Episode 01: How to Scale Your Revenue Without Fancy Tools

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the passion to profit show, where we talk about how to scale your passionate business into a profitable empire. I’m Tiffany Barry, a marketing expert and relationship marketing enthusiast. Join me for 20 minutes or less every week to talk about business, scaling up CEO, mindset, freedom and flexibility for entrepreneurs level up to six and seven figures. Let’s get started. Welcome to this week’s show today. I want to talk about one of the most important decisions you’ll make as an entrepreneur, and that’s how you want to scale your revenue and win. So for some business owners, the choice to scale up comes at a time when they’re expanding their streams of revenue. Um, for others, they decide to scale up when their one-on-one services are booked out. And when you decide to scale up is going to be very dependent on you and your business and what you need.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
And some of the things I suggest you can it, or if this is the place that you’re at, this, this kind of place where you’re figuring out how you’re going to scale up and when you’re gonna really push and put that energy into it. I think about your lifestyle. Think about what you need, think about what you want, your family, all of that stuff, because one of my self-proclaimed biggest mistakes and I’m a fan of making lots of mistakes. Okay. Y’all um, one of my biggest mistakes is I scaled up my marketing agency. Huge. We had, um, you know, I think at the largest, we were billing out 30 between 20 and $35,000 a in invoices. Um, and this was done for you service invoices. So while that sounds really big at the same time, um, my paycheck wasn’t much different from when I was on my own.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yes, still six figures. That’s nice. Um, but I was very payroll heavy and I was noticing that as my business was scaling, I was, my, my workload was scaling up. My income was not. And the freedom and flexibility that I had was way down my happiness was way down. And so I made some huge shifts when I decided to scale up my business from there and redesign how our agency works, um, rebranded, uh, expanded our coaching program. And so a big factor for me on that journey was what do I need? What, what do I want, what were the things I need? I wanted in my life and in my business that really inspired me to start my business. What were the things that I had been looking for? And I realized that I didn’t have any of those things anymore. So how you scale and when you scale is gonna be really dependent on how your business runs and is it aligning

Speaker 1 (02:59):
With what you need in your life? What, what does your family need? If you have children? I know a lot of us are building our businesses around having our children home with us, or at least having the flexibility to be home with them. And, and we’re building around family and freedom and flexibility and all these things that we’re seeking that we feel like have, have been shut. We’ve been shut out of by staying in the corporate world. And, and I know several entrepreneurs have never really been in the corporate world and, and, you know, they knew straight out of high school or college or, or whatever, as they were entering adulthood, that this is what they wanted. So now, no matter which path you’re on, I mentioned, you know, for some people when you’re scaling up, it’s, it’s, it comes at a time when you’re expanding your streams of revenue.

Speaker 1 (03:48):
And you’re looking at, you know, how many hours you have. If you have a one-on-one coaching program, if it’s a done for you service, you can only take on so many clients. So adding on a scale, scaling up and adding on some kind of stream of revenue, um, might be how you’re scaling up now for others. It’s, you know, when your one-on-one services are completely booked out. So no matter which path you’re on, the questions that immediately follow are often, okay, how do I do this? How do I scale up? What kind of program or revenue stream should I offer? How do I deliver it? And how do I find people who actually need it? And I am a huge fan of keeping it simple. Okay. Because I have a couple reasons, one simple is just easier to maintain. And when you’re scaling up your revenue, you probably are be maxed out on hours, or you’re looking to add onto your business in a way that doesn’t add hours, right?

Speaker 1 (04:46):
So we wanna keep it simple because that’s the best way to keep from adding a ton of hours to your plate. You’re busy, right? You don’t have time for that. And, and you might not want that. You might not want to max yourself out. Right. Um, now the other reason why I’m a huge fan of keeping it simple is success rates. You know, we know that a very small percentage of people who buy courses actually finish them. And of those who finish, then you have an even smaller percent of that, who we implement, what they’ve learned. And so when we think of ways that we’re going to impact people’s lives, we wanna be doing it in a way that not just focuses on the impact that this additional stream of revenue, this scaling up process has on our, a business, but also on the people that we’re helping, cuz that’s why we’re in business, right?

Speaker 1 (05:46):
We’re in business to help and serve people to share something beautiful inside of us that comes easy to us. Or maybe we’ve learned, um, you know, a valuable skill that feels easy. Now, someone else needs that. Right? And, and so we want to be able to have a really positive impact on their lives and so setting them, so the setting them up for success is so, so vital. So that is why I am such a huge proponent of keeping it simple. Okay. One final reason why push for simplicity is also from a financial standpoint, um, you know, we’re trying to add revenue, not add costly platforms and programs and all these things and all these bells and that are going to increase our overhead. All right. So when we talk about scaling up, we’re not gonna be trying to add a ton of hours to your schedule and we’re not gonna be trying to add a ton of overhead, a ton of expenses to your bookkeeping.

Speaker 1 (06:52):
Okay. So first thing we have to think of is what in the hell to, to create, right? Because before we even can get into the how of how we’re going to scale up, we need to actually create something. And you may have already done that. You may already have started to build some kind of program. You may even have a program or a course built out. Okay. So I, wherever you are on that spectrum, I want you to think of, think of it in terms of aligning what you’re teaching and what you’re providing with, what is the big problem in your ideal client’s life? Okay. And, and, you know, way back when I was first started marketing, um, ideal client was kind of one of the very first activities that I used to do and recommend now on it is in, in my program, it is kind of in that list of things.

Speaker 1 (07:51):
It’s one of the first things that we do, because if you’re in skyrocket profit program, you are a little more advanced. You already know a lot of these things. It’s really more about refinement, but when you’re first starting out to, you know, create something, um, I would actually work backwards. Um, and I learned this from Ashley Peregoy. Uh, she is a coach, um, owns Funnel Brew, a sales funnel company. Amazing. Um, I work with them actually. So, so, um, and she teaches the opposite. Think of where your expertise lies, think of what kind of help and, and knowledge and expertise that you have and then see who needs it work backwards. Right? So that can be a really good way to make sure that what you have built or what you are building in terms of a program, whether that’s a coaching program or group coaching program or what, however, you’re going to scale your revenue up.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
Think of, think of that, you know, work backwards to make sure that you’re in alignment between what you’ve created or are creating and who’s gonna actually need it. Who’s gonna buy it. Okay. So what that looks like, right? If you are creating that next level in your business. So if you are a Pinterest Strategist, you know, it might be creating a course on how to use Pinterest for business. If you’re a virtual assistant, it might be creating a training on setting up systems and processes for someone who’s scaling up and hiring on team members. If you’re a personal trainer that might be creating a group coaching program where you teach on things like health, nutrition, and fitness, okay. The key is to create something that your existing audience already needs. It’s the big problem they need solving, okay, this is gonna be your signature offer.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
And I am a huge fan of creating what I call value ladders. Um, if you’re familiar with market at all, you have absolutely heard of that before. But value ladder is basically you have one big overarching signature thing. That’s your high ticket, high dollar, whatever, that’s your big program, right? And then you have a series of smaller offers that step down from there going, you know, you might have, uh, a $97 or V I P day or strategy session or something. And then you might have like a $27 product, a digital product, um, a planner or something like that. And then you’ve got your freebies, right? So they kind of step into that big signature program, but we’re gonna focus on that signature program. Okay. I teach a lot more in the skyrockets profit program on how to create a value ladder, but right now I think that signature program is gonna be the most helpful for you today.

Speaker 1 (10:46):
Okay. So the benefits of creating this program, all right, let’s talk about why to do this. You’re here. You’re thinking about scaling. You may have already started. Okay. Let’s talk about why, what kind of benefits you can expect. Now I prefer a group coaching program course hybrid. Okay. And the reason I like that is I think it allows you to reach more people. Um, you can focus on showing up rather than, um, you know, trying to fill up all your hours, all your billable hours, and then you still have lead generation time and all that kind of stuff. Um, but the, the reason why I like a group coaching program is it takes that course idea and, and gives the human connection and accountability and support that people are really looking for. I think so many people who’ve bought courses are just burned out. They’re burned out because what they actually needed was support, not just the knowledge on its own and a, a group coaching program can really do that.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
But I think there’s a few ways that coaches really can do more to support their students and their communities without killing themselves without burning themselves out. Um, because you wanna have that big impact, but you still wanna have that freedom and flexibility in your own life. Right? So let’s talk about, we’ll, we’ll talk about all that kind of stuff in another episode. But for this episode, let’s focus on the benefits of creating that program. And then we’re gonna talk about the, how the, how of creating a simple program that still bangs that still gives people that huge transformation that they really need. Okay. Now, the reason why you wanna do this, these benefits of creating a program, and I’m gonna say program, cuz I specifically recommend creating some kind of a course slash coaching hybrid program. It lowers your cost of doing business, right? You need less tools and less people to support it.

Speaker 1 (12:53):
All right? And it’s a machine that scales easily. And when we’re thinking about adding a stream of revenue to our business, to scale up our revenue, we want it to be a very scalable offer. So that means you have to put in the same amount of effort to support 25 students as 2,500 students. And obviously that’s not super realistic. You’re gonna need a little bit extra, you know, accountability coaches or, or customer service helps VAs, that kind of stuff. But the gist of it is you want it to be really, really scalable. Okay. Now another benefit is that you spend less time doing those one on one task. Okay. Um, less time on those one on one task and more time helping people. And of course growing your income, all right, by adding a program to your business, part of your business is now completely evergreen.

Speaker 1 (13:49):
If you wanted to, you don’t have to live launch. You absolutely can. Um, you can be as hands on as you, but you can also set up sales funnels in a way that delivers leads and members automatically to 24 7. That’s great. Right. Um, the, the, the kind of last two benefits that I really, really wanna touch on really quickly. And then we’re gonna go into the how of this cuz that’s what you’re really here for. Right. Um, you know, high touch programs are easier when you can, um, when you can have that kind of hybrid program and not so much a one-on-one program or service, right, you can deliver a really high touch experience and support your students and bring in even additional help through, you know, partnerships with other coaches and bringing on, you know, help on your team without watering down your brand.

Speaker 1 (14:43):
Okay. Um, you can deliver a really, really high, you know, vibe experience to your clients in a, in a way that doesn’t again, add a ton of time to your, to your schedule. And that, that last, that last benefit that I really want you to focus on is that it doesn’t cannibalize, your other services, programs fit so perfectly into the value ladder offer structure that I teach in the skyrocket to profit program. And I briefly touched on that. It’s, it’s basically going, you know, think of a ladder, think of a set of stairs where the lowest rung is that that free offer. And then you step people up into your world until they’re ready to take that signature course. So let’s talk about the, how of it, how to create a high converting program. That’s super simple. Okay. So first we’re gonna talk about the strategy behind it, and then we’re gonna talk about the actual tech side.

Speaker 1 (15:45):
Okay. Now the first thing that, that I want you to think about is at most, most people who create courses or programs all struggle with the same issue they’re getting, and that is getting people to use the program they’ve invested in. Again, like I said, in the, in the beginning of this keeping things simple increases, the likelihood that the who enroll in your program will actually use it. Not only is that better for them, not only does that give you more impact in their life, but, but the more successful graduates in your program, the more walking testimonials, you have, the more referral potential that your business now has a, okay. So I want you to stop worrying about the next big system, creating super elaborate funnels. And I wanna you to focus on making your program easily accessible and high impact. We can always upgrade our systems later.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
Okay. So going into the strategy of this, you wanna make sure you’re creating a no-brainer program. Okay. These are the programs that people come across and think this is exactly what I need. That’s, you know, you want your, you want your people to be looking through your information and reading your sales page, going through your program and thinking, oh my goodness, this person, you know, this coach is a psychic they’re they’re in my head. That’s that’s, you know, that’s my philosophy on marketing in general, you know, your marketing is good when people think, oh my God, you’re a psychic. So you want your program to be that thing, right? And the best way to create something like that is to really get inside the mind of your ideal client. Now, I talk about this in depth in the skyrocket to profit program, but I’ll touch on it just a bit here too, because I think this is super important.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
and, um, and it’s, it’s, it’s not a secret. Um, so essentially you wanna make your list. You wanna make a list of the life changing things that your client needs, that your ideal client needs, and then the frustrating things that they wanna avoid. Okay. And you wanna develop and refine your program around avoiding those pitfalls, helping them avoid those pitfalls while moving them toward those life. Changing transformations, that transformation is so key to creating a program that people actually want to enroll in because those are the people that will end up becoming your biggest evangelists. Okay. And this leads me to that second piece. That’s super important. Okay. Keeping your students and engaged. This is huge because you want those people dropping your name all over social media. Whenever they see someone in need of you. Okay. So one of the best ways to keep your students happy and engaged, develop your program, uh, in a way that allows you to just simply be an authentic human up, inspire connect genuinely.

Speaker 1 (18:52):
One of the ways I like to do this is by creating a community. All right. Uh, you can do this in slack. You can do this in a Facebook group. I prefer slack. I know some do discord or boxer. Um, but you wanna make it this collaborative atmosphere. All right. Because you have all this positivity than feeding into your students. All right. Now let’s shift gears and let’s talk about the tech. Okay. We’ve talked about the strategy behind developing, or if you’ve already developed refining your program so that this additional stream of revenue is really, really going to be a huge hit with your ideal clients. Okay. So let’s shift gears and let’s talk about the actual tech side of it. You know, how to keep it simple. What platforms should we be using? So the first thing I want to do is steer you very far.

Speaker 1 (19:45):
very far away from trying to host it on your own website. Um, learning management systems, LMS, those are super heavy and all of the content of a course, especially if you have audio or video, which I highly recommend adding, uh, it doesn’t have to be super fancy. You know, we can make this work right. Um, but they can be a, they can be really bulky and really slow your site down. And what’s gonna to happen is your course will slow down your site. And if your site is slow, you’re not gonna get those sales conversions. Okay. Now I use teachable, but you can also go with something I’ve. Uh, the first coach I ever hired just had a Google drive folder. Um, I prefer something like teachable. It’s a little easier to organize things and have mixed content in there. Um, but you can also look at things like Thinkific, um, you know, basically just Google learning platforms or course platforms and find one with features that is gonna fit with what you need.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
And again, remember to keep it simple and it’s okay to be low budget at first. Okay. My teachable membership, I think is like $39 a month. Um, not huge, not a huge investment up front, and you can always upgrade to get more features down the road. Okay. Now I am a huge fan of having hybrid coaching programs, not just standalone courses and not just one-on-one or group coaching programs where people meet once a week. And it’s this kind of red Robin round table, um, event where everyone just kind of waits for their five minutes in the spot. That’s pretty much just one-on-one coaching in a group format. And it doesn’t really work well for me. So I am gonna do a whole nother episode, how to run better group coaching calls. Um, but for now let’s just focus on the community aspect and where to host it.

Speaker 1 (21:37):
You can absolutely do, you know, a Facebook group. I know that a lot of people find social media distracting. And so I prefer to use slack or discard slack to me is a little bit easier just because my ideal client or our business owners who are largely, already familiar with using slack on their internal teams. Um, so, so I use slack because it, it feels a little more natural. Um, discord is a little wonky for me. I’m, I’m not as familiar with discord. Um, so slack just feels easier and a little more professional for me. So that’s what I use. And, and, and it’s up to you, right? The biggest things is you want that community so that you can bring that coaching and accountability into your program, and that’s gonna make your program so much for successful and impactful for the people who join it.

Speaker 1 (22:40):
Okay. So quick recap on the, on the tech side of things, go with a learning management system or program like teachable, or think of it, something that’s super low key. And then when it comes to your community, use something simple. You know, you can go as, as simple as a Facebook group, or you can set up a slack channel. Um, it really is up to you, but the key here is to keep it simple, keep as keep things, um, in as, as little platforms as possible, right? We want to avoid having your students go here for community and therefore, you know, the downloads and over here for the learning modules, um, as much as you can, can do to condense and keep thinks nice and organized, that is really gonna set up your students for success. And again, successful students become your best evangelist. Okay? So if you have not already started mapping out what your, what your

Speaker 1 (23:45):
Additional stream of revenue is gonna look like, what this program is gonna be, what your course is gonna look like. These are some tips that I think will be incredibly valuable for you and, and really, really help you scale up your revenue without making a huge investment in time or money overall, that’s it for this episode of passion of profit, if you found it helpful, insightful, or just entertaining subscribe, wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. And if you’re ready to scale your business from passion to six figure profits, don’t forget to watch the free masterclass at tiffanyebarry.com/masterclass. I hope you have a week filled with big successes and beautiful mistakes, and I’ll see you next time.