Peek Behind the Curtain: 3 Investments + 4 Lessons That Catapulted My Coaching Business Toward Long-Term Success

Sit down with a group of successful entrepreneurs, and they’ll each have a personal “war story” of how they clawed their way through the early years of business.

As a client or fan, you don’t always get the chance to hear those intimate stories of struggle, trial and error, and perseverance.

Ever wish you could look behind the curtain and see what it really took for a successful business owner to get where they are?

How much did they invest? Who did they work with? How long did it take?

I know I have. And I don’t think these stories should remain behind locked doors.

That’s why I like to peel back the curtain and tell you what’s really going on, like I did not long ago with a post about my 4-year health struggle.

To continue to keep it real with you, today I’m sharing four lessons and three investments that were key contributors to my long-term success. These are the game-changing shifts that catapulted me over the countless hurdles and pitfalls that hold back most business owners.

I have a feeling that one (or all!) will strike a chord with you and give you clues as to what next steps might shift things for your business.

Lesson: I Got My Mindset Right

In 2009, after working for 10 years in the corporate world, I quit my job. I had no paying clients, and I hadn’t made any money in my business. I just knew that I wanted to make it work—badly.

As our household’s primary breadwinner, having my ass on the line fueled me into massive action. I did not want to go back to my previous job, or any job for that matter. With no other means of paying the bills, my only option was to make my business work.

I jumped in and tried it all, including hosting practice coaching calls, offering free and paid classes, posting flyers around town, speaking at local venues, and attending networking events,in addition to all of the online stuff like blogging, social media, and list building.

No matter what happened, whether it worked or bombed, I kept going. There was no room to have a pity party, slip into victim mode, or fall back on a trust fund or rich husband.

As I’m sure you’ve experienced, not everything worked and plenty of things bombed. So having the fortitude to push forward, even when the path was unclear, required mountains of mindset work.

You might think that you can achieve success in your business without doing the mindset piece, and maybe that’s true to a certain extent. But fulfilling your potential requires you to do the inner work. For me, that meant facing my fears head-on and doing things even when I was terrified.

Click to Tweet“They are able who think they are able.” Virgil

Lesson: I Figured Out Who I Help (& How)

It took me two years of self-coaching, getting coached, serving clients, building a business, working on the side as a VA, and learning and reading like my life depended on it to figure out what I truly wanted to do with my business.

I finally could see what I was good at, who I wanted to help, and how I wanted to serve them.

This isn’t an uncommon situation for many business owners. Some get there quickly; others take longer. It’s not always a process you can rush, just one you can work through, because…

Click to TweetClarity come from taking action.

So if it feels like it’s taking you awhile to figure things out, that’s okay. Keep going, and keep taking action.

On March 1st, 2011, I launched jennyshih.com. The pieces were finally coming together, and I was gaining confidence.

At this point, I was more excited about my business than I had ever been. And that was a good sign!

Investment: I Got the Exact Help I Needed

With my newfound clarity, new website up, and new business focus—plus my unbridled excitement about the work I wanted to do with clients—I had a much-needed a-ha moment.

I knew what work I wanted to do… but I didn’t know anything about marketing.

Realizing my gap, I enrolled in an entry-level training program to teach me exactly what I needed to know, so I could bring in good money doing the work I was excited to do.

With a solid game plan under my belt, I stopped listening to two dozen different business experts and focused on executing my new plan.

What was included in my plan?

• I held myself to a weekly blogging schedule and kept building my list.
• I spent a ton of time being of service on social media (not pitching)!
• I connected one-on-one over the phone with other online business owners who were in the early stages like me. I focused on making new connections, getting to know people, building rapport, and building my reputation.
• And, of course, I kept doing the mindset work.

That fall I created my very first online program, How to Get Your First 1000 Subscribers. I sold more than 50 at $67 each. Although not a huge financial win, it was a huge motivation boost.

Click to Tweet“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” Newt Gingrich

Investment: I Made a Big Commitment

By the end of 2011, I had learned a lot and was seeing some success. I was getting one-on-one clients, I created and sold my first digital product, and had continued to build my list.

At the same time, I also realized there was plenty more I didn’t know: namely how to get to the next level.

If I wanted to get further, I needed to learn more and get more support. So I committed to a 9-month mastermind with a total investment of $25,000. That was an “Oh, shit!” moment for sure!

I thought my ass had been on the line before, but holy wow, it was now more than ever!

The only way I could make it work was to take out a new credit card. Although I’m not one who likes to carry credit card debt, I didn’t have any other means of joining and knew I needed the program badly.

Shiny new card in hand, I made my deposit and also made a promise to myself: to work my ass off more than ever to earn back my investment before I had to pay interest.

That personal commitment plus the mere act of investing that much in myself and and my business resulted in a powerful, internal shift, greater than I would have ever imagined.

Once the program began, I went all in. I showed up to my calls prepared; I asked question after question; I learned everything I could from every other woman in the program. For the women who were slightly ahead of me in business, I learned from their wins and struggles as I worked through my own stuff. It expanded my network of business friends and colleagues, something invaluable for us work-from-home folks.

Let me be clear: It wasn’t all roses. It wasn’t like “pay a lot of money and you’ll be guaranteed a win.” In fact, it was the opposite. An investment of this magnitude required a huge investment of energy, effort, time, and determination on my part. The latter, more than anything, is what made this particular investment so powerful.

I was laser-focused on my goals, I kept my mindset in check, and I did not let myself get sidetracked with fear or self-doubt.

I just kept working: refining my packages, being of service, consistently offering content, and massive mindset work (that never stops!).

Click to Tweet“It’s not that I’m so smart. It’s just that I stayed with problems longer.” Albert Einstein

Lesson: I Challenged My Old Way of Doing Things

In January 2012, while chatting with a friend, it hit me: I should be offering packages, not by-the-hour coaching.

This was a big deal for me and a challenge to my thinking up to that point.

I had heard people say that “you have to sell packages if you want to make more money” but whenever I thought about it, it felt so icky to me. At the same time, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, so I tried to find a way to get in alignment with it.

For me, once I realized that offering packages was in service of my clients’ end results, I felt confident about what to offer. I saw that I could promise a specific, tangible result and market THAT.

I switched my thinking from “packages are about making the coach more money” to “packages help the client get better results.” And that second way of looking at business was a game-changing moment for me and for my clients!

We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect to see different results. I had to take my thinking—and my actions—to the next level in order to help my business reach it’s potential.

Investment: I Learned That Selling Doesn’t Have to Feel Pushy

With a paid mastermind program and a perfectly-timed reset around packaging my services, things really took off. I was in a groove like no other I had ever been in. I was really making it work.

Then, I hit a snag. (As happens!)

I was getting tons of new client consults. I had almost daily inquiries from prospects. And I was becoming well known for my work.

But those inquires and consults weren’t turning into as many clients as I thought they should be. I could tell that someone was a perfect fit, but somehow they didn’t see what I saw. I was stuck.

I started asking around for help with consults, and a day later I spoke with Kendrick Shope.

Kendrick taught me the power of an effective consult, as well as how to follow-up with my prospects who were on the fence, all in a way that felt good and never pushy.

This was HUGE!

More than anything else I learned or any program I invested in, working with Kendrick had the biggest, most positive change in the trajectory of my business. I would not be where I am today if I hadn’t worked with her.

Within 8 weeks of our first session, I made an extra $10k and filled my 3-month client waiting list. Shortly after that, I filled and maintained a six-month waiting list.

Based on our work together, I learned to sell higher-end private coaching programs, improve my group program sales, write better sales emails, create stronger copy, and better than anything, learn to trust myself when it comes to selling. (Kendrick’s mantra is “If you feel the ick, find a better way.” And I still follow that to this day.)

If you’re struggling with consults or sales like I was, be sure to check out Kendrick’s Authentic Selling® University (formerly Sales School). They’ll both change your business FOREVER.

Click to Tweet“In sales, you have the ability to get EXACTLY what you want out of your business.” Kendrick Shope

Lesson: I Moved to Larger, Longer-Duration Coaching Packages

With tons of clients and improved sales skills under my belt, I began experimenting with larger packages, higher pricing, and more bold deliverables for clients. (I was feeling even more confident in my skills as a coach and my ability to sell after all the help I got from Kendrick!!)

As a result, I filled a six-month waiting list, re-released Get Your First 1000 Subscribers, and made over $100k revenue that year.

Everything was starting to click into place.

Instead of starting from scratch or going through trial and error, I had found a process that worked and could repeat. And over the next year, I continued doing what I did best: be of service and give away loads of free content while also serving clients in my uncompromising way

I sold higher-priced packages, mastered the skills of hosting connection-focused consults, and followed up with prospects like Kendrick taught me. In 2013, I made nearly $300k in revenue.

Click to Tweet“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier

What Are Your Game-Changing Moments?

I want you to see that there wasn’t a single pivotal point that changed everything. Instead, it was moment after moment, all adding up to more clarity, more precise action, and more success. And of course, learning from the right people at the right time.

There is no magic pill or silver bullet, but there are coaches and programs and a-has that hit us right when and where we need them. At the time, we can’t always see where it will lead us, but if we keep going, keep persisting, keep trying, keep failing and picking ourselves back up… we will get there.

I’d love to hear your story of how you made shifts in your business.

What have been your aha moments in business?

Is there something you wish you had known when you were just starting out?

What did you learn that changed your perspective?

Please share your story. I can’t wait to learn from you!

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