👩‍💻 BIZ BTS SERIES #2: Launching lessons. Bre's Do's and Don'ts 🙋‍♀️🙅‍♀️

Welcome to episode 2 of the BIZ BTS SERIES on The Mind School Podcast and this week we are talking all things LAUNCHING.

This is a topic that relates to so many online business owners who have an offer they are wanting to put out into the world but might not know where to start.

In this episode we cover:

🚀 How do you know when to launch?
🚀 What is a launch runway and how long should it be?
🚀 Tips for first time launchers
🚀 Biggest launch errors
🚀 Three takeaways for coaches going into a launch

After dozens of launches, Bre is sharing the do’s and don’ts + practical tips that you can implement during your next launch – whether it’s your first one or you’re coming off the back of some ‘launch PTSD’ 😅

If you found this episode helpful let us know! Share a screenshot to your stories and tag Bre with your biggest a-ha moment and takeaways. 

LUL is open RIGHT NOW. If you’re on the fence this is your sign to get moving fam. This program is life changing in the best possible way, I can promise you won’t look back after learning the content inside this 12 weeks container. JOIN HERE

Transcript

Unknown: 0:02

Welcome back to the mind school podcast where in a little bit of a series now called the biz behind the scenes series. And so today, we're talking about business, in particular, online businesses and coaching businesses, particularly, but this is going to be a really great, a really great conversation for those of you who want to launch something, or have launched something in the past and have what I've heard, I've heard termed, launch PTSD. I speak to so many people who have, quote, launch PTSD, and you're too scared to launch again, because maybe it was a flop, maybe it didn't go, well. Maybe there's too many fears now. Or maybe you're actually completely fresh to business. And you're like, I do want to launch a product or a service or a course or my coaching. But there's so many questions because it feels like an overwhelming beast. So I wanted to dedicate this particular episode to all things launching, and it's gonna be really, really helpful for those of you who are maybe in one of those places, because I would say that I've become the queen of launching over the last four years, I actually really enjoy it. So much so that sometimes I'm on holidays while we're launching. So I have lots of things to add and lots of value. But before we get there, this is a reminder to anyone listening who has been on the fence about level up your life, level up, your life is open, which is really, really exciting. We have some awesome people that have joined and I'm really, really, really pumped to get into it again. So if you have any questions, or if you want to join the link is in the show notes. I am joined by diesel today. Happy birthday for yesterday, diesel. Thank you. It was very nice day 37. Now it's beautiful. It's beautiful, and Devo. You actually did level up last round. So is there anything that you would add to people who are listening or have been thinking about doing level up? Like what was your experience just to throw you under the bus now? Oh, my God, it was what I mean, you know how life changing it was for me it? Certainly. God, how do I even explain it? It changed the trajectory? Yeah, did it definitely put me on a different path in in a really big way in a really, really good way. And I was on the fence for a really long time as well. I'd been watching from the sidelines seeing all of these incredible transformations of women inside the container. Watching you just get lit the fuck up every single round. And just thinking I'm going to do it one day, one day, I'm going to do it and I think I was actually the last person the very last. That type of buyer. Yeah, that's me. I'm waiting until the very last day of OpenCart. And then I'm going to I haven't hit record. Yeah, it's recording. Oh, sorry. Keep going. Okay, sorry, I just didn't see it there. In your faces in red, flashing up in the corner of the screen we go from you're one of those people who freaked me out. Oh, God, we're gonna do a whole episode and I'm gonna fuck your day up in Oh my god. Yeah, I'm definitely one of those people that waits until the very last day of OpenCart. And then I slip in right at the end. So, uh, but I'm very, very glad that I did. It was an incredible experience. And the women inside my container were amazing. The retreat was just amazing as it is every single time. So yeah, just to anyone who is on the fence. That was me. I was on the fence for round after round after round. And I'm so glad that I ended up taking the plunge because it really did change the trajectory of where I was at last year. And yeah, it just it needed to happen. And I'm really glad that it did. So. Just do it. I'm so proud of you. Oh, you know what, you know how we talked about ins and outs and you were saying you are going to be courageous this year? Holy. It's happened like you really just to do some accountability check ins now you are doing it. No, I have to keep reminding myself of that as well because sometimes I forget. Hmm. This was the intention. Yeah, it's been big. Yeah. Me, but it's been big. Yeah. So sure. The doors are open. We're starting in two weeks, which is so exciting. I'm frothing. Like you've seen how I get when I'm teaching live. And I feel like it's been quite some time now since I've been teaching live because we finished up level up at the end of last year and I'm just frothing to get started again. Absolutely. She's gagging guys. Yeah, guys. So come on in The all of the informations in the show notes. Before we get into everything launching and business behind the scenes, the business behind the scenes series does all Tell us quickly. What's your win this week? Feel like every win lately has been me going to Melbourne or pay coming to Perth or something relating to Kate. But I did get to sneak over to Melbourne on the weekend for her baby shower. And that was so beautiful. She's due at the end of April. And yeah, they had a shower, where it was all of their friends and the friends partners. So it was just a really cool little shindig, beautiful food. They had a DJ like everyone got a bit late towards the end. And it was like it was a good time. You know, it was a really good time. And just getting to hang out with her for a few days and squeeze her and feel her belly and all that stuff. So that's the last, like belly rub that I'm going to get before baby arrives. Yeah, like she's due on ANZAC Day. Oh, wow. That's pretty soon. Yes. So that was a huge, huge win big highlight for my weekend. What was yours? Oh, that's so beautiful. Um, it's so silly. But it's not silly. It's actually magical. Yesterday, it was Monday yesterday. And I just had, I woke up and I was like, one of those days where I was, like I said to Paul, I've been like, this is when we're having our shower chats last night. She said chill. Yeah, hashtag shower chat guys cannot recommend enough. It's so good. So we were having our shower chats. And I was like, my favourite day of the week is Mondays like, I fucking love Mondays. And I just had one of those like, holy shit. It's like, I remember being so Monday, like, you know, those Sunday blues. And I remember being so like, Monday, like can't wait till Friday can't wait till Friday. And then Saturday. Yeah. And then Sunday, like that whole roller coaster. So waking up on a Monday and just chatting to clients. And I had the best conversation with my brother on the phone yesterday. Like, because I just had the time, you know, we spent an hour chatting about his he's been on a few dates. And we were talking about that. And I was like, This is what I get to do on a Monday I'm chatting to my brother, I'm chatting to my clients. And it just felt like such a win. And I was reflecting on it in the shower last night with Paul. So that's actually my wind just landing in a place where I feel like it's the ultimate flex to be happy on Mondays. Yay. I love that. I agree. I really agree. That's awesome. Okay, so let's get into it. I'm excited to chat about launching, I think this is gonna be really helpful. It's like I found and I said to diesel, I'm having very similar conversations with pretty much all of my one on one clients at the moment. And it's usually around launching, when to launch, how to launch what to launch, how to structure it, how to message, how to get social medias ready, like all of that. And I just thought that I could talk about it till I'm blue in the face. So I thought it might be really helpful for listeners who are in that spot, and who have lots of questions and don't know where to start. So we're going to do that today. And I'm just going to roll it over to diesel. So you can ask away and then I'll get in my respond to energy and just answer. Amazing. Okay, so we will start I suppose with the very basic question of if you are someone who has a programme you've been working on an offer, how do you know when to actually launch it? Is there a specific timeline? Is it based on how you feel about the offer that you want to get out there? What What advice do you give to people on when to actually get their thing out to the people? I reckon this is actually one of the biggest things that a lot of people possibly miss. And that's knowing a, if you have spent enough time making sure that you are either an authority in the subject that you're going to teach about or speak about. So have you spent enough time making sure that you're you have authority within the space, and that your audience is primed. I always talk about with my clients, we're talking about priming, has your audience been primed enough? Or like lubed enough that they're like, oh, yeah, this makes sense. I go to you for this. You're like the go to in this space. I know what's coming. And it would almost feel to your audience like, oh, we were waiting for that or like, Oh, that makes complete sense. The role is really for you to dissolve any shock before you launch something. And I think this is where a lot of coaches kind of go, they just get excited, and they're like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna launch this thing. But it's like, Wait, you've been talking about feminine energy for six months, and now you're launching a course on I don't know, money, like, where's the crossover? Where's the tie over? How Not how big is your audience? And I think this is important, because I've seen people where With huge audiences who cannot sell, cannot sell like they, their audience isn't primed, they haven't established themselves as an authority, they have a big audience, but the audience might be coming to them just to be a little bit inspired, or just to see what's going on with their dog or their fertility or their partner. Like, it's really looking consciously at how you've positioned your brand. And not how big your audience is, but how ready your audience is for what you're selling. So we don't necessarily need to look just at the size of your audience, but to an extent their engagement and not even their engagement, as in how many likes do you get? But are they looking to you and your brand, as an expert in this field, if not hold off, do not do it prematurely, because it's going to have massive impacts. And we talked about launch PTSD before which we'll get into. But I would say, once you've got the idea, do your time. And make sure you're being really intentional with your brand and how you're positioning yourself before you start launching something amazing. And so we you and I have had a chat about this. And I wonder if this is a term that people will be familiar with or not because I wasn't. But there is something called a launch runway. So once you figured out that you do want to actually launch something, there is something called a launch runway that has to sort of take place before the actual launch. So can you tell us what is a launch runway? And how long should a launch runway be prior to actually launching your product or your offer? This is again where it depends. As an example, I have one client at the moment who she's completely fresh to business, she hasn't really been on socials consistently. She's kind of been on and off and just kind of hopping in when she feels like it. And she wants to launch a course. And I actually said to her like, no, no, we need a really big launch runway. And we're I've got another client who's been on socials for years, she's been, you know, she's working as a PT for years, she's quite well reputable within that space, we just need to do a little bit more tweaking of her message. And then her runway can be a bit shorter. So the runway itself is the time before you open the doors. So when you open the doors, and you're like, oh my god, it's open, it's early bird or it's open to the waitlist, there's so many different ways on strategies, you can do it. But you've got your open cart, before your open cart, you've got a massive runway, which is exactly as it sounds like it's the runway up to that. And I truly think that your runway is so much more important than the launch itself. And that's where a lot of people are sort of getting, you know, they're spending so much time thinking about the launch, that they're not thinking about the months leading up to it. So it could be six weeks. And this is where you kind of need to use your discernment about how much authority you have, how warm your audience is. And those things that I spoke about. It could be six weeks, if you've got a pretty decent your audience's ready for it. It could be five, six months, if you're really fresh, and you've been flip flopping a little bit and you've been ghosting and you haven't really established yourselves, but you want to make the runway I feel and what I've seen and notice with lots of different people launching is that the longer and more intentional the runway, the easier the launch. So that's what I'd say to that. I think it needs a lot of intentionality. And you need to just really gauge where you're at and be honest with yourself about how it consistently have been, and what is included in the more general way. Like what are some things that you need to make sure you're including within that space, regardless of how long it is, you obviously touched on social media presence. Yeah, it also needs to be considered during that period, however long it is for you. So I would think about whether or not you're doing any sort of pre launch masterclass, or event or challenge or anything like that. And again, not everyone needs to do this. But I recommend it if people have never really seen you teach people have never been around you live, people haven't been in your energy before. They're very new to you, or you're very new to them. That's when it would be like Okay, so before you open this, this new thing, could you give them an opportunity to see what it's like to be in your energy and that might be a low ticket master class, it might be a free master class, it might be a three day workshop, it might be a challenge. It might be that in this time, you're actually doing a lot of networking to get on other people's socials and sort of do your work there. So there's the pre launch kind of how are they gonna get used to energy? There's the socials. And then on the back end, as you would know, there's actually so much that we're doing on the behind the scenes but Before I'm anywhere near opening up the car or the doors to something, because you're getting your marketing emails ready, you're thinking about okay, but when the doors open, what actually needs to be ready for them? So that this feels nice and easy. So we're looking at, okay, a gift boxes ready? What sorts of emails do they need to get the second they sign up? What needs to happen on the back end in terms of payments in terms of getting the journals ready, like, there's so much that happens before. And you want that to be really organised and really intentional, so that when you open the doors, you're actually focusing then on the energy being about creating hype and excitement, and all of the stuff that comes with OpenCart. Period. So, launch runway still has lots and lots of steps, from a technical perspective, from a back end perspective and from a social media perspective. And that's why I always say, I actually feel like, the longer the better. And it's going to make the launch feel easier. Amazing. And just listening to you say that I was thinking, I wonder if like, would you recommend that people are working with a coach in order to launch this, but if they are unable to do that, and they've got something that they want to launch, and it's their first time launching? What are some tips for them to get ready for a launch, I would say first of all have a really, really, really clear idea of the deliverables inside of the product that you're selling. So it's going to be really hard to market it and to create your messaging around it if you've just got a really wishy washy idea of exactly what the outcomes are within the course, and how that cause solves problems for the people that you're targeting. So firstly, you want to get clear on what exactly it is, what outcomes it creates, and what problems it solves. And that's going to help you to to get your messaging and your social media, right. And then I would think about one of those main problems. So when you've got your whole list of like, these are all the problems that this course solves, or this product or this service or this coaching, maybe choose one of those main problems and zone in on it like really zone in on it and think about how could I create potentially a masterclass around this, or lots and lots of content around this so that you can give so much value and articulate to your audience. This is like 10% of what's coming in this course. This is like 10% of what I show and teach inside of this course. So I would I would start there with getting really clear on the actual tangible outcomes, tangibles and intangibles. And then thinking of picking a problem and delivering some sort of masterclass on that, and then giving an incentive for all those people that have arrived on the master class. Hey, because you've been on this master class, I'm going to tell you first I'm going to open it to you. First, I'm going to give you earlybird pricing, and really incentivize and reward the people who have come to the master class. And you touched on tangible and intangible Can you give some examples of what that might look like, and maybe even using yourself as an example. So an intangible would be like, Well, I used to feel really frustrated, I used to feel like Sunday blues with would go back to that that I was talking about. I used to feel Sunday blues, I used to feel really frustrated that I hadn't found my thing. And what I really wanted to feel was clarity. So one of the things that level up your life to like promises, or one of the deliverables is that we do a whole month of clarity and dream life design. So you will feel clearer, you'll feel clearer. That's intangible, I can't touch it. I can't see it in my real life. But the tangible result of me feeling clear, is that I could then leave my job. I could I left my job, I started a business because I had clarity. Because I had clarity. I actually had what I needed to start the business to leave the job, to whatever the other tangible results are that come from the intangible. So even from that lens, and this will really help with people with their messaging. If you sit down and write all of the emotional ways that you're going to change someone's lives. I want you to ask the question. So what? Okay, you got to make them feel clear. So what you're going to make them confidence. So what you're going to make them feel whatever else it is powerful. So what are so that so that you can also that you no longer also like that's how we make the intangible tangible we turn the emotional into the logical and from a marketing perspective and a psychological perspective. We think with true minds, we think with our logical Rain, and our emotional brain. And so when you can tie both messages together with this is the emotional impact. As in, you don't feel clear, you feel really fucking frustrated, you feel like you're wasting your life you feel like it's Groundhog Day you feel like scared shitless that this is going to be your life? Well, I'm going to teach you how to get clear so that you actually find the job that you love, so that you stop settling for mediocre relationships, so that you have the courage to go for the relationships, the guy, that whatever. So it's like really looking at how we can turn those emotional things into tangible logical things. And I think I've just ranted and gone completely off track. But that's something that's really gonna help. Basically, what you need to do is drill down on exactly the solutions that you're going to be providing for the people that you want to buy this offer or that you want to sign up for your coaching or whatever it is, yes, and also baking to how your version of it is different. Because what most coaches and what a lot of the times I found, like, you're not necessarily teaching anything that's groundbreaking most of the time, there's millions of other people that are doing it, teaching it, but your way will be different. So it's starting to discern like what is my version? Or my even what's my coaching style, what can you expect from me that you won't get from other people. So to use my own example, like, I always talk about lots of people teach mindset, but not from the same lens as me. And also I'm a teacher. So I make some things that might feel like big, sort of intangible or fluffy things, and make them really fucking practical. And I teach it in a way that's engaging, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. So it's like, how are you going to make your way different? Or how is the way you deliver it different? How is that going to appeal to the people that you're trying to attract? Mm hmm. Yep. Got it. So would you be okay, now, if we move into unpacking your most recent launch? Sure. You had a really good one. Should have been a goodie. Yeah, it was really good. So you launched the mind school method. I'm sure everyone would have seen you speaking about it. On your stories. You've we've done podcasts on it. It was a huge deal. It was a very, very exciting and it went really, really well. So let's unpack it. So we're sort of out of the other side of it. Now. Have you taken some lessons from this particular launch? Because obviously, you've just referred to yourself as the launch queen, you plenty of launches. You're not new to this. What lessons did you learn from this specific launch that you can share with the listeners? Definitely the importance of and power of that priming that I talked about? Like I had quite a few people who were in my DMs very impatiently, like Hurry the fuck up like it's coming. We know it's coming. Can I get details? Can I get details, I want to book flights. There were people who were like, and this is what I was talking about with. You need it to be at a point where your audience is like, hurry up, like yeah, not not. Oh, what's this? Like, oh, what do you teach? What is this thing? Because then your audience is busy trying to figure out what you're doing instead of our Thank fuck, I've been waiting. So definitely the priming. I even had one of Annika, who you know, and we love. And it was like I had noticed, she was like, surely you did weighs like so much above what you needed for marketing when you only had 20 places. But I was like, Yeah, that was the point like I wanted to. Yeah, so that was a really important thing. The other thing that I found, and this is one of the things I think is important to look at, if you're someone who is relaunching something similar, or if you have multiple offers in your business, and you're launching lots of different things, one of the metrics that I look at and take very seriously is how many people in this are repeat clients, like they've already been in my world. And that to me, like looking at the list of the people in the mine school, it's something like 70% of them have already worked with me before, which is incredible and tells me so much. It tells me where my area for improvement lies. And so I know that for me, one of the priorities in my business is to get in front of new audience, because my audience once they've worked with me, they tend to stay and that's incredible. Like, I find that to be such a fucking honour. Like, I'm so touched by that. But it also tells us a lot about like, where I need to be putting effort to get new clients in my world. So that was really important. Another thing that I would say is the importance of the waitlist, so I haven't actually Oh, pinch the mind school to the public yet and it's 80% sold like it was something like 60% 70% sold within 24 hours of opening to the waitlist. And like I said, there were people who were like, can I get it first I need to book flights, one lady, the first person then TASH, we love you. The first person who joined, she booked flights before she even saw the enrollment page. So I was like, Oh, shit, I need to get it to her first. So she was waiting, waiting, waiting. And again, the power of the waitlist was that I could see there was 120 people on there, I only had 20 spots. And I could see like a tangible, visual thing for me to sort of gauge if the audience is ready and warm and all of those things. But then from a marketing perspective, when I do open to the public, which will be later next week, if there's any places left, can you unlike the power of messaging, which sounds like, okay, here it is, but there's only three spots left, as opposed to Hey, guys, here's this thing we're opening to everyone is so much more powerful, because it gives that authority, it gives social proof, it gives a sense of urgency. And so if you're doing what you can to sell behind the scenes, and to sell on your emails to sell in your DMS, and things like that, by the time you go to public launch, it's really all about showcasing the social proof. And like with this one, yeah, there's three places or four places left, and we haven't opened yet. So I think if you can have a waitlist, nurture and do a lot of the sort of the selling behind the scenes, that really helps with the front end, the front end facing of the launch, for sure. And is there anything? I mean, obviously, this might be a little bit similar. But is there anything specific that you would do differently now that you're sort of basically on the other side, you touched on? You know, trying to build your audience away from people that have already worked with you? So that's potentially one element. But is there anything else that you'd do differently next time? No, however, this being a beta round, so when we say beta round, it's the first time I've ever launched something new. So usually what happens with a beta round is that you are offering an either for a reduced price or to a reduced amount of people so that you can really well, I think that this is the teacher in me speaking. I think it's important with your first round that you do try to keep it quiet, small, quick, keep it quiet, quiet intimate, so that you can really use this first launch as so much data on okay, what landed? What didn't? What were they picking? What did they love? What did they you know, drop off with? What did I not really feel all like came across as well as I wanted it to which lesson could I improve, which you know, all the feedback and all of that. So, with the bait around that which is what I've been doing this this launch, which is why it's only 20 people, what will be different next round is that I will have a lot more testimonials, I will have a lot more evidence of how incredible that's been, I will be able to refine it to improve the marketing. And so that's what I'll do differently next round. And I think that's just a really good point. For those of for the people listening who are going to launch something first, they really in the beginner energy and that energy of like, I'm just so happy to have people here in front of me that I can learn from and refine and make it better. And then your launch the second time around will change because hopefully, you'll be able to nail your messaging based on what those clients really got out of it, you'll be able to talk about testimonials a lot more because you'll have them. And so the launch will change a little bit and refine and improve. And that's why I always say like, you hope that your launching just gets easier and more refined with every one you do. Amazing. And to finish off, what would be three key takeaways for coaches going into launch. So whether that's based on the mind school method launch, or just what you've learned, over the years through all of your launches, what would be your three key takeaways. The first one will be a mindset one and that is during a launch you will have the opportunity to see where any insecurities are and you'll have the opportunity to strengthen your emotional intelligence so fucking much. So use this as an opportunity to strengthen parts of yourself. The part of you that wants to shy away and wants to go quiet and wants to ghost or wants to not show up. Anytime you feel that I will invite you to go louder and to go bigger because that's probably the part of you that's going into shame spirals, and I'm not good enough and no one bla bla bla bla bla. So the first thing is just use launching as a complete gateway to strengthen your internal state to strengthen your conviction to strengthen your emotional intelligence to strengthen how you want to show up. That's the first one because that's actually where I see a lot of launching, just go. Yeah, people get proper like PTSD from it. And I've actually had to work with people who have, you know, come to me, and they're like, I'm so scared. I've launched before, and it was crickets, and I just don't want to launch again. So it's, it's just an it's a real emotional experience. And I want to normalise that for people and also invite people to see it as a massive learning curve and an opportunity to strengthen who you are as a coach. Because if you're a coach, you better be nailing this stuff. So that you can be the leader that you want to be to your clients. So that's the first thing. The second thing I would say is you have to nail messaging, if you have a story, that's like, I fucking hate. And I hear this all the time. I'm not good at social media, I don't know what to say, I don't know what to post, I don't know how to show up. I hate socials, because a lot of I feel like a lot of people that either hate socials or they hate tech, it's. But if you've got a story around social media, or messaging or writing or anything like that deal with it, you have to deal with it either need to find a coach who can help you learn put time aside to actually just getting it done at the start of the week, whatever it is, those are non negotiables. If you have an online business, an online course, an online brand, and your biggest problem is, I don't know what to say, I don't know how to say I don't know how to show up, you've got to let that be a bare minimum, like a bare minimum. And it's just something you can't be available for any more. So I'd say learn messaging, nail messaging and find a way to get good at it in a way that suits you. And then the last one is to really prime like you've got to spend time in that warm up phase, you've got to spend time giving so much value to your audience, building your authority doing all those parts. And the more you do those things, the easier your launch is going to feel. You heard it here. You heard it here friends from the launch queens. I just give myself my own little tiara. Yeah, hashtag launch queen. That was amazing. And very succinct. Like practical advice and tips for people to follow. So is there anything that you would like to add anything that you feel like we missed? No, I think that's everything, I just want to encourage people to give it a red hot crack. Like, it's such a rewarding, it's such a rewarding thing to do. For so many reasons. And I know a lot of people that listening that listen to this, have a high value of freedom and create like whether that's creative freedom, time, freedom, location, or freedom, whatever it is, creating online products, courses, whatever your launch is, there's so many benefits for your life, but also for the people that you're serving. So if you're getting stuck in your head, try to remember too, that it's not about you, like, you might be nervous, you might be feeling overwhelmed. You might be feeling like, oh gosh, do Am I getting it right? Are people staring at me, whatever. But you've got to remember, and this will help you a lot with your messaging. They just want to be helped your client, they're actually just in pain right now. And they're looking for a way to get out of it. So if you can start to come back to why am I doing this? Who am I helping? What do I want to serve with, like, serve with this message, and you start making it about yourself and making it about the people that you are there to help and serve and support. It's going to help you to get out of your head. So just do come back to that. And yeah, give it a crack. Do you get a red hot crack? Well, thank you so much. And just a reminder that level up is open. There's links in the show notes. Get on there. And yeah, and thank you so much again for listening. If you've made it this bar, we really appreciate it. Do let us know what is landing and what your takeaways are. It means so so so much to see the show being on your socials and tagged and shared and all of those things. We'd love to see it. So if you've had any takeaways let me know tag me slide into my DMs whatever feels good. And we will see you back here next week. Bye bye