Summer Land, Author

Summerlandish, www.summerlandish.com

What were you struggling with before you hired me? Specificity is good.

Before I hired you, I had experienced a year of success as a published author, but began to plateau. Books sales had slowed down and my Australia/ UK publisher decided not to pursue distribution in the US. I felt stuck, disappointed, yet SO CLOSE to achieving my goal of becoming a best selling author – so close, yet so far. I was struggling to stand out among fellow gen y humor authors and needed help.

What were you hoping to get out of working with me?

I was hoping to get a huge gust of wind in my sails. I also wanted some new ideas. I really love working with a team and being an author can be such an isolating endeavor. I love feeling the energy of bouncing ideas off of someone and you were incredible to do that with! I also wanted to learn how to be more profitable. My focus as an author was more about book sales for bookstores and less about, how I could capitalize on myself.

Did I deliver?

Absolutely. You made me feel hopeful. You also helped me see myself and my book from a different perspective. You helped me figure out what kind of content that I need to be creating and why. You helped me become shareable. You also helped me see all of the various ways that I could earn money as an author.

What did you like most about the process?

I love that there was a solid amount of preliminary work before we had our conversation. It was nice to do a personal audit on my brand and business efforts so far. Even before we had our Skype conversation, I could see where I was going wrong. However, you were able to break things down and make all of the new ideas look really achievable. (I also liked Skyping with your dog.)

How did our work together impact your confidence/being more YOU in your business?

Seeing as I wrote a memoir and write a personal blog, I was always ME in my business haha, BUT I was able to see how people see me and what I could do to make sure I came across the way that I wanted to. It’s hard to sell yourself without sounding a little up yourself. I had to learn that it’s less about ME and my stories, and more about all of us and our stories.

What were some high impact changes that you made in your business as a result of our working together?

I changed the content that I posted on my social media accounts and blog to be more shareable and relatable. I also began vlogging on YouTube and sending out a weekly newsletter. However, the biggest change was adding a shopping cart to my website so I could sell signed copies of my book! I also began reaching out to fellow bloggers for book reviews, guest posts and cross promotion opportunities.

How did our work together effect book sales?

It took about a month, but book sales definitely picked up! I’m also seeing a steady growth in my online followers. Perhaps the best thing I’m seeing more of – is more mentions on blogs and websites about my book and blog!

How much more money did you earn after working together?

Before working with Ellen, I was only earning the royalties from book sales from my publisher. Since working with Ellen, I’ve now probably doubled my income. (I get a much higher profit margin from selling books myself.)

how did the frequency analysis (chinese elemental reading) effect you, your business – how did you like it/what did you like about it?

This was like therapy for me. I loved it because it made me feel like everything was happening as it was supposed to. If anything, it made me relax and remember that life works in cycles and that everything can’t be 100% GO TIME all the time. It helped me realize what type of person I am and how being aware of different life cycles can help me make more rational decisions. It helped me slow down and reflect on what I’ve done, what’s working, what’s not working and where I want to go. This year is about reflection, change and growth for me and I’m embracing it.

did you create a killer new offering? how did that go?

Kind of – I did a Buy One Get One Free For A Friend promo so people could show their besties they love them by giving them a copy of my book and that really amped up book sales. (And was still super profitable since I got the books at wholesale prices.)

Catherine Hummell, Personal Relationship Coach

Second Chance Coaching, www.catherine-hummel.com/

What were you struggling with before you hired me? Specificity is good.

Before hiring Ellen I was feel super stuck in my business. I had client flow, but it wasn’t consistent and I wasn’t making the big money I wanted to be making. I was just barely getting by and always worrying about how I was going to make ends meet.

What were you hoping to get out of working with me?

I wanted to make more money by working with Ellen!! She marketed herself perfectly and it was a clear message – she helped people make money. I wanted to know the secrets.

Did I deliver?

Ellen helped me put together a killer coaching program, I created my first online course and had 26 people sign up (pretty great for my first one!) and signed on several new clients with big packages.

What did you like most about the process?

I liked the practicality of the process. There isn’t a magic bullet to making money – but there is a system and there is an accountability that must be demanded. She cut right to the chase. I appreciated that.

How did our work together impact your confidence/being more YOU in your business?

Ellen helped me to DO THE WORK in my business and get clear on what I have to offer. I was able to solidify my work and really claim my work which impacted what I offered.

What were some high impact changes that you made in your business as a result of our working together?

As a result of our work together I created my first group coaching program and that felt SO good.

How many more clients did you book?

I booked at least 3-4 new clients in our time together. My big win was the group coaching program.

How much more money did you earn after working together?

I earned an extra $2,000.

Did you create an awesome new group? How did enrolling for it go?

I filled my group program beyond what I could have imagined and I know it made my followers excited/thrilled for those who weren’t able to work 1:1 with me

Anything else not captured here that’s a tangible result of our work together?

What made you great was how practical it was. That I had to get clear on how much money I wanted to be making + the map on how to get there (group, clients, etc.) putting the “woo-woo” to the side for a moment and helping me get accountable is really what was most valuable to me.

Jo Gifford, Productivity Expert

The Dexterous Diva, www.dexterousdiva.co.uk/

What were you struggling with before you hired me? Specificity is good.

I was struggling with clarity around my particular mix of skills and how to focus.

What were you hoping to get out of working with me?

I wanted some guidance, insight, and practical help.

Did I deliver?

Heck, YESSS!

I adored working with you. I loved our one to one time, you dug in so quickly with your amazing super power of unravelling my creative brain.

What did you like most about the process?

I adored our time one to one, the extra session with Maggie, and also the follow up session together. So much had changed over those short 6 months it felt amazing to see so much decisive action and growth.

How did our work together impact your confidence/being more YOU in your business?

It helped me to see how I needed to brand my way of working and step into the awesome power of who I already am, and how to make practical steps to actually DO that.

What were some high impact changes that you made in your business as a result of our working together?

I launched my Brilliance Ignition Process, the branded programme of my ethos and system for solopreneurs

How many more clients did you book?

Hard to tell yet, but let’s just say there is a book coming, a whole set of awesome VIP offers and programmes, and it’s still early days.

How much more money did you earn after working together?

Again, hard to be clear on this but I feel that my income, which was already large, has been more focussed on doing EXACTLY what I want to do.

How do you feel about that income?

I am delighted and excited!

Did you create an awesome new group? How did enrolling for it go?

Filling it has been easy, and I am selling my upgraded version right now. It has a great buzz and is proving to be hugely successful.

Did you create a new killer offering? how did that go?

I created a few and honed down others. There is so much in the pipeline now for this year, and I feel abundant, on track, creative, awesome, and ME!

Anything else not captured here that’s a tangible result of our work together?

I just want to express my thanks – you rock, and I can’t wait to work more together as my business grows.

Karen Pery + Gary Maher, Founders

Into The Fire Surf Leadership Retreat, http://excellentadventuresleadership.com/

What were you struggling with before you hired me? Specificity is good.

Before we hired Ellen, we had been developing and growing an in-person surf + leadership retreat. We went from investing our own money into it (read: no profits), to earning a little above break even, to barely above break even as we increased costs but kept bumping into the same challenges with what we felt like people were willing to pay for our amazing transformational beach party – we also had difficultly enrolling our ideal clients. The program we were running was fantastic, and the results blew our minds, but we struggled to make it work the way we wanted it to be – maybe we didn’t know what our impact was and weren’t quite sure we knew what we wanted.

What were you hoping to get out of working with me?

Clarity with a capital C. After spending time with Ellen, we felt like she could help us see what we couldn’t see to turn our retreat into a wildly satisfying business opportunity.

Did I deliver?

Totally.

What did you like most about the process?

Honesty, asking great questions, really helping us get clear on who benefits most from this retreat, and probably most of all, that you saw our strengths and uniqueness as integral, core definitions of the experience of us which extends to the definition of our brand.

How did our work together impact your confidence/being more YOU in your business?

We believed you and were willing to see ourselves the way you saw us – and we weren’t tempted to go back to our old ways of doing business since the new way was much more appealing and we were determined to make our business work for us.

What were some high impact changes that you made in your business as a result of our working together?

Instead of seeking out enrollments one by one, we began approaching individuals to bring us a group committed to doing the retreat together.

Once we had a group, we created the exact experience we wanted them to have – which took our event from a one day retreat to a weekend, women’s only retreat.

We built on the strength of our relationship with each other and with others, and enrolled people through direct, personal conversations. Since you pointed out that some of our magic is how we are with each other, we talked to prospective participants together whenever possible.

We created videos and sent them to our participants and potential participants and shared them with our people – we even personalized them, and shared our message in a new way. People seemed to appreciate the personal touch.

We stopped offering discounts, period. Everyone paid the same glorious fee, and we felt like what we charged allowed us to create exactly the weekend we wanted to give. We stood behind the value of our work – even with the Canadian dollar in the shitter and people freaking out about the cost.

How many more clients did you book?

We actually booked fewer clients this year, but our profits grew exponentially – like by 500%.

if you have a group program how did filling it go?

We took a totally different approach – so filling it was actually pretty easy considering what it felt like in prior years.

Did you create a new killer offering? how did that go?

Same killer offering as we had before, but made even more spectacular because we customized and hand-crafted the program for the group who said yes.

Anything else not captured here that’s a tangible result of our work together?

What made you great was how practical it was. That I had to get clear on how much money I wanted to be making + the map on how to get there (group, clients, etc.) putting the “woo-woo” to the side for a moment and helping me get accountable is really what was most valuable to me.

Danetha Doe, Financial Growth Consultant

Money and Mimosas, www.moneyandmimosas.com

What were you struggling with before you hired me? Specificity is good.

I was trying to figure out how to launch my first bookkeeping 101 course. I was new to the “online” world and wasn’t quite sure how to best package and market it.

What were you hoping to get out of working with me?

I was hoping to get a better idea of the online community vibe.

What did you like most about the process?

Lots of things! I guess I enjoyed planning out my entire year the most. It was nice to take a look at different revenue streams and when they could/should be introduced.

How did our work together impact your confidence/being more YOU in your business?

Immensely! Ellen supported my individuality and helped me see how valuable I was, just as I am.

What were some high impact changes that you made in your business as a result of our working together?

I completely restructured my business model, now I work with a handful of private clients, including large companies and masterminds, and devote the rest of my time to teaching and helping new entrepreneurs.

How many more clients did you book?

I booked 4 clients during our work together.

How much more money did you earn after our work together?

I earned an additional $1K from our work together.

if you have a group program how did filling it go?

Although the sales for my group program weren’t as high as I would have liked, I learned a lot from Ellen’s wisdom and guidance on how to “be” an entrepreneur.

How did it go leveraging your offerings?

I will definitely offer my bookkeeping course again! I haven’t yet, and am excited to see it grow and help more entrepreneurs.

Emily Belyea, Website Designer

Emily Belyea Creative , www.emilybelyeacreative.com/

Meet Emily. She’s a visionary web-designer with a passion for clean, beautiful websites.

Ever since we worked together she’s been on fire.  Her business has surpassed her office job income, she’s booked out months in advance, and in the midst of all this has moved across the country with her man and is completing this very cool project.

We worked together about 8 months before this interview – I’ll let her take it from here.

What were you struggling with before you hired me? Specificity is good.

What wasn’t I struggling with? My offerings were unclear, I was attracting and accepting projects I wasn’t excited about, I didn’t know how to sell the projects that I was excited about, and I was scared of marketing myself. All of it had me trapped in a feast or famine cycle that was starting to suck all of the fun out of being a business owner!

What were you hoping to get out of working with me?

I was pretty aware of what I needed to do to turn my business around, but I lacked the tools and actionable advice to actually make the turnaround happen. From our work together, I wanted to get those tools and action items.

Did i deliver?

Hell yea, you did!

What did you like most about the process?

My favorite part of your process was watching your actionable advice work. Your sales strategies and suggested language in sales conversations worked so well that it kind of felt like a magic trick. And once I started winning the kind of work that I wanted, I started having WAY more fun.

How did our work together impact your confidence/being more YOU in your business?

I’ve always considered myself to be a really confident person. In entrepreneurship however, I’m confident person until I’m not. Just like many other entrepreneurs, I struggle with allowing criticism and fear to get the best of me, and then every time they do, I begin the process of rebuilding my strength to push on. It’s a cycle.

In hiring you, I wanted to break out of that cycle. Our work together was kind of like starting to work out again after not being active for a while. When we began I was hopeful and excited, but a little overwhelmed. There were so many obstacles to overcome and I was only at the starting line (ugh.) Once I started to see real results from applying your strategies, I changed my tune. The success from my sales conversations made my motivation and momentum soar. Then, when I began booking clients 4 weeks in advance and then 8 weeks in advance, and now, 3 months in advance, I’ve finally reached a point where I can say that I am a strong and able-­bodied entrepreneur, ready and comfortable to face new challenges. (woohoo!)

What were some high impact changes that you made in your business as a result of our working together?

• The way I schedule my clients and accept payment: this helped me to better organize my time and break out of the feast or famine cycle.
• I have a social media presence that is an impactful, but not overwhelming part of my workflow: I finally have committed to marketing myself on the platforms that I want to use, instead of every platform in the world that I think I should be on.
• I know how to lead a sales conversation and keep control over it.
• I understand the importance of understanding and valuing my self-­worth, and how that positively affects my business.

How many more clients did you book?

In 2013, I was working a full time job for someone else and took on 10 freelance clients on the side to help sustain my skills and bring in extra money. Since working with Ellen, I’ve worked with 20 freelance clients, had no need for a full time job working for someone else, and made $13,000 more than I did last year.

How much more money did you earn after our work together?

In 2014 I will make $13,000 more than I did last year, when I was in an office job and working for someone else. It should also be noted that my 2014 income was earned over the course of just 9 months, as I spent the first 3 months of the year preparing for the launch of the business! If I were to compare my income this year to just my freelance income in 2013, I made $45,000 more after working with Ellen.

Did you create a new killer offering? How did that go?

I created a website starter kit option for entrepreneurs who have a clear vision for their website and brand, but need help with putting it all together. I soft launched it to a small group of business owners in September, and it sold out! What was originally supposed to be officially launched in October has now been pushed to February of 2015, due to the demand. To get updates on the launch of the starter kit, sign up here!

anything else not captured here that’s a tangible result of our work together?

I should also mention that working with you has helped me to vastly expand my network of small business owners. The community that you have built and continue to grow for your clients is so unbelievably supportive and rewarding. Thank you!

Sara Yamtich, Life Coach

Sara Yamtich Coaching , www.sarayamtich.com

Meet Sara, is a soulful powerhouse.  She describes herself as “one part healer and one part activator, one part truth-seeker and one part soul-alchemist. I’m the secular priestess of your revolutionary growth spurt. It’s probably easiest if you call me a life coach, but I aim to be so much more.”

Yes please right? She works with intense, complex, driven ladies who are ready to get out of their heads and start getting things done.

What were you struggling with before you hired me? Specificity is good.

Before working together, I was sort of floundering with the whole vague concept of life coaching. I couldn’t possibly add my voice to the hundreds or thousands of coaches out there who were helping people “achieve their dreams,” “follow their bliss,” or “actualize their potential.” I needed something different, something compelling, something totally authentic to who I am.

And it wasn’t as if I didn’t feel confident about my work. I knew I could make huge impacts once I got a client on the phone! But I didn’t know how to frame my marketing and my work in a way that would attract the right people. (And marketing makes me squirm!)

I needed help. I needed Ellen.

What were you hoping to get out of working with me?

Of course I wanted my business to succeed! But most of all, I wanted clarity, creativity, originality, and empowerment to move forward. I wanted someone who was smart and thorough to get inside my head with me and sort through all the clutter, help me pull out the perfect outfit, so to speak. Remind me that my ideas are damn good.

Did i deliver?

What did you like most about the process?

I loved the whole thing, but my favorite part was definitely getting on the phone with Ellen for those three full hours. I loved being able to borrow her brilliance, uninterrupted, for such a long time. And I loved how she kept following up with me afterwards, making herself available in all kinds of ways for months thereafter (and even still).

How did our work together impact your confidence/being more YOU in your business?

What were some high impact changes that you made in your business as a result of our working together?

I created and sold higher-dollar packages. I wrote guest blogs that still make the rounds in my client community. I learned to speak about my work with clarity and confidence. There is also a clear evolution in my blogging after talking with Ellen. I really solidified my voice and online presence. That was over a year ago.

Since then, riding the momentum of my work with Ellen, I’ve completely revamped my website to reflect my professionalism and the nature of my coaching work. I’ve honed in on my ideal clients and named them the{r}evolutionaries. I’ve built community. I’ve started hosting incredibly well-attended community calls, where I provide coaching and a safe space for peer support around a variety of topics. (Those calls were recorded and are now for sale on my website). I’ve used my brand identity to start branching into additional offerings, like yoga and meditation. And I’m still coaching incredible clients and loving it.

How many more clients did you book?

How much more money did you earn after our work together?

My income increased tenfold after working with Ellen. In large part, this was because I finally started charging enough money to be sustainable, and clientstook me and my professionalism more seriously.

Stephanie Watanabe, Curator-in-Chief

The Girl Who Knows, http://www.thegirlwhoknows.com

Meet Stephanie, Curator-in-Chief of The Girl Who Knows.   The Girl Who Knows is THE online lifestyle destination for all things sensory.  With soul.  And yeah, a little bit of fluff too.

It’s an online magazine that features an expertly curated collection of stories, tools, products & discoveries, all designed to infuse you with wisdom, empowerment and inspiration on your journey.

Stephanie also runs workshops and sensory based events in the Los Angeles area that are simply luxurious and transformational.

We worked together 9 months before this interview and in the meantime she’s completely redesigned and relaunched her website, completed a brand overhaul, hosted successful Desire Map workshops in LA, pop-up dinners, and has exponentially grown her social media presence.  It’s inspiring, and transformational, and I’ll let her take it from here.

What were you struggling with before you hired me? Specificity is good.

I was struggling BIG TIME (for years) with clarity around my business. I knew I had something to offer the world, but it was clouded by all the fears and uncertainties. As a multi-passionate lady with diverse skills ranging from filmmaking to event producing to coaching to yoga to marketing & social media — it was near impossible to find clarity about what I had to offer. Until I hired you. Within 15 minutes on the phone, you nailed it. And from that point forward I’ve had not only supreme clarity around my what I’m doing and why, but also a passionate, roaring fire in my heart to bring this work to life.

What were you hoping to get out of working with me?

I was hoping to get clarity on what my business was all about. I wasn’t looking for an instant money making plan, but something that I was so excited about, that that passion could sustain me no matter what. And I absolutely got that (and more).

Did i deliver?

What did you like most about the process?

I liked that we had enough time on the phone together. The session was long enough that I didn’t feel rushed to come up with something or “find my purpose” in an hour. I liked that we were able to meander, talk through things, get clear and then most important begin to strategize with actionable tasks. The action steps piece for me was the game-changer. Once I had those steps for myself, I was off to the races!

How did our work together impact your confidence/being more YOU in your business?

I think that authentic inner confidence in your business comes from clarity. Without being clear about what you do, why you do it and how you help others — I’m not sure you can have true confidence.

I found that to be very true for myself. I have always lacked confidence in business. I’m more of a creative-type than business-type. And thus didn’t feel like I could create the type of business I dreamed of. Once you and I got clear on what my business was all about, I instantly felt like “I got this!”. It was such a foreign feeling at the time. I look back now and see just how powerful clarity is and why it’s needed BEFORE you can really soar in your business.

What were some high impact changes that you made in your business as a result of our working together?

I did a complete 180 with my website and commissioned my designer and programmer to put together a whole new website for me. I created new offerings (workshops, pop-up dinners, etc.), which I then began planning and set dates for. And probably one of the biggest changes was to post on the blog 6 days per week. Since I can’t write that much on my own, I hand-curate six Guest Editors in Residence every quarter who write on the site along with me. Not only does that free me up to do other things, but it’s also great for my readers to hear from other voices besides just mine.

How much more money did you earn after our work together?

I went from earning practically nothing to making almost $7,000 in one month!

If you have a group program, how did it go filling it up?

Anything else not captured here that’s a tangible result of our work together?