Inspiring Women in Business Podcast - Episode 44 - How Covid forced yoga teacher Amy Jones to take her successful in-person business online.

podcast Jul 17, 2023

During Covid, Amy Jones had a moment where she thought it was game over for her in-person yoga business. Then, after a conversation with her Mum, who offered her money to get her through the next 6 months, Amy decided that Covid wasn’t going to take away her business.

She then learned everything she could about taking her business online, and that’s how our paths crossed in 2021 during a live round of my free Business Breakthrough Training. We’ve been working together inside my business coaching membership, the Online Business Collective for over a year and nearly as long working 1-2-1 together.

Amy now mentors other yoga teachers on how to have profitable yoga businesses they’re proud of and has a successful online yoga business and an enviable easy way of doing her marketing and making sales.

She’s a true inspiration, have a listen.

Key takeaways from this episode

Take advantage of the many things you can access and learn through the different online platforms.
There should always be a fair value exchange for what you’re doing.
Lead the way in asking the right price and refrain from copying others’ service rates.
If you’re not charging enough, you’re also not insuring commitment.
Learn the seasonal rhythm of your business and plan for it well.
Turn the spotlight away from you and turn it to the people who seek your service.
We often beat ourselves up for being human but remember we’re doing our best to help and serve.
Investing in yourself changes your attitude; It makes you feel more accountable.
Aside from the support you are getting from your family, get yourself in a community of people who do the same business and experts in your field too.
You are the one who makes the rules in your business.
There are a lot of tactics to sell, and you have to be human behind these tactics.
Make offers, make money. Always make an offer after telling people how you can help them.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Intro

01:05 Episode Guest: Amy Jones

02:03 How Amy ended up with her business

03:23 How Amy’s business is operating today

05:03 How she overcomes her tech fears

06:38 On being a generator and taking actions

09:34 Why Amy is passionate about teaching yoga teachers

12:29 The challenging part of the business and the right mindset to overcome it

17:08 Asking the right price to keep the business going

20:00 Amy’s best bit of advice on money mindset

24:57 Joining the Business Collective and the importance of getting into a community of people in the same business

35:51 The right thinking around launching and using online platforms for the launch

38:32 Making the Rules in your business

40:50 How to be human behind the selling tactics you do

42:33 How to connect with Amy

43:58 Amy’s advice on selling more and making time for revenue-generating activities

46:32 Outro

How to connect with Amy Jones:

Website: www.amy-yoga.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyyoga.teacher.trainer/

Podcast: Prosperous Yogini

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/prosperous-yogini/id1627989066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/244DbI7trXPlLePjJDBMoI

Connect with Nina Gordon:

Website: https://ninajgordon.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninajgordon/

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential. It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call. I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free Masterclass: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Transcription

Ruth Gilbey 00:04

Hello and welcome to the inspiring Women in Business podcast. My name is Ruth Gilbey and I'm a business and marketing coach. I'm on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business. Now I started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was just grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I'd created a glass ceiling for myself. It was in 2017 when I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time, that I wasn't doing what I loved, and I wasn't fulfilling my true potential. It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call. And I don't want the same thing to happen to you. You can expect practical advice, interviews, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments, as we uncover and kick to the curb. All the obstacles you've been putting in your way.

Ruth Gilbey 01:05

Hi, everyone, welcome back to the inspiring Women in Business podcast. I'm absolutely delighted to have Amy Jones with me today. Amy is a yoga teacher and mentor, and trainer, and she helps yoga teachers teach with confidence and build profitable businesses. And also, I've been working with you, Amy, how long? I should have checked that. How long have we been working together now?

Amy Jones 01:32

I think it's either May or June 2022.

Ruth Gilbey 01:35

Wow. So we're over a year now over

Amy Jones 01:38

A year, over a year.

Ruth Gilbey 01:41

Brilliant. So we're going to talk today about Amy's amazing business, how she helps yoga teachers build profitable business, we're going to talk a little bit about money mindset, and also what it's like to work with me inside the online business collective and one to one. Thank you for coming. Thank you for joining me, Amy, lovely to have you here.

Amy Jones 02:01

I'm excited to be here.

Ruth Gilbey 02:03

Amazing. Let's just start with how did you end up having the business that you have today.

Amy Jones 02:09

I like to say accidental, but nothing is accidental. I think I started my career as a school teacher, a secondary school teacher. So I was in education for 12 years. And as part of that train secondary school teachers and then I just fell into yoga fell into practicing yoga, and maybe I'm just a lifelong teacher just led me into training. Then I had children and then I was just like, I want to build a business around my kids that works for me. And it's just evolved from there probably falling more into teacher training because of my background. And then I was completely in person. I was like the Queen of cash as I called it and then COVID here, and I can't believe I'm saying this but now I have a much an online yoga business. And I feel like COVID put a massive fork in the road U-turn for me and open my eyes. I just had no idea about this online business world. And now that this is what I have is an online business, which is why I ended up seeking you out because I was like I have really no idea how all of this stuff works. And after sort of like the first maybe 18 months and making it up as you go along. And by that scrabble in COVID, I was like maybe I should get some help.

Ruth Gilbey 03:23

So what is your business like now? Because you weren't your business was more in-person was it?

Amy Jones 03:28

Oh yeah, I had pre-COVID Like when COVID hit, I had a yoga studio, I was teaching in person, maybe 10 classes a week, I had training courses, I had a 12-month foundation teacher training course, and shorter specialist courses. But now I actually predominantly train yoga teachers people to be yoga teachers and train yoga teachers who are already teaching I helped them with their skills as a teacher and in specialist subject areas like yin yoga, and that is predominantly online. And then I have a mentorship program which pivotal in helping me and that six-month mentorship program is really helping yoga teachers do exactly what you said at the start, which is to teach confidently and turn their passion into profit. I mean, I've even got a podcast now, my own podcast so yeah, I'm predominantly working online. I'm predominantly working in a training educational mentoring environment. I teach one class a week and that's actually part of online gym club memberships. So yeah, I'm online pretty much. Every now and again, I make an impersonal appearance, and the one course I make a couple of training courses that are in-person like my foundation, my bigger teacher training course, hybrid, but you can do that online or in person. So like I used to be like "Technology hates me". And now I've got no fear when it comes to tech. Anything's possible and I own too many microphones.

Ruth Gilbey 05:03

How did you overcome your tech fears?

Amy Jones 05:06

I won't lie, there were some tears. And I also won't lie that my husband is, he is actually like a computer tech teacher. So he's been really supportive in helping me. But I will let you know the main way I've overcome it is if there's something I don't know how to do, I will go on YouTube, I will watch a YouTube video. And I will just take note of it. We were talking about this before we hit record, I'll just take those steps, those actionable steps, and figure it out. And I think my yoga practice teaches me everything I need to know like, I think back to something I couldn't do in my yoga practice. And I think well, how did I get there? Well, I came to my mat and practice and like how can I get it now that I've got online course business? Well, it was just practice and like my initial attempts at making videos and stuff, were awful. Oh, God. Yeah, it's just that kind of like, I think it was Denise Duffield Thomas. She said it like mindset is everything. The rest can be Googled. So with the tech stuff, you literally can Google it.

Ruth Gilbey 06:05

So true. Yeah. I remember when we started working together, and I went and looked at your website. And you were kind of saying, you know, I'm moving my business online. And you know, you know, pre-COVID because it was I think, what was it? It was a year ago, just over a year ago. So yeah, but you've done an awful lot in that last year getting things online, I was amazed at how much, and I still am amazed by you, how much action you take. You said what did you say you're not ready, aim, fire, your fire, aim, ready?

Amy Jones 06:38

Yeah, I did it in reverse. I was like, action-go. And then yeah, I mean, I think I'm probably I know you and I are into human design we won't talk about this day, but I'm definitely a generator. And I definitely got like the I know my energy quite well. And when I'm like excited about something, and I'm going to do it, I will just go ahead and do it. And whatever that I mean, like, I actually went to music college, I don't even know how I ended up here. But I went to music college and trained as a professional viola player wasn't what I meant to be. But I have always been in that you practice something to get an end result. And then it was the same in you know, teaching, if there's any x teachers or teachers listening to this, oh my God, you have to take action as a teacher because those kids are coming. So if you're not ready for them, you're in trouble. And maybe that's I've just always been like that. So maybe that's part of why I do take action. But I think more so I just remember COVID Like, I just thought I had been teaching then what probably about 11, 12 years. I bought built-up like it was a successful in-person business. And I was I remember thinking like, and I rang my mom. And I was like, Mom, I'm done like this is it and she offered she said sure I'll lend you some money to keep you going over the next six months, they got off that phone call. And I was like, No way. I said I'm gonna swear this clip. Okay, so I went through it, and there was a swear word in it. But I was like, No way, am I letting this take my business away. So I think that deep at fire in your belly when I was like, I'm going to figure out, I did get some help because I did pace for someone to build my WordPress website initially. And that is something I would always recommend. When I know you say this as well when there's a big tech barrier, get help, but I can now build cells. It is relatively well. Thanks for your support and advice and feedback on WordPress. Yeah.

Ruth Gilbey 08:30

That's amazing. It's brilliant. I think I'm a generator as well. But it's funny. I think that sometimes we do ever procrastinate. Do you ever get overwhelmed by anything?

Amy Jones 08:40

Yes, totally. And my, but my procrastination will look like I come up with another idea. And I'm like, and then I'm like, Oh, I have yet finished this thing that I was going to finish. And I'm like, sometimes I joke like today I will start a whole new business. And you know, so I've got this whole new idea. And actually, you've been very good working with you is really like helped me you really like let's focus on this first. And I'm like, but I'm also going to do this. And I'm also going to do that. And it was after that first launch that we did together. And I was like ping, ping, ping all of these things. And you were like, hang on me, but I just take stock of the launch. That's just happened. And then let's do a launch debrief and then go off. And I'm so glad you did that. Because if I hadn't done that, I mean, I could just probably created five new performances that now I'd be like, Why have I done that?

Ruth Gilbey 09:34

Yeah, I think that's the thing, isn't it? We're not short of ideas, are we? It's the action that we sometimes need to take as well. So tell me about working with yoga teachers tell me what that's like, why you're passionate about helping them and mentoring them.

Amy Jones 09:51

Yeah. Well, I think the whole mentoring business side of things evolved from the training. So I started off I actually started off 2017. In training teachers to be pre and postnatal, and toddler teachers, that was where at that time that I was doing lots of pregnancy, and postnatal toddler yoga, and just felt logical to go into that shorter training. And then it fell into the longer I like to train yoga teachers into the foundation teacher training that is anywhere between six and 12 months on average, it's quite, it's a 200-hour course it's a big cause. And I fell into that a few years later. And when you are training teachers, yoga teachers to go out and deliver whatever the subject is, inevitably you get to that point, you're like, Okay, well, I know how to do the lesson plan. I know how to go and teach this. I know all the modifications, right? But how do I set up a class? And how do I tell people about this class? And how do I collect money? And what about social media, then you start giving them advice on the business side of things, and the two are just completely connected. So I think I started off as a trainer, and I very soon realized that if I'm going to train people to be yoga teachers, there are two aspects to this, there is the hat of the teacher. And then there's the hat of the business owner. So that's how the mentoring evolved initially like the mentoring was a bit as a like, part of the training course. And then when COVID hit, I did get a lot of the teachers that are trained coming back to me saying, basically help, I noticed you've done, I noticed you're carried on working and making buddy help. So I started with one-to-one mentoring. And then I didn't mind doing a little bit of one-to-one stuff, but I'm much better sort of like in a group environment. So that's how like the mentorship program came about, because I was like, actually, you know how to teach, you're actually a really good teacher, you know, you've come to me telling me you need more training, but actually, your website ain't great, your energy behind what's happening on social media, I can feel it and your charging, Oh, my God, you're charging systems crazy. Let's figure out this. And that's how the mentorship program filed, I won't lie. I've just actually felt like that whole business, I just think to the yoga teachers has been quite a tough sale the last 18 months sometimes I feel like I'm either banging my head against a brick wall or shouting into the void to a group of people that aren't quite ready to listen to what I've got to say. But I feel like that's shifting. Maybe I've called out my tribe. Well, maybe people have started to come over to my way of thinking, I don't know.

Ruth Gilbey 12:29

Why do you think it is challenging?

Amy Jones 12:30

I think I mean, I know we talked a lot about this, that when I first met you and I started working with you, I was like I've got this mentorship program. I know it's really good. But I'm basically telling yoga teachers that they can have a profitable yoga business, and they can make money out of teaching yoga, and that is a really sticky, thorny message to have, like, if I was to put out on social media today make money as a yoga teacher, I would get like a 50-50 mix response to wherever you know, that should be the messaging at this deep, deep-seated subconscious, like conventional wisdom within the yoga industry that it is wrong to make money as a yoga teacher, I feel that definitely exists. And it's-multi layered. But I think predominantly this comes from like yoga has this huge tradition like thousands of years old, largely an oral tradition passed down from guru to guru. And these gurus weren't family makers, these gurus were like in an ashram setting, you know, having all their needs met working for free and serving, whereas that's not as yoga teachers today, most yoga teachers don't work like that. But we still have this sense of being in service and sharing yoga. And as we're in service, we shouldn't be making money for my service. This is wrong. Yeah. You can't make you know, our favorite sayings are you can't be a stretch yoga teacher, it's not a good look, you know, and if you're turning up every week to run a class, and you're not making enough money, but you're there, and I'm just in service, but actually, I'm losing money on paying to do this. Ultimately, you stop teaching, and you're no longer in service. So my message is that you do need to make money. It's totally okay to make money from teaching yoga. And then the other being like, you don't need me to tell you this. You could go look on Instagram or go and search it out on le the website the workforce is predominantly female. I googled it so this isn't like a definite statistic, but Google told me 75% globally, yoga teachers are female. So throwing into the mix that shouldn't make money from yoga is also like our wonderful female to choose the money where we can be over-giving, feel uncomfortable asking for money and you know, statistically, this isn't a you know, this is out there, isn't it? Men are more than women. I think is it like for every pound that a man earns in the UK women is 90 pips. So I was like, Yeah, we could get angry that this isn't fair. Or I could be super brave and just say, hey, by the way, we could change our mindset, we could be totally at peace with earning some money from our skills and our passion and just change this because it's available to us or so I've got there now, like, it's okay to make money from teaching yoga. In fact, it's okay to make loads of money from teaching yoga. And then if you feel very passionate about giving that away, or giving your time away, that's how you could be in service. Yeah, we have said that, I wouldn't have said that 18 months ago, right? Wouldn't you? Why wouldn't I? I would have been too scared, that message would have had me lynched or put people off. And maybe I've got better at wording it like, you know, at first when you're like, hey, you know, you've I know, we've had these conversations like six-figure seven figure business, and look how many much money I've made from sales every month like I get that for some people that can be off-putting. So the more I try and talk about a message of, you know, there is room for us all, there's enough for us all. And if you just charge in a way that the energy is in balance, so you go out and do this, I don't really care what it is yoga classes, yoga retreat, yoga training, online course, you go out and do this, the energy you get back feels aligned. And if you're going out every week and teaching a class and you're not making enough money, then that eventually is out of balance energy. And yoga teachers get that yoga teachers get the balance of energy. So when we think about money as energy, and we think about our efforts versus our art return that has really helped me, if you're going to

Ruth Gilbey 16:37

show I think this works for anything that you're doing. If there isn't a fair value exchange, if you feel resentful, you won't end up doing it. And then you're doing the world a disservice by not showing up and sharing what valuable gifts and services, whether that's yoga, teaching, or whatever your business is, so but it's you've got to do the work. So some inner work on that to kind of understand where that comes from, where those stories come from, and how we can change those stories as well.

Amy Jones 17:08

It's so multi-layered, and yeah, I am challenging people's beliefs. And then the other thing that comes up quite a lot is when I say well look at you need to charge extra this, a teacher will say nobody in my area teaches charging there. So I'm like, hang on a minute, you're all just copying each other. What do you do, you go and you go and look at what other teachers are charging, you're just copying each other, I'm now managed to refrain from that too. What happens is if you lead the way, you put your prices up, and you're going to empower all the teachers in your local area to put your prices up. And then the other thing that comes up to me quite a lot now it's that nobody can afford it when it costs living prices. And I picked up a thread on a Facebook, a yoga teacher Facebook group, where everyone was complaining that their wage hadn't gone up and I was like, I'm gonna minute, guys, you're self-employed. You're the only person that can change this. You can't go on strike, you know, you have to put your prices up for the cost of living. Don't make assumptions about your student's financial situation. And of course, if you are making enough money, you have the capacity within your business to have concessionary rates for those that need it. If you're not making enough money, you can't help those people that need concessionary rates, you need a concessionary rate.

Ruth Gilbey 18:21

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I went to a yoga class recently, in a local hall. And the yoga teacher said something that only enough of you really here today to cover the cost of the hall. And I was just like, oh my gosh, and my face just fell on, I just thought you're not gonna want to do this. If you don't, you know, maybe, well, I'm sure you've got lots of tips and tactics for people doing that just showing up and paying for a class and waiting for people to show up is it's a risky way of running a business.

Amy Jones 18:51

And I think there's a deep-seated conventional wisdom that I'm trying to write down in the OIC industry very much. So like, we do a drop in model, we're not charging enough we're not insuring commitment. And then also like it is July, and class numbers will drop off like and I work with my mentorship program on that learning the seasonal rhythm of our business and then also planning for it. You know, I think you've taught me a lot actually to not be, be proactive, not reactive, I'll know that our summers are going to drop off in July and August. Well, we're gonna save some money from the busier time, September, October, and January, February, or I'm going to plan to do something that's going to work seasonally at this time of year, but that you would be thinking like that if your that's your yoga business hat on, whereas many yoga teachers are just the yoga teacher hat. And they're like a rabbit in the headlight when you say business and they're like, I don't have, they don't even consider themselves as a business owner. And I think that the mindset shift that I'm trying, trying diplomatically, peacefully to shift.

Ruth Gilbey 20:00

So finishing off talking about money mindset, because that's what we're really talking about here. What's your best bit of advice for anyone who's running a business about money mindset,

Amy Jones 20:10

Turn the spotlight off you, when the spotlights on us and you're like, you're feeling guilty about asking for money, you're feeling guilty about putting your prices up, turn the spotlight to all of these people that are either already in your world, or are coming because your tribe is out there. And imagine having to say to them, I'm really, really sorry, I'm going to have to stop teaching yoga, or I'm going to have to stop this service because I'm not making enough money like you'd feel bad. So then you're like, right, okay, I've got to make this work, you know, I've got to charge you've got to know my costs, I got to charge in a way that ensures there is a, you know, my costs are covered, I've got to create a business model that has a consistent income. And, you know, dropping classes isn't a long-term, you know, consistent income. So it's that spotlight, turning it away from you, because I think we've got a multi-layered trench believes that, you know, is part of being human. And I'm this whole mindset, and you're brilliant about this roof like you talk about compassion. And I talk about navigating the mindset. And I do actually say, your beautiful brain, because it's so easy for us to beat ourselves up for being human, right? But at the end of the day, we're just doing our best. And sometimes it's quite nice to say, Yeah, you know what, I'm just going to think about my students. And I know, if I am able to turn up energetically fulfilled for them, then I'm going to be in service, whatever that service is...

Ruth Gilbey 20:35

Yeah, that's what I did.

Amy Jones 21:39

spotlight off you onto those people that you're serving. And if they don't exist, you just got to imagine them because they're out there.

Ruth Gilbey 21:46

Absolutely. I put a post out recently that was about selling and making money. And I can't remember exactly what it said. But the message was sell, make money, you know, show up in your business, share your offer, sell more often. And if you feel uncomfortable with that, think about what you're showing other people, other people that feel really scared to sell, people that are really scared to be visible, or share their offers or put their website live. I was talking to someone yesterday, who's absolutely terrified of publishing her website. And, you know, because it's so much more than just the website saying, This is my thing. This is what I do. You know, if you show up and you make those steps, you're showing other people that it's okay to sell, it's okay to make money. And that's what we need right now. The economy needs it right now.

Amy Jones 22:33

Yeah! It is women, we need women. I won't get onto the topic too much. But I just feel if it was vibrationally more even the money does produce distribution in the wild between men and women, that the world will be a better place I actually listened to you just saying that one of my mantras is to make offers, make money. Make offers often, and from a non-attached place. And these yoga teachers have to be non-attached like when I go back to that philosophical side of things is the father of yoga Patanjali. And if there's any, you don't know, yoga, you're like, who is this guy Patanjali? But like, he's considered the father of yoga, and he talks about non-attachment. And I find non-attached to out, you know because we get scared, I'll put this out there like, nobody will like my website, and you're like, actually just go and if I'm completely non-attached to whether people like this or not, then I can press live. And that non-attachment to making offers means you'll put something out there. Nobody buys it. You're like, that's okay. Okay, there'll be a reason behind that.

Ruth Gilbey 23:32

It's information isn't it just input? It's more information, more data.

Amy Jones 23:36

Yeah. And I came to you with this, I can choose to say, I've created this mentorship program. I know it's really good. By the way, I've only managed to get four people into it at the beta test price. And every other time I've put it out there it's like a tumbleweed and I'm like help. And I could have easily gone this is rubbish. This isn't needed. I'm rubbish. I'm not ready to be here. But I think just that knowing that spotlight off me knowing that if I help yoga teachers, the majority of them women feel a little bit more competent in their teaching and make more money from their yoga business, the world is going to be a better place. So I'm gonna get over me and get on with it. And that's that spotlight. That works for me every time really? Because if the spotlights on me, I'm like, yeah, no, let's just give up now.

Ruth Gilbey 24:22

That's exactly starting to sort of, you know, looking words and the egos going and everything. I'm like, hang on, just spend some time helping other people and it's refreshing. It's rewarding is motivating. It's yeah.

Amy Jones 24:36

The ego gets a really hard hard time. Like I've tried to make peace with my ego, the ego that protects me, my ego is gonna drive me into action, the action as you know, so I'm gonna have to hang out with my ego. Yeah. You know, I've never gotten to overcome it. So we might as well just get on with it.

Ruth Gilbey 24:57

Yeah, it's there. It's helping us somehow Let's just talk for a little bit about why you folks, first of all, joined the online business collectives a year ago. So why did you decide to join?

Amy Jones 25:11

Oh, well, I have to answer your launch. So I come I met you in the October of 2021. Then your launch, yeah. And gone like I yeah, I like Ruth. I like what she's saying. And I think I joined the online business collective with a sort of like, that mix of like, I need to get this online business malarkey sorted out and like, I really am sick of making it up. Now there's a limit to free YouTube videos and free training. And I think we all go down that route of, you know, soaking up as much free training as possible, soaking up the watts on YouTube, podcasts, etc. And then we're like, actually, I need to pay for this to get behind that free stuff and get some real information. And I knew like I needed to bring in a mentor. So like, just signing up for the monthly get payment, and the online business gave me a taste of what it was like. And I also knew I had some funding coming or potentially some funding. That was it. Although I signed up to work with you one to one as my coach before we knew that funding was coming. You just helped with that. So yeah, it was really that sort of like I had exhausted the free stuff. And, you know, I think, you know, if you invest in yourself, at any level that does suddenly change your attitude to do it, like I'm paying some money for this. Well, now I'm a bit more accountable. You're hanging out with people who are like, nobody in my world, up to this point, was running an online business. You asked your friend you asked your family like that has been very supportive. But you know, good on the tech. No, I do on the business run. So it's good to get yourself in a community of people or try to do the same thing. So that's what like the online business collective gives you a community gives you coaching group coaching out excellent training. And actually, I am a replay hero. So often, I like to do stuff self-paced, I like to do stuff around my family in the surf. And so it's really flexible so that they were all the things that drew me to the online business collective, but ultimately, it had been you. I was testing the water. And then I think a couple of months after being in the online business collective I signed up for your one-to-one package.

Ruth Gilbey 27:29

Yeah. Then you came to me and you said Well, we were working one to one and then you got this funding didn't you?

Amy Jones 27:35

Yeah! That was it like a very fortunate managed to scoop up it was 5000 pounds, in the end, the worth funding was tied live in Cornwall digitally, like a miracle, this is happening, we've got Wi-Fi digitally is a bit behind. So the older EU funding would be, you know, sent over to places like Cornwall to support people to grow their business digitally. So I definitely ticked the boxes in a sense. I've been working in Cornwall in person COVID had changed that. And now I needed some digital support. So you really helped me with that funding application because it wasn't easy. And I 100% If it hadn't been for you would have gone I am not doing this. And you were like No, because the first time we put the application through it came back and all of this stuff. And I was like Ruth this is just unreasonable. I'm not doing this and you're like, No, you are doing this, Amy and

Ruth Gilbey 28:25

I remember going through it. I can answer that we can do that. Yes, fine.

Amy Jones 28:32

This is what you need to work with someone you know, and every level of your business. It's like you need someone there because your mind is so powerful at that point, like overwhelmed, kicked in and I was like, oh gosh. And then one of Denise Duffield Thomas saying there's got to be easier ways to make money and you're like No, I just got to do this. You just got to take that. And we used that well I used it to bring Nina in who was a connection already.

Ruth Gilbey 29:02

And shout out to Nina Gordon now.

Amy Jones 29:04

Yeah. And this is the other thing when you sign up to work with Ruth let your coach they have contacts and like you know I would never like Nina is amazing and I just wouldn't have known and I can give you examples of people who've gone to other Ninas other Facebook managers you know and it's been not great like the results have not been great there are lots of people out there promising stuff and like it was just had complete faith that I was being guided to the right people so I used it to work with Nina. I use it to extend our time together by another 12 months and I used it to bring Facebook ads into my business and now it is completely unrecognizable between you and the funding and Nina like yeah, I'm I've got a proper online business with Facebook ads running in the background and funnels and automation and actually quite like all this stuff. I'm quite you know, like At quite geeky on it or still not a major fan of analyzing the data.

Ruth Gilbey 30:05

Launch debrief, you're like, Yeah, I'll do that next.

Amy Jones 30:10

I do. There has been the odd occasion where I've messaged Nina, and it's going along the lines of, I have a feeling things are going really well on my Facebook ads or this feeling that something had gone wrong. And she's like, Have you been into a business manager? No. And you might go and check the data. I was like, oh, yeah, I reset my account my money and that's why they stopped.

Ruth Gilbey 30:37

Brilliant. But yeah, just I mean, just for listeners listening, Nina is amazing. I'll put a link to her website in the show notes. She's absolutely amazing. She's been my online business manager for five years now. But we've been friends for gosh, eight years, we worked somewhere else before. And we both changed she changed her business. She became an online business manager I moved from digital marketing into business coaching and I kind of message us at all. You're an online business manager now you know, and we started working together and she has been amazing at you know, in the early days we both would geek out about things about B funnels, Facebook ads, all these different things and she's really amazing with funnels and Facebook ads and just putting things together and she's worked on a lot of my business, we've worked together on a lot of launches and it was really fun as well fun it was fun and rewarding working with you on your launches as well as the sort of team the three of us

Amy Jones 31:40

Yeah,

Ruth Gilbey 31:41

So she's also inside the online business collective as kind of like the funnels tech support person people are always asking about their email marketing as well.

Amy Jones 31:52

It's a great example though, you know talking about I pay someone to get my website like I had in the online business collective. There is training on setting up Facebook ads running your first Facebook ad campaign five candidate list building that is all that. I had access to that, did I but I had not taken action on it. The whole thought of just even opening a business manager and setting up an ad was just the whole initial setup and getting my pixel on my website and then actually setting up my ads account, I wouldn't have done it had I not paid Nina to do it. So that was another example of like, at every level of your business at every stage, you hit a point where you're like, This isn't happening. I can't do this. And if it's really like a major block then I would say find some money to help get someone to help you do it.

Ruth Gilbey 32:42

Yeah, sometimes if it's just that the courses in there in the online business collective it's called things called Beyond the boost, and it's all about it's literally either you're a beginner and it's just about starting those Facebook ads or just focusing on list building because they are some of the most low-cost ads that you can have such a great way for building your email list. But if it's sitting there and you're not doing it then you know then yes I agree with you we've got to sometimes just take a bit of action and now you're actually saying that you might go in and do it so you are now interested in it.

Amy Jones 33:20

Yeah, I did the launch born in January for my mentorship program with the funding although I put up the money for the Facebook ads. We're not talking huge sums of money I'm totally upfront it was a 500-pound investment in Facebook ads and we're not talking 10s of 1000s of pounds and then launched to just go in the spring I paid for Nina to help me with that launch and another thing 600 pounds investment this time around in Autumn going to launch my program the doors open again and I have said to Nina, can I buy 10 hours of your time I'm going to do it but you're by in the background

Ruth Gilbey 33:56

Yes, I'm doing it as well.

Amy Jones 33:59

Yeah of the evolution as well like I think it's always good to know what's going on in your business plus I'm at that point now well what is it a yoga teacher comes to me and they are ready I taught for 12 years before really doing Facebook ads but they are ready to use Facebook ads and they're not got the money to invest in Nina they've not got the funding right now I'd be a bit stuck on helping them so I want to learn how to do it so I can help them so that's kind of like you know the evolution but I mean even like further down before we ready for ads I was on a coaching call in the online business collective and there was a lady on there who hadn't set up that lead magnet free lead magnet email signup and I think maybe this has been going on for a while and your advice was like I you just pay someone to help you and then in the online, Yeah, yeah but in the online business collective are a couple of people who are WordPress wizards like I had something that I couldn't figure out on WordPress, you hooked me up with them. It literally was a five-minute fix and I end it up, I offered to pay and she's like no. And I ended up donating to a charity. So that's just all of this stuff of being part of this is, you know what's happened. It's some multilayered,

Ruth Gilbey 35:12

So valuable, isn't it? Just a really good tribe of people that understand where you're coming from. I was on a coaching call yesterday. And we were actually talking about how people don't understand what we do, and how important it is to have a room full of people that we can talk to about what we're doing. When I go for dinner with people, people don't get my friends don't understand my business. Oh, I could just keep talking to you for hours. Amy. So a few more questions that I want to ask about you. You really have changed your mindset around launching, haven't you?

Amy Jones 35:51

I mean, I was a bit anti-Facebook ads, I was a bit like, I don't want to give my money. And I think maybe like there was a little bit of that. But actually, it was more of an excuse to not learn how to do the Facebook ads. And the funding helped me give the launch ago and it was successful in the sense that yes, it brought in January about nine people into my program. But that wasn't just it, my list grew. I sold more into my other online courses. Even just the other week, someone joined my pre and postnatal teacher training course who I know had joined the launch in January, being in my audience for that length of time. And I think you've helped me understand that people have got to often be in your audience for a while they come in on the launch, and they loiter. I mean I was I came in in October 2021. I loitered for six months in your world before joining the online business collective so launching for me, ads just help drive people into my business. It's like this energetic surge which if you plan for, you think like I learned a lot in the second launch I did over the May half term. I was like, oh god I'm on holiday in Devon with the kids I'm in the middle of a launch, why have I not thought this through? It happened and it was good. And it was still like you know, since people came into the mentorship program and more people came into my world it was a positive experience but I'm like actually no, I need to think of it a bit more. So the launch is 100% I would do see them as an energetic sort of like wave surge into your business whatever the offer is, you know be non-attached to how many people come into that. I was like this in January wasn't I like I don't care if no one believes...

Ruth Gilbey 37:39

Your energy around it was brilliant.

Amy Jones 37:41

I have gone I have not gone because I think like 200 people dropped into my list in two weeks. Now that verse is the slow trickle prior to that was very very different and actually we sat at the list building ads first we set them up in October of 2022 but I actually prefer the launch energy I think I like driving people to a product and I know you within a list building ads you can drive people to a product but I've been talking about actually like over Easter is that I'm gonna set up an evergreen sales funnel by the way this is unprompted.

Ruth Gilbey 38:18

Wow. Okay, amazing, and you that the results you've had from that are unbelievable. You've what you're spending five pounds a day and you've got just people buying from this funnel. This is a dream.

Amy Jones 38:32

My initial list-building ads that we had set up in October which were price points for your classes for profit, they'd began to slow down and I was like, I've got this yin, online yin training course which is pretty scalable and it's really good. It's really hard like there's loads of online training courses so like it's really hard organically to drive people to this and I have got organic pathways but after that I'm going to set up a five pounds a day where they sign up for a freebie Now listen, I want everyone to know that I wasn't going to do this I was going to going to sign up for 100 pounds off and Ruth was like Ash you need to give them something free first okay and gone down the route my idea and had spent 24 hours contemplating routes idea then I changed my mind to Ruth's, because it was right so they sign up for a free half hour yin training taster and then I put there then dropped into this funnel of seven days where they have seven days to do the trading taster and take action and buy my course and get 100 pounds off and on average I'm pleased spending five pounds a day and on average this has been running since May five people have come into my yin training course every month using free-nine-five and you know what I still like I did struggle with it because what happens if someone buys at the full price or what happens if someone needs a bit longer than seven days? And you were like just put it just do it and I was like I have had people message me so I really want to do this course, but I need a few more months or a few more weeks. And I do honor the 100 pounds discount on them, you know, it's okay, you know, you make up the rules in your business. The other day, I had someone buy the course at full price. And I went in and checked and they'd been on my email list for 18 months, they just didn't know about this secret funnel. And I messaged him, I gave him the 100-pound refund, because I was like, you've been in my world for 18 months, you just haven't seen these Facebook ads. So it's like, I felt completely aligned by saying that, you know, thank you for being in my world. Thank you for your purchase. Actually, if you dropped if you'd notice this, you would have got 100 pounds off.

Ruth Gilbey 40:37

You have to tell me the whole list about it as well. But yeah, I mean, you're right. It's your rule. It's your business. And you say actually, I want you to know, you've been on my list or you've been a previous client or whatever, you can reward your client.

Amy Jones 40:50

Seriously, and I had actually told my list I had put the in clause out there and I'd done an April flash sale. I testified and I know if she'd opened the email for the April flash sale. So obviously back in April, she wasn't ready to buy and I think we have all these strategies that you go through. Oh, God, I cut that doesn't resonate with me, or that just says really salesy tactic. Well, these tactics work, because basically, we do need a bit of persuasion to take action. Yeah, but you can be human behind these topics. That's what I've definitely learned from you.

Ruth Gilbey 41:25

Yeah, you can, you can absolutely, and you've got to notice how you feel when you're in someone else's sales funnel, when you go into it, how it makes you feel, what you like, what you don't like, and make sure that that influences what you create because there are so many different ways to do it. You don't have to ping, ping, buy, buy, buy, buy, or upsell all over the place. Now, it can be a gentler approach to nurture your audience. Definitely, hopefully.

Amy Jones 41:55

I can't do early bird prices, because I miss every early bird price that ever exists.

Ruth Gilbey 42:01

You might feel really resentful.

Amy Jones 42:02

Oh, yeah because I am a last-minute mini, I'm like, yeah, like so I'm just never gonna do an early bird price.

Ruth Gilbey 42:11

Yeah, because I guess it's yeah, it's thinking about how that makes you feel when you've missed out on that early bird price. And if it makes you feel resentful, and like, Oh, I've missed out. But you could always help people take the other end and ask them. Yeah, we can negotiate.

Amy Jones 42:29

I probably will do it. But ask me in 12 months' time.

Ruth Gilbey 42:33

Yeah, test it out. I've got two more questions for you. One is, how do people find out more about you, Amy?

Amy Jones 42:43

And is it the profitable Yogini podcast?

Amy Jones 42:43

Probably best to go to amy-yoga.com, that's my WordPress website. And you will see me, my offers, and my podcast, that is the best way. I do hang out on Instagram as well. My Instagram handle was a bit of a problem. If you remember when I first joined the mentorship. I was a bit late to the Instagram party. I was obviously refusing to go on to another app. And then by the time I went on it like there was no way I was ever going to have Amy yoga. So I was and when I joined the online business collective, I was @amyyogacomo and I was like, oh my god, I'm not getting a call anymore. I've got an online business. I need to change my business handle. I remember one coaching call. Everyone was trying to Google Figure I bless them. So I'm @Amyyoga.teacher.trainer on Instagram. Yeah, pretty active on Instagram. I like hanging out in stories.

Amy Jones 42:53

The podcast is the Prosperous Yogini Podcast. Yeah. And that's on Apple and Spotify. Spotify, WordPress. Yeah. Husband, by the way, set that one up.

Ruth Gilbey 43:48

Amazing. Yeah. always useful to have a tech support husband. I had that going just before recording this podcast with you with USB ports not working cetera.

Ruth Gilbey 43:58

Yeah. And my last question is, what would be one suggestion you would give listeners about selling more and making time for revenue-generating activities

Amy Jones 44:12

Ok, selling on while I would go back to my mantra, make offers make money. So we'd say marketing, and selling, right? And these strategies, what marketing is just talking to people, at the end of that conversation, you make an offer, and I would just like people to get a bit like this is a marketing post and I'm currently marketing and I must sell at a different time. And I'm like, in the end, this is who I am. This is how I can help you with marketing. Do you want it? I said that, do you? And if you don't want it, that's fine. I'm not actually that would be my very quick bit of advice like to there and yeah, and plan for selling think about what you've got coming up and what you can sell and get excited about it like all these is I've like it's just a sea of possibility wake up today think oh, you know but that's such a mindset shift that basically and COVID taught me this. Your business could go, be set alight tomorrow, and you can wake up the next day and you can think, okay, it doesn't work like this anymore, but I could make an offer and make money this way.

Ruth Gilbey 45:22

Yeah, that leads me very nicely. I'm going to shout out to my new low-cost membership to the accelerated club because that's why I created the sales accelerator club I felt business owners you're getting so caught up with all the marketing and it was like, How do I buy from you? Where are your offers? And it's like, I just thought I've got you know, want to create something that simplifies that so...

Amy Jones 45:48

Well, I'm excited for you. Yeah, it's really good. Was it nine pounds?

Ruth Gilbey 45:53

Nine pounds a month. Yeah.

Amy Jones 45:55

No brainer. A brainer and is yet that and every month focus on selling and live the templates. They're excellent. I download them every month. They're the social media templates. Yeah. I just think people get really hooked into like marketing and what's my marketing strategy and how I'm going to show up and social media and I'm like, literally, this is how I can help you. Do you want it?

Ruth Gilbey 46:17

Yeah. This is how I can help you. Do you want it? Love it. Thank you so much, Amy, you've been amazing!

Amy Jones 46:23

Absolute pleasure.

Ruth Gilbey 46:32

Thanks for listening to the inspiring Women in Business podcast. I hope you found this episode helpful. If you did, I would love it if you would leave me a review. Also, I would love to connect with you on Instagram. That's where I hang out most of the time. I'm @ruth_gilbey. I'll put a link in the show notes for you as well. Come and connect with me. Tell me about your business. And also tell me what you'd like to hear next on the podcast. And lastly, go and check out the business building hub on my website. There you can find more amazing free resources to help you take the next step in your business. And you can also find out other ways that you can work with me. I'll see you soon.