The Path to Scalable Success

Yesterday,  I sent an email out for a small cohort I was opening up.

While the price was hefty ($10k) we were able to fill all 4 slots, so I wanted to give a special congrats to the following creators who claimed their spot:

1. Collin Schemelbeck: The King Of Google Ads
2. Mike Fars: The Sales Savant
3. Cam Cruz: The Lifestyle Copywriter
4. Michael Johnson: The Cuban Ninja

Today, what I want to focus on is the key theme we'll be discussing with that cohort which is how to package your expertise into different forms that give you greater leverage and scalability.

You see, the standard “growth process” for running a creator business usually looks like this…

1. Service-based businesses

2. Coaching/consulting

3. Information products (courses, books, etc without coaching)

4. Software (SaaS)

Fo the most part, the majority of people on this list are are currently selling services, not that there's anything wrong with that, but because you haven't yet reached a certain experience level and brand level, you’re stuck selling services.

I don’t say “stuck” in a negative way, I love services, I did freelance copywriting for 5 years and I have very fond memories of being “in the freelancing trenches” where I was working with projects.

But eventually, I realized I was stuck at a certain income level (around $200k a year) and that in order to double that income I would either need bigger clients or to start landing royalty deals…or I could just choose a more scalable business model.

Let me explain it to you like this…

When it comes to growing your creator business, you essentially have two paths in front of you at any given stage: MAX OUT or MOVE UP.

Maxing out is all about optimizing your current business model to its fullest potential before considering a shift. If you're a service provider, this means gradually increasing your rates and offering premium package options to boost your income as high as the market will bear.

The goal here is to squeeze every drop of juice out of your current phase before advancing to the next play. This allows you to build a war chest of capital and hone your skills to an elite level. You're not in a rush to jump ahead before you've conquered your current arena.

Think about it like a video game. You don't just skip from level 1 to level 10. You have to defeat the boss at the end of each stage before unlocking the next chapter. Each level is harder than the last, but it also yields bigger rewards and preps you to succeed on the next plane.

That's the key to maxing out - it sets you up powerfully for what comes next. If you try to leapfrog from stage to stage prematurely, you'll likely faceplant because you haven't built the requisite skills, reputation and resources.

So if you're currently doing $10K/month as a freelancer, see if you can edge that up to $15K, then $20K, and beyond, by selling more comprehensive engagements and increasing your fees to reflect the greater value you now offer. Max that sucker out.

Then, once you hit a ceiling and your schedule is at capacity, you know it's time to explore a shift into the coaching/consulting game to introduce greater leverage.

But don't try to make that leap straight from $3K/month. Your odds of a smooth transition are much better if you first max out your service revenue and build some serious street cred. Potential coaching clients will be far more receptive to your pitch if you've already banked big wins as a top-tier service provider.

The same goes for transitioning from coaching to courses, or from courses to software. Dominate the stage where you're at, make a name for yourself, save up some cash, THEN plot your ascent to the next level. You'll be in a much stronger starting position.

Look, I get the urge to vault ahead and skip a few rungs on the ladder. But trust me, it doesn't work out as well that way. You end up like those folks peddling a random hodgepodge of offers because they're always chasing the next shiny thing.

"I'm a funnel building expert! No wait, an ecommerce guru! Hold on, now I'm a crypto bro!"

Nobody buys it. There's no cohesive thread that ties it all together.

Compare that to someone who steadily masters their craft, dominates their niche, and carries that hard-fought wisdom to the next challenge. People respect the hell out of that progression. Everything just clicks.

So if you're wondering whether you should hike your rates or explore a new model, ask yourself honestly - have I maxed out where I'm at now? Have I become a true assassin at my current game, saved up a hefty stack, and built a sterling reputation?

If so, it might be time to plot your next move. If not, keep hammering on your craft. Keep maxing out. The next level will be waiting for you when you're ready to smash its door down.

This is exactly the path I walked.

I was a passionate copywriter who wanted to be the best, constantly studying the craft while increasing my rates higher and higher as I was able to build more and more of a reputation.

Eventually, I made the decision to evolve from pure services to selling coaching/consulting, but here’s the thing…

The only reason I was able to do that was because I had built a brand alongside myself to help connect me to better and bigger clients while I was hustling DFY services.

I didn’t realize it then, but now I can see this brand created awareness for me in the market which served as the next stepping stone for me to move into DWY services.

Nobody wants coaching/consulting from someone they don’t know.

Now that I’ve been doing this for close to 2 years, I want to make my business scalable by removing myself as a bottleneck, and start moving into selling information (you’re about to see that with the 4C platform launch coming up) and am starting the process of building software (we’re a ways away from that being ready).

I obviously believe that if you just mimic what I did,  moving from one model to the next in a thoughtful way, you’ll see a lot of success. But you can't skip steps - the insights you gain at each level set you up to succeed at the next one.

For example, when selling services, you develop the skills to deliver real value to the market. That's what earns you the credibility to have people pay you for information or guidance (coaching/consulting) rather than just "done for you" services.

Then as your coaching/consulting practice grows, you start to see the opportunity to help even more people through information products that don't require your direct involvement (Courses, books, guides, etc.) Finally, the holy grail is to develop software with true enterprise value.

Another great example of this progression is my friend Daniel Fazio.

He started out offering an Instagram growth service. When that hit a snag because the algorithm changed, he pivoted to freelance cold email management because he realized he could monetize the skills he developed while prospecting for his Instagram business.

He grew that into an agency, then noticed how interested people were in the topic of cold email whenever he discussed it. That led him to create a course, skipping over the coaching/consulting stage.

Some of his course students (Andre Haykal Jr., Christian Bonnier, Dan Crowley) suggested that they partner with him to make a coaching program, which became Client Ascension.

They generated significant revenue with CA before ultimately developing Liskit, a SaaS product, which is infinitely more scalable and has way more enterprise value.

The key insight I want to drive home is this:

Where you are today is simply a stepping stone to where you're headed. We tend to get so caught up in our current reality that we don't keep our eye on the ball in terms of our longer-term aspirations.

I promise that if you focus on larger goals, the micro-decisions about what to do and not do each day, what habits to build or break - they all become much clearer.

I share all this to illustrate the step-by-step process of seriously upleveling your business and income as a creator. It's the same process I've followed myself and am currently still following, so much so that my company is literally named after these 4 "creator categories" of services, coaching/consulting, info, and saas.

The sooner you identify and commit to your own growth process, the faster you'll move through the phases. Fall in love with the process and you'll never fall out of love with what you do day-to-day.

To Your Super Success,

Nicholas Verge