Shifting to an online business model with Emily Osmond

Emily’s Bio

Emily Osmond is the creator of the popular Australian interiors blog, getinmyhome.com, for which she was named in Domain’s “Ten of the best interior design accounts you need to follow on Instagram”.

Alongside her blog, Emily teaches women how to grow their tribe and their sales using Instagram, inside her online education community, The Modern Marketing Collective, along with on her weekly podcast, The Emily Osmond Show.

Emily has a Master of Communications (with a thesis on social media) and after growing up England, then moving to regional Victoria, she is now based in Melbourne.

She’s obsessed with F45, crime podcasts, peanut butter and Staffies.

Transcript

Are you ready to take your service-based business to a whole new level, where it is scalable your income is uncapped? If so, today’s episode is one you are going to love! I am interviewing Emily Osmond, host of her own podcast the Emily Osmond Show and Instagram queen, and she shares how she transitioned her one-to-one business model to a one to many model, which is scalable and which has massively transformed her business. She shares exactly how she did it, and how you can do the same for your business too. I found this episode so inspiring and I know you will too!

You’re listening to the Clare Wood podcast, where we talk all things business, finance, marketing, and mindset for entrepreneurs, sharing practical tips, and actionable advice to help you take your business to the next level. Introducing your host: me! I’m Clare Wood, I’m a numbers geek, a travel lover, and a reality tv addict, and I’m here to empower you to create an extraordinary business and an amazing life, because I believe you don’t have to choose between the two. Now let’s dive right in to today’s episode.

CLARE:

Today’s guest is the one and only Emily Osmond. I am so excited to have you here Emily!

EMILY:

I’m so excited to be here Clare! And I’m excited for our conversation ahead, I think we are just going to go where it takes us.

CLARE:

Absolutely. And I think so many listeners will take a lot away from today so we better stop teasing them! So first of all I guess can you let them know who you are and what you do?

EMILY:

Sure! I help women use Instagram to grow their business basically. And I’ve had my online program for about a year, and I teach them inside the Modern Marketing Collective, and I also run an interiors blog, because I’m obsessed with interiors, and I recently launched my podcast too, which is the Emily Osmond Show.

CLARE:

Wow, you are a very busy woman!

EMILY:

We all are, we all have lots of fun things on.

CLARE:

Well this is it, isn’t it. So, can I ask, what made you decide to become a specialist in Instagram?

EMILY:

That is a really good question. And it’s something I’ve been talking about myself too, because it has been one of the best moves I’ve made for my business, in terms of claiming one area which I work on.

So I’ve had my business about 4.5 years, and when I started out, I started as a freelancer as a social media manager/social media strategist, and then I had an event marketing contract and people started asking me for copywriting, so then I had copy writing contracts. My clients then started asking me for branding, and I thought “ok, I can find a graphic designer” so I brought on a graphic designer and same thing with websites, people were like, “do you do websites” and I had already built my own website so I thought sure, we could do websites, but it got to the stage where, after about 3 years or 3.5 years of doing this, I was pretty stressed and knew the direction I was going wasn’t going to get me to where I wanted to go. I knew that I had to let go of certain services and really focus, and it’s funny because looking back, I always asked advice from different people about what would you do if you were my business etc, and they would always say to me, just focus on Instagram and I thought well there is no way I can try and claim to be an Instagram expert, I can’t do that, so I held myself back for about 3 years from doing that. But I found I was running Instagram workshops and I just loved doing them and I was already doing a little bit of speaking about Instagram too, and so it was the obvious fit, it was something I enjoyed and something that people really needed help with, and it was also something I had success in doing for myself.

So hopefully that tries to answer that question, but it really has been a great decision for my business to let go of trying not to be everything to everyone and just claim a specific space.

CLARE:

This is honestly one of the biggest things that work on with clients of mine, because so often we get pulled into so many different directions and look, this even happens to me, and ask me to support them in an area that isn’t quite my expertise, and it can be quite tempting can’t it? But I think less is more. And the reason I asked you about becoming an Instagram expert is because I listened to your podcast today and anyone who is listening and wants to learn more about niching, I think in episode 10, you spoke about why you should have niched sooner. So anyone listening who wants to learn a little bit more about what is the value in become an expert in a particular area, then make sure you check out that episode of her podcast.  

EMILY:

Aw, thanks Clare, a bit of a shout-out.

Why you should transition to an online business model

CLARE:

So Emily, the reason I wanted to get you on the podcast today, was to talk about something I think will be really interesting to people listening, which is about transitioning to an online business model. Now first of all, for anyone who isn’t sure what exactly is an online business model and why would someone currently working in a one-to-one space, want to transition to an online business model?

EMILY:

Great questions! I guess the first question about what is an online business model is I teach people via online, and normally the online business model would mean you are teaching many people at once, so in an online course, membership or program, so that is how I run my business now. And in terms of why people might want to do it, I am the biggest advocate for it now, it has completely changed my business and my life, which sounds drastic, but it really has. I launched my first online program, which I still run and it’s the best, I love working with people in there, and I launched it the same time I said to people I’m going to specialise in Instagram, so I launched the Modern Marketing Collective, and I called it the Modern Marketing Collective because I wanted to teach a lot of different things about marketing, and again, I realised I need to get clear for people about what I am teaching them. So I started tweaking my messaging and putting out content just around Instagram and that’s what we focus on specifically in there, but around how you can use Instagram for really growing your business and email list.

But to come back to the question, about why people would want to take their business online, for me and what I wanted in my business, I had several contractors working for me and we were managing multiple client projects and looking forward it didn’t excite me ,the way I was working. Thinking the next step would be for me to bring on a project manager, and more people that worked for me and take on more clients and that made me feel stressed out and not excited at all, so for me I knew the way to grow my business was to take the online model, and it meant I could do the things I thought I was best at doing, which is not necessarily working on a specific project, but helping and supporting people, and answering questions and giving them ideas, and so that is basically what you can do in an online program. And I have women from across Australia in there too. So I hope that answers the question?

CLARE:

Yes! I think that one of the really attractive things about the online business model is that it is scalable. And you’ve spoken about the fact that you’ve worked with people right across Australia. What about the opportunities that exist to you across the world, and the one-to-many model means the opportunities in terms of how many people you can serve, and the financial benefits that brings, become virtually unlimited.

EMILY:

Absolutely! And something I didn’t mention too is the flexibility. Something that also made me stress out, that I didn’t really love, is when I had clients, and the way I was working was totally me, and not everyone is like me, but they could ring me, email me, and I just found that highly stressful and I felt like I had multiple bosses, and I thought this is not what I imagined when I first started my business. So taking it online, you work when you want and need to work, and from anywhere, and you work with endless numbers of people, which is incredibly exciting and also you have the potential too of scaling your business. I keep in ?? team and it’s something you can do online as well, it’s almost as though the output you put into your business is not necessarily aligned or doesn’t necessarily reflect the impact and the revenue you can make, if that makes sense? So whether you are serving 100, 2,000 or 6,000 people, what you are doing is still fundamentally the same in your online program.

CLARE:

Absolutely! For anyone thinking and listening and going that’s all well and good for someone that is a business coach or teaching Instagram, but what about my business model? What about other opportunities for say a web designer, graphic designer, can you think of some ideas which are scalable for them?

EMILY:

For sure, so I would look at what the problems are that their audience are facing, and how they would enjoy solving them, even just the basic fundamentals of potentially those who can’t afford to hire you, but they want to learn how to DIY to start with. That would be an idea for web or graphic designers, they could put together something that teaches people how to create their own website or branding or that type of thing. You can also have high level programs too that you can have a hybrid model, a handful of clients you work with and then you bring them together in a program, and help them hands on, on their project as well as in a group online too, that could be an option, but think about what knowledge you have and what knowledge you could teach to really help people, and that’s where you look at what type of program to create.

CLARE:

I believe that any business can be turned to an online business model. I was listening to a video the other day, saying what about a hairdresser, that’s impossible to become online! But of course, it’s not, you can teach people and run a program on styling, you can teach other hairdressers a program.

EMILY:

I know someone who is a lash artist and she has an amazing online business where she teaches other lash artists and if you’ve had that element of success in your business, which everyone has, you can also teach hairdressers how to build and market their business. If you don’t want to treat hairdressing or lash artistry yourself, you can simply share how you’ve got your business to where it is. So there are lots of different ways you can model it and I guess it’s what you naturally talk about, what it is about your business, what are you obsessed with and naturally want to share that people can benefit from.

What types of online business models are available

CLARE:

Definitely! We’ve kind of spoken about a few different options, there’s creating a course, creating a membership or subscription type model, what are the other online business models available?

EMILY:

A course and a membership are the two most common ones. There are also masterminds you could run, so that’s not necessarily providing content so much as providing that group of people that would catch up online and hold each other accountable for certain things. So that would be another one. There are different ways you can structure courses, and structure memberships or mastermind thing, maybe it’s a subscription to get physical products, maybe it’s a download, maybe designers could sell monthly templates rather than creating content that is teaching people things.

CLARE:

That is the exciting thing. There are digital products you can create, an ebook, a downloadable. I would be really hard up to think of a business that couldn’t translate into an online business model in some way, shape or form.

EMILY:

I know one of my friends who is an artist, she has taken an element of her business online, where she sells the patterns she creates, which is a really great idea. Lots of possibilities for people!

Where to start if you don’t have a big email list or following

CLARE:

Ok, so we’ve spoken about why someone would want to transition to an online business model, and what that might look like, for any who is listening and thinking but where do I start? Because you have an impressive following on Instagram, what if someone hasn’t got a big following or a list, how do they create a group of people which to sell their program, or do people even need to have a big list to get started?

EMILY:

No, I don’t think so. My following has grown over the past year too, because as you know I started this a year ago, and at the time, I only had a couple hundred on my email list, which I think most people have more or can relate to me, so in terms of where people can start, what I would do is number 1, look at where is the need, and start actually surveying your current audience and find what the need is, because you might think this is what they would really want, and find out something else. I used to run a free Facebook group, and I came across the idea of memberships, but I said to myself that is too overwhelming having people in there that are paying money each month to ask you questions any time, and I was actually thinking I can’t do that. But I put a survey in my free Facebook group just asking people what they would like, and I put a few different options – a course, a weekend away etc, and overwhelmingly they opted for the membership option, so I was like right, I’m going to have to do this. So I would start by asking people in your audience for the challenges they are having and where they want to be. Then step 2, once you start getting that feedback, look at outlining what you will teach. And you don’t have to have it all figured out, I actually updated all my content in the last couple months just to refresh it because it’s been a year, and streamline it, add some new things. So you just want to start with outlining 5 key modules you can teach, then from there when it comes to actually launching, for me, it was a quick start.

Do you know the Kolbe Model, Clare?

CLARE:

No I haven’t heard of that.

EMILY:

I only just found it this week, and it ranks you on different elements of your operating system, so mine rated as a quick start, so I can make quick decisions, and take action quite fast. So I have the idea of the membership and launched it two weeks later. I didn’t actually create the content until I knew I have sold the membership. So that is something people can do as well. You can put it out to market without having created the content. Then I just put in the membership an orientation week, let’s everyone get to know each other, and then I started creating the content after that and added it each month. So that’s what you can do with an online course too. You don’t want, and this is what perfectionists can get stuck on, is to create your whole suite of your online course and membership, because first of all you don’t want to do that before you get them to your program, because they will help you shape your program, the questions they are asking, the areas they are getting stuck on, but also, if you are trying to create your whole course or membership it is just going to take you so much time, you are much better to go out and outline some of the content, but get out, launch it and work with your students to then guide the way you teach and structure the content in there. And also some tips about launching, talk about it a lot in the lead up. Do a fun little activity or marketing promotion before you open your doors too. For me, I did a free 5 day training about Instagram, which helped me bring more people onto my email list, because I said sign up, and you’ll be getting daily tips about Instagram, and then at the end of that 5 day free training I sent them a series of emails saying I’m really excited, this is the first time I’m opening up my program, and then you can give them a special price for being a founding member. So it’s a great incentive for them to join too, because you also want them to think about how you are going to probably put up your prices in the future as well, so it’s a great way to use it as a marketing strategy to say, the price is never going to be this low again, so jump onboard, get inside and let’s start working together.

CLARE:

Awesome! I have taken so much out of this section. So a couple of key points you have shared:

1. You don’t need to have a massive list to get started

EMILY:

I’m pretty sure it was 200 when I started and I hit almost 5 figures in my launch from that. From my first launch in like a week of putting it together.

CLARE:

So listen to some of those numbers, that’s pretty exciting.

Lesson number two we took out of this, and anyone who listens to this podcast will know I’m a massive advocate of this – don’t wait until it’s perfect. Things will never be perfect and if you wait until they are perfect, you are probably missing out on a whole bunch of opportunities in the interim, so leap before perhaps you are totally ready and develop the content along the way.

There are very few industries where you would need to have everything done in advance, if you are a designer, you can obviously design fresh designs as things go along. And if you are operating in an area you are familiar with then this stuff should be easy, creating content should be something that comes quite naturally to you, because you are talking about things you already know about. So you don’t need to over-engineer it, you don’t have to have everything perfect, and everything figured out before you get started.

EMILY:

That’s such good advice too!

And at the end of each module you can send some surveys and ask how was that, was there anything that was missing, what did you feel we spent too much time on? And just keep getting that feedback from your student and keep improving it. Especially with a membership, it’s never done, you are always adding and tweaking and same with a course too, you are always adding and looking at how can we make this better? And something I found too is that it is a really weird thing, but the idea of less is better, you don’t want to put too much in there, especially anything not needed, because people want to get results fast. You think people are paying all this money I should be giving them so much content, but the more content you put in, the more you have the tendency to overwhelm them too. So that was something I found interesting and what I’ve learnt is I know my stuff, just teach that, and not think you have to go crazy and think you have to create something exhaustive for people, because it’s not what they want.

CLARE:

This is such a big learning for me as a business coach, because I naturally feel like I want to give people so much information, because people are paying a lot of money and investing with you and I feel obligated to share as much information as I can with people, but quite often I get that same response, people get overwhelmed. I’m learning as time goes on that less is more, and giving people bite-sized, actionable things they can work on, is much more manageable, than giving them all of the things. So great tip there!

EMILY:

I know when I look at my own habits when I do courses, I take so much value out of just a couple things I learn. It’s something I am learning and working on too, because I think it is natural to think I have to give so much, to give that value, but really it’s not about the quantity, it’s about the couple things you need to focus on and get moving on.

How to price a course or membership

CLARE:It’s about quality over quantity right. So something you touched on was pricing, you mentioned having an introductory offer, so how do you know whether if you are setting up a course, where to price it?

EMILY:

Great question! The way I look at it now, is that people are making that money back and I don’t know if that’s the right way or wrong way. I’m actually, quietly, working on a course too, which I am looking to launch in January/February next year, so I’m looking at the price point for that. And I’m thinking people will easily make back that money. I think that pricing is marketing. I’ve been quite surprised at my program too at what price I had it, it is attracting those that are just starting their business. So now I’m like, is that the market I want to attract, and perhaps that’s a pricing thing. If I put the price up, will that attract more established businesses, if that’s the market I want to go for. And also for myself, I’m at the stage now that I would want to pay a significant amount of money, but we associate the amount we spend with the quality we are getting and also if we purchase something for a small amount, and that small amount will be different for everyone, is that you don’t really have much skin in the game. So that I something I look at too, because a membership you are paying a smaller amount per month, I know people join and don’t do anything or access the trainings and I think that is always going to be the case, but on the other hand, I’m like, is that a pricing thing, if I put the price up maybe they would do the work more.

But in terms of where to people should start, I just did some market research, I had a bit of a look at what people were doing and priced what I felt comfortable with, whether that is a good thing or bad thing, and something I would recommend is if it is a membership you are launching then start at a lower price point than you think you will take it, because your amazing founding members, some of mine are still in there, and now for them, it’s like a treat for them and a reward because new members are joining at the new price. So they are getting rewarded for signing up early, and getting that lower price for as long as they are a member and it’s a low as anyone will ever get again, and you can use that messaging in your marketing. And I for a course too, you can use that and say, this is the introductory price. But that is different for everyone too, some people don’t like to do that, but I guess that is an option depending on your market and how you are positioning yourself, like as a premium product, then you want to price higher based on other courses or programs in your niche.

CLARE:

I think you’ve hit the mail on the head, because it is totally about your market. I’ve definitely seem programs flop because they are priced way too high, and similarly, psychologically, I haven’t signed up for things because I’m thinking, that is so cheap, surely that is not going to be any good.

EMILY:

Yes, I know!

CLARE:

But the reality is that everyone’s price point is very different, and it’s knowing your target market very well. Some people comment to me that my prices are quite high, whereas other people, I have had say, so how many people are in the call? And I say it’s just me and you, and she said, oh my gosh, you are so cheap! So there you go. Everyone has a different perception about pricing but it’s about knowing your market and making sure you pick a price point attractive to them.

EMILY:

Yes, absolutely. And if I can just add on there, in terms of whether your online program, whether it is a course, or program or subscription, whatever it is, I do think having a think whether it’s for businesses or for individuals personal expense, also makes a difference. Also, around the pain points you are helping people solve and make sure you talk about that in your marketing, such as this is the outcome, this is I can help you can change in your business, or your life. But also with the pricing, I’ve started doing, because it’s so true, saying have a think, if you are going to spend this money on this program, how many sales do you need to make that back? And often it’s not even one sale, or it might be a couple of sales. To me, if I knew I could make the money back, which I would assume I could if I was joining, then it is a no brainer. It’s an investment in your business and that’s the way I like to look at it these things, because really the more money I spend on my own education and development, the more my business makes. So if people are fearful of spending, maybe keep that in mind. And I’d be curious to hear your point of view Clare, but I do believe, and you have to choose the right ones, but investing and spending money in your own education, your professional development, spending money on coaches, will grow your business.

CLARE:

It’s invaluable. The biggest challenge people need to get past is the mindset around it, and I know myself, I at times have invested more money than I was making, which is terrifying, and then, it might feel like you didn’t get a return from it. Quite often I have spent money and 6months later I was like, that was a waste of money. But truthfully, 6 to 12 months later you might secure a client, and you are like, holy snappers, that paid for itself 10 times over! I think having that long term view and not being super focused on outlaying money in the short term, because honestly, I hand on heart believe, if you choose the right course and right people to work with, it genuinely is an investment. And when you pick the right people, you pick the right courses, and it will pay for itself many times over.

EMILY:

And also I think, a lot of people when they are starting out might be in free Facebook groups, and when you start investing in yourself and investing in online programs that will help you, then you start to notice you are in a different type of group of people, because these people are paying and investing and taking their business a little more seriously than people in free Facebook groups, and then you start spending larger quantities, and you think well what type of people and businesses is this going to put me in the same space as ,and I think that is really exciting too.

CLARE:

Absolutely! And you notice that when you uplevel and invest in courses, actually Emily and I are in one together at the moment, and the kind of people you are socialising and networking with are normalising the fact of being millionaires, and when you start to associate with those kind of people, that’s how you start to believe and think as well.

EMILY:

It’s pretty powerful. I like the phrase, just ‘being in the room’, like in the online course if there is a Facebook group within or what the community side of things is. And I think we can forget what we do take out of something, as you said Clare, I’ve done courses and thought I didn’t get anything out of that, but then I realise, down the track, I did take a lot from that, and because it’s sometimes about immersing yourself and absorbing things, and you later realise how much that has changed things for you, how you approach things, or a change of mindset you have, which isn’t super obvious at the time.

CLARE:

Absolutely!

Ok so we’ve been through the why should you do it, how to go about getting started and pricing it. Is there anything else you’d like to add to anyone who is listening and considering changing their business or adding a component of an online business model to their business.

EMILY:

I would say just go for it! For me, I’m so happy, and I was not that happy in my business, and feeling quite stuck and looking forward I was not excited, so if it is something you are thinking about, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, don’t think you have to get things perfect, get your outline together, go to your audience and ask them what they want, and then setup a payment, let them pay you for it, then start creating that with them, and you don’t have to have it figured out before hand, I certainly didn’t. As you are in it, you will figure out what you need to do. And something I do differently is, I don’t rely on launching, which is something interesting to discuss. I have an evergreen system, which is I have payments that can come in all the time, rather than twice a year launches, which is quite common as well, and for me that’s been business and life changing as well, to have that steady income coming in from my online program, and I’m a big advocate of having that system in place too. Hopefully I haven’t confused people with that.

CLARE:

No, that makes perfect sense. I think, if you are listening and thinking that sounds well and good for them, just check in with yourself, is that something real or is that just a fear holding you back. Trust me, I had people saying to me 2-3 years ago, you should start a podcast and I resisted it, I felt terrified and overwhelmed by it, and it was really hard getting started I have to say, I don’t know what your experience was Emily…?

EMILY:

Yeah, I can talk about mine a little bit, but I’m curious to hear what you say too.

CLARE:

Now that it is up and going, it’s just an easy and natural part of my business. And I’m kicking myself I didn’t do it sooner. It’s been the best thing I’ve done for my business and I know that transitioning to an online business model is an exciting opportunity and something that so many people say when they take the leap, they say why didn’t I do that sooner.

Now, I want to hear about your experience, because you and I actually started our podcasts about the same time. I saw this gorgeous Emily appearing on the charts the same time as me, and when we connected I was super excited, because we have been on this journey about the same timeline, and I would love to know from you, because the lead up to launching my podcast was so stressful, I was very busy in my one-on-one business, I have two young kids, plus this on top, it was super stressful, but once I got through that initial launching stage, it has become part of the weekly process now. But I’d love to hear about your journey in creating a podcast.

Emily’s journey to creating and launching a podcast

EMILY:

Yeah sure! It was an idea I had for a while and I sat down and wrote down what are my goals for this year, and I gave myself a word, and the word for 2019 was grow, so starting a podcast was something I really wanted to do, and I told myself it had to be in the first half of the year. So it was getting towards that stage where I had to make it happen, so first of all I found a podcast producer, because there was no way I was going to spend the time editing and uploading and all that type of thing. So I found a producer and she is awesome, Brianna from Bambi Media, and she helped me be accountable and I got my designers to put together my graphics, found a good timeline to go live with the first episode and with that first episode I wanted it to be an introductory to myself, and I wrote a few notes, and I sat down and recorded it in one go. And I was like, OMG, I’m just going to let that be it. Which is cool, because I thought I would have to do several versions, and so that’s what I’ve tried to do with my solo episodes, and then alternating with interview episodes. And more and more I’m trying to be myself with it, instead of thinking I have to share 5 tips on each episode, I’m leaning into sharing what’s going on for me, learnings that I’ve been having and sharing those. But in terms of the launch I didn’t really find it stressful, but incredible from the amount of support, like people really did impact me and blow me away with the support they gave, and selflessly encouraging me, sharing it, reviewing it and subscribing, and their excitement too, and a shout-out to a lot of my students, a lot of that was from them, and it really was lovely to have that support. And to get on the ranking, that was not a goal I set, because I didn’t think that was possible, so I didn’t bother thinking about that, but to get on there too is so exciting and crazy. So to anyone thinking about doing it, just get on and do it.

CLARE:

Definitely, don’t let fear hold you back! My mantra is, what is the worse thing that can happen? And I know before I launched my podcast the night before I published, I just cried, and listened to them and thought I hate them. But I spoke to my friend and she said, I would tell you but honestly it’s good. And it’s funny how fear shows up, but it’s the best thing I’ve done for my business and I know that shifting my business to an online business model will be as well.

I’m so pleased you shared your journey today.

And if you don’t mind I’d like to take a quick pivot, one of the things I love to do with my guests is, not just to learn information and content, but also a little bit about them and their journey in the business space. So what I want to ask you is what’s been the toughest time you have been through in business, and how did you get through it.

EMILY:

Great question! Looking back over the past 4 years, there have been two pretty horrible times, and I will preface it by saying there were things going on in my personal life that coincided with that too, how I was feeling mentally. But looking back, was recently starting my business and experiencing a client that really threw me, and I could not understand how I could communicate, it really threw me trying to deliver projects and things to them, and then not hearing and then hearing really negative things afterwards, it made me doubt my abilities a lot and feel anxious and I think it was there way of communicating and having a bit of power over me, I guess in a vulnerable state, being young and a little naive having just started my business. So that was a good learning curve in terms of what I need to take care of and take responsibility for and actually being stronger in myself and backing myself and putting in more contracts and structures in place and knowing to listen to my gut in terms of who to work with, but it did throw me because it made me feel I’m no good at marketing, because that was the feedback that I was getting.

Then the second time was just after I launched my online program. You were saying you felt quite stressed during the lead up to your podcast, but I think for me, and how it appears with my own stress but sometimes it’s after I do things, because I don’t think too much before-hand, and I just go right, this is what I’m doing and I do things quite fast, but I know after I launched my online program, I felt vulnerable and accountable to amazing people who had paid money to me, and I again doubted and was comparing myself to other people and their launches and how many people they had in their program, just terrible idea to try and start comparing yourself. Again, something I’ve had to work on, because there is nothing good that comes from comparing yourself. So if I look at other people, I think that is awesome, but I have no idea what the reality is for them and also I find it inspiring where they are at and that means I can get there too. So yes, definitely after launching I got really anxious and just doubted myself and my way of dealing with that is to go internal and not showing up online or that type of thing, and I guess slowly coming out the other side of that too.

CLARE:

Thanks for being so open and brave about that too. It’s really interesting, people miss a lot of this stuff sometimes, and I try to be really authenticate about my journey and experience, but equally I’m not posting on Instagram crying before my podcast. Right! You want to share the good stuff and I also feel a responsibility, especially as coach, to be showing up in an inspiring way, which I’m sure you struggle with this as well, a balance between being honest and vulnerable and being someone people do want to learn from and be inspired by. And I think it’s a normal response to be like, if I can’t show up as my normal self right now then I won’t show up at all.

EMILY:

Yes, that’s what I’ve done and I think that’s fine, and what I say too, and works for me and what I’m comfortable with is I don’t necessarily think it’s great for yourself or your audience to share while you are in it. And some might disagree with it, but I think it’s better to actually share once you’ve come out the other side and give value, and say this is what happened, this is what I learnt, or the fact I did come through it. And I look at my social media posts and what I do share is during the not so glossy times, I like to ask myself who am I sharing this for and if there is any element of me sharing this for my own ego or to have people simply tell me things I want to hear or any of that, I don’t share it. It has to be FOR my audience. So that might be another check to do, if you are not sure whether you should share or not too.   

CLARE:

I 100% agree with that. I’m actually writing something at the moment about vulnerability and about, to your point, are you sharing something therapeutic for yourself or something that being open about is genuinely serving and helping other people to connect with and learn from.

EMILY:

Exactly!

CLARE:

Well Emily, thank you so much for sharing everything you have shared, firstly how you came to create an online business model, how you’ve gone on about creating your program and a lot of the learnings you’ve had along the way for people to take, if this is something they want to go down. And we appreciate you sharing some of the challenges you faced on your business journey.

To wrap up today, is there anything you’d like to share with the listeners? I believe you have a freebie to share?

EMILY:

First of all, thank you so much for having me today Clare, it’s been awesome to chat with you and I encourage anyone that is thinking about doing basically any project in their business, which they are putting off, just to let go of the fear around it and the expectations and the perfectionism and make a start and go for it.

In terms of freebies from me, I have an online class which teaches Instagram strategies to help grow your business, so if you go to emilyosmond.com/free you will find it there. And I’m on Instagram obviously so you can find me there at @emilyosmond.

CLARE:

And of course, I’ll be putting the links that she mentioned in the show notes, in today’s episode so make sure you check out clarewood.com.au/podcast and look for this episode.

Emily, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for coming on the show today, I’m so grateful and I know the listeners are so grateful too. I look forward to connecting with you again soon.

EMILY:

You too Clare, I can’t wait!

CLARE:

Thank you so much for joining me today, if you enjoyed this episode, please make sure you subscribe to receive future episodes, and I’d be so grateful for a review on apple podcast! If you’d like a copy of the show notes or any of the links mentioned today, please jump over to clarewood.com.au/podcast and remember that Clare is spelled CLARE, have a wonderful week and look forward to chatting to you again soon!