Monthly Income Report
First up, this was not my original idea. But the universe is amazing at sending gorgeous messages to you when you need them.
Yesterday, My gorgeous friend Kathrin Zenkina shared a real deal breakdown of her monthly income the other day in a Manifestation Babe Blog Post. And seriously, it made my hear melt.
We have a coaching problem in this world.
It sucks, but its an epidemic in this industry: There are so many coaches out there who inflate their income. In the beginning of my journey I would see coaches who claimed they had a seven figure income, only to find out later, that they were in fact exaggerating or stretching the truth. This was hard for me, especially because, looking back on my journey of becoming a successful coach, I spent a great deal of time trying to be like those coaches not knowing they were lying the whole time.
For every 1 truly successful coach there are dozens out there lying inflating their success. Worse, despite all of that, there are hundreds of aspiring coaches trying to achieve success and wondering what they are doing wrong comparing themselves to these people.
There is a sea of life coaches out there who are financially struggling who can't quite figure out how to generate success. Because no one is actually talking about how they created it.
Let's talk about what this industry really needs.
- We need more coaches being real about the money they are making.
- We need more coaches talking about how they created their success.
- We need less lies and inflation.
- We need truth!
So yes...I'm sharing my financial records too! And I am going to set the intention every month to share a report with you about what Lauren of Love has earned and how it's performing on all fronts - what's working, what's new, and what we are doing differently.
How It Started
In October of 2015 I decided to walk away from my Corporate jobs as a Television Producer for CBS News. I was broke, miserable, and really being bullied in my office environment. I had been there for 5 years (I started there right out of college) and I knew that I wasn't ever going to create the life I desired there. I had a dream: to share my life stories and help women heal.
I wanted to create a place for women to be unapologetically themselves. I had so much bullshit and drama in my life narrative that I had overcome (attempted suicide, rape, assault, relationship abuse) that I just knew my purpose in life was to share it.
Being in corporate that wasn't really something people liked - sharing your shit wasn't exactly a "good" trait of a good employee. So I knew it was time.... I said goodbye and just walked out.
I firmly believe this was the universe working through me and giving me what I needed to leave. It made space for the opportunity and ideas that followed.
October 2015: What is Perfection? was Born.
When I was in high school I bought this poster off a student in the school art show. It was a photo of a girl screaming with the words, "What is Perfection" on her forehead. This was the message of my life - fighting the urge to try and be perfect. I knew when I started my lifestyle blog I had the perfect name: "What is Perfection."
What is Perfection LLC. was born. I created a lifestyle brand and talked about all the difficult things I had been through as a way to help women heal. My vision was to make money off of advertising on the website.
Lauren of Love is a component of What is Perfection LLC. I get asked this question a lot - "Do you need an LLC. and should you change it when you switch branding." The answer is no.
October 2015 - March 2016 I rolled with it and made zero income.
Matt and I decide to pull my 401k money to financially support us while I get the business off the ground. In the mean time, our lease is up and we call Matt's parents and ask if we can move to Connecticut and live with them while I get this up and running and while Matt saves money for our first home. They say yes. We put all of our things in storage, say goodbye to NYC and move to the suburbs.
Note: I basically made zero money. My intention (as an aspiring blogger) was to just run ads all over my page for money. Once I built a strong enough following, I could then get paid as an influencer by companies to promote their products (yup. This was my vision.)
March 2016 - First Tony Robbins Event.
My world is changed. I have huge breakthroughs around my business. I come home ready to rock. I showed up to give even more value, get even more vulnerable and work even harder.
By this time I noticed I was attracting more and more people who actually wanted my help. They wanted coaching and wanted to know how to fix their lives. At this point I had opened up about so much of my life on social media, that it was only natural for people to start asking questions about how they could improve their lives too (note guys - vulnerability is your superpower.)
So I took some deep breaths and opened up my first online shop with online courses.I decide to design a program called "The Perfection Program" and I start dreaming up the vision.
P.S. if you want to go to a Tony Event with me, I am announcing a trip to go to UPW with all my Lauren of love ladies who want to join this summer!
May/June 2016 - Run the Perfection Program Make X $$
I say X $$ because I cannot remember how we collected income or what we made here. I opened up the program for the first time with my friend Gabby. We end up designing it together. The Perfection Program 30 Day course gets launched. It was a program helping women heal body image. We Sell the program for $125 and get 20 or so girls in the program. It was a success, but to credit Gabby, she had a very strong instagram following that helped us bring people in. (note- influence is a big deal.)
July/ August 2016 - Try to Run the Program again...
The program goes well the first time, but we don't exactly do well on round two. Gabby is getting a new job and moving to the city and becomes more focused on her career. We realize that our visions are not aligned. We close the program after one round and part ways.
Note- always remember your feelings are so important in business. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. I realized at that point i was hiding behind Gabby's strong following and was starting to feel as if I needed her to be successful. Since she wasn't passionate about being a coach and didn't see that as her own vision, we closed our chapter together.
I decided to open up a teachable account and put all my course content in one place online.
September 2016 $125.
I Launch my very first solo program called Broken to Beautiful, thinking I may go into relationship coaching as my niche. I run it as a live coaching program with live group coaching calls. It was a program focused on healing unhealthy relationships (its a great program and is still available in our courses for Lauren of Love VIPs. I get one sale in September.
Note: It’s hard to do well with a partner and then go at it on your own. This was the part of my business journey where I started to really question if I was good enough to do this solo. Lots of ego work here.
October 2016 $225.
I decide to keep promoting the Broken to Beautiful Program and I think I end up pushing back the starting date of the course. The program runs and by the end, I am feeling heavy from the relationship coaching realizing it is not my permanent niche.
November 2016 $725.
This was my “breakthrough month,” The month I try a bunch of different new things to see what works. Matt and I start house hunting which gets the wheels turning in my brain about “How to create more money.”
I decide to sell my old programs as “ever greens.” The Perfection Program and Broken to Beautiful run for a sale of $29 (at this point I’m trying out all these different sales methods to see what works and what doesn’t.) I decide to get on a call with old students of the Perfection Program to learn more about what they need (thinking I can get some ideas for my next program which was TBD at the time) and instead, I end up landing my very first coaching client. I charge $400/month for 3 months. (we fell in love with our coaching journey and she ended up staying with me beyond the 3 months.)
December 2016 $1,533.
Matt and I find our first home, sign the papers, and move in.
I officially step into being a one on one coach and I land a second one on one client. At this point I have a one on one coaching sales page up and I even have a discovery call calendar. My second client finds me and I am so happy.
I get the download to design a Life Transformation Course called “Brand New Me,” and I sell the 6 week program for $50 in addition to still selling my 30 dollar programs.
Note: This was a point in my journey where I was trying to do all the things to figure out what worked and what didn’t. My lesson was to fail faster. Also, Brand New Me becomes the best course I ever designed and I end up saving it in the Badass Business Babe VIP.
January 2017 $1,392.
Brand New Me is full, and I start to scratch my head thinking about how I can get to a new financial level. I design three 10 dollar programs – Goal Digger, Hello Confidence, and Love your Body. I realize running the Brand New Me Course that it needs to be a 12 week program, so I decide to stretch it out. (sometimes you’ll learn that when you run through a program if students don’t finish it all the way or get lost.)
I set the intention to hire a coach. **How can I be one if I don’t have one. ** A few days later I hear a podcast and Ryan Yokome is a guest talking about masculine and feminine energy around money. I send him a message. “I have to work with you.”
A few days later I have my call, and (still broke and now in even more debt) I apply for a 0% APR credit card to charge 10K to work with Ryan.
February 2017 $8,584.
My business explodes. Energetically I reach a new level after signing the contract and working with Ryan. So much starts to change. I attract more one on one clients. I relaunch Brand New Me as a 12 Week and charge triple what it was the first round as a six week. I sell out the course. I decide (since I paid for a coach) the rate of $400/month to charge my clients doesn’t feel good anymore. So I raise my price to $799/month on a 3 month contract and attract three new clients.
I pop a bottle of champaign and celebrate!
March 2017 $3,976.
Going live on Facebook like crazy. Doing guest speaking events for other bloggers and business babes. I attract more and more one on one clients.
I go back to Tony Robbins and have HUGE breakthroughs again. Comeback, and hit my first 10K month.
April 2017 $11,720.
I get a full roster of one on one clients and a waitlist. I decide it’s time to stretch a bit and start talking more about business.
May 2017 $16,066.
Ever greens are sort of selling. I raise my prices for one on one coaching and start requiring a 6 month contract. This free’s me up to create more in my business. I start evaluating whether or not I want to be a business coach. I keep doing my thing.
June 2017 $13,530.
Make the final decision to go into business coaching. Lauren of Love starts to form and What is Perfection starts to die out. My friend Kris Britton and I team up and do a 12 week program called Self Love Method. We charge $1497. The program starts filling this month and I get excited to be partnering with someone to create fun things again.
July 2017 $20,266
Somewhere around here I make an official announcement to switch into Business Coaching. At this point I am charging $999/month for a year long contract. I feel sad to leave What is Perfection behind, but excited for what’s ahead. I also hit my biggest month yet, but I realize more money does not equal more freedom or happiness. I hit my first 20K month and nearly pee my pants in excitement. But I am over worked. Majority of my income is coming from one on one coaching and it is starting to take a tole on me. I am creating content for Self Love Method in addition to serving one on one and I start to get wiped out.
Matt and I talk about him possibly quitting his job.
August 2017 $9,844
I decide it’s time to restructure my revenue streams. I start incorporating essential oils into my coaching practice and create a VIP membership for just girls who purchase oil kits. (I eventually open this up to the public for $33/month later in the year)
I design and launch my first business program called “Badass Sales” for $100. It starts getting traction right away.
I hire a virtual assistant to help me.
I travel to Salt Lake City for an Oil convention. Matt calls me while I am away and tells me he is going to quit his job.
September 2017 $11,945
Monthly payments keep coming in. I have my friend Jen over for a power weekend and we get so many creative downloads. One of which, is Crickets to Clients – my $7 program. I open it for 100 people and it sells out within 24 hours.
October 2017 $9,463
Everything feels safe and consistent. I enroll to go to Tony Robbins Intensive Date with Destiny in December, I keep plowing away and getting more ideas for programs and courses. The Badass Business Babe FB group starts to grow.
Matt comes home officially, and I realize that it is time to really step it up.
November 2017 $12,519
Keep going. Keep hustling nothing changes. I travel to Los Angeles for an event with Bob Proctor and I learn how to craft my manifesting. I sign up for his 3K Program, lead the field. I come home and publish a workbook based on Bob Proctors principles called, “Wake up, Manifest, Repeat.” The book does Okay. I start writing a second, Unleash your Badass Business (Set to come out this April)
December 2017 $20,876
The business explodes. I create a year long academy to teach women how to grow their business and create financial success. I go to Tony Robbins Date with Destiny and unplug for a week and get massive results. I sign up for Platinum Partnership with Tony Robbins and pay $75,000 to do it. I am on a high.
I decide to design a series of programs for the Business Babe. – And I start creating them…. quickly.
I let go of my assistant and decide I need to find someone more aligned with the vision.
January 2018 $34,574
The Academy starts. I hire an amazing team to help run Lauren of Love with me. The new programs like 30 Days to Launch Your Biz explode online. Matt comes into the business and starts playing with Facebook Ads and Six Figure Biz Babe, my biggest program goes live and sells out within 20 days.
As our business grows, so much happens. So much changed from this breakdown, as you can see.
And I know it is only going to get better.
If you can, share this with your followers. We need to get the word out and grow awareness around what a life coach can truly make in the online space.
