Here is a real-life example of our approach and the typical results our clients experience working with us.
We started working with Lauren, the founder and CEO of Memory Lane Jane last year. She came to us for the same reason many of our clients do. She needed to talk about her business with someone she could trust and who didn’t have a stake in it.
Lauren is excellent at her craft. She spent over 20 years developing her skills and her products. Her business turns family biographies and memoirs into heirloom books and films that will be treasured for generations.
But, her business was also unpredictable and overwhelming. She was undercharging for her product. She was booking clients but not consistently enough to generate a steady monthly income. The business was negatively impacting her marriage as the two had become enmeshed and every conversation about the business resulted in tension. She was constantly working without seeing strong financial results. She was jumping from idea to idea with no clear strategy.
With kids off to college soon and bigger retirement and life goals ahead, she wanted her business to be more sustainable and profitable. Even more importantly for her, while she gets great joy out of documenting family histories and legacies, she also has a life purpose that is bigger than what her business did alone. It wasn’t clear how she was going to integrate it into the business.
With this, we got to work.
We took Lauren through our 4-part process while also working quickly to triage what was not working in her current business model. We aimed to work on the long-term goals while also freeing up time and stabilizing revenue immediately.
Part 1: Imagine the life and business you want
Lauren started by defining her 10-year Ideal Scene. She imagined what her life would look like in 10 years if she could do anything she wanted to and had no fear of failure. This not only got Lauren excited about the future but also helped her clarify her long-term goals and what she wanted to do on a day-to-day basis.
Part 2: (Re)establish the vision, purpose, and mission and 3-year Strategy
Lauren had never really set these. Once she got clear on what she wanted from her business long-term (purpose and vision), she had the clarity needed to put in the scaffolding for her business (mission and 3-year strategy) so that she stopped getting pulled in all directions. This part also included developing 3-year financial forecasts, revenue goals, and budgets.
Part 3: Design a high-value product
Lauren mapped her ideal client and the challenges that her product solves for that client. We worked with her to design a product that is incredibly valuable to her client and solves as many of their pain points as possible. This process resulted in Lauren creating a more focused, higher-value product; one her clients would pay more for and would require less effort on her part.
Part 4: 1-year strategy and goals
With a clearly defined business framework, 3-year strategy, vision for her life, and product, Lauren started putting things into place with clearly defined goals and activities for the year. For Lauren this included increasing her prices, putting a production tracker into place, and prioritizing a simple marketing strategy with a proven record of success.
A year later, Lauren's business - and her day-to-day, look different.
- Her revenue has more than doubled.
- Less marriage conflict around the business.
- She is paying herself a meaningful and consistent monthly salary.
- The business hired a Project Manager and Communications Director.
- She had a guilt-free low-work Summer to be with her family before her oldest went to his first year of University.
- She is working with more focus and less stress - and enjoying her business more.
Lauren was connected to us through a mutual friend of Sarah's.
Here is what Lauren had to say about her experience after a few months of working with us:
"I heard a lot about Sarah before actually meeting her: You will love her. She's wildly creative. She's a kickass serial entrepreneur. If you want to grow and expand the impact of Memory Lane Jane, Sarah's your girl.
I thought there was no possible way when we first met that she could live up to all the hype. I. WAS. MISTAKEN!!
What started as a 30-minute intro call to talk about my work and the possibility of hiring Sarah and her business partner Laura as consultants has turned into something so much more exciting and impactful. For the last six months, their guidance, insights, and unwavering support have propelled Memory Lane Jane to new heights. We are thinking bigger and achieving newfound clarity in our goals. One month into 2024 and it's shaping up to be our best year yet!
If you are thinking about starting a business or already have but aren't reaching your potential, I highly recommend reaching out to Laura & Sarah!"
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