Congratulations on becoming a Sleep Consultant! I’m in this business for a while now, and let me tell you, it’s super rewarding. But getting certified is just the beginning, right? You want to make a real difference, help families get the rest they need, and make some money — after all that certification program wasn’t cheap.

Setting up your business takes time and thought. There are lots of steps and tools to figure out, and it’s key to keep your startup costs low, especially in that crucial first year when making money matters most. Managing your finances well is key for long-term success as a Sleep Consultant.

With all the platforms out there like Honeybook, Flodesk, Acuity, and Dubsado promising to optimise your workflow, it’s important to think carefully. You usually only use a small part of what they offer (especially in the first year) but end up paying for it all, which can hit your wallet hard. Plus, all these different platforms often come with a learning curve, eating up precious time.

Honestly, you don’t need all the fancy stuff in your first year(s) of business. What you need is a strong, simple foundation that pays the bills. Once you’re fully booked, then you can think about splurging on time-saving tools.

In this article, I’ll share how I keep my business running smoothly for just $17.41 a month, and how you can too. Starting and running a business can be expensive, but really, it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools and strategies, you can keep costs low without sacrificing quality.

Let’s dive into how you can run your business on a budget across the three key areas: getting set up legally & financially, building your brand & marketing, and attracting those all-important customers.

Legal & Financial Setup

1. Register Your Business

Obviously I can’t skip the very first step of your business and that is registering your name and obtain any necessary licenses or permits required in your area. This will make sure that you’re operating legally and protects your business from potential legal issues.

Note: While registering your business comes with a cost, I consider this separate from your $17.41 monthly budget. This article primarily discusses recurring monthly expenses, such as subscription fees for online platforms or services.

2. Setup a Separate Bank Account:

Open a separate bank account for your business to keep your personal and business finances separate. This makes accounting and tax reporting easier and provides a clear picture of your business’s financial status. Recommended banks that offer no monthly fees and provide physical cards include Wise, Mercury, Revolut, and Bluevine.

3. Payment Processing

Accept payments safely and efficiently with Stripe or Paypal. Easily integrate it into your SIO account (which I’ll address in a bit) to streamline the payment process for your services. I personally prefer Stripe, as PayPal’s fees can be higher compared to Stripe, especially for international transactions, and it has more strict security measures in place.

4. Invoice Management

Keep track of your business expenses using free tools like Google Sheets or Excel. Alternatively, if your business operates in the US or Canada, you can sign up for Wave, a free accounting and bookkeeping software. Wave allows small businesses like ours to manage bookkeeping, accounting, and invoicing in one place. I’ve been using it for years and highly recommend it!

Branding & Marketing

1. Brand Guidelines

Clearly define your brand identity, including your mission, values, and target audience. Develop a unique selling proposition (USP) that sets you apart from fellow Sleep Consultants and then create a logo & brand board in Canva Free that aligns with your business vision.

2. Create a Professional Website

When creating a website, you need two main things:

1. your domain (like www.yourbusinessname.com)
2. website builder that requires no coding skills

Now, while there are reasons to build a website without a domain, having a proper domain name is still the way to go. A unique domain boosts your credibility, improves SEO, and strengthens your brand identity.

For just $1 a month, you can secure a domain name that reflects your business, enhancing your brand’s credibility and making it easier for clients to find you online. I’ve been using GoDaddy to register domains for as little as $0.99 per month. This initial investment is a small price to pay for establishing your business’s online presence.

There you go, the first financial investment for your business, not too bad right!

Next, we need to talk about your website builder. Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, Weebly, GoDaddy, Shopify, just dropping some names you’ve probably heard. All great platforms, but I’m always looking for a way to combine different systems in one. For years they told me, you can’t have a platform that’s offering web design AND sales funnels AND email marketing AND referral programs AND private communities AND course creation all in one place.

Until I found SIO…

And this will be your second (and final) investment. Seriously, this software has transformed the way I do business: simpler, more effective, and everything is now completely automated. It’s integrated approach streamlines your complete online presence, eliminating the need for multiple tools or platforms. It’s designed specifically for online businesses and the customer service is top-notch — that’s exactly what you need when you start out in business and have no clue (yet!) what you’re doing. Their team is fantastic (and fast) and are willing to go through your setup and show you how to fix any bottlenecks.

With SIO you can build a professional website for your sleep consulting business, with their pre-designed templates. With drag-and-drop functionality, you can easily create a professional-looking website to showcase your sleep support package, build a shop, share testimonials, and invite potential clients to schedule a sleep assessment call.

And the great thing is their price! Imagine having to pay various platforms fees ranging from 10 to 30 USD. Honestly, SIO is my top pick for managing my business. With its wide range of features, including email marketing, sales funnel creation, and course building, SIO provides excellent value at just $16.42 a month (only available with my affiliate link).

3. Get a Professional Email Address

Avoid using your personal email for business. You can setup a free Gmail address with your business name. Other free benefits are that you have access to the Google Drive, to keep track of client details, progress, and appointments. You have access to Google Forms for your sleep assessment questionnaires, or as a feedback form for your past clients, and all of that in one place (for free!).

4. Email Marketing

You’ve got an email, now you want to start building an email list. This often comes with the setup of a lead magnet funnel and a nurture campaign. Guess what, with SIO, you have everything you need for email marketing without needing additional platforms like Mailchimp or ConvertKit. SIO offers a user-friendly interface with intuitive drag-and-drop tools for creating funnels, and email campaigns. This simplicity makes it accessible to Sleep Consultants with varying levels of technical expertise, reducing the learning curve associated with email marketing.

5. Utilize Free Marketing Channels:

Next you want to share your funnel everywhere. Take advantage of free marketing channels such as Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter to promote your services. Create stunning graphics using Canva’s free account that educates and resonates with your target audience. If you want to schedule your posts ahead of time, you can use Buffer, which is free up to 10 scheduled posts.

Set up a Google Business Profile to list your business for free on Google Search & Maps. Also don’t overlook local opportunities — build relationships with professionals in related industries to expand your client base.

6. Setup Automated Workflows

Automation can significantly reduce manual tasks and save you time and money. Identify areas of your business that can benefit from automation. With SIO you can implement an automated workflow to streamline the process for your client.

1. They see your lead magnet
2. They leave their email address on the opt-in page of your lead magnet funnel
3. They automatically receive your lead magnet and a thank you email
4. They receive a series of emails spread out over a couple of days with more value
5. They will be invited to book a sleep assessment call with you
6. They receive a confirmation after booking their call (and you too!)
7. They receive a reminder 1 hour before the call

All of this to improve efficiency, so that you can focus your time and energy on actually supporting your sleep consulting clients.

5. Always Track Your Data

Get a complete understanding of your customers across devices and platforms. You can track website traffic for free with Google Analytics, you can monitor marketing performance with SIOs built-in analytics tools and you can track the performance and success of your content within your social media platform.

Sales & Customer Acquisition

1. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

You want to have a software that offers a combination of practices, strategies and technologies that manage and analyse customer interactions and data throughout the sleep consultant client journey. No need to look much further, SIO is doing that for you!

2. Communication Platform

Zoom and Google Meet are platforms you can use to conduct Sleep Assessment Calls and consultation calls with your clients. I personally prefer Zoom, as it has a pre-meeting checkup to confirm I look presentable before joining the real one.. 😉

3. Appointment Scheduling Software

Many scheduling tools promise a lot, but what you really need is simplicity (not a 20 hour study to set everything up). Calendly is the solution I’ve used for years. It simplifies scheduling meetings and appointments, eliminating back-and-forth communication and automating appointment bookings and reminders for free!

4. Custom Sleep Plan

Many Sleep Consultants write their sleep plans in Word or Google Docs, or send them by email. Nothing wrong with that, but I prefer to impress my sleep consulting clients with a stunning and professional looking sleep plan, which I create using Canva’s free account.

I also use a tool called Grammarly, which you can install for free on your computer. It checks for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and makes sure your writing is clear and engaging.

5. Leverage Client Referrals and Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Happy clients are your best advocates, so next to asking them for a testimonial you also want to have a referral program in place that rewards them for referring new clients to you. Guess what? SIO can do this for you too, and all on automation! After working together you send your client a unique link, they share this link with their friends and family. When their friend or family member signs up, they automatically receive a percentage (set by you) to their bank account. And of course, you can use this same system as an affiliate program for collaboration with local partners!

6. Courses, Communities & Memberships

Once your business is up and running, you can start thinking about expanding your services with an online course, a recurring monthly membership program, or a private community. I think you can already guess what’s coming — you don’t have find and learn a new platform, you’ve got the tool already in your pocket! Build your online course, build an online community, let potential clients sign up for a recurring membership program, everything can be fully automated on SIO.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, it’s completely possible to run a successful sleep consulting business on a $17.41 USD budget. Trust me, you don’t need to spend a fortune or have all those fancy platforms to succeed. With strategic planning, the right tools, and efficient workflows, you can effectively manage your operations while keeping costs low.

Want to run your sleep consulting business on $17.41 USD a month? First buy a domain name for $0.99 USD, second open your SIO account by clicking here. It is an affiliate link (meaning that I’ll get a small commission), however, it will also unlock a $197 vs $228 discounted annual price for you. You won’t get this discount in any other way than via the link above.

If you already have a website or any other systems in place, I would still recommend you sign up with the link above and you can take advantage of SIO’s free migration offer (and start fresh and completely organised with all your systems in one place!)

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to streamline your operations and maximize your sleep consulting success! If you have any questions, drop me a DM, always happy to connect with fellow Sleep Consultants.

** If you click on my affiliate links, you’ll help me earn a small commission, and in most cases, you’ll also receive a special offer. It’s a win-win! I only promote products and services that I believe in and use myself.