EPISODE 124: Welcome to Online Business Uncovered!

Links mentioned:

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Welcome to Online Business Uncovered — the podcast for entrepreneurs ready to turn their expertise into profitable digital products, create passive income, and build a freedom-based online business.

If you’re stuck trading time for money and craving more flexibility, this episode will show you how to package your knowledge, simplify your strategy, and start generating income on autopilot.

This is your permission slip to do business differently and your roadmap to building a sustainable, scalable online income stream that gives you back your time.

Transcript

Karen [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered, the newly rebranded podcast that helps you turn your expertise into digital products, passive income and time freedom. I'm your host, Karen and This is episode 1, 2, 4. And in today's episode, I'm going behind the scenes of my rebrand, why I made the shift, and what you can expect moving forward. So if you're ready to build a business that works for you and not the other way around, then you are definitely in the right place. So let's dive in and let's get started. Welcome to Online Business Uncovered, the show that lifts the lid on what it really takes to turn your brilliance into digital products, passive income and time freedom. I am your host, Karen, an online business strategist, course creation expert and your go to for building a business that works for you and not the other way around. If you are an ambitious entrepreneur, feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or maybe you're just ready for a smarter, more sustainable way to grow, then you're in the right place.

Karen [00:01:09]:
Because each week I'll be bringing you inspiring conversations, practical strategies and step by step guidance to help you create scalable, repeatable digital products that sell even while you sleep. So if you're ready to stop trading your time for money, reclaim your time, and finally build a business that gives you the freedom that you deserve, hit subscribe, tune in every Thursday. Let's uncover what's truly possible for you, starting now. Hello and welcome. I am your host, Karen and I really do appreciate you hitting the play button to listen to today's episode. So this episode is a fresh start, it's a reintroduction and today I'm going to be taking you behind the scenes of why I've renamed and refocused this podcast and what that means for you as my listener going forward. So first up, for those of you who are new and are listening for the first time, welcome. This podcast used to be called Digitally She does it.

Karen [00:02:17]:
And for a long time that name served me and the show really well. But I think in truth, over the past year I've shifted because of the work that I do and I think working with the people that I've been working with, it's helped me to really crystallize where I want to put my focus and I was starting to feel as though the podcast name wasn't reflecting the work that I was doing. So round sort of mid year last year I made a decision that I was going to rebrand the show. It's taken a little bit of time because I wanted to choose the right name. I wanted my name to be obvious, had to be obvious, because of course, I am wanting as many people as possible to listen to what I share on this show. So I decided to call it Online Business Uncovered because essentially, that's what I do. I uncover the smart, simple, scalable ways for you to run your business using digital products that are going to work for you when you're not at your desk, giving you your time back and building a business that is going to give you that joy that you most likely started your business for. I think when we choose to start a business, I think there is an element of freedom that we are chasing.

Karen [00:03:45]:
I think as business owners and entrepreneurs, I think freedom is a really big thing. But I think also what happens is when you start running your business and you start taking on clients and then you start going networking and then you go do your marketing and then you do your finances and all the things and you wear all those hats and juggle all those plates. What can then happen is that you spend your time in juggling mode, trying to keep things afloat and actually lose sight of why you started your business in the first place. And I believe that our businesses are the vehicle that can take us to the place that we want to go to. But we just have to be super intentional as to where that destination is. And because we're juggling so we're being pulled in every which direction, we can lose sight of where that destination is. And so what I want this podcast to be is your anchor. A time for you to really think about where you are on your own business journey, what it is that you want to achieve and how you're going to achieve it, and what simple, actionable steps can you take that's actually going to move the needle in your business and get you to where you want to be.

Karen [00:05:08]:
And I think really that's the vision that I have for this podcast because I'm in the trenches with you doing this myself and I know firsthand how challenging it can be. So if you're here for the very first time, then I just want to very briefly introduce myself. So my name's Karen and I'm an online business and digital product coach, but I'm also a digital product creator as well. So I am creating products all of the time and this is something that I have integrated into my business because this is how I want to scale my business. I used to run a branding studio. When I went self employed back in 2016, I left a design agency job. So I was a graphic and web Designer. But I felt as though I wanted to take ownership over the work that I did.

Karen [00:06:08]:
I wanted that, that creative freedom, I suppose. I think that's what I was chasing. And I didn't necessarily agree with the work that we were producing in the agency. So I made the decision to go it alone and to go freelancing. I didn't plan for it, I didn't put any money aside for it. I just woke up one day, I'd had enough, and I just said to my husband, you know what, I'm going to start my business and I'm going to just see how it goes. Let's just. Let's just give it a go, make a start, see where I end up.

Karen [00:06:42]:
So that's what I did. And then in 2016, I spent the year creating websites for other entrepreneurs. And I think I was successful in getting lots of client work because of my approach, because I have a very holistic approach to whatever I do. A website should never sit in isolation, it sits in environment. So it's about looking at how that website can work for you and your business and also your brand, your branding, your identity. All of those things come into play. And I think that's why I got busy very quickly, because of I had a different take on how to develop a website and what that looked like and how that then performed. So in 2017, I then decided to launch my branding studio because that was where I thought there was a gap in the market.

Karen [00:07:38]:
So many entrepreneurs were creating these amazing websites, but they didn't have their branding, they didn't have their story nailed and they didn't have the fundamentals. And so that was what I wanted to create in my business. That's where I wanted to support my clients. So I launched Pink Lemon Branding and design on 1st September 2017. And that was what my business was for, best part of three years. And I won various awards and I worked with hundreds of clients and we did some amazing work. But then when lockdown hit, I was exhausted. I remember going to my project management tool.

Karen [00:08:20]:
I use a platform called Basecamp. And I remember I had 12, I think it was 12 or 13 projects I had on the go at that given time. And I had a team and they were supporting me with this, but all of those projects were fundamentally on my shoulders. And I think when Covid hit and the world went crazy and things start to shut down, I was just really burnt out. And I remember having conversations with clients, really challenging conversations, whereby they were putting projects on hold or they were canceling projects, or they were in that space of fear, and then their behaviors were shifting because of that place that they were in. And I remember it just being really challenging. What I had built, I felt was crumbling. I didn't have any control over my business.

Karen [00:09:16]:
The economy was changing, the world was changing, and it was so unexpected. And then I had a situation with a particular client where they then became in breach of a contract. And I then was confronted with the reality of, do I take them to court? Because they owed quite a significant amount of money. And so for the March, it was the April through to the October, we were exchanging solicitors letters. So we were in that legal dispute. And then I had to make a decision, was I going to take them to court in order to claim back that money? Now, at that time, emotionally, it was a roller coaster. And I remember there being a moment where I remember getting off the call with one of my favorite clients, somebody that I'd been working with for quite a few years. And it was a really difficult conversation because they were looking at canceling the work that we were doing.

Karen [00:10:20]:
I was on a retainer, so I was relying on that income. And I just remember sitting down at lunch with my husband and my children were there. And I remember just breaking down and saying to my husband that, I just can't do it anymore. I'm done. This, this was too hard. I loved my business, but what I didn't love was having to deal with that side of things, having to almost manage things when everything was going sideways. I found that really challenging because I was really. I had this real passion for the work that I was doing and having these really challenging conversations, dealing with sort of different behavior, that fear that their clients were feeling because they didn't know what was going to happen.

Karen [00:11:11]:
I didn't know what was going to happen. The world was just in chaos. So it was a really difficult sort of time for everybody. In particular, I remember this conversation and I just remember wanting to throw the towel in and being like, I'm done. I've had enough. This is. This is too hard. So the next day, I ended up looking at websites for jobs.

Karen [00:11:33]:
And then I got a ping on my phone and it was a stripe notification telling me that I'd sold my branding course that I'd created so 18 months prior, and I'd made 197 pounds in that sale. And I remember sitting there thinking, oh, wow, you know, I've just made, what, nearly a couple of hundred quid and I haven't done anything, to be honest. With you, I kind of forgot about the course. I'd created it, I'd put it out, it'd been tested, I'd had a few sales, but where I was so busy with client work it wasn't at the forefront of my mind to really push it out there. So when this sale came through, it reminded me that I had an asset that I could make money from. And I think that for me that changed everything. It was a light bulb moment where I realized that actually I've sold this thing, I can sell it many times over, make money, but I'm not having to be there, I'm not having to be there to walk somebody through it or to support them. And that for me changed everything because what I then realized was that the business that I'd been building had not been sustainable long term because in truth, if I was to go ill or something was to happen to my family or life happens and I couldn't be available, my business would have to stop trading because I wouldn't be there in order to keep it going.

Karen [00:13:07]:
So I had to think of another way, a more sustainable way that was going to give me my time back, but brought in sales as well. And so that's when I had that breakthrough moment of realizing, ah, actually online courses are absolutely brilliant because you, you can build them once, sell them on repeat and you can create this impact whilst not having to be in the room delivering the content live. So after that for me it all changed. Now by the October, what I'd done is I'd created a framework. I didn't create any content, I just created a 10 week framework and I went out to a networking group that was part of and I put out a course call to say that I wanted 10 entrepreneurs, 10 business owners to come on board and work with me to build an online course. Because if they were not making money because they were not seeing their clients in person, I could teach them another way that was really successful. I think I took on 12. In the end I charged, I think it was 500 pound.

Karen [00:14:18]:
So just a flat fee because I didn't know what the value was, I didn't know what it was that I needed to charge. But I landed at 500 quid and I then spent the next nine months working with various clients helping them to create their online courses. And then from there I then went and developed my group program which I ran and then I made my online course which has now evolved into my membership. And I think every part of that journey has taught me so many lessons and so many new things. And I launched my membership Sell youl Brilliance Online last July. So I launched out on the 1st of July last year and as of today I've got about 40 members in there and I am loving it because what I get to do is I get to show up, I get to really support them. But they can have that self paced style learning and they can do that in their own time, on their own terms, at their own pace. But what I give them is I give them that additional support.

Karen [00:15:29]:
So in the membership I run three live events, I run a monthly masterclass where I teach on a topic that is relating to their online course or their digital product. So for example, this month it's all about launching. We're going to be talking about how to create a mini launch. Last month I spoke about magnetic messaging and how to convert your audience into paying clients. So every month it is very actionable, very strategic and very on point for where they are in their journey. Now alongside that event I also host a coffee and catch up morning where my members can come in for an hour. Very informal, we can just, just have a coffee, have a chat and talk about whatever they want to talk about. If they're stuck on their online course, we can talk about that.

Karen [00:16:24]:
If they have other ideas, we can talk about that as well. And then the third event that I run is a monthly Q A session because I want to give my members the opportunity to be able to ask questions, get feedback and to really unpack the things that they're going through so that they can get the right guidance, the right support and the right advice. And as a membership host, which is what I've kind of been learning to be over the past 12 months, I absolutely love it because I have that connection with my members. It doesn't fit with me to be faceless. I love online courses but I want to be their champion in my students and my members because that's the type person I am. So the membership gives me the ability to do that. And also in the membership I've been able to create resources templates like say digital products that I sell, I bring into the membership, they have email, sequence and design assets and full on training. And I run challenges as well.

Karen [00:17:37]:
So I've run challenges around growing their email list, creating digital masterclasses, getting started with an online course, I've broken it down into a three step process that's super easy to do because I just want to break everything down and make this so easy because it doesn't have to be Hard. So for me, this podcast aligns really nicely with that membership because I get to talk about the things that I know people are struggling with, because I get those insights in my membership where I'm talking to my members, and we are actively engaging in those conversations. So that's where this podcast comes in and why it's important, because I get to share those insights with you. I know firsthand how challenging running a business can be. I also create digital products that I sell, and over the past sort of four or five years, I've been building passive income streams in my business that are scalable, and that's what I've been focusing on. So when I rock up behind this mic and I share a simple strategy or I talk about a process or a tool or a resource, it's because I found it really useful. I'm in the trenches doing this, and it's really served me well and helped me. And I want to share that with you.

Karen [00:19:01]:
Because if you are serious about creating a business, then it has to be about more than you giving your time. It has to be about serving the right people at the right stage so that you go to where they are, but you're not burning yourself out because of it. That moment where I broke down and I'm not somebody that is really emotional. It's not. It's not something I do a lot. But I think where everything got to me and I just felt like I was failing. I think what it was, looking back, is I was just juggling so many things. And I think part of finding success in business, what I've come to learn is about simplifying and consistency.

Karen [00:19:51]:
I think they're the two things that I think make the difference. So that means getting clear on your goals, creating that vision for yourself, and then really leaning into what you need to do to make it happen. Cutting out the noise and just focusing on the path that you need to take. Because I think that's another thing that is very challenging in this. This world of business is the fact that there is so much noise out there, and sometimes it can be really difficult to know what path to take. I need to bring money into my business, so I need client work, but I also want to create passive income. But I need the time to create passive income stream, because whilst it is passive income, you have to build it, so you need time to do that. So then it's like, well, I need to find client work to bring in that money, because that's what keeps the lights on.

Karen [00:20:46]:
That's what keeps my cash flowing. But then I somehow need to find time to build this passive income stream that's going to eventually give me passive income. But then I'm juggling life because I'm doing all the things outside of work as well. It can be really challenging. And then you throw into the ring, the marketing, the finance, if you go networking, if you have one, to ones with people, if you're developing your services and your products and all the things, it just becomes heavy. So what I want you to know is this podcast is that place where I will bring ideas, I will bring strategies, but they will be simple, they will be scalable, and they will help you to take those steps that you need to take to start shifting your business. Because where I am today, I feel so different to the person that I was back in lockdown. That burnt out, emotional business owner that was just struggling is a distant memory.

Karen [00:21:52]:
Today I'm building these income streams. Yes, I work with clients, but I only ever work with a couple of clients at a time. And I choose my work because my primary goal isn't chasing money. I'm looking for work that I enjoy that sort of aligns with who I am and the things that I want to do. But most importantly, I get to take time out, but I also get to make money when I'm taking that time out. Now, my husband and I, we recently took the kids to Turkey for a week's holiday and it was absolutely wonderful because while I was out there, I was literally making sales. If I can bottle up that feeling and sell it, I would make an absolute fortune. Because that thought of being able to kind of make money from what you know, you're sharing your brilliance, you're creating that impact, and you're serving your customers at where they are with what they need is an amazing feeling.

Karen [00:22:57]:
And I think all of that leans into why we probably started our businesses in the first place, is to be of service, to create impact and to bring in that financial freedom. So here's what you can expect each week from this episode. I want to unpack what it takes to create a successful online business. So you're going to get some real talk about burnout and boundaries, because they're the things that we need to avoid and put in place. Because building a business shouldn't cost you your health or your happiness. I'm going to also be providing step by step strategies for turning your expertise into digital products that you can sell on repeat. Things like online courses, memberships, templates, toolkits, things that people are looking for and you most likely have available, and then I'm going to take you behind the scenes. So I'm going to be talking about how I plan, how I launch and how I automate my business.

Karen [00:23:57]:
And then we're going to dive into creativity and mindset shifts so that you can move from feeling stuck and burnt out to feeling more in control and loving your business. And I want to remind you that you are never too late to do this. You are not behind, and you are absolutely capable of building something scalable, repeatable and profitable. So before we go any further on this journey together, here's what I want you to know. Your expertise, the things that you know, how to do, what you do, and how to help people, is really valuable. People are searching for it and there are smart, strategic ways that you can turn your knowledge into something that you can sell and repeat without you needing to show up live every single time. Now, you don't need a massive audience, you don't need to wait until you're ready, and you certainly don't need to be a tech geek in order to make this happen. You just need a plan and a very simple strategy and maybe a little bit of support along the way, which is exactly why I'm here.

Karen [00:25:14]:
Now, if you're listening to this and you're thinking, that's exactly what I need, then here are three ways where you can start to make this happen. Firstly, I would love you to subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode. Secondly, I would love you to join my free newsletter, Online Business Digest, because every Thursday I will send out one tip, one story, or one resource that's going to help you grow your business in a really smart way. You can sign up by clicking on the link in the show notes. And then the third thing that I would like you to do is book a free 20 minute discovery call with me. Because if you've got an idea for a digital product and you want to just talk about it and what that could look like and get clarity around the next step, then this is your open invitation again. Click the link in the show notes to book that call with me. So I am really pleased you're here and I'm super excited that you are on the next phase of my journey and I can't wait to share my upcoming episodes with you, which I just know that you're going to love.

Karen [00:26:30]:
Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope you found this episode of value. And of course, please, please do feel free to share it with others who you may think will also benefit from today's episode. If you are ready to take the next step, or maybe you have an idea that you just want to talk about, then be sure to book a free 20 minute discovery call with me by clicking the link in the show notes or visiting my website www.sellyourbrillianline.com. i will be back next week with another episode, but until then I am wishing you the most wonderful week. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode of Online Business Uncovered. If today's conversation has sparked an idea or gave you a dose of clarity, then please make sure to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned. New episodes land every Thursday, so hit, follow or subscribe to stay in the loop and if you're loving the show show.

Karen [00:27:32]:
A quick rating or review goes a long way in helping more brilliant entrepreneurs like you find this show. Until next time, keep showing up, keep sharing your brilliance and remember, freedom in business is possible and it starts with taking the next right step.