Four-Hour Work Year? The Hidden Power of Licensing Your Services

04/22/25 • 40 min

Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI

Tired of hitting a wall with your client-based business? You don’t have to build a course or start a membership to scale.

In this episode of Calm is the New KPI, host Susan Boles talks with Janet Alexandersson—an international licensing lawyer and founder of Piggy Bank Legal—about how licensing can become a powerful, margin-creating revenue stream for service-based business owners.

If you've ever wondered how to productize your existing client work without burning out or shifting your entire business model, this episode is your permission slip. Janet walks us through the practical, strategic, and protective aspects of licensing, and shares how this often-overlooked business lever can change how you earn, design, and rest.

What You’ll Learn

What licensing actually is—and why it's not just for tech or big corporations
The step-by-step process to start licensing your existing IP
Common pitfalls to avoid in licensing deals (and how to protect yourself)
Why pricing should reflect their value, not yours
How licensing can support a hybrid model with clients and passive income

Learn More About Janet

Learn More About Susan

Beyond Margins
LinkedIn
(00:00) - Introduction: The Struggles of High-Touch Client Work
(01:21) - Exploring a New Revenue Stream: Licensing
(02:16) - Understanding Licensing with Janet Alexander
(05:35) - The Licensing Process: Step-by-Step
(10:18) - Protecting Your Intellectual Property
(19:58) - Real-World Licensing Examples
(38:49) - Final Thoughts on Licensing and Business Design

Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Tired of hitting a wall with your client-based business? You don’t have to build a course or start a membership to scale.

What You’ll Learn

What licensing actually is—and why it's not just for tech or big corporations
The step-by-step process to start licensing your existing IP
Common pitfalls to avoid in licensing deals (and how to protect yourself)
Why pricing should reflect their value, not yours
How licensing can support a hybrid model with clients and passive income

Learn More About Janet

Learn More About Susan

Beyond Margins
LinkedIn
(00:00) - Introduction: The Struggles of High-Touch Client Work
(01:21) - Exploring a New Revenue Stream: Licensing
(02:16) - Understanding Licensing with Janet Alexander
(05:35) - The Licensing Process: Step-by-Step
(10:18) - Protecting Your Intellectual Property
(19:58) - Real-World Licensing Examples
(38:49) - Final Thoughts on Licensing and Business Design

Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Previous Episode

Calmer Capacity: Use Automation and AI to Lighten Your Client Load

You’ve duct-taped your service business together with tools and automations. But now things are breaking, you’re chasing Zapier errors, and client delivery is starting to feel like a drag. What if the next step wasn’t hiring a team or flattening your services—but turning your system into the service?

In this episode, we're geeking out with Dylan Kinder, founder and CEO of DataCose, about how service-based businesses can scale by transforming parts of their delivery into software. We explore how to spot the signs that you’re ready to make that shift, where to start, and why automation and AI don’t have to mean less human work—just less draining work.

Whether you’re dreaming of fewer tabs, smoother client onboarding, or a more proactive delivery experience, Dylan brings a thoughtful, non-spammy approach to scaling with tech. We’re diving deep into internal vs. client-facing tools, the role of AI in small business, and how to avoid building a digital Frankenstein.

What You’ll Learn:

The two biggest signals it’s time to turn part of your service into software
Why internal automation is the best starting point
How to think like an engineer (even if you're not one)
The role of client portals in scaling calm service delivery
Why AI should be used with human oversight—not instead of it

Connect with Dylan:
LinkedIn
DataCose

Connect with Susan:
LinkedIn
BlueSky

Work With Susan:
Explore how we can build calm systems together → https://beyondmargins.com/services

(00:00) - Introduction: The Struggles of Scaling a Service Business
(00:43) - Reimagining Service Delivery with Smart Systems
(02:12) - Exploring Automation and AI with Dylan Kinder
(03:06) - The Two Paths to Scaling a Service Business
(10:28) - Real-World Examples of Successful Automation
(24:33) - The Role of AI in Modern Service Businesses
(34:35) - Conclusion: Building Margin and Calm with Technology

Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Next Episode

Pay Me When You Win: A Revenue Sharing Model for Coaches & Consultants

Most advice about scaling a service business means giving up the work you love or cranking your rates until clients walk away. But what if you could grow your revenue with your clients—without adding more to your plate? In this episode, Susan revisits a standout 2019 interview with business coach Lacey Sites, who doubled her revenue without taking on a single new client.

Lacey did it by shifting to a revenue-sharing compensation model—one that ties her income directly to her clients’ success. In this re-edited version, we dive into how that shift happened, what she tested first, how she vets clients to make the model work, and why it changed everything about how she runs her business.

What You’ll Learn:

Why default pricing models for service businesses often lead to misaligned incentives
How Lacey experimented with and validated her revenue-sharing structure before going all in
What criteria she uses to select high-commitment, high-potential clients
Why adding a base rate created a healthy balance between risk and reward
How this model enabled Lacey to scale with her clients—and why it feels more equitable for everyone involved

Learn More About Lacey Sites:

A Lit Up Life

Want to design your own calm-aligned pricing model?
📁 Grab the Calmer Service Design Swipe File with 60+ examples
💬 Or check out Susan’s 1:1 support options

(00:00) - Introduction: The Problem with Traditional Pricing Models
(01:01) - A New Approach: Revenue Sharing Model
(01:30) - Case Study: Lacey Sites' Success Story
(02:51) - Lacey's Journey to Revenue Sharing
(05:30) - Implementing the Revenue Sharing Model
(08:03) - Client Selection and Vetting Process
(14:45) - Balancing Risk and Reward
(21:31) - Scaling and Future Plans
(29:05) - Conclusion: Designing a Calmer Business

Grab the Calm Service Design + Delivery Swipe File here

Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI - Four-Hour Work Year? The Hidden Power of Licensing Your Services

Transcript

Susan Boles00:00:06.879

As a consultant or small agency founder who loves doing high touch client work, you probably hate how fragile and unsustainable it can feel. You're great at what you do, your clients love you, but capacity is a brick wall that you're constantly brushing up against or maybe running head first into. You want more breathing room, more margin, maybe more revenue. But you're not really interested in scaling by managing a team, launching a group prog