Former NDIS provider turned coach Vanessa Norman built a multimillion-dollar care business from scratch. Now she shares six strategies to help others achieve sustainable success in the sector.
We all love a good overnight success story. A business that suddenly takes off. A founder who lands a huge deal seemingly out of nowhere.
As a business coach in the NDIS sphere, I get asked about guaranteed income and referrals all the time. People really believe there is some hack to this that gets you to the top of your industry, instantly.
It doesn’t work like that. When you read these clickbait stories in the media, the bit no one is telling you, is that those moments are almost never overnight. They’re the visible tip of an iceberg built over years of experiments, rejections, quiet systems, and habits that don’t make headlines. The midnight oil, the tears, the frustration, no one writes about that.
What I can say is that as a coach, and as a business owner who has built a 4-million dollar business from the ground up, my job is to share the tools and mindsets that lead to success.
If you’re tired of surface-level advice, let me share a few hacks I’ve learned and taught over the years that you won’t find on Google. They’re not glamorous, but they create success that sticks.
Consistency isn’t sexy, but it changes everything
No one likes this one because we all want to believe there’s a hidden door leading to the stairway of success and that it’s simply a matter of finding that door.
There isn’t any such mythical free ride to the top. Consistency is the only way forward, and that means showing up when it’s hard, putting in the effort when you’re tired, and shooting for results, not for effort.
It’s more valuable to your clients, your team and your business if you maintain a predictable schedule. Allowing life to dictate your calendar will see your schedule being quiet at times and double or even triple-paced at other times. Show up and put in the same work, week after week.
The referral trick that feels nothing like selling
The tricks that work in NDIS might sound quite specific to this industry, but they’re not. Word of mouth is king in NDIS, just like any business.
When you stop leaving word-of-mouth to chance, you can optimise it without resorting to asking or incentivising people to refer you, because that feels icky. I tell my coaching clients to systemise it instead;
- Create a “referrer kit” for OTs, LACs, and hospitals with easy-to-share info.
- Set up automatic check-ins with existing referrers so you stay top of mind.
Reward your staff for building referral relationships
Have a client satisfaction survey asking clients for genuine feedback, and if there are some negative points, take them to heart, fix them, and follow up with the client. See these touchpoints, even the negative ones, as opportunities to earn approval.
When you design referrals as a process, your business now has a stronger, more capable pipeline. These resources will pair well with referral incentives.
Sales hack you’ve probably not considered – productise your services
This tip is great for any professional in the service business. I know that NDIS services are usually sold as hours, but hours don’t scale well.
A faster-growth hack is to package services into outcomes-based programs. Instead of ‘support work at 10 hrs/week,’ frame it as a ‘6-week community integration program’ or ‘confidence-building independence package.’ Productising makes your offer clearer, easier to market, and often justifies higher pricing within NDIS rules. You’re putting parameters around a service and clearly defining how you are going to make your client’s life easier or better.
Time is money, so spend it wisely
An age-old rookie error in the business field is trying to manage the delicate juggling act of working in the business and on the business, simultaneously. You’re delivering the services or producing goods while you’re generating leads, managing staff, setting up systems, and somehow, you’re also supposed to create a good culture within the team, even though you’re drowning. So many providers drown in admin, and they cap their growth without realising it. The shortcut? Automate the boring stuff early. Pay for the good software, you will justify it in the hours of your life you will save. Use scheduling systems that auto-generate invoices, tools that sync case notes to compliance categories, and CRMs tailored to NDIS. Every hour you free from admin is an hour you can reinvest into scaling participants and building relationships, and that’s where growth lives.
The quiet move that builds authority overnight
The fastest way to stand out in a crowded market is to be seen as an educator, not just a provider.
Run webinars, publish bite-sized explainers about changes, or host Q&A sessions with allied health partners. Families share this content, referrers trust you more, and suddenly you’re the go-to name in your region. Building authority means you establish trust faster… which leads to faster business growth.
You can also find people to partner with. Approach non-competing providers and bundle services. In the NDIS sphere, I’d suggest a physio teams up with a housing provider and a support coordinator to pitch a holistic solution. Bundled services feel like a one-stop shop for families, and everyone wins. This kind of collaboration lets you grow faster than trying to build everything in-house.
