The Business Millennials Podcast

2.10 Stacking Offers and Revenue Streams for Maximum Sustainability

• Ashley Dreager • Season 2 • Episode 10

Share episode

In this episode of the Business Millennials Podcast, hosts Safa Harris and Ashley Drager dive into the strategic importance of diversifying income streams and stacking offers in business. They explore how this approach can lead to increased revenue, greater market adaptability, and improved financial stability for entrepreneurs.


Key Takeaways:

Diversifying income streams can lead to higher overall revenue, even with potentially lower margins on individual offerings.
Having multiple offers allows businesses to appeal to a wider market and adapt more easily to market changes.
Income stacking helps mitigate risks associated with relying on a single revenue stream.
A progression-based offer stack can provide entry points for customers at different stages of their journey.
Complementary offers should align with your core business strategy and expertise.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to the episode
1:04 - Discussion on managing multiple ideas and projects
3:33 - Benefits of income stacking and diversification
7:16 - Market adaptability through diverse offerings
9:59 - Implementing a progression-based offer stack
12:06 - Case study on complementary diverse offers
14:41 - How multiple income streams help regulate business stress

Referenced Links:

Is your business just not the vibe right now and you can't seem to get it going, even though you feel like you're doing #AllTheThings? Fill out the linked audit form to give us the inside scoop on your current situation, challenges, and goals. That way we can spot your strengths, opportunities, and outline next steps, keeping a sustainable & scalable business in mind.

Free Audit:
https://scaleandthriveco.com/strategy-assessment/

Episode link & contact info

Shareable Podcast link
Leave Us a Voice Note
Email: scaleandthriveco@gmail.com
Follow us on Instagram:
@ashleydreager
@itssafaharris
Check out the Shop

Intro:

Welcome to the business millennials podcast. This show brings you strategic insights through raw and unfiltered real world advice to accelerate your business growth for longterm success. I'm Safa Harris, and I'm Ashley Drager. We're the founders of scale and thrive co a full service marketing and business development firm, helping visionary companies scale sustainably. Expect us to have the uncomfortable conversations that no one else is having. We'll break down what it really takes to grow and scale your business beyond six Text two five six seven or even eight figures, as well as inspiring interviews with diverse leaders across marketing, product development, sales, and more. Be a fly on the wall as we conduct strategy sessions with business owners experiencing issues such as plateaued income, burnout, and generally dropping the ball, giving you the tools and resources to break through your own roadblocks, but also personal development methods to grow you as a balanced conscious leader amidst business growth. Let's jump into this week's episode.

Ashley Dreager:

On the topic of managing, just remembering everything,

Safa Harris:

Mm.

Ashley Dreager:

you should add more products to your, to your offer suite.

Safa Harris:

I thought you were gonna be like, that's why I put everything in clickup. Clickup is my brain.

Ashley Dreager:

Do more. No,

Safa Harris:

because when things are like like insane, that's when you come up with more ideas and I'm like, Ashley, great idea. Let's save it for later. Not when we're completely overworked. we can't do anything more.

Ashley Dreager:

we cannot start up five businesses today. Save the idea.

Safa Harris:

not gonna say But I also never say no

Ashley Dreager:

No, I know.

Safa Harris:

say later

Ashley Dreager:

you interact and manage me the same way that I manage my kids. We'll talk about it later. I like the idea, but not right now.

Safa Harris:

like just put it in this list and click up we can talk about it in our strategy session I was like, oh, yeah, we can launch that in months But

Ashley Dreager:

number of times you've had to pull me back from going into launch mode. Like, I'm ready to do this right now. Let's go.

Safa Harris:

And i'm like the numbers aren't there

Ashley Dreager:

Stop bringing this up. I already told you not yet.

Safa Harris:

We need to get this many subscribers first.

Ashley Dreager:

Oh my gosh. But

Safa Harris:

I think, it's either like, oh yeah, we can totally do that, but we can either do that later, or we can drop this thing and pull that up, and that usually gets you to be like, oh no, we can't do, like, I'm not giving that

Ashley Dreager:

yeah.

Safa Harris:

were originally doing. They're like, yeah, ahead, but that means we're gonna stop doing X, Y, Z, and you're like, fine.

Ashley Dreager:

I want and.

Safa Harris:

Yeah.

Ashley Dreager:

and that. But, I mean, this is a, this is common. In time

Safa Harris:

if you pay enough for it.

Ashley Dreager:

or somebody else's time. Your time or somebody else's time.

Safa Harris:

Exactly. And you just got prioritized that way. But the biggest benefit, I think the reason I always say yes is because I'm a big believer in stacking income and having volume for two reasons. One, It's going to obviously make you more money. And even if you have to reduce pricing or increase costs or whatever to deliver all of that and make that happen,, on a smaller margin and more volume, you're going to make more money. that's just, like, that's Walmart, right? And that's Amazon. Like that's how those models work. And then on the flip side is when you have volume that's diversified, you have the ability to appeal to a lot, a larger market, you're able to do different price points, be more receptive. And then you have the availability to pivot and shift in response to the market. So you're like, okay, well, my XYZ offer. Right now is low. Let me pick it up with this that the market is looking for. And you're diversifying so you're not fully dependent on one stream of income. And then you have multiple stream of incomes that are stacking to create even more income. Because at some point you are going to cap on each of those revenue streams, and then they can kind of help each other. So if one's lower than one, you have the other ones to bolster you, or those are higher and they fill in the gaps. Which, I think we see this a lot with, um, like the gig economy, people will be doing five different things to get a full time income. Um, and we're just saying, yeah, pretty much do that same thing, but within, um, Your business and but you have to be strategic about it. Like does it make sense? Does it make sense for the market? Does it work as it operationally aligned we were saying is the timeline, right? For how you're putting it out with the capacity and the time and all of that kind of thing But the benefits are really really there for doing the income stacking and diversifying that way And I think something that gets really lost, especially in the online space, it's like, Oh, start a business and you'll make seven, eight figures. And historically small business owners, their average income was 50 to 60 K a year. Or in the online space, it's like, Oh, I'm a small business owner. I make 300, 000 a year. But If you're looking at it especially in brick and mortar, they have one revenue stream of that store that is producing the 50 to 60k, right? And that's pretty much still the same. In the digital space that we're in now and like the new economy and everything like that where One revenue stream is probably going to be that 50 to 60k when you start stacking four or five six of them that it's coming out to eight figures So it all still tracks. So that's why I think I always that's why I say yes, just not right now

Ashley Dreager:

I think that when it comes to looking at your product suite or your offer suite in business, it helps to have that type of diversification, not just for income stacking, but also to meet market needs because the market's going to ebb and flow. And if you only have one offer, one product, one price, Yes, there are benefits to that and a lot of, I know a lot of coaches say to focus on just do that one thing. Like that's it. Um, there is strategy to that and there is benefits, but that can also make it challenging if the market shifts or when the market, the economy goes into a recession or some other variable comes up that limits. where you can take that offer compared to three years ago, right? So when you have diversification in not just what you're offering, but also the different streams, because usually the different streams of income it also impacts the way that it's delivered, right? one on one time versus, uh, passive in passive income, where it doesn't directly take your time, money, expertise to fulfill on every order, sale, whatever.

Safa Harris:

so you touched on this and it was came up as more of a question about when like in your marketing and your messaging and like this much relates to sales and how those come in um, and this is of the reason why a lot of people say oh just have one solution and then that's what you're talking about being like, hey is the problem and this is the one thing Solution, and you and I are very anti one solution, um, not just in what we offer, but also in just messaging that way because it can be problematic. But the idea really is, is to not confuse people, right? So it's like, Oh, if you have this problem, this is the solution you need. And I happen to have that solution and the way I do it is the right way for you. But it makes business sense to not just have one solution in your offer stack. And I think, This doesn't necessarily apply for how we're structured in business, but I think for a lot of people, especially people that are just getting started with income stacking and diversifying, it makes sense to do like a progression offer. Stack

Ashley Dreager:

hm.

Safa Harris:

So it's like you have a lower entry offer and something a little bit higher doing it tiered and then like your big kahuna whatever it is and kind of doing that entry level progression and that's still income stacking and that's still diversification because you can meet people at different points of the journey or anything like that and it's still the one solution it's still all related but it's just tiered a little bit differently or it's structured a little bit you differently. So it's not like you are going out of your expertise or whatever. You have to change your messaging or your marketing so much where you're not focusing on the one thing. final solution. That's a horrible term to use. The one be all end all solution,

Ashley Dreager:

Mm

Safa Harris:

um, of what it is. And you can still get the benefit of that, but it doesn't necessarily, like, you just have to be strategic with what the offers are to make sure that they're complimentary, like don't offer Tire replacement services with your floral business. But with your, but with your floral, like if you're a wedding florist, like you can offer like, because there's people that do, um, that like to have fresh flowers every day. It's like, oh, we offer daily flower delivery or like mother's day bouquets and things like that.

Ashley Dreager:

hm.

Safa Harris:

offer

Ashley Dreager:

Yeah.

Safa Harris:

there. And they're still complimentary to the business and work well together. Mm hmm.

Ashley Dreager:

Yeah, I know a lot of photographers do that too. Like, family photography with wedding photography, for example. Yeah. Yeah.

Safa Harris:

I think like, not to toot our own horns, I think as far as like complimentary diverse offers go, I think we're a really great case study on it because we really do offer literally, Everything, but our approach is what creates and makes it complimentary,

Ashley Dreager:

Mm hmm.

Safa Harris:

right? So everything, like the core of our message and everything is strategy first. Strategy is the foundation, long term planning. And then all the pieces that go into implementing it is all of our offers.

Ashley Dreager:

Mm hmm.

Safa Harris:

that they all work together, even though they're so wide and so diverse, like we offer everything from like systems and tech setups to course builds to social media, podcasts, YouTube, all of that, and like SEO. But the reason it works is because we start with. Business current state goals, and all those services go in for the solution of getting from point a to point B, and we can make all of that happen because we're coming up with a strategic plan. So really. This one solution there is strategy and all of our offers are then complimentary so Yeah, starting off it might make sense Hey, just do one thing figure it out. Get your sales figured out whatever create a name for yourself diversify within and create tiered levels of pretty much that same thing and then over time you can grow and increase to add in more complementary things but you still kind of have to make sure they make sense or are strategic about it and you're not just doing whatever for whatever reason to like take money and stack it and all

Ashley Dreager:

Mm hmm.

Safa Harris:

things. So again my answer is strategy.

Ashley Dreager:

It fits! It's on brand! Oh.

Safa Harris:

type.

Ashley Dreager:

But I mean, this, this is a recent conversation. Um, just kind of like sitting back and observing some of the businesses in the online space and the content that they're putting out and things like that, that having multiple income streams and revenue sources really does help to like mitigate the lows in business because. If you have more of a predictable income, at least from one income stream versus having everything dependent on another one that is very, say, project based, for example, where you're constantly having to fill that pipeline, um, you have that recurring revenue on the flip side. It really helps to regulate your nervous system. Going back to several weeks ago

Safa Harris:

Oh,

Ashley Dreager:

then you're not like panicking of, wow, my, my average leads per month has started to drop the outlook in my trajectory. My projections don't look quite as abundant as they used to be.

Safa Harris:

Mm hmm.

Ashley Dreager:

You know, it can really help to keep you from going into like full panic mode

Safa Harris:

Yeah.

Ashley Dreager:

have. other revenue sources that you can, one, depend on, two, focus on if those tend to be an easier sale for whatever reason.

Safa Harris:

Yeah.

Ashley Dreager:

Um, so.

Safa Harris:

Now that makes sense because that's like, like, the purpose of income stacking, right? So you have like your foundational income and then on top of that you're adding other things. So when it ebbs and flows, but it's always good to have like retainers that you can count on that are coming in. And even if they drop. still have projects filling that gap and then if projects drop you have your foundational income

Ashley Dreager:

Mm hmm.

Safa Harris:

coming in. Yeah,

Ashley Dreager:

You're, you don't have all your eggs in one basket.

Safa Harris:

Exactly.

Ashley Dreager:

Yeah.

Safa Harris:

So if you have One offer you have multiple offers or you feel like they're disjointed or you want to add more income streams Or do more offer development or anything like that if you do fill out our free audit We can give you some suggestions and ideas of next steps or a good direction for you to take on Building out your offer suite or building out your the next offer or anything like that, that would be a good fit for your business as it is now and or what fits well with the offer suite you have in place.

Ashley Dreager:

Or maybe your offer suite is fine the way it is and there's something else that's keeping that from being more lucrative for the business that we might be able to find for you.

Safa Harris:

we, that's a lesson we learned for a while. We were like, Oh, our offers are the problem. We need to figure out a better offer and do all that. And turned out it was like a sales problem and not like an offer problem at all. So maybe we would be able to reveal some kind of that information

Ashley Dreager:

Yeah.

Safa Harris:

guys.

Ashley Dreager:

So we'll link that in the show notes if you want to take us up on that.

Outro:

And that wraps up another episode of the business millennials podcast. We hope you found this conversation, thought provoking, inspirational, and helps you make a larger impact with your business. Growth is not just about profits or revenue. It's a journey of personal development, contribution, and bettering ourselves in society. Our challenge for you take at least one key lesson from our time together today that you can apply not just to your business. But your relationships, creative expression, wellbeing, and personal evolution to, we appreciate you tuning in. If you enjoyed this show, we invite you to pay it forward, share it with an entrepreneur, creative student, or community leader who needs an infusion of insight or inspiration right now. And make sure to subscribe on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. So you never miss a single episode. And if you like what you heard, leave us a five star review. See you next week.