The Complete Guide to Starting a $60k Small Business

These are interesting times we are living in. Without needing to delve into too much detail, it’s clear there have been massive disruptions to our regular lives recently and this is only likely to continue. What once looked like security is no longer the case. This particularly applies to jobs. Regardless of what occurs with the Coronavirus and any impact is has longer term on the job situation, it was clear long ago, that the job market was changing. The regular, long term positions people enjoyed in the 70’s are an incredibly rare sight. Casual positions are becoming far more commonplace, as are freelance roles. What does this mean for you?

In essence, it means that you can no longer rely on a job for a stable, reliable income. The equation has flipped. Business used to be seen as the risky situation, relying on only yourself to bring in work and keep the cashflow coming in. Now, that should be seen as the preferably and more stable of the two options. Relying on one source of income in a job just won’t cut it anymore, it’s too risky.

So how does this apply to you and what can you possibly do about it? There is no need to panic. Awareness of the situation is the first step. The next step, which we’re going to cover in this article, is a plan. Our plan here is to get you to the stage where you can replace the income from a job quite comfortably, ideally pursuing a small business that you have a passion for, at least that you are happy to do on a saily basis. We’re going to walk through the process of building a small business that can produce at least $5,000 per month. That’s a little over the median wage and provides a comfortable living for most people. It’s not limited to $60k per year of course, that’s just the starting point. We have to get you to that target to take the pressure and anxiety out first, then comes the opportunity to shoot for the stars.

 

Without further ado, let’s dive in and get you started.

The concept we’re discussing here, is building a small business to the point that it provides a comfortable income in reasonable conditions. If you have a family of 5, $60,000 a year likely won’t cut it. The same as if you live inner city in Sydney let’s say. For most of us though, $5,000 a month is comfortable living.

We want to get you to the point where you’re not dependent on a wage or beholden to a position that may be temperamental. We’re not discussing how to create the next Apple and dominate your industry. That requires a completely different mindset, full of more risk and uncertainty. Making much more than $60k a year is certainly achievable with what we’re about to discuss however, it just adds layers such as employees and systems to the equation.

The second key point to make is that we are focusing on the service based model in this article. While there are an endless array of products you can sell to build a business on, it requires a different approach to a service business. It’s often more capital intensive and slower to bring in the initial work. So for now, we’ll focus on providing a service in return for currency.

 

The Maths

In setting any financial goal, specificity is important, particularly when your livelihood depends on it. So what we need to do first, is break down exactly what $60,000 per year looks like.

$60,000 per year 

=$5,000 per month

=$1,154 per week

=$164 per day

=$28.80 per hour (based on a 40 hour work week)

 

That’s not too bad is it? Under $29 an hour sounds very very doable. That of course, is based on the 40 hours actual paid work you do. There will be a lot of work you do on marketing and admin that is not directly paid for. So initially, you’ll either want to factor in another 10+ hours per week, or increase that rate to $38 per hour to account for the ‘non-paid’ work.

 

So now we have figures to work with. Firstly, we’ll need to identify what types of industries can provide pay of at least $29 per hour. That’s pretty much anything. We’ll run through a list of possible options below.

Opportunities for a $60k Small Business

As we looked at above, the target amount of $5k per month can be made in essentially any industry. A list of examples includes:

Cleaning (Domestic & Commercial)	Car Detailing	Carpet Cleaning
Window Cleaning	Pool Cleaning	Gardening (Pruning and Hedging)
Lawnmowing	Tree Removals	Landscaping
Gutter Cleaning	Painting	Waste Removal
Furniture Removals	Personal Training	Website Building
Social Media Marketing	SEO Marketing	Graphic Design
Handyman Services	Flyer Deliveries	Consulting
Delivery Service	Pet Grooming	Dog Washing
Copywriting	Tutoring	Catering
Sales/Lead Generation	Event Planning	Photography/video

 

 

Now clearly most of these do require some skill and experience, however none require years of specialised training or education to be able to operate in the field. There are many that you will likely already have the required skills in to be able to provide that service as a business. Otherwise, adequate experience and skill can generally be obtained within a few months.

A multitude of other services such as plumbing, hairdressing or cabinet making have been left off due to both the time required for adequate training, as well as the capital intesive nature of getting these started.

Key elements the business must have to reach the $5k monthly figure

1. Personal Skill/Experience

Number one is your personal ability to perform the service. With some services, you’re there because the client doesn’t have the ability to effectively do the job themselves. For example, if you’re offering a digital marketing service, you better be confident that you will be able to generate more leads and build a brand online more effectively than the business you’re getting paid by. Similarly to a personal training service, you’re there because you’re more knowledgable on the subject than the person you’re training.

Other services are there because the client simply doesn’t want to perform the job themselves. Any cleaning is a prime example of this. Dog washing may be another one that falls into this category. The dog owner, having battled for the last 4 months to get the dog into the bath, only to be scratched all over, has decided enough is enough and makes the call to a professional business. Of course, the ability to perform a high quality job is also essential to this type of service, not least because there is likely to be a lot of competition.

 

2. Market Size/Scalability

No matter how good you are at patching worn out jeans, it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to turn it into a $5,000 a month business. You will likely run into 2 issues. Number 1 is market size. While there may actually be a enough demand for this service, it’s doubtful there will be enough to be able to reach the goal figure.

You need to ensure that firstly, there is actually a market for your service and secondly, that the market demand is large enough for you to be able to reach your $5k monthly goal. These 2 points are absolutely crucial.

Secondly is the issue of scalability. How many jeans can you actually patch in a day? If the answer is 5 and you’re only charging $20 per pair of jeans, that automatically disqualifies this as an option. Even if you patched 5 pairs of jeans every single day for a year, you’d only come away with $36,500. This is not a suitable business.

Ideally you want a service that isn’t based on the number of hours you’ve performed, but rather the outcome that’s produced. Building a website is an example. You would quote say $1000 for a website, regardless of the time it takes you. What might initially take you 40 hours, might only take 20 after 6 months experience. You’ve bumped up your hourly rate from $25 to $50. That’s a great scalable business model for you to run with.

 

3. Unique Selling Point (USP)

Once it’s been determined that there is a market for your services and the demand volume is adequate to reach your goals, it’s time to figure out why those potential clients are going to use you. (Side not- we use the term ‘client’ rather than customer because you are building a relationship with them. It’s not a purely transactional process). This is your USP or Unique Selling Point.

The simple way to look at the USP is ‘Why would someone choose your business over the array of competition in your area?’. What makes you stand out from the crowd, before someone has actually used your service. Everyone advertising is going to claim their service is the best quality going. Claiming that is not going to set you apart and while you’re first starting up, you’re not going to have a range of 5 star reviews to back up your claims (though we will explore how to actually get these all important reviews upon starting out). So your USP has to distinguish yourself in how you actually market your service. There are 2 keys ways to do this.

1. Differentiation of Service: This could be a specific niche you have mastered or it could be superior products you utilise in your service. E.g a cleaning business could use eco friendly products as their USP (though that’s quite common these days).
2. Value Adding Service: This can be as simple as providing an additional service to the one you have advertised as a form of ‘value adding’. For example, my second cleaning business was called Ecostate. Not only was it environmentally friendly in the products we used and the way we conducted business, I added an additional service that would be of benefit to home owners. Whenever I went in to clean their house, I would do an energy audit, finding areas they could improve their energy efficiency and save money. I had done a course prior and decided to add this service free of charge, with an included report upon completing a clean. It was a big winner and attracted a lot more leads than if I were just advertising a plain cleaning service.

 

-USP

-Your personal skill/ability

-Big enough market

-Competition

In this section, we’ll run through a brief overview of everything you need to get your business setup and ready to bring in clientelle.

 

Registering the Business

We’re going to assume you’re setting up as a sole trader, since it’s the simplest and most affordable option. As you’re going to running this yourself for now, there’s no real need to register a company, though there are both tax and liability benefits a pty ltd bestows.

If you’re running as a sole trader, you may need to first register for an ABN (Australian Business Number) if you’ve never worked for yourself previously as a contractor. It’s completely free, all you need is a tax file number. You can register here.

Next is to register the business name to your ABN. You need to register for an account with ASIC Connect and click ‘register business name’ on the right hand column of your home screen. Follow the prompts until you come up to the prompt where it asks for the name of the business you wish to register. It will tell you whether the name you have chosen is available or not- you won’t be able to register if a similar name is already registered. Once accepted, you have a yearly fee of $36 (or $85 for 3 years) to keep the name.

*One other thing to mention- make sure the domain name is available for your chosen business name before you register with ASIC. You don’t want to register your new business name, only to find you can’t get a suitable domain name to match. 

 

Logo and Branding

The next step, once you’ve registered a name, is to get a logo designed and decide on your brand colours. There’s not too much to cover on this topic, other than to ensure that you choose something appropriate for both your industry and your personality. Don’t be afraid to have something a little edgy or flamboyant if that suits how you are going to be running your business. This can add to your USP and help you stand out in the marketplace.

There are several apps you can use to do things yourself these days, or you can outsource to a company such as Hudson Media. We do logos for $100. Another alternative is to use sites such as Design Crowd.

 

Website & Marketing

Once you have your logo sorted, we can move on to setting up your webite and marketing materials. A website is pracitcally essential in 2020 and it would be a mistake not to get a basic but professional site made up for your brand. Websites do not have to be expensive. In fact, you can do most of the work yourself.

There are 3 good options if you choose to go the self-made route:

1. WordPress. The number one. The most customisable, the best range of options and the best for SEO. To set one up, check out this incredibly comprehensive guide: https://www.wpbeginner.com/guides/

2. Wix. Very easy to get started with, no experience required: https://www.wix.com/blog/amp/2016/06/how-to-create-website-step-by-step-guide

3. Squarespace. Similar to Wix- very easy to set up and design. Great for ecommerce and more visually prominent based site: https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders/squarespace/how-to-use-squarespace/

 

Otherwise you can outsoruce the job to a company like Hudson Media. We do basic sites from $800

 

Bookkeeping/Accounting

No matter the type of business or the industry you’re in, taking care of the finances is one of the cornerstones in being successful. Particularly the aspect of managing cashflow, the lifeblood of any business, big or small. It’s imperative therefore, to get a quality bookkeeping and accounting system set up right from the beginning.

Fortunately for all of us in small business, keeping track of our income and expenses, invoicing, preparing taxes and paying staff has never been easier. Since Luca Pacioli invented the modern double entry accounting standard, bookkeeping has come along way. The latest and greatest advancement has been the rise of modern software apps that can be used anywhere you tend to operate. The 3 big players in Australia; Xero, Quickbooks and MYOB all have apps that are incredibly easy to use, allowing you to invoice, track expenses and send reminders all from your phone with the touch of a button.

We recommend Xero, due to it’s complete ease of use, though it is slightly more expensive than the rest. You really can’t go wrong with any of the modern systems, given that the complicated stuff shouldn’t be necessary for a $5k a month business.

 

Systems

 

 

Onto the juicy part of the setup process, the reason why 99% of you are here reading this. Now it’s time to dig in to how we are actually going to bring in leads and ultimately cashflow to your business. The reason we covered the other topics in so much depth is because aspects such as your USP, name and sytems will play a tremendous role in your marketing efforts and should not be overlooked. They all work together to create a highly functioning small buiness.

This will be the largest and mot comprehensive part of the post, as it’s by far the area that most new business owners (or those that are thinking of dipping their toes in) are apprehensive about. After all, what actually makes a business is the work it produces right? Wouldn’t be much point in setting up a business if it didn’t actually end of providing anyone with a service or make any money!

We’re going to divide marketing into 2 parts: short term and long term. All this implies is how quickly we may be able to bring in the work with each method, not how long you should be running each method for. For instance, running Facebook ads has the ability to bring in new leads very quickly, which is why it will be classified in the short term section, as opposed to SEO, which will take a good few months before you start to see results. That doesn’t mean you ever should stop running Facebook ads. If they’re working well, they may actually be all you need.

 

Short Term Marketing

Bringing in Work Quickly

 

Facebook Ads

Let’s kick off with the Social Media titan straight off the bat. While Facebook doesn’t have the impact or reverence it once did, it does still work for bringing in work, sometimes very very effectively. The key is doing it properly.

Rule number 1: you will need to spend money on ads. Facebook’s organic reach is practically non-existent these days if you’re just starting out a new page with few followers. Nobody will see what you’re posting. The only way to get your message in front of a sufficient number of people is to run ads. This doesn’t mean that you need to break the bank in doing so.

The amount of data Facebook has on it’s users is truly staggering. Much of that came to light of course, during the Cambridge Analytica situation after the 2016 Presidential election. Despite that, Facebook has gone on collecting data at a very merry rate. While that may be concerning for it’s general users, it’s a haven for marketers and business owners- just like you. 

Now, the depth of the ad creation process is far too much for this article and we’ll cover it in more detail another time. For now, we’d highly recommend this Facebook Ads Udemy Course that covers the topic in exhaustive depth. It’s worthwhile doing if you wish to maximise your return on advertising dollars.

 

Google Ads

The forebearer to the Facebook advertising trend was the grandaddy of targetted internet advertising; Google Adwords (now shortened to Google Ads).

There is one key difference between Google Ads and Facebook Ads and it is quite significant. With Facebook, you’re appearing in the Newsfeeds of people who are not actively looking for your service or product. Sure, based on Facebooks data collecting, they may very well be interested in your offer, but you are in essence intruding on their space. Facebook is a social platform afterall, designed to keep people connected to one another. Advertising is the secondary role.

Google on the other hand, is the place where people go actively looking for information on a particular product or service. If someone is typing in ‘quality plumbing service’, they are most likely looking to hire a plumber. Therefore your ad will be a welcome option for them to choose from, rather than an intrusion.

In our view, this is perhaps the only benefit Google has over Facebook advertising. It’s far more expensive, offers less customisation (no images for instance) and it’s massively competitive, pitting you directly against your competition, the spoils essentially going to whoever is willing to pay the most for each click. It’s definitely worth considering for your service, however once again, you’ll want to do plenty of research to ensure you are maximising your advertising spend.

 

Direct Marketing

Perhaps the most maligned and hated of all marketing efforts is direct marketing. We’ll assume, since your business is just starting out, this will be what’s termed ‘cold’ selling, contacting people who are both unaware of who you are and have as of yet, shown no interest in what you’re offering. Direct marketing can take many forms; cold calling, face to face, addressed mail and emailing. It’s certainly confornting to many who are not used to putting themselves out there to rejection.

Direct Marketing was the tool of many businesses around the globe, until the internet came along and provided another medium of getting in front of potential customers (there are of course, ways to use social media for direct marketing, which we’ll discuss shortly.) Since then, it has been looked at by some as a little slimey and none too desirable to actually perform- particularly the lost art of cold calling. Wall Street Brokers, as portrayed by movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street contribute much to that image. The other association of course, is with Indian telemarketers. Cold calling however, if done with confidence and with a firm grasp of language and sales, can still be used effectively. We still employ the practice when marketing our clients local services (it appears to work especially well for local businesses targetting other local businesses.)

Believe it or not, we have also had success with cold emailing, though really only for 1 or 2 particular services. We’ll put together a full guide on this in the near future. Just know that it’s not an essential part of your marketing in reaching a $60k business, though it is certainly one to consider if you are confident and not afraid of rejection. It can open doors very quickly and is a great way to proactively go about attracting new business.

 

Flyers

Similar to direct marketing, flyers have become less and less favourable over the years, as environmental concerns become more pronounced. It’s often amusing to see such a strong reaction against a small DL flyer, on environmental grounds, from the occupants of a 6 bedroom household hosting 2 large SUVs in the driveway. Nonetheless, No Junk Mail signs should generally be respected to avoid any issues. 

Besides that, flyers are still a highly effective form of marketing, particularly with local service based businesses, such as what you’re looking to do. We’ve actually found over the years of organising flyer deliveries, that sometimes the more informal and less ‘polished’ versions of flyers on cheap paper, perform better than the double sided, meticulous presentations from larger businesses. It will heavily depend on the industry and factors such as your price point however.

This is one we would strongly recommend testing out in your inital marketing mix, as it’s a great way to bring in work quickly and cost-effectively.

 

Network

The easiest, quickest, cheapest and likely most effective way to drum up work for your new business is to tap into your existing network. These are people that already know you, already trust you (at least hopefully they do!) and know you will do your best for them. Yet so many of us are reluctant to promote our new business endeavours to those we know. Why? Due to a little something called fear of failure. We are reluctant to tell our friends and family of our new venture because of what we think they’ll say if we fail. We’re also concerned that they’ll outirght reject our offer. That’s a little harder to bear than rejection from a complete stranger.

If you’re getting into business for yourself however, you best develop a thick skin and quickly. If you don’t take rebuffs personally and you’re willing to put yourself out there, without fear of looking foolish if things don’t work out, you’ll very likely succeed, at least at some point. Those are truly high quality traits. So ask your friends, ask your family, ask your next door neighbour, if you know your service could benefit them.

 

Lead Gen Platforms

As the name implies, these are online platforms with the sole purpose of generating leads for your business. A few examples in Australia are Hipages, OneFlare and Airtasker. These are a great go to for introducing your service to the marketplace quickly and getting some work coming in. We would recommend using them in the short term, at discounted rates to get a few reveiews and seek referals. They are generally very competitive (though it depends on the industry) and prices must be adjusted accordingly.

 

Classfied Sites

We are tremendous fans of marketing on Gumtree and other classified sites and have generated significant returns for our business and our clients businesses over the years. It’s a great place to have a presence for your new service as well. We’ve put together a full guide on how to market your business on Gumtree for you to absorb. They are highly underrated at present and don’t attract bottom dollar only, as many seem to believe.

 

 

Longer Term Marketing 

Bringing in work organically

When starting out, the majority of your efforts are likely going to spent on acquiring new business and bringing in new work as quickly as possible. Rightly so, cashflow is the lifeblood of any enterprise and you’ll need to get it flowing quickly. However to build a sustainable business longer term, you’ll want to spend time building up maketing channels that deliver leads on their own, without the constant need for your time and energy. This is the point where things start to really look promising- your first ‘organic lead’ can bring almost as much joy as the first client you actually land. In the same sense that money received passively is worth far more than money you’ve had to work for, so too are organic leads more valuable than those you toil for with anxiety and stress.

 

SEO (website & Google Map Pack)

Still the premiere platform for acquiring regular leads online, your website and your Google Listings should be a key priority for you to optimise as soon as possible. Your website is essentially your online office or storefront, the real estate carved out in the virtual world held exclusively under your control. For it to be utlised effectively, it should be used to generate work on it’s own, bringing in calls and emails from people who have been actively searching for your services. That’ the essence of SEO.

Another feature almost as important as your website, is your listing on what’s termed Google’s ‘Map Pack’, the geographical map that appears with listings under a Google search result. These display key business details and the all important reviews that are proving make or break for small businesses.

For a complete guide to SEO, check out the Beginners Guide from Moz.

 

Building Social Media Accounts

We’ll look back at the rise of Social Media as one of the defining trends of the 2010’s and marvel at how drastically it changed the course of human behaviour around the world. Businesses are a significant part of that. Platforms such as Instagram and Youtube have allowed small business owners to showcase their wares in a way that has never truly been possible before. Not only are they able to showcase products and service in an unprecendented way, they have the ability to showcase their expertise and the behind the scenes of their businesses, building quality brands in the process. The really amazing part of this, is that they can do so completely free of any monetary outlay.

If you’re deprived of capital in your start up, this is absolutely the place you should be focused on. Creating quality content, showcasing your expertise in your industry and giving away all your best stuff for free. Yes, you may lose a couple of potential customers here and there but the reputation and attention you will receive will well and truly outweigh any losses. Standing out has become a great deal more difficult in 2020 than it was 5 years ago but the opportunity remains nonetheless.

 

Referals

Ah the humble referal, still the absolute gold standard in bringing in new customers and sale into your business. Look, this is why doing quality work really is the cornerstone of running a successful business. We know plenty of operators that do zero marketing and yet are swamped with new work coming through every week. Getting referals from happy customers is hands down the best way to grow your business, bar none. The best way to get them is to do a damn good job in the first place.

You may also want to look at setting up a referal system though, just to be sure. Just because someone really appreciates the work you’ve done, doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll go around telling everyone about it. Gentle prompts and rewards can get them spreading the word about your service and growing rapidly. 

How to Scale up to $60k (and consistently reach $5k a month)

We’ve gone through the details of what’s required to get started and all the ways you can potentially utilise to bring in work. Now we’re going to put this into practise with a hypothetical scenario, based on plenty of real world results we have seen. We’ve covered physically based services such as a cleaning business a number of times throughout our blog, so we’re going to look at a digitally based business instead. We’ll run you through the process of how we would set up a website development business.

 

Step 1: Get Damn Good at Building Websites (2-3 months)

We’re going to assume in this scenario that you’re not a complete novice. You’ve built a few websites for friends before and even had a couple of freelance jobs. You’ve got a solid understanding of WordPress and the process required to get a website up and running from scratch. Now it’s time to really knuckle down and become excellent at your craft. Do a course on Udemy, study Youtube tutorials and practice building sites. Research competitors in your niche, see what they’re doing

You’re going to build 3-4 sites across different industries and make them incredible. These are going to serve as your portfolio to attract your initial customers.

 

Step 2: Set Your Business Strategy.

Firstly, nail down your ideal target market, your ideal client. Since you’re going to be a one-man show, at least initially, we’re going to specialise in sites that don’t require a large team of different specialists to complete. We’re also going to focus on creating sites that can be done through Wordpres themes, rather than highly specialised models that require in depth coding knowledge.

Your ideal client will be a small business, like yours, that also runs a service-based model, rather than products. You can look to expand into ecommerce sites down the track. For now you’re going to deal with businesses that either don’t have an online presence at all, or have an old, run-down website that needs an update. They’ll generally be businesses that have been operating for some time and don’t see the need or benefit in having a website. A secondary client will be new businesses, such as yours, that need a cost-effective option to get there brand online and a quality, presentable site.

Since you’re going is to establish a $60k small business, you’ll be looking at making $5,000 a month. After some research in the market, it looks like you can compete at a price point of $1,000-$1,500 for a quality, yet affordable site. To reach your $5k monthly goal, you’ll need to set up 4 websites a month, at an average price point of $1,250 each. So you need to be acquiring 4 new clients every single month and completing their websites with efficiency.

So now if the goal is 4 new clients every single month, we have to determine how many leads we need to be able to get 4 of them to take us up on our service offer. If say, 10 people have spoken to you and shown interest in your services and of those 10, 4 have actually agreed and hired you, your conversion rate is 40%. This will vary significantly industry by indsutry but let’s be conservative here and say your conversion rate is 20%. It will take 5 people being pitched and courted for every 1 who actually hires you to build their website. So we need 20 interested parties each month.

Now, going another level up, we need to figure out how many people we need to ‘reach’ before 1 becomes a lead and shows interest. Reach will vary by medium. Say will cold calling, it may take 10 calls before 1 party shows an interest and becomes a ‘lead’. Will flyer deliveries, it may take 1,000 flyers delivered before you even get 1 person showing interest. The difference is here, the lead from the flyer deliveries has actively contacted you and will be more likely to convert to a paid client, rather than one who has been caught off guard by your phone call. 

This number is important as it highlights the amount of work you need to put in to reach your client goal of 4 each month. For instance, if you get 1 lead for every cold call and it takes 5 leads to get a paying client, that means you need to be making 50 cold calls for each client. That’s 200 per month to hit your 4 client goal. Breaking it down like this keeps you accountable and gives you a clear goal to work towards each month, rather than simply focusing on the end target.

 

 

Step 3: Get Your Business Set Up

Decide on a name for your business. Follow the steps above to register it and the relevant domain name. That will cost you around $55 for both.

Get a basic logo made up for $100. You can then turn this into a business card design, though they will be optional. It’s still recommended to get 250 printed up so you have something to hand potential prospoects, after all, you’re likely going to be dealing with some old timers. You can get these printed at Vistaprint.

You get a Quickbooks account set up to start, that costs $20 a month. You don’t need to register for GST this year as it’s unlikely you’ll be making over the $75k threshold (though it’s possible!)

There is no need to worry about registering for GST and all tax will be done through your ABN, as you’re going to be operating as a sole-trader. There’s also no need to worry about insurances at this stage. So all in all, a very simple business to get started with.

 

Step 4: Create a Marketing Plan (Then Execute!)

First step, you’ll want a high quality website of your own. Unless you’re in quite a small region, don’t worry too much about the SEO at this stage. You’re in quite literally the most competitve industry for SEO on Earth, as they’re all professionals. It’s very unlikely you’ll be able to rank anywhere significant with the budget you’ll have to work with. So make the website another showpiece in your portfolio to impress potential prospects and show them what you can do.

Now, the most important aspect of your marketing efforts; figuring out where to reach your target demographic. For the most part, you’re going to be utilising direct marketing to target potential clients and you’re going to be doing this consistently. Since many of your target market won’t have a presence online, you’re going to have to go offline yourself to reach them. For the ones that are online but need an upgrade, you’re going to have a different strategy.

The next most important aspect of getting this $60k Small Business running, is getting some early momentum. That’s right, momentum is absolutely key. You need work coming in early and you need to start the snowball rolling, slowly building up over the weeks and months. The best way to do this is either offer to do the first 3 websites absolutely free of charge, or more reasonably, offer to do them for half price. This gives extra incentive for a potential client to use your services. 

Strategy 1: Targetting Businesses Without a Presence

You’re going to pick up a copy of the old school phone book, local newspapers, bulletin boards, everywhere you can possibly find people advertising their businesses offline. You’re going to compile all the names of the businesses, address, phone number and any other details into a spreadsheet on Google Sheets that will act as your database. Once you’ve got a good few hundred names in there, you’re going to start contacting them. Before you do so however, you’re going to have to refine what it is you’re offering them.

Remember, you’re not selling them a service, you’re providing a solution to a problem they’re facing. Their problem? Losing potential business from not being online. Ideally what you want to be able to do, is show them the amount of people searching for services such as theirs through Google. Then explain that they are absolutely missing out on that. You might also explain that individuals considering utlising their services are put off by the fact they don’t have a website, or that their online presence is making them look unprofessional.

Once you’ve put together your presentation, along with examples of your work, you’re going to decide on how you’re going to reach them. You have 3 options;

• Visit them at their place of work
• Cold Calling
• Send through your proposal in the mail

The best course would be to mail them out your offer and then call them a day or two after you know it’s arrived.

 

Strategy 2: Targetting Businesses With an Existing Online Presence

Similarly to the your first strategy, this one is going to involve directly reaching out to potential clientelle. Only this time, it’s going to be conducted mostly online. You can certainly still follow the same method outlined above to hit these businesses too. But your research at least, will be done online.

What you’re going to do, is use a few different platforms to find businesses that have a website presence, though one that’s doing them a disservice. You can use an online classified site such as Yellow Pages and search for businesses in the region you’re targetting. Click on the website link (if they’ve got one) and examine their site and it’s quality. If it’s just ok and does what’s required, leave it be for now. What you want are the really poor quality template build-a-site type websites and ones that look like they were built 10 years ago. Anything that doesn’t represent the business well. These are your clients. Create a database of these with emails and phone numbers.

Next, you want to use social media. Now, you first want to ensure your own social media platform is well set up and looks professional. So if you prefer Instagram, ensure you have a reasonable following (e.g over 1,000 is a good benchmark) and 50+ posts of quality images that represent your brand. Reason being, you’re going to be DMing businesses via the app and they will more than likely visit your profile. If your profile is a disaster, they won’t even consider your services. So, similarly to the Yellow Pages strategy, you’re going to go around and find local businesses with poor websites in the region your targetting. The great thing about building websites of course, is that it’s not region specific. Still, start with 1 area and then move on.

Now, you search a region via hashtage or Geotag and find recent posts from local businesses. Check their website via the link on Instagram, or type the business name into Google. Once you’ve found someone who can use a bit of help, you’re going to send through a DM. You’re not going to be selling immediately, so don’t start pitching your wares on first conversation. Nor are you going to send him a message out of the blue telling him his website is terrible and you could build him an one that actually looks like it wasn’t put together by a 4 year old. You’re going to strike up a conversation, like normal people do, ask him how business is going, what his struggles are, how he’s bringing in work etc. Be genuine, actually take on board what he’s saying and give as much value as you can. Eventually will come the point where you can pitch your 50% off website idea, as you are looking to build your portfolio and he seems like a great candidate. Do this everyday, multiple times.

 

In addition to both the strategies listed above, you’ll want to be taking advantage of any free listings that may yield results. Gumtree for one, is great to have a presence on. It’s free and you may pick up a job every couple of months as a bonus. It’s not going to be your main strategy, rather a ‘boost’ that will help with your marketing efforts.

Your other key strategy is going to be  networking. This all starts with taking advantage of your own personal network. Frinds, family, former colleagues are all a great place to start, particularly for the discounted websites you’re looking to start with. You’re also going to find any business networks in your region, particulalry those frequented by traditional ‘old-school’ businesses that have a greater potential of falling into your ideal target demographic.

 

Step 5: Systemise Your Processes

Once you’ve got the ball rolling on your marketing and work efforts, you’re going to systemise the whole proces, making it more efficient, scaleable and ‘outsourceable’ (that is definitely not a word). By getting sytems in place for your entire busines process, it frees up valuable mental space, ensuring you don’t need to continually think of the next steps; they are all laid out in front of you. It also makes your process for streamlined, meaning it’s going to take less time to get everything done. This is invaluable as you start to grow and time becomes a rare commodity. Finally, having a clear system is going to make it easier to outsource those menial tasks that you will eventually grow tired of. Having everything organised into steps means that your business process is much easier to understand and easier to replicate for anyone you choose to hire.

In order to systemise everything, the easiest way is to use an online platform such as Asana. This is a software platform that allows you to organise your entire business process into ‘projects’, including work you’re doing for clients. Each project can be saved as a template that can easily be replicated for the next website you set up. You can then set deadlines for specific tasks, as well as allocate them to team members. Asana have put together a full resources centre on how to use their platform which has everything you’ll need to know. Some alternatives that we haven’t used are Monday and Trello.

 

Step 6: Re-Invest and Scale until you achieve a $60k Small Business

Ok! You’ve now created a business with paying customers! What’s next? Next is getting to the point where you’re making $60k per year. Once you’ve hit that goal, you can look to expand even further!

To scale, you’ll want to start re-investing your profits back into your business. Generally, there are 2 areas where these profits should be directed to: improving skills and marketing. Ideally you’ll be spending at least 5 hours a week working on improving your skills in both building websites and also on improving your marketing efforts. There are multitude of opportunities to do so, including free Youtube tutorials and paid courses such as those on Udemy.

Secondly, spending money on quality marketing efforts is generally going to be money well spent. Running conversion and re-targetting Facebook ads at your second demographic should yield solid results.

 

Implement referal program

Paid ads

 

 

Implement all these steps and you’re well on the way to reaching a $60k Small Business! No more answering to a boss (your clients are your boss now) and no more uncertainty around whether your sole source of income (your job) is about to evaporate. You now have control and the ability to dictate the direction you choose to steer your life. You can sit back and make $5k a month while having plenty of time to enjoy the rest of life. Or, now you have the taste for the thrill of bringing in work and growing your business, you may decide to reach for the stars. It is our hope that this guide has helped you make that start, whatever you decide to do.

Please let us know about your own business journey and if you have any further questions or need any help with your journey!

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