For the past three years, I have been honored to gather together some amazing peers who’s big hearts for service are unmatched. We come together to do a State of the Union address. This always gives me the awesome opportunity to gather bigger perspectives, and when we come together there is always massive learning, growth, and innovation.
This year we’re discussing the business lessons we learned from 2024 and strategies we believe will help you thrive in 2025. We’re sharing our views on the role of AI in service providing, strategies for new service providers, and helpful visibility strategies for 2025. Determining what no longer works will help you strategize and focus on what will help you grow and scale your business as a service provider.
Meet Our Panel
Abbey Ashley
CEO of The Virtual Savvy, where she teaches aspiring virtual assistants how to launch and grow their own at-home business. She leads a community of over 130,000 virtual assistants via her Facebook community. She was named one of Forbes Next 1,000 Up & Coming Entrepreneurs and Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs. In addition, The Virtual Savvy is a Inc. 5,000 Award Winner as well as an Inc. Magazine’s “Top Places to Work” Winner. Abbey’s students have gone on to reach 10k, 20k, and up to 80k months with their virtual assistant businesses.
Emily Reagan
Mom of four, Air Force wife, and jill-of-all-trades regarding digital marketing and techie skills. She’s worked as a behind-the-scenes digital marketer with many creatives and furniture painters: Jennifer Allwood, Tracey Bellion, Miss Mustard Seed, Wendy Batten, and more, to grow their online businesses. She’s the founder of the Digital Marketer’s Workgroup and the Unicorn Digital Marketing Assistant School, where she’s taught 350+ go-getters the digital marketing skills to work online (and on their own terms) as in-demand, highly sought-after unicorn digital marketing assistants.
Micala Quinn
Micala Quinn is a Kansas City mom, wife, former teacher turned powerhouse CEO tackling the challenges of the modern working mom. Featured on FORBES and Fox4 KCTV, Micala coaches women to lead and launch thriving freelance businesses. Her impact speaks volumes: More than 3,200 women worldwide have joined the transformative journey inside Micala’s proven program, The Live Free Academy. Additionally, thousands more have utilized her free advice on the Live Free podcast, a beacon in iTunes’ Top 20 for Entrepreneur podcasts. This is more than a mission—it’s a movement.
Jodan Gill
Jordan Gill is a multi- 7-Figure Business Strategist whose mission is for high-achieving business owners to prioritize rest without sacrificing revenue! Her podcast, Systems Saved Me®, goes behind the success of businesses to spotlight the invisible systems you’ve never seen or heard of. When she’s not spreading the gospel of systematic success, she’s working on one of her thousand-piece jigsaw puzzles or traveling the world with her husband and bonus son.
Sarah Noked
Sarah Noked is the Founder and CEO of OBM School, a premier online training academy dedicated to empowering service professionals with the essential tools, systems, and confidence to build and scale thriving online businesses. With nearly two decades of experience as an Online Business Manager and agency owner, Sarah has become a leading authority in the field of digital operations and business management.
Tasha Booth
Tasha Booth is an agency owner, coach, and podcaster. She is the Founder & CEO of The Launch Guild – a full service launch support agency working with established coaches and course creators with Course & Podcast Launches. Her team is over 20 members strong and works together to support their clients in being able to focus back onto their zones of genius.
Veronica Romney
A 17+ year marketing leadership expert, international keynote speaker, podcast host, book author, and a private Rainmaker to some of the world’s most elite brands. As a former Speaker and Trainer for Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi, Chief of Staff at BossBabe, Director of Marketing Suite Products for a $2B evaluated software company, and former Marketing Agency Owner, she’s had the privilege of witnessing the marketing industry’s evolution firsthand from every angle possible
What was it like to be alive as a service provider in 2024?
- [Natalie] It was unusual. It was uncomfortable. It was uneasy. And let me add one more: unreal. If you’ve been in business these past couple of years, 2024 was like… the cherry on top, but not the sweet kind! It felt more like the kind of year that kept throwing curveballs.But here’s the thing: if you’re new to business, this is what it’s like. This is the steady state of business, what it looked like pre-2020, and probably what we’ll be dealing with for the next few years. And for those of us who’ve been around for a while, five, ten, twenty years, we’ve seen seasons like this before. The good news? We made it through those seasons, and so can you.
What were the shifts that service providers saw or experienced in 2024?
- [Jordan] She points out a major shift in the rhetoric around AI this year. While there’s been a lot of fear about AI replacing jobs, especially in the online business world, she believes that monthly retainers are here to stay. Businesses will always need people to get things done. Rather than seeing AI as a threat, we should use it as a tool to improve efficiency, shorten timelines, and enhance team performance. It’s not about eliminating jobs but making work easier and more productive.
- [Veronica] At the beginning of 2024, she noticed business owners were trimming their teams, whether full-time, 1099, or hourly. They were trying to cut costs due to fear and uncertainty. By summer, businesses realized they still needed their teams but shifted focus to finding the best talent at the lowest cost. Leaders were the first to be let go, and companies like Marketer Hire started offering more affordable options.
What were the strategies and business models of successful service providers this past year?
- [Sarah] Embracing AI and a growth mindset is very important. By leveraging AI she teaches OBM’s to understand ROI, helping clients see the value of their services through key metrics.
SaaS products are improving at making connections between things according to Sarah. These tools track the detailed journey of clients and what they’re doing and they map it all out which can make things easier. We can then use this information to help our clients make informed decisions based on metrics and not emotions.
- [Abbey] She emphasizes the importance of a solid business model like service-based businesses and the benefits of recurring revenue and high-profit margins. Even with a smaller client base, high profit margins are achievable.The common themes between success stories from her students are recurring revenue, finding a high-value niche, and the gradual integration of a team to scale. By focusing on their strengths and leveraging a team, business owners can increase profitability and happiness. Pivoting is also important when necessary and doubling down on strategies that work.
- [Micala] Networking within local communities has been a key factor in success, with her students landing multiple clients by connecting with businesses in their area. She emphasizes the growing demand for service providers in traditional industries like mental health facilities, roofers, and real estate agents.
Another trend observed was the increasing demand for general virtual assistants who could also take on specialized tasks, such as managing podcasts or social media.
Lastly, consistency was a crucial factor in achieving success according to Micala. She shares success stories of students who participated in monthly challenges, landing multiple clients in just a few months, enabling them to replace their income and quit their jobs.
What do you feel was the most helpful marketing or visibility strategy for acquiring clients in 2024?
- [Emily] Becoming very skilled at our craft can make our clients and peers do our marketing for us. She says that because businesses nowadays are more cautious, it is essential to present yourself as an authority. Master your craft, develop skills, and create a strong client experience. Making sure that we have strong marketing assets to present ourselves and our skills is just as important.
- [Tasha] She shares strategies for agency owners to improve their visibility by involving their team in marketing efforts. When agency owners were doing all the marketing themselves, clients would often be surprised to learn that the owner wouldn’t be doing the majority of the work. By bringing team members into the spotlight through social media and showcasing their personalities and expertise, clients can build trust before the discovery call.
Additionally, widening our circle by intentionally seeking out new networking opportunities, whether through Facebook groups, conferences, or personal connections, is very useful because it helps us to expand our reach and attract new business.
What is one thing that once worked for service providers that no longer will?
- [Abbey] The rise of AI has made human connection more important than ever. Service providers who rely on impersonal automated processes may struggle now as clients crave authentic interactions.
- [Emily] Offering broad and generalist packages without any differentiation is going away. We have to make sure we are prioritizing expertise to differentiate ourselves from others.
- [Jordan] Relying on one or two sources to find clients is not going to work. Service providers have to widen their circle to get more exposure and visibility.
- [Micala] Putting yourself out there a couple of times, hoping something will happen, is not going to work. You have to put in constant effort so that people you have interacted with eventually become clients.
- [Sarah] One size fits all approach is not going to cut it anymore. Everyone’s business is unique so coming in and actually offering a specific and strategic solution for their problem is the way forward.
- [Tasha] Passively waiting for referrals is not working anymore. We as business owners should have referrals as part of our lead generation strategy but not entirely rely on it.
- [Veronica] Don’t start work with your clients with ambiguous contracts. Getting your contracts in order is important so we can be sure we are taken seriously and get paid what we deserve.
- [Natalie] What I wanted to add is relying solely on social media to get clients used to work very well but with so many new ones popping up it is one way but not the only way.
“Human implementation will never go away. AI is a tool that empowers us to step into strategy and perform at our highest level.” — Natalie Gingrich
Ready to build a business that works for YOU? Download your free guide to discover the 3 essential elements every service provider needs for lasting success!
Don’t forget to join us next week for Part 2!
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