You Don't Need a Million Followers to Have a Million-Dollar Business

There are literally thousands of strategies out there to help you grow your social media following, many of which you’ll pay a pretty penny to learn. However, while having a million followers sounds amazing, it doesn’t necessarily translate into a successful business. In fact, I know that you can grow your business in a significant way without having a million followers because I’ve done it. I have grown both my fitness and digital marketing and strategy business with only 16,000 Instagram followers. Here’s why:

I do not rely solely on Instagram (or Facebook) for interaction with potential clients. In fact, those platforms have become secondary to my affiliate program and micro-influencer outreach. If you have not begun to build an affiliate program or work with micro-influencers to increase your reach, then you simply will not see the kind of exponential growth needed to get your business to 7 figures.

Gone are the days when you can throw up some Instagram posts and get new clients. Today’s algorithms make it incredibly hard for your stuff to get seen. You’ve got to post more often and provide more value than ever before. So what should you focus on when it comes to your social media platforms?

Create engagement.

Even if you are just starting out, do what you can to create genuine engagement. Leave meaningful comments on other people’s Instagram feeds. Reach out to people and build actual relationships. Ask questions on your posts, tag others in your photos (in a legit way), and respond to those commenting. Algorithms love engagement, and so do real people. You will build a far more loyal following by being involved and engaged than you will by using spammy follow/unfollow tactics, I promise!

Attract the right kind of followers.

When posting to social media, you want to repel certain types of people and attract other types of people. This comes with knowing your avatar and speaking directly to that avatar in every post. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Engage with those who make the most sense for your business and who will gain the most benefit from your programs.

Create great content.

Great content will help you to build trust among your followers. If you do this in a genuine way, people will be more interested in buying from you because they know, like, and trust you. If you consistently give, providing truly helpful content that your ideal client needs, you will see your conversion rates skyrocket, even with only a few thousand followers.

You don’t need a million followers to make a million dollars.

But, you do need qualified leads for your programs, products and services to see your content. Once you’re able to make your first conversion, it is extremely important that you provide an incredible experience so that those first-time clients become willing affiliates who promote the heck out of you! If you can do this while utilizing the relationships you build with micro-infuencers, you’ll be a whole lot closer to seeing 7 figures in your bottom line, regardless of how many followers you have!

Are you trying to build a business, but need help with strategy, content, and systems? My Business Mentorship Program is designed for those looking to accelerate the growth of their business without losing their friends or their minds. This course will teach you all of the strategies you need to know to build your platforms in a non-spammy way. We will also dive deep into building an affiliate program that works, and I’ll teach you how to reach out to micro-influencers to leverage their platforms for your business. The next round of this workshop begins March 13th. I will only be taking a handful of clients because I give a lot of attention to each and every workshop client. And, after this round, the price will be increasing significantly. I promise the ROI on this program will be worth it: there is truly nothing out there that will provide more value. To find out if this program is a good fit for you, set up a 20 minute consult here. If you’re ready to up your game, but you need some help knowing exactly how to do that, this is the program for you. Don’t wait; book a consult now!

Client Spotlight: Tammy Stromme

Shortly after beginning to work with today’s client spotlight, Tammy Strome, I sent her a quick question about my own training. She responded with the most comprehensive, thoughtful, and scientific answer I could have imagined. I quickly realized that this lady was a true powerhouse in the fitness industry. Women like Tammy are the reason I am so passionate about helping qualified female entrepreneurs build their businesses. There are way too many 21 year old “life coaches” out there with no experience and no business of their own to give proof to their strategies. Instead, women like Tammy who truly know their stuff and are in business for more than just the money should be the ones out there booking clients.

Tammy has been in the fitness industry for years as a coach and is an IFBB pro. As a fitness transformation specialist, she works with women from a variety of backgrounds. Female competitors, competitors in transition, workaholics with hormonal imbalances, women suffering from overwhelm, perfectionists in pursuit of their ideal bodies and women seeking authenticity and freedom in their lives. Tammy’s approach is truly an inside out approach. She can undoubtedly shape a body, but does so in a way that optimizes hormonal balance and through a focus on mindset.

I’ve loved working with Tammy through my Elite mentorship program and look to her as a true expert in the fitness industry. Here’s what she had to say about working with my team:

“It's only been a short while but Amanda is helping me to gain great confidence in growing the online parts of my business. Her team creates amazing work and I love how she cares about helping me succeed!!”

You can follow Tammy on Instagram and Facebook where she regularly shares tons of value when it comes to hormones, fitness, mindset and overall wellness.

Tammy’s Body Bliss Programs are an incredible way to burn fat and get lean. She is also a part of the She Awakens Event and community. Tammy is helping women everywhere get lean, fit and strong from the inside out. She has tons of knowledge and experience and is truly an expert when it comes to helping women get results in a way that is healthy and sustainable!

Be sure to follow her and check out all that she has to offer. I promise, you will learn, grow and be encouraged!

Top Secrets for Success

Now that February is here and the newness of 2017 has worn off, it’s time for entrepreneurs to start digging in and focusing on growth. If you own your own business, and are looking to see growth this year, here are a few tips to accelerate your growth.

Create awesome content.

You need to regularly put out quality content that solves problems and prevents future pain points for your ideal client. You want those reading your content and looking at your social media posts to see you as an authentic authority on whatever it is do. This kind of content needs to be packed with value and information that people want to share with their friends and family. Whether it’s a blog post that gets pinned a thousand times, an Instagram workout that gets saved a thousand times, or a Facebook live video that gets viewed a thousand times, you will be building loyalty among your followers if you regularly provide them with content they want and need.

In addition to that, you want to create a kick-butt lead magnet that you can use as an opt-in offer for your email list. The content in your lead magnet needs to be so valuable that the only natural next step is for your subscribers to hire you. Even if you are working through a network marketing company, a valuable lead magnet will help you separate yourself from the thousands of other MLM-ers.

You can’t build a successful business behind your computer screen.

I’ve actually tried to do this...trust me, it doesn’t work. You’ve got to get to know people, you’ve got to network, you’ve got to get belly to belly with people. This means you need to go to events, get out in your community and pick up the phone. You may not feel like you have a ton of time to do this, but in today’s oversaturated online world, people are craving more. They want to work with a person; someone they know, like and trust. So, you’ve got to do more than just post to Instagram all day. If you are pressed on time, engage with micro-influencers and intentionally build genuine relationships with people who have a significant following. It is absolutely true that your net worth will be directly related to your network, so be sure to get out into the world and build some real relationships!

Do live video.

I am not going to belabor this point, because I talk about it all of the time, but live video allows your ideal clients to get to know you in a more authentic way. If you haven’t started using live video yet, do a test drive. Go ahead and do a broadcast using the privacy setting, “ONLY ME”. This allows you to practice without the pressure of live viewers. Once you get the hang of things, go ahead and make your broadcasts public. The algorithms will love you, you’ll get far greater engagement than with static posts, and you will build credibility and likeability with your ideal clients.

Do professional development everyday.

I truly believe that the greatest door opener in your life is professional development. Whether it's listening to a podcast or reading, doing professional development will keep you from getting stagnant in your career. It will help you better reach clients and better serve clients. It will inspire you, encourage you and help you shift your mindset. You don’t have to spend hours a day on this, but you do need to make it a priority if you want to see growth in your business this year.

Hire help for what you’re not good at.

I say this all of the time, you can either have growth or control, but you can’t have both. If you want to see your business truly take off, you’ve got to know what you are not good at, and hire out. This will give you time to focus on what you are good at, and serve your clients with more energy and focus. Through the Agency Side, we offer design, writing and strategy to entrepreneurs for the sole purpose of allowing our clients to focus on the things that are truly in their wheelhouse.

Simplify and Focus.

Most entrepreneur types have too many ideas floating around their minds. They quickly turn those ideas into streams of income and end up with way too many irons in the fire. If this is you, it’s time to take a few irons out of the fire and start to focus on just a few, solid revenue streams. If you don’t, you end up not doing anything with excellence. Not to mention, you will feel stretched thin and will confuse your ideal clients. Focus, go deep, and build what’s scalable or residual this year.  

Take Care of Yourself.

If you’re not healthy, it doesn’t matter how much money you’re making. If you’re not happy, who cares if you’re a millionaire. You’ve got to get enough sleep, eat clean and exercise, so that you have the energy to do all the things required of most entrepreneurs. Without a healthy you, the creative juices won’t flow as freely, and you won’t be nearly as productive. Be sure that your own health is a top priority in your life, or you will find yourself burned out and miserable, which is no way to run a successful business.

There is so much possibility for growth this year. Be sure to invest in yourself, hire out where you can, get out into the world and interact with real people, and create incredible content.

Having a Mindset of Success

One of the most common obstacles I come up against when working with clients through my business workshop and mentoring services is mindset. While most of the mindset stuff out there is junk, I absolutely believe in the power of mindset to either accelerate the growth of your business or completely tank it.

Mindset of Abundance

I’ve talked about this countless times before, so I won’t belabor the point too much here. If you are operating out of a scarcity mindset, you will always resort to sleazy, desperate tactics. You will be willing to quit before you even start, believing someone is already doing things better than you are, so why try? Beginning with a mindset of abundance opens up countless doors of opportunity, allows you to say no to clients who aren’t ideal and helps you create out of the true belief you have something to offer. There is absolutely enough for everyone to be successful. If you don’t believe that, you will undoubtedly become your own roadblock to success.

Mindset of Success

If success becomes what you expect every time you execute something, you will find yourself finding more and more of it. If mediocrity or “good enough” become your norm, you will find more and more of that.

As an entrepreneur, it is absolutely critical you face every situation, create every program, and walk into every new opportunity believing and expecting to find success. If success is your target, you will find yourself working harder and smarter. That kind of work will lead you to more success and the cycle of work/success will continue. On the other hand, when you allow mediocrity or “good enough” to be your target, you will work in such a way that gets you to “good enough.” Set your mind on excellence and you will get it; not because you spoke it into the universe, but because you are more likely to put your hard work and creativity behind it.

Mindset of Confidence

People don’t want to buy things from you if you aren’t 100% confident in what you’re selling. For some people this is a HUGE area of struggle, as they just don’t believe in their own abilities enough to position themselves as an expert. But, people can see through things quickly in today’s online world. If you can’t confidently speak about the benefits of your program, product or service, people will go to someone who can.

If you know you’ve created something amazing, do not be shy about sharing that in a completely confident way. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program is the best on the market...and I am not afraid to say that! If you are confident in what you’ve got, don’t worry about sounding arrogant, just be honest! If you aren’t confident about what you’re offering, then stop selling it and create something better!

Mindset of Control

Entrepreneurs don’t typically shy away from taking control of a situation. However, I regularly come across people who have countless excuses why something won’t work. Typically, those reasons have nothing to do with that person and everything to do with the circumstances: “the market isn’t right,”“the technology is too hard to master,” ”the public just doesn’t get it.”

The entrepreneurs who are truly successful are the ones who look at every situation and figure out what THEY can do to find success. The change always starts with them and how they can affect a positive outcome. If your mindset isn’t one of control, you will find yourself in a heap of excuses, waiting for some big break. Those who are truly successful create their own opportunities and execute with excellence to make the most of them.

Mindset isn’t just about throwing things out into the universe, waiting for the universe to get on your side. It is, however, all about walking into every situation with confidence and positivity, knowing whatever presents itself you have the ability to make something amazing out of it!

Looking for some encouragement along this entrepreneurial road? My Business Mentorship Program is the perfect place to learn cutting edge strategies in a group of like-minded women pursuing excellence, confidence and control. To find out if this program would be a good fit for you, set up a quick consult call. It’s free, so you’ve truly got nothing to lose!

Knowing Your Ideal Client

The foundation of marketing your online programs and services is intimately knowing your ideal client. Too often I meet with small business owners who build their products and services around their own ideas. They quickly grow frustrated with their inability to make sales and think better marketing will fix their problems. However, without knowing your ideal client well, you will always be missing the target.

When creating products, programs and services, you MUST forget about your own brilliant ideas and start to focus on your ideal client’s problems. If you are not solving their problems, or adding value to their lives, then people will simply not buy into what you are selling. So, in order to create things of value, you’ve got to know your ideal client.

Create your avatar.

An avatar is a representation of your ideal client. When creating your avatar, you want to get incredibly detailed and specific. Here are a few things to consider:

• Age
• Marital Status
• Kids or no-kids
• Socio-economic status
• Education Level
• Profession
• Where do they live?
• What do they do for fun?
• Where do they shop?
• What are their three biggest struggles?
• What types of books do they read?
• What t.v. shows do they watch?

Don’t be afraid to get super detailed. Many people are afraid of getting too specific, because they don’t want to exclude people. But, if you are selling to everyone you are truly selling to no one. So, don’t worry about repelling certain types of clients; that will happen. Getting super specific will help you to attract the right kinds of clients, every time you sell.

Create for your avatar.

What you are passionate about is only important if it is going to help your ideal client. Once you know your ideal client intimately, you will be able to create services with that avatar in mind. As you do that, you will draw in more and more of your ideal clients because you are offering something they truly need. Don’t start with you and what you are good at, start with your ideal client and what they need most. Then, find the intersection of that need and your passion to create something that will truly help your ideal client add value to their lives.

Speak to your avatar.

While it is incredibly important that you find your own voice, it is also important that you speak your ideal client’s language. An ideal client who is a professional, working in some high-powered, corporate environment, is going to speak a slightly different language than a young, stay at home mother. While they may both be educated in a similar fashion, the language that will connect to their pain points will likely be different. In the fitness industry, you are going to use different language to connect with fitness pros training for competition than you would for those who are inactive and wanting to lose their first 50 pounds. Speaking in your voice is important, but speaking in your client’s language is equally important. Finding the perfect balance between the two will help you connect and convert your ideal client, every time!

An effective product and strategic marketing plan are absolutely necessary to make sales online. However, you truly cannot build an effective product and strategic marketing plan, without knowing exactly who you are building that plan for. So, if you don’t already have this written out with a significant amount of clarity and detail, jot down a few notes and create your ideal client’s avatar. Then, be sure to speak to that avatar every single time you make a social media post, send out an email, or write a blog. Doing so will connect you to the right people and keep you from spinning your wheels on the wrong type of client for your business

3 Intanginble Things All Entreprenuers Need To Succeed

You’ll be hard pressed to find someone more committed to learning and implementing cutting edge strategies to grow your business than I am. However, there are a few intangible characteristics that I believe are equally as important as using effective strategies. Pursuing progress in these areas is as important as learning those cutting edge strategies if you want to grow your business in a scalable, sustainable way.

Maintaining a Mindset of Abundance Instead of Scarcity

When you’re operating out of an abundance mindset you don’t look at competitors with the same kind of insecurity as when you’re looking at things through the lens of scarcity. A scarcity mindset leads to desperation and hopelessness. An abundance mindset leads to action because there is always enough for everyone, and there are always other opportunities. Scarcity causes you to hoard and compete, abundance causes you to give and create. If you want to grow your business without losing your friends or your mind, you’ve got to begin operating out of an abundance mindset.

Know your Strengths

Everyone is good at something and has something to offer the world. It’s so incredibly important you know your strengths as an entrepreneur. While there are seasons you’ll have to do everything on your own, you need to know what you are best at so you can focus your business around those things. You also need to be aware of your areas of weakness so you can hire the right people to help, once your business gets big enough. Knowing your strengths will allow you to simplify and focus on creating things in your wheelhouse: leading to better quality work.

Have Passion and Progress Towards Your Goals

If you’re not someone who sets goals they are passionate about, you’re going to struggle in the entrepreneurial life. You can’t set goals based on what everyone else is doing, which can be a real struggle in the online world. But you have to remember, just because something works for someone else, doesn’t mean it’s right for you. You have to choose your goals based on the things you’re passionate about. On the flip side, many entrepreneurs are passionate about something they aren’t seeing any progress towards. If you don’t see progress towards your goals after a significant amount of time and effort, it may be time to redirect or call it quits. Knowing where to set your target and when to throw in the towel on an idea, project or product are both critical to growing a successful business.

While these things may seem like innate abilities some people are just born with, everyone is able to grow in all three of these areas. Spend time doing personal and professional development every day. Surround yourself with other women who are like-minded and working toward similar goals. Cultivating these things in your life are just as critical as learning the newest strategies and should be given the same emphasis and priority as you move forward in all of your business endeavors.

Want to grow in these areas while learning strategies that will accelerate the growth of your business alongside a group of like-minded women? Let’s chat about whether my Business Accelerator Workshop would be a good fit for you. Sign up for your free consult here!

The Importance of Community While Building Your Business

If you’ve been grinding hard to build an online business, then you know that sometimes the entrepreneurial road can get a little lonely. We often find ourselves working countless hours to see just a tiny bit of progress. Many of the people in our life don’t fully understand what we are doing with this online thing and the struggle to keep going is real!

That’s why you not only need strategy and tools, you need community! I just wrapped up my VIP weekend, where I spent two and a half days with some incredibly driven women planning, masterminding, and hustling. During this weekend I realized how important time with like-minded, driven entrepreneurs can be!

Here’s why...

Accountability: It’s so easy to have a million ideas but never follow through with any of them. Having a group of people who will help hold you accountable to your own goals is absolutely critical!

Encouragement: We know this road can be a lonely one. This lifestyle isn’t always easy. If you don’t have some friends who get it, and who will be there to cheer you on, it’s incredibly easy to give up!

Creativity: Sometimes you need some inspiration. While most entrepreneurs don’t struggle with ideas, we sometimes get stuck in a rut and need some other like-minded people to help us move outside of our own head!

Momentum: There are few things more motivating than sitting in a room full of go-getters! When you see other women working hard toward their own goals, it’s nearly impossible not to feel that momentum and want to pour into your own business

Don't Make the Same Mistakes We Did!

The other day I was listening to Chalene Johnson on Donald MIller’s podcast. She described herself as being the one who goes out into the woods with the flashlight, looking for the way to go so she can show everyone else how to move forward. That person ends up making lots of wrong turns before finding the perfect path, but is eventually able to go back and lead everyone in the right direction. This illustration totally resonated with me, as I feel like that has been my exact role when it comes to business strategy, development and growth. I go out there, try lots of things, make a ton of mistakes, but then come up with something that really works...to pass on to you!

As we saw incredible growth through 2016, we also saw lots of room for improvement. We did a lot of things right last year, but there were definitely some mistakes we made along the way. Here are a few lessons we learned by making those mistakes.

You Must Establish and Consistently Communicate Your Core Values

While I am good at casting vision and communicating that vision to my team, I realized last year that I never really communicated our core values. I didn’t really do a good job of letting my team know the key factors that would distinguish us as an agency. Once I finally nailed down the core values and communicated those values to my team, the team was better able to focus on doing work consistent with those values.

Limit Your Client Load

Sell on value and price appropriately. Don’t take on more people than you can handle. Overworking your team only leads to poor quality. Ensure that you are able to meet the needs of the clients you take on, and that you and your team have sufficient bandwidth to do excellent work, all of the time.

Simplify and Focus

It is important to have diverse streams of income, but you can’t be a master of all trades. I learned this lesson the hard way, and had to scale back significantly last year. However, once we did finally simplify and focus, we had some of our biggest months ever.  Choosing to spend your time and energy on a few things allows you to do those few things exceptionally, which is critical for lasting success.

Give Back Even When You Start Small

If you only net a dollar this month, go ahead and give 10 cents for that dollar that was earned. Don’t think for a second that it will be easier to give when you have more money: it will likely be much harder. We should have started doing this way earlier in our business, and learned the hard way how difficult it can be to get into a habit of giving once the 10% checks are a whole lot bigger. So, no matter how small it may seem, get in the habit of giving right away and you will find it much easier to continue as your business grows.

Leverage The Strengths of Your Team Members

I have a team that is truly eager to please most of the time. Because of that, some ended up offering things that weren’t really in their wheelhouse. This led to subpar work, and often only added to the workload because things had to be redone. Keeping your staff in their lane is critical to success. This allows them to focus on the things they are good at, and produce excellent work on a consistent basis.

Charge What You’re Worth

For a long time I undervalued my services and over delivered thinking this would create client loyalty. What we found is that it mostly created stress, sleepless nights and extreme overwhelm for my team. People didn’t stick around because of it and at times became pretty high maintenance. If you don’t charge enough, people simply won’t appreciate your services as much, so charge what you’re worth.

I don’t mind going ahead with the flashlight to find the very best path for female entrepreneurs in today’s marketplace. However, please know that while I’ve built an incredible business with an exceptional team, I have also made countless mistakes along the way. My hope is that I will always be able to learn from those mistakes and pass that information along to you so that you can avoid them in the future.

If you are looking to accelerate the growth of your business in the coming year, then my Business Accelerator Workshop will give you the cutting edge tools you need to do just that. Everything I’ve learned is laid out for you to learn the skills necessary to truly grow your business in a way that makes sense to your bottom line. If you are interested in learning more, check out the BAW here!

Creating Content that Converts

We’re all inundated with sales pitches constantly coming at us through our social media feeds, which is why it’s so critical that female entrepreneurs in today’s market learn how to cut through the clutter. One way to distinguish yourself from the crowd is to provide valuable content to your potential clients on a consistent basis.

Whenever I talk about content, I’m met with one common response: “I don’t know what to share, when to share it or where to share it.”

While this is a topic we could do a deep dive into for weeks, here are a few tips to get you moving forward with your own content plan.

Know Your Ideal Client

You’ve got to have a specific type of ideal client in mind. How old is she? What does she like? Where does she shop? What kinds of struggles does she face daily? What does she do for fun? What is her income level? What is her education level? What is her relationship status? What is her faith? What is her community like?

You’ve got to know your ideal client so well that you’re on a first name basis with her. Once you know her, be sure ALL of the content you put out speaks directly to her.

It might seem counterintuitive to narrow down your ideal client, but when you try to reach everyone you end up reaching no one. So, it’s a good thing to repel certain types of people in order to attract the right kind of people!

Create Content that addresses their pain points AND leads into your programs.

When people ask what kinds of content they should be putting out, I usually have them consider the following:

• What do you get asked about often?
• What do you think your clients should be asking?
• What are common misconceptions in your industry?
• What do your ideal clients struggle with?
• What are future issues your clients may have issues with?

Once you’ve gone through all of those questions, you should have a pretty extensive list of topics, but there are a few other things to consider in regards to the programs, products or services you are promoting.

• What do you need to educate your audience about so they see the need for your program, product or service?
• What are some topics that flow naturally into your program, service or product?
• What types of content could you share that would leave your ideal client wanting to know more?

Need an example?

For my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program, I’ve had to share content about what intermittent fasting and carb cycling are and how they are beneficial to fat loss and overall health (education).  I’ve also addressed several concerns potential clients might have in regards to both of those topics, and the types of workouts we do in the FASTer Way program (education/questions I asked). Because I understand hormones and their effect on fat loss, I’ve shared a good bit of content on that as well (questions clients SHOULD ask). In addition, I’ve planned my content around the problems I KNOW my ideal clients are facing, like weight loss plateaus and low energy (problem solving).

Be You

The single most important thing you can do through your content is build your know, like, trust factor. In order for someone to buy into one of your programs, products or services, they have to know you, like you and trust you. You have to communicate in an authentic way. You’ve got to approach all of your content with authenticity. Doing this will definitely turn some people off, but, it will attract the RIGHT people.

Here are a few tips for keeping it real:

• Consider the words you say often in real life. Be sure to incorporate those words in your writing, on your social media posts and in your live videos.
• Give it the best friend/spouse test. If your best friends or spouse would roll their eyes at what you wrote, posted or acted like in your live video...then reconsider posting it.
• Post pieces of your real life: pics of your kids, your shopping trips and the behind the scenes of your day to day. This will go a long way in helping people feel like they know you.  

Share consistently and across multiple platforms.

Most people who follow you won’t see most of your stuff. So, you’ve got to share your content on multiple channels, on a consistent basis, and at different times.

Here’s an example:

I post a live video with some valuable content on my personal Facebook page, then share that to my Facebook business page. Later in the day, I might post a short little blurb on my Instagram story pointing people back to my Facebook live video. I may also hop on my Instagram stories right before I go live to let people know they should tune in soon. Later in the week, I will turn that video into a blog post and email to be posted on my website and sent out to my email lists.

Eventually, that content will be pinned to Pinterest. So I started with one valuable piece of content and shared it across multiple platforms, at different times, to hit as many followers as possible.

It’s so important that you do more than just push products and paid services on your social media platforms. If you aren’t sharing valuable content that actually helps people, then you are simply adding to the noise and clutter. If you want to grow your business, you’re going to have to do better than that. Know who your ideal client is, know how to help them, and do it in a way that is authentic and real. Over time, you will become a trusted resource and your programs will be a natural fit for your ideal client.

If you found these tips helpful, but want to learn how to implement these strategies as they relate to your specific business, consider checking out my Business Mentorship Programs. Both will walk you through this entire concept, equipping you to plan out your content in a way that naturally fits with your business. We even help many of our clients create some of their content! If you’re interested in finding out more, head on over here to sign up for a free 20 minute consult call!

3 Reasons My FASTer Way Program Took Off

I think I can say with some confidence that I’m a pretty good trainer. I get results for my clients and am knowledgeable about all things health and wellness related.

However, I work with some of the BEST trainers out there. These trainers have incredible knowledge, extensive backgrounds, TONS of training and a portfolio of incredible results. Yet, they aren’t getting as many clients as they should.

That’s because the people who get the most clients are the people who market the best, not the people who make the best programs.

Which is why I want to empower the best professionals out there to land the most clients.

This time last year I had 11 women in my Carb Cycling/Intermittent Fasting program, and honestly, I had to hustle to get those 11 women signed up!

Last month, I had 576 women in my FASTer Way to Fat Loss Program, with 221 more signed up for this month! While I did grow my Instagram following by 2000 in that time frame, I can honestly say that the growth did not come from my social media platforms.

This year, I dialed in a few effective strategies, that brought some big results. While I’ve got a few tips to share with you, these are only scratching the surface! If you’re interested in learning how to effectively scale your online business, there is a link at the bottom of this post to sign up for a quick consult call. If these tips resonate with you and you’d like to learn more, let’s chat!

Tips to Grow Your Online Programs

Leveraged Relationships with Micro Influencers

I grew my Instagram following organically from 13,000 to 15,000 followers over the past year. Usually, each time I post to my Instagram account about an upcoming program, I get a couple of sign ups. However, after partnering with several micro influencers who each have significant social media followings, I saw exponential growth in my sign ups. Working with these micro influencers got me in front of entirely new audiences and expanded my reach in a huge way. I do offer these influencers a commission for each referral, which gives them incentive to share.  This has been the single most effective way I’ve grown my FASTer Way program this year.

A tip about micro influencers: You don’t need to have influencers with 300k followers to effectively grow your program. You just need a handful of influencers with loyal followers, who’ve bought into your program, and you will undoubtedly see growth!

I am extremely confident in the FASTer Way.

I truly have a mindset of confidence. I have iterated this program several times and 100% believe that it’s the best program on the market. Because of that, I market confidently and daily. I’m not shy about sharing this program because I truly believe in it!  In today’s noisy online market, you have to cut through the clutter with confidence and consistency. If you don’t believe wholeheartedly in your program, you’re not going to share it! Conversely, if you know you have an amazing product, you won’t be able to stop sharing it!

A little tip on how often to share: It takes 8-10 times of someone seeing your posts for them to remember your program, and 21 times before they join. The hard part about this is that most people aren’t seeing your stuff. So, posting on a daily basis will get you in front of more eyes, and will eventually get you more sign ups!

I have enlisted the help of affiliates in terms of brand awareness.

All of my affiliates are set up with their own branded Leadpage to promote my program. In addition, they all use our program hashtag when posting to social media. I give them all of the resources they need to successfully communicate the value of the program in a way that is consistent with the FASTer Way brand.

Sidenote about branding: It took me 9 months to come up with the perfect name for my program. You don’t have to wait until you have the perfect name or the perfect brand to start talking about your program. Just start and keep going, getting effective results for your clients. Once you do land on your perfect name and brand identity be sure to equip your affiliates to use that branding effectively!

There are no quick fixes. No magic bullets. But with some intentionality, focus and cutting edge strategies, you can grow your online programs exponentially in the coming months!

If you’d like to learn more, you should highly consider my Business Mentorship Program. If you are interested in learning more about either of those, let’s set up a consult call to see which might be a better fit!

Schedule Your Call Here!

Peace and Finances

Early on in our relationship, Brandon and I would work during the summer painting houses and listening to Dave Ramsey. While that seems pretty weird for a set of teenagers, it’s something that truly laid a firm financial foundation for us. Because I had watched one of my sisters go through a bankruptcy while I was in high school, I was pretty determined to never end up in a similar situation. So, Brandon and I lived well below our means and worked incredibly hard to ensure we both graduated from college debt free.

Other than Dave Ramsey, we both have a professional background in terms of finances. I actually worked for a financial planner for two years during college. Those two years gave me incredible insight and training in all things finance. In addition, Brandon spent years managing millions of dollars for the Air Force as a CPA. We both love talking about financial things and have done extensive personal development when it comes to managing money.

We each knew what we wanted our financial blueprint to look like, and recognized our own tendencies toward spending and saving. While Brandon is a bit more of a spender on smaller, everyday items, I like to save when it comes to those things. However, I can be a huge spender when it comes to big ticket items like houses and jewelry!  Knowing these tendencies and our financial goals helps keep us in line and out of fights with one another. So far, we’ve been able to keep the peace while reaching our financial goals. Here are a few of our tips to help you and your spouse do the same!

Track your finances.

We track our finances every day: both personal and business. Each day, we both know exactly where we are in terms of our financial goals, expenditures and income. This helps keep us on track and on the same page.

Set Specific Financial Goals.

We set very specific financial goals related to our net worth, and reverse engineer how we will meet those goals. Every 6 months, we re-assess those goals and set new ones. Having shared goals helps to keep the peace big time!

Communicate.

We communicate about our finances regularly. We talk about our goals, how to save more, how to give more, and how to earn more. We regularly keep those things in the forefront of our conversations so we are on the same page when it comes to our money.

We blow money.

This has been incredibly helpful to us and is a fantastic way to keep the peace when one of you is a saver and the other is a spender. Each month, we take 10% of our net income and use that as “fun money.” Early on in our marriage that didn’t amount to much, but today, we can obviously do a lot more with that 10%! But, knowing we have a specific amount every month to “blow” however we want is incredibly freeing. It takes all of the guilt out of spending money, because that money has been earmarked for fun! Having this money allotted each month also prevents splurges that can lead to a pile of debt!

We do feel strongly about giving as well, and each month give away at least 10% of our income. We wholeheartedly believe that in order to be faithful with what God’s given us, we need to give back. So, 10% is given, and 10% is blown!

Finances are a huge cause for stress for many couples. If you don’t know the numbers, your goals, or where your spouse stands on those issues, you will undoubtedly have some discord. Be sure to communicate with your spouse often, set specific goals together and keep a regular pulse on your finances. Doing these things will go a LONG way to minimizing arguments that center around finances!

Condo Living

Six months ago we decided to pack up our lives and move from the Midwest to Florida. Brandon had a stable job with great benefits, and that’s what kept us there for so long. After living in the Midwest for years, we realized there was truly nothing holding us there other than those benefits. Once we sat down and looked at the kind of life we wanted to live, we realized that we didn’t need to stay there. So, we made the decision to move to our condo in Florida and haven’t really looked back.

After 6 months, here is our honest review of condo living in Florida!

Pros

The Weather

The weather is one of our favorite parts of living in Florida. The Midwest is always kind of dark and grey, and during the winter months I always got a little down because I was seriously lacking Vitamin D. Here, in sunny Florida, we can always get some time outside in the sun and enjoy the bright days we have on a regular basis.

School

Despite the hot lunches our school serves, we truly love the school our kids attend. They have an exceptional program and teachers we truly love.

Friends

We have met such high quality people here in Florida. Our kids regularly have play dates and we enjoy spending time with other couples we’ve met.

Simple and Low Maintenance

Condo living is super simple and low maintenance. We don’t have to take care of the yard, the pool or the property. Because we live in such a small space, we downsized considerably before moving here. We love everything in our condo, and love living with less. It has truly been one of my favorite changes!

No Financial Burden

We love not having a house payment. Owning our condo outright means that we aren’t throwing thousands of dollars a month towards a house. This has freed us up to give more and travel more, both of which we plan to continue in 2017.

More Family Time

Living simply in such a small space has allowed us to spend more time together as a family, and that has been an incredible benefit of our new lifestyle.

CONS

While there aren’t too many cons, we do have a few things we don’t love about condo living in Florida.

• Our kids have to share a room. They don’t mind just yet, but we’d like to have them in their own rooms eventually.
• It’s hard to work AND live in such a small space. I’ve recently set up an office, but up until then, it was hard to get things done in the condo.
• We have no garage and don’t love the view from our front porch. This is just what it is...but we do miss a garage.

Overall, the cons aren’t all that big of a deal. However, the thing that’s been hardest is I haven’t quite felt settled yet. Because we had some difficulty deciding about our next steps in terms of a house, and have had some deals fall through, it has been hard to really feel grounded and settled in the condo. However, the pros of this lifestyle have really been a huge blessing for our family in this season of life. Being able to live below our means has allowed us to experience more together and give more than we’ve ever given before. We truly love this new, simpler life, and while it’s not perfect, it is exactly where we need to be.

Morning Routine

As an entrepreneur, wife and mother, I have a lot to do each day. Because of that, I’m always looking for ways to make my morning routine more effective. I’ve spent some time perfecting a routine that works for me and I think it is worthwhile for every entrepreneur to do the same.

Here are a few reasons why:

Productivity

Throughout the day we are required to make countless decisions that tax our willpower and require significant thought. Our willpower is strongest in the morning, so utilizing this time to do less desirable things required for the day ensures I accomplish what needs to be done and gets those things off my plate early. I personally use the “eat your frog” method and do three things each morning that move my business forward first thing each morning.

Time Alone

If you are a mother of young children, you know how incredibly valuable time alone can be! For me, this is an important part of my day because it allows me some quiet time to focus while everything is still calm in the house.

You Control Your Day

Having a morning routine allows you to start your day the way you want to. No rushing around anxiously, going through the motions, waiting for life to happen. Instead, you’re able to go through your day, unhurriedly, focused and with intention. For me, this is critical since I have so much to accomplish each day. I simply cannot wake up frantically feeling behind or unprepared. I need to have some control over how things play out, and getting started with my morning routine helps me do that.

While my morning routine is still evolving, there are a few things that have remained constant over the years.

Focus on the Night Before

My morning routine starts the night before. I go to bed by 10pm, and shut off all electronic devices by 9pm. The blue light from those devices can really affect your circadian rhythms and make sleep difficult. So I’m making a concerted effort to distance myself from my screens prior to going to bed.

Shower

I shower immediately after waking up. I have been experimenting with cold water therapy and am slowly making my water colder throughout my shower. This really wakes me up, but is taking a bit of getting used to!

Drinking Water

After my shower, I drink some ice water to keep my body hydrated. I often wake up feeling a bit dehydrated, so this is critical for me. In addition, hydration is particularly key for me since I continue fasting until about noon.

Eat the Frog

After drinking some water I immediately start working. My goal is to do three things that move my business forward but that I don’t really enjoy doing. Getting these things done first takes them off my plate for the rest of the day, and allows me to focus on the things I don’t mind doing later in the day when my willpower is a bit lower and I would be more likely procrastinate.

Vitamin D

I take some time each morning to get out in the sun. Obviously, this is easy for me since I live in Florida and have sun available to me all year long! However, getting out for just 20 minutes per day helps your body produce melatonin, which helps you fall asleep more easily each night.

Professional Development

I am extremely intentional about starting my day with professional development. I listen to something every morning that is related to either fitness, business, or leadership so that I am constantly learning how to better serve my clients and grow my business.

My morning routine effectively sets me up for success each day. Finding something that works for you may take a bit of time, but ultimately will help you feel more in control of your days. If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend you invest some time in building a routine that makes sense for you. If you do have a morning routine, don’t be afraid to tweak it as the seasons of your life and business change.

Clients in my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program are seeing incredible results in terms of fat loss, inches loss, energy levels and improved moods. This program is truly cutting edge and is the very best on the market today. If you’re serious about burning fat, increasing your energy and making exercise a part of your daily routine, this program will help you reach those goals and then some.

Sign up here before spots are gone!

How to Run a Successful Online Bootcamp

While I’ve been in the fitness industry for over 15 years, it wasn’t until last year that I began to truly focus on building the online side of my fitness business. For much of my career I traded dollars for hours, training clients one one one in a gym setting. I realized early on that it would be difficult to earn a significant income this way, and didn’t like the way it was pulling me away from my family once I had Emma. So, about 5 years ago I began doing some one on one training online, which gave me some flexibility, and I ran some online group programs as well. I continued working with clients in person, but on a more limited basis. This was a good start, but was still pulling time away from my family and I was still trading dollars for hours.

As my digital marketing and coaching business began to grow, I realized that something needed to be cut and I needed to focus on things that were scalable. So, last year around this time, I shut down my in-person training and group programs, and focused all of my attention on building my online group program because it was a scalable model.

At this time last year, I had 11 women in my online bootcamp; 11 women I had to hustle hard to get signed up. Today, I have 500 women who will go through my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program this month. At $199 a person, this has turned into a significant stream of revenue for my business.

Clearly, I have experienced significant growth over the last year. That growth did not happen by chance, but by employing specific strategies focused on growth. While there are many more than 5 steps to the process my team and I have gone through, these 5 are the foundation to running successful online fitness bootcamps.

Five Step Process

Create an amazing program.

This is the absolute foundation of my program’s growth; I get my clients results! It is absolutely critical that you are clear on who your ideal client is and what their pain points are. Once you are clear on that, you’ve got to understand and satisfy their pain points through your program. In other words, your program has got to get your clients results. Don’t be tempted to water down your program because it is an online version. Create something that works and don’t apologize for it. Ask yourself who you are serving, then ask yourself what they need. Once you can clearly answer both of those questions, create an effective program that your clients will tell their friends about. Be sure to test your program, do your research, and create something you can truly stand behind as an incredible value!

Market effectively.

While I utilize several different marketing strategies to grow my online bootcamps, two that have been incredibly effective are microinfluencer outreach and live video.

Microinfluencers are people who have influence over a large group of people in your niche. I look for people who work in complementary industries and ask them to share my program with their followers. Sometimes women are afraid to ask for a favor like this, but I am almost always met with a positive response when I do.  Be sure that you already have a relationship with any influencers you reach out to. If there is an influencer you would like to work with, but don’t yet have a relationship with, go ahead and start one.

I have also created an affiliate program for influencers who have gone through my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program, offering them compensation for anyone they refer. I have also offered group discounts to some of the microinfluencers I’ve worked with, so that is an option as well!

Live video is the most effective FREE way to market your online bootcamp on social media. Live video is heavily favored in both Facebook and Instagram algorithms and will get seen by far more people than any static post or picture on your feed. I do live videos on my personal page and personal Instagram account, because I see significantly higher engagement there.

If you aren’t doing live video, you are missing a huge opportunity to get in front of your ideal clients for free. This does take some practice, but if you have a great program, then stand behind it and tell your followers all about its amazing value!

Provide resources and guides to set your clients up for success.

Once you have clients signed up for your program, you want to do everything in your power to ensure they are successful. I provide my FASTer Way to Fat Loss clients with a comprehensive guide so they have all the information they need to ensure success in my program. This took a significant amount of time on my end, but is something my clients can use even after they’ve completed my program. Be sure to give your clients all of the information they need to really see success in your programs. If you need help making something you’ve created beautiful, contact the Agency Side! We’d love to help you.

Set up effective systems.

Because I have so many clients going through my program at once, it is absolutely critical that I have effective systems in place. I set up a content schedule at the beginning of my program and slowly drip information to my clients throughout the program. I give them everything they need in my comprehensive guide, but slowly provide them with further information in a way that is not overwhelming. I plan this out and schedule it so that I am not fumbling around at the last minute.

I am very specific about how clients can communicate with me. I don’t allow Facebook messages or texts. I let all of my clients know they can ask questions in their Facebook group, so I can answer them there for anyone who may have a similar question. I don’t have Facebook notifications on my phone turned on, so I am not constantly reacting to posts. I check these groups three times a day (in the morning, midday and in the late afternoon) to ensure I don’t miss anything. Setting up this system has been critical as this program has grown.

Hire help.

I always say you can either have control or you can have growth, but you can’t have both. In order to grow, I’ve had to hire help. When I had 11 clients, I could manage things on my own, but having 500 women go through my program at once has necessitated some delegation. I have hired assistants to help with registration and onboarding, and have assistants working to keep up with Facebook groups and general operations throughout the program.

There will come a time when you grow big enough that you will need to scale your staff to meet the needs of your clients. This can feel like a scary jump, but it will truly help you serve your clients better and improve their overall experience, which in turn will help to grow your program further!

Obviously, there is a lot more that goes into running my online bootcamps, but these 5 steps are a great place to start.

If you are interested in learning more of the ins and outs, I am truly an open book and share everything with my Business Accelerator and coaching clients. In fact, this month I am walking them through affiliate marketing and how to set up an effective affiliate program.

Another way to see a little more behind the scenes of my online bootcamp is to sign up for my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program yourself. Participants receive access to my guide and will see first hand how I run my groups.

I love working with women in the fitness industry who have real solutions to ending the trend of obesity. If you want more information about my coaching services, or anything that I’ve shared above, I’m happy to chat.  I offer free 20 minute consult calls and would be happy to answer any questions you might have about my programs, services or how I run my bootcamps!

The Power of Women in the Entrepreneurial World

Today is truly an incredible time to be a female entrepreneur. According to Wendy Diamond, Founder of Women’s Entrepreneur Day, “Women-owned businesses are set to increase by 90 percent in the next five years. We need to change the status quo because lifting women creates economic opportunity and vitality locally and globally.”

While there has traditionally been a huge gap between the opportunities afforded men and women, we are living in a day and age where that gap is slowly closing and women are seeing more and more opportunities to grow their businesses, both online and off.

Three Reasons I Work With Female Entrepreneurs

Female Business Owners Give Back

In a recent study, it was found that women who earned a significant income gave 89% more than men who earned the same income. In fact, studies have shown that women are more philanthropic at every income level than men are. In lower socioeconomic cities across the world, women give up to 90% of their income back to their families and communities. Women who earn money, use their money to do good in the world. They use their money to support their families and their communities. I am committed to making the world a better place and know that empowering women with financial resources will go exceedingly far in accomplishing that end!

Female Business Owners are More Successful

Plainly said...companies run by female entrepreneurs are more successful than those run by men. In fact, they have 13% higher revenues than those run by men. Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary said this about the companies he’s invested in,  "All the cash in the last two quarters is coming from companies run by women, I don't have a single company run by a man right now that's outperformed the ones run by women". Women get the job done, and are more profitable than men. When you give a woman what she needs to run a business, she will do it with excellence, passion and incredible profitability.

Female Business Owners are More Ambitious

Women who run businesses have high expectations for their companies and make things happen! According to research done in 2016, “almost 90% of women entrepreneurs expected their company's gross profits to increase or remain stable in the next year. More specifically, 61% expected profits to rise, compared to an average of 58% among all entrepreneurs.” Women set big goals...bigger goals than men, and then make them happen. I’ll say it again, it is truly an incredible thing to give a woman the tools she needs to successfully build a business. Once she has those tools, she is truly unstoppable.

I Know What it Takes to be a Female Business Owner

I have built my own 6 figure business over the last few years all while juggling motherhood and everything else that comes with being a woman. I know what it takes to build a successful company as a female. Because of that,  I am committed to passing on all that I know, so others can enjoy the same success.

Pouring into other women who desire to start and grow their own companies, has become the backbone of my coaching and agency services. I want to do everything in my power to help women earn significant income because that is truly how the world will be changed for the better!

If you are a female business owner just starting out, or are partnered with an MLM and tired of the sales strategies being pushed in today’s marketplace, my Business Accelerator Workshop is exactly what you need to bring your business to the next level. This Workshop is jam packed with ALL THE TOOLS necessary to accelerate the growth of your business with integrity and focus, so you can bring in significant income in 2017 and beyond. This program is currently in Beta so is half off. Spots are almost completely filled, so be sure to sign up ASAP!

Sources

http://fortune.com/2016/02/29/women-entrepreneurs-success/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/causeintegration/2015/12/01/best-way-to-save-the-world-put-women-in-charge/#479607fa5912

https://www.nawbo.org/blog/why-women-give-more

http://www.businessinsider.com/kevin-olearys-female-ceos-make-all-the-money-2015-5

How to Hit Your Income Goals

Occasionally, I will get on a consult call or free information call and will blow someone’s mind with the idea of reverse engineering. While I am no numbers girl, I do know the value of taking your income goals and breaking them down so that you know exactly what it will take to reach those goals.

So, just in case you aren’t quite sure how to hit your income goals every month...let me introduce you to the concept of reverse engineering.

Setting an income goal

There are various ways to set an income goal and each individual will do this differently. Some will set their goal based on how much they want to give. Others will set their goal based on a desire to replace either their full-time income or their husband’s full-time income. Whatever your goals are in terms of the why behind your income goal, it is incredibly important that you have a clear income goal for each month.

Product Flow

Next, you have to consider your product flow or streams of income. What is bringing money in each month? You have to know the price breakdown for each stream of revenue as well.

Okay… so what does this look like?

Let’s say that your income goal is $5000 per month and you provide 4 product services:

• A passive eBook ($50)
• A group online program ($199/month)
• VIP 1-on-1 program ($250/month)
• Membership Site ($35/month)

Now, let’s say your goal is to sell 10 eBooks ($500), and you have 5 VIP’s ($1250) and 20 members for your membership site ($700). Your total income is $2450, leaving you with $2550 to make your income goal of $5000 for the month. $2550 divided by $199 is 13...which means you need to get 13 people signed up for your bootcamp this month.

Why this matters…

Knowing how many people you need to sign up will help you figure out your marketing strategy. Many entrepreneurs grossly overestimate how many of their followers will actually convert to paid clients. Because of this, it is incredibly important to know exactly how many clients you need to meet your goal, so you can cast a sufficiently wide net in terms of leads. It is a good idea to bring in at least 10 times the number of clients you need, in terms of qualified leads, through your lead generators and social media posts. Once you know that number, you can effectively plan Facebook ad targeting and social media posting strategy.

Reverse engineering might be a little more number-y than I like, but it is truly the most effective way to figure out how you will meet your income goals each month. Every time I hop on a consult call, I ask my clients to tell me their income goal, then we walk through their product flow and exactly what they will need for the month. If you haven’t planned out your income this way in the past, I highly recommend you give it a try! Seeing the breakdown can be incredibly motivating and help you focus your efforts on bringing in exactly what is needed to hit your goal each month!

Money Misconceptions

Money can be a difficult topic to discuss. Depending on how you were raised, your views around earning and using your money can either propel you towards greater wealth, or drastically hold you back. I truly believe that women earning significant income so they can recirculate money back into family, church and community is the most effective way to bring about change in the world. So I am committed to helping as many women as possible earn big so they can give big!

Over the years, I have worked with various female entrepreneurs who are killing it in their business and earning a significant income, yet still struggling to make ends meet. I’ve seen a trend among these women and their thinking when it comes to money. They regularly sabotage themselves and don’t handle their money wisely. These women have several misconceptions when it comes to money and it is holding them back from building a thriving business and truly making change in the world.

Misconceptions about money that could be sabotaging you.

Money is the root of all evil.

This regularly misquoted Bible verse is thrown around like confetti! The actual verse says THE LOVE of money is the root of all evil. When money becomes an idol in your life, every evil thing flows from there. However, money itself is amoral, and when in the hands of wise people, can be used for incredible good.

Money isn’t important.

Money is a necessity. Without it, you can’t live. You can act as though money is not all that important in life, but when you consider the requirements of daily living, it is absolutely a crucial piece of the puzzle. Wealth opens doors for you to give generously and make change in bigger ways. It isn’t the most important thing, but it is an important thing.

Having more money than you need means you are greedy.

I used to think this about several people we knew growing up. However, I’ve learned that significant wealth in the right hands can do incredible things for communities. Wealthy people can absolutely be greedy, but they can also be incredibly philanthropic. The heart is what is so important here. If you are someone who is able to detach yourself, your worth, and your happiness from money, then you will be able to live in wealth without falling into greed.

Money doesn’t grow on trees.

This scarcity type of mindset really communicates defeat. It resigns itself to thinking that there won’t be enough. While money doesn’t grow on trees, there are always new ways to earn money. Focusing on what is possible, and never feeling like there won’t be enough, or there won’t be a way, is critical to maintaining a healthy relationship with money.

If you’ve struggled with an unhealthy money mindset in the past, I recommend you work on reshaping that mindset so you can earn significant wealth to bless others. Money in the right hands can do immeasurable good. The women I am fortunate enough to work with are the types of women who will truly change the world by earning significant incomes. That is why I am so committed to helping them do just that!

If you would like to work with me through my business mentorship programs, the first step is setting up a FREE 20 minute consult. During our time together we will both be able to assess whether a working relationship will be a good fit, and then make a plan for moving forward. If you are a female entrepreneur who is serious about earning significant income and doing good, then I would love to work with you. Schedule your consult here!

Mistakes Female Entrepreneurs Make

There are few things in this life that are more important to me than helping female entrepreneurs start and grow successful businesses. I truly believe that change in the world will happen when women are able to create significant income to recirculate back into family, church and community.  Studies have shown that women are much more likely to give generously than men are, and so I have built my business centered around equipping women to be successful so that they can go out and do good in the world.

With that being said, I have seen some common mistakes among female entrepreneurs in today’s market. With all the hype around working for yourself, creating passive income, and everything else the business coaches of the world throw at you, the entrepreneurial life is far from the glamorous picture the online world has painted. And it pains me to no end, to see women wasting time and money building things that won’t last and that will never be profitable, because they are looking for some easy road to wealth.

Throughout my years of both building my own business and working with countless other women to build their businesses, these are the three most common errors I see that hold women back from lasting success.  

Putting the cart before the horse.

Regularly, I will jump on a consult call with a woman who’s spent thousands of dollars on a website, bought a logo, business cards and t-shirts…before ever testing her idea.

Instead of going this route, I highly recommend women take the time to test their ideas to see how well those ideas will do in the marketplace. Before you invest money into something, throw some test bullets out into your target audience. Do some research with actual people to find out if your business idea or product actually solves a pain point for your ideal client. If you are in the fitness industry, get a test group together and see what the results are for that group before you promote having the next big weight loss solution.

Bootstrap everything you can, for as long as you can, until you build a truly profitable business.  THEN invest back into your business in an intentional way.

Don’t believe you can bootstrap it and grow a profitable company?

I am currently running my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program through a FREE Wordpress website. I have grown that program from 11 women to 500 women per round, through that free and not-so-fancy website. I don’t have business cards either, yet my company is on track to make 7 figures in the coming year.

Don’t put your cart before the horse. Do as much as you can, spending as little as you can, and grow your business in a lean way!

Wrong expectations

The entrepreneurial life sounds a whole lot more glamorous than it is. Sure, you’re the boss, but that also means everything rests on your shoulders. I see a lot of women run an online test group with 10 people in it, then think it will be no trouble at all to get 500 people into their next program. I know that sounds crazy...but so many women underestimate the grind it takes to grow a successful company. They think if they put something out there the clients will come running.

But, every successful entrepreneur in the world will tell you that owning your own business is WAY harder than having a 9-5. Growth happens slowly with a significant amount of effort. You won’t build momentum nearly as fast as you think you will. If it was that easy to build a successful business, everyone would be doing it!

Ramping up your own business is extremely challenging and requires more work than you can possibly imagine.

They have the wrong mindset

Some of the women I work with focus too much on the negative, the difficult and the challenging. They only see their weakness and blame things on their circumstances and others.

The entrepreneurial life is a hard road for sure, but it is so incredibly worth it and the sky is truly the limit for females in today’s market!

This mindset issue is truly the hardest thing to work with as a coach. I can help with all kinds of strategy, services and great ideas, but unless you are willing to do the hard things required of an entrepreneur, you simply cannot grow a successful business.

Women who are truly successful focus on the possibilities, their strengths and what they CAN do to solve problems. They don’t back down from hard things and they are willing to put in the time it takes to make their business thrive. These women are mentally tough and willing to do what it takes to make their dreams a reality.

I truly believe this is a phenomenal time for women starting and running businesses. I love the creativity, ingenuity and excellence that can be found in so many female led companies. However, I regularly see women making the above mistakes and want to do everything in my power to prevent that!

If you are looking to build an incredibly profitable business in 2017, I would love to help you. I will be focusing all of my time and energy on women who are willing to work hard and hustle. The women in my programs must have a can-do attitude, be willing to try new things and able to celebrate their progress, even if it is slow. If that sounds like you, let’s set up a quick consult call to see if my next Business Accelerator is a good fit!

Client Spotlight: Sara Hurrle

To say that I work with a high caliber of women in the fitness industry would truly be an understatement. As my business has grown, I have been able to meet more and more exceptional business women who are committed to providing the very best information and programming the fitness world has to offer. One such amazing lady is Sara Hurrle. Her personal story is inspiring and her success speaks for itself.

Sara is a former athlete who fell in love with weightlifting at the age of 16. She is a certified personal trainer, nutrition consultant, contest prep coach, fitness model, former IFBB Olympian and a wife and mother. Sara’s struggle to get sober in 2004 gives her the unique ability to relate to clients who struggle through challenging life circumstances. She fully knows the hard work it takes to overcome and is committed to helping as many women as possible do just that!

Sara is a wonderfully energetic and enthusiastic coach who creates kick-butt programs to help women reach their health and fitness goals. She works with clients in the gym and online and in both instances gets INCREDIBLE results for the ladies in her programs.

I have truly loved getting to know Sara. She is an unbelievable source of knowledge and has years and years of experience that she brings into everything she does. She is all about getting real women, living real life, real results. She is a no-nonsense kind of girl who will give you a swift kick in the butt, but she does it with incredible grace and compassion.

Here’s what she has to say about working with my team over the last few months:

“Amanda and her team have helped me accomplish things that I have wanted to do for YEARS but have never been able to get finished on my own. Many self defeating habits, procrastination and not knowing how to take my business to the next level kept me stuck. Amanda and her team have given me the tools to take on new ventures and recreate my entire business and my life. We have only just begun but I am forever grateful for her guidance, her no nonsense approach and take charge attitude. She knows her stuff and gets it DONE; faster and with more ease than you can even imagine."

Sara has an incredible 90 Day Transformation program focused on helping women transform their lives from the inside out. This program is an incredible value for those looking to truly dial in their nutrition and shape their bodies, while focusing on mindset. Sara provides incredible support to all of her clients and guarantees results!

You can find Sara sharing tips, tricks, workouts and TONS of information on:

Instagram:@sarahurrle

Facebook: @Sarahurrle

This woman is a true powerhouse in the fitness industry. She has big things in store for 2017 and I cannot wait to see all of the lives that are changed through her incredible programs! Her knowledge and passion will undoubtedly leave a remarkable fingerprint on the health and wellness industry for years to come.

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If you are a female entrepreneur, committed to growing a successful business, but need some guidance and support, I would love to set up a free 20 minute consult call. The first step to working with me through my coaching and agency services is to go through my online Business Mentorship program. Schedule your consult to see if this would be a good fit for you!

You May Need to Fine Tune Your Money Back Guarantee

With all the growth my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program has had over the last few months, I’ve had to fine tune some of my business policies. While business policy is not the sexiest part of owning a business, it is critical to protecting your business’s profitability so you can continue to serve your clients and customers.

One policy to make sure you have clear guidelines for is your money back guarantee. Due to a couple of different situations this week, I’ve had to adjust mine. I recently reworded my guarantee to say: “I offer a money back guarantee after a good faith effort for 6 weeks.”

Here’s why...

I’ve had several clients sign up, download my comprehensive guide, and decide the program was too hard for them. In one instance, someone did two low carb days and decided it would be too much of a challenge to move forward, so quit and asked for their money back.

Here’s the thing, I completely stand behind the effectiveness of my program. If you go through 6 weeks, follow the program and don’t see results, I am more than happy to refund your money. However, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that if you follow the program for 6 weeks, you will absolutely see results, just as thousands of other women have seen results.

But...for someone to try two days, decide it was too hard and then give up, I have no sympathy in that scenario. So, moving forward, if someone decides to back out without really putting in the effort, I will no longer be refunding their money.

Additionally, I‘ve had a few personal trainers who’ve signed up for the program, gone through my entire prep week, watched my instructional videos, then backed out the day the program actually started. While I would like to believe that everyone has the very best of intentions, I do know that in a couple of these instances, trainers were just scraping the content of my program then requesting a full refund.

What is so infuriating about this is that I truly am an open book. I welcome other trainers to go through my program so they can utilize my strategies with their own clients. In fact, over the last year, several trainers have done just that and I have celebrated with them as they’ve built their business by getting clients incredible results with these strategies. So, it is kind of a smack in the face to have someone sign up, get all of the content, then ask for a refund.

Which is why I have changed my policy.

If you sign up for something, then believe in yourself enough to see it through to the end. Set an example for your children that hard work pays off, and commit. Don’t back out because things are hard. Put in the time, effort and work it takes to actually see results and honor your investment by keeping your word.

If you’re a professional, then you understand the work it takes to put together an amazing product. Respect other professionals and the work they do by honoring your commitments and following through.

I have no tolerance anymore for people who don’t want to work, or who aren’t coming with pure motives.

If you offer clients a money back guarantee, I highly recommend you set some parameters around that guarantee. While your business may be in its beginning stages, setting these guidelines now will be incredibly helpful to you as your business grows. Learn from my mistakes, and let your clients know under which circumstances you will be offering a money back guarantee, then stick to your guns friend!

As I said above, I am truly an open book and I am committed to helping female entrepreneurs grow sustainable, profitable businesses. I am particularly passionate about those in the health and wellness field, since ending the trend of obesity is the driving force behind my own fitness business. If you are in the health and wellness industry and would like to learn about growing your business through successful online bootcamps, join me for a free webinar on Tuesday, January 17th.

I will be walking you through how I’ve built my FASTer Way to Fat Loss program, taking it from 11 women to 500 women in one year, and will be giving you all the inside tips and information you need to run your own successful bootcamps this year! If you are tired of trading hours for dollars, and want to build a scalable business, sign up here to join me next Tuesday!