The Day Rate Business Model S C A L E D O W N . M A K E M O R E - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The Day Rate Business Model S C A L E D O W N . M A K E M O R E . Hi I'm Sarah I am the founder of Book Me For A Day, a one-day design intensive program that allows me to make more money, work fewer hours and live a more freedom-filled
S C A L E D O W N . M A K E M O R E .
I am the founder of Book Me For A Day, a one-day design intensive program that allows me to make more money, work fewer hours and live a more freedom-filled life! I now teach fellow designers (and done-for-you service providers) how to do exactly what I've done: escape the feast or famine cycle with a day rate business model and leveraged digital offers.
Before we start - turn off all distractions and get a notebook and a pen to take notes.
If you have any questions, please use the chat box and I will answer them for you during the presentation.
You started your own business because in addition to your passion for the work you do, you craved freedom. More time to spend with your friends and family, more time to travel and do the things you love… You wanted to be able to set your own hours, and have more control over your earning potential… The idea of working in yoga pants & not having to commute to the office every day was a hell yes for you! Designing gorgeous brands, graphics and websites (while not being bothered or needing to talk to anyone) lights you up more than anything!
S O L E T M E G U E S S . . . .
But maybe things aren't exactly going as well as you thought they would...
You’re spending too long on non-billable work like trying to get leads through social media, sales calls, answering emails, and writing proposals, which don’t always turn into a client…
Clients are late providing you with the files that you need, so you can’t start on time, and then they’re inconsistent with feedback so your projects just keep getting longer, and you're not getting paid on time…
You’ve taken on more projects or retainer clients to fill the gaps that the delayed clients have created – but when the delayed client suddenly is ready, it's full-on hustle mode to meet all your
You don't leave home without your laptop because your client work is so random and inconsistent, you're always trying to catch up! Or you're worried about your retainer clients who might need something while you're gone.
Scope Creep is out of control. Like that final_final_final_logo.jpg file.....
When you finally DO finish a project, it often takes weeks or months longer to actually get paid.
You’ve found yourself often daydreaming about going back to a real J.O.B. because then at least you could clock out at 5:00 every day and get paid consistently.
T H A T W A S M Y E X A C T S T O R Y A C O U P L E O F Y E A R S A G O T O O .
✨ You only had to work 2 or 3 days per week and you knew exactly what days they would be. ✨ You knew exactly how much money you were going to make each month & you could control whether or not to make more or less, depending
✨ You didn’t have to waste hours on discovery calls, writing proposals and calculating how long an entire project will take only to be let down when the client comes back and says it’s too expensive. ✨ You no longer had to deal with red flag clients who you should have said no to, because they turned into the never-ending scope-creep client. ✨ You had DREAM clients raving about the work that you’ve done for them – so much so, that you no longer need to spend hours inside of Facebook Groups promoting your services. ✨ You no longer worry about whether or not you are going to be able to pay the bills next month because waiting to be paid is a thing of the past…
Close your eyes, and just imagine if....
Doing done for you design work does not need to be draining, soul sucking
In this presentation I am going to share with you...
What my definition of a Day Rate is The 5 essential components of a successful day rate model The 3 things you need to consider as you figure out what a perfect day rate offer looks like for you The correct way to price your day rates so that you have clients lined up and wait listed to work with you And finally, how I consistently earn over $10K per month on client work, doing just 1 or 2 client intensives per week
B U T F I R S T . . .
With nearly 15 years of branding, design and online business experience, a bachelor’s degree in marketing, and plenty of coaches, courses and group programs under my belt, there isn't a whole lot that I haven't learned, seen or done. These days, I spend 1 or 2 days per week on Book Me For A Day client work, and the rest of my work hours are spent working on MY business, or helping students. I run several branding programs, and also teach designers and done-for-you service providers how to escape the feast or famine cycle and create more income and freedom with a one-day intensive business model and leveraged digital offers. On a personal note, I'm married to my college sweetheart, we live in Charlotte, NC and we're the parents of 4 awesome boys & our sweet pup, Mabel.
Summer Mountains Live music Adventure Mostly doing “boy” things… FAVORITE THINGS:
But life wasn't always this way...
I struggled for over a decade.
Even though I had been at this online business thing for a while, was great at designing, had awesome clients, and had invested in the best coaches and programs, hoping for that magic pill, I still found myself working endless hours, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed from all the hustle, and yet still barely able to make ends meet each month. The numbers just weren’t adding up…. Plain and simple, I was stuck in the feast or famine cycle. I knew all about "scaling" with products, and how to do it, but there was no way "I" could do that because I spent ALL my working hours on client work. And I didn't want to start an agency....
Then one cold day in February 2018, while I’d been in non-stop hustle mode to meet all of my client’s needs, I had an urgent deadline - a project that needed to happen fast.
That's when I had my a-ha moment… Although I was never at a loss for booking clients, I WAS finding myself overworked and underpaid. I knew I was a good designer, and I also knew that I could knock out designs and client requests fast! So I thought, why not test out the possibility of offering
I shared my idea on a Facebook post, and my friends went crazy for it!
Everything Changed.
I booked 3 intensives from that first post - no proposal, no contract, no questions asked Over time, I went from working 7 days a week to just 2 or 3 days on client work My income rose.... from $4-6K per month to steadily over $10K every single month Within 6 months, I dropped all of my retainer clients except one By the end of that year, I announced that I was no longer available for project work I stopped bringing my mac on vacations (yes, I actually packed my big mac into a suitcase) I stopped feeling the need to be constantly scouring social media for my next client Clients were coming to me, and I became consistently booked out, 4-6 weeks in advance
and I've never looked back!
Your clients’ desire a quick and efficient process that is as stress-free and drama- free as possible. There's a market for being GREAT & FAST, and it's called Day Rates.
The practice of working with clients one day at a time, and charging a flat fee for the day - not the deliverables. Unlike hourly billing, the client is paying higher rates for the convenience of getting your undivided attention for a full day, the ability to be more involved in the design process, and faster turnaround.
What is a Day Rate?
But you need a plan.
I N O R D E R T O G E T R E S U L T S A N D S C A L E T O A 6 - F I G U R E D E S I G N B U S I N E S S , T H R O U G H T H E D A Y - R A T E M O D E L , Y O U N E E D A R E P E A T A B L E B L U E P R I N T T H A T I N C L U D E S 5 C R I T I C A L C O M P O N E N T S :
The Perfect Offer Smart Systems Seamless Client Experience Anti-Sales Marketing Strategy Troubleshooting Gameplan
The Perfect Offer
As you've probably already assumed, in order for this to work, your offer needs to be compelling, valuable and in-demand. The challenge is to figure out what is something that you KNOW without a doubt that you can get done in a day (or a half-day, or whatever amount of time "intensive" means to you), what is something that is high in demand, and what is something that has you jumping out of bed on a Monday morning - because if you're going to spend full days doing it, you need to LOVE doing it! The magic "sweet spot" happens at the intersection of: Being realistic about what you can get done What you're consistently asked for What you're passionate about doing
Smart Systems
Having a highly efficient and automated set
non-billable admin work is so crucial to getting you out of the weeds! The idea here is that you literally just have to SHOW up on design day, with the confidence that both you AND YOUR CLIENT are ready to work - even if you don't have a team! WHY? Because the whole point of switching to a Day Rate business model is get some of your freedom back. your calendar syncing contract signing invoicing and accepting deposits confirmation emails kick-off call scheduling feedback requests prep-work reminders pre-intensive check-ins post-intensive check-ins and more! Your SMART SYSTEM SETUP should include an automated workflow or scheduled sequence that includes:
Seamless Client Experience
The Client Experience should include these 5 phases:
The Client Experience is probably the most important part of the entire Day Rate model, so if you can get the client experience right, then you are going to be golden. An epic client experience starts from the moment your potential client hears about you or lands
the experience was.
Anti-Sales Marketing Strategy
As you already know by now, you can be amongst the best in your industry, but if you don’t know how to sell your service, then you don’t have a business. An effective Marketing Strategy that nearly runs itself is built on the following 4 pillars:
Compelling Offer | Social Proof | Visibility | Connections
(no ads or posting 5x per day in 5 different groups required)
Troubleshooting Game Plan
Not all clients are created equal and therefore you’ll undoubtedly get a few who will book you, so you need to have a plan in place to quickly handle all of the curveballs that get thrown your way. What will you do when any of the following occur? Client wants to cancel Client ghosts on you Unprepared Clients Unresponsive Clients Unhappy Clients Clients who don't pay balance This will be a living and breathing game plan as new scenarios will always present themselves, and you want to be prepared to respond in a way that won't negatively affect your bottom line or your reputation.
But before you worry about the processes, systems, client experience, marketing strategy, and troubleshooting, the first thing you need to do is decide whether or not the Day Rate model is even right for you.
Truth bomb moment....
O N E D A Y I N T E N S I V E S A R E N O T F O R E V E R Y O N E .
How to validate if this model is right for you...
What does a perfect offer look like for you? How much will you charge, and ultimately how much can you make each week, month & year? 1. 2.
B E I N G R E A L I S T I C A B O U T W H A T C A N G E T D O N E W H A T Y O U ' R E C O N S I S T E N T L Y A S K E D F O R S O M E T H I N G Y O U ' R E P A S S I O N A T E A B O U T D O I N G
What were you able to accomplish? How long did it take you? If you did a 4 hour chunk, double that, and think about what's possible in 8 hours! To figure out what you can actually do in the timeframe that you are going to allocate to your intensives, you need to start practicing. Think about a current client that you're working with right now, and think about the tasks that you're working through. Set aside a day, or a half day this week and start timing yourself. No multitasking allowed! Multi-tasking is a time-sucking monster that eats up a huge percentage of your work hours. Your action step is to carve out a chunk of time that you can dedicate to this exercise, and just start doing the work - I promise, you'll be AMAZED at how much you can get done when you're not jumping from one client to the next! Pay attention and keep track of the following:
Be realistic about what you can get done
Next, you want to think about what your existing or prospective clients repeatedly ask you to do. Like me, maybe you find that clients are always asking you to help them "refresh" an unprofessionally designed website. Or alternatively, maybe creating brand identities is your specialty and you are always asked for branding help - beyond just the creation of a core brand identity. Brainstorm all the possible combinations of services or mini "packages" that you could create, keeping in mind your allotted timeframe, and test them out with thorough a time-tracking exercise. For me, my first Book Me For A Day client was an existing client. I had already designed her brand and her website, and she had reached out to me, asking for help on a punch list
What are you consistently asked for?
Perhaps you're like me, and just the thought of itemizing a punch list like that makes your head spin. Honestly, it would take an hour (or more) just to figure out how long each task is going to take, then how to price it out, the write out the proposal and email it to the client. These are the exact thoughts that went through my head when I told this client, "How about you just pay me for the day, and we'll get it all done?!?" So think about what sort of requests you get and brainstorm your solutions!
Lastly, just because a client wants something from you all the time, doesn't mean it's the work you were born to do! Ultimately I want to help you get you to a point where you're doing things that you were MADE FOR! Work that is equally as impactful on you as it is on them. So finally, take some time and journal about what you WANT to be doing all the time! If you could be doing anything in the world, what would that be? What does it look like? Write about your picture perfect clients, your ideal day, how does your work make you feel, how do your clients react to your work, what are you able to do more/better as a result of the passion that you feel for the work that you're doing? Get specific!
What work lights you up?
Action Steps
Think about your current work - who can you test this on? Make a list of the work you always get asked to do Think about and journal on the things that you really love and want to do more of 1. 2. 3.
N O W T H A T Y O U ' V E D E T E R M I N E D W H A T S E R V I C E Y O U A R E G O I N G T O O F F E R , I T ' S T I M E T O F I G U R E O U T H O W M U C H T O S T A R T C H A R G I N G F O R Y O U R O N E - D A Y I N T E N S I V E S .
Let me preface this by saying that your rate WILL go up over time! Think about your current average hourly rate - or if you gave up hourly based pricing long ago, just calculate how much on average you're making for the amount of hours you're working. Then consider the # of hours you plan to offer your intensives for. I started out offering an 8-hour intensive (9a-5p), but quickly found that was too long, so now my intensives average around 7 hours. S U P E R I M P O R T A N T : Factor in a few extra hours for pre- and post-intensive support.
So if you charge $50/hour and you want to do a 7 hour intensive + 3 hours for pre & post-intensive work, that's 10 hours for $500. Now, take that total dollar about, and add 50% more. This is the buffer amount that you want to include - because we ALWAYS under- estimate what our time is worth.
So now we're at $750. Does $750 in one day sound good to you? If not, round up or down to come up with the perfect price that feels attainable and
week - and then in a month. Does that number align with your income goals?
2 days per week $750 x 2 = $1500/week $1500 x 4 = $6000/month
3 days per week $750 x 3 = $2250 $2250 x 4 = $9000/month Or instead of 12 days per month, you could just aim for 10 days, which would give you $7500/month
2 or 3 DAYS PER WEEK IS THE SWEET SPOT STARTING POINT
How would it feel?
So how would it feel to be making $6,000 - 9,000 (or more) per month, just by working 2 or 3 days per week? Imagine if you were charging $1,000 or $1,500 per intensive... which you WILL work up to if you don't start out there at the beginning.
I started at $500 before I factored in the pre & post-intensive work that I needed to do in order to ensure the whole experience was a success. I quickly increased to $750, then $950, then $1,250 and now I'm sitting at the $2,000 mark. Yes that's $2K per DAY. Just imagine how that could improve your life!
✨ When you switch to Day Rates, you will finally have the time to create and launch passive income
created small digital products that bring in $400- 500 every day, literally while I sleep. Do the math on that one.
Action Steps
Figure out your hourly "rate" Figure out how many hours you want your intensives to be - then add 3-4 more hours Calculate the (hours x rate) then add 50% more Calculate how many intensives you would need to do each month to meet your income goals 1. 2. 3. 4.
So now how are you feeling about offering Day Rates?
Does this feel viable to you? Would it improve your quality of life? What would you be able to do with all of that extra free time? 1. 2. 3.
How does this fit in with your other services? Do you even still offer the other services? What tools do you use to make the process more effective and efficient? How do you ensure your client is satisfied and doesn’t waste the entire day with wishy-washy indecisiveness? How do you deal with difficult clients who fail to prepare or show up or give feedback when you need it? What proactive measures do you take to ensure the client is properly prepared for the day of the intensive? How do you handle clients who have questions or want more support once their intensive is over? What sort of contract do you need to have in place?
I G E T T H A T I T C A N F E E L S C A R Y . . . .
How are you going to promote this offer to your audience?
B U T M O S T I M P O R T A N T L Y . . .
Day Rate Validation Training
I N C L U D E S :
3 comprehensive lessons: Product, Price, Promo Worksheets for each lesson Income projection calculator Sample "swipeable" pitch & promo copy
W W W . G E T B O O K E D B Y T H E D A Y . C O M
Lessons, Calculator, Worksheets & Swipe Copy
The Product. The Price. The Promo.
A B S O L U T E L Y F R E E !