How to make consistent cash in your first 1 – 3 years in business

So I recently shared this post on the Gram and it went nuts.

If you’re a ride or die member of my community – you’ll know that I love to really pull things apart and give you the lowdown on how things in business really work.

And if you’re new to these parts – hello and welcome to my brain.

So in today’s episode of the How I Do Content Podcast I’m going to go into even more detail about that post and give you the ultimate behind the scenes info you need to make consistent cash in your first 1 to 3 + years in business.

I’m also going to share the ways in which 1:1 coaching has supported me to build an incredible 6-figure business in those 3 years and how YOU can maximise your coach for years 1 to 3.

Before we dive in – I want to let you know that I currently have 3 spots available for 1:1 business coaching. This is my Biz Wizard Coaching Series where we get crystal clear on your unique business strategy (your offers, your content, your messaging, your launches) so you can build the business of your dreams. A business that showcases your unique blend of magic and that works FOR you. One that makes you money AND is fun.

So if you want one of those 3 spots – click here to lock it in.

Ok let’s get started and talk about…

Year 1

I’ve had a business coach since Day 1 in my business. I knew I wanted to get clients quickly so that meant I needed someone to guide me on how to create a strategy to attract clients from the get go.

Now I started my business as a Virtual Assistant and Social Media Manager.

So the first focus was on creating a simple core offer that solved the problems of my ideal clients – and that was they had a huge to do list and no time to get shit done, especially to create social media content.

Together my coach and I fleshed out the details of the offer, the price point and the messaging that would make the offer a full body fuck yes for my ideal clients.

And once I had that offer my focus was to create and share content that got me seen by my ideal clients and showcased the immense value I could provide their business.

I repeat – I DID NOT wait until I had my website set up before I started sharing my offer. I pretty much had my offer and started sharing the shit out of it.

I created consistently. I engaged consistently. I showed up consistently. I shared my offer consistently.

The reason why 1:1 coaching is so important in Year 1

Because I kinda had an idea of what I wanted to do, but kinda having an idea vs actually knowing what to do and how to implement it – game changer.

I didn’t spend a shitload of time going in circles trying to figure it out myself or wasting time tweaking my website. I was clear on offer and my client attraction strategy and had the support to help me get shit moving immediately.

And I had a new client signed up and paid – less than 2 weeks later.

So if you’re in year 1 of business here’s what I recommend you focus on:

• An epic offer. Yes ONE offer that solves a problem your ideal client or customer has right now
• A content strategy that helps you attract potential clients and convert them into paying clients. Pick a marketing channel (not every single one of them) where your ideal clients hang out – and show up and add value consistently. I recommend social media (specifically the Gram) in tandem with an owned marketing channel such as an email list.
• Get a business coach. Or invest in a program that teaches you how to create content OR one that teaches you how to build a stand out brand and create epic graphics. I ALWAYS recommend DIY Design My Biz by Jacqui at White Deer. You don’t have to spend all your time Googling how to do things or downloading 5000 freebies. Invest in yourself and your business and you will see the growth heaps faster than trying to do it yourself.

Year 2

Ahhhh Year 2. It began, smack bang in the middle of 2020.

Overnight I lost ALL my clients.

Which meant I was back to square 1 in terms of clients, BUT I had a strategy that I knew worked. Because I’d built a fully-booked business within 4 months of starting my business.

And I ALSO had the same business coach to support me.

So although it felt hard at the time – looking back it simply highlights the importance of a fucking rock-solid business strategy. One that you can use again and again and can tweak and improve and build on.

You need an offer, a way to attract clients and a repeatable process (aka a system to do it again and again).

Now losing all my clients overnight wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

Hear me out.

If I hadn’t freed up a shitload of my time that I’d usually spend doing done for you client work – I never would’ve launched my first digital product (The DIY Content Wizard Bundle) followed by my first online program The School of Content Wizardry.

It’s also when I moved away from VA and Social Media Management to focus on overall strategic content creation.

This is also when my streak of launches began.

My business again grew quickly in a short period. This meant I had less time so I needed to call in my first creative assistant (the magical Jessie) to help reduce my workload and make sure I was focused on income-generating tasks in my business rather than trying to do ALL of the things.

In my done for you client work, I was also working on a lot of launches. Online program launches, mastermind launches, evergreen launches, and 1:1 coaching launches. Launches that generated 5 and 6 figures plus.

I saw it ALL and became obsessed with the launch process because hello that’s my Hermione brain.

So I started to focus on my launch strategy and building that out so I could diversify my income streams, and not long after that, I had my first 5-figure launch.

And this was when everything changed for me – I learnt the power of launches in growing my community, my income AND my impact.

The reason why 1:1 coaching is so important in Year 2 

Was because it helps SO much to have someone to support you from coming up with your online program idea through to hitting that launch button. To bounce ideas off for your program modules, your launch timeline, your launch trigger, your launch content AND of course the support when you hit that mid cart messiness and want to shut up shop and burn your launch to the ground.

You have the personalised 1:1 support you can tap into at any stage.

So if you’re in year 2 of business here’s what I recommend you focus on:

• Continue to build your community. You need to be continually filling your sales funnel/pipeline with potential clients AND also nurturing the potential clients you already have in your existing community. Launches are a great way to do this 
• Look to bring on team support or outsource tasks that you don’t need to be focusing on. Remember – just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should. 
• Once you have a sales process that brings in consistent clients and cash – look to build on that. What are other ways you can support your community? My tip here is to look at your offer suite and your client/customer journey – what makes sense in terms of their next steps?
• And finally, in year 2 I invested in a copywriting coach which is easily one of the best investments I’ve ever made in my business. It helps me (still to this day) to write workloads of launch copy from sales pages to emails to social media posts aka copy that connects AND converts into paying clients. So again continue to look at areas where you want to upskill in your business. The learning never ends.

Year 3

At the start of Year 3 (which was from June 2021) I made the decision to stop taking on done for you content creation clients and instead focus on coaching and my programs.

I’m not going to lie – I was fucking shitting my pants. I was turning my back on my consistent income but I ALSO knew that to continue to grow my business, this is what I needed to do.

AND if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s how to make consistent sales and call in consistent clients.

I’ve done it again and again and again – because I have the strategy AND support to do so.

So again, not to be boring here, but each year I continue to build on what’s working and then I look at the areas for improvement and tweak and make changes.

See business can be simple – if you allow it to be simple.

For me, year 3 has meant really owning my unique blend of magic and that “hey I’m pretty fucking good at what I do”.

This looks like positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry. To do so, you need a strong (and consistent) online presence and to create the kinda content that showcases your Dumbledore-level expertise.

For me this looked like launching this podcast and pitching to be on other podcasts regularly.

Year 3 has also seen me continue to expand my team and outsource areas of my business that I don’t have time to focus on, but I know are still important for me to grow my business.

Once you start outsourcing and building your support team, you’ll find it hard to stop.

So I now have an OBM, VA, FB ads manager, Pinterest manager, podcast editor, bookkeeper, business coach, DEI coach, butt kicking coach and of course my super cute barketing manager.

This year I’ve also invested in a copywriter to write my website copy and a website designer to make my website a reflection of how magical my business really is. You heard it here – my website hasn’t changed much since I launched it in year 1…and I’ve still managed to build a 6-figure business without a fancy website. But it’s really time for an update so stay tuned when that gets rolled out soon!

In year 3 I also launched a new program focused on launching – Become a Launch Wizard which is re-launching again very soon. Jump on the waitlist HERE.

In really embracing my unique blend of magic I also realised that I’m actually a business coach.

Yes content and launching is my speciality BUT most of what I work on with my clients is overall business strategy and content and launching supports those strategies really well. I eat business strategy for breakfast. I LOVE IT! So this year I’ve started to get comfortable being uncomfortable claiming the title of “business coach”.

The reason why 1:1 coaching is so important in Year 3 

I’m pretty sure my business coach has been telling me I’m a business coach for way longer than I care to admit or remember. It was actually my friend and butt kicking coach Tracey Spencer who pointed out the very obvious to me and that’s when the penny dropped. So still in year 3 of business I need to be told the fucking obvious sometimes. I don’t feel like I’ll ever not need a coach.

So if you’re in year 3+ of business here’s what I recommend you focus on:

• Continue to grow that community. I’ve said it at every step of the way for a reason. Look at other channels you could utilise specifically paid channels such as advertising. 
• Don’t be afraid to claim what you really want and let go of anything that doesn’t serve you to achieve those goals. 
• Make sure that your business and brand is consistent across all your channels. So it might be time for a brand glow up for your website, your branding, your graphics, your photos. 
• Grow your team. If you’ve hit year 3 and you don’t have any support – you’re amazing, but come on make it easier for yourself and get some help! I know I waited far too long to call in support – I wish I’d done it sooner. 

And most importantly – dream fucking big and go all in on building a business that you love. One that makes you excited to wake up in the morning and get to work.

The secret to making consistent cash in your first 1 – 3 years in business.

As you can see it’s so important to have your business foundations in place so you can build on them year to year.

I think of business like changing gears in a car. Next level, you go up a gear. Sometimes you’ll need to slow down and change down gears, but that’s what you need to do to keep the car moving right?

Don’t be afraid to take it slow. Building a successful AND sustainable business doesn’t happen overnight – despite what you might read on social media.

And to finish – I’d be silly not to vocalise again HOW important it is to have support in your business. I’ve had the same business coach since Day 1. I’ve always had that base level of support to help me with my strategy and my mindset amongst other things. Sure I could’ve waited until I was “ready” or had more clients before I invested in that support but I know a big part of the reason I’ve been able to achieve some pretty amazing things in my first 3 years in business – is because I’ve had a coach the entire time.

You don’t get a trophy for doing everything yourself in your business. So why not make it easy for you to thrive?

If you’re a couple of years into business and you’re not seeing the growth you want or you feel like you’re continually spinning your wheels – maybe it’s time to invest in that coach you’ve been stalking on social media – you know the one you’re waiting to work with. Waiting until you feel ready, waiting until you have your shit together or waiting until you have more money.

Stop waiting.
Start taking brave, bold action.

And hand on my Ned-loving heart – I’ve never once regretted investing in a coach.

Want More?

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