Me. I don't know why, and if I'm totally off, you could let me know as I just feel the urge to say that what you're doing is enough and what you're doing is good. And what you're doing is [inaudible] .
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 3Welcome to the Jasmine star show where we talk about life business and everything in between. Today's episode is another coaching session, which I absolutely love. I don't know y'all, I really love talking about business. I am an introvert, but the minute you talk to me about business, I am all of us in like the WB frog. Like hello Mohana hello Madeline. You know, I mean I come out, I'm like quiet. And then you'd get me talking about business and you put me in a box and I'll sing and dance like as vaudeville. Okay. So this coaching session is with four members of social curator. Social curator is my monthly membership that empowers business owners in all different industries to build a brand and market it on social media. You will hear from very different industries today and I want to introduce you to who we're gonna be chatting with in this session. Nicole Brody, Janine and Lynette ask some very juicy questions, not just about their businesses, but how I pivoted careers. So things specific to how I transitioned from wedding photography to a business strategist. Also, we chat about overcoming imposter syndrome. We talk about just the business of business and we get real y'all. I cannot wait for you to hear it because I know this episode will inspire you to take action in your business today. So let's listen in.
Speaker 4So my name is Nicole last heard . I own two businesses, but my main business is an eCommerce chocolate supply company . I'm a really a chocolate ingredients company and we sell a few supplies that I started 15 years ago in college for my parents' living room and grew to become a whole brand that we ship all over the U S and Canada. And we supply both retail consumer customers and hotel customers with really high quality ingredients for chocolate candy making. So our customers buy anything from one pound of chocolate to multiple pallets of chocolate at a time. It just is a , a huge range and that , um, and we have a really unique product. Um, that is a really high quality chocolate that's also use easy to use. So usually in chocolate , uh , easy to use. Chocolate is low quality and a high quality talk about. It's really hard to use. So we're, we're really unique from the market is that we have high quality chocolate that is also easy to get . Those are big initiative right now is bringing in bloggers and influencers to be trying our products and using them for blog posts and really getting the word out that we even exist when they try it. They go crazy. They love it. It's so much better than what you can buy in a craft store or in a store. And very few people in the scheme of the size of the chocolate market in the United States, no , we exist because we are a small family run business and so we don't have a huge budget. We can't like pay influencers to use our products and then write about them. But when we can get it in their hands, they go so insane and crazy that it doesn't matter how big they are, they tend to write about it and use that. So my question is how do we use our social media and especially our Instagram, which is pretty new to talk wholly or to be even on Instagram, but how do we use that to really grow this influencer program while also like still talking about our brand in line with like just to our customers. How do you recommend like approaching the unemployment's or to offer this to them? Like if we get, once we get all these partners to do it, to put this cool kit together, like how do we then go to the influencer and approach it to send it to them?
Speaker 3Great. So you would reach out to, we'll just call them vendors. Even though their industry peers are gonna reach out to six other vendors, you're probably have to reach out probably like, I don't know, 20 and then once you get six committed, and you're going to start off by saying you want them to creature to incite FOMO, fear of missing out, right? So you're going to send an email. It's like I've reached out to a small group of people, but we're only taking six or whatever your number is, right? So you have to incite the reason why somebody immediately is going to want to take action. We're going to be limiting this to six. We're gonna be creating an influencer box. Our goal is to create an influencer box that supersedes $500 a thousand dollars whatever you want. I obviously love $1,000, like $1,000 a thousand dollar influencer kit. We would love to have your goodies with it. As a result of us shipping, there's , we're going to have these printed out documents. So you're gonna show them a sample. It says a chocolately influencer kit sponsored by blank, blank, blank. They're in their Instagram accounts will be listed. And you say, do I have you to do this? How much is the value retail? They send you all their stuff. Then what you're gonna do is you're gonna make a small investment. You can reach out, go on Craigslist, go to a local college, reach out to a local videographer and say for $400 I need somebody to fill me for one hour and give me three different types of videos. One square, one horizontal and one IgE TV . So this videographer is going to come in and she's going to set you up and you're like, I am so excited. I have this sponsor and this sponsor and then sponsor . We're so excited to create our influencer kits. I can't wait to reach out. If you would like to be considered for our influencer kit, you let us know. You know, ain't nobody going to reach out to you because that's not your market. But what are you doing inciting FOMO for the people you do reach out to. Because once you put these out an IGT and once you put it on Facebook and YouTube and Twitter and Instagram, once you put it out, then what you're gonna do is you're going to start Deming influencers who have previous relationships with who you might've already sent a kit to. You're going to reach out and you're going to say, Hey Jolene, so good to see you again. We're sending out influencer kits. We just appreciate what you did for us last time. Would you be interested in receiving our thousand dollar chocolatey and friends influencer kit? If she says yes, you send that out and you package it up so beautifully that on her Instagram stories, it's just irresistible that she's going to at minimum Instagram story. The unwrapping that alone is powerful and then she has the tools to then create a curated post as a result of what that is and then you could say, can have it be contingent. We send you the influencer kit and we would love an Instagram post. Ask for what you want. I totally think that you can, you can incite FOMO on both ends. You become the conduit and as a result of you becoming the conduit and you connecting the influencer to your vendors and your vendors, it's a value add and you're creating content for them to share. Imagine you spend $400 on the videographer and then you send it to all of your contributors and you ask them to put it on their channels. What are you doing? You're creating marketing girl on all ends. I just have the chills down my right arm. I want to get into chocolate. I want to start being a part of this influencer kit. I love this idea. You are a doer. You are a doer. You are going to do this. I already know it and when it happens I want you to tell me the results.
Speaker 4Thank you so much.
Speaker 3Thank you. I appreciate you. Okay, so um, let's, because we're going to keep this conversation, I'm like evergreen. I don't want to know the exact date. By what time? I mean how many weeks, how many months will you be sending your influencer kit?
Speaker 4I do . I could get this all going in the next three months. Like full out .
Speaker 3Great. So 12 weeks
Speaker 4for the holiday season too.
Speaker 3Okay. So the goal is in 12 weeks I hear back from you anything, I don't care if it's done or not, but I want you sending me a DM and saying this is where we're at and I hope and I have no doubt that you will say our influencer kits are going to be shipping at the beginning of next year.
Speaker 4Thank you.
Speaker 3Thank you Nicole. How can people find chocolate on Instagram?
Speaker 4It's a chalk . Holy chocolate. C H O C O. L. E. Y. Chocolate.
Speaker 3Beautiful. Thank you Nicole. I appreciate you. Thanks. So
Speaker 5my name is Brody. I've built a very successful brand photography business. I travel two to three times a month working with people. I'm at this point where I really interested in and want to get into your head around social curator and how you kind of transitioned yourself , um , from being that, you know, photography where in a way, I don't like to say this, but there is kind of a glass ceiling when people, you can only work with so many people and so many hours and you're only making money when you're making out or when you're only making money when you're actually working. Right. So I kind of want to get into your mindset a little bit when you kind of started transitioning into social curator and how you kind of really started dreaming up about that and then launching that into the world.
Speaker 3You know, I have to , I have to take a step back and let people know that like, just like birdie , I didn't know what the next step would be. I knew that, thankfully I started my career as a wedding photographer and over the years grew the, a very successful wedding photography business. But like you had mentioned , um, and I see this with full humility. Like, this is not a hashtag humblebrag it's just like facts. So we got to be the top 1% of the 1% we are working with magazine editors, we are going on shoots, we're traveling the world. We were being paid a premium to do what we do. And I realized that I could only take on a certain amount. And then what happened was people were asking me a ton of questions and so I started creating educational resources which turned into online courses and no tea , no shade on online courses. I did it and I realized, Oh, I'm not really sure I liked this so much and I couldn't really figure out what I didn't like, but it just felt like a sweater that didn't fit. And so as a result of creating multiple online courses and it wasn't a fit for me, it's a fit for so many other people. And I love it and I applaud it and I'm like route a route people on like hands on . It just wasn't for me. But I realized that as a result of creating those courses, we were, we were asked the same questions again and again and again. So let's pause here. Whatever industry you are in, and I'm not just talking to Brody, I'm talking about anybody who's listening. Brody comes to me and says, Hey, I see in the future there's a glass ceiling. And if anybody's hearing like, Hey, there's a glass ceiling, or perhaps I'm not sure if I want to do this long term , I want everybody to take a step back and say, what are the questions that I am always asked? Because there's a reason without us knowing that would happen. One time I heard somebody says that, you know, you are so good at what you do when it's easy for you and difficult for other people. And for years birdie , I was like, I can say like I'm, I'm not the best. I'm strong at social media. And I thought it was so easy and I was like, come on guys, just get it. You know, it was, you know, and people were like, no, Jasmine, we don't know. So the three common questions I was getting after result of creating three online courses. Number one, Jasmine, I don't know what to say on social media. So what happens, I should outline the courses that I did. I did an Instagram for business course, I did a branding course, I did a marketing course like, and at the result, at the end of it people would say, great, I know what to do. I don't know how to do it. And my response was, you know, second question, Jasmine, it's easy for you to say because you're a photographer so you have photos. And I'm like , I was like, I shoot a lot in my iPhone. Come on people. I mean iPhone tutorials, right? But what I was doing with groups , creating more resources for the what and not the how. And the last thing that I would get as I created these courses was Jasmine, but you taught this like this course is a year old. I want to know not what's happening in Instagram five months ago. I want to own just having an Instagram now. And I kept on going over these questions again and again and again and I will tell you, I was on a dog walk and my husband and I are walking and I'm like, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do and I don't know how to answer these questions. And J D my husband and business partner said, what if we were to put together a box, like a box of props that we could send people and every month we send them like a video tutorial on how to take pictures of their props. And then we were kind of like, tell them, Hey, this is what you should be saying. And I was like, well that's a really dumb idea. Like I don't want to get into the inventory space. So then were walking and I'm such a jerk, right? I'm a straight shooter. I'm like , I don't like it is idea. And it's the, it's the starting idea that gets you to the end idea week after week having the same conversation on the same dog walk. We got to this point to where say, well what if we took lifestyle photos and what if, because caption writing for me is not easy but it's effortless, right? It comes from me and I realized that I dissected , I was able to dissect the anatomy of a caption and people are like, but how did you do that? And I was like, you know, no they didn't. So it was breaking down the anatomy caption, understanding what was driving engagement, understanding how to personalize the caption, understanding how to create a clear call to action. All stuff that freaking came to me that I thought came to everybody else in the same equal proportion, which it doesn't. Yeah . And then I realized that I have a knack for marketing. Like it flows through me. I'm a channel. And so when it came to creating social curator, it was only in service to answering other questions, not in service of me trying to come up with a different business structure. So the point is all of it is you must continue to create and watch the questions that are always asked of you. When you create a business based on people's desires or needs, you will always be in business. When you create a business to do something you think people want, it's going to be a little bit of a struggle cause you're still don't know what they actually really want.
Speaker 5Yeah. That's why I was honestly so happy for this call to be happening now because don't get me wrong, I will always be doing brand photography. I absolutely love it. Like if fires me up. Um, but this last little while, a lot of people, a lot of other photographers have been asking me, how do you get a fully booked out brand photography business? And I'm kind of similar in the sense of you. I love marketing. I, it's my other favorite passion. So I'm feeling that might be the next road for me and the next step for me. And now I think it's just going out and doing the market research. But hearing what exactly what you said is just listening to the , I mean again, it's always listening to your audience. Right? And what is your audience saying to you and building a product or a service based on that?
Speaker 3Absolutely. Can I sit here for a second with this cause I want to get off this call with you saying I know three things that I want to do next and what we've just done is done a 30,000 foot esoteric. Wow . This feels so good. Great. RA , RA , RA . I hate the RA RA . I hate the emotion. I hate inspiring people. You want to know what I want to do? If I'm going to inspire you, I don't. Thank you son. Thank you. Been around the block with this home girl. Okay, so let's sit down. Let's sit down a little bit and like break this apart. If your saying brand photographers are asking you, how do you get a fully booked out brand photography brand? If that's what they're asking you, your next objective isn't to create a course. Your next objective isn't to monetize. Your next objective is to listen to how they're asking the question and then regurgitate and answer with them on free content, free content on Instagram, free content on Facebook. Make those videos based on their comments on the free content you create you then only if it's hot, like only if the topic is hot. You will then create a free resource, a PDF, a video, an ebook, something that's going to be more robust, but in order for the them to get the free information free, you're not charging in order for them to get a consolidation of everything you've known and learned in a really beautiful consumable format, they're going to have to give you their email address and based on the feedback that you get from this, like so for instance, one of our, one of our highest performing like resources is Jasmine, star.com forward slash. Branding. It's a free branding bundle. Like it took me literally eight years to get all this information consolidated into this branding bundle, right? So what I want you to do is watch what people say after they receive the branding bundle or in your case, whatever that resource is. So from that, then I got the questions. Then I was like, okay, let's format it. Then I tested it with free content, added another freebie, tested with free content at another freebie once I heard back in this process. Now here's the thing. You seem like you're a quick start . You seem like you can synthesize. I'm slower, I'm slower. It took me about two years of really honing in and focusing on what entrepreneurs blanket wide wanted. You might not, it might not take you that long, but I'm telling you, it took me about two years before, before I was able to put together content and then once I put together content, I actually put together a live a workshop and Oh we , it was like pulling teeth to get people to buy. What all this goes to show is play the long game. Put out free content, see how people are responding to it. Put out more free content, see how people are responding to it. Really sharpen your teeth. So after the call, your only objective Brody is to post on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, like long form content. See what they're saying, see what they're doing, take that synthesize and reapply again.
Speaker 1I'll do the , yeah, exactly what I do to get my brand photography clients, but shift the message into what they're actually asking. So perfect. I love this so much. How can people find you on Instagram at Brodes images. Awesome. Thank you homie . Appreciate it. So I'm Janine mics and I'm a the CEO of the complete boutique. I help retailers build a more fulfilling and profitable business. But also part of my struggle at brand builder was that I, I wanted to start this kind of money business with my husband. But my question is, is kind of more related to the complete boutique cause I think I'll use similar methods. Most of my business is marketed online, so , um, I think it will apply. But what's the best piece of advice that you have for building a successful membership? Having a very clear idea of what the transformation is. The transformation becomes the foundation as to why number one, somebody would join and then number two, why they would stay for the long haul. And then number three, leveraging the relationships that they make within that. So people can have parallel transformations and like I feel like I'm legitimately speaking to the choir because what happened as ICU going through this transformation, and when I first started social curator, I didn't really have it identified and there came a point in time where it got really rough. So we launched social curator. It went off fantastically. Our minds were blown. We're like, this is amazing. How is this happening? Oh my gosh. And I specifically spoke to JD, my husband and his partner, and I said, I don't want to look at the numbers. I don't want to like , because we don't know what social character is quite yet. I don't want to look at numbers and I don't want to be dissuaded from the thing I've been called to do. And so we went through two launches, what I thought were successful. I'm like, this is amazing. I can't believe this. And then we were visited. The number's six months later and if you could believe our numbers were identical to what they were when we launched, we had invested tens of thousands in ads. We had done a whole bunch of stuff, we had had successful launches and I was like, how did we not grow in six months? And the answer was two things. We didn't know how to promise people the version of themselves they want it to be as a result of joining social curator. And number two, we didn't know how to build a sense of community to let people know that they were not alone because people were leading social curator and they have to complete an exit survey as to why they were leaving. And the common thing we saw again and again when people were leaving was I don't think that this could work for me. And I was like, are you kidding me? I keep on getting all these emails from people who are killing it like their businesses are growing. And then I realized the reason why people don't think it could work for them is because they had nobody modeling what could be possible for them. And that is when we decided to add a group and it was the group that highlighted the transformation. So the best thing that I have done after a lot of hard work in with a really incredible group of people to highlight like, Hey Jasmine, is it clear the transformation? And so now when people join sorcery curator, we put them in one of five stages and then we have a clear pathway of how do you ascend through the social curator model. And then each month we have barometers of measurement and exercises to continue buttressing the fact that they're in a particular stage and this is how you move. Because the hardest thing when it comes to a membership on average industry-wide memberships retain their members around four months. And the number one reason why people leave within the first two months is overwhelmed. I don't know how to apply the things that I'm learning and the biggest churn for people in month three and four is I'm not using it enough. So what we have to be very clear, at least specifically in our tea and I feel like I'm being open and vulnerable and I don't want to sound like a know it all like, Oh this is what we're doing. It's literally, this is what we are in the process of working on right now is our whole goal is that social curator has changed tremendously from being a resource. Here's what you could do to what tool. This is what you can do cause you have everything you need right now because people don't need another course. They don't need more information, they don't need to feel like they're not doing enough and they're overwhelmed. What social curator has to do is say, we know you're overwhelmed and we know you've taken every course possibly outside. Now here are the tools that you need to deploy on the strategies that you've learned. So this has been a big transformation of us and part of people using the tools is actually taking action. Just do something with the things that we have given you because if you just do something with what we'd given you, it will work. So just do something. So our big objective is selling the transformation for heat up into stages in each of those stages every month, giving them a clear set of things that they could and should do because when they take action, they see results and when they see results, they want to go into the community and when they go in the community, they make friends the same way you have with like everybody that you have had a transformative experience with them and then you want to stay there and continue to push each other forward. That has been the thing that I've learned most strongly by way of the membership. Wow. Wow. Thank you so much. That's so helpful. I think I get that transition. I can see where my two month members are overwhelmed with information that I provide. And I can definitely see if it doesn't have a clear transformation how it's just another to do it. So everything you just said, I can listen on repeat every day. I absolutely love it. So what do you think by somebody being in your membership, what is that thing that they want and what are you delivering on [inaudible] they want more sales. My retailers want more sales. I think that's what they need and want. And what are you delivering on? So to bring everybody up to speed, you're a retail, I'll tell consultant . Yep . And I do have a membership. I have two. One is kind of go at your own pace. If you want to consume information, it's already information that's there. The other is what I call my insider group. And so that group, my retention in that group is actually well over six months. So the people who stay with me stay , um, I can see where the people who leave right away, the overwhelm. And I can see with the people who leave and that three months is they just don't feel like there . I definitely get that email. I just feel like it's great information. I just, I'm not taking advantage of it. So I'll come back when I'm taking , I can take advantage of it. Within that I have information where I give them one thing to implement into their business every single month. That can increase sales. I mean ultimately it comes down to sales and so it's a strategy. One strategy, I do this, I do private consulting, but this is the way to kind of break it into that tangible doing, right? So like I talk about why the topic is really important. I give them tools, resources, I love this. Go into what are you going to, so now that I have a much better idea, now let's get into the, do we have two major points of attrition amongst one and two of overwhelm and month three of getting it. I'm just not using it. So what I want to do after you get off this call is to write down what am I going to do for overwhelm in months one and two, what you know, you have to start going and you have to start cataloging what was too much. Was the action too much? Was the information too much? Should you, should you drip out the content a little bit slower so they actually feel like they're doing it? So you have to go back and assess. And then in month three I would encourage you, everybody who hits them on three to send them an email and say you are here in month three and maybe you feel like you're not using all of it. But what I want to do is let me incentivize you by paying for two months and you're getting your third free. If you sign up right now, you just need to give them a reasons . They give me a little more time to serve you in a way. So you have two strategies immediately to deploy after the call because I'm telling you, if you're saying that most of your members are staying after six months, if you get in past month three, they're in and you will see like this income, passive income that pass it . You work for that income growing know thing is you're to see the reoccurring revenue and to get to that point I think would serve you extraordinarily well. Thank you so much. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you.
Speaker 6Um , one at Williams. I am a homeschooling mom from Florida and I'm so excited to be here because I really feel like I am just, you know, your average run of the mill mom. Just trying to um, do business from home and just living life. So I really hope.
Speaker 3Okay. So Lynette Lynn , I'm already cutting you off because you and I will not have a conversation with there being a pre-qualifier. The word just is a word that's like a curse word of my soul because when you say I am just whatever follows that, I don't believe you. I don't believe that you're just a homeschooling mom from Florida. I believe that you are having transformative moments for young human beings who are gonna change the face of America. That's what I think they're doing. I think you're going create beautiful, brilliant human beings who are looking at their mom, who are building a business, who will then be empowered to go and do the same thing. That is not just anything doll face. You are a walking fireball and you also create powerful content. So there you go. That's your new title. All right, I cut you off, but that's what we're going to be. I don't know why I strongly feel that. I need to tell you that what you're doing is enough because I feel like the question says, how much more can I maximize to me, I don't know why and if I'm off, you could let me know is I just feel the sh the urge to say that what you're doing is enough and what you're doing is good and what you're doing is right. I have had the ability on the inside of the group to sit front row to the content that you're creating for others and it's powerful and it's transformative and you give it all away for free as a way to build trust. So the story, if there's ever a doubt that you're like, how much more can I maximize? How about say, how much more can I tell myself I'm doing a really good thing and that's what I just want to, I know that I don't even know where this answer came from but I'm just feeling it in my gut that you are enough. You're doing enough, you're doing a great job and the energy that you put out is being reciprocated and it might not come right now, but I am telling you it's going to come really short . They have to lay, you have to sow your seeds so that you can harvest something in the next three to 12 months and if you're in it for the long game, which I know you are, you're going to be fine. You're going to be fine.
Speaker 6Thank you. Yeah, I really appreciate you saying that because it's true. There is a little bit of a disconnect between what I'm sharing and giving in the social curator community and the feedback is amazing. And then I will share the same exact thing in my own Facebook group and it's cricket. And so I'm like, I feel like you're saying, I feel like the value is there and the concept is good and it's valuable. And in one case people love it, but then when I share it in my own context, it's like it doesn't do anything. So I appreciate you saying that because you were right in feeling that from me because I do, I do kind of feel like, where am I dropping the ball?
Speaker 3Oh , okay. Ooh , look at this. It started off as QVC and Albert's turning into Oprah. Okay, so let's take a step back. I loved sociology in college. I liked human behaviors and why we do what we do, it was humans are fascinating to me. So the position you are in, your group is leader and not just leader, your leader with something to sell. So every time you go into your group, there's a little tiny thing in the back of somebody's head. Well, here's Lynnette doing this to ultimately sell me something. Now it's not just you, it's 100% meat too. Whenever I go out on social and I just have a social conversation, lots of engagement when I go out and I'm telling you, Lynette , just at the time of this recording, I put some me out like join me for this free Instagram conference. My engagement is like crickets, PE , even though it's free. I was like, I promise guys, there was no hook. I really mean guys like still nothing because people feel there's an a terrier motive and I cannot be intimidated by that. Your objective and my objective is just to keep on showing up. So over time people believe you. Now let's take a look at your role on the inside of social curator. You're one of many curators. You're, you're of the people and for the people. So that when you put the almost virtually the same content, people say, wow , look at my home girl , look what she's doing and give me for free. And are you essentially doing the same thing you're giving with the context of selling? Yes. But your position within a social hierarchy is different. So it's going to be received different. So on that note, girlfriend, let's just take a step back and let's just do some numbers. How many people are in your group? I think I'm up to about 35 35 people. Perfect. So statistically on average, six to 8% of people in a group are seeing any given post. And it's dependent on how active that group is. So if you were to take 8% of 35 a few people are actually seeing it. So if you're getting like three likes, you're like, I'm doing pretty well given those circumstances. Now this is Lynette fishing in her own pond. What would it look like on the inside of the social care group with a few thousand people? Same ability for you to share this and guess what, your customers live there too so you can choose to say, I'm not doing enough in my group. Why aren't people responding? Or you can choose to say I'm doubling down on my efforts. I'm fishing in my pond and in another pond and there are customers who don't know. They're my customers quite yet. Keep on saying that to yourself and let's just chat in four to six months. Okay. I appreciate you. I appreciate you too. Thanks so much. Thank you.
Speaker 7Right
Speaker 3friends weren't these so good. I absolutely love these sessions. To learn more about Nicole Brody, Janine and Lynette , check out the show notes linked in the episode description wherever you are tuning in from today. If you would like monthly business coaching with yours truly and just a lot of insightful master classes, the best way for you to do that is to join social curator, my monthly membership site for business owners. That gives them the tools to build their brand on social media and we talk about tools. I am talking about straight up solutions. If you don't have photos to post on social media, we have lifestyle stock photos, we have customizable caption templates. We have a monthly marketing plan that we apply every month, and we do this all inside of a private community that keeps us accountable. If you are a business owner, you have to get inside of this community full of hustlers and dreamers. To learn more about the membership and the coaching within, you can head to social curator.com and maybe you'll be featured on one of these coaching sessions. Next. Thank you. As always for tuning in to the Jasmine star show, and I hope to talk to you soon.
Speaker 2[inaudible] .