How to Build A Business That Gets Leads Even When You Take Time Off

Before I even begin, I want to disclose that I am NOT talking about passive income here. I am talking about building a service based business worth building in the first place.

Big difference.

And as service providers, we make money by trading our time. It doesn’t matter if you’re a photographer, esthetician, social media manager, brand designer, personal trainer, hair stylist or whatever (you know who you are).

So this means that when we want to take time off, we deal with that mental battle of thinking…

“Well then that means I won’t make money” or

“Ugh that’s gonna be a lot of catching up to do when I go back to work” or

“Yeah… I don’t even think I have the time to take time off in the first place.”

Whether you’ve thought one of those before, or something else, I want you to know that it is 100% possible.

And no, it doesn’t require some finance bro trading strategy to figure it out. It just requires a beautiful brain (which you already have), systems in place, and the right kind of order. And one of those you already have, so let’s talk about the other two!

Why Most Service Providers Feel Like They Can Never Step Away

Hi my name is Kaylie and I am a recovered workaholic in my business. I started my first business in 2018 (a photography company) and was so driven to go full time, make a ton of money, and genuinely very passionate to build something I loved… well, it burnt me the heck out.

So in 2022 when I went full time with that business, I had a lot of learning to do. Finally after 3 years of more 24/7 hustle, I realized that I… REALLY did not want to keep going at that pace. I actually wanted PEACE in my business. I wanted to take time off & not feel like I had to be at the beck and call of my emails, or posting 24/7 to try and get leads…

Anywho this is not about me, it’s about YOU. So I’ll have to finish that story at a later date, but my point is that I know what it’s like to work 24/7 and not be able to take a day off while still getting leads or generating revenue. And very quickly, taking time off starts to feel like a burden because things get harder when you step away from your business.

Which btw, is NOT a flex. So many of us claim that we started our own businesses to be independent, but we fell right back into the same habits of being held captive in what we build. The only difference is we own the LLC for that.

Yup, I went there. Now let’s continue. (promise I am getting to my point right now)

So since the goal is to not work everyday, forever… what should you do to avoid that?

Have You Ever Heard Of the Business Ecosystem?

If not, this is about to rock your socks off.

A business ecosystem is a collection of systems in your business that function together as a unit. Just like how a regular ecosystem in nature functions. It doesn’t need humans to function because everything has a job, a place, and it operates on it’s own. It doesn’t require thinking because the system is repeatable.

Ah, there’s that word… “repeatable.” That is the most important part! So wanna make that happen in your business? Cool, let’s keep going.

Business ecosystems begin with my favorite word, structure. So everything has a purpose!

Here’s an example of the business ecosystem I teach service providers:

The 6 Parts A Well Designed Business Ecosystem Needs

(1) A traffic source

This is literally the MOST important part of your ecosystem. Because you cannot nurture or convert what is not there (aka, traffic). So making sure that your business is constantly reaching new people is crucial for a healthy and effective ecosystem to function.

Some great places to get traffic from for your business:

• Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook
• Pinterest (which is actually not a social media platform) – to learn more about Pinterest marketing click here!
• Google SEO & blogging (ranking your website & blogs on the Googs)
• Networking in person such as attending networking events
• Referrals – set up referral programs for your existing/past clients

So if you’re someone who’s only marketing your business on one traffic source, then you’re gonna sit there and complain that you don’t have enough traffic… you gotta fix that. (I say with tough love)

(2) A way to capture leads & interested potential clients

Traffic means absolutely nothing if those people disappear. So we gotta nurture them & keep em’ around!

The best ways to do that are by:

• Selling daily on your Instagram stories (which I talk more about here)
• Get people on your email list through freebies, quizzes, waitlists & newsletters
• Creating retargeting ads through Meta to keep people interested & send them to your landing page on your website

Your goal here is to get them off a borrowed platform & onto platforms that you own! Or at least to collect their info somehow so you can continuously market to them. Whether that’s getting a follow on social media, collecting their email list, or generating a lead via a contact form on your website.

(3) Set up a nurture system

This is where most service providers fail when it comes to taking time off. In order to keep that traffic flowing through your ecosystem, you need a way to nurture them without YOU being the one to do it 24/7.

This is where email marketing & retargeting ads reallllyyyy comes in handy here! Because you’re able to set up automated email workflows that connect with your potential clients over time, without you manually sending those emails.

Another great way is to send them to your landing pages with retargeting ads using Meta ads. This way, you don’t have to constantly post new content to get seen.

Pinterest is another phenomenal way to do this on auto-pilot! Remember when I said that Pinterest is actually not a social media platform? Yeah I wasn’t kidding. It actually works more like a search engine (think how Google works). So I highly recommend hopping on the Pinterest train if you’re tired of keeping up with social media platforms.

Here’s a link to another article if you’d like to learn more about getting started marketing your business on Pinterest!

(4) Super duper clear services, offers, and messaging

People need to know what the heck you offer, and they need to hear it over and over and over again. This is why repeating yourself in your marketing is so important. So be super clear about what it is that you do.

Then you want to make sure people know what problem your services solve, why the heck they should listen to YOU vs. everyone else in your niche, and most importantly… they want to know that you know the ins and outs of their problems. This way they see you as the go to expert when they’re ready to book.

(5) An amazing client experience

Look, a few years ago everyone and their momma decided they wanted to be their own boss so they started a business. They rely heavily on AI to be their brain, they create content that is generic, their messaging isn’t very strong, and they do the bare minimum because we live in a society that made the bar super low for who can enter the business ownership space.

BUT that does not mean that those business owners will be successful because what’s really needed in this era is a knock it out of the park client experience. Anyone can run a business with AI or do the bare minimum, but not everyone can make their clients feel justified that they chose YOU to spend their hard earned money on.

I know that sounds so incredibly blunt, but it’s true. I see so many people care more about marketing to new clients that they forget to care for the ones that they already have.

And if you really want a business that will work for you in the long run then you need to treat your clients like royalty so they want to refer other people to you and be a walking billboard for your business.

(6) Make it repeatable and structure the crap out of it

Your client booking ecosystem will only work as hard as you work for it in the beginning. So yes, it’s going to require work to create it in the beginning, but not as much as you might thing it requires.

But once it’s set up, it’s set up. For tomorrow, next week, 2 months from now, and years from now. But that will only happen if you give it the necessary structure it needs from the start.

If you want to learn about how to set up your business ecosystem and get support for every question that comes your way in your business, check out the Growth Lab below! It’s my business strategy and coaching membership to help you with every single piece of putting together your client booking ecosystem.

So What Does This Look Like In Real Life?

My natural skeptics, I am talking to YOU! Because my brain works like that too.

Here’s what setting up your client booking ecosystem looks like if you were to take a long weekend vacay:

This is not complicated stuff, but it is systemized. And that is the whole point. This stuff is not supposed to be harder than it needs to be, it just needs to be well set up on the backend, so everything else gets easier when you take time off.

A successful business isn’t built on constantly chasing your next client. It’s built on creating a system that consistently guides people from discovering you to becoming loyal clients.

When your marketing, sales, client experience, and follow up process all work together, your business becomes more predictable, more sustainable, and far less dependent on you being online every day!