58. Why more clients won't scale your VA/OBM business (and what will)

In this episode of Soulpreneur Scaling Stories, I dive into a common trap many service providers face: thinking that taking on more clients is the answer to scaling their business. I share my personal journey of burnout as an OBM stuck in the “time-money loop” and reveal why being fully booked is a liability—not the flex it’s often made out to be.

You’ll learn why traditional advice like booking out your services, raising your rates, and hiring a team can keep you stuck in a cycle of overwork and stagnation. I break down the real math behind client overload and show you how to build a sustainable, scalable business through specialization, clear offers, and strong systems.

If you’re a VA, OBM, or service provider tired of juggling clients and feeling stuck at the same income level despite working harder than ever, this episode is for you. Let’s create a business model that works smarter, not harder!

Key Points Covered:
✨ Why being fully booked is a liability, not a milestone
✨ The power of specializing and creating a clear core offer
✨ How to break the time-money loop and scale sustainably

🔥 If you're ready to break the time-money loop and scale your business sustainably, DM me "FRAMEWORK" on Instagram! 

Thank you for being a part of the Soulpreneur Scaling Stories community!

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🎧 Podcast produced and edited with love by @FerAssists 🩵

Transcript

[00:00:00] Andrea Elibero: Andrea here, your host and passionate business coach and scaling strategist for Soulful Service Providers and Coaches. Welcome to another episode of Soulpreneur Scaling Stories. Have you ever wanted to look behind the curtain of your fellow entrepreneur's business to see what actually went into scaling it?

[00:00:22] Well, you are in for a treat because that's exactly what we are doing here. In each episode, we will be uncovering the truth behind the lessons and the stories behind what it truly takes for sole preneurs to scale their businesses intentionally. I'm hoping that their stories will help you to unlock the true potential of your business so you can create your own soulful, abundant and aligned laptop lifestyle through intentional scaling.

[00:00:46] So whether you're just starting out on your scaling journey or you're a seasoned entrepreneur seeking inspiration, this episode has something incredible in store for you. Are you ready to rise, grow and create? Create a business that fully supports your dream life. Well, let's [00:01:00] dive in before we begin.

[00:01:02] Make sure to hit that subscribe buttons. You never miss an empowering episode filled with real stories and soulful insights.

[00:01:11] Welcome to solopreneur scaling stories today, have something really interesting for you today. I'm going to be talking about breaking the time money loop and why more clients is not the answer to growing your business. So if you have been listening to the podcast or you know me from online or whatever, you might know that I was 100% caught in this trap as an online business manager with my monthly retainer clients. And this led me to be completely stagnant in my business. 

[00:01:38] And more importantly, it led me to a severe burnout that lasted for almost a year. So today, in this podcast episode, we're going to talk about why being fully booked as a liability and not the flex that you might think it is the real reason that you're stuck at your current income level and a simpler path to growing your business and scaling that does not require you to work 24 7. [00:02:00] So, this is where I hear from all of my service writer, friends that I speak to is that you're stuck. So you're stuck at these 5k months, despite working more than ever. 

[00:02:12] I spoke with somebody the other day, who was confused because she's like, well, I added two new clients. And last month and somehow my profit didn't go up. And I'm going to break down that map for you in just a minute. You're stuck because you're clicking. We are what your quick client check-ins are eating hours of your day. It's taking you all this mental space to go back and forth between projects between client work, even though you thought you escaped last, when you left your nine to five, Sunday nights have started. That dread has started spreading into Mondays. So, you know, those Sunday scaries that you get, because your schedule is, has becoming the same. You're working longer hours. 

[00:02:50] Your bank account is not reflecting this. You feel guilty turning away clients, even when you don't have the space because you need the money, right? You're like, wait, no, I need this. I need these [00:03:00] clients. And it's even when they're asking you to do, to do things that you don't even want to do, you're like, no, I don't like doing that, but I feel like I have to take them. 

[00:03:06] I don't have the time to take them, but I feel like I have to take them. Are you maybe you'd think that you should be able to help anyone who's asked for help. Everyone who comes your way is your client. Oh, so you are not alone in this because what's really going on. Is that. You're getting this weird traditional advice and it's not working for you. 

[00:03:26] So the traditional path that you growing a done for you, service writer business is. Booking out your services, raising your rates, hiring a team, rinse and repeat growing, growing, growing. And that sounds logical, but this is why it's keeping you stuck. So this is the math part I was talking about, but don't worry. I got you. 

[00:03:44] It's not too difficult. All. Or a walk through it. Um, I'm going to break down. So what happens when you get more clients? So if you're like, okay, I just want to take on lots of clients. All right. So you have like, and so these numbers might be different depending on what you do, but. The idea [00:04:00] behind them is the same. 

[00:04:00] So let's take a VA because generally VA is take on more clients. So let's say a VA who has between one and four clients. This is your efficient phase. You are doing, you have the 10 hours of clients for four clients. So you're doing your 10 hours per client of direct client work. Then you add on like another hour of emails. 

[00:04:18] I mean, those types of things, then you add on another hour for meetings or whatever. And so, okay. About 10 to 12 hours per clients. That's what you would expect, right? So your client pays you for 10 hours. It takes about 10 to 12. Fabulous. So at this stage, everything is manageable. Your systems work, you're making money, you think? 

[00:04:37] Okay. Yeah. I just need more of this. That will be amazing. Then you add on a couple more clients. Now you're up to six and this is the juggling phase. So you have 10 hours per client of client work? No, it was a little bit longer have these back and forth emails. I'll cook thing here. Quick thing there there's more back and forth. Now you have more meetings and getting less of the actual work done. Now, maybe you [00:05:00] add on another hour or two because, oh shoot. 

[00:05:02] There's overlapping deadlines. These clients all need things at the same time. And now you add on another hour managing all these different tools and systems and learning all of these things that maybe you weren't familiar with before. Oh, well now we're at 13 to 15 hours per client instead of the 10 to 12 that we were at originally for these 10 hour clients. So now you're starting to feel a little bit stretched, right? 

[00:05:23] You're like, okay, well I can still do it. Like I'm okay. Those systems that you have, they're not working as well. As they were before. There's more moving pieces. Like we're still okay. And then you're like, okay, well it's still growing. I still want to make more money. And I'm going to add on a couple more clients. Now we're up to client seven and eight. This is the system breakdown phase. Each of these clients are still doing 10 hours of client work. 

[00:05:45] So we have what, 70, 80 hours per month of client work. Now you're doing. Even more hours for your emails and admin three to four. Why? Because now you're being constantly interrupted. You're going back and forth. And when you switch between tasks, it takes you longer to get back into the [00:06:00] task that you were doing. Now you have emergency. Calls you have more client meetings that's taking away from the actual work time. You spend two to three hours fighting fires, fixing mistakes. Doing things that have come up. Two hours juggling conflicting priorities now, because now there's even more stuff going on. 

[00:06:20] And then this is my favorite in additional one to two hours, trying to remember the details of what is even going on, because now you have so many clients that it takes you a minute to get reoriented back into what you were doing. So now these 10 hour clients, each one is taking 15 to 18 hours. So you went from 10 to 12 hours per client to 15 to 18. For the same clients. At a pay rate of 10 hours. Per month or whatever. 

[00:06:44] So while your hours increased 50% your income, didn't why, because you're spending more time on these backend on these admin, on these going back and forth. And these other things that take up your time, then you are on your billable work. 

[00:06:59] This is so [00:07:00] common. I see this a lot. So, if I can share with you a couple of more real life examples. Let's say you're a web designer and you do everything. Design development, copywriting, SEO, social media graphics. You work like 50 hours a week, you're working a lot and you're making these 5k months. But meanwhile, you have a friend, a colleague who only does Kajabi setups are course creators. 

[00:07:23] Somehow she's working 25 hours a week and making eight K per month. What is going on here? What about the general VA who has these eight admin clients at $30 an hour? Merce's the specialized tech VA who runs course launches for three clients at premium rates making nine K per month. Working 20 hours per week on client work. And the last example, social media manager on every platform, every type of business versus the one who's known as the tick-tock specialist for spiritual coaches. Guess which one is the one who was booked out three months in advance. At premium rates. 

[00:08:02] [00:08:00] 

[00:08:02] Andrea Elibero: Exactly. So the real problem is not about working harder, adding more clients. 

[00:08:06] It's about the fundamental structure of your business model. 

[00:08:12] I have three myths that people think that keep. You stuck in this cycle. So myth number one is that I hear a lot. I need to keep my services broad, to attract more people and make more money. But here's the truth. When you offer a wide variety of services, every new service doubles, your learning curve. Complicates your systems. Dilutes your expertise and attracts these clients were really just kind of price shopping. 

[00:08:41] You know, they're going around seeing if they can get the best price. When you try to serve everyone, you end up being the best choice for no one. I know you've heard this before in marketing, you talked to everyone, you talked to no one. I had this post this week, as of when I'm recording this. Where I gave an example of going to the hairdresser. 

[00:08:57] So I have wavy curly hair. So [00:09:00] when I go to a hairdresser, I look for somebody who specializes in curly hair. Most of the population does not have curly hair, but these hairdressers are booked out weeks in advance. Because they're specialists in this. And so for you, it's the comparison of, are you the curly hair specialist or are you the great cuts of the VA and OBM world? That's for you to decide, right? 

[00:09:25] Myth number two, being fully booked means that my business is successful. Booked out as the goal. The truth is being fully booked is actually a liability. Why because you have no room for better opportunities. There's no room there. You're just working, working, working, working. And if you're like, Ooh, I want to do something I want to expend you kill. 

[00:09:45] Literally can't do it. You don't have the hours. One client emergency will derail you. Your entire week. 

[00:09:53] Been there done that? No fun. Right. You can't take time off without losing income. That's a [00:10:00] hard one. You know, you're like, Ooh, I did this to have some more freedom, but I can't actually enjoy my freedom. And you're one cancel client away from financial stress. 

[00:10:09] At the end, success is not about being fully booked. 

[00:10:12] It's about being profitable. And sustainable and having a simple strategic business. And the third myth is I just need to get through this busy phase and then I can restructure my business. But the truth is that there's never going to be a perfect time to work on your own business to a. Do those things to kind of like, Ooh, I want to grow. 

[00:10:34] I want to do this. Never the busy phase that you're in right now. It's not a phase. It's a result of your business model. And it's not going to end unless you take action. Me. When I was only working as an OBM and a VA before that my busy phase. Quote, unquote lasted for four years. 

[00:10:57] So if we put this all together, this is what [00:11:00] we know to be true. This old model of success being fully booked, offering every service under the sun, working with anybody who will pay you. Is the biggest barrier to your growth? And the real path to sustainable scaling looks different. This is the new way, the better way, the more efficient way, the simpler way to grow your business is to specialize. Specialization creates higher value than generalization. 

[00:11:28] You are clients. It can actually mean more profit. Simple focused offers are more scalable than complex ones. Your expertise is worth more when it's specific. 

[00:11:43] Repeatable systems and processes only work when they're focused. So. A little expansion on this one, you know, that. You've been in the backend of people's businesses. You know, a lot of them are on fire and you are the ones who are helping them [00:12:00] to like put out the fires. Right. To make sure their business runs, but your business looks the same as theirs on the backend. Just a different form. So, you know, for them that they need system. 

[00:12:11] So do you. And you can only do that. If you can only systematize things. If you're doing one thing, you can't systematize things. And be able to actually grow and scale if you're doing a hundred gazillion things, right. It doesn't work like that. So, this is why the most successful service providers, not the ones that are doing everything. 

[00:12:27] They're the ones that are known to do one thing exceptionally well. So, can you see how having a clear specialized focus with a core offer would naturally attract premium clients who value your expertise and happily pay your rates? And can you see how streamlining your offers into one core framework could really help you deliver better results? And half the time lawmaking more money. And finally, can you see how having built in boundaries through a strategic offer suite would finally give you the [00:13:00] peaceful, profitable business that you have been dreaming of. 

[00:13:03] It's all there. 

[00:13:04] It is all there and available to you. And if you're curious about my framework for how to make this happen, I am carried you to. Slide into my DMS on Instagram or on, well, no, there's no dams on threads, but I hang out there too. But come to Instagram. That's my link in the show notes. Soulful biz coach, Andrea, send me a little note. D M me offer flow and we could chat about the framework that I have and about I'll answer your questions. 

[00:13:33] Let's see how we can get you. On the right path. So you can finally break this time, money loop. Matt is all for today. I'm super excited. I'd love to hear back from you guys. So please reach out. Let me know if this was helpful, what you thought. And I will be back with the next one. 

[00:13:50] Thank you so much for joining us today. I really hope you found inspiration and [00:14:00] insights from today's episode. You know, scaling your business intentionally and from the inside out is a transformational process, but I'm here to support you every step of the way. Head on over to dancingleafsolutions. com slash resources for free tools to help you do just that.

[00:14:15] And thank you again for being a part of the Soulpreneur Scaling Stories community, your presence and dedication to growth, inspiring me every day.