We love seeing members of Remote Millionaires realize their dreams of quitting their 9-5 job to become their own bosses. We started this organization to support entrepreneurs during these transitions and help them build momentum in their businesses. So, we naturally get excited when we see you take steps that lead to growth.
As entrepreneurs ourselves, we’ve experienced the success of building several companies. We love to share our experiences with you, as well as the lessons we’ve learned from them. One lesson I had to learn quickly: how to build and maintain sources of recurring revenue. Without it, I had unpredictable income. I struggled with consistency.
New entrepreneurs often struggle to establish these regular streams of revenue. If you find yourself among these, we’ve got some practical tips and advice you can use to get the ball rolling.
Why Recurring Streams?
Even though entrepreneurship takes incredible amounts of work and effort as you get started, the goal isn’t to keep endlessly working for little reward. Eventually, you want to be able to stand back a little and watch the gears keep turning while revenue continues to flow in. Passive revenue from multiple streams helps with this.
If you focus only on getting paid project-to-project with lump sum payments, you’ll burn out quickly. You need sources of revenue continuously coming in to bring stability to your finances and income, like monthly clients you continue to serve on a regular basis. In order to do this, you have to set up systems that help you keep business moving while you continue to build new projects and focus on growth, content, and audience.
Setting up consistent streams of revenue helps you track the performance of your company when you can measure these numbers regularly. You can better plan for your monthly budget and predict sales across seasons.
It also offers convenience to your clients, because they get the chance to make larger investments while paying in smaller amounts over time. By the way, client retention is much easier to maintain than going out to drum up new business. Spend less time getting in touch with someone you already work with, and use less energy convincing them you can do the job because they already rely on your expertise.
Ultimately, pursuing recurring revenue creates a more sustainable business model. Check out these strategies to get started.
How to Start Streams of Recurring Revenue
Try these approaches to build recurring revenue and move forward with your online business.
1. Offer Long-term Value Products
What do utility companies, web services, print media, streaming services, & delivery services have in common? For customers, regular monthly payments get them consistent products and services, often sent right to their homes. Some of these payments have become so automated that customers don’t even think about the monthly bill, but they still benefit from the transaction and take the constant services for granted.
To maintain your clients’ satisfaction, offer a long-term value product, like a membership or a sustained strategy. When a client joins, they gain access to services they can’t get otherwise. They can work with you, month over month, to build a personalized marketing strategy. They also maintain a rolling agreement with your company for as long as they continue their regular payments.
What can you, as a remote entrepreneur, develop that brings value to a client on a monthly basis? Maybe you can offer a specific marketing service, a regular newsletter with useful strategies, or a networking event. Monthly retainers like this will boost your recurring revenue like none other.
2. Seek to Solve Pain Points
If you solve your clients’ recurring problems, they will come back to you again and again. To become a sought-out problem-solver, discover ways to alleviate their stresses and make running their businesses a breeze.
Do you serve local small businesses? Many owners don’t have the time or knowledge to devote to quality social media marketing, though they need it as a regular part of their strategy to maintain customer engagement. Quality SEO and website management also present complications to a business owner’s schedule.
Can you get a few businesses to hand you the controls of their digital marketing on a permanent basis? What about content creation? If you have even a small handful of clients that trust you to run their online advertising campaigns, you’ve got a recurring revenue stream.
3. Packages & Payment Plans
Once you’ve got the basics of digital entrepreneurship down, go after more knowledge. Learn skills on top of what you already know how to do, and then start offering expanded services to your current clients.
Packages give clients the option to choose the combination of services that work best for their needs. Create tiers with added elements, so you can increase your revenue without greatly increasing your workload. Basic packages could include services like web design, while higher tiers might include regular maintenance and reports on performance. How can you make this idea work for social media management? What about reputation marketing?
Once you have systems in place to guarantee a regular stream of revenue, you’ll get the chance to develop new ideas for your business and keep growing your success! If you want to learn how to build a recession-proof, automated business, check out our FREE, 15-minute training and start generating at least $8K per month in weeks.