We have curated some helpful tips to help you build your small business on Mable, so that you can focus on what you love — providing support to those in the community who need it and creating long-lasting relationships with your clients.
Download the Mable app
The Mable app is your on-the-go tool to manage your small business. Through the app, you can easily search for jobs, connect with clients through secure messaging, create and review agreements, and much more. Your response rate (how quickly you respond to a potential client’s message), for instance, is a key factor in securing jobs and is listed on your profile. With the Mable app on your phone, you can make sure your response rate is high, increasing visibility in clients’ searches.
With all its current features and regularly improved functionalities, the Mable app is a must-have for scaling up your small business.
Use Mable Last Minute
Mable Last Minute is a way for clients to find support workers for a session between 4-48 hours away. It is a great way to find new clients and assist them at short notice. One session may turn into regular bookings or it may be an opportunity to receive a review, which can lead to a better search ranking and more jobs. To use it, you simply have to log into your Mable account and update your availability through your dashboard.
Join Mable’s community of independent workers
Join our private Facebook group for independent workers to connect with, learn from and share with other independent support workers on Mable. In this group, you’ll also find opportunities to ‘buddy’ up with other independent workers to ensure there is someone to cover you when you can’t attend a scheduled service, or fill in for a buddy who isn’t able to make it to their designated support session.
BYO client
If you have a client to whom you’re already providing support, you can ask them to sign up on Mable. You have the opportunity to add this existing client to your business on Mable and because you already have a great existing support relationship, you can request they leave you a testimonial that will, in turn, build your brand on Mable and help you find more clients.
Download your personalised business cards and flyers
When you sign up as an independent support worker on Mable, you can print and download your print-ready personalised cards and flyers (at no charge). All you have to do is log into your support worker account. Once these are ready, you can share them with local community members and businesses, such as senior citizen centres, multicultural groups, local council information centres, etc. Use your social and real-life networks. Tell friends what you’re doing, and ask them to tell their friends.
Expand your support service radius
Setting your location settings in your Mable profile determine what job ads support workers see, and how often they appear in clients’ search results. Consider travelling a little farther for potential jobs, you always have the freedom to negotiate your rates a bit higher to incorporate the extra travel time or distance with your client.
Ask clients for referrals
Existing or former clients might know someone else in their neighbourhood or social circle that needs additional support. It’s a good idea to ask them if anyone they know needs support and if they would be willing to refer you.
Get clients to leave a review on Mable
If your client has experienced a good support experience from you, ask them if they would like to leave a testimonial for your business on Mable. The review they write is published on your Mable profile and can be a great incentive for a potential client to book you, especially if they need support in a similar aspect of their life.
Upskill with Mable Learning Hub
A key part of building your business is to upskill. At Mable, we provide opportunities for professional development to all independent support workers through the Mable Learning Hub. With more than 170 free, self-directed training courses by reputable organisations, you can upskill in a variety of areas. We recently secured an exclusive deal with Enabler for a gamified training program that allows support workers of all experience levels to simulate real-life client scenarios through engaging mini-games at their own pace.
When you continue to add to your support skill set and knowledge, chances are you will attract more clients. The more you can offer clients by saying, ‘I’ve done a course in that’, or updating your Mable profile with the courses you have completed, the likelier the possibility of finding more clients.
Build your Mable profile to build your business
Your profile is your business’s primary marketing channel and the first thing clients see about you. Strengthen your Mable profile by:
- Writing your ‘About’ section: Talk about yourself as a support worker but as a person too. Think of it as your introduction. Keep it to around 200 words in length. You could even mention what motivated you to get into the type of support work you do.
- Keeping your indicative rates and availability up to date.
- Keeping your experience up to date.
- Updating your qualifications and training.
- Showcasing a badge (LGBTQIA+ friendly, non-smoker, etc.), your immunisation status, languages you speak or understand, cultural background and religion. This information is not mandatory, but can help clients find you based on their specific cultural or personal characteristics.
- Indicating your hobbies and interests. This can be helpful when clients look for support workers who have the same interests as them.
- Providing information about the services you can offer.
We recommend updating your profile regularly, particularly if there’s a change in any of the above mentioned information. The more regularly you update your profile, the better your chances of appearing higher in clients’ search results.
Manage your finances
All independent support workers on Mable are sole traders. To make sure you can focus on providing support and building your business on Mable, we support you to manage the financial aspects of your business such as tax, super and insurances.
For more information on keeping track of Sole Trader tax requirements, deductions and super, visit the Australian Tax Office Sole Trader information page. In addition, the Mable Tax Benefits Program in partnership with YOUtax is available to all support workers on Mable to help with your tax obligations. Mable also offers an easy-to-use Indicative Tax Calculator in your Mable account. This handy tool helps calculate the amounts you may need to set aside based on your payments via Mable and the date range you’ve selected.
Learn about how payments work on Mable.
We hope this guide to building your small business as an independent support worker on Mable has been helpful to you. You can also look up the most frequently asked questions around becoming a support worker on Mable. If you need any other assistance, please contact the Mable team.
