Jeffrey: Welcome to the lighten your launch podcast today, we're switching things up, doing something a little different, and we're going to talk about a recent launch. We did together as a team, and we're going to talk about the good, the bad and the amazing, so stay tuned.

Announcer: Hey, we're in the Launch Squad and this is the Light Your Launch podcast. We teach coaches and course creators how to lighten their launches. We're bringing you all of the tips and strategies to take your launch from intimidating to money-making. In this podcast, we talk about everything; the sales, strategy, mindset, technical and spiritual aspects of running your best launch ever. So if you're feeling overwhelmed and unsure of the next right step, we're here to bring clarity, confidence, and excitement into your next launch. This is the Light Your Launch podcast.

Jeffrey: Welcome back to the show. I'm Jeffrey Samorano here with my wife, Aleyah Swan, and we are joined today with Katie Collins. And we're going to sort of take it off the cuff here and, uh, talk a little freely about our launch or we, we just, we just wrapped up a launch and, uh, you'll hear how it went, the good, bad, and the amazing, and, uh, and why we're not going to talk about all the money or any of the numbers that people normally talk about. But there's another side to launching that. I think people don't talk about and we're, I want to share that with you today, so let's dive in. Okay. So let's, let's reflect for a moment and talk about our recent launch and I think it went really, really well. What do you think, Katie?

Katie: Yeah, I think it's a good idea for the launch squad to talk about our launch.

Jeffrey: We should talk, we should talk about launches.

Katie: I thought it'd be really fun to share. Um, since we're still on the launch high of it all, um, having just wrapped it up just a couple of days ago. Um, but you know, we had an image for one of our Facebook ads with a person sitting at their desk with their feet up, like on the desk and this relaxed mode. And it said, believe it or not, I'm in the middle of a launch right now. And frankly, I think that image is unbelievable to people, but that is truly how I felt that week. It wasn't that I wasn't busy, but that I, it wasn't taking over my entire existence. Yeah.

Jeffrey: I would say that, I would say that image is a little exaggeration, but it's, you know, it was designed to get people to stop and say, yeah, could, could a launch feel like that. And it definitely could. It definitely, I think our next launch will feel much more like That.

Katie: And, you know, so I know that we were chatting earlier and we wanted to really get on this podcast and share like, what, why was it easy? You know, what made it that way? Cause I know that's what people ultimately want is to hear the word launch and not associated with heart palpitation, right.

Jeffrey: And this the cold sweats. And so overwhelmed Atlanta. Tell us what made it easy for you.

Aleyah: It was so much easier this time. Well, I think because it was our second one together as a team for one, so just, I think things get easier with practice anyway, but also we added more people to our team, which was huge. So I was able to focus more on the energy aspect, the things I was going to talk to that related to my zone of genius, the energy healing, energetic aspects of a lunch and the, you know, writing. I do a lot of the writing and instead of, um, trying to take do social media, which normally I'm just someone who posts pictures of the kids or my dog, you know, on social media, I'm not a social media expert. And I was trying to do all the social media. We hired somebody to do that. And Ashley is wonderful and she has skills and like knows about hashtags and you know, stuff like that.

Aleyah: So just having somebody else who has a zone of genius in social media, you know, instead of me trying to wear too many hats, made it such a more relaxed experience where I could just enjoy coming up with the meditations or, you know, things that I'm good at instead of trying to do all of this other stuff that was actually pulling me so far off my zone. And that's one thing that happens. It's like, if you wear too many hats, you kind of forget your zone, right. You're like, you're no longer in the zone. I was telling Jeffrey one day I was like, I can't even, I'm not even in my zone. I can't, I don't feel energetically aligned today because I'm doing too many other things. Right. So

Katie: That you'd wish you didn't have, right. Yeah. Yeah.

Jeffrey: And I'm kudos to Ashley. Let's blow it up a little bit. Cause she really showed up with her own strategy with her own skills and, and, and not needing a lot of, uh, direction from, from Mara, from us, you know, we were just like, here's our goal, this is our goal. And she's like, I got

Aleyah: We struck gold with Ashleigh

Katie: That was like, no, really. I just, I love people who can just show up and say, Hey, this is my idea. What do you guys think? Yeah. I love that so much more than somebody that wants the micromanagement. Like, well, I wasn't sure. So I didn't do anything. I was waiting for your, you know, it's like, we're really busy, so boom, take it and run with it. And she did, she couldn't, we couldn't have found a better fit. I just feel so blessed to have had her hopping in as quickly as she did, because she hasn't even been a part of the team that long. And she was able to just, you know,

Jeffrey: It feels like she had been a part of the team for a while. Like she just jumped in and was like, you know, riding the bike, if you will, without any kind of no training at all. Yeah. She showed up with her own trainings, just like, this is what I can, this is what I can bring into the day. Yeah.

Katie: Well, and I was like, oh, we have a social media course, you know, if you want. And she was like, yeah, great. And she dove right in, took that course. And you know, and I mean, obviously she had her own knowledge anyway, but, um, yeah, so that was great. And that was a huge relief for all of us because I think we all knew LA I didn't love doing it, but it just kind of [inaudible] her. And we're like, [inaudible] we didn't have time either. So anyway, that was, that was awesome. Um, and you know, we were discussing earlier, like when did we decide to have this launch? Because I remember thinking it was going to be fast. We were wondering if we could do it in such a short amount of time and, and we were able to pull it off. And I know that was because we had a team. Yeah.

Jeffrey: And, and speaking of that time period and how it all came together so quickly, that's really to Alison's uh, kudos to Alison for keeping us all on track, keeping it all organized, saying, this is what you've got to do. This is what you've got to do. And you've got to do it by this date, or we're not going to, it's not going to happen. Right. Keeping us on track and organized. That was just, that's priceless.

Katie: Since our project manager, she keeps track of everything and click up and then she sends us a weekly digest that says, Hey guys, do this. Here's your deadline. Yeah. So that was very helpful. And, and really just the there's so much to be said for having a team who's got your back. And if somebody says, they're going to do something by a certain day and time, you can trust, it's going to get done. That's the team you want and that's the team we have. And so that was, um, you know, my mom had a hip replacement surgery while we were planning for this launch and her date had changed. And so it kind of squeezed into this zone of time that I didn't want it to squeeze into, but what are you going to do? So I, I was out of pocket for three days and I remember coming back on a Monday and Jeffrey sharing, all the pages, he created all the integrations, allay of sharing, all that she had worked on. You know, Alison kept everybody on track. I remember being there on that Monday morning meeting, like I barely knew what, you know, any, I was so out of it, not getting any sleep and the stress of it all. And I remember thinking, oh my God, I'm so blessed to be a part of this team because the ball kept rolling, even though I wasn't there to, to push it along, you know, and that it was fine. So

Jeffrey: That's kinda hard. I know.

Katie: [inaudible] um, you know, I think the other thing, um, that was exciting this time was it was a brand new launch, brand new content, you know, where, before we used a lot of content that I had already, and it was so Katy and this time it was the launch squad and that was so nice to really bring our, our skill sets together. Um, and to develop that, you know, I think you guys felt that way when I wrote the content, we showed up at a meeting and I'm like, here we go, days one through five, you guys are like, oh, thank God you did that. Right. Um, and because we were so organized and ready, like three weeks, four weeks in advance, I think we had those, um, that content down, you know, then to hire someone to do that workbook, Christie, sheriff Minsky, you'd give her a shout out. She did an excellent job. We probably handed her one of the toughest jobs ever. We were like, here's our five days of content. Can you create, write and design? We're

Jeffrey: Trying, yeah. Transform this into something actually useful. Yeah. Yeah.

Katie: And pretty, and, you know, she took our theme and ran with it. And really again, with very little support from us, you know, she, she wrote in for feedback here and there, but really ran with it until completion. And, you know, we walked away with not just a workbook, but an actual piece of content that someone can walk away with that filled out and say, I now have a launch plan. Right. Right.

Jeffrey: So that's, and from the business side of things, that's a business asset. That is something we have and we can use over and over again and it's going to help others, you know? So it's, it's, it's huge. It's huge.

Katie: Yeah. And I remember her writing to me and saying, good for you guys, for being so ahead of the game with your company. I was like, yes. Um, so really the preparation is huge in terms of not being burnt out during the week of your lunch. It's the pre prep that's done and ready, and you're not writing your day three email on the evening of day two. And that know that's

Aleyah: Good. Oh, I was just going to say it. And that was something Katie had taken on in our first lunch was doing the workbook and the graphic design for that and all of that, which isn't her zone. And just what a, just again, what a huge relief it is to have helpers where that is their zone, you know, and we're not trying to do too much at once. And it's such a natural thing for entrepreneurs to do, to take on too much of everything instead of getting the help. But we are definitely big proponents of getting the help so that you don't get drained out of your zone of genius. Right. Um, absolutely.

Jeffrey: And like for our listener out there, who's thinking, you know, uh, uh, you know, I can do this on my own, try it, try it because you know, every, I think every, I think it's a great experience to, to, you know, have an idea of, oh, I know what to duck. I could probably do this. I know how to run a Facebook ad. I know how to run Facebook groups. I can write emails. I can build a page in my website. I could do this. I can do go do it, do it, and to see how you feel afterwards and how long did it take you and how stressful was it? And you might never want to ever do it again. Right. That's the death of your business right there. Yeah.

Katie: Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Right. That's, that's a big thing. And, and, you know, we were chatting earlier, like the, our first launch, we did do everything because first of all, we were just trying to figure out who's got what skill and how does that all fit together? And then I think there are portions of it where we were like, Ugh, I hated that. Please don't make me do that again. You know, and it's nice to do something yourself and realize I don't want to do that. You know, I can't tell you how many people have told me in the past, just in passing. Cause I don't do any graphic design, you know? And they're like, oh, I mean, you know, creating a logo that's, you know, I can do that in 15 minutes. They were complaining, you know, maybe they were complaining about what their, you know, virtual assistant charged for logo design, which in and of itself is not what you should be doing.

Katie: Please don't ask your virtual assistant to do your logo. Right. But we're trying to get the cheaper, the cheap, and then, oh, I could have done it in half the time. And it's like, go ahead and try, go ahead. You know, because I can barely navigate Canva. I can navigate it. I, it just doesn't look good. So the joke now with the launch squad is, um, well I think the last person you want to do this graphic is Katie, but if it comes down to it, I'll do it, but you're gonna, you're gonna look at it and go, okay. Made that.

Katie: I like your design. I love you. You're so sweet. Um, and it's not that they're awful, but it's that it's clear. I have no graphic design sense. Right. Um, and so it's just interesting because I got away with doing everything on my own. I did my workbook on my own. I did all my Canva graphics on my own. I wrote all my own emails. I ran my Facebook group. I did the coaching. Right. I did everything on my own for years. I built a six figure business on my own. Did I love it? Not really. Not really. And could I have gotten there faster if I got over myself and hired people to help me sooner? Absolutely. That's right. So it is part, you know, you kinda were joking earlier. I think you were joking about me being a control freak [inaudible] um, you know, sometimes it works for us sometimes it's against us.

Katie: Um, no. And so it was this, you know, I can do it better. I can do it faster. I can do it cheaper because I'm going to do it. I'm going to save money. But in reality, I didn't save money because I could be making $500 an hour for my time doing what I really do. But instead I'm in Canva making some stupid graphic and I could be paying someone $15 an hour to do that for me. Right. And I would have paid 30 bucks for a series of however many posts instead of maybe four hours of my time, because two were trying to figure stuff out or, you know, whatever. So that's the, I think the mistake a lot of people make is they think they're saving money by doing it themselves. When in reality, they're not in their lane, they're not in their genius. And like a layer was saying, I was doing so many things that were out of my genius. I wasn't even the person that I'm supposed to be in the launch squad.

Jeffrey: And you know, that that's speaking to someone who doesn't truly understand their value and what they're bringing to the world. There's zone of genius. Like if you don't understand what your time is worth, then you'll spend your time doing anything. Right. And I love the story of Michael Hyatt shares all the time about, um, he was, he likes web design, you know, but that's not his zone of genius. That's not what he does. Right. But he was, uh, talking to his buddy and, um, kind of frustrated at, uh, his website was taking so long. I couldn't get right yet again. And you know, his buddy was like, well, how much, how much do you charge per hour? You know, what is your time worth? And he was like, oh, you know, 150 bucks an hour. And his friend, his buddy's like, well, what'd you pay, uh, a mediocre web developer, 150 bucks to build your website? No, no, the answer is no heck no. I would never pay a mediocre web developer, $150 to build my website. I would pay a pro that much, but not a mediocre one. And that's kind of what the idea is. Like, I am a mediocre copywriter, right? I'm a mediocre, uh, you name it right. If it's outside of my zone of genius, I'll build a funnel, I'll build a webpage. I can do those things. Right. But you know, if it's outside of my zone of genius, then I'm paying somebody too much to do it.

Katie: Yup. Yup. What do you think Jeffrey you're most proud of from this launch?

Jeffrey: The system? Yeah, of course.

Katie: Yeah. Tell us more about that. Like what does it mean to have that system?

Jeffrey: It means next time we get to flip the switch and then go sit in the hammock for awhile until we need to show up and deliver value and engage with people, you know, like that it aligns us into our most powerful position in the, in the business and in the world, really, because when we're talking about running a launch and you're thinking from the perspective of like, okay, I gotta do this, I gotta do this. I gotta do this. And this isn't, isn't my zone of genius and all that kind of stuff. That's all taken you away from you showing up as your authentic self and helping others bottom line, that's it. So I am really proud of the system we've built. So that next time we flip the switch, the emails go out, the, you know, the, the emails are triggered. The, there, the sequences are running. Um, the posts are being posted, uh, you know, and all of those things. And, you know, part of that system is the team. So the team is doing what they're doing, we're doing what we're doing. And we're allowed to show up in our zone of genius and help and really help people through their stuff.

Katie: Awesome. Aleyah, what are you most Proud of?

Aleyah: Oh gosh. Well, my favorite part is the, um, being in our Facebook group, having people doing their homework and being excited about what they're learning. So I guess I'm the most proud that our squad is actually helping, you know, that what we're teaching is, is not just fluff fluffy content to get you to buy something. It's like, we're really diving in there and helping people get their lunches sorted out and get organized and process things and see things in a new way that they haven't thought of before. And that they feel supported because that's what I live for is just how, you know, feeling like I'm helping people feel better or get better at something. Mmm. In some way when I see

Jeffrey: It. Yeah. When I see a comment in there, it says this was huge. This was so helpful. I'm just like, that's what it's for. That is the moment where it all comes together.

Katie: Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Awesome. I think for me, it was like, um, I felt like we went above and beyond most coaches contents stuff. Yeah, for sure. I feel like, um, and not to put anybody down, it's not my intention at all, because we were all taught the same thing. You're taught to talk about the why, and then you sell the, what, what they need to do, buy my program. I'll show you exactly what you need to do. Yeah. We're taught to use that word. Exactly. And then you buy a course or you take a program or you buy one-to-one coaching and they're giving you the info of what you need to do, but you're just kind of then stuck in, in actually getting it done. And, you know, we had named our ceremony, the heroic, how, and a first of all, it was ceremony, not a webinar. Right, right.

Jeffrey: Which is a difference now we didn't just call it something. Yeah. Yeah. It was different. We

Katie: Did it differently. And I was really proud of, um, breaking the rules. Um, we were willing to teach the, how, even though everyone was saying, you know, it's time to, wow. Not give them the how, um, right. That's, somebody's tagline out there that I'd seen on a video. And I'm like, that is so funny. I am doing exactly the opposite of what you're recommending and I am so proud

Jeffrey: Of that, you know, loving it. Yeah. Yep.

Katie: And it's like, I know that my skills of a teacher it's like, I, can't not help. You just can't, you know, just

Jeffrey: For everybody listening, Katie can't stop teaching. So if you come into our world, she will teach you stuff. It's just in her nature.

Katie: Get it right. And so we're just so committed to you actually taking action. Um, I remember this image I saw and I wanted to incorporate it in some way, but we didn't this launch, but you spell out the word doubt and then you cross off the UBT on the end. So you're left with the word do. And that is what I feel like happened for people this week because we not only taught them what the lot should look like and why it should look this way and the sales strategy. But then we made them take a step in their homework. We took it a step further if they came to our life and then we took it a step further when they came to the ceremony. And so by the end, they had a lot of started projects that they knew how to get going. And we removed that blank page syndrome and really got them to take some steps because instead of doubting, you know, with action comes clarity. So instead of doubting, is this the right thing? Is that the right thing? They took action and that forced them to get the clarity to, to then move forward. So that's, I think what I was most proud of was we did it, we broke the rules and we didn't care. And I think the impact doubled as a result. Yeah.

Jeffrey: And that doing is what builds that momentum. So dare we say, we helped individuals start building momentum in their own business and to feel like it's possible.

Katie: Yeah, yeah. To know it is. Yeah. Yeah. I really like that was, um, you know, w we attract people that have launched before and felt exhausted by it and want to nerd, you know, we say like, come learn how to launch the right way, quote unquote cite way. Um, and, and then we have some people that have never launched before. And in fact, we had one person say, I didn't even know what a launch was until you started promoting this event. So, you know, we had that, we had like the gamut of, of participants. Um, and one thing I really like about what about our style is that we meet you right where you are, and we take you to where you're trying to go, whether you already have a program and you're ready to get it out there, or you haven't even figured out your program yet, or your offer, you know, we can help you. Um, so I felt like this week, really people, exactly where they were, nobody felt behind. I didn't see one person say, I mean, they'd be like, oh, I'm catching up on my homework, but I didn't hear one person say, everybody else seems more advanced than me.

Jeffrey: Yeah. Right. Right.

Katie: So I like that. Um, I felt like everybody got some value of where they were and took some action steps, started building them, go beyond that. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so I did find that we really did have that high engagement. Like if you think of like the percentage wise of people that entered the funnel, if you will, right. Like that opted that registered for this event, don't call it a phone, don't call it a funnel. It's a fun funnel. That's a fun, fun people, hate funnels. Um, but you know, for people that registered to the event all the way to the end, like homework and showing up, I mean, really we had, um, not huge numbers, but huge participant, uh, percentage. And I think that's what matters. And like none, none of us are here to, you know, Jeffrey, what do you always say about,

Jeffrey: I'll say it a million times would much. And this goes for everybody at the launch squad, even all of our team, I love that we're all on the same page. And we would rather get one person all the way there than a million people halfway. Yeah, absolutely.

Katie: It actually like breaks our heart to see someone just stop. They like, they have this idea. I mean, cause really, you know, my, um, part in the launch squad is big into the offer. Helping people come up with an offer and, and showing up with a sales strategy for set offer so that people want to buy it. Right. And so it's heartbreaking to work with people who come up with this amazing offer of something that's going to change the world and change the people in it and have an impact. And then they get to the do and they get stuck for whatever reason.

Jeffrey: Yeah. So many reasons, right. There are so many reasons to get stuck that people do get stuck, right.

Katie: And sometimes it's like the refusal to invest further. Like I'm going to make money before I invest in getting this going. I think that's backwards. Right. Other people, um, you know, they just can't make a decision and really choosing to stay in indecision is a decision

Jeffrey: Paralysis by analysis. We

Aleyah: Formed this whole thing. Why we formed our squad is cause each one of us experienced that in a different way with our clients, you know, as a healer, it's like, I can only hold so much space for people's businesses, you know? And, and I, oh my gosh, it just, I wanted people to win so badly and one of them to take the action they needed to take so badly, but I can only, I'm only holding this tiny little piece and they needed all this other stuff. Right. And that's now it's fun just to get, to see people benefit from our squad and all these different skill sets coming together and holding, really getting to hold them all the way through. Right. That's just the most gratifying feeling because otherwise you just feel so I don't know, like kind of ineffective, right? Like you only cause you can't do it for somebody. They have to make the choice obviously, but they don't know what to do. [inaudible]

Katie: I think just being in this industry for so long for me, I feel like I've come across a lot of sort of jaded people, um, coaches that are like, uh, like for example, you know, home study program, the percentage of people actually completing going through the program and completing it, what was it? Two to 5% or something, something ridiculous. So how does it feel as a coach to sell a home study program that, you know, only two to 5% of your buyers are actually going to do and for a lot of them, because they're taught by other people who feel this way. So they they're given permission to say, well, that's on them. If they don't do my, if they don't do my course, that's on them. That's not on me. It never rubbed me the right way. I couldn't quite figure out why. And I know it's just from being a teacher, you know, I can't be like, oh, oh my second graders couldn't learn how to read. Well, that's, that's a great example.

Katie: Um, and so that never really sat right with me. And number one, do I think home study programs are the answer. Probably not. Right. I'm a big proponent of coaching. I love one-to-one. I don't even love groups. I love one to one because you really get to know the person and you can lovingly call them out on the blind spots that are keeping them stuck that you can't do in a group program because you don't know them. And I remember being at a room with a hundred other people and being like, I don't want a hundred people in my group program. I want like 10, 20. I want to know them. Like I know my student, you know? Um, and, and yeah, and, and just, I know that every single person that's worked with me has felt that, like, that I care so deeply about them and I can meet them where they are. And so I that's, that's how the launches, that's how I want the launches to feel as well. I don't want a thousand people in the funnel, quote, unquote, I don't even want to call it a funnel. Right. I want real people to open the emails, participate, share their homework, get feedback, come on the lives, come to the webinar, masterclass ceremony.

Aleyah: The accountability factor is huge. When you do it that way and have the actual personal interaction with each other or with your coach or someone, you know, that's asking you if you did your homework or, you know, and you feel like you have to show up, that is what really changes things.

Jeffrey: Yeah. And I think I speak for everybody here. When I say that we have each of us have an aversion and maybe we're pained just a little bit. If we have to tell somebody, I'm sorry, you're gonna have to go figure that out. Right. And that's kind of like where we were before we all got together, we could only help somebody so far. And then we'd have to say that, you know, I can't help. You're going to have to go figure that out, you know, somewhere else. Um,

Katie: And that's what drove me nuts about my one-to-one before I met you. Right. Right. And then you're showing me the funnel map and I'm like, oh my God, this is a game changer. You know? Um, and, and just getting that technology done, I have so many people that are, or were afraid of tech, um, or they just got, you know, they had like the tech curse, like it worked for everybody else, but it wouldn't work for them, whatever [inaudible]

Jeffrey: My phone was working when it was in my hand, hunting, I don't know what it's not working. That is weird because his

Aleyah: Computers will be working. And then I walk into his office and stand in front of them and they all break down. And I don't know why she's no longer allowed in my office...

Katie: Actually. Jeffrey had a tech breakdown in the middle of our ceremony, like rebuilding it wasn't my fault. Anyway, I want to get a glimpse into their husband, wife team.

Aleyah: It's your fault. Oh, because I texted you that's right.

Katie: But you know, but really it's, um, that we, I felt so helpless when somebody was struggling with technology and I could say, we'll share your screen, let me see what's going on. And I could, I could help them. But, um, but I wasn't staying in my lane. Cause my lane is really sales and strategy. It's not helping people with technology. Right. You know? Um, and so it is really nice though, that I think that we just are not the people that are ever going to say, go figure that out. We're always going to take their hand and show them or make a recommendation. Right. We've got people that email us all the time and ask questions. What do you recommend here? Or this is broken. Do you know? You know, and it's funny now they've learned to stop asking me and they just go right to Jeffrey. Yeah.

Jeffrey: She'll tell you to come to me.

Katie: I was like, oh, perfect. She knew to just call you. That's great. And so that's when our clients get to know us very well. They know our lane and yeah. So anyway, I really, you know, I've launched, um, a handful of times I've done it by myself. I've done it with a team now two times, um, you know, we changed the strategy, which we don't necessarily recommend. We always want you to launch the same thing twice. Um, but you know, we changed our strategy and, um, this content was just, I got, I found my excitement again because I was in content creation again. And to Elena's point, I was kind of stuck in the weeds of doing a bunch of other stuff. Not that I don't enjoy the other stuff, but I forgot the energy and life source that I get from content creation. And, you know, I've worked with a lot of coaches that are not good at organizing their thoughts.

Katie: And so I was really geeking out on, okay, wait, what was homework one? Does it make sense now what's homework two like that, everything lined up for all five days. Um, I just geeked out on it and just as much as you geeked out on the funnel, right. And just as much of a layup geeking out on a lot of the writing behind the scenes and the meditations and just where are people in this moment and what do they need to hear, you know, for the meditations or lives that you were doing in the group. It was just fun to get the chance to geek out on what we're good at and trust that our team is going to do the other stuff, um, and really honoring the deadlines and doing it. Um, I, I just, wow. Like it was like the easiest, although busy, it was like our easy, my easiest launch of my experience ever.

Jeffrey: So. Absolutely. Absolutely. And then, and then now that everything's in place and the systems are built, we'll turn around and run this thing again. Yep. And then where we will be sitting back thinking, oh, that's already done. Oh. And that's already done and organized and organized. Yeah. Another part of the strategy right there organizing our assets so that we know where they are. Our team knows where they are. Yeah. And just when the, when it's time to go, when it's go time, they know where to get things. And nobody's running around saying, Hey, w where, where are the social media graphics? Oh, they're in the social media graphics folder. Yeah.

Katie: Oh, there's somewhere in Canva just to look at my all design section. Yeah. You shouldn't mind threw it from six months ago. Yeah. There's

Jeffrey: Only four or 500 different things in there. You should be fine. You should be fine.

Katie: You know? And the same with the emails, um, you know, you think, oh, it'll be easy to find all those emails for next time, but it's not really, because next time, maybe a few months down the road and how many emails are you going to send in the next few months? And so, you know, I was able to categorize them with a label and I can pull them up real easily. So really that organization and having a project manager, keeping us organized. Um, it just, yeah. It's like we really have done. I mean, I, honestly, I can't believe, you know, we've been talking about the launch squad since last June. Right. That's when it first came up June of 2020, but we like launched as a team in December, really January. We started doing this podcast the last week of December. Yeah. And so I love to sit back and say, are you kidding me? Run episode 24? Like we've been in business for five months. We've done two launches, 24 podcasts episodes.

Jeffrey: I feel like 12 week program. Yeah. I feel like we're just getting started, but it feels like we've been doing this for awhile. I mean, which we have in a way in our own lanes in our own businesses, but now we've just kind of, we've all just kind of bumped into each other and then suddenly did it together. And we're like, oh, Hey, that was easy.

Katie: Yeah. Bring it on, you know, new team, it's so much easier because we have, you know, like contracts, processes, systems, values, right. And we know who we're looking for. We know what we stand for. And we're looking for people that stand for that same thing and that reflect those values. Um, it's just, you know, we're really, we've solidified so much in the past five months. It's just incredible. Like I can't wait to see what we're able to create in the whole year, you know, cause what we've been able to do so far together as a team has just been remarkable. So

Jeffrey: Yeah. I like what James Wedmore usually says, you hire for the role, not the skill, you know, and we're really fitting people into a role that aligns with our vision and our goals and, you know, skill skills can be learned. Yeah. But you hire for somebody who has the integrity, the willingness, the openness yeah. Time.

Katie: Yep, yep. Yep. Um, oh, I just lost my train of thought. Um, my bad. Yeah. No, no, it's good. But just, you know, just in the kudos of just really like, um, oh, I've loved hiring people that are like, I love what you guys are up to. I want to be a part of it. Yes. Yeah. That's the team I'm looking at. Yeah. Yeah. And that's the role, that's

Jeffrey: The, yeah. Right. That's the role, not the skill like, oh, I can do that, but I don't care what you guys are doing. I get that skill. Yeah. Right.

Katie: Yeah. So that's been all the difference when we bring those people in and they do what they do. We're just like, awesome. That was awesome. You know, and they wanted to be there and having served on so many teams myself, sometimes I really wanted to be there. And other times I didn't and I showed up differently and they picked up on my energy. Right. And there's no right or wrong or blame, but it's just like, I either surpassed the, I surpassed the job or things in my life changed. And I no longer had the time that I had before, or I realized my value in wanting to get paid much more than I was getting paid all of the above it's time to move on. Um, and so I just know what it's like to be on a team and to want to be there or not want to be there.

Katie: And so it's music to any business owners, ears to hear, I love what you're doing and I want to be a part of it. You're hired. It's just more fun too. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. They get it. They see the value of what we're doing. They see why we're different and they want to, you know, be in that energy. So I love that. Yeah. So I feel blessed all around. Um, I'm so psyched. I mean, of course we just opened our, you know, opened the doors, so to speak, even the offer we made on the, during the ceremony. So we had like part work session, you know, part journal look how far you've come session and then part offer, you know? And then I kind of joked at the end. I was like, well, I could go on and on for 35 more slides and I could, you know, back up our price point and tell you why it's a great price point.

Katie: And I could show you bonuses, you know, a through Z, but I'm not going to do that because what we're asking you to look at is something that's going to take you time. This is not a buy now offer. Right. Right. And the only decision they needed to make in the cart, open cart, closed phase was, do you want to book a call with Katie? Yeah, that's it, that's the only, you know, and I think they really appreciated that, that again broke the mold of that, you know? And I love that we stayed true to our values.

Jeffrey: Yeah. And, and, and, you know, I keep wanting to call it an invitation because it's not, we're not trying to sell anything. We're not trying to sell anything. Right. We're inviting people into our program. And I think that's a much different approach. Um, as you know, Katie, you say all the time as a heart centered selling is actually an invitation, like you were invited to participate in this program, that's going to benefit you.

Katie: Yeah. Please read about it. Right. We're not like buy now and save it. You know, it's just like read about it, think about it. You know, you're going to have to financially plan for it. Let's get on a call and see if this is the right time or the right fit or, you know, and that was nice. And I think it surprised people that we were approaching it from that way. So I loved breaking the mold of that. And whenever somebody on the outside of my world asks me what I do, um, it's hard to whittle it down. Right. But I, I basically just say, um, oh, I, I basically in the internet marketing business with Elvis, Lee's, that's how I was saying every time, you know, it's like, we are internet marketing, but we're not the, you know, flash red by now. Okay.

Aleyah: You don't have to do it that way. You can be different it's you absolutely can. And I think people are hungry for it. We're all hungry for it. I mean, we ourselves are so, and we're not going to do that to other people cause we hate it when it's done to us. Right. And you don't have to yeah.

Katie: Authenticity. Yeah. Yeah. And I think authenticity gets thrown around like a buzzword, but it's really like when you're, when you're making these decisions in your business and about pay, right. Like one of my things is like, I am going to be that company that whittles down someone's pay rates because I'm going to tell them I can't afford it, not going to do it because it's been done to me so many times and shame on me for letting that happen. Right. But I'm not going to do it so that I'm just not going to compromise my values and build a business based on what other people are telling me to do. I feel very committed to building the business that we are so proud of and that everyone who works with us or for us feels valued at their, like at their price point. You know? So I just, that to me is the authenticity of what I believe that, you know, how I want to show up how I've been treated in the past and sometimes have been treated very well working for other companies. And sometimes I haven't, you know, but I just, over the 10 years I've seen a lot of models that bug me.

Jeffrey: Yeah. And that experience. Yeah. That experience lets you know, that you're going to do it this way. And not that way.

Katie: Kind of like those companies that are like, oh I've got an internship spot available. It's unpaid, but you're going to learn so much. It's like, I think they've even outlawed those. I don't know if it's just in Colorado or if it's nationwide, but I think they've outlawed those because it's so unfair. Right? Like nobody wants to work for free, you know, it's just lame. So it's like, I really feel like that energy of I'm going to pay your value and you come and pay my value. We'll get along swimmingly, you know, but to teach one way, you know, like charge what you're worth, except if you work for me, I don't want you to charge what you're worth because I can't afford it. Right. That I I'm not, I'm not going to be that person. So that's the part, um, I think throughout this whole launch process where I was like, I don't like that approach and I'm not going to do it. Yeah. Yeah. The rule breaking launch. That's what this one was. So this was all about breaking rules. Yep. Yep.

Jeffrey: And we feel that. Aleyah, is there anything you want to add to this, to, to wrap this up and call this call this episode complete?

Aleyah: no, I think this is great. Um, I did have my gardening metaphor if you want me to tell that yes, I spent the day I spent the day after our lunch gardening the entire day in the garden. I'm so sore today. But while I was doing that and I had was moving around my little sunflower sprouts, but just thinking about how in the garden it's so important for, you know, every flower is so beautiful and so needed and so valued. And it's not like if we were just wandering one flower, like if we're T trying to take on too much ourselves and just, um, not delegating, not allowing help in like that's a garden of just like one flower and how much better is it to, to share your energy, to connect with your fellow humans, to bring in help when you need it to share your gifts with the world. All of that makes this beautiful, beautiful garden where everyone's valued. Yep. That's my hippie garden gardening metaphor for the morning.

Katie: I always like to use the garden metaphor when I talk about weeding, because unfortunately that's about all I do in Microsoft [inaudible] um, but how strong those things get when you ignore them when you're too busy and you know, all of a sudden this thing that should have been a pluck becomes this, oh, now I need a tool. Right. You know, and sometimes I'll pull weeds out with this enormous, like carrot looking, you know, and I'm like, oh my God. And so the mindset is so similar to that. If you spend the time plucking that negative thought process that just pops up, uh, on the daily instead of once a month. Ooh, I like that. That's a good one. Yeah. So I love that you went because I felt the same way. Like I, I went out and um, we did a little bit, um, I have like a property full of weeds. I don't, I don't own the property, so I'm not going to like, you know, do anything about it, but I try to maintain it. But I was just thinking, I can't wait to connect to nature because I've been sitting in front of my computer for like the last 15 days in a row, you know? So I love that you did the same thing.

Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely.

Aleyah: I've got to get that balance and nature time. Nothing is more rejuvenating than getting outside to me.

Katie: Yup. Yup. Awesome. All right, Jeffrey, wrap it up.

Jeffrey: Let's wrap it up for sure. I would like to think our listener out there. Thank you so much for joining us. Singular listening. Um, if you enjoyed this episode, please head to iTunes or Spotify, wherever you listen to this and give us a five star review, hit that subscribe button and you can check out all the show [email protected] forward slash episode 24. We will see you next time.

Announcer: Hey, thanks for listening. If you'd like to have clarity, confidence and excitement around your next launch, join us in the Lighten Your Launch Facebook group today at thelaunchsquadlab.com/facebook. We also invite you to download our free gift, the Lighten Your Launch starter kit, the free guide to creating an irresistible offer, pricing it right, overcoming tech barriers, and tapping into the energy you need for success. Get it now at thelaunchsquadlab.com/freegift.