Behind The Scenes Monthly Updates, Behind The Scenes Strategy

October 2021 Behind The Scenes Update

Welcome to an honest look behind the scenes of my business (including what I did, money & feelings) for the month of October 2021.

Welcome to My Behind-the-scenes Updates

This is where I get honest about what’s been going on, how I earned my money, and how I’ve been feeling about everything in my business for the past month. Click here to read my September 2021 update, where I wrote about being fully booked, confidence in my work and almost best months.

NOTE: I also semi-regularly go live in my Facebook group, The Inside, to give a completely honest look at what’s going on. Click here to join the group, as I’ll be going even deeper in there on some aspect of this post.

*Affiliate Disclosure: It’s highly likely that this post contains affiliate links, meaning I’ll be compensated if you go on to buy after clicking. I only ever recommend things I’ve personally used and stand by, and I’ll mark them with an asterisk.

What I Did & How I Felt In October

(1) I had a “bad” launch

I’ve got to be honest with you, I was disappointed with the results of my last launch! I had a goal for how many people I wanted to welcome in, and I didn’t meet it. But I am not worried at all about sharing that for a few reasons:

(a) I’m so glad I’ve set my business up so that it doesn’t rely on any one launch being a huge success in order to bring in the money. Despite my launch not going great (and of course, I still had feelings about that!) I still had my third best month this year thanks to my ongoing clients and sales of my courses. The ecosystem is working its magic! (AND know that I’ve had launches in the past where I didn’t have all this other income coming in, so know that I see you and feel you if that’s where you are, but it won’t always be that way)

(b) I want you to know that you don’t have to have huge launches to have a successful business. I’ve been earning good money from this business for two years now without having a five-figure launch until earlier this year (you can still make 5-figure months without 5-figure launches!). And having a launch “flop” does not mean your whole business is a failure. As I shared with my REST & Rise group earlier this week, the results of any given launch, month or even year in my business do not change the overall vision. I’m still on track towards the bigger goals. And all the failures I have had along the way have led me here, and all the failures this year will lead me somewhere else.

(c) I just want to normalise talking about failure. I actually don’t see this as a failure, I still made an amount of money that past me would have been thrilled with, I still get to do my work with new humans, I have the benefit of experience that has shown me time and time again that every launch sows a seed, but I was definitely disappointed at first. And these feelings are a normal part of the journey. You feel the feelings, you learn the lessons, you get back up and do it all over again. That’s how it works!

(2) I ran an incredible free course

I need to share the other side of the story of my “bad” launch: the fact that I ran an incredible free course – The 5 Pillars of Profit for Sensitive Business Owners. It was based on the free challenge I did back in May, except back then I found it hard. In short, it was a whole new way of talking about things in my business, so it was normal that I felt all of the feelings. Fast forward to now, I decided to turn it into a more structured free course and I felt so, so confident in what I was delivering.

If you missed it, I’ll be releasing it as a paid programme soon(ish). It was such a good exercise in condensing basically my entire business philosophy into 5 powerful lessons and workbooks. Not to mention the connections I made and the powerful conversations I had with people who took part. The thing about free challenges/ courses is that they can feel energetically draining as a sensitive human, but they also get to be so powerful, fun and transformative for everyone involved (which I talk more about in my Grow With Challenges course).

“You hear of people talking about courses as ‘life changing’ experiences but this really WAS one of those” ~ Shuna

I mean… this is just the best feedback I could have gotten. I am proud of myself for what I have created, and what I have yet to create. I am grateful I get to make an impact with my people. And I have no doubt that, in time, I’ll be working more deeply with several humans from this free course.

(3) I felt “the nudge”

I often talk about feeling an inner “nudge” in business. When you just get a feeling that you need to raise your prices, create something new or go in a different direction. Towards the end of the month I had 2 clear “nudges”:

(1) I need to connect back with myself. I had been so focused on creating for the free course and, while I’m glad I did, I lost a little of the connection that I know leads to magic happening within and outside of my business. So self-connection is the theme for this month. And it’s kind of fitting, because behind the scenes I’m also finally putting together the training for my Connected Content Method. I shared a small part of this in my recent training series, and people loved it. So watch this space, because it’ll be priced much lower for the early sign ups.

(2) I need to raise my prices. I’ve already made a start with this, but the nudge was telling me loud and clear that I’ve been holding back from a place of fear. I’ll record a whole podcast episode on this topic for the upcoming season, but just know that everyone has fears around raising their prices. Sometimes fear is just fear, sometimes you’re not yet aligned to it and it’s not the right time. But I know in my gut that it’s the right time for me. The vision I have for my business means a fair exchange for the work I’m delivering, and I know that some of my courses and offerings are just way too cheap right now. So I’ll be raising them soon once I figure it out logistically (feel free to sneak in at current prices before I do!)

How I Made My Money In October

Here were my main income streams for the month:

And here were the tools I used to help me make that money:
(Send me a message if you buy Thrivecart through my link and I’ll give you a bonus!)

  • ThriveCart* shopping cart & for client payment plans (I LOVE this!)
  • Podia* to deliver all my courses & “The Library” for 1:1 and group clients
  • ConvertBox* for basic funnels
  • ConvertKit* email marketing provider
  • Deadline Funnel* for my automated funnels with time limits
  • LeadPages* for my lovely looking landing pages
  • Paperform* for all my forms
  • The Tabwoo* not a tool but my amazing coaching certification

Content I Created In October

Behind the scenes: I was busy working on rebranding & relaunching my podcast, which is back from 18th November, and editing my book (hoping for an early 2022 release). I also turned my guide to launch journalling into a really powerful mini course – I’ll be putting it up for sale soon at a very affordable price, so watch this space!

In public:

Coming Up Next…

I’m going through a shift in my business, I can feel it, and I even feel like my “bad” launch was further evidence of this happening. My prices are going up, my message is getting deeper and bolder, and November is really a month of connection to myself. I’ll be launching my new Connected Content training (in the same way I’ve launched my other courses – you’ll get the very best deal when you sign up immediately before I flesh it out into a meatier course), and I’m committed to absolutely practicing what I preach. And I know that magic happens when I do 😉 Not forgetting the newly-rebranded Quietly Ambitious podcast starting again on November 18th. I’m excited!

Ruth

uk • introvert & hsp • writer, podcaster, qualified coach & mentor • honouring feelings, strategy & REST • lover of honest conversations, 90s music, & plants

One thought on “October 2021 Behind The Scenes Update”

  1. Shuna Marr says:

    Another way it wasn’t a failure, Ruth … you thrilled a lot of people and gave them solid value and created a LOT of goodwill towards you. Many of us were very new to you but are now in your circle. We will sit in your ecosystem and eventually the perfect timing and product will fall into place for us to move into purchaser mode. You may not have received instant response, but you made a sound investment in your future affluence. I say this because my launch the week afterwards wasn’t a huge launch either – but I know that I created the goodwill and added hundreds more to my email list. I know I connected with hearts and helped people – just as you did – and the abundance and service we send out will come back to us in divine timing.

    Reply

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