Your Questions Answered. How to Get More Leads and Make Your First $100k.

How can you get more leads for your business, make your first $100k and develop an entrepreneurial mindset? I’m answering those questions and more during today’s episode.

1:30 – How do I get more leads? 

A couple of ways: 

• Social media

I know that sounds basic, but you should be using social media to push your newsletter. Know what the topic will be, and tease it throughout the week on social media. That way, you have an audience primed to receive value from your newsletter.

• The ConvertKit Creator Program

If you use ConvertKit, the newsletter hub will recommend you as a creator when someone signs up for another creator’s newsletter. It’s a great way to bring in new (already interested) subscribers. Check out the feature at:  convertkit.com/features/creator-network

• Host webinars. 

Think of a problem that your audience needs help solving, create a webinar around that subject and some of the solutions you can bring, promote it on social media, and at the end of the session, say “If you want more help implementing these solutions, here’s how I can help you.” It’s that simple. 

Don’t have a big audience yet? Start with LinkedIn Live or Instagram Live. It’s a good way to practice, and you have a chance at reaching a broader audience than with a traditional webinar. 

4:06 – How did you make your first $100K as an entrepreneur?

I took three steps: 

• Subcontracting. 

I reached out to agencies that offered similar services, but not digital marketing (which is what I did at the time). They paid me to fill that gap in their company. One big benefit of subcontracting is that getting one “yes” from an agency or larger company opens doors to all kinds of opportunities that they are bringing to you – no lead gen or pitching necessary. 

• Selling from the stage

This is when you speak for free or a nominal fee, and at the end you pitch your services. A key here is finding organizations that have access to your target audience, and then asking if you can speak to them (this could be a local library, a chamber of commerce, or even a vibrant Facebook group). You are providing genuine value during your talk, but you can only get so far and solve so many problems in just an hour. At the end of your session, offer to further help the audience implement the solutions you’ve presented. 

• Monthly retainers. 

This is an agreement of a monthly fee for ongoing services and access to you as a consultant. Having retainers established helped me feel like I didn’t have to hustle every moment of the day, and it gave some stability to the entrepreneur life. 

7:57 – How did your mindset progress as an entrepreneur? 

When I first started my business, all the talk about mindset felt fluffy to me. 

Unfortunately, this triggered a scarcity mindset (believing there are limited resources) which actually slowed my business and made me charge less for my services than I should have. 

It turned out that my low prices were actually scaring off my ideal clients. 

Next up was learning the growth mindset, that I can always improve and grow over time. I knew I had to develop the skill of public speaking, and because I was willing and able to learn, within 18 months I had a booked calendar full of speaking gigs – I even started getting paid to speak. 

The last step was an exponential mindset. How are you going to accelerate your growth? 

Here’s what I did: 

1. I hired a business development lead to help me pitch my services
2. I started working towards advertising my courses and services at scale
3. I started selling licenses to my online courses

Here’s where I got all of these ideas: I simply looked at people who are where I’d like to be, and I borrowed from them. This is why it’s important to find mentors who aren’t too far ahead of you!