Picture this: You’re grinding away 40+ hours a week in your business. Yet you’re still struggling to hit your revenue goals. Clients aren’t flowing in consistently, and every time someone leaves, you panic. Sound familiar? Here’s the truth bomb that might sting a little. If you’re giving your marketing the leftover scraps of your time and energy, that’s exactly why you’re stuck in this cycle.
I recently had a conversation with a client who was absolutely floored when I told her I spend about 50% of my time on marketing activities. That’s roughly 10-12 hours per week out of my 20-25 hour work schedule. Her reaction? She couldn’t imagine finding that much time, nor did she want to because “marketing isn’t her thing.”
But here’s what every online business owner needs to understand. When you start an online business, you’re not just your professional title. You’re part expert, part salesperson, and part marketing maven. And if that makes you uncomfortable, you might want to reconsider the online business route.
The Reality Check: You ARE Part Marketer
People don’t like hearing this, but if you have an online business that requires consistently bringing in clients through digital channels, you must accept that marketing isn’t optional—it’s essential. You can’t treat it as a side activity that gets attention only when everything else is handled.
Think about it: if your ideal clients don’t know you exist, how can they buy from you? Visibility isn’t just helpful—it’s the lifeblood of your business. You need to place yourself in front of your ideal clients, nurture them, speak their language, and sell to them consistently.
Your Business Model Determines Your Marketing Time Investment
Not every business needs the same marketing approach, and your time investment should match your model:
High-Volume, Low-Ticket Business Models
If you’re like me and need a high volume of clients to hit your revenue goals (think courses, memberships, or lower-priced services), you need a high-volume marketing strategy. This means prioritizing visibility and spending closer to that 10+ hours per week on marketing activities.
Higher-Ticket, Relationship-Based Models
If your clients pay $1,000-$5,000+ and typically stay for longer periods or on retainer, your marketing strategy can be less volume-focused. You might only need one quality lead per month or quarter. However, you still need consistent visibility and pipeline-filling activities.
The “I Don’t Have Time” Trap
Here’s where most business owners get stuck: they think they need to find an extra 10 hours on top of their already overwhelming schedule. Wrong approach entirely.
The solution isn’t finding more hours—it’s creating a business structure that allows marketing to be built into your work schedule. I’m not working 30 hours and then adding 10 hours of marketing. I work about 10 hours on other activities and 10 hours on marketing, and it’s completely manageable.
This comes down to having systems, potentially outsourcing client work, and creating offers that don’t require you to trade every hour for dollars.
Different Business Types, Different Strategies
Coaches, Mentors, and Consultants
If you’re selling your expertise, frameworks, and guidance, people need to trust YOU as a person. This requires a higher level of personal marketing. About 90% of my clients work with me because they felt like they knew me through my content—they heard my voice, understood my coaching style, and connected with my personality.
You can’t sell that level of trust through graphics and email alone. You need to show your face, share your voice, and let people experience your energy and teaching style.
Service Providers
If you’re offering tangible services (social media management, copywriting, web design), your strategy can be different. While showing up personally will give you an edge, you can also leverage networking, direct outreach, and using your online presence as a professional storefront.
The key difference? It’s easier to showcase concrete results and reach out directly to potential business clients when you have tangible deliverables.
The Non-Negotiable Truth About Consistency
I always recommend marketing consistently, even when you’re fully booked. Why? Because there’s such thing as wait lists, scheduling start dates weeks in advance, and building a team to support more capacity.
The only time I give clients permission to dial back marketing is when they’re truly maxed out AND actively working on business structure improvements to accommodate more clients. Even then, it’s temporary.
Stop Giving Marketing the Scraps
If you’re currently throwing together last-minute posts or going weeks without marketing activity, that’s not a strategy—that’s self-sabotage. Yes, there will be busy seasons where you need to repurpose more or pull from your creative reserves, but that can’t be your normal operating mode.
Right now, if you can barely scrape together a couple of hours for marketing, the problem isn’t time management—it’s your business structure. You’re probably spending valuable time in the weeds on tasks you could outsource, or you have offers that require too much of your personal time.
The Path Forward
If you’re working too much but not making enough money, and the thought of spending 5-10 hours per week on marketing feels overwhelming, you need to address two critical areas:
- Business Structure: Create systems and offers that give you the margin and time for business development activities
- Marketing Strategy: Develop a clear, effective marketing approach that works for your specific business model and ideal clients
When these two elements work together, you create a business that’s simple, sustainable, and scalable. One that can hit six figures while working part-time hours.
I know this might sound like a pipe dream if you’re currently overwhelmed and underearning, but I promise it’s not. The willingness to get uncomfortable, restructure your business, and commit to consistent marketing will get you to your goals faster than you realize.
If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and ready for a customized plan that addresses both your business structure and marketing strategy, I’d love to work with you inside Grow. As a VIP member, you’ll get the close proximity support, weekly calls, daily Voxer access, and personalized guidance to make this transformation happen.
Your business can be simple, sustainable, and scalable. Let’s make it happen together.
