Avoiding the Assembly Line: How (Financial) Service Businesses Can Grow Without Losing Their Soul

I sat in the same chair I’d been sitting in for years, at a neighborhood salon I’ve visited since well before the pandemic. But something felt different this time, and not just in the ambiance. The way the service unfolded was a stark difference from pre-unprecedented times. It was rushed, impersonal, and almost mechanical. The nail tech I’d known for years barely made eye contact. The usual warm hey, girl was replaced with a quick nod and a swipe of the payment screen.

Did I offend someone? I couldn't figure it out, particularly because I strive to be on time, courteous to other clients and techs, and flexible when they are running behind. Was I all of a sudden a bad client, an unwanted appointment? How?! The stress that this induced was dramatic, I am well aware, but it felt like I had stepped into an alternate universe. Although I missed many signs leading up to the change, I had grown accustomed to a certain level of service. No longer.

The driving force? New ownership. And with it, a new business model. Unfortunately for clients, it felt like something that was lifted from a factory floor.

This shift wasn’t just about efficiency; it was about volume. About pushing people through the doors quickly to squeeze out more daily revenue. In that moment, I realized something many of us have probably felt across various service experiences: the increasing trade-off between personalization and productivity. Good grief, can it sting!

Whether it's a nail salon, a therapist’s office, a fitness studio, or even a financial planning firm like mine, the pressure to grow can quietly erode the very qualities that earned client trust in the first place. Service becomes streamlined. Transactions replace relationships, albeit not in the traditional sense. And slowly, the soul of the business fades.

When Scale Becomes a Squeeze

In the service industry, the revenue model often follows a simple math problem: more clients equal more income. But what’s often overlooked is the hidden cost of that math. Take it from a tired leader… burnout among staff, decreased client satisfaction, and a diluted brand experience all come from the grind and the subsequent growth.

The factory model might work in manufacturing, but when applied to human-centered services, it often leads to stark disconnection. The result? Loyal clients begin to drift. Talented team members start to check out, or dip out completely.

In many businesses, this happens gradually and without bad intent. Owners feel pressure to scale, to meet rising expenses, or to compete with a growing number of providers. So they optimize through shorter appointments, automated check-ins, and upselling scripts. Before long, the human element has been reduced to a bullet point on a client service checklist.

The Ripple Effects: Owners, Teams, and Clients

This shift doesn’t just impact clients and customers. It hits everyone involved.

• Business owners may see a temporary bump in revenue, but at the cost of long-term loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing. Over time, the churn rate increases, and what once was a firm built on reputation starts to resemble a revolving door.

• Employees and service providers feel the squeeze too. When their role becomes focused on output and work product instead of relationship, it can be emotionally draining. The result? Lower morale, higher turnover, and less investment in their craft.

• Customers and clients who are often willing to pay a premium for service that feels personal start to feel invisible. The trust and comfort that once defined the experience are replaced by cold efficiency.

Reclaiming the Heart of Service

In my firm, which focuses on consulting through financial planning and wealth management, we’ve been intentional about rejecting the factory model. We don’t take on every newcomer or referral. We don’t automate away every conversation (or our newsletter, shockingly). Instead, we aim for real relationships and focus on cultivating those as we grow. We want our clients to know us, and we want to know them. That takes time, effort, and sometimes a little (or a lot of) sacrifice on the revenue side. But the trade-off can be worth it: in our experience, taking that time and making the effort can yield stronger retention and advocacy, more aligned referrals, and a business that genuinely feels good to run as she grows.

So, how can other service businesses strike this same balance?

1. Redefine Growth

Growth doesn’t always mean more clients. Sometimes it means better clients, deeper relationships, or higher retention. A salon that encourages customers to book standing monthly appointments builds a base of loyalty that’s more valuable than a line out the door of one-time drop-ins and a growing waitlist.

2. Protect the Relationship Layer

Train your team not just in skill, but in connection. Whether it's a barber, an esthetician, or a Pilates instructor, teach them to listen, to remember preferences, and to ask questions. These small human touches can’t be automated, despite everyone putting in solid effort to create it, and they’re often what keep people coming back.

3. Design for Experience, Not Just Efficiency

Efficiency matters. But when it becomes the only priority, you lose the soul of your service. I have been dangerously close to pushing my folks to the far reaches of frustration because of a perceived inefficiency I swore could be solved through adjusting appointment times or blocks. It never worked, because it forced out the time for the important stuff.

We build time into appointments for conversation. I try desperately sometimes to space out schedules so no one, including myself, feels rushed. It’s about eliminating friction points in the process that detract from the experience, like complicated checkouts or impersonal communications, as much as possible.

4. Center Values in the Business Model

If your business was built on care, connection, and community, those values should be visible in how you grow. I built the values of my company into its name, making it hard to divert from what’s true for us as a firm. Those core tenets drive us, and that, in some cases, means turning away some business or slowing expansion to maintain integrity. But it also means building a brand that lasts.

The Factory Trap Is Avoidable

For those in the service industry, the factory model of service delivery can be seductive. It promises short-term gains, but in most service businesses, it delivers long-term losses. I cannot tell you how much I wince when I can feel this on the receiving end of a service. It is devastating to clients and customers willing to invest in quality service, and it drags down business sustainability.

So, what does sustainable, soulful growth look like instead? It looks like businesses that see people, not just appointments or filling a calendar. Businesses that invest in depth over speed, that build loyalty instead of chasing volume, that grow with intention, not just urgency.

The factory model is everywhere, but it doesn’t have to be the future of your business, or mine, thankfully. The businesses that win the long game are the ones that, yes, hold their breath underwater the longest, but they also never forget why they started. If the point is to serve, to connect, and to build something that feels just as good to deliver as it does to receive in your service industry, the factory model for growth simply doesn’t do your business or your clients justice.