The idea, concept, and theory of starting an online business excite you. However, at the same time, it's filled with overwhelm and confusion. You might be freaking out, wondering how to go about it, where to start, and how to ensure setting up six-figure foundations from the get-go. The concerns about not wasting precious time and energy on the wrong approach are valid. If these thoughts resonate with you, you'll love this episode. It's all about breaking down the process into six simple steps to build your six-figure online business from scratch, whether you're a brand-new coach, consultant, or course creator.
As proponents of building empires that enable remote work, make an impact on lives, and offer unlimited earning potential in the unique online space, we understand the shift from trading time for money. Instead of being limited by hours in the week, you can connect with people, educate, help, and work with clients around the clock—all online. Your business works for you all the time, without the need for your physical presence.
The best way I've found to achieve this is by building an expertise-based business, allowing you to monetize your knowledge as a coach, consultant, or course creator. If you want a deeper understanding of this business model, make sure to listen to the previous episode where I delve into its intricacies and effectiveness.
Looking ahead to 2027, the creative economy is projected to be a $480 billion industry, rapidly growing as individuals become personal brands, creating content for those who seek learning and growth. This industry is booming, and you definitely want a slice of this pie, given its sustained growth. It presents an incredible, rewarding, purpose-fueled economy to be a part of.
Now, let's break down and simplify the key steps you need to take to build your own business empire with a strong six-figure foundation. This business design can scale to 100k per year and beyond if you stick with it. While it may sound crazy depending on where you are in your journey, I can attest to the time it took me to realize it was possible. It may feel impossible and overwhelming until you understand what it takes. I'll share with you what it takes, and I hope you reach out on Instagram, saying, "Rosie, I think I can actually do this," because you absolutely can.
Every day, I thank my lucky stars for starting despite the initial fear. Questions like "Will it work?" and concerns about others' opinions and potential failure plagued my mind. With zero qualifications in marketing or entrepreneurship, I had to learn everything from scratch. I never called myself a coach before, felt awkward on camera, was camera shy, and struggled with self-confidence. Working through these challenges is an ongoing process, but it gets easier.
Now, I pay myself what corporate would have taken 20 more years to provide. I live between New Zealand and France, work from anywhere globally, take leave whenever I want, and earn money even when I'm not actively working. I'm living my dream life, excited for a future where becoming work optional or retiring early is possible.
If I just stick at it, okay. This is something that provides significant financial abundance and numerous options in life. It fulfills my purpose, and I'm energized by my work. What can I say? What can I say? So, let's dive into the six steps you need to take. This episode has been inspired by my freebie, the "Your First 100k Roadmap." It consolidates these six steps, providing details, diagrams, and insights for you to take away. Check out the show notes to snag it and review it to consolidate our learnings from today.
Without further ado, let's explore the six steps to build your six-figure empire. Step number one is to do the math. This step is often skipped, making dreams and goals feel distant. The idea of making $100k can be overwhelming until you break it down and understand what it takes.
A common mistake is assuming that selling more affordable $10 ebooks is easier than selling $1,000 courses. Let's compare the two options. Option one is selling a $10 ebook. To make $100,000, you'd need to sell 10,000 ebooks annually, approximately 834 per month. Achieving such high sales volume as a beginner is unrealistic due to the immense marketing effort and audience size required. Regardless of the price point, building trust and authority is essential in entrepreneurship. The universal law is that similar traffic and marketing effort are needed, at least up to the $3,000 price point.
Now, consider coaching services or course creation with hands-on support. It's more valuable, offering guidance, support, and direct access to you. Suppose you launch a signature 10-week program at a price point of $2,000.
As you can see, designing a higher value offer for people makes it only take four or five clients per month to reach your first $100,000 year in business. That's not a substantial number of clients when you consider it. If you put out one highly aligned and impactful YouTube video per month, and each video averages about 500 views, is it really unthinkable that out of those 500 people who enjoyed the content, four or five might reach out to work with you? Of course, it isn't. And what if you're putting out a YouTube video every week? What if you're getting 10,000 views per video and so on? Finding four or five people per month to work with you is not crazy, as long as your offer genuinely helps solve a problem in a profitable niche, which we'll discuss next. You can always think of ways to add more value to that offer and make it worth the $1,500, $2,000, or $5,000 that you want to charge.
A pro tip: if sales and higher ticket pricing feel uncomfortable for you, or you're brand new to coaching and unsure if you have a signature methodology or if what you do actually works, you can start with beta clients. With beta clients, as I did, you charge either nothing at all (which I did at the start for Badass Careers) or a very minimal amount. These are your first clients, your early adopters. For them, it's pretty low stakes as they haven't necessarily invested a lot of money. For you, it's an opportunity to build your coaching system, experiment with your packages, and grow your confidence as a coach. In exchange, your beta clients agree to provide feedback on their experience and a testimonial, which is great for social proof on your website. This is truly priceless as a new coach because these testimonials will help you land higher paying clients down the line, boost your confidence, and make you feel brave enough to put yourself out there with higher ticket pricing because you know in your heart that you can get people results.
So, do the math and figure out your starting price point, make it higher ticket, and determine what it would take for you to make that first $100k. Step number two is to pinpoint your profitable niche. "Niching" isn't just a word; it's about getting highly targeted and specific. The longer you resist a niche, the harder it will be to stand out in the growing coaching and creative industry. Being a generalist won't cut it anymore. There's a reason entrepreneurs say, "The riches are in the niches." The common mistake that most beginner entrepreneurs make is thinking that appealing to more people means more potential clients. They might look at big names like Brene Brown or Tony Robbins and aspire to become like them, covering various topics. However, these influencers started with a very niche topic and scaled up from there. Beginners often make vague promises on their Instagram bios or websites, saying things like "I help you reclaim your self-worth and live your best life," which doesn't convey a specific meaning. Successful entrepreneurs know that when you market to everyone, you market to no one. People seeking solutions will go to the person who offers the exact solution to the specific problem they're trying to solve.
For example, imagine you're scrolling on Instagram, and you know that you want to get beautiful portrait photos taken of your new puppy. You want a dog photographer. If you stumble across two Instagram profiles and one is a photographer who specializes in dog portraits, has all these cool accessories, and presents it in a beautiful way, or you stumble across another profile of a generalist photographer who does landscapes, weddings, some pet stuff, some newborn stuff, and so on, you are absolutely going to go for the specialized pet photographer, right? That's why niching down is so powerful. You want to build a highly engaged community of people who get it, are hungry to make a change in a very specific area, and you can become that go-to expert in that niche.
From a practical perspective, no social media algorithm will know who to show your content to if the topics you speak about are too wide-ranging or too vague. You won't be able to get the algorithm working for you. When you don't niche down and you stay broad, people will have no idea why you are the perfect cultural consultant or content creator for them. People will hire your competition instead of you. People who are more specific with their promise and what they do. They won't know how to recommend you to others or connect you with people who need what you do. Niching down is a no-brainer; it will help you blow up.
When I say niche, what is a niche exactly? A niche is not as vague as an industry like beauty, health, or careers, or even a category like skincare or powerlifting. A niche is about solving a specific problem for a specific customer. For example, from my "Not Even French" YouTube channel, my niche statement might be: "I help expatriates in France navigate French culture, language, and administration so they can focus on making the most of their French experience." For Badass Careers, it might be: "I help goal-getting corporate professionals find their career purpose, brand themselves, and land dream jobs so they can be paid to do the work they love." For a client of mine: "I empower parents of young children to identify and manage early stage signs of autism so they can swiftly adapt their parenting style, enhance their child's well-being, and live harmoniously together while celebrating their unique differences."
It's about getting specific and targeted. When it comes to niching down, I have some steps for beginners in the freebie, which you can take away with you, going into more depth. The first step is finding where your expertise lies, and ideally, the direction you take with your niche should be anchored in something you're both good at and passionate about. There are many different sources of expertise you can look into. The first and most important is your lived experience. What's a life transformation you've experienced? What's a hurdle you've overcome? What's something you've been through or learned? Maybe it's overcoming divorce, losing 20 kilos, homeschooling kids, becoming a vegan, traveling the world, keeping your house plants alive, getting your baby to sleep through the night, or regulating your hormones. All of these things come from your lived experience.
Other areas of expertise can come from your soft skills, like mastering public speaking as an introvert, communicating with your partner in a healthy way, or becoming more confident at the workplace. What about technical skills? Have you started a YouTube channel, taught yourself budgeting, or can you speak a second language?
Can you play an instrument? Have you mastered Excel? Could you teach other people how to use that tool? Think about technical skills, hard skills, and tools. What about passions and hobbies? Are you good at painting, dog training, baking, tarot card readings, or using Canva to design wedding invitations? Crafting with young kids? What about what you've already been paid to do in this lifetime?
If you've been a recruiter, could you become a job search coach? If you own a dance studio, could you become an online dance teacher, and so on and so forth? So step one is really about figuring out the direction of your niche based on your expertise, passions, or skills. Going from there, there's a lot more detail you can dive into in the freebie, so grab that in the show notes. Now, step number three, once you have your niche, is to build an aligned audience around that niche. Leverage the power of free platforms, social media, blogging, and more to build that aligned audience. Maybe it could be YouTube, podcasting, Instagram, TikTok, blogging, Twitter, whatever it is, depending on your niche, personality type, and where your audience lives. You're not just going to regurgitate tips they can find on Google; you're going to talk them through lessons, industry myths, mistakes they might be making, and call them out on their mindset blockers. Create content that resonates at a deep level. Over time, as it becomes more natural, you'll build a personal brand where people not only find value in your content but also relate to your style and energy. Some elements are within your control, like personality traits, quirks, and lifestyle choices you share, while others, like accent or tone of voice, might not be. Being as authentic as possible is the key to standing out and building a personal brand. It's a blend of valuable, game-changing content and your unique personality to create a community and attract dream clients.
Step number four is to design a high-value, no-brainer offer for your audience. Once you've clarified your niche and attracted aligned individuals, create a signature offer to help them solve their biggest pain points. Listen deeply to your audience; they will guide you on what they need. Combine their feedback with your expertise and experiences, and develop an offer tailored to your ideal client. This no-brainer offer should be an obvious "yes, please sign me up" solution that feels custom-made for them.
It offers a clear promise that helps them achieve what they genuinely desire. It contains a step-by-step pathway from point A to point B, eliciting responses like, "Wow, I feel like this was custom-designed for me," because it essentially was tailored to the specific needs of your audience. It resonates with them, understanding why they're here, what they want to change in their life, and how they might achieve it with your guidance.
A pro tip here is that when you develop this offer, focusing on the one significant problem your ideal client would pay to have solved, make sure the messaging is right. Speak to the transformation, not just the solution. Many coaches emphasize the vehicle or solution (the "how"), like, "I'll help you overcome your limiting beliefs." However, your ideal client cares more about the transformation: "I'll help you overcome your limiting beliefs so that you can get the promotion you deserve." Make it tangible and connect with the why behind their desire.
Step number five is to build your sales engine. We'll discuss the elusive sales funnel, the journey from unaware to engaged to actively involved with your offerings. It's about nurturing relationships and providing value, leading them to opt into freebies or challenges. They experience your approach, and an easy way for them to apply or inquire about working with you is presented. Eventually, this leads to a yes from those who are ready, motivated, and aligned with your services.
For me, a sales engine is about making this process automated and Evergreen, happening regardless of your daily presence. It relies on repeatable systems and processes on autopilot, continuously attracting and nurturing leads. There are numerous ways to explore selling every day without actively being online, fostering connections with those who truly need your services. Remember, sales are an opportunity to connect with someone in need, not something sleazy or slimy.
If the intention is service and really helping people, isn't it kind of mean to hide the solution to their problem if you have it? What's wrong with letting them know that a solution exists? Selling, in this context, is actually a form of service. In step six, we want to rinse and repeat. Once you've mastered the fundamentals of messaging, niching down, content creation, and building an automated sales system, you will be unstoppable.
Consider the process: you create content, promote your freebie, build your email list, pitch to that list, provide a way to apply for your program, sign clients, get results, share their wins, gather social proof and testimonials for your website, and continuously build experience and expertise. Then, it starts again with refining your content, freebie, and offer, going around in a continuous loop. Over time, your client results will speak for themselves, and your audience and email list will grow. Eventually, with just a few Instagram stories or emails, you could generate $10,000 in sales in 24 hours. This happens when you consistently rinse and repeat the system that works.
Remember, over time, you can add more courses or types of services, like group coaching programs, but the focus here is on making your first 100k with simplicity and clarity— one offer, one message, and one ideal client. By doubling down on that, you will master the business and entrepreneurial mindset needed to succeed. If you found this valuable, I would love to connect. Please send me a DM on Instagram and share your business ideas or thoughts on creating a coaching program or signature offer. Let me know how you plan to test your idea in the next one to two weeks. I'm rooting for you as you build your empire. Until next week's episode, stay badass, and we will talk very soon.
