#91 How Levanah Went From Zero to 15 Clients in 6 Months

Today, I'm excited to have a client of mine, Levanah Gates , share her story of building her business. She has been super inspiring to watch because she has been all in. I don't think I've ever had a client who has contacted me as much as Levanah.

I say that in a really positive way, because I do think that, in the early days of building your business, you really do need that clarity and that guidance. You need to ask for help. And so, despite the fact that she’s now absolutely flying and she definitely doesn't ask for help as often as she used to, she really did make use of my Business of Coaching programme and all the support that it offers.

So, I’m excited to share my case study conversation with Levanah with you.

Thank you so much for agreeing to reflect on your journey with me, Levanah. Please share a bit about you.?

When I joined the Business of Coaching programme, I was a newly qualified coach. I'd finished my training in the December and had decided I was really going to go for it from January.

At that stage , I thought I had a niche, but I wasn't that confident in it. My background was in fashion buying and I'd been in retail for 15 years before leaving that a couple of years ago. I wanted to retrain and do something different that fitted into my life as a mum and that felt as though it was giving back a bit more.

I'd always been really interested in coaching and finally built the confidence to go and retrain. But, when you're doing that training, no one's teaching you how to actually run a business. That’s why I signed up for your programme. ?

Can you remember what you were doing and how you were feeling prior to joining? Were you frustrated? Were you doing any marketing?

The biggest challenge was the identity of being a brand-new coach. I didn't have any clients at that stage. I'd set up an Instagram account but I don't think I'd even announced what I was doing to my network on LinkedIn at that stage. I felt like I was just playing with it. I'd put some accountability pillars in, like how many times a week I was going to post, etc, and I was on track and being consistent. I had about 200 followers, probably 80 of which were friends and family and probably 50 other coaches.

I just didn’t know where to start. It’s hard to describe the challenges I faced then, because I was right at the start and needed support from an expert.?

What was most helpful when you joined the programme?

The programme's brilliant because you’re immediately part of a community, which I think is crucial. Setting up a business is amazing, but it's quite lonely. All of a sudden, you’re surrounded by mainly women, who I could reallynrelate to. The coaching world is brilliant, but it can be hard to find your tribe within it. It was nice to be with real people that had actually made the changes from their careers and were building ethical, sustainable businesses.

And then, in terms of the content of the course, it's so easily broken down. The modules are really easy to digest and it really does everything from pinpointing what your niche should be, through to setting up your website, your email marketing, there’s so much in there that it really takes that pressure off you.

When you're starting your business, you feel like you've got this mountain to climb and a list of a thousand things every day and, don't get me wrong, I still do feel like that, but it maps it out for you so you didn't have to think what are you going to do this week. It gives you a framework to work through and, a few weeks in, you start to feel like you’re really making progress.

What was the result for you??

The result for me has been way more than I thought it would be at this stage, which is amazing. I think I can say now, six months down the line, that I have built a business.

I'm leaving the programme with 15 one to one self-funding clients and I started with zero. So that's been the ultimate result - I have a coaching business now.?

I think it’s really exciting that you’ve managed to build a consistent client stream. Tell us more about what happened on that journey.?

You’re right about the consistency. Early on in my business, I felt like a one hit wonder and it took me several months before I accepted that people were still coming.

I started off wanting to help overwhelmed mums who were struggling to balance life and work. I was semi-confident on that niche, but it didn't feel specific enough, and I wasn’t quite there with my marketing message.

However, there was a specific audience that I managed to get a platform on. This audience has a huge following in my old world of retail, but I think the reason it’s worked so successfully for me is that I’d built a relationship with an anonymous person. I’d always supported them and had little conversations with them prior to me wanting to advertise through them.

It felt quite exposing to put my face out there to everyone in my old industry, but someone had sent in a message to this Instagram account, saying something along the lines of, “I've just been made redundant, I'm feeling really stuck and overwhelmed, do you know of any coaches?”

I realised it seemed a good time to advertise, and my contact agreed there was a big need out there. I put an advert out and gained a thousand followers overnight which was amazing but quite overwhelming. I had 50 people book in for discovery calls within the first 48 hours.

I was fully booked with discovery calls for about six weeks, but I had no boundaries in place. I hadn't put a limit on the number of calls that I would take in a day, and I hadn't been clear with my messaging on the booking forms as to exactly what that call was.

In retail, the self development and coaching world isn’t necessarily known, and a lot of people booking discovery calls didn't know what to expect. I think a lot of them thought they were going to get a free hour of career support, and didn’t realise that I would be talking them through a programme I wanted them to buy.

So, I had to very quickly refine all of that but also deliver on what I'd promised. In that six weeks, I was drowning and exhausted. And I was squeezing it all in to three days a week and doing discovery calls every evening, because my little girl hadn't started school then. I remember I was leaving you a lot of voice notes, needing your support!

I absolutely loved helping you through that time! So, how have you managed to build a sustainable business without just getting that exponential growth activity that you had at the time??

During that first wave of interest, you had some really good advice and one essential message was to simplify it. I didn’t do that quickly enough as I was so consumed with it and didn’t have the energy to think clearly.

The first ever call I had converted, which was amazing and really boosted my confidence. I converted another two within the first week, but then there was a big real gap. I was speaking to lots of people and no-one was saying yes.

I was really losing my nerve and you kept saying you just have to give it time, they will come back, you need to wait for three and six months. Even though I fully trusted what you were saying as you’ve got the experience, I didn't fully have the confidence that that would happen But you were absolutely right.

I didn’t do anything different with my marketing but, all of a sudden, just as you had said, a few of these people started coming back and I got four or five new clients over a couple of weeks.

At that point, my confidence really started to shift and my identity as a coach became more embedded. I started to think it was more about people seeing my initial advert and booking in. They’d stuck around, considered what I'd spoken to them about, gained some trust from what I was sharing, and then converted.

Anyone who has signed up since then has had nothing to do with that advert back in April. They’ve come across my profile on LinkedIn or Instagram or someone's recommended me. I now don’t feel panicked when I go a few weeks without getting a yes. I feel the right ones come at the right time.

In terms of a general month for you now, how many discovery calls do you get booked and how many clients as a result?

It really depends, but I normally have at least two discovery calls a week and I couldn’t really give you a statistic on a conversion rate, but I’ve done nearly 100 calls since I started your programme and I’ve now got 15 one to one clients.?I know that the conversion rate has increased.?

What was most helpful from the programme for you??

It’s hard to know what to single out. I couldn't have set up everything I needed without your content and the step-by-step process. That’s been absolutely invaluable and really simplified it for me. When you start out, things can feel a lot bigger in your head than they need to be.

For example, with my website, you gave me a really simple solution to get that up and running, because actually most of my clients are coming through Instagram and LinkedIn at this stage.

I like that your support is through voice notes, which feels really authentic. Being able to say something had just happened, what do I do, what do you think of this, or how do I handle this tricky response has been amazing. And I love your dedication to your clients and your availability. You have brilliant boundaries in place but you would always come back to me really fast.

I've also gained such a brilliant accountability partner with one of the women, Leela, who's in the programme as well. She has been amazing. She is far more established than me and in a very different niche, but she's been such a big supporter and such a good voice of reason. Hopefully we help each other out and keep that going.

What’s been your biggest takeaway from the programme?

That you have to trust what people who are a few years ahead of you are actually saying. If I'd have accepted, early on, the key bits of information that you were giving me, about simplifying and trusting that people will come back to you, that you don’t need to panic and you just need to keep doing what you're doing, I would have had a much less stressful time.

If someone is reading this and thinking I really want to do this, but they're worrying about the money and whether it’ll work for them, what would you say to them?

It was a really big investment for me and I did feel really nervous about that. And if I'd have been in a different financial position, I probably wouldn't even have requested a discovery call with you because I was pretty sold already, from all your amazing content. And I’d heard your voice through your podcast.

Investing in your programme felt scary because I was at the very start of my business and wasn’t ?making any money yet, but I’ve already got five or six times return on that investment, so it’s absolutely worth it.

It’s just about having a different mindset. If you were making a product, you’d be investing in the stock and selling it later. You just have to accept that you’re going to feel uncomfortable, and make the investment. It speeds everything up so much and means that you can start making money quicker. I can't imagine how long it would have taken me to try and muddle through all these crucial elements of building a business on my own.

So I’d say absolutely just invest now if you can find the money.?

What exciting career moves are next for you, Levanah? ?

I'm in two minds about it. I'm only seven months into one to one coaching, and I’m really enjoying gaining more experience. However, I'm working nearly every evening, which is quite tiring and it’s not my long-term goal. My dream is to work only week days, in the day time, and term time only.

I expected to have to put all the extra hours in when I was building my business, but I want to work at pivoting it to scale and simplify it, so I can create the working hours and boundaries I set out to. I’m also looking into running group programmes and digital courses.

So what should others know about working with me??

All your marketing is around honesty, not hype, and that is definitely true. You get an absolute expert, but also someone you can actually relate to. In the nicest possible way, you’re a ‘normal’ person that has had an amazing career then shifted into this and built a brilliant business. It’s really inspiring. And you get to be part of a brilliant community and benefit from loads of resources, and guest speakers and added content like sales sprints and positive psychology. You get a lot of value for your money.

Who would you recommend the programme to??

Anyone who is launching a coaching business, or has launched one and is feeling a bit stuck. If you’re a good, honest person who wants to build a sustainable business, this programme is for you.

Thank you so much, Levanah. You were an absolute joy to work with, and I cannot wait to continue to follow your journey.?

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