How to Scale a Business to $500K+

Growing up in a small town in Maine, I knew a lot of local business owners, like my father, my uncle, and most of the shop owners in my small town. But I’ll be honest, I never paid attention to how they ran their businesses. I was raised to get good grades, go to college, earn a master’s or professional degree, and land a stable job at a reputable business that someone else owned. That’s the path most of us are taught by society. Why? Let’s face it: watching the struggles of small town business owners is not an attractive life compared to the vision of landing that high paying job with benefits and a sense of security at an established, prestigious corporation owned by someone else.

So, as planned, I took the traditional path.

I got good grades, graduated from college, earned a PA degree, and landed an amazing Dermatology PA dream job in Santa Monica, CA, complete with an ocean view from every exam room, good pay, and a high level of security. 

I was psyched to be living what I thought was my dream! But only for a minute. 

I learned quickly that something was missing. I wanted more. Not only more money, but also more freedom and control. I became intrigued with how successful businesses operated, and I began learning everything I could about the medical business structure. This is when I learned how “service based” industries work. Doctors provide a service to patients, just like coaches, consultants and other professionals. They see a certain amount of patients in a day and bill insurance or patients for their time. The same model applies for coaches and consultants. 

I know what you’re probably thinking: so what? Well, allow me to fill you in on a few lessons I learned about how to scale a service based business model with time-management and profit maximization at the forefront.

Lesson #1:

One service provider (for these examples, think medical provider or coach/consultant) can generate revenue to earn a $100K-$150K salary per year, but they will hit a max as one person because of their limits on time. 

Lesson #2:

Service providers will hit a roadblock in their revenue potential without support staff. For example, in Dermatology, a single medical professional can generate gross revenue of $400-$600k per year with one single staff person to support them. But they will hit a gross revenue cap with a salary of around $150K (after money for overhead). However, with additional staff members, a single Dermatology professional can generate over $1M! Of course because of limitations, they will still hit a revenue max, and a single provider will likely not be able to generate much over $1.5M even with a decent sized support staff. This same concept applies to the consulting and coaching business models. The key is determining how to serve more clients in more creative ways than 1:1 sessions in order to scale up to $500K in gross revenue. 

Lesson #3:

Whether evaluating the medical model or the solopreneur coaching and consulting models, service based industries will max out at a certain revenue without one of two things: 

1. More Service Providers

2. A Way to Serve More Clients

Both of these allow for maximized profit and minimized time spent working.

In the medical model, scaling to the next step beyond what a single provider can achieve (even with support staff) will typically require more medical providers because it is not common to serve patients in a group. And that’s exactly what the owner of my practice chose to do. However, in a solopreneur coaching or consulting business, you can scale to the next level in two different ways: 

1. Having more coaches/consultants working for you who can serve your client community on a 1:1 basis

2. Hosting group programs of some kind where you remain the only service provider but are able to serve more people

After learning these lessons, I altered the operational strategy of my business, Certified Physician Assistant Consulting. I have additional consultants who help serve our clients, AND we have two On-Demand Courses. 

In my current career coaching business, I’ve helped business owners soar to the next level while maintaining healthy time management, growing successful relationships, and reaching super heights with their life goals. In 2023, I am excited to be serving clients in live group programs, 1:1 personal concierge coaching, and I am considering possibly even Courses, Masterminds, and Retreats! 

Now let’s compare the service-based model to product-based businesses.

I have also owned a product-based company. The product-based business model is a little different but still has a similar cadence to the revenue model. A $0-$100K business can be executed alone as long as the owner is the #1 salesperson (whether via local distribution or online sales). The next tier of $150K-$500K+ will require more sales people, advanced marketing skills, and substantial manufacturing/operational support. 

Having owned both a service and product based businesses myself, my opinion is that service based businesses have a simpler model with straightforward steps to scale as you build your brand and reputation without as many expensive logistical hurdles as product based businesses. But it is quite possible to be extremely successful in either or by making strategic moves that propel you to the next level. However nothing comes easy. There are basic requirements that differentiate those who are aiming for success from those who are aiming without a target in mind. These are the requirements for my success in my opinion::

1. You must be great at what you do.

2. You must like what you do.

3. You must deliver your service in a unique way and be different/better than others in your industry

4. You must establish yourself as an expert and earn the trust of influential people in your industry

5. You must be comfortable networking and “selling your brand”

6. You must understand “the numbers,” such as forecasting and basic business models

If this is you, and you need help scaling your business, I am excited to be in the development stages of new group programs to help early stage business owners get to the next level while creating that perfect work-life balance! It is my passion to help people make more money, avoid burnout and build the life of their dreams!  My vision is to create a community of like-minded business owners who can connect, share, grow together, and leverage my experience in business and life to help propel them further into reaching their goals.

If I can help you find that perfect balance of business growth, time, relationships, progress, and contribution, then I have served my mission! If you own a business or have a successful career, and you would like to create financial abundance through advancing your active income, connecting with like minded people, and finding the perfect balance of it all for your life fulfillment, then please join the waitlist for my new communities coming soon.  I would be honored to guide you while we all uplift each other and work together to make our businesses stronger, our families feel more secure, and the world a better place!