SO YOU WANT TO START AN ONLINE BUSINESS...
You’re either thinking about it, or have tried starting already, but for whatever reason it hasn’t worked out how you would have liked - YET.
Maybe you want to be a coach or a consultant or maybe you haven't decided yet.
Probably your job, if you are still in it, is at best frustrating because you know you are capable of so much more, and is at worst driving you crazy.
You want control over your days, your income and what work you do.
You want location independence, financial independence and time independence.
Yet there appear to be so many pitfalls when starting your own business.
Let’s be honest, none of us were born knowing this stuff.
Just as we had to figure out the work world we need to figure out the business world.
And more than likely you are experiencing a very real fear that this idea you have may not work.
You are faced with choosing an unknown path, which is a difficult choice to make because you don’t know the way yet.
While your current work situation may not be ideal, at least it is familiar!
Plus it feels like there is so much to do and learn...
“I’ve been downloading all the checklists and PDFs and watching all the webinars. All I need to do now is start my FB page, create a webinar, start blogging, get myself on snap chat, plus then create some offers, don’t forget about premium packages and then what about sales funnels ARGHH!”
If you’ve managed to make headway on that giant to do list you’re likely wondering – “well I’ve been doing all the things – why isn’t it working!?!”
Maybe you’ve had the odd sale here or there but it hasn’t been at the price point you wanted and certainly not in the numbers you wanted.
Yet the vision of a different life is there
Tempting you.
Telling you that you can do it...
Because you CAN.
YOU CAN DO IT.
But in order to get to that place you have to sort through the hype and one-sided perspectives out there.
HERE ARE JUST A FEW REASONS WHY THE APPROACH I TAKE IS DIFFERENT
| THEY | CAT LEBLANC |
|---|---|
| Force you down a very narrow version of success. | I have a framework so that you can build a business as individual as you are. |
| That looks like: | That looks like: |
|
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| Only know how to create identical 'copycat' businesses | Every client is different and wants something different, so we build what makes sense for them. |
| Have mass market products with no individualization If you like being one of a thousand faces in a crowded and overwhelming Facebook group - this is for you. | I know who my clients are Because let's be realistic, how am I supposed to tailor my strategic advice for you if I don't know who you are?! All my programs are highly supported and I guide you as an individual |
| Provide 'Information Collections' & Adhoc Tactics Have you noticed how when you collect more information it doesn't actually help? You just get even more overwhelmed. This works exactly the same in a lot of paid programs.What you need isn't yet more information, or even just one persons curated information, you need a system that gets you to actually get the work done so you HAVE a business. | I have a fully built out implementation system to follow that produces results while allowing flexibility Everything I create is designed to be fully step by step where each piece builds on the last, with allowance for iteration built in, so you can follow the process, as an individual, and get results. I have these from Starter Level right through to CEO Level - see The Online Business Growth Ladder below. |
THE ONLINE BUSINESS GROWTH LADDER
This is what the path ahead looks like in your freedom-based business:
Here are the stages, and while you are reading, see where you are on the ladder:
The Dreamer:
- You’ve known you want to be your own boss for a long time.
- You may even have had a few unsuccessful attempts already or got to a certain point and then stopped.
- You know it’s possible – but you haven’t had a real, serious go at starting the right business for you yet.
At this stage you haven’t fully committed to yourself and your future freedom that this is going to happen.
The key for you here is to commit to starting. You can only make progress on this journey if you move to the Starter Level. For more info check out Zero To Paying Clients - The Masterclass
The Starter:
This is where you:
- Make decisions on your idea and the type of business you are running.
- Set up your messaging.
- Create a bare-bones version of your offers
- Test out your offers on the market
- Decide on your marketing strategies moving forward
Here you can earn up to around $3k a month and your focus in on set up.
The Hustler:
You're well on the way.
- You are out there getting clients
- Honing your craft
- Working on tweaking your offers and sales process
You are working the system you set up in The Starter Level.
If you have a solid niche, know how to communicate why people should work with you, and have great offers you can work on getting leads and sales.
The emphasis here is to keep doing the work to get sales.
Refine refine refine.
The issue here is most people don’t do the Starter Level well. What they don’t realize is that the better your work is in the starter level, the easier it is to find clients that want to work with you.
Here you can earn up to around $10k a month.
Once you are consistently getting clients you move into the Pro Level.
The Pro:
This is where you:
- Have a reliable stream of clients
- Starting to outsource more
- Ready to scale
You’ve made it! Things are pretty stable. You can be earning anything from $10k to $30k a month.
Some people make it to this stage within 6 months but more likely you are looking at a period of a year or more. This is because there is a significant learning curve to being a successful business owner.
Here you focus is on systems.
You can absolutely stay here comfortably FOREVER.
If you’re game, and you may well find when you get here you are, next is The CEO Level.
The CEO:
- Your business is fully systemized
- You have leveraged revenue streams
- You are stepping into the role of a leader of a CEO
Here you likely have a small team, you have several revenue streams and likely almost all of them are leveraged in some way.
Your monthly revenue could be anything from $30k+ a month.
You are stepping into the role of a leader or a CEO.
YOUR 3 SUCCESS FACTORS
What does your success depend on?
It depends on three Success Factors: Your Drive, Business Strategy & Mental Flexibility
Success Factor 1 - Your Drive
I think this is different from “being motivated”. You have to know deep inside yourself that you want to be an entrepreneur and do meaningful work.
If you have that drive inside yourself you’ll keep going when you experience temporary set backs. You’ll learn new strategies when what you did so far doesn’t work.
Without drive at some point you won’t find it important enough to do the work. Life will take over. And no one can give you that. Drive comes from within.
I hope, given that you are researching and reading this page, that you are bringing this to the table.
Success Factor 2 - Your Business Strategy
So you have drive, but how do you direct it? That is where Business Strategy comes in.
People can underestimate this piece because they feel like “Hey, I’ve gotten this far in life I’m sure I can work this out!”
Generally people that back themselves to start their own business have been at least fairly successful in whatever they did until this point so they can feel over confident going in.
Honestly though in my personal experience, my experience with clients and what I see happening in the marketplace, business is a different beast.
It becomes different when you are directly asking for money for something you’ll be delivering.
You aren't going to be able to wing it. You need strategic guidance from a professional.
Success Factor 3 - Your Mental Flexibility
Once you know what you should be doing to get started what else is there?
The other really important piece is mental flexibility.
By mental flexibility I mean the ability to pick yourself up, reflect and move ahead even if something doesn’t go your way.
Carol Dweck, who was instrumental in the study of mindset called this a Growth Mindset. Carol says:
“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point.
In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits.”
This idea of how you think about your own abilities is crucial.
Are your prepared to pick yourself up if the first iteration doesn't quite work? Are you prepared to find new ways to reach your goals?
The drive provides the fuel, the strategy is the road map but your brain is the engine here, and we need it to be working for you rather than against you.
THE RIGHT BUSINESS STRATEGY
When most people talk about business strategy what they are really talking about is marketing.
Here's the truth though:
Without a solid business foundation or an idea that is going to work marketing is completely useless.
Marketing turns the customer tap on, but you need to be have something solid to catch them with.
If you're holding a sieve your marketing dollars are wasted.
Your Business Strategy Needs To Cover 'The Money Three' Not JUST Marketing
A business needs a 1) solid foundation, 2) a mechanism by which to make sales and 3) lead generation (Marketing).
If you just do marketing you are holding a leaky sieve.
If you create a solid foundation and have a mechanism to make sales, THEN you turn on the marketing (lead generation) people will find your business, be interested in what you have and a proportion of them will become clients.
Rather than you thinking your marketing isn't working so you had better do more marketing and then ending up in a vicious 'must do more marketing' circle.
HERE'S HOW TO START TO YOUR BUSINESS
What you need to do to start is to decide on a business idea and put together a concept to test.
An idea concept – this is your business foundation, but a trial version of it.
- A niche
- The messaging around the niche (why you are different)
- Solid offers with the right pricing
Then you take it to market, without investing a ton of money and find out if it's really going to work and if it feels like the right business for you.
If it doesn’t feel quite right you make adjustments until it does.
It's like putting together an outfit.
We can imagine that those shoes and that dress will look great together but it's only when you've got them on that you know.
I take the same approach with business. You try it on, see if you like it and it feels good and the customers like it. If we need to change anything we do. Before we've paid the cashier, walked out the store door and driven all the way home.
This is what enables me to get results so quickly. We stay flexible.
Instead of deciding on a business idea and then spending months building a website, printing business cards etc only to find out it didn’t quite land, we find out first.
This test concept can work first time.
Sometimes it needs adjustment, either the angle we are taking needs tweaking or the offer needs to be changed or maybe it might need a slightly different audience.
Either way we adjust until we get it right. Instead of the traditional approach of spending months building only to discover it's not working and then be out of money, time and enthusiasm for the entire thing.
Instead you give youself some breathing room and take a flexible approach.
Then you can get a foot hold and start moving up The Online Business Growth Ladder
THE SHORT VERSION OF HOW I GOT HERE
I grew up in England wanting to learn languages, travel, and be free.
All I wanted to do was surround myself with great people, enjoy an adventure-filled life and feel like I was on holiday all the time. I absolutely do not believe in fifty weeks of working yourself into the ground and two weeks off a year.
Initially I was a part of the corporate world. After studying Economics at University I decided to work in IT. I moved to Germany, where I made amazing friends, had a beautiful apartment built, six weeks holiday a year and lots of that sought after freedom to explore and travel.
But I hated doing work I didn’t care about.
Clearly something had to change.
I emigrated to Australia, where I was inspired to start my own business and with that inspiration I quit my job and dove into the most intense learning phase of my life.
I built my first successful business within six months. From idea to first sale took three months, but in my hurry to get started I made a classic newbie error – I didn’t truly consider whether the business I had chosen would make me happy.
As a now more experienced entrepreneur I spend my working days guiding future entrepreneurs through the creative process of brainstorming ideas, validating and building and growing businesses that support the amazing lives they want to live.
And do I feel like I am on holiday most of the time? Absolutely!
I fulfilled a childhood dream of owning a house in the jungle and I can see parrots from my lounge room window. I have a wonderful partner and we spend our weekends going for exploring, cooking up a storm, and sipping drinks in our deck surrounded by tropical ferns thinking how good is this?
It is pretty good, but what I really like is working in a field that genuinely helps people achieve their dreams. I love getting into the nitty gritty, uncovering exciting plans, turning confusion into clarity and moving those dreams step by step closer to reality.
For me there really is nothing more satisfying.
MY STRATEGIC AND GENUINE APPROACH HAS ATTRACTED INDUSTRY PRAISE AND HAPPY CLIENTS
"Cat is a visionary coach who helps her clients uncover their profitable business idea. With Cat’s help, you’ll be thinking bigger, getting into consistent action, and finally launching that successful business you’ve always dreamed of."
Selena Soo
/ Business & Publicity Strategist
"The guidance she gave me was so spot on that it made it easy to simply follow her suggestions and now we are moving really fast in the direction of my dreams. In fact we were able to secure clients for my new venture within a week."
Patricia Tallman / Actor
"Step by step she helped me unpack all of the muddle in my head to figure out what I was really passionate about. I’ve now quit my day job and I’m now totally working from home and absolutely loving it. I’ve had a 700% return on investment on working with Cat."
Lisa Maria / Creative Coach
"Because the foundational blocks were set while working with Cat, I was able to pick up clients almost immediately online and only a handful of months later celebrated my first $15k month!"
Lyndsey Brent
/ Sales Strategist
"I had my first $5,000 month, launched my 100% online program (with 5 paid clients) and tripled my private coaching rates. Plus, she’s a lot of fun to work with, while still being extremely effective!”
Katy Flatau
/ Career Coach
"Six months after working with Cat I’d quit my job and was able to live on the income from my business. It’s been 9 months since that time and I’m still working for myself, have multiple clients on the books and am working from home."
Nikki Boer
/ Content Creator
See more client results here
YOUR FREEDOM - IT MATTERS
I believe your freedom matters.
Your ability to control your own destiny and not be a cog in the machine matters.
I want that for you, just as I wanted it for me.
So you can decide when, where and how you making a living and how you live your live.
Want to know how to create an income on your own terms?
Join the Zero To Paying Clients Masterclass
and we'll make a plan to get you started.
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