Cheryl James: How Hiring a Business Coach Was a Game Changer for Her Business
Welcome to the Course Creator Series, where you can learn directly from experienced course creators on how you can monetize and grow your online business.
I’m your host, Dr. Destini Copp and I help entrepreneurs scale their digital product revenue with automated sales funnels and reduce their reliance on 1:1 services or freelance work. Today, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cheryl James.
As a technical solutions and systems professional servicing Fortune 100 companies for the past 25 years, Cheryl James is motivated by a desire to help small business owners succeed and develop a corporate-level customer experience. Her comprehensive background and proven techniques empower her clients to feel comfortable exploring and trusting the results of the perfect customer experience strategy.
From improving identifying your target audience to creating brand loyalty, Cheryl’s expertise is monumental in empowering small businesses to compete on experience and not price. Utilizing her obsession for data and the customer journey, brands of every industry, onshore and offshore, will identify untapped opportunities and undiscovered possibilities for their brand.
Please tell us about your business.
CL James Consulting is the business to teach small business owners to develop a customer-obsessed culture that enables them to compete on customer experience and not on price!
Statics show that many small businesses launch with a fantastic idea and product, and they try to find customers for those products. When you look at this from a customer-centric standpoint, you define your ideal customer, figure out their problem, and create products to meet those needs!
CL James launched after 20+ years in corporate partnering with Fortune 100 clients, and I decided to branch out and become an entrepreneur. Thus, C.L. James Consulting, LLC was born in December 2019. We launched with a mission of helping businesses to GAIN, MAINTAIN and RETAIN their customers by developing a customer experience that created a brand loyal following. We work with companies to understand their customers and define their customer experience journey.
Start at the beginning of your journey. What were things like for you? How did you feel? What was keeping you up at night?
WOW, the early days were difficult. They are still hard some days – LOL. However, in the beginning, it was hard to figure out what to do first. When you are a solopreneur, everything begins and ends with you. I worried about the website, the brand photos, writing content, and having enough money to get up and running. There wasn't a sense of priority as it all seemed urgent.
I stayed up at night trying to figure out how to do it all, how to pay for it all, how to manage my full-time job and create a quality offering for my business. The struggle is real, and so is the burn-out.
Solopreneurs need to unite and agree that it's ok not always be working. It's hard to think about because if we are not working, what happens in our business.
We need to learn from the mistakes of others and ensure that we are building on a solid foundation that allows for automation and systems that will enable us to live that laptop lifestyle and creates that time freedom that we all grind for.
At what point did things change for you?
I'm still in the start-up phase, but the BEST decision I made was hiring a business coach. This decision was a game-changer for me as I needed someone to help me with the process. My coach helped me shaved time off my learning process and helped me get my business up and running faster.
This may not be the right decision for everyone, but it was my pivotal moment. I went from lost and confused trying to do all things at once to creating structure and an actual plan around delivering on the needs of my business.
What are the top three mistakes you made in your entrepreneurial journey, and what would you do differently?
Only three?!
I spent too much time writing and re-writing content. What does the saying say – Launch and Perfect later. I spent months writing and reviewing, and tweaking content. I could have launched with version 1 of the materials.
I didn't launch until I had my website up and running. I don't know why I thought that the website needed to be up and running and perfect before launching. I could have honestly launched my business and started growing an email list five months sooner.
I was too focused on the number of followers on social media. Ok – please hear me! Having a large following is great, but an engaged following is even better.
If I had to do it again, I would launch and let the rest come later.
Please tell us about your marketing? What has worked for you? What hasn't worked for you?
I'm still trying to find the sweet spot in this area for my business. I have done some local advertising and marketing, joined some networking groups, and used social media. However, I can honestly say the best decision was to join my local Chamber of Commerce.
I have made some critical connections there and referrals to new clients.
I would also recommend networking groups. (Keep in mind I'm a customer professional) I have created authentic relationships with people in networking groups that have opened more doors with prospects than I could imagine.
What is your top traffic source, and why do you think it's working for you?
I get most of my traffic from people I meet networking. Because I'm in the customer experience business, creating relationships with people and networking has worked well.
My other source is social media. LinkedIn and Instagram have worked, but only because I have put time and effort into learning the process, algorithms and understanding the value of hashtags.
I recommend spending time researching hashtags as they help you to expand your reach.
What are some of the best ways you've found students for your online course(s)?
I find most of my students either on social media or via networking. I also spend time in social media groups interacting with people who may need my services.
Another way to find students is via speaking engagements! It’s important to help people to solve a problem. This helps you to create a connection that leads you to students that will ultimately make loyal followers.
What is your entrepreneurial life like today? What pain points have vanished? How have things improved?
My days are much more structured. I plan my entire week on Sunday evening. I manage the work based on priority, and I outsource where possible. This helps ensure that my time and energy focus on things that only I can do, like relationship building.
The most significant pain point that has vanished is the stress to do it all TODAY! Having a plan, working my schedule, ensuring that I stay focused on the revenue-generating priorities help me remain productive.
Have you pivoted in your business?
While I offer do-it-yourself, do-it-with-you, and do-it-for-you solutions, I have started to receive several requests for more bespoke services. As a result, I am pivoting to provide additional services that solve the problems for my customers.
The voice of your customer is one of the number one voice in your business. What they say they need is what you should deliver. For example, I thought my target market needed more DIY services, but they don't. Instead, they have told me that they need more consulting and training.
You need to have a process to listen to your customers. Remember, you started your business to service them!
What are your best tips for growing your online course business organically?
Ensure you know your target audience. Speak with them and to them on social media.
Network in places where your clients frequent.
There is a saying, "build it, and they will come," but only if they know you built it! Sometimes as business owners, we are screaming at the top of our lungs to an empty room.
Identify the best hashtags, Facebook groups, speaking engagements, networking events where your target audience frequents to present your offerings.
The more you talk to your avatar, the more courses you will sell.
What's your favorite launch strategy? Webinars, Challenges, Video Series, etc. Why do you like this approach?
I like webinars. They provide the audience with a "taste" of the content and you as a presenter before purchasing.
Let's remember that people buy from people they know, like, and trust. So let's talk to them, present to them, give them a glimpse of what value they can get from you.
Keep in mind that your free content counts as value before any launch.
What working in your evergreen sales funnel? How do you have it set up?
I have my sales funnel for my signature program.
When people land on my sales page, I capture their information, and it drops in my funnel that is set up to nurture them in a 3 – 5 email sequence.
Be strategic about your evergreen sales funnel. For example, don't share how to manage the kid's summer camp schedule in November. Instead, your evergreen sales funnel should be for content that can be sold year-round.
If you had $1,000 to spend on marketing next month, what would you spend it on?
I would do target marketing on LinkedIn.
I have a B2B offering. Linked In is where the business buyers and decision-makers live!
Find your people, target where they hang out and spend your marketing dollars meeting them where they live.
How do you stay focused and productive in your business? What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs?
I put together a plan of activities for the month and then schedule my work for each day. I ensure that I'm working on income-generating activities daily not to lose focus and get lost in administrative duties.
In the beginning, I was swamped reading articles and trying to figure out what I thought other entrepreneurs were doing.
My inbox was full of freebies and emails because I was dropping into everyone else's funnel instead of focusing on my business.
As new business owners, we have to learn, but let's not be professional course takers!
Let's talk numbers: anything you're willing to share here. You can talk about numbers from a recent launch, monthly revenue numbers, expenses, etc.
It’s important to track your expenses closely. When I first launched, I purchased a license to many apps and software that I did not need. As a result, I had unnecessary expenses coming out of my account each month.
Try the free version of software and or services before purchasing.
Managing your expenses closely helps you to prepare for the process of securing business credit and funding.
What do you see as the next steps for your online course business?
I'm listening to my customers. Based on that, I know they need additional training on how to manage their customers. As a result, I expect to launch additional digital products to help businesses with their customer experience journey.
What is your favorite quote or business book?
This is a hard one as I'm a book junkie.
However, based on where I can right now, Superfans by Pat Flynn is my favorite book. Not only is it an easy read, but so on point on how to engage your customers.
What are the top three tools you use in your online course business that you can't live without and why?
First, let me say – don't get lost in the 5M tools in the marketplace. Chose what you need and work best with your skillset. I love:
a) Canva – for all social media posts, flyers, banners
b) Kartra – for hosting video content
c) Social Media – for posting and communicating with my audience
What advice do you have for other online course creators or entrepreneurs out there?
First, be different. Remember that your goal is to stand out in the sea of competition.
Do your research and know what's out there and be something unique. Remember, customers buy into the brand – YOU are the brand!
Create content that adds value. Be willing to share free content. Create as much evergreen content as possible and reuse it in different formats. Even on a bad day, DON'T QUIT!
How can people find you to learn more?
Thanks so much for having me. You can find information about C.L.James Consulting on our webpage at www.cljamesconsulting.com. For more information about our Brand Loyalty Mastery Class: https://cljamesconsult.kartra.com/page/brandloyaltymastery. You can also find me on social media at @iamcljames