I had been thinking about starting my own business for a couple of years now. I had planned that I would start with online courses which would make me passive income and for which I would need a big e-mail list and automated e-mail system and some platform for delivery. I had amassed a lot of free information about all of those subjects, but had nothing concrete yet.
I don't even remember why I was convinced that I should attend EPM, even if I really could not afford it. At first I had to do a lot of mental work for overcoming my resistance to pay for the course but when I did, the extra money showed up from a couple of different sources and I signed up.
I wasn't at all prepared for what was about to happen. Starting from the Niche training and the first module, I had to abandon all my previous plans. And that was a serious crisis for me. The first few weeks when I had trouble defining my niche, defining my product mission and coming to terms with that I had to start with a 1: Few product instead of 1:Many were really tough for me.
There were so many desperate moments when I thought that I really could not go on and I was banging my head to the wall, trying to find a balance between what I wanted to do (or thought I wanted to do) and what the coaching and training said was that I needed to do in order to design something that I could actually sell. So many times I thought that this is it, I just can't come up with any new ideas.
But being in the process, I just had to. Finally I had three product ideas for slightly different niches and was just sending an e-mail to my coach with all three ideas when I first had a Zoom meeting with other Finns on the course. With their feedback it was obvious which one I would choose. The coaching and the trainings were valuable but so was the support and practical advice from the wonderful EPM community.
It did get a little easier from there, thank God! I really had to apply the concept of "Done is better than perfect" and just keep on taking action and getting some kind of results. My biggest external shift was that I started to get the worksheets done in less time and with that attitude kept up with the pace of the trainings quite nicely even if sometimes I didn't know what I was doing. And I got a T-shirt from the Jump contest!
For me the greatest shift from EPM has been the shift in my mindset. I have never been one to take a lot of action if I didn't know what I was doing. I like to study things from books before I venture out and do them. Well, EPM changed all that:) Finally the role of action makes sense to me and iterating my way to awesome has become a lot easier for me.
I had thought that I would be able to officially start my business in January, so I could have kept up with my planned launching schedule and have had a shot in going for Mission Accomplished. Due to outside circumstances and bureaucracy I was not able to do that, so that darkened my mood. I did however complete all the milestones and get the XPs from the core trainings.
Even if I didn't have the chance to get to Mission Accomplished, I learned a lot and I will definitely use all that I've learned in my product creation and marketing in the future. And I got my first beta "client" who is now testing parts of my course, "Your StressLess Future - From Stressful to Joyful in 4 short weeks”!
I am designing my course contents and developing new products to fit my strategy. I've gained so much knowledge, tools and skills from EPM, that I am now in a much better position to launch my business in a couple of months.
Starting my very first own business at 51, doing something completely new that inspires me and has to do with the things that I love, even if I have barely any official credentials in what I am about to start to do, is a scary thing, but having gone through EPM it is starting to seem more and more possible each day and that is is a wonderful feeling.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you Marisa, Uwe, Murray, #teamcoachuwe, my fellow Finnish EPM girls Riikka and Marian, all the other coaches and wonderful EPMers! This experience has totally changed my life and I hope to be able to in the future also change other lives with all that I have learned from you.
What is your biggest takeaway from EPM?
My biggest takeaway from EPM was the internal change that I went through from being an over-analyzing perfectionist to someone who accomplishes a lot more and has the attitude "done is better than perfect" (most of the time).
I also learned that much of what I had learned about marketing online-products is not what a business that is just about to start should do.
How did EPM help you become successful?
Well, I'm not exactly successful yet since I don't even have my own business yet but when I'm able to start my business I have a much more realistic and down to earth attitude about how to go about marketing, product creation and product delivery in a small one-woman business.
Also the training about niches and how to communicate actual results for your niche when you are in personal development industry has been super valuable and gives definitely an edge over many competitors in the same niche who have more "fluff" in their product description and marketing.
How has EPM and your success impacted your life?
For someone who is just starting an own business doing something that she actually doesn't even training for at the moment (only passion), EPM has been like an accelerated and very comprehensive training in many facets of doing business and with the actual product and sales (for those who are in that stage in their business), it feels like I got 2 years worth of information and skills in 10 weeks!
EPM has been really phenomenal in its comprehensive content, delivery, coaches, community and of course Marisa's charisma , deep expertise and empathy. Compared to other courses in the same price category, EPM is totally in it's own class and I'm deeply grateful that the price point is so affordable for those of us starting out.
Also the side-door coaching has been fantastic in always developing the qualities that one really would need in order to get a new product launched, marketed and sold in 10 weeks. The whole package is so well thought out step by step in what kind of coaching and skills we would need to take the next step and then the next and then the next...
What has been the biggest change in your business?
Now I have the concrete tools to start building my business and my products (which I didn't have before) and in addition to attending EPM I have also been designing my other future products and I understand better what kind of products to develop more strategically.
I have not been able to launch my own business yet (due to few outside circumstances) but participating in EPM has definitely strengthened my identity as an entrepreneur and having a business of my own is starting to become more and more feasible and probable. Now I'm thinking about starting for real in May.
What are you most excited about moving forward with your Experience Product?
I'm excited about creating products that differ from what there is out there because of experiencifying. I'm excited about being able to make learning new skills and accomplishing personal transformations are fun and engaging and an experience to remember.