Business Building – Do as I say…

Because I fail to take my own advice.

Going into the new program launch, I had failed to make enough time. I needed time to test the platform, ramp up promotions, field customer service questions, and prepare the student materials. It was really easy to just show up to the promo webinar, thinking it was all going to be so easy because the only thing I was really doing was teaching a class for two hours on Zoom. But that was the trap I fell into, my own thinking.

I know this dogs many first time online business folks. All the fancy ads claiming that it only takes a few minutes or few hours a week to build your online business. We’re set up with false expectations so that when we try to do it, everything seems to mysteriously fall flat. The failure can feed into imposter syndrome big time.

I had enough participants showing up to both of the promo webinars I offered before the official program start that I knew I could make the sales. The participants were really engaged, there was a lot of great feedback and enthusiasm. It was all going so well. That is until the end. I dropped the links to the sign up pages and the confusion ensued. The platform I was using didn’t give me the option to make a landing page for all of the offerings or expanded information. The only thing it offered me was a registration page to each course or event. And then the payment gateway crashed. Even those who weren’t getting lost still couldn’t get in. I became hyper-aware of all of the mistakes I had made right in that moment.

Here’s how I failed myself:

1. I didn’t test the platform, enrollment process, or payment processor
2. I didn’t give enough time for promotions and marketing
3. I didn’t beta test the enrollment process to get feedback from others

Because I was trying to use the platform in a way it wasn’t designed, the navigation between offerings was unclear, if not impossible. Without a central website, it simply wasn’t possible to observe how to engage with the program or with myself. People were really frustrated.

I lost all professional integrity.

The program I was offering….a three week workshop series on writing compelling sales and enrollment pages. Oh, the irony and embarrassment.

Here’s what I did that most fledgling entrepreneurs don’t:

I didn’t give up.

Instead, I took in all of the feedback and observed the chaos I had created. I felt thankful that the face planting moment happened at a small scale. I could afford to take this loss and take time to regroup. My first point of action was to apologize. The situation I created was confusing, unprofessional, and untested, so I took responsibility for what I had created. If I had the contact information for anyone who attended the webinar, I reached out to them to let them know that I had taken their feedback seriously and made adjustments. That turned out to be a misstep as well as I sent the communication through the platform which, I didn’t realize until that moment, didn’t offer the analytical data that I had come to rely upon. I had no idea as to if anyone was receiving the correspondence. More lessons learned. But regardless, I did what I could to apologize to those who spent their time with me.

Those who were powering through, put up the frustration, and proactively reached out to me to join the program were offered an opportunity to join for free. I had set the price for the course at $300, but the price tag means little if you can’t make the purchase! So I sent the zoom link to those who still wanted to sign up and let them know that for their frustration, they can join the class for free or make a charitable donation in lieu of payment.

I did what I could to salvage the damage to my reputation by providing transparent communication and an extension of generosity. One can always make up for lost money. Making up for a lost reputation is much harder.

I left this situation much wiser and full of gratitude. This setback has allowed me to zoom out and look more closely at the big picture of what I’m trying to create. I came away with the following observations:

1. I need more time to build out the program and repackage it. Based on feedback, participants want to be on a longer journey, not a compartmentalized lesson. Instead of 1 month rotating topics, we’ll be offering a 10-12 week complete process.
2. I need more time to test and to involve different people in the test run. It’s best to take the extra time to catch problems before the problems reach the public.
3. I need a platform that supports the needs of the participants, not what I think a platform should be.

I’m still in the process of redesigning the program into a long-format. I’m hoping that once the full program is outlined, it will be more clear which way to go for the platform. I’m going to redirect my focus on their results. What do they need to get out of this program? At the end of the program, what will they walk away with?

I had started my rebuilding process by looking at different platforms. I have a list of about 10 or more that I’ve been comparing. However, until I have the newer version of the program outlined, I’m not sure I can choose the right platform. For now, I’m just thankful for this chance to pause, reflect, and improve.