Growing your service-based business: dealing with family and friends

Growing your service-based business: For coaches, consultants, trainers, and professionals

Question: 

Someone I know socially has heard about my new business and asked me if we could meet up. I assume she is interested in the services I offer, but I am afraid she will want a freebie. What should I do?

Answer:  

When your business offering is a service, which depends on your knowledge skills and competencies, YOU ARE the business. When you meet with a potential customer, in many cases, you have everything you need to provide the service or solution. You may not need any further equipment or resources.

As a service based business, your most precious resource is time. Every meeting you have that is not paid, is time not available to serve paying customers.

Challenges faced by service-based businesses 

1. It is difficult separating yourself from the business - As you are the expert in your specific field, you are the business and wherever you go the business goes 😊.
2. If you have have multiple roles, it becomes even more complex - When you are running a business alongside working part-time in a different capacity where people are used to receiving these services for free. An example is if you are working in a community-based setting or as a volunteer utilizing your expertise.
3. Friend and family blur the lines between business and pleasure - It can be made even more awkward when you are approached by family, friends or people you know socially who are not used to the idea of paying you for your services. These people will often want “to just have a chat” and may not realise that you run a business.
4. Fear of speaking about money - The fear for you is that they may want to get the services for free and you may not yet have the skills or confidence to talk about fees, and charges for your services. You may also be afraid of how they will react to you charging them. Do friends do that?
5. You may also suffer from a lack of confidence in what you are offering. You may not yet be 100% convinced that it is value for money and that people will pay you for it.
6. Do I want to work with them? You may not be sure if you want to want to work with the person enquiring and are afraid that saying no could bring tension to your personal relationships.

So, what should you do if you are approached by someone you know socially and they want to ask about your coaching, consulting, training or professional business?

Client acquisition process

The simple answer is that you should absolutely say yes to the meeting, especially if you are taking on new clients. Then when you say yes, your “client acquisition process” should kick in and determine what you do next. Your client acquisition process, also known as the “lead management process,” is the steps you take to move a stranger or new enquiry to a paying client.

An example of a client acquisition process might include the following steps

1. Capturing contact details
2. Initial call to assess if they are a right fit for your business
3. Booking a meeting to discuss their challenges and how you can together
4. Sending a proposal of how you can help them
5. If they accept your proposal, you can start your onboarding process

5 things you should not do with friends and family when running a business

1. Don’t mix business with pleasure. Keep business and personal matters separate.
2. Don’t assume they want things for free. And if they do – ask yourself if your business can sustain giving things away for free.
3. Educate them about how your business works and why it is important for you to charge a fee for your work.
4. Don’t’ be afraid to say no. If they are not a right fit for your business, it is better to say no early on than to endure months of pain and stress.
5. Ask for their support. Friends and family are often your biggest supporters and will help you market your business. Let them know who you are looking to connect with and ask them to share with others about your business.

If you have found this helpful we would appreciate it if you can share in on social media and helps another growing business.