270 From ZERO sales to SOLD OUT group program in under 1 year
Emily Fraser
Founder of the Thriving Spoonie Pathway
Emily Fraser is The Spoonie Mentor and the founder of Thriving Spoonie Pathway (TSP™)
which is an interactive group experience that will help you find freedom from debilitating fatigue and unpredictable symptoms in under 12 weeks.
Emily helps her community to overcome fatigue and confidently move through their days WITHOUT provoking symptom flare-ups, something she has been dealing with since a life threatening car accident.
In this episode, we chat about:
What is a Spoonie?
The turning point in her life when she became a Spoonie and how her life changed
Why she decided to create a program for Spoonies & how it all came together
The types of mindset blocks that she had to navigate
The early wins of her students
The strategies she implemented that led to a 5 figure launch
How she structures her workweek to find balance and rest
A block that she is currently navigating in order to upgrade her life, health and business
p.s.
YOUR 2023 LEAP: We are guiding coaches, practitioners and consultants to earn MORE while MARKETING LESS, and supporting them to make a BIG leap faster than any online course, free PDF, or webinar on the internet. Learn more at www.kelseyreidl.com/2023
Access the transcript for this episode:
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You're listening to the visionary life podcast. I'm your host, Kelsey Reidl.
Each week, I'll bring you conversations with the most visionary humans on this earth, in hopes that you'll be able to absorb their wisdom, avoid their failures and feel less alone on the roller coaster ride that is entrepreneurship.
This season, I'll be chatting with creative thinkers, masterful marketers, brick and mortar shop owners, brand builders and people just like you who have a story to share or a vision that inspires.
If I can share one quick secret with you before we get into the episode. It's that we all have a little bit of visionary inside of us, you know, that spark that nudges us to pursue our full potential in this lifetime, but perhaps somewhere along the line, it got covered up. I'm here to tell you that it's never too late to explore that inner voice and access the brilliance deep down inside of you. It's in you. It's in all of us.
Let's dive in. visionaries. Welcome back to the show. I am thrilled to bring you this conversation with Emily Fraser. Emily Fraser is the spoony mentor on Instagram. And she started her business after a life changing car accident. So essentially Emily is a chronic illness advocate who empowers others on their healing journeys. But she wasn't always on this path.
She was living the dream. She loved her career. She had been a school teacher, she spent the summer traveling with her new husband, and they were in the middle of building their dream home. And that's when the car accident happened. And when she got rear ended, her entire life flipped upside down. She was in pain. She was experiencing fatigue the room was spinning.
Her eyes felt like she was on fire, headaches, no ability to regulate her nervous system. And needless to say, she wasn't able to go back into a traditional job and she needed to learn to slow down. And that's when Emily found the new path forward, which was entrepreneurship, a chapter that she had never even considered exploring. But upon diving in and finding people who were expanders to her, so people who had built businesses working just three or four hours a day, Emily realized that this was the path forward for her. Ultimately, she is the founder of the thriving spoony pathway.
She has helped so many people who are disabled and chronically ill to heal using science back principles, as well as the more holistic and spiritual principles. So in this episode, we really talk about the journey of launching her program, how she had zero people sign up during her first launch. In her second launch.
When we first first started working together, she had 10 students sign up, and in her second launch had 25 Absolutely incredible growth here. So we talk about her launch secrets, we really chat about how she's had to honor her boundaries, or what she calls bright lines in order to run this business in a way that fits her energy demands. And she really shares what this journey has been like and what she's learned in a short amount of time. Emily is so wise beyond her years.
She talks a lot about human design and mindset work and how that has completely transformed her earnings. And I really think you're gonna love this episode, so be sure to connect with Emily. She's the spoony mentor on Instagram. And she loves hanging out in her DM. So take a screenshot of this episode. If you're listening, tag us both and enjoy this episode with Emily Fraser. Hey, visionary, I want to quickly interrupt this episode to ask you if you've been curious what it's like to work with a private business and marketing coach. If you're a business owner, and you feel like your marketing plan is all over the place, you haven't figured out your search engine optimization or your SEO strategy, you have no idea what your social media marketing plan is, and you are not doing so well on the self Express content front. I call these the marketing trio. It's the three S's SEO social media self expressed content. And by dialing in all three of these pillars, you too can get more visible, generate more income and increase your lead generation where you're actually turning your followers into paid clients and you're constantly bringing new people in at the top of the funnel. If you're not familiar with my work, I am a private business and marketing coach and I have spent the last 13 years working in the marketing industry. Many of those years doing consulting with clients like you who want to finally get more visible and get in front of their dream clients. So when we work together, you have me for four months as your marketing partner, I'm going to do a full audit of your business, put you on a private project management software with me and then based on your innate skill sets based on your Your strength based on where you are curious and where your dream clients are paying attention. We're going to build out a custom marketing strategy, we're going to track it, we're going to optimize it. And by the end of the four months, you have a plan that works. And you're seeing results. It's truly incredible. Christina cook just landed a $100,000 consulting contract after implementing just one of my marketing strategies. Emily Fraser signed multiple new clients in one day after just one month of working with me. And now she is having consistent five figure months. And Natasha, she started leveraging her email list in December, and 30 days later, in January, she pulled in $25,000, from one single email that we created. So these results are possible for you too. But don't sign up yet. Just had to Kelseyreidl.com.
And check out how we can work together, learn all about it, make sure you feel informed. And if you'd like to book a discovery call with me, just fill out the application on my website, we can get on the phone and see if it's a good fit for you.
So anyways, I don't want to interrupt this episode anymore. I cannot wait to work with you to support you and getting you more visible. And let's get back into the show. Emily, welcome to the visionary life podcast. This is really exciting because we have been working together and I know you and I have done Instagram lives together and more off the cuff stuff. But today we get to shine a spotlight on the business that you build and how incredible you are as a coach and as an entrepreneur. So welcome to the show.
Thanks so much for having me, Kelsey. It feels very meta right now. Because I remember like listening to your podcast, and especially one about like, overcoming blocks to like becoming an entrepreneur and to now be here like, sharing my own growth and journey on with my business is pretty awesome.
It's so cool. I love having those full circle moments as well. Like, I've been the listener to many podcasts, where eventually I've made a connection with the host. And then they invite me on. And I'm just like, I don't know how this is happening. But it's like the seed is planted when you first queue up an episode and whatever you believe is possible after that is truly possible for you. So it's very cool to be able to feature your story today. And now you will host your own podcast. How's that journey been?
Oh, it's been so fun. Yeah, like in 2020. I started one just as a hobby. And I was like, I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't even know what it's about, but, and then I just realized, oh, like I was following that intuitive nudge. And then I learned all the skill sets having no idea at that point that I was ever going to be an upcoming entrepreneur. And then so now I recently changed it to the spoony podcast, and I'm using it like for marketing purposes for my business and to build community. And it's just so cool how things happen in such divine time. You don't even realize it in the moment. But it's like, Oh, of course, I started when I was a hobby. So I would learn the skills that I needed in order for it to work for my business later on. So it's really cool. And just to look at the stats, it's so fun, like how many people are listening all over the world. It's like it's a little game, it's fun.
It totally is. And to see those numbers going up and to know that you're impacting people is so amazing. So to give this interview some context, I'd love to go back to before you became an entrepreneur, so there was obviously a major event in your life that changed the game for you. So could you kind of bring us back to that moment and cue us up as to how you got to where you are today as spoony mentor.
Totally Yes. So, my whole life I have been like I call myself like a high achiever over achiever like to my detriment overly productive I know a lot of people deal with this pushing myself past my limits, just in constant search of external validation.
I had gotten all these scholarships gone to the University of Toronto, eventually started teaching at a really elite prestigious school here in Alberta. And was loving my life I was teaching I was performing I was touring and I was a professional oboe player performing and symphonies going on tour around the world and bringing students to places like Russia and Italy. Like I thought I had it made. I was like, I'm checking the boxes of everything that I thought I would do in my life, building a house, you know, my husband everything, getting the cat and dog.
And then I was in a car accident, I was rear ended as I was leaving the school in October of 2019. And my whole life seriously changed in the blink of an eye. I had known about concussions, but I always thought they were just kind of excuses for students to get out of writing final exams like I didn't like it sounds bad to say, but I was like, how bad can it really be? But then I found myself on disability leave for a week and then that turned into months and then that turned into a year and then so then all these years go by of me trying to return to work realizing there's no way I can make it a school was so overstimulating for all of the symptoms I was dealing with, with what had turned into post concussion syndrome, and all these other complications that came from it and looking back, I can now realize what a gift that brain injury was because it taught me the importance of slowing down.
And I don't think I think I was so ingrained in hustle culture that I would have never ever stepped back and realized, like, I am doing so much I was on like boards for all these nonprofit arts organizations, I would go like drop groceries off of my granny's. I was like, trying to be everything for everyone. My Social Life was stacked, like, I look at my calendar from those times, and I actually get anxiety cuz I'm like, how, when did I sleep? When did I breathe. And it's not that I didn't enjoy my life, I thought I was happy. But it's really in looking back that I realized what wasn't in alignment. So then fast forward, trying to go back to work failing Disability Leave ending starting a new job running mentorship at a university that failing, I was kind of pushed into this situation where I had to start my own business, because honestly, there was no other way for me to create the kind of flexibility that I knew I needed for my health.
With all of my symptoms, I knew that during COVID, I had thrived working remotely. I was like, why is this and I started to reflect, okay, when I can work from home, manage my environment, take breaks as often as I need. I really do thrive. And so then I took the leap of faith and started my business. And, yeah, here we are today. Yeah. Well, I think this brings up such an important point that it is so valuable to look at the lifestyle that you want. And then to make sure that the business you're building fits within that because I think so often we forget to actually ask ourselves, how many hours a day, what kind of situation do I want?
Do I want to be posting content all the time and on live videos and zoom calls? Or am I more introverted, and to get that as a foundational pillar before you start creating programs and offers is something that a lot of people slip by, and they just go straight to?
I'm going to launch a group program, and I'm going to do a podcast and emails, and then they're just on this hamster wheel. And it's like, hold on, what kind of lifestyle do you want to live? And is your business supportive of that because if not, you're going to resent what you've built really fast, or you're going to be completely out of alignment, because you really only Thrive working three to four hours a day, but you've created a job for yourself that requires you to work 14 or 16 hours a day.
So I love that for you, you were like, I'm very aware that I need these types of, you know, perks or benefits with the job that I'm creating. And I'm gonna consciously put those into my own job description, and build a company around that.
Yeah. And it was terrifying. And it's not like I just suddenly started my business and like, it became successful. Like there was a long journey. Well, not really that long when you think about it. But for me, it felt long when months were going by and I hadn't made any money yet.
But I remember my friends were always like, Emily, you should be a life coach. And I was like, no, because my only reference of what a coach was was someone who, like people would come to my house. And I would do like the one on one coaching. I was like, I don't know how I would ever generate enough income by doing like one on ones.
And I don't want people to come in my house. And I just had such a limited view of what it meant to be an entrepreneur. And so I think the first step I recommend to anyone is like find models of a business or an entrepreneur that really inspire you because I started digging in and like really finding incredible expanders for people who didn't work many hours, but still had an incredible impact.
And I'm really into something called Human Design. And it's a really helpful system to understand yourself and how you work in different dynamics. And so I'm a projector in human design and projectors are not meant to do a bunch of work. We don't have this like constant lifeforce energy, we're really meant to guide other people.
So knowing that I looked for examples, and I found a lot of amazing projectors that inspired me and realized, okay, I can work only two to three hours a day, in chunks, taking tons of breaks. And I can build something and something that I did very early on, was write down what I call my business bright lines. And I like to use the term bright lines instead of boundaries because I just find boundaries in our world are so like hardships like boundaries, people think they're bad, but like creating my own bright lines have been so helpful for my own recovery from my health conditions.
So essentially, some of those foundational pillars, those core values were all about ease and impact and I made boundaries, like I will not work past 4pm I will never work on weekends. I will never work more than three hours a day. I will only say yes to things that are in alignment with my values.
Like I have a whole list and I had it on my wall. And I referred back to it all the time. Because I knew I was creating my business in order to heal it's which is not the context that everyone is in but I knew like I had to tried working for other companies, and it was not sustainable. And so I understood that I needed to be patient with how quickly I grew, but that my priority would always be putting my health first.
Mm hmm. Now, before we get into what thriving spoony pathway is, and the incredible program that you've created, I want to touch on something that you mentioned, you said, months and months went by without much money coming in without much momentum.
How did you stay the course during those months? Because there are a lot of listeners who are going through that lull, or I call it the dip right now.
And they're just like, I don't know if this is ever going to change? Is it stupid to keep going right? And keep showing up when I'm not getting the immediate gratification or results? So how did you stay the course during those months?
Yeah, no, it's a really good point. Because when you're online, and you're seeing people doing a really great job marketing, this entrepreneurial life of being able to be a digital nomad and making six figures a month, and I was like, so it's so easy, like, you just do this, this, and this, and then boom, you make a bunch of money.
So like, I remember, I launched my first course, so I work with people who are chronically ill, and navigating chronic pain and fatigue. And so I, as a teacher, like you put together the curriculum, and, and you make it, you're like, This is everything you're going to learn. And so I was like talking all about that. And then like no one bought in the first two days of my launch. And I was so disheartened that I shut everything down.
Like I didn't even finish the emails I was planning to send, I'd stopped posting about it, I was like, Oh my God. And then I just gave it away to 15 people for free on scholarship, because I was like no one is ever going to pay me. So a lot of my journey over those several months that I was making zero income, was doing the deep inner work on realizing that I deserved to be compensated for my services. I had such impostor syndrome about even calling myself a business owner or an entrepreneur, I had a really strong aversion to calling myself a coach. I was just like, oh, like what is.
So it was so many blocks that I worked through, and a lot of journaling, a lot of meditation and a lot of just patients because I've, for anyone who's gone through a health condition or navigated an injury, they understand that, like, you can't speed up the healing process, like Patience is a big component of it. And so I kept thinking to myself, you know, I've already navigated yours of a really unpredictable situation.
And I knew how to handle the uncertainty of my health. So I really translated those skill sets into my entrepreneurial journey and said, I can't like this is an uncertain journey. But I believe in myself and I, I just kept. I mean, ups and downs are a natural part of everything.
But in those lows, I would just stay strong meditate, focus on all my strategies I had for coping, and keep looking for inspiration of like, okay, it is possible, I would find people with similar stories, who had made no money in the first few months. And now they are wildly successful.
And a big thing changed with the mindset around like I am worthy of receiving, I can charge for what I am doing. And and then of course, I think a really huge aha moment I had in June, just before I found you and then decided to work with you was, I had always decided to create a business because of putting my health first. And by June, my health had radically improved, like I was seriously a different person. I was able to take breaks whenever I wanted. I was taking baths in the middle of the day, like I was I was full my boxes were checked in all aspects of my wheel of life, like it was like I felt great.
And then I stopped and I said, So why do I feel unsuccessful. And I redefined what success meant to me. And I realized, I am already successful because of the lifestyle I'm living. The only thing that's missing is this feeling is money. And so I just trusted myself and I said, You know what, I'm going to stay committed to service at this point, my Instagram account had really been growing, I knew I was really serving a community already, even if I wasn't being paid yet.
And I identified the gap in my knowledge, which was obviously I have no background in business. And I realized I have no idea how to market I actually need to figure out like, how to convert people and how to share what I'm offering in a way that makes people be like, oh, I need that because I knew inside my inner worth was strong.
By that point. I've been doing so much rewiring, changing my neural pathways like following the processes that I know and teach inside of my programs about shifting the mindset. And I knew that I just need to know how to put it out there and I need to help everyone realize why I'm so good at what I do and how much I value I bring because I knew my tools and resources were incredible. I knew how it had helped my journey. And now I just needed to make sure that everyone else understood and that I could convey that with confidence.
I know and that was such a huge transformation and working with you, too. It's just like, we all saw the magic and what you had. It's just like, it's just micro word changes and just making it appeal to somebody who's going to be Scroll, scroll scrolling.
So yeah, that was absolutely fantastic. And there's a few other things I want to pick apart about what you said, I think we need to normalize the fact that when we launch anything for the first time to expect that anybody is going to buy within the first few days, or that you're going to have 50 people knocking at your door who just press purchase right away. It's pretty much unrealistic, right. And there are so many people on the internet who, again, make it seem like it's possible.
But I think just managing your expectations and knowing that, hey, even if zero people sign up, maybe this is a good opportunity for me to bring in a few students at a really low cost or like you did for free. And I'm gonna get better at my tier materials. And hopefully each of them will refer one student for the next cohort, right. So I think that's a super important point to bring up.
And I also love what you said about being okay with uncertainty. Because I think when uncertainty hits in our entrepreneurial journey, the tendency is to pull back and be like, I can't handle this, but you have to remind yourself that you left that corporate structure, which was the Certain Way to pursue infinite possibility, but with infinite possibility, comes a degree of uncertainty, because we don't know exactly where we're going.
We don't know how big this business can grow. And so with the possibility, it's like, we're also dancing with uncertainty, and we have to normalize that to that nobody wakes up every day feeling 100% confident and sure, because this journey ebbs and flows, whether we like it or not, 100%, like I am a double cancer and astrology. And so for people who follow astrology, they know that cancers are emotional beings. And so I have mood swings, I have huge emotional waves, ups and downs. And what I've really learned is not to judge those. But just to recognize when I am in one of those spirals and just step back, I can like observe my thoughts, but I don't judge them. A practice I do is I look back and I read old journal entries, because it's always so cool to see how I've grown and evolved over time.
And so when I go back and look at my journal entries from that time, I'm like, Should I do this? Should I do this? Should I do that? Should I try membership? Should I try self paced course? Should I try a webinar funnel? It's like, I can tell how manic I was in those moments. And now I like laugh at how I was so desperate for the single answer. And there isn't just one answer. It's not about the product. It's not about what you call the thing. It's not about the color, that you're spending way too long trying to pick what your brand colors are, like, seriously, it's just like this. I mean, there's a lot of layers, anyone who's trying to sell you that it's just a one quick fix to become a successful entrepreneur is just not being honest.
But one of the biggest things I found by investing with you because you know, at that point, I had generated no money in my business, well maybe like a couple 100. But I was like, Am I really about to spend this amount on a coach. And the moment I decided I was going to, it was like me co signing on my success. I was like, honestly, I'm betting on myself. And there's no way I'm gonna let myself fail. And so I think what was so cool, and I really chose to work with you because of the incredible community you have as well. And I knew I needed that accountability.
But we did this one workshop together. And it was like, boom, figure out what what is the next program you're going to create. And it was just such a simple chart when you really think about it. But I stopped overthinking everything. And for some reason, it just became so clear, oh, thrive into a new pathway. That's what it's going to be it's going to be this long. This is what I'm going to cover. And I really realized the mistake I had been making earlier was not really articulating a clear transformation. It was more like here's everything I've learned over the last several years about mindfulness and resilience and nervous system regulation. But to realize it's not about how much you're sharing, it's Can you transform them with something that a client is really looking for?
Mm hmm. Yeah, it kind of goes to like the features versus benefits like features or just like I'm gonna teach you this and this in this in this amount of time. The benefit is like, what is that tangible outcome or some sort of outcome that your student or client can really wrap their head around that they're actually encountering as a challenge or a problem every single day?
So when they see that you have a formula for the solution, they actually notice the value in the program so wholeheartedly, and I just like because I work with the disabled and chronically ill community so I had so many blocks about wanting to over deliver and over give because I was like, I shouldn't take advantage of that community, I had a lot of blocks like that.
And I know other people feel that way. But quite honestly, it was so much about realizing I can really help them. And once you have that inner worth and inner confidence in your pricing, you can really command a higher price I started I remember being like, I was running a free community. And I was like, Could I start charging $5 And people like, we can't afford that at all. And then I went from $4 to like a $300 course to 800 1600. Now over 2000, it's like when your confidence grows, you really understand the value you're providing.
So because there are a lot of people listening, who would also love to turn their knowledge and their life experience into some sort of program, or course, I would love to hear from you. What was that process like of actually taking everything that helped you heal and get on the path to health after your car crash? How did you actually pull that into a program? Any tips for somebody who wants to do something similar?
Yeah, I mean, I have to admit that that part was easy for me, because of my teaching background. I had been a teacher. So like curriculum planning, and creating a lesson was like, not challenging, which I think is a huge asset. For me, but I, what I do anytime I'm like starting something in teaching, they teach something called backwards design.
So you look at like, where do you want the student to be at the end, and then you map out how to get there. And so for me, when there's so many ideas, I'm like, I could teach you this, this and this, like you wanted to have a flow. So I took a bunch of sticky notes. And I like met, I wrote, like a main topic on it. And I just like, I literally might, it looked like a warzone in my office for a couple of weeks, like so many papers and scribbles and I was like, What did I write there.
And sometimes you're gonna be like, I need to include this. And then when you really start to map it all out, like you don't, you don't actually need to. And I think a lot of other people, like, they'll wait till something is perfect. Before they go. I literally I had a name. I knew how long the program was. And I decided on a price and I knew the three tangible outcomes. And then I started my launch. Like I just jumped right into it. And honestly, I look back, I was like, Whoa, where did that confidence come from.
But like, it was, I didn't even have a single workbook done. I had no idea what I was going to teach. But I knew that once I had the cohort, I was going to be able to teach to them and adapt to their needs and see intuitively what do they need next. And honestly, I built my program, like basically, I would have a class and I would prepare that lesson that week, teach it and then see how it went and then prepare the next lesson for the next week, like I was creating as I went. Whereas I think a lot of people run into the problem where they create a bunch of stuff. And then they're like, Oh, no one wants to buy this because maybe they haven't validated their idea with market research.
Or maybe they just like, have, yeah, I don't know, things can evolve and change. But it's really about not trying to be perfect and not trying to have such clarity on everything. At a certain point, you just have to take the leap of faith.
Yeah. And I wish more people that actually take this process that you've taken is, you know, you obviously need to have a general sense of what the curriculum is going to be. And like you said, have the top three outcomes. But instead of like going into a dark cave and creating everything and building out these robust workbooks and videos, do it in real time with the students. So I love that you were able to really, you know, work with them and to co create and to hear about their needs or their challenges and be able to morph the curriculum for the next week. I'm curious because you have gone through two cohort launches now.
So what was that process like of launching Cohort One and what worked that time and then paint us a picture of how Cohort Two The launch was a little bit different, a little bit bigger, and what worked for that launch? Hey, visionaries. I wanted to interrupt this podcast to actually let you know about an upcoming offering that I am launching in collaboration with professional mindset and success coach Emily Elliot, you've probably heard me talk about your 2023 leap. Cohort number one has been so successful. And this is the highly anticipated program, because there was so much demand for it in 2022, that myself a marketing consultant and top rated marketing coach, and Emily Elliot, again, who's a professional success and mindset coach, we've teamed up to actually launch another cohort of your 2023 leap.
Our first cohort, they're having smashing successes and the momentum is huge. So we've decided to launch it again in May of 2023. Between Emily and I, we have helped 1000s of individuals to grow their mindset and grow their success and we're going to teach you the MVP model. Mindset plus visibility equals more profitability and if you are a for profit business.
This is something that is so important that you dial in both of these pillars. But don't sign up yet. First, I want to run you through a few little things to see if you're ready for your 2023 leap. So if you want to learn from Emily how to embody the physiology of success, this has been a game changer for me personally, people have literally messaged me on Instagram, I got a voice note from my friend Mark last night.
And he said, Kelsey, I don't know what's going on. But something's different about you. And I attribute this to embodying the physiology of success, which Emily is teaching me. And he's also going to teach us how to step into an entrepreneurial mindset. There are so many blocks that you might carry through from your previous corporate job that are actually keeping you stagnant.
And I've recorded an entire podcast episode about this, called the three mindset blocks that were keeping me stuck. And then I step in each week over the 90 days to teach you a foolproof marketing strategy so that you can connect with unlimited clients. That's pretty awesome, right? So I'm going to teach you how to use social media to convert followers into paid clients, I'm going to teach you how to build a simple sales and marketing funnel. I'm also going to show you how to leverage Google and SEO to get more leads to your business. This is so important, and 99% of businesses are not taking advantage of it. And you're also just going to be surrounded by the most insane entrepreneurs, we have 15 people in this cohort, and oh, my gosh, like there are tears there are there's laughter, a lot of the comments that have come through our private Slack channel, say, this is the program I didn't know I needed, I was so lonely. I was doing this with blinders on before your 2023 leap. And it's incredible to see how these individuals are collaborating both on the calls and off.
And I must say Emily, and I are pretty awesome leaders of these hour and a half calls that we have each week. So if this all sounds good to you, I want you to head to Kelsey rydell.com/ 2023, Kelsey rydell.com/ 2023, and just pop your name and email in there. So you know about the upcoming launch. And we might even send you some special bonuses when the time comes to start enrolling. So again, we cannot wait to see you inside of cohort number two and back to the episode.
Yeah, totally. So the first launch I, I put it out there and I was like, Okay, this is a beta launch. I didn't say that to anyone. I was just pumping out my new program. But I saw the for there was a certain week where I was like earlybird pricing like 50% off. So I had like five people sign up, then I was like, Okay, this is so cool. I just made money. I was like stoked. And they all signed up on the last day of earlybird pricing. So even if it feels like nobody is listening, even if your engagement drops off on social media trust that people are on like, they're a fly on the wall, they're listening. And then they all signed up within like hours of The Doors closing. So like keep the faith to anyone who feels that way. Like don't give up. And your energy has to be so strong throughout. I've really not like this like spiritual bypass or toxic positivity. But like when I'm in the right energy, and I'm like, I have this inner confidence that something's going to happen. It does because I believe in myself. And I really believe people can sense that energy. Earlier, when I was launching my programs. I was like hesitant, even internally, I was just like, I don't know, what I'm doing is I'm charging too much. It's like you can't do that. You have to like actually believe in yourself. And so that launch ended I got 10 People I made like $12,000 And I was like holy crap, I'm so rich. I was like so stoked. And, and with some amazing painful bonuses, they were all painful. So I was like, This is wild. I had done sales calls then. And so I was really stoked I went through that program, develop the program with them became so close with this cohort knew, like, Okay, this is amazing, I'm so happy. And then I was like, Okay, I'm gonna prepare for my next launch. And by then, I was like, I really had no plan with the first launch. I was intuitively posting here and there sending some emails last minute, but I was like, I want to go into this next launch with a bit more of an outline. So you really helped me Kelsey, creating that content calendar, figuring out what my main pillars were. I always love to start a launch with a workshop because as a teacher, when people are on a zoom with me, they really see my confidence with teaching and my way of cultivating a community. So use your strengths like are you really good on Zoom? Or like should you have a series of podcasts or you want to do IG lives like whatever you love doing? Maybe it's an e book a free ebook, but I personally find workshops work for me. And then it was a four week launch which I don't wreck I'm not going to do in the future because it felt way too long for me. energies are like ups and downs and I was like, but it's so true. What I just said the correlation between your energy and mindset and if people enroll because every time I was like I'm tired, nothing happened. And then when I get a burst of energy was like, boom, people would enroll. So I ended that launch with 25 people in my program, and by then I had increased my prices to 2222. So do the math, but I was just amazed.
And at that point, I had changed my mentality, because I've kind of, it's so simple, but it's harder to implement. But I've realized something about entrepreneurship is you can just decide how things happen to you. And people are gonna be like, what, maybe it sounds woowoo to you. But I am just like, I'm gonna decide that people don't need sales calls, that they understand everything I need for my sales page, and they decided to pull the trigger. So 25 people, I didn't do a single sales call. I only held that one workshop at the beginning, I didn't send that many emails. And I also decided that not everyone was going to wait till the last minute, I actually had no one sign up on the last day.
So they all signed up pretty much like evenly it was like five or six a week. And then I was like, okay, so it was pretty cool. And now my mind is like buzzing with for my next launch and all these other ideas I have, because I've realized, it's not like you're ever going to have one launch format that works. Each time is an experiment, reframe it in your mind as being exciting and be like, What am I going to try out this time, and just see how you can grow. But like, I'm really confident I'm going to make over six figures in my next launch, because I've learned so much from my mistakes. And I've learned what does work and I'm just going to keep growing with every single launch I do.
Everyone needs to rewind the last like two minutes and re listen to that. Because you're right, no two launches are gonna go the same. And you have to come into it with that experimentation mentality.
Because when I launched the visionary method five years ago, things like challenges worked really, really well. But when I tried to run one last year, the uptake just wasn't the same. And challenges will work really well for some businesses. But my demographic wasn't willing to put that much time on the line, they just wanted to speak with me, they didn't want to be sold through a challenge.
And I'm constantly learning about new techniques, new tools, and just looking for ways to have genuine interaction in a way that doesn't drain my energy. And I love what you say, like, you have to protect your own energy, and you call it bright lines. I love that and know who you are at your core. So just because somebody's teaching the webinar launch model, well, if you hate public speaking or doing live trainings, you got to find your way. Where do you spark?
When do you feel like the most embellished version of yourself? Go do that, because you're gonna get way more engagement way more eyeballs, by actually following a strategy that feels so freakin good. And I think the tendency in studying online marketing over the last 10 years was like, there has to be very rigid structured launch plans. It's like day one do this day to do this. But what I've realized in myself and with many of my clients, is we are more go with the flow, we want the plan, like we want to know that there are efforts that are going to happen in order to achieve our outcome.
But we also want that ability to say, How am I feeling today? What do I want to talk about? Who do I want to connect with, and it goes away from that very rigid structure. So I want to give everybody permission who's listening to, you can like, totally massage someone else's strategy and make it your own. And like, just infuse what feels good to you. And I think Case in point, like, I have a belief that I have to get on a sales call with everyone, I love doing them, and it lights me up, I can convert people like that, you obviously you don't want to do that. It's a lot of time and energy. And you didn't have to So like what a beautiful way to convey that. There's no one right strategy, you just have to do what feels good and what feels light.
Yeah, it's totally like I've just installed different beliefs. And one of them is like, I personally will never like I don't believe in exchanging time for money. And that was a very strong foundation of me even creating my business. So with sales calls, especially when I look at the launches I want to do with like impacting a significant number of people when I have hundreds of people in my programs in the future. I'm not gonna be able to do sales calls so knowing that I decided to shift my you know, installed a new mindset of people don't need sales calls, because they feel so connected to me just so I treat my Instagram like a community. Yeah. And that is my belief.
Like, I trust that everyone feels connected to me when I share I'm never like and the other thing is I was talking to someone else. I was like, This is what I did my launch another entrepreneur and she's like, Yeah, but like you have a really great product. And I was like, I'm sorry, if you are not obsessed with your product, then you need to go back to the drawing board because you're the best with selling your product and believe in the value you buy. Rain.
Amen. So that that is step one, right? If you don't believe you have a remarkable product, it's really hard to create any sort of marketing plan, or to have any sort of energy behind your marketing because you don't feel confident. And that really does translate. Now, you are very, very good with building community. And you've even alluded to it yourself. What tips do you have for cultivating a community and for really Fostering Connections between your students, between your followers? Because you do this really well?
Thank you. Yeah, I mean, part of it comes with experience, like my background, used to be a resident advisor at U of T. So like, you know, facilitating the community on on my different residence floors, and the training I got with that. And then being a teacher, every single class, every single band, every single Choir I directed, was a community that I had to cultivate. Because I really believe in that sense of connection and teaching.
When I taught French when I taught career and life management, anything, I really believe that teaching is actually about like helping people feel a sense of belonging and helping them really connect with who they are. And so I just transfer those skill sets into what I do with as an entrepreneur, because deep down, everyone wants a sense of belonging. And everyone wants to know that they're not alone.
That's actually why I called my company and network, you are not alone. Because throughout my journey navigating various chronic illnesses, and I've seen other people go through these challenges. The number one thing they always say when they hear someone else's story is like, oh, that resonates so much. It's so nice to know that I'm not alone. And especially after COVID, we're just living in a time where people feel really disconnected. Yeah, so I focus on sharing stories, even if I feel like they're not relevant at all, they always are somehow, like, I just got back on my elbow this week, for the first time in a very long time. I decided to record a little clip and put it out there. And I was like, even though there's so many mistakes, like here's me just being authentic, like, trying to step back into something I had grieved the loss of, because I can play again now. And I was like, do I want to do it anyway, so I was playing and then do you know, many people messaged me, and were like, Oh, my gosh, I was in band. And like, that is so cool.
That was beautiful. And like dozens and dozens of messages. And I'm a chronic illness advocate. What does playing the oboe have to do with that I'm sharing on my Instagram Stories. Or like if I'm sharing a video of my cat, and I'm like, sorry, like I I know, this isn't really related to being chronically ill. And then people like yeah, it is because our our pets are like such support animals. And like we it's like who we rely on when we're stuck at home was such debilitating fatigue. So there's people want an inside look at your life. I know the people that I don't look at them on the Instagram stories online.
But when the ones that I do are the people where I feel like I'm a part of their life, they're showing me a background look, it doesn't always have to relate directly to the product you're trying to sell. Just be you be vulnerable, be authentic share stories. And for me, when I host zoom calls, when I create communities, it's just about creating environments for people to connect.
Like all of like, just because I finished with one cohort doesn't mean I'm done with them, like all of the September cohort is still part of my community. Now there is a membership to be part of the alumni network. And they have opportunities to be peer mentors moderating smaller Whatsapp group chats within my community. And so that way, they feel a sense of belonging, but I'm also helping their continued growth because they are learning now some leadership skills, and they're empowered to realize, Hey, I know a lot more than I did a few months ago. Now I can help other people at the early stages of starting to heal. So it's just looking for different ways to make people feel seen like they belong. And honestly, even just like doing fun little things that make people really know that they matter.
And yeah, I think it all kind of boils down to points of connection, it's like, the more I can showcase the multi facets of who I am, in work and outside of work, the more chance that somebody is going to be like, Oh my gosh, I love biking too, or oh my gosh, I'm, you know, doing the keto diet too, or whatever it is. And that might be their entry point when they feel comfortable enough to engage, maybe message you for the first time and then all of a sudden you're in a conversation and it leads to oh my gosh, we should work together or hey, would you want to be a guest on my podcast? So it's points of connection that even allow a conversation to start or the motion to actually get an order. So I think it's such a valuable point you bring up to if you feel inspired to share those little stories, those micro moments in your life that are seemingly irrelevant, but like you said, can make somebody else feel like oh my gosh, I'm not the only one who does that.
So yeah, there's two points I wanted to touch on in response to that. One is that like, you know, people talk a lot about how you like it's like the sales funnel and like the ladder of your customer journey. But it's like when I am talking to people in my DMs I'm never thinking they're going to convert. Yeah, always just genuinely trying to build that relationships and II every single person that I was like not their friend, they've all enrolled in my program. I was like, Yeah, whoa, like I was just genuinely been developing a relationship with you. So it's has to be genuine. And then the second piece is that I really hesitated from sharing that like, I like oracle cards, I like crystals, I like a bit more of this woowoo world. And it wasn't until I stepped into my authenticity in the spring of 2022, that I was like, You know what, I wouldn't even want to work with clients who didn't also embrace this other aspect of spirituality.
So I started sharing that I started talking about human design and astrology. And now most of my clients also appreciate this blend that I share around combining science and evidence based strategies with a more holistic, you know, traditions and modalities. And so I love that I can blend the science and the spirituality together. And I'm so glad that my clients are the same way. And if I wasn't sharing that aspect, it wouldn't be the same. Like honestly, I spent, I dropped 2000 on a course early on in my journey, because the person talked about real housewives and that like she liked human design. So don't underestimate. Don't underestimate the power of connection.
And don't be afraid to infuse what lights you up into a program that might already exist. Like maybe I've created the visionary method, but I'm like, I'm so passionate about the health of the entrepreneur, it's like, so infuse that in because you know that it all intertwines, right?
And you can't just be so focused on one area without taking care of another. So I love that in this day and age, we are able to create the program of our dreams, which is probably also going to translate into the best program for a handful of people who decide to work with you, which is really beautiful. And honestly, it's a real mindset shift to make. But the more I prioritize self care and genuine rest, that is restorative, the more I go on walks in nature and make sure I'm drinking enough water and nourish myself with nourishing foods. Yep, the more my business thrives. So honestly, so many of us are raised in this mentality, this toxic capitalism perspective of like, we need to be busy, we need to be hyper productive, we need to do doo doo. And honestly,
I have shown that you do not have to work constant hours and to the detriment of your health in order to be successful. And that I think, is one of the main messages that I aim to convey to any aspiring entrepreneur is like, prioritize rest, and the less you do, the more your business is gonna blow up.
Like, I don't think people really grasp that. But every time I was trying to fix things and overdo it, and then when I would just like you know what I'm gonna go and I'm gonna go on my bike, or I'm gonna go lie down and listen to a podcast that inspires me. And then I would look on my emails and boom, more people had enrolled, like, there is such a connection to us putting ourselves first.
Oh, so much. So I love that topic so much. And maybe we'll have to do a part two, where we explore that, but you're so right, if I am coming to my business from a place of excitement and wholeness, and I've done the things that bring me joy and that inspire me, damn, that energy is so different than if I am coming from a place of exhaustion. Or I've been like watching too many other people's videos, and they say they work 16 hour days, and it's like, Oh, my God, like, I'm not doing enough. And then I don't, you know, see the influx of success that I want. So it's all all very connected.
Now, I want to dig into a little bit of nitty gritty in your life as an entrepreneur. So I know you mentioned you work three hours per day. So how have you managed to structure this? And how do you make sure that you know what to work on in those few hours that you have devoted to work?
Yeah, well, it kind of varies. I go, I do it very intuitively. I have this strategy, I kind of follow Pomodoro method with pacing, where I like set a timer, put it in another room for 25 minutes, if I'm actually working on something like business task related administrative, and then I'll work productively and then I'll go take a break, like a movement break. The more breaks I take in a day, the better I do. So like I said, I genuinely find that that's such a better way to be productive as opposed to having all these notifications go off and having your phone there as a distraction. And then I have like, a list of things that I need to get done every week.
And I really prioritize what needs to get done versus what is busy work. And I really focus on what is going to generate income because otherwise I get down this loophole and I'll be like working on fonts and beautifying a document I was like this is not simple. portent. So I am just Alt I, I really value my time. And I know that when I don't, my symptoms come back. So quite honestly, my biggest motivator is like, if I don't take breaks and if I overwork, I get a massive headache and I get dizzy and my eyes get double vision. So like it's an IT that's you have to connect to your strong why but I kind of focus these days in brackets. So Tuesdays Thursdays, and Fridays, is when I do connection calls. Mondays is really when I focus on content creation, like Instagram posts. And then Wednesdays is when I do more like administrative tasks and professional development, like I friggin love learning and personal growth.
So I always carve out time for that. I also do try to work with my ebbs and flows based on like my hormonal cycles and the moon cycles. And I also really do not put hard deadlines on myself or expectations. Like, I tried the whole thing of like every other Friday, I'll go alive, and then I'll post send an email every Monday and Thursday, and blah, blah. And honestly, that does not work for me. I'm the kind of person like I have not posted on Instagram, other than stories, I haven't made an Instagram post in two weeks yet. And honestly, it's like, I do not feel guilty for that. Because I'm working on delivering my program right now. And my main priority is my clients. I'm working on delegating more like I've hired a VA, and I'm working on delegating more looking to bring someone on for customer support now that my programs are growing. So it's like it's not like there's ever one static answer. But I always reflect on how I'm feeling what is most important to get done, and I delegate whatever else I can.
Absolutely brilliant. I love your week, how it's all time blocked out. So each day has a purpose. My final question is, if you were to fast forward 10 years from now, and you see that your business has 50x, like 100 times bigger than it is today, what would be your best guess as to why that has happened?
Because I didn't give up. Honestly, like even that the stage I am now where I remember like in my journals, it's like, I just once you get to making 3000 a month, you're gonna be fine. And it's like, oh, man, I was dreaming so low.
But that was your upper limit was what I that's what I thought was my glass. Okay, yeah. And so now I'm like, Frick, I want to have six figure months now. So I think it's, I honestly don't want to put a limit on my potential. But the more I stick with it, and the more I genuinely focus on impact, as opposed to ego, the more I grow.
So like yeah, of course, I want to New York Times bestseller I want to be I want my own TED talk. I want to like be paid to travel the world and give keynote speeches. And I know those are coming, but I'm not putting a deadline on it. It's like I just Yeah, if I didn't desire it, it wouldn't even be a thought that comes across my mind.
So it's like, I know those things are meant for me. It's just about sitting back, following the intuition. And that little nudges that come and tell me to do little things like when I trusted everyone and the universe telling me go start a podcast. I was like, why? And then I just did like, just stop second guessing yourself. Believe in yourself and follow where you are being guided by your instincts.
Yeah, yeah, I've been listening to a lot of abundance meditations. And the thing that they always say is everything that you want, is coming like it's already on Route. But we don't we can't guarantee when it's coming. But I do love kind of just like putting myself in the driver's seat for just a moment and being like, I know what I want. What is like that one thing that I could do or say out loud, or what energy Am I embodying, like, I know that things are on Route, but I also feel like I have a part in it. And when I do like these tiny actions or even just like look at photos, or whatever it is, I'm like, yeah, it's gonna come like a little quicker.
So yeah, because honestly, manifestation can be a triggering word for some of these days. I personally love Laci Phillips process, the expanded podcast, I highly recommend it to everyone, but I really believe with manifestation. It's just about your self worth matching what you are trying to call. That's it. That's it. And it's so much simpler than people make it out to be. It's not Yeah, visualization can help vision boards can be great. But quite honestly, do you believe 100% consciously and subconscious belief can subconsciously that you are deserving of what you desire? Because if you aren't, then it's not a match. You know, like, I have some friends who are just like, how are you making so much money in your business? And it's like, there's some jealousy that I can sense and I don't like that doesn't bother me because I'm like, okay, that's actually just a sign that they also desire this and they're gonna make it happen. But it's, it's just about do you does your inner worth line up with what you want.
So, so awesome and Only this has been an absolute joy. I always love talking to you. And if people want to learn more about the thriving spoony pathway, or they want to talk business to you, where are the best places for them to connect?
Totally so the spoony mentor on Instagram is best way to reach me. And, yeah, honestly just send me a DM there. That's where I'm most active. I'm also going to be developing a business coaching program sometime over the next year or two.
So if you want to chat with me about that, pick my brain, it'll help me I'm doing my market research right now. But I really I realized not a lot of people have this belief that you can truly not work that much and still have a huge impact and generate abundance. So that's the kind of like what my next mission is going to be.
Once I've helped a bunch of people with chronic illness realize that they can actually heal and live a really empowered life. So and I have to say, Kelsey, I'm so grateful that our paths crossed because you are a huge part of my entrepreneurial journey. And I'm so grateful for everything you've taught me and for you believing in me, because honestly, that's a huge part of the journey, too, is having someone who believes in you.
It's so true. And I had those people early on in my journey as well. So thank you for that appreciation and gratitude. I receive it and wish you all of the best and keep us posted when that business courses launch because I will totally sign up. I can't wait to learn from you. So thank you, Emily. Thanks, Kelsey.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of visionary life. I love bringing you these conversations on a weekly basis. So it would mean so much to me. If you could help me out by rating and reviewing the show on either iTunes or Spotify.
It just takes a second. And if you don't want to rate the show, you could also just take a screenshot of the episode and share it on your social media platform of choice. tagging me at Kelseyreidl. I'll catch you in the next episode. Visionary, I know you you're a Health Net and you want to save money on the brands you love. Well, healthy planet is your one stop shop for all things healthy.
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