This October was a celebration month at Biashara Threesixty for two reasons. First, the business turned 3 this month (12th October)! Then, we’ve finally launched our online community, which I’ll talk about later in this post.
We celebrated the 3rd anniversary with a Webinar titled Mindset is Everything. 38 people registered for the Webinar and 23 showed up. That, for me, is a blessing.
I also reconnected with former clients, some from way back in 2011 when I was a brand new coach and just a week or two ahead of the people I was coaching.
The birthday celebration continued beyond the Webinar when my Mastermind in Mombasa hosted a surprise birthday lunch.
These girls know how to celebrate for sure! I’ve not had a girly time for long, so this was a very welcome surprise. My eldest son joined us and gave feedback that he hasn’t seen his mum look that happy in a long while.
It gets better!
Lunch was followed by a photoshoot…so new pictures are coming up (complete with makeup).
The day didn’t end there. My son and I got home to a meal prepared by my other son. He didn’t join the lunch and photoshoot because that’s not his kind of thing. I love the fact that he was brave enough to say No…and then make us an awesome meal.
The day’s wrap up was a video call with my sisters, nephews and nieces. I had to show off the makeup and prove to the young girls that I can do it – they don’t believe it when we tell them I used to wear makeup daily way back in time.
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that “It takes a village to raise a child.” I’ll borrow that and say that “It takes a village to turn a business dream into reality.”
Elevate Community launches!?
Another aspect of this 3rd anniversary was the launch of Elevate Community for Women Entrepreneurs. Elevate is something I’d wished for for many years but never had the guts to start. I had the structure and knew what I wanted to achieve. But I didn’t have the courage to put it out there.
At the same time, my clients were asking for space where they could connect. It was clear that no one wanted a Facebook or WhatsApp group. So I also needed to put this into consideration when looking for a platform to house the Community.
I’d like to say that I got started easily, but that would be a lie. I’ve had all the required information and tested out a number on online platforms including Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, MemberVault, Mighty Networks and Kajabi.
I signed up for all of them, helped a client set up her online platform, and also set up a platform for Expertise to Income students (my other business). I also considered setting up the membership site on this blog.
The COVID-19 pandemic woke me up and I decided to take the plunge. I gave myself a do or dump deadline and finally settled on Kajabi because it has 3 things that I really needed:
- It can handle a complete online business; beyond e-courses and memberships.
- It’s tailored for marketing, so I don’t have to worry about sales funnels and optimized sales pages anymore.
- There’s a community platform that’s almost similar to Facebook. While it’s not as great as Facebook groups, I feel that it meets the needs of my target audience.
It gets very challenging!
Achieving these milestones came with time and energy constraints. So much so that I haven’t done much writing on social media or here.
Setting up the site on Kajabi has been a learning curve. I love tech so this is something I wanted to create from the ground up before handing it over to an assistant. Still, I tried and gave up 4 times before I finally struck gold.
Click here to check out Kajabi and get a 14-day trial so that you see exactly what I'm talking about. Use this link if you love hands-on tech like me and want an extended 28-day trial. Note that these are both affiliate links so Kajabi will give me a small commission when you sign up using any of the links.
Ready…Fire! Aim…
Many years ago, I was introduced to the READY, FIRE, AIM! philosophy through Mark Ford’s books (aka Michael Masterson). Basically, it’s about taking action before you think you’re completely ready.
Before that, I used to wait until everything is ready before I present something to the world. Then I learnt to fire before I think I’m ready…and things shifted.
This is the principle I used to launch Elevate Community imperfectly. It’s a step at a time, learning as we build the Community one day and one new member at a time.
As of today:
- We’ve held 3 Webinars and 3 Q&A community calls in a series titled Leading in Crisis.
- The membership site is populated with content from this series. There’s also an eBook on Time Management for Women Entrepreneurs.
- Experts who will teach in November webinars have accepted the invitations.
- Having paid members has validated the concept. More so because people are showing up for the live webinars and calls.
Until this month, Elevate Community was a loud thought I shared with a few people. The idea didn’t have a name and I actually thought myself into launching it.
THINK…LAUNCH…REFINE…SELL (Rinse and Repeat)
Elevate Community is the product of many failed & successful programs and launches. It’s an idea that came to me in 2012/2013 but I was afraid of launching it. I didn’t think I was qualified to run such a heavy program and had a big dose of imposter syndrome and limiting beliefs.
So here’s my message for you today: Whatever it is you’ve been waiting to launch, you’ve probably waited too long. Go beyond Ready…FIRE! Aim… and move to: LAUNCH, REFINE, then SELL. Keep this cycle running and you’ll improve your product or program with each iteration.
Do you believe achieving your goal or dream is possible? It will be possible when you believe it is.
Will you fail? Probably.
Will you succeed? Probably.
What if you fail??♀️
What if you succeed??
Either way, you will be further ahead by taking action than you are today.
Over to you…
One of my mentors loves reminding his mentees that “Failure and success are two sides of the same coin. If you don’t like the results you’ve gotten, simply flip the coin.”
Which side of this coin are you focused on today?
Beyond coins and launches and all that…
If you’re a Kenyan woman entrepreneur and you want to connect with a community of positive women to learn as you grow your business, contact me for complimentary 14-day access to Elevate Community.
In the meantime, we’re forging forwards into this new season. I’m grateful to be alive and healthy, grateful for this new season, and thanking God all the way!
(Image credit: Pexels)
