Service · Custom Projects
For service businesses doing $1M+ that need bespoke work: market expansion playbooks, multi-location rollouts, custom dashboards, team hiring frameworks, ops consulting, exit-prep marketing. Project-based, scoped tightly, priced flat.
For service businesses past the starter line
Once you cross $1M in annual revenue, generic 'agency retainers' stop fitting. You need bespoke work: market expansion playbooks, multi-location rollouts, custom dashboards, in-house team hiring frameworks, exit-prep marketing, acquisition integration. Project-based engagements scoped tightly to your specific situation. Flat pricing, no surprise hourly bills, full IP transfer at the end.
Most marketing agencies are built around a single playbook applied to many clients. That works fine for service businesses doing $300k–$800k. Above that, the questions change. You're not asking 'how do I get more leads' — you're asking 'how do I systematize lead generation across three locations,' or 'how do I document my marketing function so a buyer pays me a higher multiple,' or 'how do I hire the right marketing person and build a 90-day onboarding plan around them.' These aren't ad-budget questions.
What I do under Business Scaling is project-based custom work for service business owners who need answers that don't fit a retainer template. Every engagement starts with a 30-minute scoping call — free. If we can't quantify ROI in numbers before we start, I won't take the project. That's the filter.
What we actually do under Business Scaling
Engagements vary, but they cluster into a handful of patterns. Here are the six most common — each is a real client engagement type with real deliverables.
Why most expansion projects fail
When service businesses get stuck above $1M, the cause is usually one of these five patterns. Recognize any of them, and the fix is structural — not a bigger ad budget.
How this fits with our other services
Most Business Scaling engagements use the standard service retainers as the operational layer underneath the custom project. You're not replacing the day-to-day; you're adding strategic capacity above it.
Real engagements
Anonymized client data. Each is a real engagement we delivered in the last 24 months.
Started with one strong market in Phoenix metro. Built the expansion playbook, ran simultaneous launches in Tucson, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque over 13 months. Total revenue went from $1.4M (one market) to $3.8M (four markets). Marketing engagement was $48k over the period. Profit-payback at month 5.
Mid-size dental group ($3.6M revenue) wanted to fire their agency and bring marketing in-house. We wrote the JD, sourced 28 candidates, ran 3 rounds of interviews including a 90-min skills test, the chosen candidate started at month 3 with our 90-day onboarding plan. Engagement total: $22k. New hire is now in year 2, group revenue is $4.8M.
Plumbing business prepping for sale. Started at expected 4–5× EBITDA multiple. We spent 9 months documenting marketing systems, building lead-source attribution clarity, packaging the marketing IP for transferability. Final sale closed at 8.5× — $2.4M EBITDA × 8.5 = $20.4M, vs. $10.5M at the original multiple. Engagement total: $62k. ROI math doesn't need explanation.
Who this is for
Business Scaling engagements work for established operators with measurable revenue and a specific question that doesn't fit a retainer. If you're under $500k or your question is 'how do I get more leads,' the standard retainers are a better fit.
Pricing
Every Business Scaling project starts with a free 30-minute scoping call. After that call, you get a written proposal with: scope, deliverables, timeline, milestones, payment schedule (typically 30% upfront / 40% at midpoint / 30% on delivery), and ROI hypothesis. If we can't quantify the ROI before we start, we won't take the project. That's the filter that protects both of us.
Common questions
No. Fractional CMOs are usually open-ended monthly retainers without defined deliverables — that model attracts clients who want a CMO 'on staff' but don't need one full-time. The work tends to drift, accountability is diffuse, and engagements run multi-year. We do project-based work with tight scopes and defined endpoints. If you want fractional CMO, we'll point you to specialists in that model — but it's not us.
Standard retainers (Lead Generation, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Local SEO, Automations) are productized services with clear deliverables and ongoing operational scope. Business Scaling is custom project work for situations the retainers don't fit: market expansion, hiring, dashboards, exit prep, acquisition integration. Different engagement model entirely. Most Business Scaling clients also keep one or two standard retainers running underneath.
Yes — that's the strategic advisory option. Monthly or quarterly engagement, we review what's working, recommend what to change, you (or your team) execute. Cheaper than custom projects, doesn't replace operational work. Some owners want a strategist's eye on their numbers without paying for execution they already have in-house.
Custom dashboards: 6–8 weeks. In-house hiring: 12–16 weeks. Acquisition integration: 8–16 weeks per acquisition. Multi-location expansion: 4–6 months. Exit prep: 6–9 months. Strategic advisory: 12-month minimum, ongoing. Project timelines depend on scope — we lock the timeline in the written proposal before kickoff.
It happens. Scope changes are documented as written change-orders with adjusted price + timeline. We don't do 'while you're at it' free additions. We also don't surprise-bill. If the scope grows, we propose new pricing in writing, you approve or decline, then we proceed. Predictable for both sides.
Yes — every Business Scaling engagement starts with mutual NDAs before we see your books or your sales pipeline. Especially for exit-prep work, where confidentiality is critical.
I (Mark) lead every Business Scaling engagement directly. Depending on scope, I bring in vetted contractors: a senior copywriter, a developer, a financial analyst (for exit-prep modeling), a recruiter (for hiring projects), and category specialists for industries I haven't worked deeply in. I introduce you to anyone working on your project before they start. No 'mystery team.'
Yes — many Business Scaling engagements start with a paid 2-week pilot ($3k–$5k) where we audit your current state and produce a written diagnostic + recommendation. After the pilot, you can engage us for the full project (the pilot fee credits toward the project total) or take the diagnostic and execute internally. Either way, you walked away with knowledge most operators never get.
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