Once you know, you grow
How the top marketing and creative consultants earn 6 figures—and beyond.
Working for yourself takes guts
The work takes skill. Growth takes will. And success takes more than talent. At HoneyBook, our mission is to support that success.
To do that, we provide all the tools it takes to serve clients—plus the insights, tips, and resources you need to run your business with confidence.
That’s why we partnered with the Harris Poll(1) to uncover what the top marketing and creative consultants are doing to reach their revenue goals so you can, too.
It’s a nice view from the top, and we’re here for you every step of the climb.
Here’s your earning potential:
Learn how top earners in marketing and creative businesses like yours reach their revenue goals.
This revenue range is based off 727 businesses in the marketing and advertising, business and professional services, or design and creative services industries who generated at least $50,000 in annual revenue in the past 12 months.
$85,000
—
$276,000
$85,000
$85,000
$85,000
$276,000
Earn 25% of your income from passive sources
Passive is the new active
High earners diversify their revenue streams by selling memberships and subscriptions, workshops and courses, and digital products.
Where to start
Create digital content once and sell it repeatedly—that’s how making money in your sleep becomes a dream come true. Here are 5 digital products to sell and earn passive income.
Generate 50% of your revenue with 25% of your time
Where to start
Building client relationships takes time, but the time you save (and money you’ll earn) is well worth the effort. This guide outlines the strategies and tools it takes to retain your best clients.
Relationships put revenue on repeat
Top earners generate more than half of their revenue from repeat clients, who only require 26% of their time.
Where to start
Building client relationships takes time, but the time you save (and money you’ll earn) is well worth the effort. This guide outlines the strategies and tools it takes to retain your best clients.
Earn $45K
the easy way
Client retainers are no-brainers
Top earners rely on retainer-based projects to generate reliable income. Their average retainer income is $45,000 annually, with some significantly higher.
Where to start
Your first stop is a recurring payment system you can set up for any retainer agreement. Read more about why retainers are essential for creative and marketing professionals.
Where to start
Your first stop is a recurring payment system you can set up for any retainer agreement. Read more about why retainers are essential for creative and marketing professionals.
Join the 72% who work for all the right reasons
Where to start
To state the obvious: working for yourself is hard work. But the rewards are more valuable than any revenue number. Learn how HoneyBook can help.
Driven by passion
If there’s one thing all businesses agree on, it’s that passion led them here. The number one reported reason for starting a business is to pursue a passion, followed by flexibility, and autonomy over their career.
Where to start
To state the obvious: working for yourself is hard work. But the rewards are more valuable than any revenue number. Learn how HoneyBook can help.
Discover the top tools to become a top earner
Manage leads, projects, clients, and payments in one place with HoneyBook.
Book clients with ease
Let new and repeat clients book, sign, and pay from a single link. Reuse templates to deliver a great client experience every time—and in less time.
Get paid from multiple revenue streams
Set up custom pricing terms for retainers, subscriptions, or digital products.
Accept all major credit and debit cards, bank transfers, autopay, and more.
Work smarter with AI and automations
Lean on your AI Assistant to draft responses, take notes, deliver insights, and more. Reduce busywork with automated replies, follow-ups, or files.
Attract and nurture leads
Funnel leads into HoneyBook so it's easy to stay on top of new opportunities.
Replace patchwork processes with a pipeline tailored to your business.
Build client relationships
Showcase your services, brand, and expertise to keep clients coming back for more.
Join 100K+ independent businesses already growing on HoneyBook.
With automations and the proper systems in place, we save at least eight hours a week. We can then reinvest those eight hours into revenue-generating, business-building activities.
