Latest / Abundant + Aligned / 171 // The secrets to building a successful business with Lisa Macale, Founder of Golden Brands

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171 // The secrets to building a successful business with Lisa Macale, Founder of Golden Brands · Abundant + Aligned

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Abundant and Aligned podcast, where we welcome women who are ready to live the life of their dreams.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: So if that's you, I'm so glad you're here.
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: I'm Jess, your host and your new bestie, here to remind you to dream big, live with intention and believe that actually, yes, you can.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Here we talk all things mindset and personal development.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: We are on a mission to create abundance in all areas of our life, and playing small just isn't our jam.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: So if you're ready to expand your mind to the possibilities, turn off autopilot and start showing up with intention.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Buckle up for the ride.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: We are Abundant and Aligned.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Hello everyone and welcome back to the Abundant and Aligned podcast.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for tuning into another episode and thank you for tuning into another guest episode.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: I'm so excited for the incredible lineup of women in business that have come to the show and we have another beautiful one lined up today.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: I have Lisa from Golden Brands and, honestly, the event that you've done recently was the biggest inspiration and that's kind of what's encouraged this episode today.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I do have Lisa.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the show.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: Oh, thank you so much for having me.
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: I'm really excited to dive into this chat today.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so, as you can see by her I will hear by her accent is from New Zealand, and I was saying how much I love New Zealand and cannot wait to get back over and explore more of that country, because it is beautiful and the wine and the seafood right up my alley Me too.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, we are covering a lot today, but mostly just showcasing all of the incredible things that you're doing in business.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: This is not really a business podcast, but a lot of our listeners do have businesses and I think it is the most profound way to create a sense of freedom in life, because you have that flexibility, the uncapped income potential, and I just love just chatting with women about how they ended up in business, what their journey has been like to date, to provide some inspiration for those who are either thinking about joining or starting a business or those who are in the thick of it and just need some inspiration and some tips to grow.
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, well, I guess let's start with a bit of an intro personal and business.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Take it away.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: Well, I'm Lisa, the founder of Golden Brands.
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: Golden Brands is an online membership and community for small business owners all across New Zealand and Australia.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: We've got members, like everywhere in New Zealand and Australia now, which is really exciting, and we also do in-person events, which you mentioned, jess.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: So we've just done a conference in Brisbane last month, which was absolutely incredible, and we've already locked in a date to come back and do it again next year, which I'm really excited for.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: But Golden Brands, our online membership platform, offers everything from like monthly master classes, guest speakers, resources, templates, we do, coaching, one-to-one support, so really everything that small business owners need in the earlier stages of their journey to really like set themselves up for success and grow and scale businesses that are profitable, sustainable, but that they actually love.
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: At the end of the day, that's what we help our members achieve.
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: Um, so that's a little bit about golden brands and where I'm at now, but this is my fourth business, so I'm not sure if you want me to kind of go through the other businesses as well and kind of what led me to this point.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: So I did used to live in Brisbane and I started my first business there.
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: It was a wedding planning and styling business.
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: I had that business for about three or four years and ended up selling it after having my first son.
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: I then had a stock image-based business for a short period of time with a friend, so that business was in partnership, and we decided to close that business for various reasons, and that was when I moved back to New Zealand.
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: And then my third business was a social media management business which grew extremely quickly and I got extremely burnt out and that led me to start this platform where I could really support other small business owners in their journey.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: Wow, I love that, and you've kind of done a bit of everything, which is obviously why you now can service so many different businesses, because having so many different business formats involves so many different things, right?
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: So I love that.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: And so have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: Have you always wanted to be in business?
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: I have.
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I remember even when I was like 20 thinking because I worked in human resources at the time I did a business degree and I hated working for other people and I hated working in, like the corporate industry.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: It just was not for me at all.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: I hated that I had to be there at 8am and then I got my like one hour window for lunch and like I just didn't like like working that way and I had some really bad managers along the way and it made me hate it even more.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: So I was always like I need to get out of here, I need to start my own business.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: And then when I got here, I need to start my own business.
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: And then when I got engaged and I just loved planning my own wedding, I'm like, oh well, let's just give wedding planning a crack.
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: Like surely that would be something I would enjoy doing.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: And I did and it worked out really well.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: It was a lot of hard work but, yeah, it did work out really well.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah Well, I completely agree with what you're saying about the corporate world.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: I was also in the corporate world as a lawyer and same thing.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: I was like I cannot spend my entire life doing this.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Getting up, going to a job, sitting in an office all day, every day, um yeah, just like craving that freedom.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, completely hear you when you're saying that.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: Also, I love that you just you got married, like this is kind of cool, and then you just started a business from that, like that.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: It's like leaning, jumping into it and just seeing how it unfolds.
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: Everyone at the time is like Lisa, what the hell are you doing?
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: Like you can't give up your HR career.
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: You've just finished your degree degree, you've got a really good job, you're getting paid really well, you've got two mortgages.
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: Like you can't give this up and I'm like, no, I'm going to because I'm so confident I can make this work and I'm just gonna give it everything.
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: And thankfully my husband was super supportive.
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: He's like, just if this is what you want to do, it's gonna make you happy.
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: Go for it, we'll figure it out.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: And thankfully I was able to make a profit in the first 12 months.
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: Otherwise I probably would have had to go back to that.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: I'd love for you to talk a little bit more about that, because I'm so sure there's so many women listening to this who are inspired to start a business, but they are focusing on the safety and security that comes from their job, that regular paycheck.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: We are programmed to get jobs and stay because it pays the bills.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: So how did you navigate that part?
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: Well, I guess there was a lot of self-trust that you would make it work.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: But when you did, have everyone around you saying that's risky, that's silly, like how did you navigate that?
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: Well, yeah, I was aware that it would be a problem if I didn't make any money and if I couldn't bring in anything to contribute to all of the debt and finances and things like I couldn't buy groceries every week, like there would be a problem.
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: My husband obviously was working, but we still needed I needed to be able to contribute, even if it was in a small capacity to begin with.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: So I was very much aware of that.
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: So what I actually did?
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: I continued working in my HR job while I started to build my business.
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: So I gave it probably two to three months before I actually quit my job and I ended up purchasing a small hire business, like very small hire business, who had like a couple established bookings.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: I'm like, okay, at least that's like a couple thousand dollars that I know I'm going to make over the next month, like for the next few months once I quit my job, and then I just have to like hustle to get some clients, like I have to book some weddings so I can start taking deposits, because most of the people would book like 12 to 18 months in advance, so you'd only have like a small amount of revenue coming in in the interim.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: Um, and I just, yeah, I started an Instagram account website and I learned everything I could about SEO.
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: At the time, all of my bookings came from just like organic Google searches.
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: Um, this was before the day of like Instagram ads, like this was was we're talking like back in 2014.
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: So, you know, things looked a little bit different back then.
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: I just learned everything I could about SEO and I started showing up organically in Google searches.
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: Every time someone searched for wedding planner Brisbane, I came up like in the first two searches.
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: So then I started getting lots of inquiries just through that alone, which led to lots of bookings in that first 12 months.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, wow, because being able to jump full-time into your business within two to three months of start yeah, starting a business is is pretty exciting and a huge achievement.
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: What would you say really contributed to the early success of that business?
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: I think just how motivated I was to succeed and to prove everyone wrong that.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: I could do it.
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: And I know.
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: But that actually really motivated me, because everyone who was like Lisa, this is a terrible idea, it's not going to work, You're not gonna make any money.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: I'm like I'll show you, I can do this.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: And I just used that as my motivation and I was determined to try everything I needed to do to make it successful.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: I did everything like I networked, I collaborated with other business owners, I attended all the events, I learned everything I could about digital marketing in a very short period of time and I just worked like a crazy person and made sure that this is going to be something and it's going to be profitable.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: I love what you're saying around.
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: Just you just learned everything you could and you figured it out.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: I know that's another roadblock to women.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: Succeeding really early on in business is not knowing what to do and just wearing that identity of like I'm not very good with tech, I have no idea how to set up SEO, and they kind of just use that as a block.
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: But just got it, just get in there and figure it out and learn, and there's actually so much you can figure out on your own.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: You don't necessarily have to have a huge budget to pay all of these for like for assistance and vendors.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: Like just learning and just getting in the trenches and figuring it out pays off massively.
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: Absolutely, and even just building a network around you.
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: So I went to every single networking event to connect with other people in the wedding industry and I just asked lots of questions and people were surprisingly happy to help and like collaborate on different projects and things and then that led to more brand awareness and more leads, more referrals.
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: So it kind of just had like this ripple effect for my business to actually get out there and build a network around my business.
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that, and just organic.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: Organic, you know, reach and organic leads.
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: It's a thing like it can be done.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: And, again, you don't need a huge budget to network with people and ask if someone wants to take a look at your business or ask for help, which again is a nice reminder for everyone.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: So, anyways, fast forward.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: We are now where you are now with your membership, your incredible in-person event.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: I'm so sad I could not make it, because it looked incredible.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: Talk to us about the journey to here.
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, any roadblocks, any hurdles that you've had to overcome, or, if there's one, I'm sure there's been many challenges that you've had to overcome, but if there's one challenge that you've really had to overcome, what would that?
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: be.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: There's been so many challenges the past.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: How long do we have?
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: So many.
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: Obviously I had to learn everything I could about building a membership site because I had no experience in that prior.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: So it was a big learning process starting this business and learning about live launches and evergreen, you know, funnels and all of that Like I had no idea going into this business how much would be involved.
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: But I think like one of the biggest challenges for me is just being even though I've always believed in myself and I know what I'm capable of and like, if I've got a vision, I know that I can get there eventually.
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: But I've really felt in this last two years there's been a lot of like uncertainty and worry about things I have worried about when I'm going to be able to start paying myself, when I'm going to be able to pay back all the money I've invested in this business, when I'm going to actually start seeing like a bigger growth in our membership numbers.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: So, yeah, there's just been lots of that to have to kind of navigate and, yeah, I guess a lot of emotions and things that come up with that fear and uncertainty and just that worry that you have as a small business owner and I know a lot of people could relate to that in the early stages of their business journey and I've just been quite impatient, like, even though we're only about to hit our second year in business next week, that I've just been like in my first year I'm like, oh yeah, I'll get 500 members Easy, I can do that.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: But it's just not the reality, like you've got to put the work in and take all those small steps to get there and things don't happen overnight.
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: And I felt like I've just been quite impatient with this journey, so something I've really had to work at.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: But we're in a really amazing place now, but it's taken nearly two years to get there.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: And how have you dealt with that impatience?
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: Because I'm so sure everyone's nodding their head saying I'm the same Like.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: I want the money now, I want the clients now.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: How do you sit in that waiting game while still maintaining and holding onto that vision?
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, this is actually something that comes up often in the membership as well with our members.
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: So what I have had to do, and what I recommend everyone does, is if you've got a big goal or a vision, you just really need to break it down into super simple, small steps and when you achieve each of those small steps, you have to acknowledge it and celebrate those wins along the way, even if they might seem really small or kind of a little bit insignificant at the time.
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: Because if you just keep your eyes focused on that big vision and goal and it just seems too far away and you can get really kind of lost in your journey and you can lose motivation and inspiration to keep going, and that's kind of where a lot of people give up.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: So I feel like if you just break it down into super simple steps and like tiny little goals and then you actually take the time to celebrate and acknowledge it, that's, yeah, something that can truly help you along the way.
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: We always get our members every month inside the membership to acknowledge all of their wins for the month, no matter how small they are like, to actually just take the time to write them down and be like I'm so grateful I've been able to achieve all of this this month and that's so much more than what I had the month before or the three or six months before.
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I love that.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: So grateful I've been able to achieve all of this this month and that's so much more than what I had the month before or the three or six months before.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that, and I, again, I've been in that position, too, where you're just focusing on that huge goal and completely overlooking all of these other incredible milestones that you're hitting within your business.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: Um, that often aren't the monetary goals, because that is usually the big goal we're focusing on is, like, revenue.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Let's get our business to that point, but in the meantime, yeah, like, your free downloads may have gone through the roof, your followers on Instagram, your likes, your shares, like, or even just staying consistent with your business and showing up for another day, like, yeah, I love that you're.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: You're encouraging that, because there are so many wins that go into a business that is not just monetary, and the more we celebrate that, the higher our vibration is, and then we attract more incredible things.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: So I love that.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: Speaking of wins, what would you say your biggest win in business has been?
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: If you could put it down to one, one or two, I think the biggest win.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: I think like the biggest win, um the, what comes to mind first is the community that we have been able to build.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: Like I feel like that is my greatest win, because I see so many success stories coming out of that community so many people collaborating, connecting, building these incredible relationships, referring each other business, like that's where all the magic is happening inside the community.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: Like we can give people all the resources and training and access to experts.
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: But honestly, I see so much value and just so much impact come out of those connections that people are building inside the community and every single time someone sends me like a bit of feedback like they have picked up some new work or they're collaborating with another member inside the business, or they've been able to I don't know host a live event with another member or something like that.
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: I'm like, oh, like that, that is what I live for and that's honestly, I think, just overall, been the biggest win to date to see how that community has been formed and the value that it's having for our members.
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: On like a personal note, I would say like the biggest win for me personally would be all of the things that I have done over the last two years out of my comfort zone that have really propelled this business forward, and things that I have been able to work through, like public speaking my fear around public speaking is a big one, um, things like major things and fears that I've had for years and years that I've had to like face head on and overcome that have really helped to propel this business forward.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: Actually, I remember seeing a post just after your event.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: You mentioned that you were so close to canceling that event because all of the limiting beliefs were coming on and I really like I found that post really inspiring because one it's the honesty and the vulnerability that goes into being a business owner and sometimes what we see on social media.
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: It's easy to look at that and go wow, like how are they doing this?
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: Like I'm so scared to do that, like they're a super woman.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: But we're all having these same thoughts.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: We're all having these same doubts and limiting beliefs.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: But I guess the difference is, as you mentioned, we're just leaning in scared, we're doing it anyway, even if we are so far out of our comfort zone and again coming back to just that trust element of we'll be okay at the end of the day and it is a growth, a growth part to our business.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: So I'd love for you to kind of talk about that point, like that post that you did put up where you mentioned that you were so close to canceling that event.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: Like run us through what you had to do to overcome that doubt and the limiting beliefs that may have come through and ended up putting together the most incredible event.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: Like guys I've got, I'll link the Instagram and the show notes.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: Like go and have a look at this event.
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: It was beautiful.
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: So I guess it was about a year before the event.
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: I committed to doing it and I didn't really think through it all.
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: I'm just like this is my goal.
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: I want to do an event at the Carlisle in Brisbane, I want to run a conference, and so I just paid a deposit.
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: My goal I want to do an event at the Carlisle in Brisbane, I want to run a conference, and so I just paid a deposit and I just committed to it, without letting my mind kind of process what that means in terms of having to get up on stage, having to, like, put myself out there to sell tickets, reach out to other business owners to get them involved.
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: Like I just did it and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna figure this out, it's all gonna work out.
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: And I know that it.
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: And I'm like, okay, I'm going to figure this out, it's all going to work out.
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: And I know that it will have a really big impact on my business if I can pull this off and I can do it.
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: But during that year, like I had a lot, I've had a lot of fear and anxiety around public speaking.
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: It's been something I've struggled with like my whole entire life.
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: And in the lead up to the conference.
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: I had to really work at overcoming this because I couldn't get up on stage on the day and just be there shaking and not speak like I had to do it.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: So I did everything that I knew like I looked at all like the tools available to help me overcome this fear.
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: I hired a coach and I attended Toastmasters.
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: So I went to Toastmasters twice a month for the whole year.
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: Um, I and I just started doing little things like I attended a couple conferences and you know, at the conference or events they always ask like the crowd for audience, for um, so for questions, and I'm like I'm gonna put my hand up and ask questions because that's something I would never, ever do.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: Like I'm not the type of person to put my hand up in a room full of people and ask a question.
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: So just little things like that.
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: I just kept putting myself out there and doing and for a whole 12 month period of doing that and working with my coach doing Toastmasters, I was then able to get up on stage, not confidently, but I was able to hide my nerves and get up and deliver the emceeing for the day.
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: And I now feel that I've accomplished that and I've kind of got that evidence that I can actually do it.
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: It's going to be so much easier next time around when I go to do it again.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, again, I love that.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: You're just like I'm just going to figure this out.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: I'm just going to learn what I need to learn.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: I'm going to get myself in rooms to master what feels so unfamiliar and just figuring it out.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: I love this so much.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: Now, speaking of your event actually, no, let's go into your membership, because that is what you do and so you're obviously an expert in this.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: Two years in members are growing.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: For those who are listening and would love to either start a membership platform, or maybe they have one and they're not seeing the growth that they would like to do you have some tips for someone who is looking into the membership side of business?
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: um, yeah, top three tips maybe yes, yeah, I've got lots of tips around memberships that I can share.
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: So if anyone is looking at launching a membership, I would recommend that your membership has three key things.
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: So it needs to have, obviously, the content element, whether you deliver like masterclasses or templates, resources, whatever it is but it also needs to have, along with the content, it needs to have a community and a coaching element.
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: I feel like those three things together just create like a successful formula for memberships.
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: Community is really really key with memberships because once people join, you want them to stay in your membership, especially if they're paying on a month by month basis.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: You want them to be engaged in your membership and that takes a lot of work to build that.
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: I often think about it like people will join the membership for the content but they stay for the community.
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: So just something to consider if you are looking at building one, and I think for us, having the coaching element has really been like a game changer for our membership and that's the feedback that we get from a lot of our members, a lot of other memberships.
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: They have lots of great content and they have that community aspect, but there's no like real one-to-one support or tailored support to their situation and I feel like that has just really, really helped our members on their business journey.
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: We have one-to-one business support days and we have group coaching-one business support days and we have group coaching, and I let members book and calls with me when they need them throughout the month.
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: So there's lots and lots of one-to-one support.
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: Um, so those are kind of the three things I would recommend if you're looking at launching a membership.
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: For growing a membership, you need to get really, really good at running a launch strategy, like you, regardless.
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: If you have, like, an evergreen model where your memberships open all the time for people to join, or you have what like what we do, an open, close cart model where we just open up our doors three times a year for a seven to ten day window, you just need to get really, really good at launching, and that has been, yeah, a big learning curve for me.
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: We have a very low ticket offer with our membership it's only $49 a month.
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: So we have to get new leads coming in all at the time.
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: So lead generation, like 24-7, every day of the year, is really, really important for us to continually grow our membership.
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: And then, as I mentioned, you do need to be across, like your churn rate for your membership, making sure that you're retaining as many members as you can, because it's so much easier to retain a member than it is to get a new member into the membership.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: So really look after your existing members once they are in and just really understand your audience extremely well, survey them, chat to them, like get them involved in the conversation.
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: I have a lot of conversations inside my DMs on Instagram.
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: I survey our audience quite often, I survey the members and I also survey people on our email list just so that I can really make sure that we are, you know, marketing the membership to the right people, that we're touching on their pain points and we're making sure that we're providing, you know, the content and the value and the support that our members really need to thrive in the membership.
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: So those are just three quick pieces of advice if you're looking at launching or growing a membership.
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: Also, just asking your community for feedback is such an underrated way to find that information out.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: Again, just asking for that help.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: Sometimes we sit in the background and try and figure it out and try and be mind readers, but we can just have these conversations and survey, which I probably actually need to do more in my business, if I'm honest, because the answers we're searching for are right there in those conversations.
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely like every time I do a survey, there'll be something that comes out of it that I'm like oh, I never thought about that, like we should do that for our next lot of like email EDMs that we send out on in our launch week, or there'll be like some little gold nugget of information I'm like, oh, like it makes me kind of shift my thinking about something, or it's an idea that I've never even considered.
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, A new idea, because sometimes we're so stuck in our own ideas that we just need that new perspective and it unravels so many new potentials for the business.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: Um, speaking of launches, so I love live launching and that is a big part of my business, but I know for some people it's exhausting and a scary thing to do because it's like your, your revenue and your lead generation is all wrapped up in potentially one to two weeks and then the cart closes again.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: So how do you maintain your energy through a launch period?
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: Um, and what does a strategy kind of look like on your side of things?
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: great question because every time I come out of a launch period I'm so exhausted and then I start to think why do I do this?
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: Why do I do live launches?
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: It is so much work and you have to show up every single day of that launch period for it to be successful.
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: You need to have a lot of conversations.
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's very draining, as you know, jess, on your energy.
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: So we kind of have the same strategy for our launch periods because it's worked and I've tried different things.
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: I've tried like having shorter launch periods, longer launch periods.
• 26:51
  Speaker 3: I've tried evergreen, like I feel, like I've tested kind of everything and always go back to the original launch strategy that we had.
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: So normally I will open up our doors for like seven to 10 day window and I will make sure there's lots of like pre-launch emails going out to our email list to really like nurture that audience before we go straight into the sales emails.
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: And then I will always kind of ramp up our lead generation before we go into a launch period as well.
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: So, really pushing our lead magnets, I might run some ads to our lead magnets.
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: Mentioning lead magnets, I often do a live event during the launch week and that's normally a webinar, so I'll normally be mentioning that quite a bit as well, and we do typically get a few people sign up from that webinar.
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: So it does convert for us.
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: Not a huge amount of people, but, yeah, typically we might get I don't know five people or so, depending on how many people join the webinar.
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: And then during the launch window, the majority of our sales come from our email list.
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: Even though I do post like a few, I'll normally do like a reel and some posts on Instagram to let people know that doors are open, but I would say like the majority, over 95% of those sales come from our email list, which is why lead generation is so important for us to keep growing that email list.
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, but I do.
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: I don't want to say bombard people with emails, but I do send out a lot of emails during that launch window and I'll often send out emails that kind of touch on any objections that people might have around joining the membership.
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: There might be like a case study and some social proof in there.
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: There might be an email that kind of answers frequently asked questions about the membership be an email that kind of answers frequently asked questions about the membership.
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: There would also normally be some type of announcement email that might have like a bonus attached to it for that launch window.
• 28:49
  Speaker 3: So yeah, that's kind of a quick overview of the strategy that we've used.
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: It does work really well, but it does require showing up, creating a lot of content and having a lot of conversations like by email or social media.
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that a big lead generation for you is your email.
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: Like so much emphasis these days, I feel, is placed on social media and we can get exhausted through from social media, especially because it has this feeling of like it's kind of out of our control, like with the algorithm changes or you know, people are not seeing our posts, which is why it's so important to have another way to connect with your community.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: But I love that you've mentioned that emails is one of your most successful leads.
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: Emails are not dead people.
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: I still love you, so I love that you've thrown that in there.
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: Like we don't have to be doing everything on social media and emails is that real, direct way to connect with your customer without relying on the algorithm or what time you're posting and if people are seeing your content.
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, email marketing has been incredibly effective for us and I find it so much easier to sell through email marketing than through Instagram, for example.
• 30:01
  Speaker 3: And, like you said, like you can't guarantee people are even going to see that the doors are open, your announcement post that goes up on Instagram like such a small amount of people in your community are even going to see that, and for me it's probably all our members see it.
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: No one else sees it.
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: True, yeah, yeah.
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: So, yeah, it's just been really great to prioritize our email list and growing them.
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: And then, finally, you mentioned community is a huge part of having a successful membership.
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: What is something you do to really cultivate that community and create a space where people feel comfortable and they lean on those collaborations and they have these conversations, because that takes a skill as well being able to bring a group together and have them feel comfortable and supported and open up those conversations.
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: So how do you cultivate that incredible community?
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: So I think from day one of when I started Golden Brands, a couple of key things really helped to cultivate our community.
• 31:02
  Speaker 3: Firstly, I have always used like social media, mainly Instagram's the main platform that I'm on to engage with my audience, so having like a two-way conversation, so making sure that they're part of like the decision-making or they're part of the conversation.
• 31:17
  Speaker 3: It's not just me showing up to talk to them, we're having like a conversation there and I've always made sure to engage, like reply to all the comments, reply to all the DMs and support people, whether they're in the membership or not, like just to be able to support them.
• 31:33
  Speaker 3: If I can provide something quickly that's going to help them.
• 31:36
  Speaker 3: Or they ask me what tool I use for whatever it might be, I just tell them like I don't gatekeep anything and I think that has has definitely helped.
• 31:46
  Speaker 3: And I think, too, just how I have shown up online like I'm really transparent.
• 31:53
  Speaker 3: I share everything, the good, the bad.
• 31:56
  Speaker 3: I share like all the wins, all the big challenges, like when we've had really difficult periods and I felt like giving up.
• 32:03
  Speaker 3: I've shared all of that and I feel like a lot of our members can relate and resonate in my business journey and see themselves in my journey and I think just from showing up authentically online as a real person, you know, that has really helped to kind of bring that community together.
• 32:22
  Speaker 3: And the third thing I think has definitely helped is the in-person connection side of things Doing in-person events where people are actually meeting in real life.
• 32:33
  Speaker 3: That has really helped for our members to develop these incredible relationships with one another.
• 32:39
  Speaker 3: In the first year that we started Golden Brands, I did nine events I think it was nine, something like that eight or nine events all across New Zealand and I did one in Brisbane and just bringing together our community and showcasing the community online.
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: You know, then other people want to be part of that.
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I know I did my first in-person event in September and I'm obsessed with in-person events now because it allows you to create something that you cannot do online.
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: It doesn't matter how often you are showing up, it doesn't matter how raw and vulnerable you are online, like there's still that missing piece to the puzzle, and being able to create that in person was something that was so special to me.
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, that is definitely something that I'm focusing on, as well as just bringing more of that in-person connection, and I feel like, as a world, like within the world we are create, we are really craving more of that.
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, um, now, this is not.
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: This was not a question that I had popped in my email to you, but I wondered, as a successful business woman who is showing up and doing the, do you've got these incredible strategies in place and it seems like you're a very hard worker.
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: What do you do to take care of yourself?
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: Because, obviously, mindset and having this capacity to hold on to this huge level is something that we need to be doing.
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: So do you have any routines or habits or practices that you have in your own life to help with that?
• 34:05
  Speaker 3: Really great question.
• 34:06
  Speaker 3: I think I have had to get really good with like boundaries.
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: I think that's one thing that I've had to kind of work on a lot over the last couple of years.
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: But what I do now so that I don't get burnt out because in my last business I did get really burnt out and I don't want to ever have to experience that again and I want to eventually create a business that's more of like a lifestyle based business where I can take time away, I can go on holidays and my business still operates without me being there 24 seven.
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: That's what I'm working towards and I'm slowly getting there.
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: I only work school hours because I've got two little kids, so that's like number one, non-negotiable for me.
• 34:46
  Speaker 3: Like I can't work after 3 pm and I try and I try my best to have some type of like wellness related thing that I do throughout the week.
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: At the moment it's Reforma Pilates.
• 35:01
  Speaker 3: I'm like obsessed with Reform of Pilates.
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: Or going for walks in the evenings, like once my husband gets home, and like listening to a podcast, like just little things like that that I often come away from that one hour window where I'm switched off from my business and my kids and family and all the other commitments.
• 35:19
  Speaker 3: I often come away from that, like the walk or the Pilates session, just feeling really inspired and often spark ideas and yeah, things that I haven't even considered because I haven't allowed any space in my work week just to like, think and be creative.
• 35:37
  Speaker 3: So I really enjoyed that time.
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that is powerful, just creating this space for the ideas to drop in.
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: If you're listening to this and you're feeling stuck in your business and really blocked off to the ideas, it's very likely you're just not taking a step out of the business enough and creating that space and just slowing down Because, like when you are in Reformer Pilates, you're relaxed, you're not thinking about too much stuff and you're just like in your element, and it usually is in those moments where you do get those huge aha moments.
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: So, creating space, I love that, I love that so much.
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: Well, to wrap us up, I would love for you to share who exactly is your membership for, for those who are listening, in case this is exactly what they need when your next opening is and how they can connect with you.
• 36:24
  Speaker 3: Yep, so the membership is, or has been designed specifically for online creative, service-led small business owners.
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: So, for example, we've got a lot of like graphic designers, social media managers, interior designers, photographers, wellness professionals lots of more service-led business owners all across New Zealand and Australia, and our doors are next going to open the first week of February in the new year.
• 36:50
  Speaker 3: And the final part of your question was how can they connect with you?
• 36:55
  Speaker 3: Oh, how can they connect?
• 36:55
  Speaker 3: Sorry, instagram.
• 37:00
  Speaker 3: I'm most active on Instagram out of all the social media platforms and at golden brands, co is our instagram handle, and I've also got a podcast called a golden success, which jess will be on at some point in the future yes well, I'll link all of this in the show notes below, so go and check it out.
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: I love the idea of this membership and if you fit that mold like, definitely go and have a look, because getting assistance in your business is so powerful, but then having that community of other like-minded people in business who understand is worth having, like it's.
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: It's honestly incredible because business can get kind of lonely sometimes, so to be able to have that community is special.
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah Well, thank you so much for your time today.
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: Thank you for sharing your business journey, your tips to mastering a membership and creating success.
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: If you are listening to this episode, guys, please go and say thank you to Lisa over on the DMs.
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: I love hearing from people when you listen to a podcast, so please go and do that.
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: Check out the links below.
• 37:56
  Speaker 2: And, lisa, thank you so much for being here and sharing your time with us.
• 38:00
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me, Jess.
• 38:02
  Speaker 3: I really appreciate it.
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: Thanks, guys, we.