Freelance Burnout

Productize your service and kiss burnout goodbye.

The endless grind of freelancing was suffocating. 87% of freelancers report feeling stressed out, worry about finances and fear losing clients. I’ve been there. I had client revisions spiraling out of control, invoices piling up, and my personal life vanished. I knew something had to change before it changed me — permanently.

Feast or famine — that was my freelancing existence. One month overflowing with projects, the next scrambling for scraps. I craved predictability, not the rollercoaster ride of uncertainty. It’s the number one reason many of us return to the 9–5 world.

But then, I discovered a different model. I learned to turn my service into a product.

Productized Agency

A productized agency is a service-based business that has transformed its offerings into predefined, packaged solutions. They’ve moved away from the traditional “build-it-from-scratch” model and instead offer a curated menu of services designed to solve specific problems for their clients.

This shift in approach brings a multitude of benefits for both the agency and its clients.

Key Traits of Productized Agencies

• Packaged Offering: They ditch endless customization in favor of a set of clearly defined services within a specific package. This streamlines the process and establishes clear expectations for both the agency and clients.
• Systemization: The backbone of their success lies in systematization. This streamlines their workflow and creates a repeatable process, minimizing reliance on specific individuals and making them ideal for solo operations.
• Transparent Pricing: Their pricing is predictable, with clear models and tiered packages. This provides clients with upfront costs, replacing the uncertainty of custom quotes and hourly billing.
• Hyper Focus: Their focus on a specific problem or well-defined customer type allows productized agencies to streamline their services and deliver exceptional results.

Interested in Starting a Productized Solo Agency?

Here are the first steps.

1. Pinpoint the Pain: What’s that nagging problem you solve like a pro for a specific kind of client? Productization thrives on solving a real pain point. Ditch generic terms like “marketing” and zero in on something like “consistent lead generation for eCommerce businesses.”
2. Build Your Product: Treat your service like a tangible product. Define exactly what clients receive, set a clear timeline, and outline the boundaries of your work. Tiered packages (think basic, premium, etc.) give clients options.
3. Systematize for Success: Break your process into a step-by-step blueprint. Where can automation save time? Templates for proposals, contracts, and client updates are your friend. The aim: cut down on per-client time without sacrificing the results.
4. Price for Value: Transparent pricing puts the focus where it should be — the value clients get. Price based on the transformation you deliver, not just how many hours you clock. Recurring payments? Great for services clients need regularly.
5. Sell the Outcome: Clients don’t want a peek under the hood, they want results. Your marketing should scream “problem solved!” and feature case studies that back it up.
6. Take it Easy: Don’t try to boil the ocean. Start with one in-demand service, package it perfectly, and build from there.

I’m Shannon G Hansen and I ditched my old freelancing ways. I’m building a 7 figure solo productized agency. My one thing — I get SaaS companies to rank in top spots on Google search. Follow me for more on packaging your unique services and building an asset empire from your experience.