Your Graduation Story
I entered the hallowed halls (virtually) of EPM 2019 10 weeks ago with a "newborn" business (I had the license, the name, and the 4yo outdated content from my "abandoned" WP website that had been migrated to the Heroic platform a few months prior when I had registered for Website ATM.) Although I'd not had business experience, I had a very strong desire and compelling reasons for wanting to have my own business; preferably, with the majority of elements online so they could be accomplished from home. My past careers had been in all sectors of healthcare (military, federal, private, and public) and included all functional areas (clinical, managerial, educational, and healthcare administrative/executive positions) that collectively spanned 48+ years. I'd spent a lifetime working full time (can I say "working my butt off?"), probably close to an average of 55hrs/wk and raising my family of three beautiful and intelligent children.
I was 6 months into my 2nd marriage when my husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and had a rapid decline for which he was placed on disability. I retired from the workforce as his symptoms worsened and eventually became his 24/7 caregiver for several years, as he had dementia with severe paranoia and hallucinations . After he passed, my attention turned to my very elderly parents who lived only blocks away and soon realized that my Mom's chronic diseases had taken a back seat to advancing dementia. I helped to care for her with other family members; she passed a year after my late husband. By then Dad was 89yo and distraught. A year later, he developed a series of small strokes, was hospitalized, then placed in a rehabilitation facility, where my sister and I split our days so each could visit and stay with Dad for a span of 4 hours.
One night, Dad awakened, got out of bed and fell, hitting the back of his head on the floor and suffering a subdural hematoma. After neurosurgery to evacuate the collected blood, he remained hospitalized for a few days, then was transferred back to the rehabilitation facility. My sister and I stayed in his room overnight, sitting/sleeping in a recliner (for 8-10 hours) that we pulled right up to Dad's bedside; with she doing 3 nights and me doing 4 nights of coverage. Dad became increasingly frail with worsened dementia. A couple of months later, he told us that he wished to go be with Mom. As a family, we supported his wishes and he passed in his sleep late in 2017.
I worked PT as a Caregiver for two elderly ladies (two different families), one with Alzheimer's Disease and one with neurocognitive deficits, for most of 2018 until my Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, pain, and brain fog interfered significantly with being able to safely help "my ladies." I enrolled in a Health Coach Certification Program (focus on Adults and Seniors) and became certified during summer of 2019, and started coaching clients with a variety of diseases/conditions on a 1:1 basis. My goal was to establish the needed processes and systems for Health Coaching and then to transition my business to an online basis for the flexibility that it would afford me in dealing with my advancing fatigue, brain fog, pain, and joint deformities caused by Rheumatoid Disease. I have SO much to offer people with prediabetes/chronic disease and having programs/services established on an online platform would, hopefully, enable me to help so many more persons (especially if I was able to expand the scope to a 1:many format).
I saw marketing material about the Experience Products Masterclass 2019 in emails from Marisa and, although it would be a significant financial burden, I opted to take a leap of faith and use the payment plan option to register for the masterclass and I haven't looked back for one moment. Within a week prior to the start of the class, I already felt so well informed about what to expect, what actions to take for the pre-class materials, and felt buoyed by the goodwill communicated by the other hundreds of EPM "students" in the private Facebook Group. My first introduction to the XPeriencify platorm absolutely blew me away and I began to feel joyful and hopeful that my business dreams might have a "happy ending" after all. I found the coursework to be challenging only insofar as my memory was not consistently supporting me after the many years of fatigue, brain fog, and pain. I even found my fingers rebelling from all of the typing that I was doing on my laptop. I rearranged my daily routine so that I would start the day with breakfast, gentle yoga, meditation, and a warm shower to help me relax, ease my pain, and "jumpstart" my brain. After a few weeks, I felt increasingly capable of doing what needed to be done, so I split the day and focused on EPM from 9:00AM through 12:30PM; took a break to eat and rest between 12:30PM to 2:00PM; then resumed EPM work/coaching calls from 2:00PM through 6:00PM.
Some weeks, I would re-watch EPM videos or work on worksheets from approximately 7:30PM-9:30PM. I felt that I made good progress and understood/retained the information as it was laid out so clearly and was intended to meet multiple learning preferences (visual, auditory, kinesthetic [taking notes, typing, etc.]). I didn't start to struggle somewhat until I was partially through Module 4 and we catapulted into marketing/launching mode. I was ill-prepared for doing live videos, I had a list of only ~30 (family and friends), I had not used Google Docs, Forms [for surveys] or Sheets, and did not have a good a handle on saving to/accessing Google Drive. I had difficulty with graphics (to make a Freebie and worksheets), I'd never used an email provider such as Active Campaign, and so each step that I tried to take in a forward direction felt as if I was slogging through quicksand. I'll be eternally grateful for the helpful wisdom of Coach Paul, the pragmatic approach of Don, and the the million or more gems that Marisa shared, in both the concepts in the weeds and the mental/emotional support, encouragement, and insights that she consistently stated to keep everyone focused. The concept of "side-door" coaching proved to be a precious jewel to me, as I was able to listen to all 3 coaching calls each week and pull out the pieces that directly applied to my work or my status; that was the case with Marisa, Paul, and Don and I am so appreciative for all of that.
Long story short, I selected a challenging niche (50+yo persons with Prediabetes who were committed to improving/reversing their diagnoses) and ran into challenges insofar as being able to "find" them. I'd known there were some Facebook groups/pages on this topic and I knew several area healthcare providers well and was certain that both sources, when combined with some of the marketing campaigns (Chatterbox; Give Them What They Want; Experience; Perfect Email) would be perfect from which I could get sufficient persons in my target market with whom I could have a Clarity Call and then get 3-6 persons who would invest in my program. Not!!! At the present time, after 4+ weeks of doing those campaigns and joining private FB Groups for Prediabetes and providing value before asking some of the members to have a conversation "off line" and having area providers tell me that they would be willing to give their patients who were in my target market my flyer with attached business card (but they could not give me the name and contact information for those persons, as it would violate HIPAA laws). I haven't given up at all; I just understand that it has been made more challenging by my having such a tiny list. I know that with continued perseverence and Chatterboxing and having additional face-to-face strategies, I will eventually reach Mission Impossible.
What is your biggest takeaway from EPM?
The underlying mission of changing the face of education (and business/courses) by Experiencifying: finding an appropriate niche, developing the mission and the view of future self, mapping out the bird's eye view, integrating quick wins, using small chunks of information, competition (leaderboard), and FUN (gaming), combined with the wizardry of top-of-the-line coaching, the peer support offered in the FB Group, and re-engaging persons who stop interacting with the material, all combine to create the perfect storm of upleveling (the "new raised bar") and redefining outcomes for online education/courses with 10x-30x completion rates.
How did EPM help you become successful?
I have been elevated several notches by learning about and becoming able (crawling through toddler stage) to understand the foundation and components of and orchestrate the development of Experience Products. Then to take that incredible outcome and get practice in stacking Marketing Campaigns/Launching and moving upwards into Calls to Action, Clarity Calls, and (someday) successful conversion to buyers.
How has EPM and your success impacted your life?
I'm beyond the business infant and toddler stages of learning to define, develop, market, and sell Experience Products; however, I've gleaned thousands of "tidbits" from the benefit of being surrounded by so much love and support and none of that will go to waste. I realize that I have much to learn; however, I am a lifelong learner and that does not dissuade me in the least. Alhough I am exhausted now, I feel more joyful and energized than I have in many years and that is a Blessing to me!!!!
What has been the biggest change in your business?
Although there's been no financial change in my business, I am confident that I am establishing a foundation with some rock-solid underpinnings. I am determined to remain visible and engaged and grow a tribe with whom I will be highly supportive. I'm looking forward to being able to still have the support of Marisa, Murray, and the Coaches who collectively have been gracious in agreeing to support us through the month of February by leading one coaching call each per week, as well as the interactions with peers in the new FB Group. I've really enjoyed being coached and being with a group of peers and will make sure those remain elements in my business as I move forward.
What are you most excited about moving forward with your Experience Product?
I know that participation in the Experience Product Masterclass will continue to pay off as I get customers for my Program, deliver it, refine it, and grow my business. I will seek out opportunities for Mentorship (Blue Skies) (aka ""sustainable marathon"" ;-)) that will help me get to the finish line of the business I want (once I am able to bring in some income), and with that will come opportunities for peer interactions as well.