Permission to create your dream business, on your terms

Today’s episode of the podcast is all about the importance of aligning your business decisions with what feels right for you, rather than conforming to industry norms or seeking validation from others.

In this episode I share my recent experience of how and why I have made decisions in my business, that goes against the advice of the online business industry.
KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

Why you need to trust your gut instincts and not be swayed by the opinions of others
How the Dream Business Club has changed over time and who it now attracts
Why I have changed my pricing structure to move away from Grandfather pricing, which is not the done thing in an online business


I'd love to know if you have an experience of going against the norm in your business, or if this episode has inspired you to do it in the future - please drop me a DM on social media and let me know!
LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE
Find out more about The Dream Business Club

Connect with Teresa on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter
Transcript
Hello and welcome to Your Dream Business Podcast with me, your host, Teresa Heath Wareing. How are you doing this week? I got lots of messages from lots of you about last week's episode and how useful it was and how you thought that, you know, the timing was perfect. I just feel like a lot of people are going through a lot of stuff at the moment, and that's why I want to do an episode on when things go hard in your life, how do you then keep going in your business?

So, I really hope if you got a chance to listen to it, it did help. If you haven't listened to it, then please go back and listen to last week's episode. I think it was quite a good one. This week I wanna talk to you about some changes I've made in the club.

And the reason I wanna tell you these changes and talk about it is because I am hopefully gonna give you permission to do what you want to do in your business regardless of what is the norm or what people expect or think, or have done it in different ways all that time. So as you know, I have an online membership or you might not know, in case you don't know. I have an online membership and it's pretty awesome.

And the membership started off, it was actually called Marketing That Converts Academy, so that when I first started back in the day, like four years ago, I've had my membership now. I, my background's marketing, my degrees in marketing and I know a lot of stuff to do with marketing. And I set up this academy, this membership in order to help small businesses with their own marketing and help them develop their businesses through marketing their businesses better.

And over the years I have changed and it has changed dramatically. I and now the club, it's called Your Dream Business Club is much more focused around business in general as well as obviously, you know, the marketing stuff is still there, but definitely focused around, you know, running a business in general, but also now includes a lot of mindset, a lot of coaching because I've developed and I've been, become a...

Today’s episode of the podcast is all about the importance of aligning your business decisions with what feels right for you, rather than conforming to industry norms or seeking validation from others.

In this episode I share my recent experience of how and why I have made decisions in my business, that goes against the advice of the online business industry.
KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

Why you need to trust your gut instincts and not be swayed by the opinions of others
How the Dream Business Club has changed over time and who it now attracts
Why I have changed my pricing structure to move away from Grandfather pricing, which is not the done thing in an online business


I'd love to know if you have an experience of going against the norm in your business, or if this episode has inspired you to do it in the future - please drop me a DM on social media and let me know!
LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE
Find out more about The Dream Business Club

Connect with Teresa on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter
Transcript
Hello and welcome to Your Dream Business Podcast with me, your host, Teresa Heath Wareing. How are you doing this week? I got lots of messages from lots of you about last week's episode and how useful it was and how you thought that, you know, the timing was perfect. I just feel like a lot of people are going through a lot of stuff at the moment, and that's why I want to do an episode on when things go hard in your life, how do you then keep going in your business?

So, I really hope if you got a chance to listen to it, it did help. If you haven't listened to it, then please go back and listen to last week's episode. I think it was quite a good one. This week I wanna talk to you about some changes I've made in the club.

And the reason I wanna tell you these changes and talk about it is because I am hopefully gonna give you permission to do what you want to do in your business regardless of what is the norm or what people expect or think, or have done it in different ways all that time. So as you know, I have an online membership or you might not know, in case you don't know. I have an online membership and it's pretty awesome.

And the membership started off, it was actually called Marketing That Converts Academy, so that when I first started back in the day, like four years ago, I've had my membership now. I, my background's marketing, my degrees in marketing and I know a lot of stuff to do with marketing. And I set up this academy, this membership in order to help small businesses with their own marketing and help them develop their businesses through marketing their businesses better.

And over the years I have changed and it has changed dramatically. I and now the club, it's called Your Dream Business Club is much more focused around business in general as well as obviously, you know, the marketing stuff is still there, but definitely focused around, you know, running a business in general, but also now includes a lot of mindset, a lot of coaching because I've developed and I've been, become a qualified coach.

And I it just now is a much more rounded product. And like I said, and I have changed, hugely in those four years. Now, I've invested and spent a lot of money on me and making sure that, you know, I'm at the top of my game and I can offer the best service I can. And when I first opened the what was called the academy, I opened the doors at $29. Right.

Which now kind of makes me smile because that feels like a million years ago. And what normally happens in the online space and what is the done thing is that you grandfather people in at the price they came in at. So if you joined on day one, which some of them did, they were given the price that it was then, and then if the price went up, they stayed on that price.

And this is a done thing for memberships. Okay, this is what is kind of the norm. This is what people do. And say, except it didn't quite sit right with me. And, and I was realizing that there was a big difference, not only in cost, because the club is now 222 a month. You know, which, when you think about 2000 a year to be coached by me is bugger all.

But that's what the, the club is. So you pay 2000 pounds, I guess if you're in pounds, it's like 2000. If your dollars, it's 2,222, for the year. And you get to be in my world and I get to coach you in a group setting as well as get access to all of the, the club stuff and the mindset calls and the content hours and the coworking and all that jazz.

But like I said, I've changed and the people that I'm attracting now have changed because when people are paying that kind of money, they take it really seriously. And so they should. I don't ever want someone to join my world and it be one of those things that they just sit and they have and they don't take action because that's no good to them, and it's no good to me.

I love seeing people take action. I love seeing that people. It can make a difference in their business if they take some steps. And I'm not saying that people came in at the lower amount, weren't doing that, but the people I'm attracting now are a different type of person. So anyway, I went away to that Mastermind when I was speaking in Nashville.

And I was talking to someone who doesn't have an online business, and they were talking about increasing pricing and all this sort of thing, and they were asking me about like what my pricing is. And, and I told 'em what the cost was and they said something about, you know, oh the number of people you got at that amount. That's really good.

And I was like, yeah, but you have to remember, not everyone is at that amount. And fyi, this is always something worth remembering when you see someone else's membership and you think, oh my God, they've got loads of members, they must be earning loads of money, not always the truth. So anyway, they were like, what do you mean the price didn't go up?

And I'm like, well, for those people they get grandfathered in and they're like, but that's mad. Like, and it started me going down this kind of route of just because I've been a loyal shopper at Tesco's doesn't mean I get 2019 prices, let's say. You know, just because you shopped somewhere doesn't mean that they grandfather in the price.

And I realized that the online space was one of the only places that did that. But yet what I offered, how I showed up, the difference I could make in people's business had changed dramatically. The cost of the club has changed dramatically, and please bear in mind it took four years to get to that point, but, It's a huge difference from day one.

So I started to think about this and think about who I was now attracting and think about the work that I was expecting people to do on their business and how I was expecting them to show up. And I just thought it wasn't sitting right, that I had people in the club who were still paying $29 a month when if anybody wanted to join, they had to come in at the higher level.

So, I gave it some thought and I literally got a list of all my members and I looked at everyone who was paying under a certain amount and it was literally the most loyal, loving people ever. Cuz obviously they've been in for a long time and I know them all personally. I know what their partners do. I know how many children they've got.

Like I literally know these people. And the decision to increased their pricing knowing there was a fair chance I was going to lose them was the worst decision ever. As in for me to have to make. It wasn't the worst decision. It was the hardest decision for me to have to make. Cuz I literally looked at these people and I was like, oh my God.

But I love them and I love them and I know them and I'm friends with them now. And they're amazing. And they're amazing. But I had to really think about I what was I trying to show with my business? How was I trying to stand out? What were the things that I was trying to do in terms of the business? And I made the decision to contact them and basically say, I have decided to increase your prices.

So basically anybody under a certain figure, were having their prices increased, not up to the 2 22 because they have been loyal and have been in for a long time, but to move them up to a higher amount. And this isn't done in the online space. People don't do this like this is unheard of. And I spoke to the lovely Cali from the membership geeks and I was like, what do you think?

And she said, your business, do what you like. And I was like, yeah, it is. And you're right. So I decided to personally emailed them and I invited them onto a call with me to say, I want to explain what's happening with the club. And I got on a call with them and I had a chat and basically said, this has been the hardest thing ever for me to do.

And I genuinely don't want to, to do this because I love you all dearly, but I know I've gotta do this for my business. And for kind of putting a line in the sand in terms of like, you know, this is where I'm at now. Like people have to pay this level to be with me. So, they all took it brilliantly and they were all very kind.

And I said to them, if you think this is a money making exercise, believe me, it's not because I knew a chunk of them would leave. I knew I would. And I had to look at that as well in the list of like who might go also in the list of, how much am I going to lose? Cuz I knew I would lose money doing this, but it just felt so much.

It felt so much more in alignment with me because it's like, no, actually to get access to me, I do cost this much now, and it is important that I align with that. So I made the very hard decision. I spoke to them all. I've emailed them, they've been coming back to me. There is a huge chunk of them who won't be staying and that's fine.

And it's not always down to a cost thing either. It's down to a, you know, I want you to show up differently. I want you to do the work. I want you to, to, you know, I want businesses that are doing X, Y, Z. So yeah, so I did that. I increased my pricing from grandfathered pricing, which is not a done thing in the online space, but I wanted to prove to them that one, it's your business.

You get to decide even when it's not the done thing. And I was doing that. And two, you've gotta do what's right for you and your dream business. And for me, that felt very much in alignment of what I was doing. So I just wanna say to you today that it is your decision. This is your business. And sometimes when we ask other people's opinions and we do things by committee, we are taking on their fears, their doubts, their mindset issues, and that potentially is impacting us.

So if something feels so right in your gut and you are like, do you know what? I've just gotta do it. I'm just gonna go and do it. Then do it. Even if it's hard, which it was. It was very hard. And over the next few weeks, I am going to be losing people outta my membership, who I love dearly and who have been with me since the very beginning, but, I know in terms of going forward, it was the right thing for me to do.

So it's your business. You get to decide. You can ask other people's opinions, but you do not have to pay any attention to them, and you can buck the trend. You don't have to do what your industry says has to be done. You don't have to do business the way that everyone else thinks you should do it. It's your business. You get to decide.

So, I just wanted to give you that really quick update and basically to say I'm doing these hard things too. I'm making these decisions that are tough and, and it's not easy, but we have to do what aligns with us and then what feels good in our world. So that is what I have done, over this last week or so, which has been incredibly tough.

But it's been, it's been a good exercise in me going, no, this is what I want for my business. These are the people I want in the club. So if you are one of those people that is ready to do some work, ready to invest in yourself, do wanna move forward, but need that accountability. No one needs another course.

And I dunno how many times I need to say this, but no one needs another course. And what we need is accountability and understanding of who we are in our business. You need to work with someone who, like me, will take into account who you are, your business, what season of life you're in, what you actually want from your world, and who will help empower you to go out there and get it, not make you feel like the only way you can succeed is being in my world.

That is not my job. My job is to empower you to know that you are doing the right thing because you've chose to do it. And to give you the tools and strategies and and mindset tactics where needed. But the idea is that my members eventually get to the point where they don't need me anymore, and that's okay.

And I did wanna come on and talk about the pricing, just because I had someone say the other week that they didn't think they could afford me and they hadn't seen that they can join the club for two grand a year, like an entire 12 months for 2000 pounds of my time. A coaching call every single month, a mindset call every single month, a content hour.

Not to mention every flipping course you can imagine, which like I said already, you don't need to, you don't need to do all these courses, but sometimes you do need to know how to do something and there's very strategic courses in there. So anyway, the club is open, it always is. I'm very, passionate about. I'm ready when you are.

So, we will make sure we link up to the show notes, but otherwise, go and check out teresaheathwareing.com/theclub. And yeah, maybe you'll come and join us. Maybe you'll start smashing your goals with us and we will be there to cheer you on. Okay? Have a great rest of your week and I'll see you next week.