Ep 033 // How Lessons from a Service-Based Business Fueled a Passive Income Product
Summary: <p>This week I'm pumped to welcome the founder of a service I use myself (and am obsessed with!) I've got Allison Schaaf, the founder of <a target="_blank" href="http://prepdish.com/clarity">PrepDish,</a> a subscription service offering handcrafted gluten-free and paleo meal plans week after week. </p> <pre><code> <img class="thumb-image" data-image="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/586c0773ebbd1a367d451544/t/592b6a73e58c62d37d089dce/1496017546141/" data-image-dimensions="726x724" data-image-focal-point="0.5,0.5" data-load="false" data-image-id="592b6a73e58c62d37d089dce" data-type="image" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/586c0773ebbd1a367d451544/t/592b6a73e58c62d37d089dce/1496017546141/?format=1000w" /> </code></pre> <p> </p><p>Aside from loving PrepDish as a customer, I wanted to have Allison on the show for a very specific reason:</p><p>Her product is incredibly simple. Like, "can this actually be a business?" simple.<strong><em> It's a PDF.</em></strong></p><p>I hope these episodes with Allison challenge you to strip away all the scary beliefs that you need to buy course after course to figure out how to launch a business. </p><p>Allison's the master of putting the customer's needs first, and getting laser-focused on what people actually NEED (hint: it's not a crazy app or 35 module course.)</p><p>In this Courage story, we're exploring how Allison got here via her Personal Chef business. I love that Allison started out with a service-based business, and how she worked out the kinks in her workflow before launching a digital product.</p><p><strong>Through perfecting her process in people's kitchens, she was able to create a hard-hitting digital product that nails a specific need. </strong></p><p>Here's what we're getting into in this episode: </p><ul> <li> <strong>Getting clients:</strong> How Allison got her very first client as a personal chef (spoiler: it's not fancy) </li> <li> <strong>Refining your services:</strong> How to figure out what makes you unique -- and how that translates to your offering</li> <li> <strong>Networking:</strong> How the hard work you do in the beginning may pay off later in surprising ways </li> <li> <strong>Idea validation:</strong> How Allison's Personal Chef business actually served as the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for her digital product, PrepDish</li> <li> <strong>Batching: </strong>How Allison shifted to a year-long or season-long view of her meal plans, and how she gets more done with less effort </li> </ul><p>“I figured out what was unique for me — I was not only a chef, but I was also a dietician.”</p><p>“I just had to stop doing anything except the process that I wanted to do. I know you want me to cater your party, but I can’t — this is the one thing I want to do. It really was a decision, this is the way I do things, and I’m only going to work with clients THIS WAY.”</p> <p></p><p> </p><p>SHOW NOTES:</p><ul> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://courageandclarity.com/guide">My Clarity Jump-Start Guide -- grab yours free</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://prepdish.com/clarity">Special PrepDish offer for C&C Listeners </a></li> </ul>
