Episode 85 19:57

How to Scale to Consistent High-Income Months

What if consistent high-income months depend less on selling more and more on how your business is designed? Moving beyond feast and famine means looking at the connection between clear messaging, recurring revenue and the income you actually need to support the life you want, rather than simply chasing a bigger target.

In this solo episode, business growth coach Dawn McGruer shares the thinking behind her Marketing Money Map, exploring marketing, models and money through her own experience of scaling. Reflecting on a signature programme that initially failed to land before reaching a million pounds after testing and relaunching, she examines the role of positioning, group programmes, delegation and beliefs about success.

For female founders working towards seven figures, this is a practical invitation to question whether your current model can deliver your ambitions without exhausting your capacity. You will gain a clearer perspective on setting achievable targets, understanding your personal ‘certainty number’ and building revenue around both client results and the way you want to work.

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Episode Highlights

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  1. 02:54Fast Track Digital Academy Course
  2. 06:56CEO Strategy Score
  3. 11:23Are your targets achievable?
  4. 14:14Accept your failings
  5. 17:33Resources on offer

Full Episode Transcript

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This transcript was created automatically and may contain small errors.

Welcome to Dawn of a New Era, a business and marketing podcast with a difference, ranking in the top 5% globally for people who want to start, scale, and grow their own business. Dawn McGruer shares tips to improve marketing, motivation, and mindset, as well as her own real-life challenges and experiences as an entrepreneur. Guests include some of the world's most inspiring leaders too. So if you are an aspiring, established, or serial entrepreneur, this is your go-to podcast to fast-track results and rise to meet today's challenges and master the art of online influence and business success, and avoid common pitfalls along the way.

Never miss an episode and subscribe and listen at dawnmcgruer.com. Welcome to episode 85 of Dawn of a New Era with myself, Dawn McGruer, speaker, author, and trainer. And this week I am celebrating something truly special, something magical that has happened in my business, and I'm going to be sharing a little bit of behind the scenes about how I scaled to consistent high income months.

Because yesterday in the post, something truly magical and very, very precious to me arrived. And although I knew what it was, it was still absolutely amazing opening this thing. Now what is it? It is my award.

Now you may have seen on social media, if you follow me, that a couple of weeks ago I attended an award ceremony in London, and I got an award in recognition for my achievements. Now this award marks something really, really important because it marks that I actually made over a million in the training industry. Now why is this so special? Well, I started my business at 21, and I'm 43 now.

And when I made my first million, that marked a huge milestone for me, but also did a huge amount for my own confidence, for the way that I showed up online, the way I worked with clients. And why is this? Well, I thought about it a lot when I was creating the behind the scenes for this episode, and I thought, well, if I could share with you the journey that I took to actually get to a million, then you can see the different actions, the steps, and kind of the exact blueprint that I took to get to this point. Now, it isn't my first million, but this is marking a million for a particular product.

Now, this product is my signature program, and it is called the Fast Track Digital Academy course. Now, the Fast Track Digital Marketing course, it's certified. It allows people to become a digital marketing powerhouse, somebody who is skilled and has the expertise in all areas. In fact, it covers eight powerful ways to market your business online.

Now, this is a monumentous program for me because when I created it, it was my first ever framework, and my framework is my model, and it basically is the eight modules that I cover in the two-day Fast Track, which I host in London, Manchester, and online multiple times a year. And even now, years later, because this started way back in 2015, it's still a very popular course because it's evolved and developed, but— When I created this framework and I launched it, it actually failed the first time. The messaging was off point. It wasn't called the Fast Track.

It just didn't land. Now, as I tweaked the framework and I came up with the Dynamic Digital Marketing Model, I actually won Framework of the Year for it. Now, because this became the foundation of my course, it also became the foundation of my book, my bestseller published by Wiley, Dynamic Digital Marketing. So this is why it's so special, because the first time it launched, it didn't land.

But then 17 months later, after I tried, tested, relaunched, we hit a million pounds. Now, this award that I've won was in recognition for obviously achieving over a million, and we are on our way to eight figures. I can't even believe I'm saying it. And this is a really, really big part of what I'm doing because It's not just about the money.

It's about what it means in my business and what it's allowed me to do. So obviously, as my business has grown, I've always marked my products in terms of, obviously, when I've hit my first 100K, when I've hit my first million, and so on. Now, getting this award, I decided to share with you how I actually scaled my business. And it's not just getting consistent cash months.

I've included in this one, this particular episode, about high income months because I teach a framework, and the Dynamic Digital Marketing Model was my first, and many have come from then. But within my coaching and mentoring side of the business, when I'm working with clients, whether it's one-to-one or whether it's on our marketing mentorship and mastermind program, the same thing happens. I use a framework called the Marketing Money Map. Now, there are three areas within this, and it's all about how I scaled and grew.

Now, when I grew my business, I decided, first of all, that the first thing that I had to really understand was kind of the niche, the marketing, the messaging, et cetera, and that came down to the branding for me as well as my products. And you will see that if you go onto DawnMcGruer.com, my branding is super clear. I am the business growth coach.

It says what I do. My tagline is that I help CEOs scale and grow. So people start to connect and understand what I do, how I do it, and who I help. Now, going further into that, I started to think about, well, okay, what are the products and services?

How do I present the propositions? And within my marketing, you will see that I always focus in on three key areas. So I have, yes, my mentoring side of the business, where I work one-to-one and within group programs for my mastermind. I also have my Strategize and Energize retreat.

Great, yeah. And the third thing is, is I have my CEO strategy score. Now, these three core elements, okay, these are the three things I offer, and it's very simple to see because the way that I present them. Now, this is a key part of how I scaled because once I really honed in and got super clear on who I was, I started to talk differently and I connected with people in a different manner.

People really started to kind of refer business to me. I started to show up more consistently online because I was really clear about my messaging and how I was talking with my audience. I started to really kind of look at as well, you know, after I'd branded myself the Business Growth Coach, you know, what my framework was about, and I got super clear on the blueprint within it so that when I was working with clients, people could really clearly see the results, you know, what to expect within 30 days, 60 and 90. I started to get clear on, you know, the averages in 30 days, on average, my clients increase their sales by 20%.

Now, all of this, just getting the clarity and the certainty and the confidence behind what I was doing in my marketing changed the way that I showed up because I started thinking about how did I get clients? How were clients coming to me right now? What was working? I started to really declutter and get laser focused in on just the activities that moved the needle in my business and that actually generated impact.

So marketing was a big piece. Now, the second part of the blueprint is the model. Looking at the fastest way to scale, it took me a long time to understand that you couldn't just create something that people could buy once. And, you know, the energy behind that, to market, to get visible, was huge.

You know, I had this Fast Track Signature Program. It'd done a million, but there was a lot of effort, a lot of marketing. Marketing and a lot of money that went behind that to get to that point. So we had the qualifications as well within the academy.

So we had this amazing certification, we had this qualification, and then we had the mentoring. And it was the mentoring side of things that I started to think, ah, okay, instead of working one-to-one, there's only one of me. Yes, I have a team of 17, but how can I push this further forward? How could I really start to work with people?

Well, first of all, I started working with group programs, and that was when my marketing mentorship and mastermind program was born. And I absolutely love it because it's the community, it's the support, it's groups of amazing, inspiring women who are pushing forward in their business and have this unreal kind of, I guess, way of working with each other and pushing and lifting each other up. So, you know, we pull that in with the strategic side, the marketing, the model, the money side of things, and we're getting amazing results. But also from a business model point of view.

Getting recurring revenue. Then I started to think about my one-to-one, my private clients. And on average, when I looked at results, there was different results, so like 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, six months, 12 months. And I thought, well, okay, let's think about how my program would work, and let's think about the most effective results.

And again, it was the recurring income side of things that worked in a model, but also worked in terms of client results. At the end of the day, my programs are only as good as how they help improve my clients achieve their dreams, their goals, and their objectives. So when I got a winning model that was achieving amazing results, it was then that my business started to scale. And the fastest way to scale is definitely recurring revenue.

So ask yourself the question: does your model work? Are you looking to achieve the amount of clients in a month that's, yes, going to hit target, but is also achievable? Because when you look at things like six-figure income and you think about, you know, adding another like 100,000 to your revenue, that's another 8,000 a month, well, 8,333, another 2,083 a week, 417 a day, or 52 pounds an hour. So you've got to think, are you setting your targets and expectations in a way that actually meets reality, in a way that's achievable, that's not going to hit burnout?

So I know. On a recurring model, I need around three clients a month. That hits a million pounds. Now, that is on a group recurring model.

So that's just one of my three. And you'll notice that when I'm talking about models, I'm relating it back. I'm tying it in all of the time with the marketing. I'm looking at the sense check.

And the last thing is money. Understanding that my income can't fully come from just me. There has to be things happening in my business. There has to be a ripple effect of marketing.

There has to be a visibility piece. There has to be a delivery piece that's not just me. And it was about looking at the operations within the business and really understanding the systems, the structure, the flow, how everything worked to know what I had to do. And again, it comes back to delegating, decluttering, and designing my diary and getting super focused not just on who I am and what I do for clients, but what do I want?

How do I want to work? Because if I'm doing the things energetically I love and I'm working in my genius zone, absolutely I'm going to perform at the highest possible level. But if I've got things that are weighing me down and procrastinating over, those things will niggle. And I've learned that the sooner I actually drop those and get rid of the things that don't serve me and only focus on the things that impact, then my whole business and life changes.

Things flow with more ease, and the energy within me and my business and towards my clients is in flow. It's different. It's energetic and it feels dynamic. Now, the last piece, as I say, is money.

Okay, so we have models, we have money, and we have the marketing. When we look at the money piece, you have to have the belief fully that success is possible for you, because I used to fall into the trap, you may be able to relate to this, that I look at other people and think, wow, they are doing amazing things, bigger and better things than I will ever achieve. And I would have that voice. I would think I could never achieve those things.

As soon as I dropped that mindset and I did some work on my beliefs and I looked at my success barriers, I started to understand that I was my own worst enemy. And when I started to focus only On the things that served me, and I realized that, you know, success was relative to me and what I wanted in my dreams and goals. I started to understand where my success milestones were, what was success for me, and relationship with money, and forgiving myself for all of those past mistakes. And the biggest advice I can give you is to drop those things, drop the mistakes, and use them as massive learnings.

Sometimes it's quite painful to think of financial mistakes, or if you've had the feast and famine flow. Some people I know in business who've been in business for many years have gone from amazing businesses to, you know, environmental changes, customer behavior impacts on, you know, what happens in the business, and they find themselves many years later in feast and famine. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is something that can serve you, you learn from, and you can move past.

It is entirely possible to step out of that feast and famine and scale your business if you get your marketing, models, and money right, because I did that exact thing when I was 21. I went through it for 18 months, maybe a bit longer. Then I went through cycles where everything was on the up, and then I came back into it, you know, and it has been a moving feast, okay, in those early stages of business in my 20s. But then after that, I have made some epic failures, and, you know, I've fallen into massive pitfalls along the way, but I've learned.

I've still managed to step up, walk through it, and a big part of that was understanding my certainty number, knowing my numbers and what number I had to earn to not just scrape by on the breadline, but actually to be living a life that I really, really wanted, with holidays, with things that were important to me, experiences, travel, and working out what that number actually was, rather than just paying myself the minimum. I did this in my 20s, and I think I truly stepped into it by the time I was kind of late 20s, early 30s, because I was mortgage-free at 33. Now at 43, it's a whole different revelation because what I wanted and my why has changed. So what my certainty number was in 20s and 30s is different, you know, and that will be the same for everybody.

So to round up on this amazingly happy day for me is that I reflect back and I look back at times of business, and sometimes I get quite emotional about some of the not so good times, and some of the times I get really, really excited about some of the successes. But these are the things that happen as a business owner. You know, no one has the perfect business. No one has the perfect life.

You know, what we're doing is we're trying to connect with our why and understand our purpose of why we created our business in the first place so that we can move forward in a way that feels right, and we're living every single day because happiness is not conditional. You know, you should never set targets like, If I just hit this, I will be happy. You know, we have to think about all of these achievements and break them down into micro tasks. You know, as long as we're still moving and we're gaining momentum, things will happen.

And often, you know, as we put these efforts in, you know, the ebb and flow every day, if we're focusing on the right things and we're taking one step closer to achieving our goals and dreams every day, then we're winning, right? But there's never going to be a perfect balance. But I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you can join me in this amazing celebration. It means a lot to me.

And if you are looking to scale and grow your business, come and check out DawnMcGruer.com. We have amazing resources on there. There are opportunities to have free resources, access other podcast episodes, masterclasses and guides, all of the things that will help you start, grow and scale your business, as well as unique opportunities of working with me.

All you've got to do is reach out, book a call, and let's look at how you can discover, how you can achieve your dreams, your desires and your goals through working with me. Now. We have got some great things coming out. We've got the Marketing Mentorship and Mastermind Program, which is open for enrollment.

We have private client one-to-one mentoring, and we have currently, I think, one space available for that. And we have the Strategize and Energize retreats coming up. We've got Tuscany in May, and we've got Marrakesh in September. I think we have around about four places on Tuscany and six left on Marrakesh.

So get in touch if you are looking to make the shift, make the change. Just imagine what it would be like in 30 days if you could have a financial impact whereby you've increased your sales by 20%. We've had clients whereby in 90 days they've tripled their income through recurring income, okay, and having these recurring streams in place. So sometimes it's just you know where you want to be, but you need the specific steps, the strategy, and the blueprint, okay?

And that is definitely something that we can help you with. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. Take care, and remember to check out DawnMcGruer.com.

And of course, remember to subscribe to the podcast so you get notified of future episodes. So have an amazing day and week, and I hope to see you on your journey soon. So come and connect with me on social media, and let's see what we can achieve in the coming months. Thank you for listening to Dawn of a New Era podcast, and for your free checklist to find out how to boost your business for growth, profit, and success, and join our community, go to DawnMcGruer.

com.

About The Billionaire Brain® Podcast

The Billionaire Brain® Podcast with Dawn McGruer, formerly Dawn of a New Era, explores the psychology, neuroscience and behaviours behind extraordinary success in business, wealth and life.

Through solo insights and conversations with founders, investors, millionaires, billionaires, authors and experts, Dawn explores how identity, thinking and behaviour shape what we create. New episodes are released regularly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.

  • Episode · 85
  • Published · 3 November 2022
  • Run time · 19:57
  • Host · Dawn McGruer

About Your Host

Dawn McGruer is an entrepreneur, 5× founder, award-winning keynote speaker and Forbes Books author of The Billionaire Brain®.

With more than 25 years in entrepreneurship, Dawn's work explores the intersection of founder psychology, neuroscience, wealth, identity and business growth.