Episode 26: How I built a 6-figure business with one simple process

00:54 You're listening to The Business of Stories with Susan Paton, showing you how to share stories that do the selling in your business so you don't have to. So this is episode 26 which is a bit of a milestone because that means this podcast is officially six months old half of 52 is 26 right? Which is very exciting and it's gone very very quickly Over the last six months, I've shared tons of stories had a few guests and covered all sorts of topics from keeping your story simple and how to be the guide in your customer story. To ordering things from The Universe, your pricing and what to do when you're offer doesn't sell So if you've tuned into any or all of the episodes i've done so far thank you so much! I love that we are going on this journey together

01:53 And I would love more business owners to join us. So if you have enjoyed what you've heard so far, I'd be so grateful if you would share this podcast with someone who might be getting in their own way or feeling stuck – someone you know is amazing and talented and can help people but might not be shining their light as brightly as they could! If you share an episode with them, then they can learn how to show up as the guide in their ideal client story and shine their light brightly for others. Thank you! So I always wanted this podcast to be about storytelling business and mindset because i know how hard running a business can be And while I can talk about storytelling all day long

02:46 If there are other things going on in your business that aren't working for you, then we need to talk about those things too. And I get a lot of people coming into Storytelling Mastery feeling a bit overwhelmed because they're not sure what to focus on in their business to help it grow They've often got tons of ideas and things they want to do but they don't know what to work on first or what order would make most sense Or they want to transition from working one-to-one to creating some kind of group program, but they don't know the steps to take to get there. Or they just feel generally stuck and don't know how to move forward So I get a lot of questions inside the program about how I started How I knew what steps to take and when? How much of my business journey was actually planned

03:38 How I transitioned from working one-to-one and doing done for you packages to running a 12 month group program. How I created my process, how I decided what to create and what to offer and whether to build a course or a programme or a membership? How I decided when to write my book... Lots of questions like that! So i thought I'd do an episode taking you through what I did at each step and why Not because I'm saying you should do the same, of course. But because I know it's always helpful and interesting to see what path others have taken and what from that you might want to take and apply in your business in a way that works for you. So the first seven years of my business, I focused on learning my craft. I've always been good at writing. I've always loved storytelling and I've always loved business

04:35 So once I had that aha moment, that I could bring all three together and make storytelling in business my thing. I doubled down! Which by the way didn't happen until i was 48 so please don't ever think you're too old or it's too late In fact I read recently that according to The Angel Investment Network 67% of UK startup founders are over 45 Which makes sense when you think about it, because they've got decades of experience and learnings and insights behind them. But anyway back to my aha moment! The funny thing was even though storytelling only became officially my thing in May 2016 I'd actually been studying it for years. I had already read several books on the topic like Carmen Gallo's The Storyteller's Secret

05:32 But now I was like a sponge, learning everything I could about storytelling, copywriting and marketing. And working one-to-one with clients so that I could learn on the job and really understand what type of stories connected the best? What copied people responded to? What words connected? What messaging landed? What worked and what didn't? Also, working all those years with clients meant that I could really see what they were struggling with. What they got stuck on? Where they were overcomplicating or overthinking things and how my love of storytelling and writing and making things simple helped them move forwards and get the clarity and confidence they needed to get clients

06:20 So that was my first 7 years. That was my 10,000 hours of learning and refining and growing and evolving and improving and sharpening my skills…and figuring it out! And in 2020 I had my best year to date business-wise and revenue wise but...I was also exhausted Working with clients one-to-one, especially with a full done for you service can be quite intense. I'd been working at full capacity flat out but there was only me in the business so it was exhausting and the thought of another 12 months like that was not making me feel excited at all!

07:06 Also, I felt like I'd hit a ceiling. I was always going to be limited by how many clients I could work with because everything was down to me doing the work for them which also meant if i took some time off I didn't make any money my income just stopped so I started to look around for ideas about how I could create a business that I could grow and scale which didn't rely on me doing all the work for people I even worked with a coach to help me figure out my next steps, but he was set on the idea that I should build an agency hire lots of writers to do the writing and then i could just focus on bringing in lots of clients which I've always been able to do. But that really didn't light me up! In fact, I hated that idea so I kept looking around at what others were doing and I started to think about what I'd been doing with my clients and whether it was something I could teach other people to do

08:06 Because if I could do that, then I could help a lot more business owners not just the ones that wanted me to do it for them. I could show people how to do it for themselves but I wasn't sure if I could teach it...I didn't know how much of what I did was gut instinct or intuition Or if you had to be in my head If your brain had to work the way that my brain works? Or if you have done all the training I'd done So I decided the first step was to see if i could actually get what I'd been doing with clients for the last seven years out of my head and onto paper in some kind of process. And as I worked with clients over the next few months, I took notes about what I was doing and the order I was doing it in and what I was looking out for as I did it

08:56 Like, I noticed that I never had to ask a client their why or their values because they always jumped out of their stories as we unpacked them. I noticed that often saw things they didn't. I saw connections – I joined dots they hadn't joined and I saw with some clients there was a perfect niche or ideal client that made so much sense for them but they hadn't seen it I noticed how I would connect their stories together and find themes, sweet spots and golden threads. And as I noticed all those things, I documented it all thinking that it could be a series of blog posts! I'd had a blog for a few years and used to publish one every Friday

09:44 So I thought, ah! I'll start to share what i'm doing on my blog and that will help me get my thoughts onto paper in a way that makes sense and is simple for other people to follow. But then as I was busily documenting it all and seeing how my process was starting to form and take shape...I got an email It was from Lucy at Rethink Press And she asked me Have you ever thought about writing a business book? And my first reply was, oh no I'm years away from writing a book. I am only just trying to work out what my process is! But Lucy came back and said well that sounds like the perfect time because going through the process of writing a book will give you so much clarity. And i have to say she was right and it was actually the best thing that could have happened

10:38 Because the very process of writing the book helped me to refine my process and really think about each step, and how I could make it as simple as possible for people to do this for themselves in their own business. I always wanted it to be a really practical book that people could work through on their own And creating the steps and the exercises, and pulling in all the real-life examples and stories from the clients I've been working with over the last seven years helped me create my own unique storytelling process and IP. And everything i've done since including this podcast is rooted in that simple 7 step process

11:25 The one I took you through step by step in the first few episodes. So while for a lot of people writing a book comes later, and that makes sense for them and their journey but for me it was a foundational piece that allowed me to pivot from done-for-you work to building the business i dreamed of having And my book The Business Of Stories was published on 11th March 2022 And it did better than I had ever dared imagine it would. Which was amazing! But then, I started to panic because I thought well what if people read it and want to work with me? What am I going to offer them? I haven't got anything ready yet...

12:12 And I say panic because i didn't want to waste this moment. The book launch had created a lot of traction and momentum and a super engaged audience, and I was being asked to speak at events and do guest expert sessions so this was not the time to disappear for months while I went off to put a group program together! So...I announced that I was opening the doors to the beta version of my brand new group program Before I'd even started building it. But, I had the process now so I just needed to work out how I was going to bring that to life and coach groups of people through it And I decided the best way to do that was to build it as I go See what people need See where they get stuck How they navigate the process What questions come up? How much support they need What else needs to be included

13:09 It was by doing that, that I created the program that people needed in the way they needed it rather than building something that I thought should work in a certain way. That original program was 10 weeks long and there were ten modules and once I'd taken the first group of people through it I did it again with another group. And then, I did it again...I ran it three times in total until I was happy that it worked really well, that it did give people what they needed and that if they followed the process, it would give them the clarity and understanding and skills and confidence they needed to grow their business So once I'd run it three times with three different cohorts, I decided to do two things

13:59 Firstly, I took all the videos out of the program and created a self-study version for people who didn't want a group program and just wanted to go through it on their own. That DIY course has been selling on my website ever since! Secondly, I decided to extend my group program from 10 weeks to 12 months – call it Storytelling Mastery – and do a big event to officially launch it So in June 23, I did my first ever 5 day challenge. And if you don't know what five-day challenges are they're five day events where participants complete one small task each day it all happens inside a Facebook group with a live stream every evening to answer questions build momentum and help people get quick wins and breakthroughs

14:49 They're intense, but they're a lot of fun. And at the end of that first 5 day challenge 37 people came into the program some of which are still in the group to this day That launch brought in £50k So I did another one a few months later and I've been doing 2 or 3 a year ever since And storytelling mastery has continued to develop over the last few years. I now take people through my story-led sales system and it's no longer cohort based, it's an evergreen program that people join all year round So my journey to here has been organic but the process was the catalyst and everything always goes back to it

15:35 Whether people read my book, listen to my podcast go through my course on their own come into my group program or work with me one-to-one it's the same process that sits at the core of it all. When I was first putting my VIP days together I looked at my process and thought what bits of it could they do before we meet? What can we focus on during the day and what will they have at the end Last year I created a 12-week intensive program called Accelerate, but again it's my process on speed. So creating a signature process that sits at the heart of what you do and what you want to get known for is something I advocate and something I teach inside Storytelling Mastery We've got training on your unique IP and how to put your process together

16:28 Because whatever your business model is, having your own completely unique branded framework or methodology or whatever you want to call it can be a complete game changer. Even if you only work with people one-to-one and don't want to create courses or programs, having proprietary IP – a process that is uniquely yours does a number of things First of all, it gives credibility It sets you apart because its unique No one else has got that process. It's something you've created, it's your unique IP and it makes it easier to do things like write a book, do talks stay in your lane get known for what you do Secondly, it gives prospective clients confidence and reassurance Reassurance that you know what you're doing You've done this before! You have a plan, you have a method

17:27 You have a roadmap to keep them on track and get them from where they are now, to where they want to go. But I know what a lot of you are thinking that what you do is very bespoke and that your coaching is always about seeing what the client needs And you have a tonne of different tools & techniques that you draw on as and when you need too! And that you couldn't possibly know in advance what the work you're going to have to do together is gonna look like And I get that. It's very tailored to what the individual needs, but that's not actually what this is about. This is not about creating some rigid detailed cookie cutter 27 step framework that says we have to do this in this order

18:18 Think of it more like the sat-nav in your car, where you put in the final destination so that it knows where you want to go. But any time there's a detour or diversion – the sat nav will take you where it needs to take you to get around roadblocks and holdups and get back on track heading in the right direction. The sat nav doesn't just say start driving and we'll make up as we go! And yet some business owners are approaching their services like that I remember speaking to a coach a few years ago that i was considering working with. We chatted for a bit and it was all going well until I asked her, so how will this work? And what does working with you look like and what will I have at the end?" And her reply was disappointingly wishy-washy she said that everyone is different so it's gonna depend on what comes up and what I need

19:12 But that actually stopped me from committing and I never worked with her because i just didn't know what it was going to look like. And, I didn't want to invest the money with no clarity or confidence about what we'd be doing or what I'd get from it so having a map, a route, a direction to follow is reassuring for people It makes your clients feel like they're in safe, expert hands and that you're equipped to help them navigate any challenges along the way. It helps them to feel confident that you have their back and they can trust your process – that you'll be a guiding light for them lighting the way even if the path isn't straight one

19:58 No two people's journey will be the same. There'll be twists and turns along the way, but that's okay because you know where they're headed and how to keep them on track to get there! We all know that clients can get stuck in their head about all sorts of things I have clients second-guessing themselves going back and forth over what to call themselves or what niche to focus on or messaging to go with But, as their guide I know how to help them get to a place where they have clarity. They know who their ideal client is. They have a clear core message. They know how to create content and offers that will connect with their ideal clients So no matter what challenges we face along the way... ...I know how to get them to that place And my process is how THEY can see that I know how to do that

20:55 And lastly, having a process gives you confidence that you can deliver what you've said you can deliver because you know that you have the skills and expertise and experience and process to get them there. You can trust your process! So my journey to here has included a lot more than the things I've talked about in this episode of course But I wanted to answer some of the questions I get about how I got here. I certainly didn't set out with a plan all figured out of what i was going to do and in what order, but getting the key foundational pieces in place first like what I wanted to get known for who my ideal client was what my process was

21:45 And then creating assets in my business, like my book, podcast and courses and programs aligned around that process has helped me build trust, authority. And a brand and business that has helped thousands of business owners harness the power of storytelling in their business So if getting those key foundational pieces in place, including your own unique IP and process is what's missing in your business. I'd love to help you with that come into Storytelling Mastery the link is in the show notes or message me at susanatthebusinessofstories.com And let's see where you're at what you need and what would be the right next step for you?

22:35 So, as always before I go let me give you a quick action step that you can go away and do. Here's your action step for today... Share your process! Show people what working with you looks like And if you're thinking I don't have a process You probably do, you just haven't called it that But you could talk about the journey you take your clients on Maybe what feels hard for them at first, but then what steps you help them take to get clarity and how their story changes. Your process doesn't have to be named branded and trademarked although mine is it's simply the way you help people move from A to B because when people can see the journey it's much easier for them to say yes to working with you so that's your action step for today share your process

23:34 And I'll see you next time for more stories that do the selling for you, so you don't have to. Thank you so much for being here! I love that we get to do this together Would you do me a huge favour and please rate review and follow this podcast in Apple Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcasts? And i'll see you next time For more honest conversations meaningful connections and of course stories The