Latest / soulful biz guidance / the month everything shifted

Transcript

the month everything shifted · soulful biz guidance

• 0:00
  Hello my dear one and welcome to a new episode of the Soulful
• 0:03
  Biz Guidance.
• 0:05
  Today I take you behind the scenes of my business or running my
• 0:10
  business as a
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: highly sensitive person.
• 0:13
  I've decided to make a recording of the monthly or monthly-ish
• 0:19
  behind the scenes
• 0:21
  articles that I started publishing on Substack because first of
• 0:25
  all I know that
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: voiceovers are just really so nice to do
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: And also,
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 0:32
  the articles might be quite long and maybe you don't want to
• 0:36
  read right now.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you want to listen on the go.
• 0:38
  So this episode today is just going to be me reading the
• 0:43
  article that you will find on Substack.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not listening to the podcast,
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: but you are reading the article straight away on Substack,
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: you also find the voiceover of the article right here.
• 1:01
  Now this behind the scenes series is usually shared exclusively
• 1:05
  with the paid
• 1:06
  subscribers of the Soulful Biz Club but this month I decided to
• 1:11
  let you enjoy it
• 1:12
  for free so you can see what happens behind the paywall If you
• 1:17
  loved it please
• 1:18
  consider upgrading your subscription and you'll get access to
• 1:22
  the Soulful Biz Club
• 1:23
  perks all of them we have monthly group coaching regular
• 1:27
  co-working sessions when I
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: say regular it means twice a week
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: We have journaling sessions,
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: we have monthly trainings on visibility for highly sensitive people,
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: a private telegram group and this slow podcast.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Hello love!
• 1:47
  I meant to write this behind the scenes sooner but there's been
• 1:50
  such a revolution
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: in the way I've been operating my business.
• 1:54
  You can't write about what you haven't fully understood and I
• 1:58
  needed a bit more
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: time to process and get organized around my new lifestyle.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: To be honest,
• 2:06
  I'm not fully there yet in the sense that I'm not completely
• 2:10
  sure how to handle
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: things from now on.
• 2:14
  Everything is still quite new but I already have a better grasp
• 2:18
  that I'm able to
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: explain what I transformed and why I transformed it
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: and how it's going so far.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: So what we will explore in today's episode is first,
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: why and how I drastically changed my marketing strategy.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Two, how being stuck led me to create more freedom.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Three, the recent changes in growth I've had on Substack.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, how much money I made in April and May 2026.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, why and how I drastically changed my marketing strategy.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: My first business was built around French learning and mindfulness.
• 3:02
  This was so niche that word of mouth and referrals never really
• 3:07
  worked for me.
• 3:09
  It happened a few times that a new client bought a program and
• 3:12
  started learning
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: with me,
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: but it was rarely a good match.
• 3:17
  I learned that for people to buy and enjoy my programs,
• 3:20
  they first had to get to know me
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: through my content.
• 3:24
  They had to feel dissatisfied with the traditional approaches
• 3:28
  of learning languages.
• 3:30
  They had to know my philosophy and feel it in their heart that
• 3:34
  this was something
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: they would thoroughly enjoy.
• 3:38
  It was a long process,
• 3:40
  but the right people became fans and stayed with me for years.
• 3:45
  This business carried a message,
• 3:48
  a mission that went beyond my work and this was powerful.
• 3:52
  I'll be limiting because not too many people are both into
• 3:57
  learning French at an
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: intermediate level and into self-development or mindfulness.
• 4:04
  When I started my coaching and copywriting business a bit more
• 4:07
  than a year ago,
• 4:08
  my natural tendency was to duplicate the marketing strategies
• 4:12
  that I had previously
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: mastered.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: I put almost all my eggs into content and email marketing.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: I was convinced that this was the only way for me to,
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: at some point,
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: get a continuous flow of clients.
• 4:27
  And so I started emailing my list on Kit,
• 4:30
  ConvertKit,
• 4:32
  three to four times a week.
• 4:34
  I love writing and I wrote to create trust,
• 4:38
  a relationship with my readership.
• 4:41
  And many subscribers have replied to tell me how relatable my
• 4:44
  emails were.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Over time, I naturally weaved my offers and services into my message
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: which would at some point, sooner rather than later I hoped, pay off.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: But these things take time, I knew.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: And my children need to eat every day.
• 5:01
  That's why from the start I followed the advice of Alexandra
• 5:05
  Franzen and I
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  contacted my online friends to let them know that I was
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  available for copywriting
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  SPEAKER_00: projects and marketing support.
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  I got my first contracts,
• 5:15
  received referrals and one thing leading to another
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  SPEAKER_00: I reached full capacity way sooner than I had anticipated.
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  SPEAKER_00: Should I just stop emailing then,
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  SPEAKER_00: I wondered,
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  SPEAKER_00: before Ctrl-Alt-deleting this crazy idea from my mind?
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  SPEAKER_00: I kept going,
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  SPEAKER_00: because two strategies are better than one,
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  SPEAKER_00: and because I was stubborn that content marketing was the only long-term
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  SPEAKER_00: sustainable approach.
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  I also have this rule that helps me stay long enough in a game
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  before questioning
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  SPEAKER_00: whether I want to keep playing it.
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  Don't decide a strategy isn't working before you've had time to
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  collect enough
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  SPEAKER_00: data,
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  SPEAKER_00: which in my opinion takes 6 to 12 months at least.
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  SPEAKER_00: Well,
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  SPEAKER_00: dear reader and listener,
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  it's now been 18 months of sending 12 to 15 emails per month to
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  my email list.
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  And I know my list is still small even if it's growing And I
• 6:18
  know that the expected
• 6:19
  conversion rate is 1-2% And I know that things take time And I
• 6:24
  know that we're in a
• 6:25
  trust recession But I also know that I would never hire a
• 6:32
  copywriter or web
• 6:33
  designer through an email campaign I could potentially Google
• 6:37
  around But I would be
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  SPEAKER_00: quickly overwhelmed by all these people with skills that I don't know
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  SPEAKER_00: and I would end up not contacting any of them.
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  SPEAKER_00: But what I would do for sure is ask around.
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  And this makes sense because it's an investment that you need
• 6:55
  to be ready for.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: When I look at my list of clients, guess what?
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  SPEAKER_00: All of them,
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  all of them have either hired me because we had a pre-existing
• 7:08
  relationship or
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  SPEAKER_00: because their friend hired me first.
• 7:13
  So why is it that I was investing only 10% of my time and
• 7:19
  energy into developing
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  relationships and networking when 100% of my revenue comes from
• 7:27
  this strategy only?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe because it seems too easy to just talk to people?
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  Or perhaps because it's free and it does not involve
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  complicated algorithms or SEO?
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  Or I was just too stubborn in my belief that what worked for my
• 7:46
  previous business
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  SPEAKER_00: had to work for this one.
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  Luckily for me I'm a Libra and not a Taurus so my stubbornness
• 7:54
  did not stick around
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  SPEAKER_00: and I made real changes.
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  I reduced my emails to one per week except when I'm promoting
• 8:04
  something particular
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  SPEAKER_00: like a course or a program rather than my services.
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  SPEAKER_00: I've had the intention since January
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: to start blogging on my website and to use Pinterest to enhance traffic.
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  But I never got to it and now I'm deciding to postpone that
• 8:21
  until a later time.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is not a priority in this season of my business.
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  I started investing more time on Substack,
• 8:30
  experimenting with live videos,
• 8:33
  and connecting with fellow creatives in the hope of creating
• 8:36
  genuine relationships.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I decided to launch the Secret Garden Project,
• 8:42
  a new collaborative space specifically designed for highly
• 8:45
  sensitive people in
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: business to grow their visibility and their network the introvert,
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: soulful way.
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  SPEAKER_00: Just to be clear, I still believe in email and content marketing.
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  SPEAKER_00: I am not ditching these strategies, but they are no longer
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  My main focus for the time being I will continue making efforts
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  to grow my email
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  list and I will continue creating content here on Substack but I
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  am now putting 80%
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  SPEAKER_00: of my energy into relationship marketing first 2.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: How being stuck led me to create more freedom Change rarely comes alone
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Some of you already know this,
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  SPEAKER_00: but I have been experiencing health issues in the last few months.
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  SPEAKER_00: Nothing serious,
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  SPEAKER_00: at least I hope so,
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  but it's been impacting my capacity and it's made me reconsider
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  how much I poured
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  SPEAKER_00: into my work versus how much I kept from my own well-being.
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  SPEAKER_00: I had recently calculated that all my tasks in and out of business,
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  SPEAKER_00: including homeschooling,
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  SPEAKER_00: averaged to 90 hours a week.
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  SPEAKER_00: I know we are all pretty busy,
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  SPEAKER_00: but for me,
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  being on for 90 hours a week just is not serving my mental or
• 10:07
  physical health.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love my kids,
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  SPEAKER_00: I love my job,
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  SPEAKER_00: I love homeschooling,
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  SPEAKER_00: but I also love living,
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  SPEAKER_00: beyond just doing tasks.
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  SPEAKER_00: I kept saying that I craved space and ease,
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  SPEAKER_00: that I needed to look at the sky and marvel,
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  SPEAKER_00: write for the pleasure of writing,
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  SPEAKER_00: and play
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  I started building resentment and my health symptoms reminded
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  me daily that I had
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  SPEAKER_00: to change something,
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  SPEAKER_00: like right away.
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  SPEAKER_00: And so I felt completely stuck,
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  SPEAKER_00: because financially it was going okay,
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  SPEAKER_00: but it was not going great.
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  Especially since my tax rate went up last March So the
• 10:48
  situation wasn't exactly
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: saying Yes,
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: sure,
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: take some time off Even if this was precisely what I needed In the last
• 10:58
  behind-the-scenes post I explained that I'm planning to scale
• 11:02
  my business And bring
• 11:03
  more people into my membership But this isn't something that
• 11:06
  you do fast I also
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: wanted to let go of one of my streams of income Teaching on Preply
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: But again, the financial situation didn't really allow for it.
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  SPEAKER_00: I felt completely stuck.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Until I spoke with Alex, my husband.
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  When I say I spoke with Alex,
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  I mean that I had a complete meltdown,
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  okay?
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  SPEAKER_00: I exploded with tears,
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  SPEAKER_00: explaining all of this frustration,
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  SPEAKER_00: knowing that my body had been screaming,
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  SPEAKER_00: begging for a change,
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  SPEAKER_00: but that I was not able to listen because I had no
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: What do you need?
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: He asked.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Time off?
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  SPEAKER_00: Like a whole month, but I can't afford it.
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  And anyway,
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  then you would come back after a month and nothing much would
• 11:58
  have changed.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So what if instead of a month off, you took every Friday off?
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  SPEAKER_00: He suggested.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that would be amazing.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: But
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Not if you don't need a babysitter when you don't work.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: What's the work you do that you enjoy the least or pays the least?
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Preply Teaching is fun.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: I was trained as a teacher.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: I was a teacher for two decades.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: I can probably teach in my sleep and still do a good job.
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  But this was a previous version of me and teaching today for me
• 12:40
  feels limiting.
• 12:43
  I guess that was already true in my business when I had to
• 12:45
  blend teaching with something else.
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  SPEAKER_00: When I started teaching on Preply,
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: it was just to get me started,
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: to find some students without marketing and
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  SPEAKER_00: Make some income without any tension And in that way,
• 12:59
  it was amazing I was okay to be paid less I was okay that they
• 13:03
  would take a
• 13:04
  commission I was okay-ish with the fact that students see you
• 13:09
  like a commodity I
• 13:10
  just wanted to make some money with a skill that I had mastered
• 13:15
  But over time,
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: it started draining me
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: When my tax rate went up, I was left with even less income per class.
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  It was no longer sustainable,
• 13:27
  but I kept going because I was scared,
• 13:30
  really.
• 13:31
  Scared to let go of something that had brought me financial
• 13:34
  safety for more than a year.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I kept thinking that I would wait until one more project,
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: one more retainer client,
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: and I would stay stuck.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: What I needed
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  The conclusion is that now it's been a month that I'm working
• 14:01
  only four days a week.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: I sleep until 8.30am,
• 14:06
  there is no alarm clock in my bedroom and it's okay because I'm
• 14:09
  not sending four
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: emails per week anymore.
• 14:13
  I've reduced the hours of my babysitter and anyway my son is
• 14:16
  bigger and a bit more
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  SPEAKER_00: independent now.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: My stress levels have gone down.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: My health issues have become much more manageable.
• 14:25
  Three days after having left Preply I had a new retainer
• 14:30
  contract for blog writing
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: in French and two leads for projects or potential retainer work.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: I am again at capacity but this time it means my real capacity
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And not a theoretical one that did not agree with my body.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoy every single day of my work.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing things I love.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm growing, learning, improving, creating, writing.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: And income wise, this month of June has been my best month ever.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we're only on the 5th.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'll show you the details of that in the next issue.
• 15:09
  What I learned from this and that I would like you to leave
• 15:12
  with the biggest
• 15:14
  obstacle between you and your desired experience is you your
• 15:19
  perspective or lack
• 15:21
  thereof your beliefs your fears your blockages and it's hard to
• 15:25
  see beyond them
• 15:26
  because of the way you're wired speaking with people who are in
• 15:31
  your corner really
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: helps and then once you remove these rocks that were keeping you stuck
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Energy flows again.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: You regain freedom, movement, possibilities, opportunities.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Very often,
• 15:47
  only when you let go of a security blanket that is no longer
• 15:51
  serving you can you
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: make space for the things you really want to experience.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: My third point, what changed on Substack?
• 16:02
  I don't want to keep you much longer,
• 16:04
  but I know you love the data behind my business.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: So back in March,
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: I had made the paid tier on Substack the same as my Soulful Biz Club,
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: simplifying my business model.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: This helped me
• 16:18
  Gain clarity about what I wanted to share and teach as part of
• 16:22
  the club and the
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: place of Substack in my ecosystem.
• 16:26
  Up until then,
• 16:27
  I had been stuck at 170-something subscribers,
• 16:32
  month after month after month.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: In May,
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: after going live a few times,
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: things started shifting and I gained 20 subscribers,
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: reaching around 190 souls,
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: which I was so grateful for.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: On ConvertKit I had participated in some bundles and grew my list from 90
• 16:52
  subscribers to 198 subscribers within 3-4 months Somehow I was
• 16:59
  convinced that the
• 17:01
  subscribers on Kit and the subscribers on Substack were the same
• 17:07
  people which in
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: retrospect makes no sense I don't know why I had come to this conclusion
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Upon launching the Secret Garden,
• 17:17
  I decided it would be a great idea to import my kids'
• 17:21
  subscribers intoSubstack and
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: let everyone enjoy the new collaboration opportunities.
• 17:26
  And just like that,
• 17:27
  my list of subscribers almost doubled and more people continued
• 17:31
  to join.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: I know that the moment I hit send to this post,
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: it will go down again,
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: but it's okay,
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: it's the name of the game.
• 17:39
  What has grown exponentially since being more active on the
• 17:42
  platform is TRAFFIC.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: When I say more active,
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: I don't mean publishing more content,
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: but interacting,
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: commenting,
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: going live,
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: discussing in the DMs and leaving notes.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: I have gained in the last 30 days, 1026 views.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: So we are at 2044 views in the last month.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the number of visitors has also grown up.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you compare my previous screenshot to the most recent one,
• 18:15
  If you're listening to this only without the screenshots in
• 18:19
  front of your eyes it's
• 18:19
  a little bit complicated but I'll just cite a few numbers So
• 18:24
  back in April the
• 18:26
  direct number of visitors was 181 and now in June is 272 If I
• 18:31
  look at the category
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: direct to app it was 98 and now it's 125
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: And finally Substack,
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: the network,
• 18:47
  it was 83 and now it's 174 This is the most meaningful increase
• 18:56
  It's an increase of
• 18:58
  5% if I'm correct You can see that most of the difference comes
• 19:04
  fromSubstack itself
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: rather than from SEO or social media Interestingly,
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: since I've been going live
• 19:11
  These videos have also been published on YouTube and LinkedIn
• 19:15
  and a few people
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: clicked without me being present at all on these platforms,
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: which is quite cool.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, the last section, how much money I made in April and May.
• 19:31
  I know that this is the most expected section of this behind
• 19:33
  the scenes article.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: In March I had made €1,865.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was a lower month and that kind of stressed me out.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: In April I'm happy to say I made €2,007 and in May €2,525.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: The progress makes me very happy and hopeful for the future.
• 20:00
  You can take a look at my business cash tracker to see a
• 20:03
  breakdown of how that
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: income was actually made.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'll go through some number for you.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: The teaching platform, so I was still on Preply for April and May.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's starting June that I'm not there anymore.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: I made on average 230 euros.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: My membership is always the same, €83.92.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Monthly retainer in April was €777 and in May is €959.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: For projects it stayed more or less the same.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: April was €657 and May €686.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching went up.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching in April was €247.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: and in May 476 and then I also had
• 20:50
  Surprise 50 euros from a generous reader of my other
• 20:53
  publication Bubbles of
• 20:54
  Languages minus Substack Fees minus Tribe Fees that's 36 euros
• 21:00
  on my account and
• 21:03
  voila my lovelies that's the end of this detailed behind the
• 21:06
  scenes post I hope
• 21:08
  you've enjoyed it and I'm happy to answer any questions you may
• 21:11
  have just pop it in
• 21:13
  the comments section you're also encouraged to just let me know
• 21:16
  your reaction your
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: thoughts your own insights of course
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to have you.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time.