Ep 46: Building a Calm, Profitable Service Business That Actually Lasts with Maggie Patterson
“Passive income is not passive, and all of that advice was complete bullshit. A boring business is the goal. Predictable, peaceful, profitable.”
Maggie Patterson
If you’ve ever been told you can’t scale as a service provider unless you build a course, hire a huge team, or chase passive income, this episode is going to feel like a deep exhale.
I’m joined by Maggie Patterson, author of Staying Solo: Your Guide to a Simple and Sustainable Service Business and host of two powerhouse podcasts, Staying Solo and Duped: The Dark Side of Online Business. We go all the way in on the myths around scale, the pressure to build an agency, the obsession with revenue milestones, and the trust recession happening in online business right now.
This conversation is bold, honest, and very pro–service provider. If you want to build a profitable, sustainable business without becoming a content machine or managing a giant team, you’re going to love this one.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode
Why “you can’t scale services” is outdated and flat-out wrong
How celebrity coaching culture distorted what scale is supposed to mean
The real cost of launching courses and low-ticket digital offers
Why corporate and high-level consulting operate differently than online business
What a “boring business” actually means, and why that’s the goal
How to think about salary first, not revenue vanity metrics
Why over-investing in programs keeps service providers underpaid
The trust recession and how to protect yourself as a consumer
The Lie About Scaling as a Service Provider
Maggie has been in business since 2005. She started in PR and content marketing, built an agency, experimented with courses, and ultimately came back to what she does best, services.
One of the biggest myths we unpack is the idea that you “can’t make more money” as a solo service provider.
That narrative came from coaches telling service providers their only next step was a course, membership, or digital product empire. Maggie followed that advice at one point. The course performed well. It made money. And still, it wasn’t aligned.
The effort required to market it, the contracts she declined while focusing on it, and the shift away from client work made her realize something simple.
Services were easier. More profitable. More predictable.
The problem was never the model. The problem was the messaging around it.
Services vs. The Launch Model
We get into the mechanics of what people rarely talk about.
Launching and running digital offers is resource intensive. You need:
An LMS
An email platform
Automation tools
Customer service systems
Ongoing marketing
The tech stack alone can cost significantly more than running a streamlined service business.
Meanwhile, a consulting or done-for-you service often requires far less infrastructure. The marketing is more direct. The conversions are more relationship-based. And the revenue is typically higher per client.
That doesn’t mean services are effortless. It means they are different.
And if you love doing the work instead of constantly marketing, that difference matters.
Corporate Money vs. Online Money
One of the most refreshing parts of this conversation is how openly we talk about the bubble of online business.
Corporate clients and high-level consultants understand budgets differently. They understand proposals. They understand scope. They understand replacing headcount with a service contract.
That world does not operate like the “just send me to a checkout page” culture of low-ticket online offers.
If you are trying to sell high-level services but marketing like a course creator, you are going to feel friction. And that friction is not a sign that your services are broken. It’s a sign you’re in the wrong room.
The Obsession With Scale
Maggie’s book, Staying Solo, makes a strong case for questioning our obsession with scale.
Why is entrepreneurship so fixated on teams, headcount, and exponential growth?
Why is a six-figure solo business treated like it’s “playing small”?
We talk about the reality that the average one-person business makes far less than what online business culture normalizes. Six figures is not nothing. It is a massive achievement.
And yet, so many service providers are distracted before they even stabilize.
They jump to new offers. They chase passive income. They lose focus.
Meanwhile, referrals, repeat business, and tightening their core service could have taken them further.
The Real Meaning of Support
Support is another area where we’ve been sold a narrow definition.
Support does not automatically mean hiring a coach.
Sometimes support means:
Upskilling in a specific tool
Hiring a consultant for one defined problem
Joining a community for connection
Investing in personal support so your nervous system is regulated
Maggie shares how over-investing in programs often leaves service providers underpaying themselves. If you are making 10K a month but only paying yourself 1K, something is off.
Salary first. Vanity revenue second.
The Trust Recession
We also talk about what Maggie calls the trust recession.
There is more skepticism in the market, and for good reason. Income claims, urgency tactics, and manipulated data have eroded trust.
The takeaway is not to become cynical. It’s to become discerning.
Approach big promises with healthy skepticism. Recognize manipulation when you see it. And remember that if someone is telling you that staying solo means you are playing small, they are not in your business.
Chapters
00:01 Halloween banter and industry alignment
06:56 Maggie’s path from PR to services
11:10 Being told you “have to” create a course
19:24 Service providers vs. celebrity coaches
23:14 The realities of hiring and leadership
28:59 The true cost of launches and tech stacks
37:16 Inside Staying Solo
42:09 Revenue ceilings and lost focus
50:59 The trust recession
54:23 Enough vs. more
01:00:10 Salary-first thinking
01:09:43 About Staying Solo
Resources & Mentions
Staying Solo: Your Guide to a Simple and Sustainable Service Business by Maggie Patterson
Reverse Salary Calculator: https://bsfreebusiness.com/kit
About the Guest
Maggie Patterson is the creator of BS-Free Business® and the author of Staying Solo®. With 20 years of experience as a successful entrepreneur in client services, Maggie helps service business owners build what she proudly calls a “boring business”—strategically small, sustainable, and designed to fit their lives without the constant hustle.
A podcaster and writer, Maggie is a vocal advocate for humane business practices rooted in respect, empathy, and trust. She hosts two podcasts, Staying Solo and Confessions of a Micro Agency Owner, and co-hosts the consumer advocacy podcast Duped: The Dark Side of Online Business.
Connect with Maggie Patterson
Podcast: Staying Solo
Instagram: @bsfreebusiness
Website: bsfreebusiness.com
Interested in Being on the Show or Working with Emylee?
Are you a service provider with a bold perspective to share? Apply to be a guest.
Ready to transform your service into a productized, scalable offer? Apply for Sold Out Services.
If you’d like to see a library of all published episodes in a gallery with easy-to-find links to all listening platforms be sure to check out the Sell The Damn Service Episode Library.
