Latest / The Bold Lounge / Valerie Feghali: Making Bold Change for an Aligned Life

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Valerie Feghali: Making Bold Change for an Aligned Life · The Bold Lounge

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge podcast.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: My name is Leigh Burgess and I will be your host.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: If you're anything like me, you love hearing inspiring stories of people who have gone on bold journeys and made a positive impact in the world.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: This podcast is all about those kinds of stories.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Every week, we'll hear from someone who has taken a leap or embarked on an extraordinary journey.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: In addition to hearing their stories, we'll also learn about their bold growth mindset that they use to make things happen.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Whether they face challenges or doubts along the way, they persisted and ultimately achieved their goals.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: These impactful stories will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to pursue your own bold journey.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I believe everyone has a bold story waiting to be freed.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Tune in and get ready to be inspired.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Today I have Valerie Fagali.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: She is both a doctor of physical therapy and a certified holistic health and nutrition coach.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: She has revolutionized the field for wellness practitioners by providing them with the tools to quickly and professionally deliver recipe packs, meal plans, how-to guides, challenges and more.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Her innovative software streamlines the process, allowing coaches to gather and produce top quality content with unmatched efficiency.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Valerie is driven by a mission to create a healthier world, empowering wellness practitioners to enhance client outcomes and boost their business profitability.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Leigh.
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: I'm so excited to be here.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so we are going to jump right into being bold.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: So I would love to hear when you hear the word bold, how would you define it for yourself?
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: I think bold means doing something that is outside of your comfort zone that is going to help other people.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: So when we kind of step outside of the things that maybe feel safe to us and we do something that is uncertain and there could be risk to it, there could be failure to it, but we know that if we succeed it's actually going to help other people, I think that that's really a bold move.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: Sounds like you're a servant leader, so like in the sense of how you see yourself in the world, is doing good, helping others, and you're willing to take risk or do something uncomfortable to make that happen.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Yes, okay, wonderful.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: So when you think about your definition which is, again, I think, one of the coolest things about hearing everyone's definition is the similarity, and the one of the biggest similarities is being bold is a choice that we make, right, it's not something that's passive.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: And so, when you think about your definition in your life, what's a moment or a bold moment that comes to mind for you?
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: So, as you mentioned, I did physical therapy.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: I was a physical therapist for over 10 years and I worked in that industry and when I saw clients come in, I noticed this big gap in the healthcare system where there was no emphasis and no focus on natural healing.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: You know, natural light, changing your diet, stress management, those ways of healing and people were coming to me as a physical therapist expecting manual therapy and exercise that that would solve all of their problems.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: But when we weren't really getting to the root of what was happening, we were only able to make surface level improvements, right, and those issues would return.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: And so I noticed this gap in the healthcare system that these clients were not seeing a psychologist, they were not seeing a nutritionist.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: You know they were being treated for specific issues by specialists essentially, and not as a total body experience.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: And my mother had been diagnosed with cancer for the third time, kind of around this time where I was coming to this revolution and she ended up passing away and unfortunately, the health care service that she received throughout all of this I don't feel like was complete.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: It was missing again a huge aspect and a lot of the treatments that she was given were actually contradictory to her healing.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: For example, she was on a feeding tube, and the feeding tube consisted of, like corn syrup and canola oil, which we know are foods that enhance inflammation and can even feed the cancer, and so there was just this piece missing, and I'm not going to say that, you know the outcome would have been different for her.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: I don't know that, but I do know that for many other people it could be.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: And so I came to this point that I was like I'm seeing this huge gap.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: I know that I'm going to be taking this huge pay cut if I move into this kind of field of service.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: I have a steady job, I have a secure income.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: I've worked for seven years in an advanced degree to become a physical therapist and making that transition from that to starting my own business as a holistic health coach, which was kind of still seen in those days, I think more and more now I'm excited about how people are accepting that form of treatment more readily.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: But in those you know it wasn't too long ago, it was over a little over five years ago people were still thinking this was like woo, woo, treatment right, and so making that transition was scary.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: I had a family.
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I had two kids.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: You know I was providing for them.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: My husband had a job too, but a lot of our lifestyle depended on my income, and so making that switch was, I think, a bold movement for me, because again I was leaving a steady career, a good income, for something that I felt really could help so many people, but was also a huge pay cut for me.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: So definitely a bold move to leave after such an investment of time.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: And you know money and resources into the degree, and then you know getting into what you know, certainly in corporate, I can understand.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: You know money and resources into the degree and then you know getting into what you know, certainly in corporate, I can understand.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: And you know from your perspective of being a practitioner of just what's considered stable, right and a place that you know people don't understand why you would want to leave.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: You know how could you leave.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: You know you did all this work and now you're, you know, at this point in your career where you could do X, y or Z, so definitely most likely not understood by all when you made that choice as well, which is usually something bold happening when that that's, there's a lack of alignment, of understanding and then the financial mindset right Of being able to make that change and that switch at that point in your career.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: And and a lot of the times people think, well, you've done it this long, why don't you just like stick it out or kind of wait?
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: What made you want to make the move and make the move then?
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Was it your mom, and kind of seeing the one-dimensional way that she was treated, meaning one-dimensional of her health versus her whole holistic view of how to see her health, or was it kind of a combination of your experience and that moment?
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was definitely a combination.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: My mom's experience certainly was kind of the inspiration for me to it was.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: It helped me envision it right.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: It helped me say, okay, this is what's really happening, this is what people really need, and I have a way of kind of doing it.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: But really it had been over that 10 year course of working as a physical therapist and seeing just countless people come in with these underlying issues that were not being addressed and there was no attention to it and I think over time I got tired of it and I was a little disgusted by it.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: You were fed up.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: You were so like you were fed up.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, fed up.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was just like why is this all being ignored?
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: And and so, yeah, I think the combination between the two having that professional experience but then having the personal experience you know alongside that really pushed me over the edge.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so when you made that switch, that change it's not something easy and it didn't sound like you had it planned for years and years, so like it was newer in the idea Did you know you would want to go into helping other coaches?
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: Or how did you start to structure your business with this new part of your, of your world, your life, and you know the next level really, of how you were going to take on holistic health and healthy diet?
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: So there have been many pivots in my business, and that is one thing that I tell business owners all the time is, yes, you need to narrow down, you need to kind of niche down and figure out who you're talking to so you can get your message across clearly.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: But that can change, and making a pivot isn't necessarily as hard as people think.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: I don't want to downplay it, because it is challenging, but at the same time it's possible, and so you choose it.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I went from went from you know, working as a physical therapist to then taking my own health and wellness clients that I was doing that for quite some time.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: And then that's when I realized okay, I am burning the candle at both ends here, because I hadn't owned a business before this and so I was charging.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: I was under charging, basically charging what my hourly rate was for working as a physical therapist, which, when you know, when you start a business that does not work, there are many other business expenses you spend half the time working on your business instead of in your business, and so you can't just charge what you were making per hour working as an employee.
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: And so I had to learn that lesson the hard way, and then, when I started amping up my prices, it was starting to get a little untouchable to the clientele that I wanted to work with, and so I was realizing that I'm not able to necessarily charge what I want to charge and, at the same time, provide the level of content for these people that they need.
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: Because, realistically, if you are in a session with somebody and you're coaching them on their health, that may have no clue like they're really not in that field, you know these are people that weren't in the health field and so you can educate people, but it takes a while to sink in and after a session they're not going to remember every bit of advice that you provide for them.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: And so they need action steps right, they need like a concrete plan, they need things to go back to, and that's where the content comes in, like things to go back to.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: On this, we talked about it for half an hour 45 minutes, but this is really what you need to do.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: This is how we actually implement that and put that into action, and it was hard to come up with that because health is personalized.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Every single person needs something a little bit different.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: So I was finding that I was making a unique plan for every single client that I was working with, which, again, is extremely time consuming, and so you can only get paid you know, so much per hour.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: And now I know I have a different money mindset at this point that I probably could have been charging a lot more.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: But, that being said, yeah, I realized that, okay, other coaches are dealing with this too, where they're not, you know, necessarily charging enough or getting paid enough to be spending that many hours on the backend making personalized plans for each individual client.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: And so that's where the kind of wellness vault and my flagship product now, which is a content hub for health and wellness coaches came to life.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so now you're able to help multiple coaches actually create more space and time in their life and in their business, for it to grow and for them to spend time on what they want to spend time on, because what you're talking about is extreme amount of time and can feel very inefficient.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: And, again, you're not technically perfect.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: You know, certainly, as you started out, you weren't actually getting paid for that time you were.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: You know, often at times as entrepreneurs, when we start off, I did this.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: I started too high and then I swung too low and I was like wow, like I got to get back to the middle.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: And even when you're being creative too or creating something new, just being able to kind of sell it to people, I think is just something new for people when they come out of maybe even corporate or a different world where they feel like they weren't selling things before.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: So when you made the switch so it sounds like you kind of went through like a phase of not understanding it kind of like from the roots right, like cause you were actually that health coach that needed.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: You know, if someone would have had that for you, you would have been able to do X, y or Z faster or quicker or even in you know, maybe even a higher quality way, because you'd have more time to do other things.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: So when you think about that stage of being an entrepreneur and you're actually figured out a solution right to help others and help others with their business, what did that do for you then?
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: As your business is evolving because you've now come into being a coach, to now like creating content and tools and resources for coaches, did that give you a higher amount of alignment in your world in at that time and what did that look like?
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: Absolutely On so many levels.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: First of all, I love working with and for other entrepreneurs.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: It's inspiring to see people grow their businesses, and I love helping them do that, and I'm making a much, much bigger impact at this point, being able to, number one, help coaches be more profitable so that they can stay in business and, you know, provide for their families and their life.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: And then also, that content is ending up in the end hands of people who need it for their health changes, their health journey, and so I'm making this set, this much wider net, which is incredibly rewarding for me, and so the impact that I'm making is definitely in alignment with my original goal, which was to spread the word on holistic health right and be able to provide a larger audience with the tools that they need and the resources that they need to improve their, improve their health in the long run and improve their longevity, and so that's in alignment with my own you know personal goals, but then, in addition to that, the way that I service my community at this point is way more in alignment with my personal goals as well.
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: I have two young kids and I want to be there for them, and so I want to pick them up when school ends, right.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: So at three o'clock, when the bell rings, I want to be there, and when they have a field trip, I want to be able to go on the field trip.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: You know certain things that I want to be able to do as a mother as well and also still run a business, and the way that I do it now, and that's primarily through a membership model, is that I can serve my clients with exactly what they need and, at the same time, be able to have the freedom of time and location, which are both important to me.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: So when you're thinking about creating and doing some of the things that we go back to your definition of being outside your comfort zone and serving others definitely the serving others.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: Where have you felt outside of your comfort zone as your business has evolved, even today?
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: What feels outside, but you're still doing it anyway, figuring it out and moving forward and learning?
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: Oh gosh, yeah, so much.
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: I am a health and wellness professional and I own a software company, right.
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: So we have now transitioned this into a software.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: So we built a SaaS company, a software as a service, and now people can use the software to basically customize their plans more easily.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: So let's say, for example, they're creating a meal plan for a client and their client doesn't eat walnuts, right, whatever.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: They're allergic to walnuts and they need more omega-3s in their diet.
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: So the coach can go in and easily adjust any of our templates and it will auto adjust the shopping list, it will auto adjust the macros, they can take out entire recipes and put in new recipes, and so they can choose from our database and they can also add their own.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: So it's actually extremely complex from the back end of things, but our goal was to make it as simple as possible for the coach.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: And that's kind of where my own unique expertise come in, because I have hired a software team and a team of software engineers to create this.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: But I'm looking at it from the perspective of a health and wellness coach, right, this isn't like a team of corporate, you know, individuals that are just trying to build something that's profitable.
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: It's actually a person who would also utilize the program.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: Who's creating it and so, taking that, I'm able to see.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: Okay, you know, my coaches aren't going to understand what to do here.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: We need to like simplify this, we need to like really make this as obvious as possible that this is how you do it, this is how you make the changes, and so that it's usable and it's actually realistic for these coaches to use it on a daily basis.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: And so stepping out of that comfort zone was.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: I mean, there's been many times where I've done it, and the first time was when I told you in the beginning, when I kind of made that career jump from physical therapy to wellness coaching and now I had to go after my own clients.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: Right, that was a new thing for me.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: To be finding my own clients, that's out of my comfort zone.
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: And then there was the transition into you know that imposter syndrome when you go from working as a health coach to then coaching the health coach or providing content for the health coach.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: And that again was am I the right person to do this?
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: I haven't been doing this for too long, but at the same time, I've had 10 years of experience in the health field, you know.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: And so you just have to remind yourself of like why you are the person for the job right.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: You're worthy of doing this and you deserve to be in that position.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: You're qualified.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: In your experience, you have expertise that can be shared.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: There's that moment of like why am I the one they're listening to, right, you know, but wait.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: It's like, oh, wait a minute.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: Like I have the experience, I have the know-how, I have done this and I really know what it's like to be in their shoes, right.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: Right, yeah, and when you can create that connection and relate to your customer, I think that's most important for them.
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: You, you don't have to show perfection, but what you do need to show is that you can provide guidance right, that you have, you know, the tools and the empathy to be able to guide them in the right direction.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: And so, yeah, that was, you know, the many moments where I was questioning whether or not I was the right person outside of my comfort zone.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: So I think, just for everyone listening like, if they get to that point where they're like I don't know how to do it you don't have to always be the one to know how.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: You need to be able to give your insight and your expertise and feed it into those that know how right, or know how to create, like, a SaaS platform for your business.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: When you think about some of the things that you've done in the sense of creating and being able to, you know, evolve even as industry evolves.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: What are some of the things you do now to keep ahead or keep in touch with not only how the field is evolving, but what clients and coaches need?
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: What are, what are some things of you?
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: Some things in the sense of strategy or keeping your pulse on the field?
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: So one of the things is that we're constantly asking for feedback from our users.
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: So our members like this morning I sent out an email that directed them to a form where they can write in the content that they're looking for or the struggles that their clients are having or the area of expertise in which they work, and so we get that kind of pulse on our members, like where are they?
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: What field are most of our members in?
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: What resources do they find are missing from the wellness vault right now?
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: And then we go after that and we have a team of experts that have different expertise, and so that's a benefit too.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: So we have a whole content creation team and each one of those people kind of works in a different field, and so that's helpful to say like, okay, this person, we're creating this guide on hormone health, I'm going to ask this person.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: Or we're creating this guide on chronic disease, I'm going to ask this person to create that, and so that helps bridge that gap and everything we do is evidence-based.
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: But we also try to keep it realistic and practical, and that's the number one thing that we know we need to have within our plans and our guides.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: They have to be practical, so that the end client can actually be successful when using them.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: Right, I think one of the challenges I think, just in anything that I've ever joined before a cookbook I've picked up is it just becomes complex and whether it's the shopping list or whether it's the recipe or the timing that it takes, you could pick all three and that could be something that could throw me off from wanting to engage with it.
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: So I love the practicality being able to actually use the tools and the recipes and the things that you create, in addition to some of the other strategies that are within the vault, and being able to actually make you know, make sure that your clients can can implement them, because you could have the best plan or the prettiest you know X, Y or Z but if they can't actually use it and it doesn't have utility, no matter what industry it is, it's going to not succeed.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: Right, Absolutely.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: When you think about things that haven't worked in the past, which is, every entrepreneur, every person in any level of work, even in corporate, has probably something.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: But if you think about specifically within your business, what's your greatest learning in the sense of being able to take something that didn't work and make it work, or figure out that it isn't something that you need to even have anymore.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: Do you have anything that's come up for you that you don't have to get specific, but just kind of the learning from a failure Like, has anything happened to you that is memorable?
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean we have had many failures, so that is one thing like I mean I had.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: So the way that we kind of market our product is we have a lower ticket offer that people can buy into.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: That way we're filling our email list with people who are actually interested in what we provide, right, rather than signing up for a freebie, and maybe they don't actually care.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: And so I have gone through 20 products right to try to find the ones that actually work with those advertisements, and each time the main thing is always asking for feedback from buyers or even people who didn't buy and but those are a little harder to find.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: It's harder to find those people but you can.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: So, for example, like the way we sell, you know if someone enters their email but then they don't go to step two and actually finish the checkout, you can ask them you know, what was it that held you back, type of thing.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: And so asking for feedback from your buyers and then responding to them, because that response, I find, gets you twice as much information.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: People then come back and say like, oh, and I forgot to mention or, since you brought that up, I meant to say this where oftentimes we miss that when we're just sending out like a survey or something like that, but when we have that dialogue with our community and with our buyers.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: We get so much more information and that dialogue can be through email, it can be through DM, you can get on a Q&A call, it can be through a group Q&A call, but there's so many different ways to collect that feedback from your ideal client and from the people who are actually purchasing from you, so that you know how to kind of transform or improve your product so that it matches what they're looking for.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so anyone listening, you can extrapolate that to really any industry, even entrepreneurial or non-entrepreneurial.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: Like you need to talk to your stakeholders and this is something basic we're taught, but I don't think people actually take the time to do it, whether they think it's too much or they don't want to hear the feedback, or whatever it may be.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: You certainly can figure out what you take in and what you actually keep meaning you work on, or and what you take in and what you maybe hear, but you just know you can't do anything about it or it's not something you want to take action on.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: So hearing that feedback and having that ongoing loop, which sounds like is now a regular occurrence, is something that you know has helped you evolve the business and stay on top of that pulse.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: Yes, it sounds like.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: So people listening to that tip.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: When you think about structuring your business and your life goals like goals you have now.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Your business and your life goals like goals you have now.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: Do you see your business changing or evolving as you go through different phases and stages of your life?
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: Like what's the what's next for you in the sense of how you want to see it evolve as your children get older, as you settle into kind of where you want, is you know your main space that you want to be in?
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a tricky question because I think a lot of that comes with like the moment right, and figuring out kind of it hasn't happened yet.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, you know, three years from now, are my kids going to be in sports every weekend and we're going to be traveling, or they're not interested, and you know we're able to do something different, and so it's hard to predict the future, I think.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: But I think one thing I always come back to and I do, you know, on a yearly basis, when we set our goals, I really come back to those core values Like what, what is it that's so important to me?
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: And you know, in my life there are a few things that stand out, like health and fitness are very important to me.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: So I need to make sure that I make time in my schedule for that.
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: I need to make sure that that's like a priority.
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: My kids, right now, are the number one priority, and so I need to make sure that I have time for that and that I'm accounting for anything that comes up with that Meaning if they have a day off, I have to take the day off, right, I just have to be there for them, and so, yes, I think it's so important to structure your business around that, but also making sure that you're profitable right, because as a business, you can't keep your doors open.
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: You can't service your community if you're not pulling in a profit.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: So coming up with creative ways of still pulling in a profit.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: But also, you know, if you want to take six weeks of vacation every year because maybe you live far away from your family and you want to go visit them, but then you also want time to take your own vacation too, if that's important to you, just as an example, how can you structure your business to match that?
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: So, maybe you hire people who are taking your Q&A calls for you, or maybe you are structuring a membership program that's based on content rather than community right, and there's different ways of doing it, and we can get creative in how we offer that.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: We can offer passive income products right, ones that are more DIY products, or online products.
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: So there's just so many different ways that we can find income in places that don't require our time all the time, right, yes, you have to create it, and so you got to put the work.
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: Don't get me wrong you got to put work in creating that product.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: But once you have it, you know, can you pull passive income from that.
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: And I think that's really important for people to focus on, rather than just kind of service only in a lot of like local service based businesses.
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: There's ways of doing that even in those businesses as well.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so a lot of people want to be a coach and a lot of people want to have a membership and we could like go through the list and have a podcast and write a book.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: Like you can, you can go through it and you know we've done a lot of those things, both of us.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: So, in the sense of that, when you think about someone coming up to you and say, hey, I'd like to start a membership, I'm a health coach, we'll just use this specifically Like what do they need to think about?
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: Like, where do they?
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: start.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: So I think the first thing to think about is what type of membership do you want?
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: Because there's many different ways that you can structure a membership.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: You can have it based on community right, where you're providing accountability in some way, that you're providing you know lessons in some way, or coaching in some way.
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: You can have a membership that's based on content right.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: So, for example, let's say, a fitness coach wants to create a membership, well, they can pre-record you know 45 fitness videos and have something you know like that right.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: So there's content-based memberships.
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: There are then also like bring in experts right.
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: So ways that, okay, you get this membership because you're going to be hearing from experts in the field that we're going to bring in, and you're going to get the benefit of that when you're going to hear kind of insider information that you wouldn't hear elsewhere.
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: So there are many different ways.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: There's also ways to like get access to primary or locked content right Locked content that isn't available elsewhere, and so there's many different ways that you can structure a membership, and I think the first thing to think about is how present do you want to be, and do you want to have to be present on a timely basis, meaning like every Wednesday at two o'clock I have to be available for this call because we have coaching calls or do you want more feedback based collaboration?
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: For example, they submit their feedback to you if you're working with other coaches or you're working with the end client that they're submitting.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: Okay, these are my, this is my food log for the week, right, and you can review that at any time.
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: You don't necessarily have to review it at two o'clock on Monday.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: And so kind of thinking about that, like what's the structure of your life and how can you build that membership in order to meet those goals that you need to meet on a personal basis as well?
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and is there like I think?
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Sometimes people think they have to go, though like the whole hundred they have to go.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: You know, all in, they have to quit their job.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: There's a way to do this incrementally right For someone, absolutely.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: And I also think it's really important not to over deliver when you first start, because a lot of people think like, oh okay, well, I, you know they're comparing themselves to perhaps another membership out there that's cheaper because that person has a hundred thousand people in their membership, right, and they're comparing that.
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: But you don't necessarily need to be that and you don't need to offer everything that that person offers and more because you're you're different, right, they make it more personalized advice from you and that type of thing.
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: So, instead of thinking about how much can I pack into this membership, it's more, how valuable can this membership be?
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: How can I most easily help my end client reach their goal?
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: And that's the biggest thing, because people don't want a ton of content.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: They really don't.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: They don't want to have to sift through everything.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: I learned that in my own membership.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: That was the biggest feedback I got when I initially launched.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: It was I don't, I'm overwhelmed, there's too much.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: And when you talked about the different types of membership, literally I have all of those things in my membership.
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: So, like you learn really quick, like maybe that's not really what they need or that's not what they're asking for.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: And the key thing that you just hit home on that everyone should hear is, like you need to add value, that the value could be your interaction with them.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: The value could be that you know you are online and in the meetings with them and that is something that you know people pay a premium for in the sense of like your time being around and hearing your words or being coached by you, right?
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: So I think you know really thinking about who your community is and what they need and how you add value through your expertise.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: And I love what you said of you don't have to just go in Like I have to give 190%.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Like you go in and like what is it that you do differently than everybody else and start there, you know.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: So that's key.
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: Yes, one small thing that can then evolve as you grow and when you grow it.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: You want to grow it to meet what your client asked for and this is a recurring theme on this podcast right now but is just getting the feedback from your clients.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: So don't don't build too much until you've heard it from your client that that's really what they want.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: Right, it's not always doing more.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: I think that's something my daughter told me, and I think I might have even shared that with you all.
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: But I thought, well, like you know, this isn't hitting like I thought it would.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: I didn't get as much response as I thought.
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: I need to do more.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: She's like no, that's not the answer, it's the opposite, right?
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: Sometimes you need to do less, and I think that's really, really important for people to hear too.
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: No matter what it is they may be doing, it's not always like do more, go more, be more responsible.
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: You know, add the thing it could be doing less.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: So really do consider that, which is a really opposite way of probably how most of us think.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so one of the things that, as we kind of end, you talked about alignment and we use that word a lot and it's it's what I use instead of balance.
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: I don't really use balance, because I think you get out of balance very quickly, but you can stay in alignment a little longer, but you still can easily get out of alignment, but you have to know the signs.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: One of the things when I became extremely burnout in 2020 is I ignored all the signs of misalignment and I was so misaligned with my values which I love that you talked about that.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: That was key for you and your business of family and time and relationships and financial stability.
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: Those are things that you know, that you've thought about and and some of them being direct values in your life what are things that you, as a health coach and in all of your experience, even outside of that, just in the world as an entrepreneur, and all the things that you've done in your career.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: What are some signs of misalignment that people should look for and then start paying attention to if they're happening?
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think if you wake up and you don't want to get out of bed because you don't want to go to work or you don't want to do the thing that's on your schedule, that you pay attention, right, Because I wake up now.
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: I mean it sounds crazy, but Monday comes and I'm like, yes, it's Monday.
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: Mondays feel a lot different.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: Right, it doesn't mean like you don't have stuff to do or things don't get stressful now and on, but they definitely feel very different from when I was in the corporate world.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: I usually well towards the end.
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: I mean I started really dreading it Saturday night, so I had like I had from Friday night until Saturday night.
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: I like that that time was the only time mentally I was like feeling good and then I was already dreading Monday on Saturday night.
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: That was a sign I ignored.
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: Right, they give it a word, the Sunday scaries.
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: Right, and it's maybe true.
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: If you're feeling that way all day it's Sunday, that it's like I'm dreading this week that's coming up then it's probably time for a change.
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: And I think a lot of people think change is like this impossible thing that they need to go back and get another certification, that they need to go back and get another degree and that they're like on the bottom of the totem pole again.
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: And it's not like that.
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: Like when I look at the pivots and the transitions that I've made, I've realized that whoa, there's so much opportunity that has untouched out there.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: And just because you're locked in you know I had a physical therapy degree doesn't mean that I can't work for an insurance company, or I'm not saying that that would be my goal, but you know what I mean.
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: Like you can change your there's ways to kind of stay within your realm and use your expertise but do something completely different.
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: And so just finding those opportunities and my friend will laugh if she ever hears this, but I have a friend who she went to PT school for me and now she works for selling brain stimulators.
• 32:42
  Speaker 2: That's her job.
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: She works in the OR and she teaches doctors how to use these brain stimulators and like, what a cool transition right, and she didn't require she learned on the job.
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: It didn't require her to go get any extra education, it was just something that she interviewed for.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: They hired her and they trained her to do right.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: And so making those pivots are not necessarily as challenging as you think.
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: So when you're starting to feel out of alignment, you get that gut feeling that it's like oh, I'm going into this meeting and I although I need to reframe this because I think being out of your, out of your comfort zone is not a bad thing but there's a difference between feeling kind of disgusted about something, be motivated, right.
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: Right, I was still really good at my job, from like clicking the boxes, looking at the degrees, looking at the titles of pay, the outcomes of the work, what I could do like still really good at it, but I didn't find joy in it anymore.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: Right, and I think that's an indicator.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: And like, if you're getting the Sunday scaries, like every Sunday feels like that, like pay attention, If you're walking into a meeting and it's like pulling energy versus giving energy, and I think excitement and nervousness I try to say excited now versus nervous but that's an energy and like is that fueling you or is it like draining you?
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: And so like thinking about those things too.
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: I think that's what you're getting at right, Because sometimes you're going to feel a little nervous and excited about a good thing.
• 34:03
  Speaker 2: Right After it's over, after that thing that you were nervous about is over, you should feel like, oh my God, I can't believe I just did that.
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: That was amazing, Right.
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: And so that's the energy that you want to feel after something that gives you that gut, you know, that stomach upset.
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: But if you're getting that kind of feeling and then you're leaving it's still feeling that way and not having any positive result from it, then it's probably time to move on.
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: The other thing is if you're terribly bored right, a lot, of, a lot of times we get in this like monotony and we're not propelling ourselves forward, or we spend so much time at work as a society, and so if you're spending, let's say, 40, the average 40 hours a week doing something that bores you to death, like again you're, you're missing out on a huge part of life, and so that's another thing that I think is a sign to pay attention.
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so feeling that Sunday scary, you know, dreading, or not wanting to get out of bed, those are signs, obviously, things that give you energy versus take energy.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: And then are you bored.
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: So like, think about those things as you're, you know, driving in your car and Allison the podcast, or listening to this as you're taking a walk, like do you, are you checking all three of those right now and kind of what you're doing?
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: And this could be, this could be in a relationship, this could be in something like your professional path, it could be you know something you need to think about of how you're spending your time in your work or your career, or even outside of it, because I think sometimes too, you could get into like, well, I'm always on this committee, I've been on this board, like I always volunteer for the X, y, z, but you don't need to if it's taking away time, draining energy and you're bored, and that's not giving something to you versus getting some energy from it.
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: So really, you could apply that to a lot of things in your life, which, for me, life is too short.
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: You should be really doing the things that add value and give you energy.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: Yep, I couldn't agree more.
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well.
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being on the Bold Lounge.
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: All the information about Valerie's Wellness Vault and you can follow her on Instagram as well are down below in the episode notes.
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: Thank you again, thank you so much, that was fun.
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to the Bold Lounge podcast.
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: Through the continuum of bold stories vulnerability to taking a leap you will meet more extraordinary people making a positive impact for others through their unique and important story.
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: By highlighting these stories, we hope to inspire others and share the journey of those with a bold mindset.
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: We hope you've enjoyed this podcast and look forward to sharing the next bold journey with you.