EPISODE 130: How service-based entrepreneurs can turn their expertise into passive income

Are you feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or stuck in the time-for-money trap?

In this episode of Online Business Uncovered, I share how service-based business owners can break free and grow smarter. I talk about my own journey from web designer to digital product creator and the mindset shifts and actionable steps that helped me turn my expertise into scalable, repeatable income streams that can run while I sleep.

I’ll show you how to reclaim your time, move beyond client hours, and start building digital products and passive income. Plus, stick around for a free workshop at the end that gives you even more strategies to take action right away.

Grab your notepad because this episode is packed with clarity, inspiration, and practical steps to start earning more with less effort.

Free workshop:

• Click here to register for 'How to Build an Offer You Can Sell on Repeat' Masterclass

Get in touch:

• Click here to book a free Discovery Call
• Click here to access Passive Profit Plan

Transcript

Karen [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. This is episode 130 and in today's episode I'm talking about how you need to stop selling your time in order to make more money in your business. So let's jump right in and let's get started. Welcome to Online Business Uncovered, the show that lifts the lid on what it really takes to turn your brilliance into digital products, passive income and time freedom. 

I am your host Karen, an online business strategist, course creation expert and your go to for building a business that works for you and not the other way around. If you are an ambitious entrepreneur, feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or maybe you're just ready for a smarter, more sustainable way to grow, then you're in the right place. Because each week I'll be bringing you inspiring conversations, practical strategies and step by step guidance to help you create scalable, repeatable digital products that sell even while you sleep. So if you're ready to stop trading your time for money, reclaim your time and finally build a business that gives you the freedom that you deserve, hit, subscribe and tune in every Thursday.

Karen [00:01:18]:
Let's uncover what's truly possible for you starting now. Foreign welcome. Thank you for tuning into today's episode. I really appreciate you hitting the play button to listen to what I've got coming up today. Now this is for you if you are a service based business owner because the chances are that you probably think that the way to make money in your business is either to raise your price or maybe to take on more clients. And today I am talking about why both of those is going to not give you the freedom that you most likely want because both of them require more of you. And actually what we need to be thinking about in our businesses is preserving our time, our energy and creating things in our businesses that actually give us time back. So if you a service based provider, maybe you're a coach, maybe you are somebody that trades your time for money, then today I'm going to share exactly how you can break that time for money trap so you can start to earn more without giving more.

Karen [00:02:45]:
So we're going to be talking about the mindset shift that you may need to take the practical steps that are needed and how you can start building income streams that run without you having to be your desk all the time because it's exhausting. Been there, done that, got burnt out and realized that there was another way. I realized there was a better way and that's what I've been working on over the past probably five years now is actually building A business that is more sustainable, that works when I'm not working. So I want to really talk about how you can actually make more by giving less of yourself. Because your business is the vehicle that is going to take you where you want to go. But there's no point getting to that end destination and feeling tired, exhausted or burnt out. We want to enjoy the ride. We want to create something for ourselves that brings joy and brings income and brings freedom.

Karen [00:03:48]:
And we can't do that when we're being pulled in every which way and having to give us all the time. Whether maybe you are at a point in your business where maybe you are feeling burnt out, or maybe you are just done with clients, or maybe you just want to kind of have more of a hybrid style working so you can go and find the clients that you want to work with, but you can also make money in the background, then this episode is going to give you the clarity and the direction that you are going to need in order to make that shift. So I want to just sort of kick off really with talking about the problem that comes with selling our time. Because I know when I started my business back in 2016, I actually started by selling web design. And when you create a website for a client, it's quite a lot of work. There's a lot of work involved and it's very time heavy because not only is there the planning phase, the design phase, the build phase, the launch phase and all of the stuff that goes in between, you've also got to be there to support the client, to hold the client's hand, to make sure that they are having the best experience and they're being guided in order to give sort of me really what, what it was, I needed to be able to do the job. So I was given a lot of my time away and it didn't matter how much I charged for a website, nine times out of 10, I would leave a project feeling as though I've given more than really what I've made. And I don't really think that was down to maybe not billing as much as what I should.

Karen [00:05:41]:
I think my, my prices were fair. I was happy with my prices. I felt they were in line with maybe what was right to be charged. I think it was the fact that clients just, they just needed that extra support. When you're. When you're juggling multiple clients at any one and you've got these people that are just really needing guidance, it can be really draining. And I think when your income is then tied directly to Those hours that you work, there's always going to be a ceiling. You can only take on so many clients, like I could only take on so many web design clients.

Karen [00:06:26]:
There's only so many hours in the day. So the way that you can then make money is either by raising prices or by taking on more clients. Clients. But if you're already stacked and you're already at that limit, then that might not necessarily be an option. And I know for myself, I think when we went into lockdown, I was juggling sort of like, I think it was like 12 or 14 projects and it was, it was tiring and I was making really good money. I was charging agency prices. So it wasn't as though that I didn't have the money coming in. But what I was feeling was that I was just being pulled in every which way all of the.

Karen [00:07:08]:
So I know what it's like to feel like the only way you can make money is by giving yourself. And I'm the type of person, especially my business is I want to give the best client experience. I want them to feel like they are being supported through a process. And when it came to sort of building websites, I had a blueprint on how I would roll out the project. But every single client I worked with was very different. And so every time I'd have to start at the beginning and work my way through the process, bringing them along, making sure that they understood the key stages and what to expect and when project work was going to be delivered and what that would look like and then what would I expect from them. And so every time I took on a client, I had to go through that process. So not only was I having to go through that process with the, the work that I was doing, but also supporting the cl well, so that we'd get to the end of the project.

Karen [00:08:13]:
I've met all the objectives, I've delivered to the brief that I was given and the client walks away happy. And I think when you're a service based provider, I think that's really important, you have to make sure that at the heart of what you do, your clients are happy. They understand exactly what it is that you're doing and also what is expected from them as well. And you need to take that time and you need to give them that focus so that you get to the end result together and you walk away with a really glowing testimonial or something because you've done a good job. So I think it's just part and parcel of having to be a service Provider that is that not only are you giving your time to the physical work, but you're also giving your time to the clients. Now this was one aspect of my business that I did really enjoy because I loved getting to know my clients. I loved building that relationship and that rapport, and I loved the fact that they would come back to me for other work as well. But the problem with this was is that was what led me to burnout because I was juggling that multiple times and so my time was constantly being spent.

Karen [00:09:32]:
So I didn't have a lot of time really to focus on my business or looking at other avenues in which I can make money. So I spent money, a large proportion of my time in the weeds doing the work for the clients. Unfortunately, what that also meant was that I couldn't step away and not work because if I did that, I wouldn't get paid. So it would impact my income and I would end up losing money. And that's stressful and it's unsustainable. And when you are building a business that is solely reliant on clients and selling your time for money, you're building your business on quicksand. Because if something happens and you cannot be there to run your business, your business will stop and you'll lose that income. So it isn't sustainable long term.

Karen [00:10:30]:
Now, for me, the switch came when we were in Covid because it was that time that we were given to stop, to think, to have a pause and to reflect. And looking back, I really valued that time. I know it was a awful time for so many people, but it gave me the breathing space that I needed to really look in at what I was creating and realize that going forward, if I wanted to be around long term and I wanted to create something that had longevity, I couldn't continue going the way I was going to because it was all on my shoulders. And even though I had a team, I had people supporting me, it was still down to me. I was still leading the projects, doing the client communications, managing all the things, making sure that the deadlines were me and carrying that responsibility. And I know when you are a service based provider, you're probably just thinking, well, I'll just take on a team, I'll just grow and I'll take on more people. But then you're into people management and then that pulls your time as well. So it can be very tiring, very exhausting.

Karen [00:11:49]:
And if you've started your business because ultimately you're looking for freedom, then this model doesn't work long Term. So, as I said, in lockdown, I had a mindset shift. I had a. Had a moment where I had to really take stock and reflect and I realized that I was sitting on a fortune because I had so much expertise around what it was that I did. Instead of thinking about making money through delivering services, I then started to shift my thinking to think about, right, what could I create? Package up and sell and repeat. Now, very early on in my business, I created my first digital product and then I went on to create my first online course. But it wasn't really until lockdown that I started to make money from that online course because I realized that that was the thing that could work when I wasn't working. And that's where digital products and scalable offers come in, because they allow you to get paid multiple times for the same work.

Karen [00:12:53]:
You build it once, you sell it on repeat and you make income from that and you cannot do that with your time. Like, the most important thing that we probably have available to us is our time. And I think sometimes we give it away so freely and so easily that we then find ourselves looking for extra time to get things done. And you think, well, you know, if I didn't spend so long doing this or I didn't get distracted doing that, I would have had the time to do what I needed to do to get whatever result I'm looking for. So we have to safeguard our time because it's actually really valuable. I think when it comes to your business, it's about not thinking necessarily as a service provider, but more as an asset creator, because assets are what create income and that income is going to work for you, not just income that you need to work for. I want to share with you three ways that you can make more money without having to give more of yourself, more of your time, more of your energy, and lose your mind whilst doing it. Firstly, I want you to really think about what it is that you could create a product from.

Karen [00:14:13]:
What are you currently doing with your clients that you can turn into a repeatable product? So think about it in terms of a framework that you may have a process, maybe you've got a checklist, maybe you've got resources, maybe you've got templates. Would you currently have in your business right now that you could take, package up and sell? Because if one client needs what you have, then you're most likely to have a thousand, a million clients or customers that would equally be interested. So, for example, I used to deliver a branding workshop where I would take clients through A particular process to get them clear on their business, what their brand's about, and how they needed to show up. And so what I did is I turned that into my brand strategy planner. So it's just a planner asking the same questions with a space for people to write their answers in. It comes in either an A5 or an A4 book. So they can have it available to them and they can go through the process and get really clear on what their brand's about. Can you do this? Do you offer something at the moment? Maybe it is a workshop, maybe it's a webinar, maybe it's a masterclass, or maybe it's a challenge that you've run.

Karen [00:15:52]:
Do you have something at the moment that you can create a workbook for? Because if you do, that could be your first product. The second thing I want you to think about is, have you already created something? Do you have a recorded workshop or webinar that you've already delivered? Could you put a payment gate around that and sell it? So look at presentations that you've given, or again, resources that you've made for clients. They could probably become digital downloads or they could become. Become a sellable digital masterclass or something. Take what you have. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Just take something that you have already and then you can put a payment gate around it and then you can sell it. Make money from the assets that you already have in your business.

Karen [00:16:43]:
It's a great place to start if you've not done this before. And the third and final way where you can make more money without having to be there is by setting up automation so that you can on repeat. Now, in last week's episode, I spoke about the tools and the systems that I have set up in my own Business, episode 129. So I encourage you to go and listen to that episode because I break down the tools that I use, but I love a tool called System IO. That's a tool that I'm using. And what that does, it helps me to set everything up. So I literally have my business set up on auto, so I can send email automations and I can have an online store and I've got a scheduling calendar, and I basically can make sales without having to be at my desk. And I think that's what we want as entrepreneurs.

Karen [00:17:41]:
We want to make this as easy as possible because we want to make money in our businesses. And the best way, I think, to do that is literally by packaging up what it is that you know so you can sell it on repeat so you can go on holiday and you can spend time with your favorite people and you can go and live life with a business that is supporting you. And the thing is, I see so many entrepreneurs and business owners caught up in their businesses stressed to the hill because unless they're finding clients, they're not making money. And I think most, most small business owners are probably, if truth be told, breaking even. And if they are making profit, they're probably having to give a lot of their self in order to do it. So this is definitely something that I would encourage you as a fellow entrepreneur. If you are not doing this in your business, I highly encourage you to start because I guarantee you have got knowledge, experience, something that somebody else is going to need to help them move forward and you are sitting on a gold mine because you have that available. So why not package it up and why not sell it on repeat and make income that way? Once you have your idea and you've created your product and you've set up the automation so you've got your systems in place, you can then scale it so you can make more money without giving more of yourself.

Karen [00:19:25]:
So I have a quick exercise for you. What I would love you to do is grab a pen and paper, have something where you can jot down some notes and then what I want you to do is I want you to write down three things that you have created in your service based business that a stranger could benefit from. So what I want you to think about is a guide, a template, it could be a method or it could simply be a plan because that is going to be your starting point for the offer that you can then go on and create and make money from. Now I'm not asking you to overhaul your business, just start by adding one scalable product alongside your services. I know when I first created my online course program back in 2020, I put out a call for 10 entrepreneurs who wanted to create online courses in their businesses. And I had a flat fee of about 500 quid that I charged them and I didn't have anything, I didn't have content, I didn't have resources, I didn't have anything. I just had a framework. And so that's what I was asking people to invest in, my framework for them achieving their goal of creating an online course.

Karen [00:20:56]:
And it was the best thing that I did because I got out my own way and I put out an offer and then I digitalized it and that's what I'm encouraging you to do. You don't have to do this as a program, you could simply do this as a workbook, as a template even. You could just walk through your plan with somebody, charge it out as a strategy session and then create something off the back of that. There are so many ways to do this, but what I want you to do is just make a start. So come up with that idea. Jot down three things that you you have created in your service based business that somebody that does not know you but that is suffering from a specific problem that you can help solve, something they could benefit from. That's going to be your starting point. 

Now if you want help turning your expertise into something that sells while you sleep, then what I would love you to do is come along to my free workshop that I'm running on the 2nd of September at 7pm UK time.

Karen [00:22:05]:
This workshop is all about how to create your first scalable offer in your business and I'm going to walk you through how to do that. It's completely free. I'll put the link to the workshop in the show notes but I encourage you to come along and let's get this started. You have such valuable expertise so let's get it out of your head and into a form that can actually earn you money on repeat and start bringing you in the income that you want to be earning. 

Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. 

I hope hope this episode has given you some clarity and hopefully it sparks some new ideas. If you have found this episode helpful then please I would love you to go and share it with a friend or a fellow entrepreneur who is also building their online business because it may be the thing that they need to hear today. And if today's episode has you thinking that maybe you are ready to start looking at what digital products you can create in your business now, then I would love you to come along to my free workshop.

Karen [00:23:17]:
It's completely live. I'm going to be there guiding you through the process on the 2nd of September at 7pm so I will put the link in the show notes book your place because I'm restricting how many people can attend. It's completely free and I would love to see you there. 

o I will be back next week with another episode to support you on your journey. But until then I am wishing you a great rest of your week. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode of Online Business Uncovered. 

If today's conversation has sparked an idea or gave you a dose of clarity, then please make sure to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned. New episodes land every Thursday, so hit, follow or subscribe to stay in the loop.

Karen [00:24:10]:
And if you're loving the show, a quick rating or review goes a long way in helping helping more brilliant entrepreneurs like you find this show. Until next time, keep showing up, keep sharing your brilliance. And remember, freedom in business is possible, and it starts with taking the next right step.