You probably noticed some big things happening around here over the past month. And because you’re like me, looking at people ahead of you in business to see what your next steps are, I knew you’d want to know the nitty-gritty details PLUS some of the big lessons I learned and mistakes I’ve made in launching.
There aren’t enough coaches telling you “how the sausage is made,” so I’m excited to share this with you today.
You’ll discover a few things, like…
- the big mistakes first time launchers make and what your first launch should look like
- the financial risk associated with a launches so you can plan for yours
- the team that helped make it happen and how to determine what your team should look like
- what I honestly think about launches, products, and group programs (I’m a little nervous to share this so publicly!)
Ready for an all-access pass to what happened behind-the-scenes? Let’s get to it.
All That You Don’t Need to Make It Work
If you’re like most new business owners I know, you’re looking at what the pros do for ideas on how to reach their level of success.
You see things like high-end website design, complex funnels, techy membership sites, Facebook ads, and so much more. You think, “I need to do that to make great money in my business.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Here’s why.
Jumping ahead and copying the pros who are several steps ahead of you in business actually hurts your chances of success, because if you haven’t mastered the step you’re at right now, you can’t master those future steps. Tweet that!
It’s like trying to cook a fancy, three-course meal when all you’ve mastered is mac and cheese. Trying to leap ahead of where you are simply creates more problems and frustrations than taking the step right in front of you.
That’s why you have to start right where you are (even if you don’t like it).
My First Launch
In 2010, I launched my very first product with a colleague. We did everything ourselves. Yes, it was a lot of work, but we also learned a ton in the process. We really saw how much work it takes to create and launch a product, and learning that really helped me better plan for future projects.
From there, I continued to launch offers on my own, doing everything from creation and design to copywriting and customer service. Each launch taught me an essential lesson that’s served me in my business even today.
Did I make big bucks? No way. But it was totally worth it anyway.
Why? When you test ideas, you get paid in experience, and in many ways this is far more valuable than getting paid in cash. Tweet that!
After all of these little launches under my belt, I could see what was working (and not working). My results were becoming a tad more predictable and my approach was becoming a tiny bit more reliable.
Learning My Way Forward
With the next product lined up (it was the upgrade of my program, Get Your First 1000 Subscribers), I decided to set a small budget and hire the help I needed most: logo design and some back-end tech work.
That launch was my second major home run. (The first was the original release of that same program which was around 52 sales at $67 each.)
But because I hadn’t yet mastered a large-revenue launch—and I couldn’t predict what would be successful and what wouldn’t—I didn’t risk the financial outlay of Facebook ads, a big team, or complex technology. I continued to do as much as I could by myself.
(I’ll talk more about this in a future post, because too many of you are trying to buy your way to success through big spending on teams and Facebook ads before you’re ready. And it’s a terrible idea and a total waste of money. Watch for more on this soon.)
The Next Level of Launching
Last fall, after 6 years of being in the online world and four launches of Make It Work Online, I was ready to uplevel.
Up until this point, launching MIWO entailed sending emails and hosting a webinar or two. I’ve been lucky that the popularity and effectiveness of the program has pretty much spoken for itself (this is what happens when you stick with something for years and build a reputation as someone who delivers!).
Because of future plans I have for my business, I knew it was time for me to execute a more complicated launch process.
This time the entire launch was much larger than it’s ever been. With 4+ weeks of free training, a free Facebook group to get coaching from me, professionally shot videos, a massive upgrade of the Make It Work Online paid program, and a calculated Facebook and Instagram ad budget, I decided to put more on the line with this launch than ever before.
It’s a Huge Financial Risk!
With years of experimentation under my belt, I decided to take the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my business and set a risky yet carefully-planned budget.
Here are some of the things I included in the budget:
- content strategy and massive MIWO program content upgrade
- copywriting help
- blog and editorial review
- design for free training, sales and marketing, and the new MIWO program
- web tech support to upgrade the MIWO program membership site
- virtual assistance and customer service
- video editing
- professional videographer
- social media and Facebook advertising
A high-level estimate is that this launch cost me nearly $40,000, way more than I’ve ever spent on a launch… and far less than many of the big named marketers spend on their launches.
Regardless of how much I spent, you must understand this:
Click to TweetSpending money DOES NOT guarantee that your launch pays off. You have to have the skills to actually bring money in.You must know what works for your people—for sales copy and Facebook ads and free content and blog posts and, and, and, and…—before you can spend money and know it will come back to you.
Even now, after having done this massive uplevel, I see at least two dozen things that I could do better next time… because I’m still getting paid in experience.
It’s also really stressful!
As you hear me talk about over and over, I LOVE the predictably boring business model where you bring in consistent, reliable income month after month. This is why I teach you to build a one-on-one business, because it gives you that predictability and gets you to six figures EASILY.
After having remained at the same, comfortable level of business success for the past three years (as I’ve been working through and finally starting to recover from Lyme disease), and because I’m a glutton for learning opportunities and growth, I knew I needed to throw myself headfirst into this next evolution of my business: this past launch.
I’ll be honest with you: it was stressful!
Laying out that much money before I even earned it. Not knowing for sure if I’d hit my stretch goals. Wondering WTF I’d do if I didn’t hit my minimum numbers. On top of still not being 100% back to my strong, resilient, fully healthy self.
Even though I’m committed to success without sacrifice, scheduled a massage for mid-way through, slept a full 8-10 hours every night, ate well, took mid-day walks on the beach, and even had friends visit while I was launching, the launch was still challenging.
What You Witnessed Was NOT All Me
To pull off this big of a launch, I had a team like I’ve never had before, and I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done.
Since I’m always wondering who’s behind the scenes in other people’s businesses, I want to share who’s behind the scenes in mine.
Becky is my assistant, my right hand. She handles all of the backend work, including things like customer service, loading emails into Aweber, monitoring the chat and Q&A during the first webinar, and making sure of the Make It Work Online clients are taken care of. Whether you’re here learning from me for free or are a paid client, everything gets to you and functions because Becky’s on top of it. My business simply would not run without her.
Adrianne is my content strategist and has become my second brain. She helped me massively upgrade the Make It Work Online program structure and content and add tons of new resources. (They’re so awesome!) Plus she helped strategize the right blog posts for December and January and fine tune the launch and sales emails to make sure I’m sharing my message as clearly as possible. The free and paid programs would not be to the caliber they are if it hadn’t been for Adrianne.
Michelle is my designer, and I rely on her eye for all things design. (I’m wildly unskilled in this area.) For this program alone, she updated the look and feel of the Make It Work Online sales page, determined the right layout for the free training and paid program materials, and improved the look of my webinar slides. Everything looks more “pro” because of Michelle’s eye and design touch.
Dan has been on my team the longest of anyone, supporting my website and backend since 2011 (I think?!). He makes sure the upgraded WishList membership site is working and does all sorts of techy backend stuff I’m not even aware of. It all “works” because he’s making sure it does. (Thank goodness!)
Steph is my on-call virtual support specialist for one-off and last-minute tasks like video editing, proofreading, image sourcing, and document formatting. She was even on call for me as I drove from Oregon to San Diego for our winter respite and realized there was a typo on a free training slide. A text and a few on-the-road emails from my phone later, Steph had it all taken care of like no one else can.
Erika and Katie are my social media and Facebook advertising specialists. They designed, managed, and executed the Facebook ad campaigns for the free training and helped keep our free Facebook group running as smoothly as possible. They also managed my free training opt-in and content LeadPages pages, and Erika was on all three webinars to ensure that each one went as smoothly as possible. The social media strategy simply would not have happened without them.
Thomas shot all of the videos of me that you saw in the opt-in, confirmation, and free training videos. After painfully trying to do video on my own for years now (and wasting too much money on equipment and time on trying to figure it out—and not succeeding), I gave up and hired a pro. Not only does working with Thomas make video-shooting way more fun, the end result looks a heck of a lot better than when I tried it on my own.
Kendrick is my sales coach and dear friend. She offered many early planning ideas, real-time adjustments, and last-minute changes to my launch and sales strategies. She spent countless hours on the phone with me to make it all happen. Everything I know about selling I learned from Kendrick, and I simply would not have been the business I have today had I not met he.
My editor (who asked to remain anonymous) was essential in taking my blog and editorial content from a concept in my head into a well-written, share-with-you-worthy piece. Her masterful writing skills helped me ensure that the messages were articulated just right and the final pieces were solid, flowed well, and were typo-free. With so much writing required for a launch, having her brain helping me saved my brain from a total melt down.
Plus, I had other friends and colleagues who supported me with brainstorming, planning, troubleshooting, good-vibe-sending, and loving throughout the entire process. Thank goodness for them, too.
What I Really Think about Launches
All of this said, including how much work a launch is, how much it can cost, and the huge team to manage, would I do it again? Do I think launches are worth it?
Here’s the truth (as if I could share anything else!):
Will I do it again? Yes. Absolutely.
Are launches worth it? I’m not sure.
As I mentioned earlier, I always gravitate toward new business challenges, even though I don’t care for the stress of learning new things. (That’s the irony of being human, I guess!)
So yes, I’ll keep launching and learning to launch better, simply because I know it’s my next growth area as a businesswoman.
But the reason I’m not sure it’s worth it is because I still find it way easier to build a multi-six-figure business offering one-on-one services where no launches are required!
From an effort/reward perspective up to this point, it’s far more profitable and predictable to build a one-on-one, service-based business than it is to launch courses, groups, or programs. Sure, with time, I expect this to eventually change. But it’s a long haul.
The truth is that when you’re starting out in any online business, launches are simply not the way to riches, regardless of what anyone else might be telling (or selling) you.
The other reason I’ll keep doing launches is because I want to help more of you build successful, thriving, online, one-on-one businesses. You get better results in Make It Work Online than in working with me privately (because of the way the program and group are structured, in that magical Jenny Shih way), and I’d be doing you a disservice to work with with a very limited number of one-on-one clients at a higher price tag.
Plus, Get Your First 1000 Subscribers is just about done with it’s second massive upgrade (ohhh, it’s soooo good!), and that’s a digital program which I will launch again.
You Have to Fill Me In!
Now that I’ve spilled the beans (Adrianne told me this post was “ballsy”!), I’m dying to know what you think about all of this!
Tell me…
- What surprised you?
- What’s your biggest take-away?
- What questions do you have for me?
Also…
- Have you tried to launch before?
- How did it go, and what did you learn?
I want to plan some future posts around what will help you most, so the more you share in the comments, the more I can tailor those articles to your needs.
Fill me in!
Hi Jenny. That was one of the best behind the scenes I’ve ever read. Transparency again. Thank you. I’m far from even considering a launch, just now starting out in fabulous MIWO, but I think there’s something really important about putting real time into your business before pushing it to fly. And that’s intimacy with our work. And that intimacy, or lack of it really show through, and I think makes a huge difference in long term sustain. I know this from my offline work, and thanks for reminding us, despite all the hoopla, that online is just the same.
I totally agree, Eva. Putting the time into your business, getting to know your people, getting to know your own skills in marketing — all of that, in the long run, leads to a more sustainable, successful, profitable venture. It’s the “slow and steady wins the race” mentality, and it’s definitely on I prefer. Excited to be working with you!
Brilliant post Jenny!
What surprised me was how big of a team you have, and for us to still see the real you on FB, on MIWO, and in your newsletters. That says a lot about you, but also about your team… congratulations 🙂
My biggest take-away is that despite my disappointments and expectations, I want to continue to learn and grow at my own pace, even if that means I don’t have big launches or gigantic milestones.
The question I have for you is regarding something that used to work very well for me, but suddenly stopped working: guest-posting. If I put on my scientific hat on, I can’t really see that I’m doing anything differently, and yet, my last 6 guest-posts haven’t been accepted. How do you deal with a situation that you don’t understand? Set it aside for a while? Think of other alternatives? Or keep doing it until you succeed?
I’m very lucky to have such a great team. It’s one of the areas I’ve really been fortunate to have click for me and my business. It hasn’t always been this big, but I made a big push last fall to beef things up because the plans I have for my business are far more than one woman can do alone, and I like warming everyone up slowly, as opposed to diving into a fire together!
I totally agree that learning and growing at your own pace, taking the wins and not-wins as they come and learning from them. I love that attitude you have.
Regarding guest posting, sometimes it’s hard to see why things aren’t working. Having a third party help you look at all of the “data” might help you uncover the reasons why. I can’t even venture to guess why they haven’t been accepted, though I can tell you that I have had plenty of clients go through dry spells where this happened for a period. But then it all seemed to click again.
Bring this to our MIWO private group so we can look at all 6 of those posts and pitches and see if we as a crew can hep you uncover what might be happening.
Guest posting can and will work for you, so I wouldn’t read too much into this dry spell — other than get help to troubleshoot it.
Thanks so much for your kind encouragement as always Jenny! I hadn’t thought of getting a 3rd party to take a look – I’ll see what our MIWO group thinks!
Awesome! That’s why being in the MIWO community is so awesome, if I say so myself! 🙂
Hi Jenny,
I think you are right. There is a learning curve. I love how honest you are with it.
I did a launch (twice actually). I wanted to learn the ropes and start group coaching, I didn’t have a to of money, so I did everything myself. The first one — zero sales. The second one, I sold 11 spots, two of which were upgrades. And I learned a ton about everything including writing copy.
I was thinking of doing a launch to fill my one:one program. So I can start focusing on building my group programs. I don’t have the money to do a to of stuff here, but I can at least do the basics.
Thank you for this!
This is so great, Nathalie! Often our first few launches don’t make it, so the fact that you got 11 on your second is fantastic.
And yup, I totally DIY’d it for a long time before I built up the business savings to pay for a team in advance. It’s a-okay to wait until you’re ready.
Keep it up!
It’s sort of reassuring to see that this fall’s launch involved so many people and cost a bunch of money. Now I don’t feel quite so inadequate about what I’m able to pull off working on my own and with a smaller budget.
The biggest surprise is that you think that one on one coaching is the easier way to build a profitable business. Group programs seem so much more scale-able! And (unfortunately?) I am much more attracted to (and suited for) offering group programs and courses than I am to doing one-on-one coaching. I guess I’ll have a slightly harder path. But it’s nice to think that I’ll be able to learn from your process.
P.S. I’ve done one launch so far and had 120 people pay for a 30-day group program and got very high satisfaction ratings. I had hoped that making the video of the live program available on demand might generate an ongoing income stream and I’ve been disappointed at how little that’s generated. I’m hesitant to repeat the live program because I’m afraid that all the people on my list that might be interested signed up the first time!
120 people for one launch… that’s awesome Monica! To me it looks like you have a winner on your hands. Can you find a different set of people to offer it to? Meaning – grow your list first before you offer it again?
First of all, helping people see behind the scenes is exactly to do what it did for you: show you what it takes so you all can stop feeling like you’re not good enough – LOL! It took a long time for me to get here, and there’s still so far for me to go.
Congratulations on your 120 person program. That is incredible, and you should be so proud of what you’ve done!
I totally know what you mean about being afraid that everyone who wanted to join already has, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
1. Maybe some were interested but not ready; but maybe they’re ready now.
2. Some people need to see you advertise a program over and over before they’re willing and ready to jump in.
3. This is why continuous list-building is essential, so you always have fresh eyes on your offerings.
Keep up the great work, and congrats again!
I love this. I had been shy (to even admit to myself) that I don’t want a huge business and big launches. I want a one-on-one and small group practice that takes 15 hours a week or so. I don’t even want 6-figures right now – don’t tell all the Facebook ad’s in my newsfeed! Maybe someday – but not today. I love that you still aren’t sure it is worth it – but that the discomfort was okay – and you did it anyway because it serves your goal for working with us and that makes perfect sense to me.
Bravo, Caryn! We have to know what we want in order to create it, and I love that you’re being honest with what you want and what works for your life right now. Because now you can go create it!
I always find your honesty refreshing Jenny! I’m very surprised at the size of your team! I knew you had a VA, but I guess I thought that was it because you’re so brilliant. Thanks for being human! 🙂
I’m not sure how big I want my business to be yet, but I’ve been considering working on a product. Thanks for talking me out of it for the moment.
Your #1 job right now, Renee, is to stick to building that 1-1 business with the plan we created! Nothing else, okay? 🙂
Your reaction about my team, even as a client, is exactly why I had to share this today. There’s so much that goes into making things happen as a business gets larger, and there’s simply no way to know who all is doing the work if no one is talking about it. (And you know I love a good truth-telling!)
Stick to that plan, Renee. You’ve got this!
I also appreciate knowing how many people it took to get this all launched!
I did have a question about the number of emails you sent towards the deadline (I was already signed up but my other email got them). To be honest, it seemed like a lot! Was that planned in advance or did you have a finite number of seats to fill and then you would cap it? I thought I remembered MIWO being marketed as a small program of 20 at the beginning, but I know midway through you offered a higher-level package.
Anyway, no need to answer all these, just questions I had from seeing it as the consumer and business side of things.
Thanks again for your transparency and willingness to support us in our dream businesses!
I’m so glad you asked this question, Kim! It’s definitely something I know people are wondering about and you gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about it.
First, I want to say that I was very deliberate in everything I did during the launch — even if it seemed unconventional. Why? One of the things I know for sure is that, as I say, “Clarity comes from taking action.” And with such a big shift in how I was launching, I knew I was sitting on an opportunity to learn a ton from this launch. Learn about what works for me, for my team, for my people, and everything else.
The team knew this too: Our #1 goal was learning. And so that meant trying all sorts of new things to see what worked and what didn’t, what was fun and what wasn’t, and anything else we could learn.
The advanced sales planning I did with Kendrick did deliberately include a “test” to see what would happen if I sent 4 emails that last day. That’s something I had never done before, but I couldn’t know if it would work or not work unless I tried it.
Surprisingly, we only got 2 uncouth emails and one childish, spiteful comment on Facebook. We also got a TON OF LOVE emails from readers, telling me how inspired they were by everything I was doing, graciously thanking me for a month of free training, and overall showering us with so much appreciation and gratitude.
But we don’t measure results in love alone 🙂 So the question is then whether or not 4 emails helped get more MIWO applications. The answer, I believe, was no. Next time, I’ll probably limit it to 2 emails the last day. The good news is that now I know — and there’s no way you can know what works and doesn’t until you try.
As far as the program, in the past it was 20 but this time I opened it up to 50 at the beginning. That was always the plan for MIWO for this group. It was capped and people were turned away after I hit that number. It wasn’t about getting as many as possible because with the level of personal feedback I give each MIWO client, I can’t work with more than 50 in a group.
The # of clients decision was separate from the higher priced package. In the past, MIWO was 20 people at a set price for 3 months. This December, before the free training began, I got a huge intuitive hit to offer a higher level option. This was the second option you saw, which included the 3 month program plus an extra 6 months of coaching. That was listed on the website before the January free training was opened.
I hope this covers your questions, but if you have more, feel free to ask. It’s my pleasure to share all of this with you to help your business.
Thanks for being here and thanks for asking!
Thank you so much for this post, Jenny! I really love the behind the scenes view – amazed at the size of the team, and how everything still came across as so incredibly, genuinely YOU (and encouraging to know that you weren’t doing it all YOURSELF!). I have been following lots of on-line marketing “experts/gurus” for the past year or so, and have gotten pretty tired of the formulaic, full of hype, launch sequence that seem to be everywhere. I have come to value your heart-felt, actionable, no BS advice and your honesty, transparency, and generosity above all others.
I also love that you are willing to express your own opinions (ones you have seen proven to work time and time again) even when it is counter to most “experts” out there – such as offer BSO rather than a high priced package, build a 1-1 practice first rather than trying to launch with group programs, don’t needlessly spend money on marking up front, slow and steady wins the race, etc. All such valuable, sound, and most importantly, DO-ABLE advice.
We weren’t able to take advantage of MIWO this time, and I have had serious withdrawals from my daily doses of Jenny – another reason today’s post is especially appreciated! I want to sincerely thank you, your team, and your personal support system (family and friends) for all of the supremely valuable content and especially for the caring, on-the-spot coaching provided during the 4 week free training. I hope to join you on the “inside” on the next go around, and wish everyone in MIWO abundant success and happiness!
Thank you for that powerful post, Jenny. To be so challenged and move on is what motivates people. You are exceptional in this line of work, with a great team working with you. Just love reading all your posts because they totally challenge me!
Jenny always perfect timing. My two biggest take aways are to take the next step in front of me. I am getting ready for a launch but for a nice simple starting from where I am launch.
I like that you speak to looking at others who are steps ahead and launching from where you are not skipping over to where they are (even if you don’t like it).
Thank you so much for your kind words, Irena!! I’m glad to know you!
Jenny, Congratulations! One of the things that I love about working with someone who walks there talk is that I continue to learn because they are out there doing what they are teaching me to do. I loved your program. (I was in the September, 2015 class!) It was intense and my BSO was a huge learning curve for me! HUGE. I am in full agreement with the one:one to concentrate on as I grow my business. I have a group course that I offered for the first time in September. And, I offered it again in February 1. It was because I love the online class and because I needed to launches to figure out how to proceed. I am proceeding by focusing on the one:one. I am going to bring my group program out again. I have no plans or dates. I am wondering about having 50 in a class. I would love that! How will you be managing the phone calls? That is something I think about as I grow my business. Thank you so much and congratulations, again!
It was such a delight to work with you, Katie. Your optimism and positivity were purely inspirational!
You asked such a great question about moving MIWO to 50 people. There’s so much I changed to make it happen. In short, I separated homework review and feedback from the coaching calls.
I still review everyone’s homework thoroughly; then I create a short video review with the highlights of what people did well and common mistakes people made — so everyone can learn without walking through every single assignment.
Now the coaching calls are focused on those questions you simply can only answer well on the phone. Also, I added so many new checklists and resources so that the homework is even better before it gets to me.
You know me, I’m always looking for ways to make things better for everyone, and I’m stoked about the program improvements this time. (Watch for new program access coming soon for you, too!)
xo
Jenny! Thank you so much. I appreciate that. I love your thoroughness and thoughtfulness. WOW! New program access….WHOOPIE! Thank you!!!!
Hi Jenny,
You read my mind! This was totally the behind the scenes nitty gritty that I wanted to know after your recent launch. Thank you for sharing it 🙂
The transparency around 1:1 work being so valuable and the benefits of “starting where you are” were my biggest take-aways. Oh, I also really appreciate knowing all the support people you had and the ballpark figure of what something like this costs. And one more, the importance and value of persistence and perfecting. Ok, tons of great takeaways from this post, I could keep going 🙂
One last question, I was also wondering how many people actually convert to paying clients after such an awesome and extensive free offering?
Thanks for all you do!
Eileen
I’m so happy when I deliver what everyone wants! (Please tell me what else you want to know because I’ll do what I can to make it happen!)
You ask such a great question about conversion rates. This is a learning curve for me, so I can’t speak at all to a “statistical norm.” I also think it depends a ton on the price of a program. The rule of thumb is that 1-3% of your list (or in this case, free training program participation) will convert into a paying client. Of course, the parentage is on the low end for more expensive programs, and higher for lower priced programs. I’d say that mine was right in that expected window.
This is another reason why I suggest people not focus on selling products because 1% of a list of 1000 is only 10! And if your product is $99, then that’s $1000… not enough to pay rent if you’re counting on it — especially if you can only launch a few times a year.
Thanks for asking questions, and please keep asking! The more you all tell me what you want to know, the more I can do exactly that! 🙂
Many of the comments have said much of what I wanted to say and ask. I loved your answers because they were so full and I learned even more. I’ve had my eye on working with you since I first encountered you about 18 months ago. I love the elegance and leanness of your system and also its generosity. It is all of that.
One of the bonuses of working with you is to be close to the way you work and offered glimpses behind the curtain. I believe that it matters who you’re hanging with and hanging with you and the people you’ve attracted into MIWO is a gift. Thank you for modeling how to work with intelligence, integrity and transparency. Looking so forward to this. Thanks, Jenny.
Thank you, Jan! I’m honored to be working with you as well, and the amazing group we have in MIWO this time. (They’re always awesome!) It’s invaluable to surround yourself with people who love what they do and are committed to making their lives better and the lives of others better as well. <3
Jenny – this post (your honestly and transparency) is exactly why I follow your blog. That is why I´ve worked with you and why I´ll continue to keep up with what´s next. You´re consistently reminding business owners that “predictably boring” success is more sustainable than the “hype.”
Thanks, Sundae! It’s women like you — who value things like transparency and sustainability — that motivate me to do this work and write posts like this! xo
Love this Jenny! Thank you for smacking down the ‘not enoughness’ many of us feel when starting out on our own with limited bandwidth – so great to see the faces of your team. This is really timely for me as I’m in the middle of launching my Burnout to Balance program for the first time which I’m doing precisely to get paid in experience and to give myself the creative space to develop the next iteration of my vision, message, and 1-on-1 work (following your advice of giving myself the space for ‘following the fun’). This post helped me be ok with the fact that maybe no one will buy and that it’s ok and normal 🙂 It also puts my mind at ease for not spending moolah on bandwidth prematurely on stuff like FB ads.
I’m so glad it smacked that down for you, Catarina! The stuff we see “the experts” doing isn’t pulled off by them and a VA alone; I can only imagine the size of those teams!
I LOVE that you’re embracing getting paid in experience, because with that attitude you can only win!! Yes, no matter what happens, I PROMISE you’ll learn something valuable for your business. You don’t need signups or money to teach you what you need to know next. (And of course remember that our MIWO group is there to help you troubleshoot along the way if you need it.)
Best of luck with your launch, and glad to hear you’re saving yourself from spending $$ on Facebook ads! (More on that next week!)
Hi Jenny, such honest is refreshing to read.
You spelled it out well – buying success and having no idea what works for their people. Not spending time to learn the nitty gritty details of the business.
I am surprised of how many people were or are involved in launching MIWO.
My take away is – success can not be bought, it’s high priority to get to know my clients so I can nail it when I am blogging, advertising, creating free content and the sales copy.
My questions are:
1. How did you asemble your team?
2. Did anyone get fired for one reason or another?
3. What did you do when you felt that someone in the team was not on point with your dream? Or was there no such a thing?
4. Were they all paid or volunteer?
Finally, Brava!! Congratulations for your hard work. I am grateful that you worked so hard to help people like me fullfil my dream. Thank you Jenny and team!!
Interesting questions!
As far as how I assembled my team: slowly and deliberately (just like how I do almost everything!) One person at a time when the next hiring step felt right.
Thankfully I have been super lucky with my hires. No firing. However, there have been times when what I once needed was no longer needed, so I didn’t keep working with someone, but that’s different than firing. 🙂
I had a lot of experience managing a team from my previous corporate career, and I know myself and what I need from a team really well. I know how I work best and what styles are going to jive with me; I seek out those people because we’ll both have a better working relationship as a result.
These are all paid team members. Most of the launch expenses were me paying them!
P.S. THEY ROCK HARD CORE. LOVE THEM ALL and so grateful for all that they allow me to do with my clients <3
What an insightful post, Jenny, thank-you, as always. I’ve been slowly developing a couple of group programs that I want to launch over the course of the next year, but certainly your thoughts on that here give me a bit of pause – the coaching side of my biz is new (I’m also a doula, and I’ve been at that for 8 years) and I probably need to continue to develop that. I’m excited to have started interviewing women about a particular life experience that I’m noticing many (if not most) of my clients experience, and I am learning so much. My original intent was to use the information I learned to create a group program, but doing this has really opened my eyes to how much more deeply knowledgeable I can become about my target audience. I’m finding out what “their words” are to describe themselves!!
Anyways, particularly in the B-School fever right now, your wise words about launching and group programs here are very grounding for a new business owner!
So glad to cause a pause for you, Jessie.
Here is a post that might interest you: https://jennyshih.com/2014/10/surprising-business-model-idea-predictably-boring-vs-big-drama/
And a short video as well: https://www.facebook.com/jennyshihpage/videos/vb.176462572441232/953576294729852/?type=2&theater
Hope these help, too!
Oh Jenny…before I get into the business part, I have to say that the VERY best part of this blog is that you are now recovering from Lyme disease and getting better. I am so happy to hear this. Ok…business…YOU ROCK!!!!!!! Thank you for sharing your process so openly. I’m in the middle of working on clearing out 148 emails and have detoured to read your post and even clicked on one of the links and read that post ( even though I’m behind…was even behind on an email from you…sorry ) because you give us such darn good information. I did resist clicking on your other 5 links in the second blog I read because I’ve got to get back to my emails and focus but had to say thank you. For all those who haven’t yet signed up for one of Jenny’s programs, DO. You will love the business transformation that occurs. Hugs Karen
Thanks, Karen! I have always loved and appreciated your positivity and kindness. Thanks for sharing that here!
Great post Jenny!
I love how you are being transparent and honest, and including information about your team and everything. It’s great to hear I’m not the only person on earth who gets stressed up about business stuff (I know I’m not, but sometimes it’s easy to forget). It is so cool for you to admit that you aren’t sure if launches are worth it, yet you will still do it again. It has that feeling of experimenting and not being afraid of failures, which I really admire and try to do myself. Thank you!
Thanks for this, Mervi. I really enjoy sharing the behind-the-scenes truth to business because it’s otherwise impossible to know what’s *really* going on in anyone’s business. And it’s so useful for those who are a few steps behind and looking to keep going.
Thanks for being here!
Hi, Jenny,
I’d love to get Erika and Katie’s info, if they’re available to work for others, too. Thanks! 🙂
You can find them at heybosslady.com!
Thanks!
Holy Moly. I have never read such an honest account of the behind the scenes story before. What an eye-opener on so many levels Jenny. Thank you so very much
Char
You’re welcome! I’m thrilled you found it useful for you and your business. I know how much I love the behind-the-scenes posts from those further along in business.
I always thought that in order to have any one know about your business, whether it is service or product based, a launch of some kind was required. Thanks for taking that enormous giant off my shoulders. It is nice that you give such recognition to your team and that you are so transparent about things in regards to running a successful business. It lets people know just who they are dealing with and that brings a comfort level unlike anything else in the business realm.
With so much talent on your team, I have to ask where did you find them and how did you vet them? Forgive me if those were asked and answered already.
I’m so glad I could cut through the noise and BS for you and simplify the business-building process into one that not only feels doable but will also get results!
I am a huge fan of slow, organic growth. It’s not for everyone, but I only hire what I need when I need it, one person at a time. I know the qualities of the person and then the skills are secondary. Not everyone works out, but the best ones stick around—and we have a mutual love affair 🙂