Client Story: How Shawne Booked Out Her First Group Program
Episode Summary:
In this episode, I’m joined by Shawne, one of my amazing 1-1 clients, who launched and fully booked her first-ever high-ticket group program with 8 incredible clients (while having a little one under the age of 2 at home). Shawne shares the key mindset shift that made this success possible, and we talk through how you can apply these principles to your own business growth.
Shawne embraced the belief that her program is a million-dollar course—one that will bring consistent, scalable income over time. We also talk about some of the behind-the-scenes work Shawne did during her launch to let go of resistance and accept the abundance and success that followed.
If you’re in the growth phase of your business or looking to launch or scale your program/course with ease, this episode has so many insights that will help you build your own million dollar course!
This conversation also helped inspire the name of my upcoming live workshop.
It’s called Million Dollar Course, and during this live workshop, I’m going to help you create a high-value, leveraged offer that’s built for long-term success, maximum income potential and LOW HOURLY commitment so that you can build this alongside your current business or day job.
We’ll workshop together, and you’ll walk away with a course or program that’s designed to attract your ideal clients again and again—leading to massive long-term, stable income growth.
The workshop is happening on November 12th at 10 am PST, and you can save your free spot right here!
Topics Discussed:
The foundational things she did to make this launch such a breeze
How to go in with "this is my million dollar course energy" vs "this is a beta launch" energy
How to stop thinking 10 steps ahead in business and still feel a sense of security
The tiny shift that helped Shawne write her course content more easily and effectively
Episode Resources:
Learn more and complete the free CEO Assessment for the Sell with Heart Mastermind
Save your spot for the FREE live Million Dollar Course workshop on November 12 at 10 am PST
About Shawne:
Shawne Arceneaux is a Registered Nurse turned Visibility Coach & Business Mentor for Heart-Centered Coaches & Healers. Shawne was a nurse for seven years before discovering that she really wanted to help people on a deeper level which led her into the world of transformational coaching. She got board certified as a nurse coach and takes a holistic, intuitive approach in her coaching programs to help her clients find their authentic voices and overcome the fear of being seen so that they can have a heart aligned business and life.
Connect with Shawne:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Stitcher
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Anna (00:06):
Welcome to the Heart-Centered Entrepreneur podcast. I want you to be rich. Yes, I want abundant financial success for your business, but I don't just care about your business making money. I care about you too. I want you to be rich and happiness in the impact you make in your relationships, and in how you give back. I'm Anna. I built my six figure business as a side hustle while I was pregnant with my daughter in 2016. Now, I've helped dozens of women do the same. I'm here to help you build a profitable heart-centered, fully booked business with the latest tips on sales and visibility with proven mindset hacks and sneak peeks behind the scenes with what's working right now in the online space and in my business, ready to make more money with heart. Let's go.
What if after your next launch or promotion, you looked back and said, oh my goodness, this was so much easier than I built it up in my head to be. This happened with so much ease, so much grace, and I'm shocked at the cash and clients that came out of this launch. That's exactly what my beautiful client Shawne said after her first ever high ticket group program launch. And she's here to tell the story to you today. You may have recognized her name because she's been a client of mine now for over a year and a half. She's just such a beautiful, gentle, authentic soul. In her last podcast episode, I'll put it in the show notes, she talked about how she was able to sell out her one-on-one practice before her maternity leave and that whole transition. And now that her sweet little one is under two years old, she really has been in a season of scaling her business and growing her business and building her team and all those beautiful things.
Anna (01:49):
So I'm so excited to share this conversation with you today, especially if you need a little evidence that it can be easier to scale your business, easier to sell at your group programs than you give yourself credit for maybe. And this is another fun one. I had just did Kaitlin's third inter client interview, and I've been getting feedback from you guys that you guys like these longer case study stories, which is so useful. I think in the online space, there's so many client success stories that are like one little spike of results, but I think this is just evidence that you can build your business in a way that is steady and continually builds growth and really builds that happy, boring dream life of bringing in massive money, but in a way where your business isn't your whole life in a way that you're feeling peaceful and grounded.
Anna (02:35):
So, tune into her episode and then also this episode actually inspired the idea for my next workshop. So a phrase I tell a lot of my clients when they are launching a program is, this is my million dollar course, meaning the mindset behind this is it's gonna be successful, this course is gonna make me a million dollars, right? When we first launch something, it can be feel so vulnerable, we're starting at zero, but really going in on like whether this first launch is a success or a failure quote, it's gonna be my million dollar course over time. So having that grounded view of this is gonna work out. I'm may have some shifts and turns, but I'm going to be successful and this income stream is going to be a million dollar income stream and being so certain in that. And I feel like that mindset also really helps Shawne really crush this launch.
Anna (03:27):
And so I'll put in the show notes if you wanna join the free live workshop that I'm doing my million dollar course, so that you can have that same grounded mindset on the next leverage program you're creating as you're scaling your business. Whether it's a group program or a course. I hope you join me for the live workshop. I'm so excited about that and can't wait for you to, to tune into today's show. If you have any takeaways, our aha moments tag, Shawne and I on Instagram, we would love to see it. We would love to hear what's coming up for you as you manifest more ease and grace as you scale your business. Hi friends. I'm so excited. We have a special retreat at Special Treat and that is another returning client. We have Shawne Arceneaux, and she is a visibility coach, business mentor, and just really good human and mama and passionate heart-centered entrepreneur. So I'm so excited for her to share her story with you. Part two, why don't you introduce yourself to us?
Shawne (04:27):
Yes. Part two, I'm so excited to be back. Yeah. So I'm Shawne Arceneaux, OI have been a registered nurse for about seven years, and then three years ago I decided to leave nursing and dive into the world of coaching. And it's been literally the best decision that I ever made. <Laugh> yeah, my business is called Align. Well, collective, and I have a pretty wide range of work that I do inside of my business, but I do like business coaching, deep transformative, like somatic work, and then even things like social media consulting and like tech help, like, you know, that kind of thing. But all for the purpose of really helping coaches, entrepreneurs, especially in the healing space, feel safe to be seen, to be visible to the people that, that they wanna help. And everything that I do, no matter if it's like the really transactional techie stuff or the really deep somatic stuff, it's all for that purpose. So yeah, that's a little bit about me,
Anna (05:26):
<Laugh>. I love it. You are such a visibility queen in your own work. If anyone follows you on social media, they see that. Mm-Hmm, <affirmative>. But also I feel like I love what you said about whether it is the more practical stuff or the deeper stuff. It really does have that underlying thing of helping women give visible. What would you say, and then we can dive in, like what do you, why do you feel like visibility is such a big deal for women in general, but also like heart-centered entrepreneurs? Why do you think it's so significant?
Shawne (05:54):
Yeah, I, that's a good question. I think it's so significant because visibility, especially within the, the heart-centered entrepreneur community, like we all wanna do work that is with integrity and that is with heart, and that is honest and genuine. And so visibility in that regard, I think requires a lot of vulnerability, which is scary. And so that's why I think people can get so spun up in it because there are, there's a lot of noise out there. There's a lot of noise in the business world about how you should show up and how many times to post on social media or what kind of things to post on social media and all that. But I also think that part of having a heart-centered business is also about like really sharing your own story, being vulnerable, sharing your own struggles. And that can be really hard.
Shawne (06:38):
I mean, it was, it was hard for me for a little bit. And then I really started to embrace how much that was actually doing for my business, how many, how many successes that I've had in my business because I just showed up and was my myself. And I think like the way that the, the, the current society we live in is conditioned is to, is to not be that, is to, is to be a certain way to kind of like conform. And that's why I think this work is so important is to just help people be okay with being themselves. You know?
Anna (07:08):
I love that so much. I could listen to you chat about that all day. Okay. <laugh>, tell me, since you last chatted with us on the podcast, tell me some of the wins or breakthroughs or things that have happened for you. Catch us up.
Shawne (07:20):
Yes. Yeah. Okay. So I kept, lemme try to remember last time I was on, I had just either gotten back from maternity leave or I was about to come back from maternity leave. You know, we've been working together for over two years now, <laugh>. So when I started working with you, I just remember that I was in my second year of business. I had, you know, I was prepping my business to to go on maternity leave. I've, like, I had sold out my one-on-one practice, and then whenever I came back, my focus was starting to evolve into scaling and making my business a little bit more sustainable on its own two feet. You know, I'd had I think I had leaned on a couple of other, like contract coaching gigs to kind of hold me over, but I really started to get invitations from the universe to, you know, become more independent in my coaching business and have things run a little bit more smoothly, hire support and all of this stuff.
Shawne (08:16):
So that's kind of where, where I've been since I last I last came on the show was, you know, now I've you know, scaled my membership. I've launched a new group program since like, I think at the time I was only serving one-on-one clients and membership in at that time. But I've had a lot of like different successes inside of that and just more opportunities to lean into creating my own little ecosystem, my own community and building that. And it has been so, so fun. Like, I, I think there's a part of me that always wanted to hold on to to, to the other op opportunities, but I really have been starting to lean into what is for me. And that's been a really exciting part of this year is just after working with you, being able to separate what's mine from what's like, you know, what served me in the past but isn't meant for me anymore. You know? So that's been a really big growth thing for me. The big breakthrough.
Anna (09:15):
I love that so much. And really this conversation, like you said around, well, something I appreciate about you Shawne, is you really were faithful to the first chapter of business, right? Mm-Hmm. I think so many people, like, we'll hear an episode like today or hear Caitlin's episode, you know, last week, and it really is about scaling, which can seem so sexy and fun, but really it's so much easier to scale when you've done phase A of business faithfully. And that is what I see you as is you really, were so faithful to building your one-on-one practice serving your clients well, doing like doing the to six figures actions. What do you think gave you courage to hang in there and build successfully so you could be in a place of quick scaling?
Shawne (09:56):
Yes. That is a really good question because I think I, as you, as you even say that, I can remember and recall how impatient I was about it, <laugh>, you know, like I, I wanted to launch a group program and I wanted to do all of these amazing things. And like, honestly, scaling my one-on-one sounded so boring, and I like wasn't super inspired by it. So I think what really helped me was really learning how to be okay with it being boring. That was, I think, and we've talked about this so much on our sessions of like being okay with it being boring. And then I think the other thing that really supported me was finding excitement in other areas of my life so that whenever my business did get boring, I wasn't, you know, driving myself crazy. I was actually going out and experiencing life, which is exactly why I started this business, you know?
So I think that that lesson was super important for me to really hone in on. And I don't know if I would've been able to do that without having you in my, my corner <laugh>. But yeah, I mean, I think I really had to get through the, the idea, or I had to like let go of the idea that everything that I do in my business has to be exciting. It has to be this awesome aha moment. It has to be this amazing offer, which I feel like all of my offers are amazing, but I didn't always have to feel that excitement. Kind of like a long-term relationship, you know, like whenever that honeymoon phase gets, gets done you have to find a way to like fall in love with like the really mundane day to day things about your business. And that's, that was my biggest piece of work, I think in that second year.
Anna (11:27):
I love that so much. I think so often people in the meeting of business see things like a day job or a, you know, a contract revenue stream or something like that is like a distraction. But really I feel like you were so good at seeing it as like, okay, this is what's for me in this season, but now in this next season, I'm ready to build my empire and go in, right?
Shawne (11:48):
Yeah. Yeah. The build the empire. That's kind of where I think at the beginning of my business, I definitely played small. 'cause I was like, you know, I, I, I had these dreams and these aspirations to build my own empire to like make this multi-six figure million dollar business. And I think there was a small part of me that just didn't believe I could. And so that's, that's another thing I really had to work on, was believing, believing in myself, trusting myself to make the right decisions, to make the most aligned decisions. And that the whole decision making process is I think a skill that I've been able to develop really, really well over the last couple of years. But that has probably been the biggest transformation, I think is feeling really confident in the decisions that I make and not second guessing myself. I think any entrepreneur needs that skill, you know? Yeah,
Anna (12:43):
I agree. I think decision making, and I like that self trust is one of the most essential skills. And by the way, you did all of this scaling this year while you have a baby, you have a baby under two years old, right? And so I just think it's an even more amazing feat that you've been able to experience, the growth, the scaling, the launch success while having a little one at home. Like what has that been like?
Shawne (13:06):
Yeah, it's actually been so crazy <laugh> because my little one is a toddler now, and so he's wild. I literally woke up at 4:00 AM this morning because he, I, I don't know what's going on with him. He must be going through some kind of phase, but it's been, honestly, it's been really helpful to have him going through this new phase of his life right now and going through all of these transitions with the teething and the not eating certain foods anymore and tan tantrums, goodness gracious <laugh>. But I think it's been so helpful because it does kind of help me keep myself grounded and really focus on what's important, right? Because I think in the past I would've very easily gotten so flustered if like he needed something or if my nanny was out and I had to like shift some things around in my business, this has really allowed me to prioritize what's important and be okay with moving some things around and finding gratitude in the moments that maybe I don't get a lot done in my business or get as much done that I thought I would.
But I do get to spend this time with my son and be at home and not have to worry about clocking in and out of a hospital and, you know, so I think even though it's still hard, I feel like it's still hard to find balance and I'm constantly working on filling my cup and, and really leaning into asking for the support that I need from the people that are in my life, from the co, from, from you, from all of my support systems. So learning how to do that has been really huge for me. Learning how to ask for support and actually take advantage of it and tell people what I need instead of just like burdening myself with all of the weight <laugh>. But I, and I think that one thing that really comes up for me is every time I see like my son having a hard time, it just kinda like puts myself into perspective, like my business into perspective because it's constantly evolving, it's constantly growing, it's constantly changing, and it's never gonna be the same.
And it's the same thing with my kid, you know, like I can, I can see him and all the changes that he's going through and rapidly adjust and adapt, and it's directly related to the changes that are happening in my business right now. So it's been really cool to be able to make those parallels and to just kind of slow down a little bit and enjoy the actual moment and not start like stressing about what could be happening or, you know, what did I do wrong and things like that. It really just kind of pulls me into what's happening right now.
Anna (15:42):
That's such a good point. I do feel like motherhood has that brutal way of forcing us to be in the moment, forcing us to surrender control, forcing us to just be like, how do I show up as my best mom self today? Yeah. What works today probably will not work tomorrow. Right. And I think I remember in motherhood, like just wanting to prepare so much, but realizing like, no, Anna, it's not gonna help me to read a book about how to raise a teenager. Like, it helps, like how can I survive the moment? Right? Yeah. And I think it's so true in business. I think the, my most successful clients I see not preparing for 10 steps ahead, but really asking themselves, how do I really show up faithfully in this chapter and maybe work like one step ahead Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> or something like that.
Shawne (16:25):
Yeah. Yeah. Whenever you said that, it just made me think of how, you know, I've always been the kind of person who like really wants to have a plan. I want to like know what's gonna happen. I I wanna be, I wanna be 10 steps ahead. 'cause It feels really good to be ahead of the game. But I think having a baby in the middle of building and growing my, my coaching business has been just this swift kick in the pants that I've needed to like slow the F down <laugh>. Yeah. And really take time to be in the moment and think about what it is that I need, that my son needs, that my business needs right now, versus getting too far ahead of myself. Because I, I definitely think that can be really detrimental to the growth of my business whenever I'm focusing so much on the growth and so much on the future, whatever. But how can I show up right now? How can I be the person right now that's going to eventually, you know, create the, the business five years down the line that I know is gonna be successful? You know?
Anna (17:25):
Yes. Tell me, I love this conversation so much because I think it's like, as women, we, I think a lot of times we, we try to work ahead or control things because we want the stability, right? We want to feel grounded and peaceful. We wanna have, that comes from finances, that comes from lots of things. Right? But what do you feel like are the things that you did this year that actually, if it wasn't working 10 steps in advance, that what things did actually make a difference when it came to making more money, feeling more grounded, feeling more supported, feeling more regulated?
Shawne (17:57):
Mm, yeah. Yeah. Yes. The things that come up for me are one, support, like having a coach, having a therapist, being able to lean on my husband and, and really nurturing our relationship. Like support was huge, huge, huge for me. And then I also think like incorporating fun into my life, which is hilarious because, you know, we think about building businesses and like, we're immediately thinking about like, the strategy of it and the marketing tips and all that. But I think that the biggest thing for me has been actually like unplugging. I haven't listened to like a self-help self-development podcast or audiobook in like, months. And it is so awesome. It's, it feels so good to like not over consume my brain with that kind of stuff. I've been reading fantasy books, I've been, you know, my husband and I have been like having, we have this really awesome like, movie watching system where like one of us picks a decade and a genre and then the other one actually picks the movie and we have to watch it no matter what.
Shawne (18:58):
So like, we've just been doing those types of things, you know, like I, sometimes we, I cancel my day, hu hubby calls into work like today and we'd like go have a day. Like, we've just been trying to incorporate a lot more enjoyment into my life. And I know you've told me this several times of like, this is a moneymaking action. Rest is a moneymaking action. Fun is a moneymaking action. And all of those things. Like, the more I repeat that, the more I hear that, and the more I practice it outside of our calls, the more I see that it actually is true. Like, it, it is a money making action. Because to make money, especially to make money in a way that feels in integrity with, with who I am, with my values, I don't wanna make money in a sleazy way, you know? And I could for certain, connect with a bunch of people and send all these random messages and show up totally fake online and make a ton of money. Oh, sorry. <Laugh> wearing
Anna (19:50):
Is allowed.
Shawne (19:51):
But yeah. But that's just not the way that I want to do it. And I love how much energy it gives me to go out in my life and actually have fun and to enjoy things and to not be thinking about my business 24 7. So that's probably the biggest thing that I would say is the contributor to me scaling and growing is learning to actually like, let go of it and like unplug, you know,
Anna (20:15):
Just such an interesting conversation because, you know, if you're at the very beginning of starting your business and you're hearing this, this is probably gonna frustrate the hell out of you. Because I feel like at the start of business, a lot of times, you know, too, we're trying to get our clients to work more in some ways, right? Because like Mm-Hmm. Working is like scary and brave. And so we're like, no, actually dedicate 10 hours and actually show up like clock in for those hours, right? But once we get there, right? The fun rewarding thing is work, right? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And so it does take energy and discipline to unplug from work and to let go. So it's so interesting that sometimes like, what got us there isn't going to get us here, right?
Shawne (20:51):
Yeah. Yeah. I, I really feel, and I, I resonated with that so deeply because in my first year of business, like I hustled, like, I was working on weekends, I was working in the evenings. 'cause I still had a full-time job at the time. Like, I, I was hustling and there would be moments where I'm sitting there like, is this gonna be how it is gonna be for the rest of my entire career? Like, what, I don't want this. But then I, you know, of course it's important for, for hard work to be present, of course. But then I, I also think that there's, there's a limit to how much it does for your business. And I think the underlying thing is where it's coming from. If it's coming from a place of, I am, I wanna work hard because I love what I do. I love this type of work. I'm passionate about how people versus I wanna work hard just so I can make money that's like totally different.
Anna (21:45):
Yes. I think that's so true. Like the energy that it comes from. Mm-Hmm.
Shawne (21:49):
<Affirmative>. Yeah.
Anna (21:51):
Okay. Tell me about this most recent launch. Just because I think in our online space, like launching can be so villainized, right? Like Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> launching is horrible and all of that stuff. And so, and certainly like everything we do in our business for the first time can be challenging, right? Because it's something new. But tell us a little bit about your positive launch experience. 'cause I think that's just such good evidence for women out there, whether it's they're launching a book, launching a program, like Yeah. Like launching is kind of an essential part of most people's business models. So tell us your story there.
Shawne (22:25):
Yes. I love my launch story because it is just like the perfect representation of everything that I'm doing inside of the program that I created for this launch. So I, yeah, it's, everything is just so, like, it's sinking up. So well th this launch actually the idea for this program was born like a year and a half ago. And I really, really wanted to launch a group program. I didn't exactly know the details of it. I didn't, you know, there was a lot of unknown, but I knew that a group, a group program was on my heart. And there was, there were several times that I wanted to actually launch it and put it out there. But there was like something in me, something in my body, something in my gut, in my heart that was like, it's not time. Wait. Like, you know, we can work on all of the other pieces of your business and automate and systematize those things to make those things run more smoothly so that whenever you do get to launch this program, you can launch it with ease and everything else is like, good to go taken care of.
Shawne (23:29):
You don't have to worry about as much. And so, to be quite honest, it me off <laugh> several times and I'm, you know, this like, I, I got a little impatient every now and then. And again, wanted to lunch it over and over again. But it actually came about after a retreat that I had launched earlier this year, kind of fell through. So me and a retreat, my retreat partner at the time, we were, you know, we had set the venue, we had set the dates, we had all the ideas flowing, we had the landing page up, and then enrollment was just like a lot harder than we thought it was going to be. And there were so many external factors regarding that, but I had to really make a big decision here about either releasing the retreat or trying to just go ahead and do it.
Shawne (24:18):
I ended up releasing it. We both kind of came to like a, a, a mutual decision that it was the right time, the right move to just cancel the retreat, refund everybody. I felt a lot of feelings about it, <laugh>. And after I kind of went through like, almost a grieving process of that launch, not going well I started to get this like massive intuitive, like whisper of it's time to launch a group program. It's time launch, a group program. And so I brought it to session with you, and I remember just talking through it, and I can't even tell you the logical reasoning behind why I knew it was gonna work, but everywhere in my body, I could feel like, this is it, this is the time to do it now. And as soon as I started putting it together, as soon as I started planning it, writing the emails, putting the marketing stuff together, creating the actual program itself, I mean, I, I felt like it wasn't me.
Like, I felt like I was, I was being taken over by some, like, higher force, higher power. And, and the entire process of the launch, I mean, yeah, there were moments where I definitely needed a little bit more support. I was a little bit drained. My, you know, my energy dipped a little bit towards the middle of the launch. But for the most part, overall, the launch experience for me was the most easeful, flowy, creative, exciting, fun, heartwarming experience that I've ever had. And I've only ever felt this way one other time in my business, which is when I launched my membership. Like I've never felt so confident, confident, so aligned. And so just excited about something in my business. And then it was just really beautiful because like the entire program is based on like visibility and being vibrantly visible in your business and doing the deep inner work that allows you to be yourself.
Shawne (26:11):
And that's exactly what I experienced here. And just trusting, trusting the process, trusting those nudges from the universe, trusting my body that it knows, you know, intuitively when to go for something and when to, to hold off or wait or say no. So yeah, that's in a nutshell what my launch experience was like. And I, I've definitely had <laugh> moments in the past where I've dreaded launching. I've, I've, I've dreaded the planning of it, the, you know, everything about it. But for some reason, like, I truly believe that if you're launching something that you, you firmly believe in, and that feels right for the kind of work you want to do the, the model of your business, I think it doesn't have to feel hard, you know? And I really pushed myself to like, make this launch as amazing as possible. And now I have such an, such a beautiful template for like, all of the future launches that I'm gonna do for this program.
Shawne (27:10):
And it, it's exciting to me. You know, I think that like, after your first one, it just gets better and better. So, yeah, I mean, this, this launch is like my baby. I, I'm, I'm so proud of it. I'm so excited to, like, I've already started with the, with the women that that have enrolled in this round. And yeah, after that first call, I was just like, yeah, this is, this is it. And you told me in, in one of our coaching calls one day, and it really hit me. And I think this is honestly something that I've been replaying in my head over and over again. This is your million dollar program, and I, I have it written on my computer and I tell myself that all the time. This is my million dollar program. And if I, if I get to five years down the line and this program is still in my business, how can I show up right now to make that happen? And that's kind of how, how I approach anything that I do with this, this program moving forward.
Anna (28:03):
I love that so much. And I feel like you approach all of your business with that energy of like, my success is inevitable. I'm gonna go out there and no matter what external results I'm seeing back be, I don't care. Because internally, you know, anytime we launch a new course or program or anything, it's our excitement that carries it. Our audience is gonna be like, wait, what is that? Wait, what's going on? And so, so often I'll have clients come to me on like, day two of a launch and they're like, it's crickets. And I'm like, of course it's crickets. 'cause They had, this is new, right? Yeah. But I feel like you really went in with that energy of like, f it. Yeah. Like, I'm gonna go out and even if I enroll one person in this program, like I'm gonna, the ship has sailed. Right? And I think that energy is what helps sell out your program. So talk to us about that more.
Shawne (28:46):
Yes. Yeah. It's the energy. I, I think even as I was creating all the marketing stuff for it, a lot of it was super organic. And I was honestly just telling people what my process was like, how, how excited I was about the launch. Honestly, the most of my marketing was like, I'm so excited about this launch and here's why. Like, here's why I think this work is so important. Here's why that this work is lighting me up. Yeah. And I'm excited to share it with you. Yeah. Is because like, if it's some, it's something I firmly believe in. And I, I do think energy is contagious. So whenever people see how excited I am, they're more curious. And they're also, it also gets them thinking about like, is this something that that feels aligned for me? You know, like, because I think that if you, if you're really honest about where you're, where you are in the process, like I've told, I've, I remember telling so many people as I was like, connecting for this program, I remember telling so many people, like, I don't even, I don't even care how many people that I sign if I sign any.
But I know that like, whoever does come in is gonna get the best experience because this is based off of, I mean, this program is based off of work that I've done myself. Like, I've dug really deep into doing this kind of work myself. And I wouldn't be trying to enroll people into this program if I didn't actually experience some of the things that I'm actually teaching. And so that energy, that level of excitement, I think really helped with, with the launch itself, because it, it got people excited about, about business again. And that's, I think that's the thing about like, the community, my community specifically, I, I can see, I can tell that they've grown tired of like, business advice and going to webinars and going to workshops and things like that, because it kind of all feels very like, sterile. And whenever somebody can bring that level of excitement into a launch or into their marketing, it kind of like piques people's interest in a totally different way.
Shawne (30:42):
Because I, I mean, I think if, and honestly, this is how I was really drawn to you as, as a, as a coach, because you always had this excitement about your work. And it just, it felt always so genuine. And I know that that's, for me, that's more of a sustainable way to continue to be visible and to continue to, to grow and scale my business, to like capture that excitement and and not do things that like, just don't light me up. 'cause I feel like I would resent my business if I continued that way.
Anna (31:14):
Yes. I, it's so true. I feel like, you know, when you love what you do and you are enjoying like, the process of your launch, I think that makes it so much easier.
Shawne (31:23):
Mm-Hmm, <affirmative>. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah. I surprised myself actually with this launch. <Laugh>.
Anna (31:28):
I, okay. Tell me what most surprised you?
Shawne (31:32):
I, I think I was just surprised at how easy it was to throw together. 'cause Every time I'd thought about launching a program in the past or whatnot, you know, I, I, and I would sit down at my computer and I would just be like, Ugh, I don't know where to start. And then here in this experience, I mean, I was just pumping out stuff every single day, and it was so easy, so flowy. It was like an out-of-body experience almost. And, and it's so different from what I expected. 'cause You know, you hear people and you hear launch strategies and all that kind of stuff, and you think about how much work it's gonna be and how, you know, how much not fun it's gonna be <laugh>. So I really surprised myself with how easy it was and how much fun I had. Like, I had so much fun.
I threw together like a little live series at the end of the launch, like totally last minute. I didn't even, I, I didn't plan it originally. And then I was like, you know what? I'm gonna do a live series at the end of this launch to just like, really con because it helped me connect with my audience. It helped me connect with my people. And I think that that was like the thing that, that was the, the cherry on top for me of the launch is showing up live. And it also gave me a lot of data to to know that like, live stuff is fun for me. I think with anything, like, one of my biggest lessons of this whole launch was learning what I like in like, learning what I like and how I like to operate during launches and what isn't for me. And it just gave me a lot of information to work with so that I can continue making this business something that's fun and something that like fills me up. And that is exciting for me. But yeah, I think I, I really, I surprised myself with how, just how easy it was.
Anna (33:17):
I love that. I love it. It's reminds you of like a moment mid lunch too. I think it's so interesting because I think a lot of conversation the online faces of like, okay, when things fail or when things don't go well, how do we handle it? But I think a missing conversation too is what happens when things go well? What happens when as a launch is fun? Or then we expect, like, how do we handle that in our nervous system? What, when we receive more money than we expect? Like, what are some of the ways that you regulated with it being easy and profitable?
Shawne (33:45):
Yeah, that is a, that's such a good question because there were definitely moments where, you know, I was acknowledging how easy it was. And then I was also thinking about like, do I deserve for it to be this easy? Like, do I, I I just remember there were certain moments where, you know, there was a, another coach of mine that was a colleague that was launching at the same time as me, and she was having a really hard time. And, and I was sitting there like, should I be having more of a hard time? Like, I, so it was really hard for me to kind of separate at first, it was hard for me to separate, you know, what I actually felt versus what I thought I should be feeling. Yeah. So it really was a lot of like processing. I had to, I journaled every day.
Shawne (34:23):
I did a lot of things to make sure that I was taking care of myself, that I was resting. I came to session all the time with, you know, everything that was on my mind. I didn't hold back. And then I also asked for a lot of support. And so I, yeah, I think the biggest thing that supported me during all that was making sure that, that I was practicing my own self-care practices, you know? And then in the middle of the launch, whenever that energy kind of dipped I did have a lot of feelings about, about the launch and like, I don't know, you know, kind of like doubts about whether or not the launch was even gonna work or, or whatever. And I think the most important thing for me to regulate has been to just like, honor the feelings, honor the fear, honor the honor those things and not make them wrong.
Shawne (35:16):
But then also coming back to that trust, right? The, this whole entire process has really allowed me to trust in myself more. And anytime I do have those like doubts or fears of things not working out or whatever, I know that those aren't actually mine. So I can always hold space for those things and know that they're not actually truth. Like, I, there's this like, inner knowing that I have at this point in my business that like things are happening exactly the way that they're supposed to. And I know that sounds kind of cheesy, but like yeah, there's just this really deep sense of knowing. And I've been able to trust that more I've been able to really lean into that.
Anna (36:03):
So. Beautiful. It doesn't sound cheesy at all. I think that's really beautiful. Tell me why, as you were approaching, remind me of a question as you were approaching the end of your launch. It's so interesting 'cause every time we launch something, we always start at zero, right? Yeah. Even if we're a super successful coach, you start every launch at zero, right? Yeah. Yeah. And so just such an, it's such a humbling experience, right? But as you were getting close to your eight or however many was your full group, I can't remember eight mm-Hmm. As you were getting close to your eight and maybe you had moments of like, oh my God, I'm actually gonna fill the group all the way. Like, walk us through a little bit of the end and or the first session with your ladies or anything like that.
Shawne (36:41):
Yeah. The end of the launch was really exciting because it honestly felt like, I don't know, it just, it, it felt, it doesn't, it didn't feel like the end of a launch or the closing of it just felt more of like a celebration. It felt like I got to the end of this launch, I filled my group with the eight women that I knew are, were like, were always meant to be here. And that first call I I, I was a little bit nervous going into the first call just because, you know, I've run groups in the past before, but they've never been my own groups, like my own in my own business, me running it, me doing the launch, me creating the program this is the first time that I've held space for a group in that capacity. And so I was a little bit nervous.
Shawne (37:25):
But I got on the call with these women. They like, you know, the call, the work actually started before we got on our first call, right? They all have like, you know, reflection stuff and like a worksheet to fill out beforehand. And I was just reading through some of their answers was I was getting ready for the call and like, I was like tearing up. I was getting so emotional reading because I, it's like further confirming that this work was absolutely necessary to put out right now. You know, these are like really deep things that we're diving into in this program, and I know that it can be really vulnerable. And the fact that I was able to find eight women that were willing to dive into this work so wholeheartedly, so fast for a program that has never been done before <laugh>, it just, yeah, it gave me like all the happy feels and all of the just really, really peaceful thoughts of how, how this, this work is so important.
Shawne (38:19):
So yeah, after that first call with my, with my group, I, I got off the call and I was like, this is exactly the way that I thought it was gonna go. Like, this is exactly, you know, even though I was a little bit nervous about it, I think this space is just exactly what I needed to create right now. And I always saw myself creating a space like this. But there were so many times in the past in, in, you know, previous years of my business where I didn't have the confidence and I didn't have the I didn't have the skills, honestly, to be able to hold a group like this. And I think that everything that I've done up to this point in getting my certifications in, like learning all of the stuff that I needed to learn, especially after I had my son experiencing my own somatic work, experiencing all of that kind of all came together to, to create this beautiful program that I think is just like the most stellar thing I've ever created. So <laugh>.
Anna (39:19):
Yeah. I love that so much. It's just this beautiful creation. It got me thinking too, I think so many women when they do a first iteration of a program or course, they feel like they have to like, call it beta, or they feel like they have to like, do like a ton of market research. And not that either of those things are wrong. I called my first group program on beta because I didn't know any different. Yeah. But like what do you think helped you really go in, even though you hadn't created the curriculum, even though you hadn't created, like, this was the first pro, the first round, but I feel like you did so good at going in with as if it has been the thousandth round of this program or launch. Like, even though it wasn't, it's not created yet. Right? What helped you go in with that energy of like, this is a trustworthy, established program that you can trust?
Shawne (40:05):
Yeah. Oh, that's a good question. I don't know that there's like a logical reason. I just like knew <laugh> and I know that's probably gonna like, drive people crazy for me to say that. But I, I, I really did just know, I, I just felt it in my body and every time, every time I would think about this program or have an idea for it, it just like felt right. And I don't know <laugh>, I know that's like, so not specific at all, and it's very vague, but I, the, the, honestly, that's part of the work too. That's part of the work of this program is to like trust even though you don't know why. And I think the reason why I, I believed in it so much is because so much of this program is an exact reflection of the inner work that I've done. And I know how powerful it's been for me.
I know the shifts that I've been able to experience and it's made me a better coach. It's made me be able to serve my one-on-one clients better and my members better, and my membership. And because of that direct effect that it's had on every aspect of my business and also my life, like, it's made me a better, this work has made me a better mom. It's made me a better wife. It's made me a better communicator. I'm actively seeing the results that I know this program is gonna create because I'm, I've lived it, like, it's actually been a really personal reflection of, of the work that I'm doing. So I think that's kind of where that energy comes from is like, like that inner, that knowing that it works and being able to see the physical manifestations of that in my actual life outside of, you know, my coaching business.
Shawne (41:45):
That's, that's how I, that's how I have confidence in it because maybe I haven't walked however many clients through it and, and I haven't created the, the process or the program all, all at once. But, but I know that the more I, I lean into to my own journey and the more IE embrace the things that I've been through and are willing to share that with everybody and willing to incorporate that and infuse that into the program as I create it, I mean, it's like kind of a no brainer that it's gonna be successful, that it's gonna be, that it's gonna produce massive results. So yeah, that's kind of how I, how I view it is I'm kind of my first client <laugh>, you know? Yes. That I've walked through this whole process with.
Anna (42:31):
I love that so much. And just that certainty in I, like I, and not that our signature courses or programs always have to be a direct of reflection of our story, but I think like it has to be something we really believe in Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> and really know like, we can sell, right? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Like, we have to be able to say like, this is the best thing. Like this is the thing you need to buy. And I so believe in this transformation, and I think what you said is so key, number one, it reflects your own work. So you're your own best case study, but also it reflects all the work you've done with your one-on-one clients, all the work you've done with your students in membership. Right? Yeah. And I just think like, you're right. It's almost like anti imposter syndrome is really knowing, like, I've seen evidence in this in my life. I've seen evidence of this in my client's life, one-on-one, and so it totally makes sense that now I'm putting this into a curriculum Yeah. Into worksheets and to a pro. Like maybe tell us too, like what was it like to take some of that and create videos and worksheets and more like content around it?
Shawne (43:29):
Yeah. Yeah. It was actually really fun because I, you know, this kind of work is all stuff that's been in my head. It's been stuff that I embody, but to actually sit down and write, write about it, and like write content on it, has been so interesting because it's really, it's honestly helped me realize how much of it I've integrated. And it's helped me realize how much of it how much of it I've actually practiced over and over again in my daily life without even realizing it. And then it also gets me into the practice of simplifying it. Yeah. 'cause I, I know that like, since I'm, I'm constantly working through stuff like this and, and it's the norm for me now. I know that people who are new to this work, like some, some of the people in my group have never done somatic work before.
Shawne (44:15):
They've never done anything like that. And so I tried to make, like, I, I had to re be really mindful about making things as simple as possible to not just to not overwhelm people. And I think about something you had said in session with me one time, I think was, how can I make this the simplest po as possible and still get like, the maximum amount of results for my clients? And so, honestly, like, you know, even after the first week, after the first couple of weeks, people are filling out their worksheets and answering their reflection questions, and they're going really deep and they're questions that not aren't groundbreaking. Like any coach would probably ask you that if they were in session with you. But to be able to sit down and write out all of this stuff and give just really basic information on a concept or a framework and allow them to integrate it rather than just like sitting there teaching the whole time, I think is so, so powerful.
Shawne (45:08):
So it was actually really fun for me, and it was like kind of a nice exercise of stretching my skill as a coach and as a leader to be able to sit down and, and write and put it to paper and actually think through, okay, if I were someone who was new to this work, how would I want to receive it? What would be the easiest way for me to be able to integrate this type of work without feeling like I was being overloaded with information? So it really stretched my, I think it stretched my skill as a coach to be able to really simplify <laugh>
Anna (45:37):
And that I just think that is not being happen, that's not happening in our online space right now. That empathetic course creation. And that's why like a course completion rates are so low in our space. Yeah. Because, and it's not to any fault of the coaches or course creators, but I don't think they're asking that question that you asked, which is, how do I take a minute? Right. And how do I really, you know, number one, having had already done the work yourself, having already had one-on-one clients go through the work. I think most people like skip that part and they're like, let me just teach something that's gonna make me money. Right?
Shawne (46:09):
Yes. Yeah.
Anna (46:10):
But then the other part of like, how do I put my ego aside and even though this is a high ticket course, how do I not jam it with information? How do I just give them enough to help them integrate? Right. Was that a hard shift for you, or did that come pretty easily?
Shawne (46:26):
So I think it came pretty easily for me, but just because of the timing of when I launched it, I don't think that would've come as easily for me last year or the year before because I didn't have as much patience. I didn't have you know, I just didn't have the ability to turn off like, what was not for me, you know, like to turn off the, like, what isn't for me, what is, and one of the things that really helped me during this time was the confidence that I had in like my skills as a coach really allowed me to just like, let go of the ego for a little bit. I definitely think that wasn't always the case in my business, but for this particular launch, that's what, that's one of the big reasons why I felt like I was prepared to do it was because I, my ego took a way back seat.
Shawne (47:12):
Yeah. And and it was helpful. It was helpful to kind look at the program through fresh lens and not have that pressure for it to be like absolutely perfect or whatever. I could just kind of intuitively create it. And honestly, I think that that's how the best programs are created is, yeah. Is from that intuitive place, from that place of like flow and ease and not trying so hard to, if I, I could definitely sense that, like if I did try to make this program with the intention of getting people results or with the intention of, of making it the most awesome program ever it would've landed flat because I wasn't, I wasn't focused on it coming from the right place, but I'm, I'm definitely I think I, I'm more prepared now to, to let go of the ego a little bit and simplify things and not make it mean anything about me. If you know I'm charging, you know, 5K for this program and making it a simple program. Yeah. Like, it doesn't have to have all the bell bells and whistles. And that just comes from my own confidence as a coach and like the kind of work that I do, the people that I serve, the amount of effort that I put into serving my clients really well.
Anna (48:25):
Yes. So, so true. And what came up for me too is I think you did so good at like, you know, we were talking about these concepts like detachment, like it's okay if no one signs up. It's so like blah, blah, blah. Like Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. But I think the only reason you're able to really create that is 'cause you built such a solid foundation of one-on-one and come in of membership and come in of self-trust. Like you really had that stability that I think year one in business, we just don't have that, right?
Shawne (48:51):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. I did not have that at all my first year of business. I had no confidence in the decisions that I make. I was constantly second guessing myself. But I think that's kind of like you said earlier, like that's phase A of, of building a business. And like, you almost have, it's like a rite of passage to go through that phase. You can't skip it. And I see a lot of my clients try to skip it
Anna (49:12):
<Laugh>, and then it just prolongs it. Then you're like, it just prolongs it. You either do it for six months or for six years, so what are you gonna do?
Shawne (49:18):
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And so I, I did it for six months and after that, the first six months and I had all the breakdowns. I didn't make any money. I barely made any money. And something then just like clicked after, after I spent all of that time trusting the process and trusting that this was gonna work out and doing like the really deep inner work that I think a lot of people avoid. I mean, it was, it's painful work. 'cause It's a lot of like your own beliefs and your own the, the way you view yourself, the way you look at yourself, the way you talk to yourself. It's so, it's such a, and people don't really talk about that that much. They talk about a lot of the surface level, like things you need to do, but not who you need to be. And that's kind of like the biggest piece of the work that I did in that first year was like my inner state of being. And I honestly think that that's probably the, the, the reason that I've experienced as much success as I have.
Anna (50:12):
Yes. Okay. Let's wrap it up. But tell me, yeah. What would you, what do you think that six month, the, the, the woman that was like three months into your business, if she could see you now, like what do you think she would be most proud of you for?
Shawne (50:28):
Ooh. Okay. Ooh, that's a good question. Hmm. The biggest thing that comes up for me is, I mean, she would be most proud of the trust that she's developed in herself because, you know, I think back on, like whenever I first started my business and even like before that is I, I really leaned on a lot of external validation to define my self-worth to define how successful I was going to be to feel a certain type of way about what decisions I made. And the more time has gone on, the further and further I get into my business, the more I feel independent of that, the more I feel really reliant on my own my own inner validation. And like sure, it's nice. It's, it's a nice ego stroke to get external validation from other people. But I think the most important relationship that I've been developing throughout this entire time as an entrepreneur has been with myself. And I can feel the difference. Like I can physically feel the difference and, and internally feel the difference. And I think like if she were looking at me right now, she would be like, holy, you're a badass. Like <laugh>, I love that. That's so exciting that I get to turn into that, you know? Yeah.
Anna (51:49):
It's so true. And the cool thing is like, and it, it improves who you are as a mama, as a wife, as a woman. Mm-Hmm. Right. I think like it's so true. Like entrepreneurship is the best and worst thing ever, but it truly does, I think expedite our journey of being a better human and being more, more of who we're meant to be.
Shawne (52:08):
Yeah. Oh my gosh, that's so true. It really has made a huge impact on the way that I mother and the way that I show up as wife to my husband and as friend and family member. And it's like, it's the biggest gift. I mean, I don't think I talk about that enough of how, how entrepreneurship has made me just like a better human. And that's just pretty sweet to have a, a, a job, a career that allows you to do that
Anna (52:37):
For, and it gives you time for that, right? I mean, we both come from the helping professions from nursing and mental health, but like most therapists and nurses don't have time to work on their mental and physical health. Not because they're lazy, but because they're so busy. Right. So true. And so the fact that we have time and space to take a nap to like, we still have hard things happen, but can you imagine, I can't imagine not having time for myself.
Shawne (53:02):
Me neither. Me neither. I was talking to my husband about it with over breakfast this morning of like, I can't even, like that's a whole, that's another person. Yeah. That, that nurse from seven years ago. Like another person <laugh>.
Anna (53:14):
Yeah. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay. Tell us if people have been listening to this and have been drawn into your beautiful energy, tell us about your programs and or freebies and or social or anything else you'd like.
Shawne (53:26):
Yes. Yeah. Well, we talked a lot about decision making today, and I have a free worksheet called the aligned decision making worksheet. It's super simple process. It's like four questions, five questions, but it's a process that I've used in my business now that allows me to really feel super confident in any decision that I'm making, whether it's a launch or like a new offer or whatever collaboration. And a lot of my one-on-one clients have just found this worksheet to be so amazing. So I'm, I have it, I have it out there for free. And then I am currently filling the wait list for viability, which starts in February, March of next year-ish <laugh>.
Anna (54:05):
I love that. Okay. We'll make sure to put the link to the freebie to your mastermind wait list to your Instagram. Yeah. And any final reminders or words of love you'd like to leave to the Heart Center entrepreneurs?
Shawne (54:19):
Yeah, I think this has been such a big theme in today's episode and in the work that I've been doing with all of my clients and myself, is the just the trust. Like if you're here, if you're, if you are an entrepreneur who really wants to build a heart-centered business, like, there has to be a level of trust that you have within yourself. And if you don't have it there, there are ways to get it. You know, there, there are ways to ask for support. I mean, I think the, the community is really supportive of each other, but just kind of like being honest with yourself about how, how much you trust yourself and if you don't, how can we make that stronger? It's something I've been talking about quite often in all of my sessions with my clients is like that development of self-trust. And once you have that, like things just fall into place. I know that sounds like kind of, you know, vague and whatever, but it really does happen. And I mean, I think it's possible. I think it's possible to like make a lot of money and be super heart-centered and be genuine and not be, you know, skeezy and weird <laugh>. Yeah. Like so many people in the coaching community, <laugh>,
Anna (55:28):
You're such an example of that. Thank you for sharing your story with us today.
Shawne (55:34):
Thank you so much, Anna. It was my pleasure to be here.
Anna (55:39):
Thanks for hanging out today. Please hit that subscribe button so you can make sure to stay updated anytime a new episode drops. And I would love for you to join me in my free Facebook community. It's called The Heart-Centered Entrepreneur. We discuss the podcast episodes. I regularly go live and do free trainings, and you may even meet your newest biz bestie, so you can join at https://heartcenteredentrepreneur.com/community. It's absolutely free and I cannot wait to see you in there.
PS: In the midst of this challenging time I’ve been asking myself what I can do to help? One of the #1 ways I support my clients is by helping them simplify their business so that they can increase the flow of money without creating extra work. In this season simplified visibility and sales is needed more than ever.
So if you’re craving personal support as you reposition your free and paid work, I’d love to help you simplify your sales process so that you can produce income in your business even during a challenging time. If you want support you can check out my services and book a free discovery call here, or you can send me a DM on Instagram.