Waitlisted (and what I learned going $0 to sold out)
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Well, that escalated quickly. All 3 spots at MakeBigMoves.ai are now filled, and we’re waitlisted - faster than we expected! We made the call to close new applications so we can focus completely on onboarding our existing clients and creating incredible experiences for them. We’re also working through each white-label expression of interest one by one. If you're on the list and haven't heard from us yet, expect that to happen over the next week or 2. We don’t expect to open doors again until October. But I wanted to share what I learned going from $0 to sold out in just 2 months. Some lessons that might save you some pain if you’re building your own service business. Lesson #1: Say yes to everything, but expect it to be messyWhen we first started, we said yes to any project that came our way. Subscription services, one-off builds, consulting calls - whatever paid the bills. And honestly? That was the right move. When you're starting out, you need revenue and you need to learn what works. But we went in knowing it would be messy and planned to clean things up as quickly as possible. The mess showed up fast. One client needed a complex workflow built on a project basis. Seemed simple enough. But then came the real challenge: they needed lightning-fast turnaround on changes and instant support for any issues. The problem? On a pay-per-project model, we couldn't justify dedicating a full-time team member to their account. So every request became a scramble. Every support ticket felt like we were working for free. This is exactly the kind of mess we expected. Instead of getting frustrated, we used it as data. After an honest conversation with the client, sharing the challenges we had and our desire to find a better solution so we could improve their experience -- we moved them to our subscription model. Suddenly, we could properly resource their account. Response times improved. The relationship got better. Everyone won. The key isn't avoiding the mess - it's cleaning it up fast and learning from it. Lesson #2: One-off projects need bulletproof boundariesWill we do one-off builds again? Yes, but we learned the hard way that anything under $10K becomes a resource nightmare. Here’s why: smaller projects attract clients who want “just one more small change” or “quick addition” after delivery. On a >$3K project, spending 5 hours on revisions means you’re working below minimum wage. But at $10K+, we can build in proper discovery, detailed specifications, revision rounds, and project management time... While still making it somewhat profitable for the business. Lesson #3: Why recurring revenue wins (and how speed multiplies it)Recurring revenue is the lifeblood of a business. But here’s what most people miss - speed of delivery amplifies the recurring revenue advantage. When we can get a client from payment to first automation live in 5-7 days instead of 3 weeks, three things happen:
The secret isn’t cutting corners on quality. It’s having systems that eliminate back-and-forth. Clear requirements gathering, standardized processes, and clients who trust your expertise instead of wanting to collaborate on every decision. Subscription revenue gives you stability. Fast delivery gives you momentum. Combined, they create a business that can actually scale. But none of this happens overnight... The first few clients we onboarded was slow. The first few projects we scoped, was slow. But that's how business is supposed to be. The #1 focus is always revenue! Then once you have the clients you begin building the systems in your spare time. Lesson #4: People will buy directly from your checkoutWe weren't sure whether people would buy directly via our checkout or only after a discovery call. Turns out we had 2 clients who bought without ever speaking to us. They just went straight to the payment page. This was huge for us because it meant our sales page was doing its job - explaining the value clearly enough that people felt confident buying without a conversation. And it also showed us where to focus next. If people are willing to buy sight unseen, then improving our sales page becomes a key lever for growth. We're now working on showcasing more of our AI capabilities, adding more social proof, and we're considering split testing a sales video. The lesson? Don't assume everyone needs a call. Some people prefer to read, evaluate, and decide on their own timeline. Make sure your sales page serves both types of buyers. The biggest insight?Building a service business is really about building systems that can deliver consistent results without you being the bottleneck. The moment you achieve that, scaling becomes possible. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting close. October can’t come soon enough to test these lessons with the next batch. In the meantime, the show will be going on with our main BigMoves brand. While MakeBigMoves handles the done-for-you side, BigMoves is evolving into something even better for the DIY crowd. Expect quite a large rebrand and new positioning in the next week or 2... I'm excited to share more soon, P.S. If you’re on the waitlist, you’ll be the first to know when we open again. If you’re not and want to be, head to the website pricing section and click the buttons to submit your details. Learn more about MakeBigMoves partner offers here: Partner Program | Whitelabel EOI. |