One of the biggest mistakes I see entrepreneurs make is this…
And YES, It’s a mistake I’ve made.
Several times over, in fact.
I learned it the hard way. And since learning it, I’ve saved a lot of time and money.
(let alone set my business up for success instead of putting barriers in front of it!)
I want to share this with you today in the hope you don’t go through what I did—and the countless others I’ve met, spoken to, and mentored over the years.
It all centers around a word you likely find triggering. I know I used to hate the sound of it…
BUSINESS MODEL
I know. But hear me out because this is a fun approach to business models… a simple one… most importantly, an effective one.
By embracing what I’m about to share, you’ll set your business up for…
- Great revenue
- Great profit
- Great growth
- Even the ability to live a Great life full of freedom, balance, and fulfillment
Large promises, I know, but this is how effective this approach is.
Table of Contents
- Introducing Your 4-Step Business Model
- 1: Intimacy Offer
- 2: Core Offer
- 3: Audience Offer
- 4: Freedom Offer
- Conclusions & Next Steps
Introducing Your 4-Step Business Model
What I’m about to share is simple, but it could change how you play the game.
Hi, I’m Scott Oldford. I’ve been an entrepreneur for most of my life, built several 7+ figure businesses, and helped hundreds of other online businesses do the same.
I won’t share my whole story in this article because you can read about that here →
Instead, I’d like to focus on a 4-Step Business Model I *wish* I knew about many years ago.
Because this is the problem I faced and one I see many others suffer…
You start a business and hack your way to success, hustling and grinding all the way.
At some point, you build momentum, and all of a sudden success stacks atop success.
It’s great, a period full of money, growth, and progress.
But then you hit a brick wall as you realize you’re not set up for such success.
So you go back to the drawing board and redefine (and rework) your entire business.
Maybe you’ve gone through this before. Maybe you’re in it right now. If so, you know how painful and stressful it is. If not, trust me when I say… avoid it if you can!
This is why this 4-Step Business model is so great because it helps you avoid all this from happening. You still grow. You still build momentum. You still scale upward and toward the right.
Only you do so with grace, progressing in a way that doesn’t break you (or your business).
Nothing I share here is complicated. None of it is out of your control and you can tailor these steps for just about any business in any industry. So grab your notebook and prepare to keep this article bookmarked because you will want to revisit it in the future.
Step 1: Intimacy Offer
The first thing you want your business to have is some kind of Intimacy Offer, which usually centers around one-on-one work, but can also include things like consulting, speaking, etc…
The point here is to offer something that only you can… it requires you and your presence.
The money you make here is yours. If you want to take it all out and invest it in your lifestyle, fine. If you want to reinvest it back into your business(es), that’s also fine.
It’s your money so you can do what you like with it.
This is important because I see far too many people working long and hard to build their businesses, spending years with nothing to show for it. All they do is pump every dollar back inside it, delaying the life they desire and pushing their dreams down the road.
Do not do this. The last thing you want is to grow resentful toward your business.
And trust me when I say that this DOES happen in time unless you put a stop to it!
So make sure you build some kind of Intimacy Offer into your model and give yourself permission to own this money. When I mentor someone, I always start here because there is no business without you—and you deserve to leverage everything you’re building.
Step 2: Core Offer
Your Core Offer, as the name suggests, is important. This is your:
- Flagship Program
- Group
- Product
- Scaleable Service
- etc…
When someone comes across you/your business, this is what they’re likely to buy.
This is what you’re known for and it is this that generates most of the profit inside your business.
Depending on your situation, you may have more than one core offer.
Although less is usually best, at least until you scale up to a sustainable level.
It should go without saying that this is where most of your team’s energy, resources, and attention goes. It’s your profit generator, which allows your business to
1) grow and expand, and
2) free up your time.
Unless your business has this offer, you’ll struggle to build sustainable momentum.
Step 3: Audience Offer
Next comes your Audience Offer, which usually centers around something low-ticket:
- Course
- Workshop
- Book
- Video Series
- Etc…
In most cases, automation plays a key role as you don’t want to put too much time into it. Instead, you want to set it up in a way that someone can find it, buy it, and use it without any involvement from you—and ideally no involvement from anyone else on your team.
(it’s also important this works whether 100 people use it or 100,000)
For a deep dive into how you can Master Low-Ticket Offers, check out this workshop.
It shows you what to do and how in a way that won’t waste your time.
With the right approach, having one or more Audience Offers like this is huge. It’s the closest thing you’ll get to passive income, pouring money into your account while you sleep.
At the very least, it allows you to break even and often pays for most of your marketing, allowing you to grow your audience and bring more people into your ecosystem.
**NOTE** although this won’t always be the case, your Audience Offer may become the getaway product for many of your customers. They find this, buy it, and then you introduce them and upsell them on your Core Offer on the backend.
In my experience, it’s often these products that move someone from the Slow Lane to Fast Lane
Step 4: Freedom Offer
This final offer is something that brings in monthly (/quarterly/annual) recurring revenue that covers all your core expenses—plus an extra thirty percent for the overage.
This could include
- A Mastermind
- Group Program
- Software/SaaS
- or anything else (low or high-ticket) that automatically brings in money each month
This literally sets you and your business up for freedom because you know at the start of each month your core expenses are covered.
This frees you and your team up to explore other opportunities, start new ventures, or double down on other parts of your business (ie: core offer) so you can turn good into great.
Most entrepreneurs you will meet can’t do this. Most don’t have an offer like this.
If you do, it sets you apart, empowering you to live your life and lead with purpose.
So although this isn’t the first offer you should focus on, it is something you want to keep in mind and build as soon as possible. Once you do, you’ll find this whole entrepreneurial rollercoaster much more enjoyable to ride.
Conclusions & Next Steps
If you want to scale up to seven figures, this Four Step Business Model is what you need.
If you want to scale to $50+ million, it will hit a ceiling.
But this will give you what you need for a long time.
If you’re still in the early stages, take a step back and think about how you can incorporate an Intimacy Offer, Core Offer, and Audience Offer straight away—the Freedom Offer can wait.
Whereas if you’re already well into your business and are beginning to struggle to keep up, take a step back and think about your existing offers and how you can rework them…
- Do you already have an Intimacy Offer?
- Do you already have a few Audience Offers?
- What about your Core Offer?
- What’s missing?
- What do you have too much of and need to cut out?
The specifics differ from business to business, and they never remain set in stone. Right now:
- My Core Offers are my MBA Program and VIP Mastermind
- My Intimacy Offer is my Accelerator
- We have several Audience Offers, some low-ticket, and others high-ticket
- Currently, I don’t have a Freedom Offer because I don’t need one
I used to, but today I have enough money in my account and enough investments elsewhere that my time’s better spent on other things than having a Freedom Offer for the sake of it.
But that’s just me… all that matters now is that you tailor this around you.
The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll take (and feel in) control. You’ll escape the constant grind of having to start from zero each month. You set yourself up to grow without breaking everything and putting huge amounts of pressure on your team.
And you do all this in a way that allows you to enjoy the fruits of your labor!
I wish I figured this out sooner. I got there in the end, but it took me far too long. I hope this article helps you avoid some of the chaos I got caught up in. If it has, you may like to study my guide: 21 Laws of Scaling an Online Business …
It focuses on how you can grow with grace and compliments this 4-Step Business Model well.
Get it now… study it… and then put what you learn into action.
There is literally no better time for you to do this than now.
