DIY vs DWY vs DFY Offers Explained (And How to Choose the Right Model)

Many solopreneurs fall into a huge trap: they offer extensive “done for you,” full-service options to any client that asks for it. But that’s not scalable.

So they tend to overextend themselves, burn out, or constantly hire while seeing their margins evaporate.

The question you need to ask yourself is:

How do you deliver serious value without drowning in “Delivery Hell”? 

Many get tempted by "passive income" ideas or “productizing” because it sounds easy. But as someone who has actual products before, I can tell you that it comes with an entire set of similarly difficult challenges.

In this article, I'll break down DIY, DWY, and DFY offers and explain the real pros and cons, the revenue implications, and when each one makes sense. 

What are DFY offers?

DFY offers are offers where you own the entire outcome. The client hands you a problem, you deliver the solution, and they don't need to lift a finger beyond providing access and approval. You control the process, the timeline, and the methodology.

For example, fractional services where you handle strategy sessions, execution, and delivery. The client shows up for kickoffs and check-ins, but you're running the show.

This model gets criticized for being "unscalable" or "too labor-intensive." Business owners say they can't grow with DFY because they hit capacity too fast.

That's a delivery problem, not a model problem.

Pros of DFY offers

• Premium pricing becomes easier to justify. When you deliver complete outcomes, clients stop thinking about your hourly rate. They think about the value of the result. A $50,000 marketing strategy that generates $500,000 in new revenue isn't expensive. It's a bargain.
• You maintain quality control. Ever tried to get a client to implement your recommendations correctly? It's painful. With DFY, you don't rely on their execution skills, follow-through, or understanding of nuance. You do it right the first time.
• Faster results for clients. Most professionals with experience can execute in days what would take a client weeks or months to figure out. Speed creates value. When you compress timelines, clients are willing to pay significantly more.
• Clear differentiation in the market. While everyone else sells coaching programs and DIY courses, you're selling certainty. That positioning alone cuts through the noise.

Cons of DFY offers

• You're trading your time for money at a higher rate, but still trading time. Without systems, DFY becomes a treadmill. You deliver, invoice, and immediately need the next client to maintain revenue.
• Scope creep is real. Clients who aren't doing the work themselves sometimes struggle to understand boundaries. "Can you also handle this other thing?" becomes a constant negotiation.
• The expensive option here isn't the price tag—it's the cost of perfectionism paralysis. I've watched consultants spend 80 hours on a project they quoted at 40 because they wanted it to be flawless. That's not DFY's fault. That's a scoping and boundaries issue.
• Capacity constraints hit fast. If each DFY engagement takes 40-60 hours and you can only work 120 billable hours per month, you're capped at 2-3 clients. The math limits you unless you raise prices or improve efficiency.

When DFY works best

You have deep expertise in a specific domain where clients genuinely can't execute without you. Web design, search engine optimization, Facebook Ads management, and digital ecosystem buildout require technical skills most clients don't possess or don't have the resources to execute.

Your market values speed and certainty over cost. Enterprise clients, established businesses, and anyone solving urgent problems will pay premium rates for DFY.

You've built systems that reduce delivery time without sacrificing quality. Templates, processes, and documented workflows—these turn 60-hour projects into 25-hour projects while maintaining the same outcome and price point.

How to differentiate your DFY offer

• Guarantee speed. Anchor on quick wins in 30 days instead of 90. Compress timelines and charge accordingly.
• Limit capacity explicitly. "I only take on three of these kinds of engagements  per quarter" creates scarcity and urgency.
• Use outcome-based pricing. Tie your fee to the value created, not the hours worked. This shifts the conversation from cost to investment.
• Bundle ongoing support. Don't just deliver and disappear. Include 30-60 days of post-delivery support, monitoring, or optimization. This extends the engagement and creates opportunities for additional revenue.

I've used DFY as my flagship offer for years. It's not for everyone, but when you structure it right—clear scope, strong boundaries, premium pricing—it's the fastest path to high revenue per client. That's how I've built a successful business for myself and for my clients.

What are DWY offers?

Done-With-You sits in the middle. You're not handing over a finished product, but you're not leaving clients to figure it out alone.

This is where most coaching programs live. You guide, they implement. You provide frameworks, they apply them. You review their work, give feedback, and help them course-correct.

Strategy sessions that result in action plans that the client executes. Workshops where you teach a methodology and support implementation. Client management systems where you advise, but they own the day-to-day operations.

DWY gets positioned as the "best of both worlds." Lower cost than DFY, more support than DIY. But it's more nuanced than that.

Pros of DWY offers

• Clients develop capability. Unlike DFY, where you do everything, DWY builds its skills. They learn your methodology, understand the reasoning, and can eventually run it themselves.
• More affordable for mid-market clients. Startups and smaller businesses that can't justify $50,000 DFY engagements can often afford $5,000-$15,000 DWY programs.
• Natural path to recurring revenue. Monthly or quarterly DWY engagements create predictable income. Clients stay longer because they're invested in the process.
• Lower delivery burden on you. You're not responsible for execution. You guide, they implement. This theoretically frees up your time compared to DFY.

Cons of DWY offers

Everything depends on the client's follow-through. I've seen brilliant DWY programs fail because clients didn't implement them. They paid for the guidance, attended the sessions, nodded, and then did nothing.

That's frustrating for everyone. You delivered your side. They didn't deliver theirs. And if results don't materialize, guess who gets blamed?

Here are a few other cons:

• Ambiguous scope becomes a trap. "Done-With-You" can mean wildly different things. Are you providing weekly calls? Async feedback? Reviewing their work? Creating content requests? The lack of clarity creates friction.
• Slower time to results. Clients who are implementing themselves move slower than you would. What you'd finish in two weeks might take them two months. Extended timelines can hurt perceived value.
• Client availability becomes a bottleneck. They're busy running their business. Scheduling gets messy—momentum stalls. The engagement drags on longer than planned.

When DWY works best

Your clients have competent teams but need strategic direction. They can execute, but they need the roadmap and accountability.

You're teaching a proprietary methodology with real value beyond the immediate project. Your framework becomes an asset they can use repeatedly.

You want to balance revenue with lifestyle. DWY typically requires less intense delivery than DFY while generating more revenue than DIY.

How to differentiate your DWY offer

• Name your methodology. Proprietary frameworks create perceived value. "The Offer Funnel Stack system" sounds more valuable than "we'll work together to find better clients."
• Offer high-touch support. Weekly calls, asynchronous feedback, and direct access make the "With You" part feel substantial, unlike an afterthought.
• Create hybrid packages. Combine DWY core work with DIY resources (templates, recorded trainings) and occasional DFY elements (you handle one specific complex piece).
• Use milestone-based deliverables. Instead of open-ended coaching, structure DWY around specific outcomes achieved by specific dates. This creates clarity and urgency.

I've used DWY for clients who want guidance but have the internal capacity to execute. It works when you're clear about roles, responsibilities, and what success looks like.

What are DIY offers?

Do-It-Yourself offers are where the client takes full ownership of execution. You hand over a framework, course, or template, and they do everything themselves.

But it rarely works that way in professional services.

When I say "no one wants to buy a DIY offer," I mean exactly that. When was the last time you considered hiring someone and thought, "I'd love to pay them so I can do the work myself"?

Clients hire experts because they don't want to DIY. They want the problem solved, the outcome delivered, the transformation completed. If they wanted to do it themselves, they'd Google it for free.

Pros of DIY offers

• One-to-many scalability. You create the asset once and sell it hundreds of times. Your time investment doesn't increase with each sale.
• Lowest barrier to entry. DIY offers can be priced accessibly, making them available to early-stage businesses or solopreneurs with limited budgets.
• Positions you as an authority. Publishing a comprehensive course or resource library demonstrates expertise and can attract higher-tier clients.
• Works as lead generation. A well-designed DIY offer can introduce people to your methodology, creating a pipeline for DWY or DFY upgrades.

Cons of DIY offers

• Completion rates are abysmal. Industry data shows 3-15% of course buyers actually finish. That means 85-97% of your customers don't get results. That's not a business model—it's a refund waiting to happen.
• Low perceived value in professional contexts. Established business owners don't want templates and training videos. They want expertise applied to their specific situation.
• Marketing becomes the entire business. Because margins are thin and conversion rates are low, you need volume. That means constant content marketing, Facebook Ads, email sequences, and funnel optimization. You stop being a practitioner and become a marketer.
• Commoditization. Once you sell information products, you compete with every $97 course and YouTube video in your category. Differentiation becomes nearly impossible.
• Support burden explodes. Even "self-service" DIY offers generate questions, confusion, and support requests. You're not saving time—you're just distributing it differently.

When DIY works

Honestly, it rarely works. But if you've already built a sizable audience that knows and trusts you, you can use it as a first offer to cold traffic. For example, if you’re selling a mini course or workshop.

Also, if you're using DIY as an entry point to higher-tier services, it can work. It introduces your methodology at a low cost and then upsells it to DWY or DFY.

How to differentiate DIY

• Provide proprietary templates and tools. Give them the assets they need, not just instructions on creating them.
• Create phased learning paths. Break content into small, achievable wins. People abandon courses when they feel overwhelmed. Quick wins maintain momentum.
• Bundle DIY with optional upgrades. Offer the DIY base, then allow people to add DWY support or DFY implementation for specific pieces.

I rarely recommend DIY as a primary offer for established service providers. If you have expertise worth paying for, package it as a DFY or DWY offer.

Why DFY wins for premium positioning

After building multiple seven-figure businesses and mentoring 551 consultants and solopreneurs, I've seen the same pattern repeatedly.

The professionals who scale fastest and earn the most per client run DFY offers.

It’s because they're selling certainty.

And the cool thing? DFY can come in different flavors. It doesn’t mean you always have to do heavy lifting. Many of my clients offer “DFY” while still serving in advisory or fractional capacities.

Clients don't want to learn your process. They don't want to collaborate on implementation. They want the problem solved. The faster and more completely you can solve it, the more you can charge.

That's how you scale DFY without hiring and maximize revenue per client. 

That's how you build a business that actually works.