Emily Osmond - How to run a successful business in a tight market

Let's address the elephant in the room! Business is tough right now and knowing the next right step can be difficult. 

So, this week on the show, Justine has called on marketing expert and digital entrepreneur Emily Osmond to help share the best way to run and market your business when the market is tight. 

From strategic pricing and product offerings, Emily and Justine discuss the importance of tuning into your audience's needs while also providing them with those things they don't yet know they need. We chat about email list, crafting lead magnets that genuinely captivate, and creating value across a spectrum of price points. 

Emily also shares how to diversify your business with online courses and digital offers, something you can start today. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting out, this episode is packed with insights to guide you towards a business that not only thrives but aligns seamlessly with your personal vision of success.

Transcript

Success Secrets for a Profitable Business

Speaker 1 0:01

you're listening to the secrets of successful business podcast , your go-to source for business tips , tricks and proven strategies that will help you create a streamlined and profitable business . We chat to the best minds in business about their journey . It's my business and I'll do it my way , how they started , rather than going harder to get more focus on growing more with what you have , what they learned along the way . How long are you going to give this what ?

Speaker 3 0:29

compromises are you going to make ? Just because you can do it doesn't mean that you should do it .

Speaker 1 0:33

It's really important to remember that it's a long game and , of course , we'll ask them for their secret sauce for creating a successful business . If you're not failing , you're not doing it right . You should be struggling at times . That is part of the journey . Join us as we take a sneak peek behind the curtain , talk solutions for those business pain points working smarter , not harder , mindset and the challenges of fitting it all in with the demands of today's busy lifestyle . If you're a business owner , side hustler or just starting your business journey , this podcast is for you . Now here's your host , business coach and content creator , justine McLean from Flossie Creative .

Speaker 2 1:13

Hello and thanks for joining me on the podcast today . In case we haven't met , I'm Justine , a small business owner on a mission to uncover and share the secrets of creating and running a profitable , sustainable and successful business . I've been in business for over 20 years now and I get to use all that I've learned along the way to help other women in business reduce the overwhelm , gain visibility around their numbers , charge what they're worth and make more money . It's about designing a life you love that fits into your definition of success . So if I can help you create the profitable business you deserve , please reach out Now without further ado , let's dive into today's episode .

Speaker 2 1:57

Emily Osman quit her job to start a business when she was 26 . She had no plan , but with a mortgage to service her business idea had to work . But , as Emily says , after a wild ride on the entrepreneurial rollercoaster , she now boasts a global business that delivers a suite of online programs , and she's also the host of the Emily Osman Show , a podcast with over half a million downloads and that's listened to in over a hundred countries . Emily knows firsthand that business success is about believing that you can create a business on your terms that provides the income , lifestyle and freedom you desire . It's about connection over perfection and being brave enough to suck at something new over perfection and being brave enough to suck at something new . Emily's words and on the show . Today . We're chatting about running a business in today's economy and why adding an online business might just be the way to move your business forward . Hi , emily , welcome to the show .

Speaker 3 2:59

Thank you , Justine . I'm really delighted and honored to be here with you .

Speaker 2 3:03

It's like I'm thrilled to talk to you because I feel like we've been orbiting around one another for a while now talking online , but it's so lovely to connect in person .

Speaker 3 3:13

You know it really is . We've already had a great discussion . I could chat with you all day .

Speaker 2 3:18

We should have hit record ages ago , right ? Oh dear , Now look , before we kick off , I'd love if you could share a little bit about yourself and your business with the audience , just so they can get to know a little bit more about you .

Speaker 3 3:30

Yeah , no worries . So I'm in the marketing space online marketing and I'm really passionate about helping small business owners to improve their marketing and learn how to do it themselves . I have a master of communications degree . I wrote my thesis on social media and I had a very short stint of working for someone else and I guess I've always kind of had that desire to be my own boss and run my own business in a way , started as a freelancer and worked in tourism for that stint full-time , which was the best job ever really doing digital marketing for a regional tourism body . But really ultimately I just wanted to give it a go , going out on my own , picked up some different clients , got a lot of experience working across different assets of marketing , and I got to a point a few years into my business where I found I was repeating myself in the strategies I was sharing with my clients and I realized that the part that I loved most about what I was doing was really teaching them how they could manage their own marketing and learn how to do it themselves , versus me delivering them a strategy .

Speaker 3 4:38

And this was about six years ago and I'd heard the idea of this online course thing , but up till that point I had kind of dismissed it as something that could work for me . I thought I'm only seeing these American , big American personalities doing this . I'm introverted . I just , for many reasons , thought this isn't something I can do . But I was listening to a podcast which is the power of podcasting , I think and I heard this other lady saying she was an introvert and she had launched this membership teaching people social media and I thought , well , okay , maybe this is something I can give a go , and so I created my online membership and that was , like I said , about five , six years ago and that's been a whole new journey and loads of learnings from there . And today I continue to run that and help really predominantly now it's online business owners . So service providers , experts , consultants , help them to market themselves online , and I also help people as well that want to turn their knowledge and expertise into a leveraged offer with an online course .

Speaker 2 5:40

So that's what I do . Yeah , that's amazing because I mean , I guess you could say you're a bit of a veteran , then , of the online space , because if you started this , you know , five , six years ago , like you said , people weren't doing it back then .

Speaker 3 5:52

I feel as though I'm not a veteran because there were those early adopters out there , but I guess I was in that middle wave , I see , and it was a lovely place to be actually that middle wave , because it was like road , the wave of COVID , which was a horrible time but a pretty good time , I would say , for the online course industry , with lots of people , I guess , locked down at home and looking to learn new skills , and so that was quite a nice time for a lot of business and now it's a whole different time and it's a whole different set of learnings , and what used to work doesn't , which is , I think , keeping me humble and probably a lot of other people and you're right .

Speaker 2 6:32

I mean , and really that's the elephant in the room right now . It's the economy right , because there are so many you know people out there right now . So many of my clients and I've got clients in the small , medium business kind of space , who are still doing the same things , not getting the same results .

Speaker 2 6:51

They're struggling with leads and they're just not getting any new clients because , even though we keep being told , people are still spending . I think a lot of people are spending on things that make them happy yeah , yeah , going out to dinner or doing something with their family and they're probably taking a bit of a backward step when it comes to marketing their business or spending money on their business . So what have you sort of learned or what advice would you give to people listening now , who are in that space whether it's online or providing services to clients and they're struggling with their marketing and they're finding it tough to get new leads ?

Speaker 3 7:33

Yeah , first of all , it's not easy . The key thing is to know that perhaps what used to work doesn't work , at least at this point in time , and I I myself have spent far too long being like , well , this used to work , so how can't , how can I just make it work again ? But when I realized , right , it's time to try some new things , I think for us we have to , in a way , just check our ego , because once we have been in business a little while , I guess we can become a little bit accustomed to a certain way of our business working and a certain just . It kind of gets on a bit of a roll . And I think when times like this come about , it's about trying new things , and when we do that , there's many chances that they're not going to work . And I think that when we're new in business , we just I think we're more open to that . In a way , we're like I'm a newbie here , I'm just going to try these things out .

Speaker 3 8:25

I don't have huge expectations perhaps , but when we're more we've been in business a little bit longer , it can feel almost more scary or more intimidating , or more we've got more ego about it in terms of what we're trying out that there's that pressure that it should work now .

Speaker 3 8:40

So I think just letting go of what used to work , being open to trying new things and then , if we get a bit more specific and practical there cause I'm I like to get quite practical is also not being too attached to our offers .

Speaker 3 8:54

So I've had some students that what used to sell quite well doesn't so much now , and it sounds like the same with your community too .

Speaker 3 9:02

And so looking at , okay , is there a way that I can serve people in my audience in a way that's going to meet them where they're at now ? How can I adjust my offerings here and for me myself and my own business , I'm doing this too , and I'm looking at what would be an absolute no-brainer , what is something that is just an easy yes for people ? What is the thing that they really really want Because that can change too during these times the things that people are prioritizing , what they want , and the best way to find that out is to speak to your audience . You can do this in many different ways surveys , polls , get on the phone with them , put up a course or something , see if it sells and then actually go about and create it . But I think just being open to trying new offers , really trying to find out from your audience what is it that they want , and having that beginner's mindset again almost in just that testing .

Speaker 2 9:53

It's such a good way of looking at it . I mean , I spoke to my group this morning and I said something very similar that it's . It's sort of now the time to really get scrappy and think okay , what what did I do when I first started and , as you say , what can I really lean into ?

Speaker 1 10:09

And I think for me .

Speaker 2 10:10

The last time we were going through this crisis and I've been around in business for a long time I thought , right , I'm just going to diversify into a couple of different areas and I'm going to see what sticks . It was almost like a bit of an experiment and while I wouldn't go as far as saying it was like throwing spaghetti at a wall , it was definitely an experiment . And the thing that stuck and at the time I was devastated by it and this is sort of nearly seven years ago was that whole compliance side of the business , you know , just doing that day-to-day bookkeeping and submitting BAS returns for clients and that sort of stuff which I absolutely loathed doing , but it sort of introduced me to a whole world of fabulous business owners .

Speaker 2 10:59

That's not what I was expecting . I got to do a whole lot of one-to-one work with those people and really become invested in their business , and then that unexpected kind of road was a business that I sold just over 12 months ago . So you kind of you never know where something new will lead you . Exactly yeah , I think that's really important now .

Speaker 3 11:24

Yeah , for sure , and that getting scrappy thing and exactly like

Strategic Pricing and Product Offerings

Speaker 3 11:28

you said it's . I think it's hard sometimes for ourselves , being so close to our own business , to to see kind of gaps and opportunities , which I think it is just makes it even more important to to try and listen to the market , try and really dig into what are people asking for , what are people just wanting , and give them what they want . That's what I say to my students . I'm like what do your audience want ? Give that to them , and sometimes there's so much more that we want to offer them . Like it sounds like that was the same as you . You're like right , this is what people want , but perhaps once they sign on with me , I can also give them what I know that they need too which is the thing that makes us more excited .

Speaker 3 12:03

So I think that's a good way to approach it as well . What are people asking for , what do they want ? And then you can kind of secretly also give them what you know they should have .

Speaker 2 12:12

And now someone said this to me this morning . I'd be interested to get your thoughts on it . So one of the things that I really kind of advocate is to build an email list , because I feel like you know it's easy to concentrate on socials , but you're essentially we've heard it before you're building your business on a bit of a rented space . So collect those email addresses and speak to the people who are already very warm and in your ecosystem because primarily we hope they're the people that are going to sign on .

Speaker 2 12:43

But one of my students this morning said but nobody's signing up anymore . People are so much more savvy now . They're not trading , they're not prepared to give their email .

Speaker 3 12:53

Oh gosh this makes me excited this question .

Speaker 2 12:56

For just you know , some sort of lead magnet . And I thought yeah , okay , I can see that because I'm a little bit reluctant now . I mean , we're in situation overload no matter where we look . So what's your advice ?

Speaker 3 13:10

for that question , oh my gosh . Okay , great question and great insight from your student there . So I would say you just got to make your lead magnet better , you've got to give more , you've got to make it more valuable , and this is actually really the way I see as the solution to everything we're doing . In a way , we just have to be better . It's like the social media what's going to work ? We've got to be more strategic . Think more about what we're sharing than before , when previously just a pretty graphic would get some engagement . Now no one cares about that pretty graphic . So when it comes to your lead magnet again , it's like what used to work doesn't really work as well anymore . Having basically anything as a lead magnet used to basically work Nowadays . So I can give you an example of .

Speaker 3 13:52

One of mine is I've thought what would over deliver , what would like , something that could almost be should be bought , but I'm giving it for free . So instead of giving a download and as well , I'm thinking about consumer behavior . So I know when I get a download I might have a quick look and then forget about it and I have what do they call that ? The graveyard of downloads I've never actually gone back to , and I am right in your camp there . So what I did is I still have the PDF download that I sent , but I basically give people access to a free five-day email series . So then every day I'm teaching them one thing , yes , and the open rates are fantastic .

Speaker 3 14:34

I had someone the other day email me and say just like , thank you so much . This is really helpful and valuable , and so I think it's just thinking what would kind of over-deliver , what is something a bit different ? If it is just a PDF you're offering , I would agree it's . You're probably not going to get people signing up . So maybe it's a little video series , maybe it's just something that is a little different and more valuable than in the past as well , because people are still signing up , but it's got to be compelling enough for them to want to do so , yeah , totally .

Speaker 2 15:07

I couldn't agree with you more . And that's such a good hack right there to just follow up that PDF download with a really tailored email that's going to almost walk people through what it is you want them to learn or to get out of that .

Speaker 3 15:24

you know the download that you offered , yeah , and each of those days . So I break each day if we want to get even more like specific here . So it's like five , five things I teach in the PDF . So each day I then break out one of those things and I give people an action task . So I'm like right , this is what we've covered . Here's the thing to go away and do Just again to make it as helpful and practical and as easy to implement as possible so that hopefully , all of those you're not going to get everyone that reads the emails , but of the people that read the emails , they're thinking good of me , they're thinking , yep , this , you know , emily's actually given me something valuable here and then a percentage of them that are the right fit and ready and want more help . And then I talk about hey , here's how you can buy from me . This is the like , a really good next step if you want more help with this topic . So then through there , I then offer one of my paid offers . So that's working quite well .

Speaker 2 16:13

And I heard you say the other day you know that now is also a good time to sort of look at the offers that you have on the table that . I suppose that ascension model , the value ladder that you're offering where people can work at you and all those different levels , and I think it's important to do that now too , and to just pick a price point or an area where you can really deliver something of value to people at a low cost .

Speaker 3 16:42

Yeah , that's right , justine , and I was thinking about it and it kind of changed the way that I approach this myself , because in the past I would perhaps create something and then try and figure out how to price it , and now what I do is , I think where's the gap in my business ? That I'm not meeting people at that , I'm that I could have something to sell at that would help people . Okay , let's choose that price point or that price bracket and create a really amazing offer that I , that fits into that price bracket and and put that one out there . So I kind of talk about it being the revive . The reverse pricing strategy is , and I think it just helps business owners so much .

Speaker 3 17:22

You might've heard it with your students , perhaps , but it's just got . Can anyone tell me what I should price this out ? I don't know how much it's worth . It's like , okay , well , if you've got maybe an offer that's $5,000 in your business and that's the lowest price point , someone can work with you . Maybe it'd be wise to pop one in there that's at a lower price point . Create something to that value let's say it's $500 .

Speaker 2 17:44

That's a win-win for both of you and put that one out there . Yeah , totally , and I think that's the key in there . It has to be a win-win for both of you yes , because I get obviously asked that question all the time and I and you know I often say somebody said to me once oh , what's your superpower ?

Speaker 2 17:57

and I said no , pricing is my superpower , love that and I think it's just because I do it in a bit of a different way . I always make sure that , whatever that price , you know it is that you're offering something at that . You covered , you know , the cost of doing business your wages , your super , your tax , your savings and you added a profit to that , and so I think that's a key thing . It has to be the win-win for both parties for you as the business owner and for the person you're serving , because so many people now are just tempted to discount and still be , you know , giving up their time for much less money , and then they're wondering why they're not able to pay themselves a wage .

Speaker 3 18:39

Yes , yes . I think that distinction is really important too , for sure , for sure and understanding the basic , like almost the strategic place that that or strategic role that that offer plays in your business too .

Speaker 3 18:51

Yeah , totally so I see , you've kind of got those offers that are the taster of working with you or learning from you . And then you go to maybe your key and your core offers that are really like amazing ways that you can help people a little bit more in depth or with a little bit more of your time . And then you're always going to have those people in your audience or your customer base that just want more access to you or they want it faster , or they want it in a more luxurious experience . So then I say you know , that's kind of your VIP or your luxury offer , and just looking at , okay , maybe you're missing one in your business . Put it out there and see what the response is .

Speaker 2 19:25

I think it's so important because , even if it's not going to resonate now , it's something that , because business will change , I mean we'll be in an upswing before we know it , and I think if you can have all those bits and pieces in place before , then it gives you a really good you know framework to go forward and to make good money in your business . Yes , yes , one of the things that you are really an expert in is online business , and obviously I called you a bit of a veteran and you know , being around for six years , I mean , I think , certainly in Australia , I think that is , you know , that's some pretty good runs on the board when it comes to online business , and one of the things that I hear often is oh , maybe it's too late , or everybody's doing it .

Speaker 2 20:11

So what I mean ? Is it too late to start an online business and what are some of the benefits of starting an online business , either as our sole business or to add into the business that we've already got happening ? Brilliant questions .

Speaker 3 20:24

Justine , you're so good at this . Maybe we'll do a quick overview of the benefits and then we can go to the question is it too late ?

Online Business Benefits and Getting Started

Speaker 3 20:31

So , benefits online business and why it was really appealing to me is just that flexibility being able to work at your own pace as well , which is especially something now . As we were saying , I've got a little toddler , 21-year-old , and I'm about to have another baby , so it's pretty critical for me to be able to if I want to continue working , which I do to be able to have a lot of flexibility there and to drive my business at a set pace that can go up and down around kids in my life . Being able to work from anywhere as well is awesome .

Speaker 3 21:04

If that's something that appeals to you , and I think as well with the online business side of things , if you are passionate about teaching and sharing your knowledge and all of that , that I think it could be a really good fit . That was certainly what I found . I just adored seeing those business owners get the wins and get the learnings and then implement themselves and I know that that's people that have kind of followed me and done learned how to create their own courses tend to say like they just love , love seeing their students learn and all that type of thing , and also , as well , the online business . It can be a pretty low cost way to get started , versus a product-based business or just different , different things that you need a lot more upfront investment and it's very agile too , so if something's not selling , you can try something else . So I love it for that . It's pretty quick to test things out and see what the response is .

Speaker 3 21:51

So I'd say there are a few of the benefits of it In terms of if it's too late , and this actually swings around to the discussion we've been having around a lot of things at the moment in terms of are they still working ? Is it still worth building your email list ? I think we've just got to be better at delivering our courses , and when I say better , I mean I think in the past having something like a $2,000 course that was relatively broad . They tended to still sell . I think today it's . I would just encourage people to get more specific around their target student and the outcome . They're really that key thing that they're teaching them . And then I would also look at the price points too . And there was actually a Kajabi which is do you use Kajabi ?

Speaker 1 22:37

Yeah .

Speaker 2 22:38

I use Kajabi yeah .

Speaker 3 22:39

So they I mean you might've seen it actually they sent out an email with just some insights into their users and they said that they surveyed people that purchased products from Kajabi and basically it was saying the price point up to about $200 . People are kind of happy to buy without thinking too much Over $200 , they're going to have to think about it or use a payment plan . So just looking at these insights can really help inform . Okay , well , what's just a no-brainer offer you can put out there when it comes to your course , maybe you're starting with the smaller type of course . It's very specific . You're building people's trust with you and then from there you've got this whole group of customers now that have actually purchased from you A lot of them are going to want to keep working with you and that's when perhaps you've got your more higher priced offerings or you've got your consulting or you've got your services .

Speaker 3 23:26

But I just see courses as a wonderful way to share that knowledge . Do it in a way that doesn't really require a whole lot of your time . Once the course is created although it does require time to market and sell it , it's not passive and to build that other arm into the business , that diversification that we were you touched on as well .

Speaker 2 23:44

it is such a great way to get started , um , if , particularly if , you're leaning towards going down that road , or having that road as just part of your business as well , because , as you say , I mean , it's just such a flexible way to run a business and that's really all I do in my business now and I absolutely love it . You know the fact that I've got that . Sure , I'll still work one-on-one with people , but I can choose when I do that . So for people who you know we pique their interest , they're going to create something that's less than $200 . So they get people buying in without thinking about it . What's some advice you can give for really , you know , for getting started now ?

Speaker 3 24:24

Yeah , and when I say under $200 , you know , give or take , you know you can . I always encourage people to choose the price points that make sense for your business . Don't have to be that , but I look at my own behavior and the courses that I've purchased over the past six , six months or so , and they tend to be around that price point . I'm looking for very specific solutions to very specific problems , so I like to follow my own behavior too and put offers out there that suit . So , when it comes to getting started , this is actually a bit of a process that I teach and I think so many people tend to spend months and months in the course creation process and they're like Emily , I'm creating a course , or maybe it's this time next year , and they're like , oh , I just I still haven't quite got around to that . So I encourage people to actually you need to just start selling it to see if people want it .

Speaker 3 25:09

So I would put out similar to what I do in my business is put out a bit of a free training or some freebie that is very related to your course topic , to see if there's update , see if it resonates with people . From there I would invite people to a waitlist . So you know that . Okay , yeah , people are showing interest . You've said I've got this course coming . If you've got the price point , I would encourage you to put that on the waitlist page so that there's a clear expectation and understanding of what the price of your course is going to be . So , hey , it's this price point , it's coming in next month or in a few weeks or whenever it might be . And survey the people that join the waitlist .

Speaker 3 25:42

Hey , what's the what could be ? What would make this course invaluable to you ? What can I include in it that would really help solve this problem for you ? And this is what we spoke about , I think , right at the start in terms of finding out what your audience want and then giving them what they want and not like letting ourselves stand in the way . And then from there , I would outline what's going to be in the course , get your sales page up . You can create as much of the course upfront , as you want , but I would just encourage you as quick as you can , to put it out there and offer it for sale and then from there you can start building out the content as well with your first cohort of students and using their feedback . Hey , does this make sense ? Is there anything that would be better here ? If I missed anything ? And again , you're not going to know what to completely include in your course until you have people going through it and asking you the questions and you're realizing gosh , okay , I pitched this at a bit more , or the content in here is a little bit advanced . I think I need a bit more beginner content to help people at the earlier stages , or I've missed this whole thing that people need , or whatever that looks like .

Speaker 3 26:37

So it's a very iterative process and that's the way that I think it should be in terms of our marketing and our products and everything really is to do it in tandem with our audience and always seek to look at how we can better serve them , better answer their questions . Yeah , evolve and adapt .

Speaker 2 26:53

Because that's it , you know . I mean , you might think you've got your nation , you might think that you know the problem that you're solving , but , as you said and I mentioned this to you before we hit record sometimes you don't know what the biggest problem is . So obviously I'm talking about business finance , and when I created my course and I wrote my book , I'm thinking , okay , the biggest problem is that people don't have these great foundations in place and these good money habits , and absolutely you know they're two areas that we can improve . But it turned out that the biggest concern for my potential clients right now was around mindset and money and how to kind of deal with their thoughts and feelings about money and then how that informed their business , and I found that fascinating . So I think your process , you know , makes a lot of sense for people because it's just going to help you create a product that people are going to want to talk about and share , and also it just helps you create your course , it just helps you get it out there .

Speaker 1 27:51

So it's not a year's time , it's not a year's time , and that's the thing it's .

Speaker 3 27:55

I don't think your first I just take the pressure off yourself . Your first launch and even your 10th launch isn't going to be perfect , but once you have your course created , you've got way more . What's the word Imperative ? Is it To go ahead and actually market it and get it out there and sell it ? So I think if you can just get it kind of first launched , that's then going to just build that momentum and help snowball growing it into the months and years to come , and that's what

Benefits of Evergreen Online Business

Speaker 3 28:23

we spoke about . You know the benefits of online business . You can do it at your own pace , but you can't sell something that doesn't exist . Yeah .

Speaker 2 28:29

Yeah , totally , and let's just talk about that whole launch idea for a minute and I guess the best way to attract that first client , because obviously a lot of people follow that launch formula when it comes to their online courses people here in Australia , people internationally as well . I actually moved away from that process last year . Why ? Because I am lazy and when I saw how much work went into a launch I was like man . I just don't think I can keep doing that on repeat . But the other thing was in my field in particular .

Speaker 1 29:06

I think when people need help with their money , they need it right now and not in three months time when the doors open again .

Speaker 2 29:12

So what are your thoughts on those live launches and what's the best way to attract that first customer ?

Speaker 3 29:18

It's great . I think we're the same person , justine , so I'm exactly the same , and so I don't after I've put a product out there I don't really do launches , so I prefer to then sell my products always , always open , always available , always around the clock , because , like you said , I think that often when people want something , they've got enough reason in themselves to go ahead and make a purchase .

Speaker 1 29:44

And .

Speaker 3 29:44

I'm the same myself . If I want something , I want to go and buy it . I'm very impatient .

Speaker 3 29:49

So , if I see well , they're not launching for six months , I'll probably just go find another solution . It's not really for me , and also I do find launches a whole lot of time , a whole lot of energy . So this is the kind of the thing that I teach . You just got to get that first launch done , to force you to create your program and to get those first students in . From there , we then , I would recommend moving to more the evergreen model , and it's just way more life-friendly in my opinion .

Speaker 2 30:15

Yeah , so I could not way less stressful .

Speaker 3 30:19

I'd rather see sales coming in every month and knowing what I can tweak versus relying on one or two big launches a year that I think are pretty risky if you don't hit the goals , and then you've told everyone well , I'm not opening for six months . So that's my opinion on that In terms of getting those first students into the course . A similar strategy to what I shared around putting something out there that's very related to your course topic to give people that value upfront and to really kind of position you as the expert that you are and then from there inviting them hey , if you loved this , I've got this course . And then also you can just invite your audience to say , hey , jump on the waitlist , it's opening on this date . And also letting your audience know hey , this course is now open and I would to encourage those early sales offer something that is a reason for them to buy at that point .

Speaker 3 31:10

So , like back all those years ago when I launched my membership , I did very similar to actually what I do today . I put out free , valuable content . To start with , it was an email series . I then offered an early bird price for members and I said up to this date , you can join for this price point . So I would recommend doing that or including some sort of bonus or freebie that people get . But I tend to find I don't know if you do too but a special price for those first customers is kind of simple and it tends to work quite well , yeah , I did exactly the same thing , and I think the other thing that I would say your programs is don't be afraid to sort of rethink .

Speaker 2 31:45

You know the pricing or the content if you need to . You know , just because you've created one thing , if it's not resonating you can change it . It's your business . You can do that Absolutely . I'm giving you permission .

Speaker 3 31:58

Absolutely , and there's no perfect . You know there's no perfect price . There's no perfect office suite . There's no perfect . You know there's no perfect price . There's no perfect office suite . There's no perfect business model . It's just about finding what works for us and our audience really at the given time in our lives as well as our , as our lives demand different things of us exactly and and I'm a big believer in that I just think that you know , through my whole business journey , which has been 30 years , there's definitely been a lot of different seasons and whether that's having kids , or whether that's having you know ill parents or whatever it is .

Speaker 2 32:29

Just being able to work for yourself and to dictate what it is you choose to do is so important , so don't be afraid to do that If you're listening and wondering what can I do now ?

Speaker 3 32:40

Oh , just on that . It's such a privilege too . Sometimes I think it's easy to forget I know I do . I'm like , oh , I've got to do this . Cool , I've got to , you know . But then I'm like , oh , emily , you don't have to leave the house today , you can . I'm wearing trackies Like you can wear trackies on the bottom half Like you can . You know , there's so much amazingness for working for ourselves . It's easy to forget because it's not easy doing it . It comes with a lot of challenges and stress and not being able to switch off and all those types of things . But I think it's helpful to look back at you know , a few years ago , where we were , and then where we are now , and think , yeah , you know , this is pretty good , I'm pretty grateful for it .

Speaker 2 33:14

I couldn't agree with you more . I think the pros of having your own business totally outweigh anything else . There is no question about that . And so that leads me to this question when you think about your business , what do you think has been or is the secret or secrets of running a successful business ?

Speaker 3 33:33

Oh gosh . Well , that's a big question , justine . Okay , so I would say , as much as possible , it's very important to be clear around the benefits of your offers and I think that people can be too wishy-washy , not specific enough , too vague . So when I look at what sold really well in my business , I'm just clear to my audience this is what it's going to help you to do . So I think that's really important .

Speaker 3 34:02

Persistence to do so . I think that's really important . Persistence so many years in still keeping going , even though there's been times that have been so hard or that felt like should I get a job , or this isn't working , or maybe I don't want to . You know , persistence , understanding it probably is going to take more work than you think in many ways . And I think the marketing side of things , you know you , you have to put yourself out there , you have to pitch yourself . You , most of us , don't have PR agencies . I know , justine , you've got one for your new book , which is exciting , but for most of us , uh , we've got to do that ourselves and and I know it can be so uncomfortable and I have a lot of people saying , oh , I don't want to . You know , come across in this certain way , or I'd rather , it might just wish my products sold themselves , but they don't sell themselves . You really have to network , be persistent on your social media , test and try different things . Yeah , so a few things there . I don't think there's one . There's no one magic bullet .

Speaker 2 35:01

Yeah , I mean , they're just such great and relevant insights , and I think it doesn't matter if you know you were starting a business or if you're 10 years in or you know 15 years in . All of those are still as relevant right now as they were you know when you started . Because you're right , you have to keep marketing , you have to understand the value you're providing and get really clear on that and I think if you can embrace that and , as you say , being consistent , showing up , then people are eventually going to jump on the bandwagon .

Speaker 3 35:36

And I've had Justine , because I always look when people purchase things from me . I look , okay , how long have they been on my email list ? And I've had people on my email list for a couple of years until they buy . So it's just . It's just , you know , keeping showing up If you want to give up in the first 30 days . You're not going to get very far .

Speaker 2 35:53

Yeah , I'm exactly the same . That's part of my launch every single day of the week strategy . I love it , I love it . I'm glad I found a kindred spirit .

Speaker 3 36:03

I know , I know . Were you expecting to me to be like ? No , you have to do the launches , Cause everything you said I was .

Speaker 2 36:09

I thought you were going to be the live launch queen and I've no doubt that you are the live launch queen , but I'm glad to hear that you don't do that oh it's just , it's too much , too much .

Speaker 3 36:20

But I just , I just love all the geeky data to be able to look at every day and every week and every month to say , all right , what's the conversion rate on this page ? Maybe we'll tweak and test this , and but just going back cause this might be interesting for people to hear is to give your audience what they want . So my audience tell me , you know , I want to know how to launch my course , I want to launch my first . Hey , you know , you don't have to do that again . Now it's out there , you've got it created . Let's look at how you can continue to make sales . So that's just a little example there , I guess , of giving your audience what they want , but then also giving them what they need and teaching them what you know this is another way of doing it if it resonates with you .

Speaker 2 36:56

And sometimes it's as simple as the permission right . So just giving people permission to do things their way . I think , is really important . So thank you , emily , so much for being on the podcast today . It's been a very long time in coming . I think I've said to you five or six times I have to get you on the podcast . We've finally done it . So what is the best way for listeners to connect with you ?

Speaker 3 37:24

Yeah , well , thank you , Justine , and I hope we chat again soon . I can be found . Website Emily Osmond O-S-M-O-N-D . Instagram Emily Osmond they're probably the two best places to check me out , and I also love when people listen to an episode , because it's kind of weird , isn't it , Justine ? You don't know who is actually listening , but send me a dm on instagram . Let me know you listened if there was a takeaway you want to share .

Speaker 2 37:45

I always love hearing love hearing amazing and , of course , the emily osborne show , emily's podcast , if you would like to listen to that too now before we go . Yes , I have one last question for you . Yes , if you could have a billboard with anything on it , what would it be ?

Speaker 3 38:03

she's thrown another curveball folks oh , okay , with a message it can be whatever you want , oh gosh , okay . A quote that resonates quite a lot with me and it was kind of the first personal development quote that I ever heard I think was you can , if you think you can , yes , and so I think I'd put that one on there . I just think it's . I just never really heard of something explained in that way . I saw it in a magazine when I was at university , ripped it out and put it on my wall and I just thought , oh , that's interesting , and it helped give me a bit of a , I guess , a bit of drive and motivation and confidence to go for things , even though I just thought , god , there's no way I'm going to be offered this position or there's no way that I can do this . Well , okay , maybe if I lean into that a little bit more . So why don't we put that ?

Speaker 2 38:51

on there , and it's so true , because you can . If you think you can , you can .

Speaker 3 38:55

If you go in with the defeatist mentality , I think it just makes it impossible .

Speaker 2 38:59

Absolutely , Emily . Thank you so much . It's been an absolute joy talking to you today and good luck with the baby and good luck with that secret book project that you're working on yes deadline .

Speaker 3 39:12

No , it's good , Give me accountability . I said the book will be written before the baby comes , so it's a race to see who wins .

Speaker 2 39:20

Thanks , Emily .

Speaker 1 39:22

Thanks for listening to the Secrets of Successful Business podcast . For more information on all things business , head to flossycomau and make sure you hit subscribe on the show so you don't miss another new episode . If you're enjoying the show , please give it a quick rating or review , share it on your socials or with friends who might enjoy it . Catch you next time .