My 2023 - 2024 yearly review

This September marked the 3rd anniversary of my business, “Emily You School of Sales.” Statistics show that only about 6 out of 10 businesses make it to celebrate their three-year anniversary, so it seems I am one of them.

And I'll let you in on a secret - I almost gave up at the beginning of 2024.

My original plan was to use my weekly articles on LinkedIn as the first step in my inbound marketing strategy, then convert some of the readers into participants for Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) sessions. From there, I hoped to turn some of those AMA participants into paying customers.

The statistics from LinkedIn showed me that my weekly articles generated about 200 impressions. But I rarely got any “Like” or comments. I did have a couple of people take the AMA session, however they were not ready to pay for coaching. It turned out that conversion path was working, but would take much longer than I anticipated (funnily enough, the first success came in Jan 2024. )

By December 2023, I felt that the revenue I had generated since September 2022 wasn't significant enough, and I couldn’t see any potential clients in the pipeline for the coming month. I thought my previous experience at Pointpal and watching my husband start his business back in 2008 had prepared me for this, but reality still hit me hard.

I heard two voices in my head fighting again. That doubting voice had always been there from the start, but now it had become much louder.

I felt that I couldn’t see myself hitting the revenue target I had set (even though it was a modest goal), so I went for some interviews and received a good offer for an AE role.

During the interview, I actually asked my potential employer if it would be okay for me to continue running my sales school on the side, and they were very open to the idea.

But when I spoke to my husband Guus Goorts about it, he told me that I only had the time and energy to do one thing well, and that my plan wouldn’t work. “You have to choose one,” he said. “Maybe you don’t see it, but I know you’re on the right track with your sales school. Don’t worry about the revenue. It will come.”

I will be eternally grateful for his words because right after I turned down the offer, that first success came.

Before W, I already had paying customers who came through referrals. W was the first paying client who came in as a total stranger, warmed up through my newsletter, and then converted into a client. He proved to me that my plan worked.

• Nov 2022: W learned about me through Asher Chua’s podcast.
• Dec 2022: We first connected on LinkedIn, and he subscribed to my newsletter.
• Sep 2023: We had our first Zoom call while he was on his sabbatical trip.
• Jan 2024: He enrolled in my coaching program to help him secure a new role.
• Apr 2024: He secured his dream role.

After W, more opportunities started to come in. I also noticed that my newsletters were gaining traction. I felt this might be the sign I was looking for, and it did eventually appear, just as my husband had predicted.

I haven't hit my revenue goal yet, but I can see that I'm steadily getting closer to that number.

More importantly, I’ve received much more feedback from the people I’ve coached, telling me that what I did really helped them. Every time I receive a "Thank you," it fills my heart with joy. That happiness, that sense of fulfillment, is the reason I started this journey three years ago.

After three years, I’m more confident than when I started that this is indeed the path I want to be on. But I also know that the doubting voice is still there and always will be. I don’t know what obstacles lie ahead, but I know that when I face my next challenge, that doubting voice will return, louder than ever. I know I’ll probably still feel uncertain and anxious.

When that happens, I’ll come back to read this newsletter. And I’ll remind myself, “See, you’ve felt like this before. You went through it. You can do it again.”

P.S. I know that many of you reading my newsletter are also at a crossroads in your life, such as switching to Tech Sales from a previous career path. You’re probably in that stage where you’re unsure if you can make it and might be facing a lot of rejections in your interviews.I just wanted to share my story, and I hope it helps you in some way.

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Ask-Me-Anything session is back from 27 Aug. Book it here.