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Service businesses are a great way to share something you’re passionate and knowledgeable about with others and help them in the process, like graphic design, personal training, or event planning. As the owner of a service business, you might book clients for projects, like a wedding photography package or home renovation. Or you might book clients for a service that lasts a specific time and may or may not repeat, like a therapy session or personalized financial services.
And starting a service business doesn’t have to be a full-time commitment. Start by deciding what you’d want to offer and to whom, then make a budget and plan to get your new project off the ground.
How to decide if a service business is right for you
Not everyone wants to make money from their passions and interests. But a service business or side hustle might be worth exploring if you’re:
Curious whether you could turn something you love into a way to make income
Like helping people with a specific skill or set of expertise you have
Enjoy interacting with people and would be comfortable doing some customer service
For some people, a service business idea happens naturally. They might give friends and family advice on a topic and be contacted by friends of friends. And suddenly, they have clients.
If you feel fulfilled by helping others with your knowledge and feel up to the administrative tasks of setting up booking options, setting prices, and keeping clients happy, a service business is worth considering.
Learn how Rio Viera-Newton became a skincare consultant
How to start a successful service business
The important thing to remember if you’re interested in starting a service-based business is that you don’t have to dive in 100% all at once. Take things at your own pace and spend time thinking carefully about what plan and business ideas fit your interests, time, and budget.
1. Choose your services
The very first step for any business plan is deciding what you want to sell. For a service business, start by writing down the hobbies or interests you think you could help people with. Under each idea, list out a few things you’d feel confident charging people for—things you’re good at and enjoy doing.
For example, if you’re into photography, your experience photographing animals might not translate into offering services for events. But it might translate into pet portraits or personalized pet art.
Get inspiration from our list of 13 service business ideas
2. Identify your target customer or client
This step goes hand-in-hand with choosing your services. Once you have an idea of what types of service you want to offer, think about who your ideal client would be. Focusing on a specific demographic will help you make decisions and let you be smart about how you spend your time and money.
You can choose your target audience based on who you feel excited about working with and some research. Consider the age group, interests, and other demographics of people who are interested in services like yours to jumpstart your thinking.
Read our guide to finding your target audience
3. Set a budget
If you’re just getting started, it’s helpful to set an initial budget for what you’d want to spend on your business in the first 6 to 12 months. Getting started can be relatively inexpensive, especially if you don’t need to create or buy something new to offer your services.
Still, you may have some initial startup costs, like a website subscription. Think about how much of your monthly spending you could realistically dedicate to this project, and start there. Once you start earning money, you can revisit.
4. Make a plan
Just like it’s important to budget your money, it’s helpful to create an initial business plan to help you budget your time. In addition to the types of services you’ll offer, your budget, and who your target audience is, ask yourself a few questions.
How will you measure success? This could be things like the number of appointments booked, projects completed, or total earnings.
What does success look like? Once you know how you’ll measure success, set some numeric goals for each metric. You can update them as you grow.
How much time can you commit to this? It’s OK to start slow. Be realistic about the time you can spend on a service business every week or month.
How will you reach your customers? You might find your first clients among friends and family, but think about how you can reach people outside of your immediate circle.
What will differentiate your service from competitors? There’s likely someone else out there providing services similar to yours. Think about what would make someone choose you over a peer: your style of working, your services, pricing, or something else.
5. Start a website
One of the best ways to reach customers and make it easy to book your services is to make a website. A website gives you a central place to share more about yourself and your experience while managing projects and client bookings.
With a website-building platform like Squarespace, you can choose a pre-designed template or create a custom one, then tailor it to your aesthetic and needs. Make sure your website:
Has a memorable, relevant domain name
Shows off your skills and experience
Includes sample work and/or reviews
Makes it easy to find and understand the services you offer
Has an easy-to-find scheduling tool or contact form
Includes relevant search terms that would help potential customers find you
With free licensed stock images and AI copy tools, you can quickly pull together a polished website. As you get more comfortable with your new business, you can go back in and make edits.
See our full guide to what service business websites should include
6. Create a social media presence
If you don’t already have social media accounts for your business, it’s worth starting at least one. To choose where to start, think about what platform would best showcase what you do.
Post regularly about your work, recent projects (with client permission), or interesting bits of knowledge about your area of expertise. As people start to discover your profile try to engage with your followers regularly and build a connection with them.
As you grow, your social media audience can be a great way to get direct feedback or promote your business. Add a link in bio like Bio Sites to your profile so you can point people to your website and recent projects.
Learn more about starting social media for a business
7. Find your first clients
A website and social media are great ways to start attracting clients. But it’s likely that your very first clients will be people you know, since you already have a relationship with those people.
A great way to get started is to provide services to trusted friends and family. Ask them for anonymous feedback afterward so you can iron out any wrinkles in your process early. You can ask if anyone would be comfortable attaching their name to positive feedback, which you can then use as a testimonial on social media or your website. You can also leverage them for referrals to people they know as well.
Outside of your immediate circle and online promotion, you can try cold pitching your services in person. Find out where potential clients might spend their time, like a wedding vendor showcase, and consider advertising yourself there.
Get tips for marketing your services
8. Improve and adapt
Being adaptable is helpful in starting a successful business of any kind. With every project or appointment you complete, make note of anything that could go more smoothly in the future.
In addition to collecting feedback from clients and tracking your business goals, this is a good way to find places where you could simplify your workflow. Or you may notice a gap where you could offer something new to clients in the future.
9. Grow at your pace
It’s important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to starting a business. Return to the goals and business plan you set for yourself when you started this process and use them as guideposts to protect your time and focus.
When new opportunities or ideas come up, pause and think about whether they’re the right thing for your business and you as an individual. If you don’t have the time to commit to the work, holding on to an idea for later is better than burning yourself out trying to do too many things at once.
Ready to start your service business site?