If you want to be in business this time next year (and you probably do because #money and #life), then you need to make sure what you’re doing TODAY is creating a sustainable and profitable business foundation that will also support you TOMORROW.

Meaning, you need to make sure you’re implementing strategies that not only bring in more money (and help you scale over time) but that ALSO protect your happiness and impact for the long haul.

You want to set yourself up with a business foundation that supports you financially AND lifestylely. (Let’s pretend that’s a word, k? One that means all the desires you have to live your most magical life are being met too!)

So, without further ado, here are the 4 best ways to build a profitable AND sustainable business as a VA, OBM or SMM!

How to build a profitable and sustainable business as a done-for-you service provider

1. Always be selling.

If you want to be in business this time next year (& you want even MORE income coming in the door!), then you need to make sure you’re selling ALL the time like your business depends on it.

(‘Cause, sister? It does!)

Here are 3 ways you should always be selling in your done-for-you biz.

1️⃣ Actively promote yourself!

This is the way most of us immediately think about. This is the pitching we do as we reach out to prospective clients, it’s what we write (and how we sell) on social media and it’s how we get ourselves and our services out there for others to see.

2️⃣ Build relationships.

This is one of my FAVORITE ways to make sales. Because if you’re constantly building and nurturing relationships online, those relationships will turn into sales. Either they will turn directly into sales as the person you’re nurturing a relationship with buys from you… or they will turn indirectly into sales via referrals. No matter what, it’s a win-win and one of the most sustainable ways to build your biz!

3️⃣ Overdeliver to your current clients like a crazy person!

Here’s a fun little Glennon Doyle fact for you today. The #1 question she gets asked is how to grow an audience like her own. And you know what she always says? She tells us to serve the 1 person who is ALREADY a part of our audience and serve them really, really well.

Well friends, it’s the same thing in business. Serve the 1 or 2 clients you ALREADY have and serve them at the highest possible level. Because when you give 200% word travels fast 😉

The bottom line is this: Want profitability and sustainability in your business? Always be selling!

2. Overdeliver like a MOFO.

Speaking of #overdelivering, it’s not only an epic way to sell but it’s an epic way to create MASSIVE sustainability in your biz.

For example, if you’re a virtual assistant and you’re posting to a client’s blog, first do a quick scan on that content and find a couple of typos that you can fix. (Pinkie promise you’re likely to find one or two and taking a moment to correct those will mean a LOT to your client!) Then, once you do, send a quick note to your client and let them know. Chances are they’re going to be super grateful for your extra eyes and maybe even add copy editing as a new task for you to take on, too!

Going above and beyond to serve your clients and find ways that you can help them even more is WHY they’ll want you to stick around for the long run. These moments in which you overdeliver are the reasons your clients will gladly pay your price increase year after year. It’s BECAUSE you consistently overdeliver that they can’t imagine doing biz without you!

I promise, being sure to overdeliver like a MOFO is the BEST strategy for profitability and sustainability in your biz because it creates raving fans that want to work with you and only you!

3. Invest in yourself.

Let’s make one thing super clear, k? YOU are your most important asset in business. Because if we’re not taking care of you, then (quite frankly) there’s no business.

That’s why the #1 way to create a sustainable business is to invest in yourself. (Pssssst. I’m literally talking about investing in YOU — not your biz.) You see, if you’re not investing in your needs and desires then it’s going to be REAL hard to keep up with your current pace AND continue to grow the business to a place that’s even more profitable than it is right now.

The entire point of being in business is so that you can live life on your OWN terms. Meaning, you have to start doing that now if you want a sustainable, profitable biz that keeps serving you and your life for the long haul.

Maybe you want to invest in your health and make sure you feel good in your body. Or perhaps you want to invest in your mindset and make sure you feel good mentally and emotionally. You can invest in support in your personal life or you can create a community around you of like-minded people.

It doesn’t matter what you do (and however you need to invest will be personal to you!) but make sure you are treating yourself like the badass asset you are!

4. Have a CEO mindset.

Here’s the tea, sister. ☕

So many people start an online done-for-you business because they think it’ll be easy. But the truth is… Starting a biz is really hard, especially when you don’t have the “how-to” knowledge or support already in place.

But the problem isn’t that we’re hoping biz is easy or even that biz tends to be hard for many of us. The problem is that WHEN the going gets tough we either want to (1) quit or (2) hang around in a kinda-sorta-not-really-working biz and wonder if we’re ever going to make it REALLY work.

The thing is… if you want to be profitable AND sustainable in your done-for-you biz then you have to make decisions that are right for YOU and not just your clients. You have to take on the role of CEO rather than employee or independent contractor.

Don’t get me wrong.

Of course you’re in service to others and you need to serve your clients at a high level and make sure their business needs are being met. But you do not have to do this at your own expense. (‘Cause #realtalk, that shit is the opposite of sustainability!)

To make sure you are here a year from now and your business is growing as much as you want it to, make sure you have a CEO mindset and not an employee or freelance mindset. Stop making the best business decisions for your clients and start making the best business decisions for YOU. (And remember that the right clients for you are always and ever the ones that are supportive of your growth and business model.)

Always be selling, overdeliver like a MOFO, invest in yourself (cause you’re one heck of an asset!) and keep your CEO mindset in check. THAT’S how you build a business that stays profitable and sustainable for as long as you want to be in business!