Have you ever wondered why some businesses seem to grow effortlessly, while others feel like a daily grind to earn every customer? Why an ice cream shop can go viral with a simple photo, but a plumbing business has to claw its way for leads?
You’re not imagining things.
After years of working in marketing—across everything from construction companies to medspas to ice cream shops—I discovered a core truth that most business owners never fully realize:
There are only two types of businesses in the world:
- Means-to-an-End Businesses
- End-in-Itself Businesses
And every business falls into one of these two categories. Once you understand which type you’re in, it changes how you market, how you sell, and even how you choose what to build next.
Let’s dive in.
The Two Types of Businesses: A Clear Framework
| Means-to-an-End Business | End-in-Itself Business | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Something people need to reach another goal | Something people want for its own enjoyment |
| Examples | Plumbing, taxes, weight loss injections | Ice cream, concerts, spa treatments |
| Buying Motivation | Utility, function, necessity | Pleasure, fun, lifestyle |
| Main Obstacles | Price and process resistance | Just price |
| Sales Friction | High | Low |
| Emotional Response | Skepticism, delay, analysis | Excitement, desire, instant action |
| Marketing Focus | Educate, build trust, show outcome | Inspire, delight, show experience |
| Virality Potential | Low | High |
| Gift Card Fit | Rarely used | Highly effective |
What Are Means-to-an-End Businesses?
Means-to-an-end businesses provide something people don’t really want, but they want what it leads to.
- Nobody wants a root canal. They want pain relief.
- Nobody wants to sit through tax planning. They want peace of mind.
- Nobody wants to deal with a plumbing issue. They want their home functioning again.
These businesses are necessary. They solve problems. But they come with built-in resistance:
- The price must be justified.
- The process must be endured.
- The trust must be earned.
You’re not just selling the result—you’re also asking people to go through a process they don’t enjoy. It’s a two-obstacle path to the sale.
That’s why so many service-based businesses feel like a constant grind. The customer has to get over both the cost and the unpleasantness of the process to say yes.
Knowing that gives you power. Because the brutal truth is: if you don’t know you’re facing two obstacles, you’ll keep wondering why your marketing efforts aren’t working.
What Are End-in-Itself Businesses?
End-in-itself businesses provide something people actively want to experience.
- Ice cream
- Concert tickets
- Spa treatments
- Unique Airbnbs
These are the kinds of businesses that don’t require much convincing. People want what you offer just because it’s enjoyable.
There’s only one obstacle: price. But even that is easier to overcome because the desire is strong.
This creates a powerful dynamic:
- Posts go viral
- Referrals come naturally
- Gift cards fly off the shelf
- Customers return just for the experience
It’s not magic. It’s business structure. The product is the pleasure.
The 80/20 Experience Principle
After observing this over and over, here’s the pattern:
End-in-itself businesses get 80% of their results with 20% of the effort.
Means-to-an-end businesses require 80% of the effort just to get 20% of the results.
This is why your construction company post with a clear call-to-action gets ignored—while someone posts a picture of a neon smoothie and racks up hundreds of likes.
It’s not that your business is less important. It’s that it has more friction.
When you know that, you can stop blaming yourself and start working with the reality of your industry.
A Tale of Two Hotels
Imagine two people open a hotel.
- One builds a clean, affordable place off the highway. It’s functional, dependable, and well-run. It gets the job done. It’s a classic means-to-an-end business.
- The other builds a Disney hotel. The moment you arrive, the experience begins. The rooms are themed. The lobby is alive with music. Your kids never want to leave.
Same industry. Same basic product. But one is built for function. The other is built for delight.
The Disney hotel becomes part of the vacation itself. It’s an end-in-itself business—and people pay a premium, rave about it, and come back again.
That’s what understanding this principle unlocks: the ability to think beyond function and into experience.
What This Means for You
Let’s be honest: this realization might make you uncomfortable.
If you’re in a means-to-an-end business, this may even feel discouraging. But it’s actually liberating. Because now you know the rules of the game.
You have two clear options:
1. Play the game smarter
Know that you have to overcome two things:
- The price
- The process
This awareness alone puts you ahead of most business owners. Most are stuck trying every marketing strategy they can find without realizing their business has structural friction that needs more trust-building, more clarity, and more emotional assurance.
2. Build or pivot toward an end-in-itself business
If you’re feeling drained in your current business, or you’re considering a second stream of income, this insight tells you exactly what to look for:
Choose something that:
- People naturally want
- Can be gifted
- Creates joy or pleasure
- Is easy to share
That’s the kind of business that will feel lighter to grow. More fun to promote. And more scalable over time.
The Myth of “Adding Joy” to Every Business
Some people will say, “Just make your plumbing business more fun! Add a candle, or a cute thank-you card.”
But let’s be real: no matter how nice the gesture, a plumbing business will never feel like an ice cream shop. And that’s okay.
There’s no shame in being in a necessary industry. But you deserve to know that it will likely require:
- More effort to build trust
- More time to convert leads
- More resistance to overcome
And that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It just means you’re playing a harder game.
That knowledge is a gift. Because now you can stop chasing quick wins that aren’t meant for your business type.
Why Gift Cards Work for End-in-Itself Businesses
Here’s one more reason this distinction matters: gift cards.
Gift cards thrive in end-in-itself businesses because they remove the one obstacle that remains: price justification.
When someone receives a gift card for a spa, an RV park, or a fun restaurant, they don’t wrestle with guilt or decision fatigue. They just enjoy the moment.
It’s pure upside. And for the business, it’s revenue before the service is even delivered.
If you’re in an end-in-itself business, you should be promoting gift cards year-round.
Final Thoughts: Clarity is Power
Not all businesses are created equal when it comes to ease of growth. And that’s not a knock on anyone. It’s just the landscape.
Means-to-an-end businesses are noble, important, and valuable. But they will always come with more resistance.
End-in-itself businesses, on the other hand, are designed for desire. They get shared, gifted, and remembered.
The good news? Now you know the difference. And you can use that insight to:
- Choose your next venture wisely
- Stop blaming yourself for uphill battles
- Build your marketing with clarity and confidence
Maybe you realize your current business is harder than you thought. That’s okay. Now you know why.
Maybe you realize you want to start something new. Now you know what to look for.
And maybe, just maybe, this insight unlocks a whole new level of excitement for what’s possible.
You don’t have to be stuck in friction forever. You can build something that people crave. You can build something they don’t need to be convinced to try.
You can build something that sells itself—because people actually want it.
And that makes all the difference.