From $30/hr to $300/hr: The Software Consulting Playbook

This episode is all about making use of the Piggyback Principle — why it’s easier to fill demand than to create it from scratch.

Just like how kids would rather get a piggyback ride than walk because it’s easier.

The same is true in business — this strategy allows you to ride the wave of success software products are experiencing to catch that rising tide and get better, faster results with less work.

To help illustrate this, I connected with Kristi DaSilva from DaSilvaLife.com.

DaSilva Life helps small businesses build success by setting up and integrating two popular software tools, HoneyBook and ClickUp, into their workflow and operations.

This earns her thousands of dollars per project along the way.

Tune in to Episode 627 of The Side Hustle Show to learn:

how to use the Piggyback Principle to build on what’s already popular
how to combine software with consulting or services to add value
how to guide your audience with clear calls to action in every piece of content

(Kristi and I met through the 2x coaching program.)

Table of Contents show

From Nanny to Consultant

Kristi’s experience is something unique. In 2020, she was working as a nanny and personal assistant in New York City.

But pandemic came and her in-person work was forced to a halt, so she had to reevaluate her career options.

She then was introduced by her sister-in-law to The Virtual Savvy, a program created by Abbey Ashley (who’s been on The Side Hustle Show before). She teaches people how to start a virtual assistant business from scratch.

“What really got me was the testimonials,” Kristi explained. “If all these people can do it and they can replace their nine-to-five, they can work from home, I could do this too. Why couldn’t I do it?”

It was a huge leap of faith and the biggest investment she’d ever made in herself. But it paid off big time — within the first 90 days, Kristi had replaced her New York City salary with virtual assisting work.

Finding Her Niche and Building a Customer Base

Kristi didn’t start out with a clear focus — she was a generalist like many new online business owners.

“I was just a virtual assistant. I did admin, content creation, systems, all the things,” she shared.

But after about six months, she quickly realized that she needed to specialize if she wanted to grow. She didn’t want to do everything for everyone.

Working with her first business coach, Kristi identified what she was really passionate about: getting people organized through systems.

She had already set up her two favorite tools, ClickUp and HoneyBook, for her clients.

“At the time,” Kristi recalled, “I actually didn’t see many people in the online space just niching down into specific tools and being like pros.”

It felt like another leap of faith, but Kristi decided to focus exclusively on these two tools. She became one of the first 12 HoneyBook Pros and joined a small group of ClickUp consultants.

Kristi got her first customers through two main channels:

Personal connections: Her first client ever was a personal connection that had a garage door business.
Facebook groups: Kristi joined groups where people were actively searching for virtual assistants.

She also started developing a solid marketing strategy from the beginning, including launching an Instagram account and creating educational content.

There was a dip in income as she transitioned, but she couldn’t let that doubt get in the way of her drive to grow.

When her income rebounded and allowed her to command higher rates, she went from making $30-$40 an hour as a VA to charging $300 an hour for strategy sessions.

YouTube Lead Generation Strategies

Today, YouTube is a major source of leads for DaSilva Life. “We get the majority of our leads from YouTube,” Kristi shared.

They see a video, they book a schedule, and they tell Kristi that they’ve usually been subscribed for two to three years.

Their most successful videos are highly specific and problem-focused. For example, their video “5 ClickUp dashboards that will change your business” has been one of their highest-ranking videos. Other popular topics include:

Beginner’s guide to ClickUp / HoneyBook
How to create a content calendar in ClickUp
How to run your agency in HoneyBook

Kristi and her team use tools like vidIQ for keyword research and content planning.

They look for topics with a rating over 60-70, which is a combination of search volume and competitiveness.

They also look at what’s ranking highest on their channel and competitor channels, and use AI tools like ChatGPT to generate topic ideas.

“We do quarterly content planning,” Kristi explained.

Their most popular videos only have 40-50k views (which some may not consider viral enough), but it’s more than enough to drive a steady stream of qualified leads.

You don’t need millions of views to be successful — just a small, engaged audience can be enough to build a thriving business.

Fine-Tuning Funnel Strategy

Initially, DaSilva Life drove traffic toward an evergreen webinar. But as they have fine-tuned their approach, they now guide viewers to links in the video description, lead magnet opt-ins, or to book a call.

Some of their popular lead magnets include:

Interestingly, about 70% of their customers are already using the tools when they reach out for help.

That means there’s a built-in market of people looking to optimize their use of these tools.

She put people through a welcome email sequence of 6 to 7 emails and introduces the company services and how DaSilva Life can support the potential client.

“We use HoneyBook as our CRM for people that are like, ‘I’m ready to hop on a sales call with you,’ she shared.

Instagram and Facebook Strategies

While YouTube is their primary lead source, Kristi also uses Instagram and Facebook to reach potential clients.

On Instagram (@dasilvalife), they have about 5.2k followers. They post educational content about ClickUp and HoneyBook features and share their personal journey of scaling their agency.

They use tools like Canva for creating visuals and ManyChat for automating responses to comments and driving engagement.

They’ve recently started going back to Facebook groups, particularly the ClickUppers group and just answering people’s questions.

No call to action, like, “Hey, book a call with me.” She just goes there looking for questions and creating a 60-second Loom video that solves their problem.

This strategy has already led to new client inquiries.

The DaSilva Life Revenue Pie

DaSilva Life has multiple revenue streams:

ClickUp Consulting: 30%
HoneyBook Consulting: 30%
Courses and Templates: 30%
Other (affiliate revenue, guest speaking, partnerships): 10%

They also earn affiliate revenue from HoneyBook and ClickUp, with HoneyBook being their highest affiliate driver.

A Day in the Life

Kristi’s week is structured into themed time blocks:

Tuesdays and Thursdays are primarily client call days, which can include up to 7-8 calls in one day (sales calls, kickoff calls, training calls, check-in calls, consultations, and strategy sessions).
Wednesdays are for deep work for clients.
Mondays and Fridays are dedicated to team initiatives, including team calls and working on quarterly initiatives for marketing and business growth.

Any Mistakes or Surprises?

One challenge Kristi faces is the “expert trap.” Because she’s the face of her brand, clients often expect to work directly with her.

“[People are] like, ‘Okay, so who am I going to be working with? Is it you?'” she shared.

Her approach is to emphasize that while she leads the project, clients will be working with the entire team.

“They think they want me, but they want my brain. They want my framework,” Kristi explained.

“And so, that’s what we translate to our clients.”

What’s Next for DaSilva Life?

Kristi’s focus is on getting herself out of the driver’s seat of day-to-day operations and building out their offer suite. They’re launching a new offer called the ClickUp Agency Accelerator, which is going into beta soon.

Kristi’s ultimate goal is to focus on growing her business through marketing and educational content.

This shift will allow her to continue expanding DaSilva Life while providing even more value to her clients.

Kristi’s #1 Tip for Side Hustle Nation

“Instead of asking, ‘what if it doesn’t work?’, ask ‘what if it does work?'”

Your Turn

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The template is here for you to run with. Find a tool or service you’re passionate about, create valuable content, and start building your own software-focused business. Who knows? You might be the next success story we feature on the Side Hustle Show!

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