. Customers want to know how your product or service will improve their lives, solve their problems, or fulfill their desires. This is where you need to focus—on the benefits and the impact.
For instance, instead of highlighting that we offer “customized lesson plans” in our tutoring services, we emphasize how our tailored approach helps students improve their grades, gain confidence, and achieve their academic goals. This kind of messaging generates an emotional response and makes the customer envision their future success. When potential customers can see themselves benefiting from your service, they’re far more likely to engage and convert.
