Productize My Service with Tyler Gillespie

Hi Productizers,

Today, we’re fortunate to have Brett Williams as our special guest this week. Brett is the founder of Designjoy.co, a productized service that is carving out a niche for itself in the competitive design world - guaranteeing exceptional quality design, delivered at super-fast speed. While focusing on websites and apps specifically, DesignJoy strives to make modern design accessible to everyone. As of today doing $26k MRR as a one-man operation.

In this podcast, Brett shares the incredible story behind how he built Designjoy.co and continues to run the highly successful venture solo.

T

Exclusive Interview:

Golden Timestamps:

• 3:25 - The problem that Designjoy.co is looking to solve for its clients
• 5:47 - How Brett packaged his unique skills into a productized service
• 7:18 - The inspiration for Designjoy.co in filling a gap in web and app design
• 10:10 - How the current landscape resulted in Designjoy.co increasing their monthly recurring revenue by 5x!
• 14:51 - A description of Brett’s dream employee and the qualities they need to have
• 21:34 - Unlocking Designjoy.co’s first customers and early success
• 23:25 - How Designjoy.co reaches its clients without spending any marketing dollars
• 24:35 - Unusual places and platforms that Designjoy.co has found clients
• 28:35 - Pro-tip from a designer to other designers: Pay extra attention to your website landing page
• 29:57 - Brett’s advice on the best place to get answers, learn, and grow his business
• 36:25 - The bottlenecks to further growth at Designjoy.co
• 38:30 - The biggest learning in building Designjoy.co and running it as the sole employee

Key Takeaways:

1. Figuring out your unique skill set is key. There are many ways to build a productized service, but one of the most sure-fire ways to go about it is to figure out your skills, and learn how you can package them up to deliver exceptional results.
2. There is no ‘correct’ approach to finding your clients. Building a loyal client base does not always mean having to spend on ads or marketing. There are ways to position yourself and network with potential clients in ways that allow you to grow without having to invest in promotion.
3. Growth takes time. And by this, I mean it means spending time on it too. The process of hiring and training a capable team takes deliberate effort and time.

Business Model Breakdown:

Customer: Small businesses and startups

Mechanism: Affordable, high-quality UX/UI design delivered at high-spe

Hello Productizers,

Got a good one for you today.

There’s a bunch of swiss cheese information out there about how to grow your business with paid advertising — it’s got a lot of holes in it.

The “gurus” make it sound like there’s some magic targeting trick or ad template shortcut that will make you bucketloads of money.

There isn’t.

If you really want to grow your business with advertising there is a lot that you have to get right.

With me this week is advertising expert Brice Gump — founder and CEO of Major Impact Media.

Over the last 5 years, Brice Gump and his agency have helped dozens of established online businesses acquire thousands of customers through effective advertising.

He shares his journey working with digital products & course creators and helping them to grow their sales with paid advertising on Facebook and YouTube.

Lots of insightful and inspiring stuff with Brice. Enjoy!

Golden Timestamps

• 0.33 - The types of problems that people pay Brice and his agency to solve.
• 1:20 - How Brice started Major Impact Media, and his online background.
• 4:05 - How his business model is set up, how he charges, his team, and the number of clients.
• 5:20 - Best advice and tips for businesses that want to break into online advertising.
• 7:05 - The one thing you need to get right to increase traffic and lead flow.
• 8:52 - How much revenue Major Impact Media makes per month.
• 11:13 - Learn how to position yourself in the market, charge higher prices, and work with high-end businesses as a service-based business.
• 13:23 - How to get your first $1000 in revenue.
• 17:07 - Best go-to resources and people that have helped Brice grow Major Impact media.
• 19:32 - Get to know what would break if your business tripled overnight and how to fix it.
• 23:08 - How to grow your business using referrals.

Key Takeaways

1. Develop relationships with people and they’ll want to work with you and help you move your business forward. As a business owner, you should build professional relationships. Relationship building from a business standpoint can help you retain current customers, get new customers, and manage your reputation. You should also seek to build relationships with your employees and members of your community.

When starting a business, you’ll need to acquire a lot of skills at different times. One of the best things you could adopt is just-in-time learning. Learn what you need to learn when you need to learn it.

2. Build your company's knowledge Base. Build systems and processes to internally hire and train people.

Reports show that businesses that have implemented a knowledge base see increases in collaboration, productivity, and employee engagement. The benefits of a knowledge base have extensive effects. When your employees are empowered to do their jobs faster and more efficiently, your company’s customers and partners benefit as well.

3. You need to get testimonials and case studies within the first 60-90 days when they are very happy. Ask for testimonials when you’re getting great results for your clients. It’s not advisable to ask for a testimonial after you’ve lost that client.

Brice’s Business Model Breakdown

Customer: Digital products and course creators +

Mechanism: Paid advertising on Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube =

Results: Over $4,500,000 in digital products, online courses, and high-

Hello Productizers!

I have a treat for you - our guest for today is Brian Casel of AudienceOps.

Audience Ops is a content marketing business that offers a done-for-you blogging service. They’re focused on helping B2B online companies grow their audience and customer base. Brian is a serial-entrepreneur with great insight into running and scaling up a successful productized service business so there’s plenty for us to unpack!!

Exclusive Interview:

*I apologize in advance for my poor audio. This was recorded before I got my new mic.

Golden Timestamps:

• 1:13 - What problems does AudienceOps solve
• 11:26 - From selling a productized service to starting the next one!
• 13:00 - The benefits of a Done-For-You service
• 16:35 - Working with a 25-member remote team
• 17:10 - How to position your pricing
• 19:00 - You need a long-term strategy for content
• 21:00 - The biggest learning for AudienceOps
• 23:00 - A long-term mindset for your team is important too
• 26:00 - Early success for AudienceOps
• 30:00 - The trick to growing your network - community!
• 32:14 - You don’t need a lot to get a productized service business going
• 33:40 - The challenges in scaling up AudienceOps

Key Takeaways:

1. Think long-term: It’s important to think long-term and look at providing long-term value not just for your business, or your clients, but your employees too. This kind of mindset will carry you through seasons of unpredictability.
2. Everyone has a network: You may not be a pro at networking, you don’t necessarily have to be either. Reach out to those you know, the people that form your immediate network. Attend events, get facetime with people in your industry.
3. Getting off the ground is easier than you think in the productized service business: Unlike many other businesses that require a large amount of starting capital, research, and set-up costs, a productized service can get off the ground quite quickly and easily.

Business Model Breakdown:

Customer: Online businesses looking to grow their customer base

Mechanism: Done-for-you blog, podcasts, and case study content development

Result: Reach more customers, expand your business, grow your brand

Pain: Content marketing is a difficult space to navigate, it takes time, effort, and expertise.

Solution: End-to-end content planning, production, and distribution

Offer: Blogging services at $850 - $1700/month

Never underestimate your network

Big Idea: Your network is the first place to go to when refining your productized service business and getting it off the group - not just because they may be your potential customer base, but it provides an incredible opportunity to solicit honest, unencumbered feedback about what may work, where you can improve, and where your potential blind spots are. Leverage your network!

Thinking Time + Action:

• If this is your first productized service business, or if you’re currently building one -- what are some ways you can think long-term? What does that look like for you today? List out a few decisions you made in the last month that will provide long-term value.
<

Luiz Cent is the Head of Sales at Mailshake, a software company that provides businesses with the automated tools to optimize their cold email outreach process.

Luiz, as a sales and lead generation specialist, has incredible insight into how you can prioritize quality leads in today’s marketing environment.

Grab some popcorn and enjoy :)

--Tyler

Exclusive Masterclass:

Golden Timestamps:

• 1:50 - How Mailshake has functioned as a sales team to solopreneurs
• 3:09 - The need for a multi-touch sales strategy
• 6:09 - The most efficient touchpoint sequence
• 6:58 - Examining your selling cycle to determine which touchpoints work
• 7:50 - Where to start your touchpoint sequence
• 16:19 - How to organize and scale up your email outreach plan
• 18:00 - The most important change in email outreach
• 19:00 - A step-by-step plan to get your first set of leads
• 25:00 - How to conduct simple A/B testing to improve your outbound communication
• 26:00 - Potential email funnel sequences that work
• 28:45 - Things to absolutely not do when cold-emailing your leads
• 32:00 - Go for the ‘NO!’

Key Takeaways:

1. Details matter: In the world of lead generation, putting in the extra work can have massive long-term dividends. This may be as easy as writing a personal intro line, making the email subject more engaging, or hiring someone else to save you the effort - paying attention to the details makes all the difference.
2. Test, test, test: Test everything. Test the length of your email, test which touchpoint works best, test which opening lines have the highest success. There is no substitute for statistically-proven results. It can take over 1000 emails to get there, but do it!
3. Quality over quantity: Gone are the days when you could send thousands of standardized emails a day and expect a success rate that will meet your targets. People have gotten smarter, email platforms have gotten sharper -- the only way to guarantee a good conversion rate is by carefully listing out quality leads, even if it’s just 50-100.

Business Model Breakdown:

Customer: Sales professionals, entrepreneurs, content marketers, and anyone looking to earn leads via cold outreach

Mechanism: Done-for-you sales engagement tool

Result: Scale your customer outreach with intuitive, personalized campaigns

Pain: Setting up a sales team is challenging when you’re a lean startup

Solution: Automated, personalized cold email engagement sequences on one dashboard.

Offer: Email outreach at $59/month per user, sales engagement at $99/month per user with a 30-day guarantee

Modern outreach requires razor-sharp focus and rigorous testing

Big Idea: Quality over quantity, it’s better to focus and build a well-curated list of potential leads that you KNOW will be likely to convert. The time for shooting in the dark is over -- if you’re looking to run a successful productized service, put your efforts into deep research, knowing your customers, and tailoring your offering to serve them better.

Thinking Time + Action:

• Can you list two or three areas where you can personaliz

Hi Productizers,

Today, we have Jake Jorgovan, serial entrepreneur, author, podcaster, and business advisor, talking to us about the one subject every single person looking to run a productized service NEEDS to hear: How to succeed in your next hire and bring on a-players in your business

Jake is also the founder of Lead Cookie and Content Allies, and runs both companies with minimum involvement - a testament to his excellent processes, both hiring and otherwise. Through these companies, he has generated $40M+ in sales for his customers.

Today, he shares with us the secret to turning every hire into a success. This was a special Masterclass presentation that goes deep into hiring strategies. Grab your notepad and let’s build some leverage in your service business.

Tyler

Exclusive Masterclass:

Golden Timestamps:

• 7:44 - The top hiring mistakes that people make
• 9:14 - Find out why hiring someone for sales can sometimes be a mistake
• 10:25 - How to find out who you need to hire
• 13:50 - Someone else will love the work that you hate
• 27:45 - How to set up a new hire for success
• 29:00 - Breaking down the four phases of success for a new hire
• 32:00 - When someone fails to deliver, look at the manager (AKA - you!)
• 36:00 - The phases of leadership that people usually hire for
• 41:09 - How to determine pay for contract and full-time hires
• 46:04 - Should you work with contractors or full-time resources?
• 49:04 - What you can do as a founder if you don’t have the time to interview people
• 58:55 - When is the right time to make your first hire

Key Takeaways:

1. Pay attention to where you are becoming a bottleneck to your own business. Entrepreneurs are best used when they’re doing the work that nobody else can, so look out for moments where you may be limiting the growth or sustainability of your company.
2. Set your new hire up for success. It’s important to be clear about expectations, consistent with constructive feedback, and chart out what success looks like for your new hire’s first quarter.
3. Ensure that you carve out a very specific role for a new hire. Don’t expect them to be a version of you, instead, map out the tasks they need to do, and the skills they need to succeed. This will reduce the likelihood of frustration for both you, and the new hire.

Lead Cookie Business Model Breakdown:

Customer: Small B2B businesses

Mechanism: Outbound LinkedIn efforts by optimizing, engaging, and converting leads

Result: Generate qu