How I Released New Workshops And Plan To Launch A Membership Based Community
This is a follow up story for Let's Reach Success. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published about 4 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
Hey and thanks for having me again. I’m Lidiya Kesarovska and I’ve been in the online business space for over 7 years now.
I started as a freelance writer while working on my hobby blog on the side. It took a lot of effort to get to a regular monthly income from both of these ventures, and then replace my freelance revenue with the blog revenue (as I knew I didn’t want to work for clients, in any way, and wanted to create content for my platforms).
My main WHY for doing what I do (other than to provide value and share my message with the world) is to gain freedom. So, my blogging business allowed me to have flexibility in terms of working hours and doing things on my terms, creative freedom (this is key!), time freedom, location independence (I relocated to my favorite country thanks to my online business), etc.
The lifestyle this business model provided was awesome, but I outgrew it at some point. I’m now helping other aspiring and intermediate bloggers get to that stage as I believe this can allow them to earn a lot, help others and live a pretty enjoyable life at the same time. But I knew it was time for me to do something else, and I knew exactly what that was.
In the last interview a year ago, I shared how I entered the online course industry and why I’m devoted to learning all I can about creating digital products, sales and marketing, launching, and anything else that goes into this business model.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?
Since we last talked, I got more confident releasing new offers, creating better products, collaborating with fellow course creators and bigger brands, launching, investing in business programs, email marketing, automation, sales funnels, etc.
It’s been fun (and challenging!) as I’m finally doing the things I knew I should have been doing but didn’t have the guts to. It’s my new calling to help aspiring course creators create not just a program, but a dream offer they can sell over and over again and which can turn into the foundation of their digital product business.
If that’s something you’re interested in, check out my free Epic Online Course Checklist.
Here’s what I’ve been up to in the last year and a half.
For a start, I added new products to my product suite:
Fearless Content is a 4-week program that helps you get clear on what’s no longer serving you and release it energetically, re-organize your whole business from a place of abundance, and achieve radical alignment in your content creation.
You’ll learn how to create a content creation process aligned with your true self thanks to Human Design. All through my experience after 7 years of publishing content online and experimenting with different formats, platforms, niches, passions, audiences, goals, and business models.
I had a lot of fun creating it (I do many things differently now that I’ve taken and created plenty of programs) and launching it.
I released a low-priced workshop called Blog Income Boost, where I teach 7 revenue-boosting things you can do on your blog RIGHT AWAY to get closer to that 5-figure income.
This training is for the blogger who’s tired of feeling like nothing is working, waiting months to build a new income stream, not making the most of the amazing platform they’ve created, and not being their boss yet.
Also, I’ve created plenty of free content over the years and this has become a comfort zone for me. Now, I’m more interested in working with those who are ready to invest (even if it’s a small amount) as that means they will do the work.
I have plenty of resources for bloggers on my blog and podcast, I have a free course and many guides, eBooks, and checklists for those on my email list. But at some point, I’m doing you a disservice by continuing to provide that without asking you to take the plunge and make an initial investment.
Truth is, the moment you invest in something is the moment you declare that you take yourself, your blog, and your business more seriously. It also guarantees you’re more likely to go through the content AND - this is the most important ingredient - take action!
Another offer I released is a Blog Audit - something I’ve never offered before. That’s a professional review of every element on your website. What you’ll get is a 60-page PDF file containing information about the most important areas of your blog as well as suggestions on how to improve and the next steps to take.
Another online course I released at the end of 2021 is The Blog Sponsorship Boss.
Sponsored blogging was one of my main income streams over the years (here I go into detail on how I earned over $128K from it), so I felt called to turn my insider knowledge about this industry into a strategic and actionable program.
The Blog Sponsorship Boss is your one-stop-shop for anything related to making money with sponsored content as a blogger (from making your site irresistible to brands and joining marketplaces that offer sponsored opportunities, to reaching out to brands yourself, negotiating your rates, and turning this into a regular income).
Finally, at the beginning of 2022, I combined all my existing products for bloggers and made another one of my business dreams come true - I released my very own bundle.
The Master Blogger Bundle contains all the resources you need to start a blog from scratch and turn it into a full-time business.
The BIG OFFER I’m releasing this quarter is Bold Business School - a 3-month membership program designed to help you build a digital product business that provides unlimited freedom and income.
BBS will be an expansive and empowering business experience that supports you through shifting your beliefs, growing an email list and making email marketing work for you, creating a strong foundation for your business, designing your signature program, and turning it into a magnetic offer that you launch strategically and can sell over and over again.
The first launch will be intimate and very special, only to those serious about building a digital product business and who are on the waitlist. You can join it here.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
One of the best decisions in the last year was investing in my biggest business program so far - Business by Design by my mentor James Wedmore. It’s the last business course I might ever take and implementing what’s inside will probably keep me going for the next few years.
I was ready to go all in - to finally get into the numbers (business numbers, whether we like it or not), create systems that resonate with my big vision, and stop playing small.
I also kept investing in other programs, and this itself shows I’ve re-framed my money mindset. I don’t use the word ‘expensive’ anymore and have no doubt such investments will pay off tenfold in the future. My personal and spiritual growth is directly related to my business growth, so I keep learning and doing the inner work about that too.
I had my first official hire - a Pinterest manager and strategist. I enjoyed the process of creating the application, deciding who I need and why, getting in touch with the people, and making my decision (based on both intuition and logic).
I did choose the right person for it and am still working for her. The contract was for 6 months and I treated that as one big experiment. However, I’ve now decided I won’t be continuing to work with her as we haven’t seen the numbers growing (and again, it all comes down to numbers).
I don’t regret this decision at all, though. It’s cool I took the risk, went through the process, and made yet another big and interesting investment in my business.
Looking back on the last 6-12 months, I also stopped doing many of the business activities I was doing up until that point simply because they weren’t in alignment with my new direction.
I sort of left the blogging business behind (although it’s mostly passive and that’s okay), which affected my income (it’s lower now). But that’s in the name of creating a thriving product-based business, and the rules there are different. So yes, many risks and new, uncomfortable moves in the last year, but it makes sense as I’m trying to build something I’ve never built before.
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
I now work in 90-day periods where I plan a big offer (+ one or two smaller ones) and the sales system I’ll use for each. I outline everything that will go in the pre-launch phase and promotion early on, and then execute.
After each launch, I do a debrief, analyze all the numbers, and start planning the next launch while tweaking things from the previous one. The goal is to get to the perfect launch process that works for me and my audience and repeat it over and over again.
In terms of products, I’m excited about Bold Business School and the people I’m meant to serve thanks to it. I can’t stop thinking about it these months and I’m super passionate about it.
Have you read any good books in the last year?
The most powerful book I highly recommend these years:
It Didn’t Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle
Currently reading Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz and loving it.
As for podcasts, that’s Mind Your Business Podcast by James Wedmore, and The Manifestation Babe Podcast. I love combining business with manifestation.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
If you aren’t actively selling, if you’re scared of launching, if you don’t have a signature offer yet, it’s time to re-frame your beliefs around this (your beliefs about business, money, selling, and self-worth). Seriously, it starts with the inner work. Then, we can start testing different strategies, fail with confidence, iterate, and get results.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
