Key Takeaways
- Why it’s so easy to overlook highly profitable and extremely underserved niches.
- Laura’s three components to a successful launch – and how to get people excited to come along on your journey.
- How to think outside the box and create a membership site that’s authentically YOU.
- How to make a small launch extremely powerful and scalable.
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Ready to reclaim your time and attract more monthly paying customers? Our step-by-step guide will show you how to build a membership site that turns your passion into recurring profit. Click here to download!Memorable Quote
- “People see a polished brand and assume that everything must be incredible. I didn’t start from zero. I started well, well, well below that.” – Laura Phillips
- “The only thing stopping people from having an impact is the launch. There are people with amazing skills to change the lives of the people they could serve, and the only thing stopping them from doing it is that they hate launches.” – Laura Phillips
Episode Resources
Transcript
Read The Transcript
Shelli Varella: Laura Phillips, it is my absolute pleasure to welcome you to the It’s a TRIBE Thing Podcast. How are you, buddy?
Laura Phillips: Oh, Shelli, it’s so good to be here. How are you?
Shelli Varella: I’m amazing. And I’m really excited to talk to you both for personal reasons and because I think you’re brilliant because your website is called Love to Launch. And I remember the first time I heard that phrase, I was like, “Hang on a second. I have heard very few people use the word love in conjunction with the word launch, so I am super interested, curious. I’m a huge fan and I’m so grateful that you’re here so thank you so much.
Laura Phillips: Well, thank you for having me. The feeling is very much mutual. Huge, huge super fan of yours. So, we’re going to have a lot of fun on this podcast today. Yeah, I do absolutely love launches. And for me, bringing in the word love into what I do comes from two places. It comes from the fact that, yes, I do love launches, but also from the fact that everything that I teach about launches is all about leaning into your values, and my number one value is love. So, I want to weave that into everything I do. So, yeah, love is super important to me.
Shelli Varella: I love that sometimes it really literally is just that easy. I’m hoping that you can start because I love your backstory and I find it personally so inspirational when everybody’s got challenges and struggle is essentially the connective tissue between human beings. But I always find it intriguing when somebody sort of emancipate themselves from something that is hard or challenging and is able to journey through that to then create something amazing. So, if you would be so kind to share with our amazing audience your personal journey of how you became this incredible entrepreneur who not only is leading up your own membership site, Launch and Thrive, but also inspiring and empowering other people to launch theirs, create their change in the world and the ripple effect that comes with that.
Laura Phillips: I would be happy to talk about that because I think sometimes people see a polished brand that maybe has been established for a few years and assume that everything must be absolutely incredible. But I have to tell you, Shelli, I didn’t just start from zero. I started well, well, well below that. People are always surprised when I say that my children are 15 or 16. I was a teen parent, so I actually came from a really, really rough childhood, came from an abusive home. The only thing that I wanted when I was 18 was children and I just wanted a family to live. So, I met a guy. He was a lot older than me. We had Megan when I was 18, Casey when I was 19, and unfortunately, by the age of 20, I found myself a single mom. And it wasn’t anything that – I didn’t imagine that that was going to be my life. I think at that age, you’re almost so naive, that you’re like, “Oh, it’s fine. It’s all going to be okay.” And then things started to get a little bit worse. I found myself with a stack of debt. I was really nothing more than a kid. And now I’m raising children. And I decided at that point that there was only one choice and my choice was, I am going to absolutely bust a gut and show my children that it doesn’t matter where you start from. I’m going to build the most amazing, crazy successful life because I want them to have that. And for me, I just felt like it had to stop there. I had to show my children that there was a way out.
So, for me, success really became my driver and it became this almost like I wanted success to be my revenge on anyone who ever looked down at me as a teenage mom. It’s like kind of a positive negative driver. It’s that thing that, “Don’t you tell me I can’t do this. I’m totally going to prove the world wrong.” I think we’ve all had those moments, but it’s like a boss or someone we don’t like, that negativity, doesn’t it become such a driver for you? And for me, it definitely did.
Shelli Varella: It’s true. I heard the quote, “Let the pain push you until the vision pulls you.” So, this sounds like absolutely an example of that.
Laura Phillips: It’s so true. So, it became a driver and I took myself back to school to get the qualifications I should have got at age 16, went off to university, started to study design, because I said if I’m going to have a job, it’s going to be like the best job ever and all I wanted to do was to create. So, I was doing graphic design at university. And then the global recession hit. And I had a choice that I was either going to go down the path of print or web design. And because 2009 there was just so much huge opportunity with web and SEO and digital marketing, and it kind of really appeal to the geek in me, I chose that path and it was the best thing I ever did because I actually left the university with not only a job but a flourishing business, a full paid career in something that I was so passionate about. And I found myself out of university, still a single mom, but with a career as a creative director for a digital agency. I was like, “Wow, this is amazing.” It was all I ever wanted was to have this like prestigious career that people will go, “Yeah, Laura is successful. Look at what she’s done.” And I got to about age 30. And I was like, “I hate the life I’ve built.”
Shelli Varella: And you’re like, “Uh-oh, I just climbed the wrong mountain.”
Laura Phillips: I know, right? I spent like 10 years busting and working so hard to achieve this thing that I thought was going to make me feel successful and happy in it and it just wasn’t the thing. So, I decided I was going to quit my secure creative director role. I just met my now husband, and we just bought our first house. So, we just got a mortgage in this big financial commitment and he was amazing. He said, “Look, whatever you want to do, you do it.” It’s like great. I’m going to start my website agency and I only had two months’ salary saved but actually that, having that very, very small margin of error, I had to work so hard. There wasn’t a safety net, and very quickly became fully booked. I found myself with the international web agency that I dreamed of building, 40 clients, five different time zones, I had a team, and yet again, I found myself in a situation where, “This isn’t it. I’m not happy.” And I’ve just spent two-and-a-half years building this thing that I hate. And so, for me, it was like, “Well, what is actually going to make me happy?”
And it was a really tough place. I actually found myself back into 2015, built a really successful business, and to actually not like at all what I built. So, I made 2016 my year just to find me and to find happiness. And actually, what happened is I’ve been doing a little bit of coaching in 2015, started a Facebook group. I’ve been doing a few little workshops and a few events, and I realized that this was the thing that lit me up. So, 2016, quit my agency, which was crazy again, because I was not a coach. I didn’t feel like I was qualified to be a coach, but kind of knew that I was being pulled to this thing. I knew that this story that I got had to mean something that I had a bigger purpose in the world than just to be the person behind the scenes. And so, coaching was really the thing that lit me up. So, I started to create courses and after a while people were asking me like, “How have you had this success with these marketing courses?” And really, that’s how I ended up doing what I do now. People were asking me how I launched and that’s how Love to Launch was born. So, I guess, a series of fortunate accidents, and lots of twists and turns and wrong path.
But Love to Launch was born two years ago, because I realized that launches, the way that they’re taught so often feel so big and complicated and huge and they really just didn’t need to be that way and I just wanted to make it super simple for people to step into their role as a leader because I think we all have this, this thing, this desire, this needs to have impact. And so, often, the only thing that’s stopping people have that impact is a launch and getting that product out to the world. And that to me, is like the biggest shame that there aren’t leaders, there are people with skills with the most amazing talent that changes the lives of the people that they serve and the only thing that is stopping them from doing that is the fact that they hate launches. And I love them. And really that’s my goal with what I do is to help people launch not only their business and their courses and their memberships and their workshops, but themselves out into the world and I think that’s just the greatest joy. And I know I’m literally sat here smiling because I can’t believe this is my job. This is what I get to spend my days doing now is helping people to do that.
Shelli Varella: Okay. This is amazing. I don’t even know where to start. So, you have dropped so many gems and bombs. So, I just want to, first of all, one of the things that you said was people were always asking you, how did you launch? And isn’t it interesting how sometimes the things that come so easy to us are the things that we overlook? And that’s been true in my personal journey as well. But you were talking through your story about how you tried something and weren’t happy and tried something and weren’t happy. And I hear this again and again with entrepreneurs and authors and speakers and creatives about how they feel like they’re quitting or they need to find a different niche. What advice would you give to somebody who is maybe not aware of or considering the area in which that they shine so naturally, it’s easy for them to overlook?
Laura Phillips: I think don’t settle because I think that for me was where I was at. So many people were telling me, “You should be building this web agency. You should be doing more of this. You should be doing this.” And I knew that the core of who I was, I wasn’t supposed to be someone who was doing these projects. I was supposed to be someone who was doing something else and I wasn’t actually sure what that was or how it looked but I guess I almost invited myself and gave myself permission to just try on a few things in business. And I say this all the time to my community. Just try on some different shoes in business. Just want to see what fits. And for me, there were lots of things that really didn’t fit very well but then I started to listen to what people were saying to me. And just becoming very aware throughout my day, if I could choose one thing I’m doing right now, what would that be? And I became acutely aware that I would choose coaching and doing videos about what it is that I do and having conversations with people over absolutely anything else that I was doing. No matter how much money that was making me, this thing was pulling me towards it and you have to start paying attention to those cues from people around you, how you feel most importantly, but also like, what would you rather spend your time doing? And I just knew that was the thing like I just want to coach. I just want to talk to people. And it just felt like this desire and this pull to move towards that. You have to pay attention.
Shelli Varella: Well, I love that you completely reframe sort of like the energy or the vibe around what you’re doing. So, your membership is called Launch and Thrive. And I’m just so fascinated about like because to your point, if the only thing that’s standing in the way of you and a successful membership site and a different life and to be the tsunami that creates the ripple effect, not only for your members, but then what they go out in the world and do, if the only thing that is standing in the way of you and that is a launch, then Isn’t it better to both reframe how you think and how you go through the process of it in a way that feels better for you? So, my question is, how do you do launches different than other people like what is the process? Because usually, when I hear people talk about launches, their physical posture changes a little bit. And so, you make launches easy. What is it about the way you do launches or what is your philosophy on how that works, and how you serve the people in your membership, Launch and Thrive?
Laura Phillips: So, for me, I think there’s these three real core areas I think make how I approach things different from maybe things that are out there. And there are so many amazing different ways of doing launches. But the way I always explained actually, before we kind of dive into that, a launch is really just three things. It’s, one, bringing together a group of people. It’s teaching them some cool stuff and selling them the next step. And that’s all it is. And I think really just understanding at its most core level that that’s what a launch is, we all have the ability with whatever platforms we’re using to bring people together. And we’ve got tools and loads of free tools for us to be able to do that. We as the leaders of our business, all have things that we can teach other people. So, we’ve got that piece. And then selling them the next step for me is where I really come into my own with launches, because the way that I structure a launch is all about making that third piece such a no brainer for the people who are coming through your launch that they’re waiting to buy from you. They’re literally like trying to throw their credit card at you before you even got anything to sell.
And for me, it comes from first and foremost, trying to think of launches not as a like a thing with loads of moving parts or this mechanical thing. It is an experience. And so, I love to blend like creativity with the more technical aspects of a launch. And that in fact, I lead with that creativity thing because anyone can learn how to create a Facebook ad or to create a Facebook group or to switch on a webcam and record a video because really, guys, that’s all you need. We can all learn those things. But to actually spend some time getting yourself into the shoes of your customer, what would make this the most incredible, amazing experience for them? So, I was on a call actually with a client a couple days ago. And she’s like, “I want to do a launch. I just don’t know how this is this is going to look,” and she actually helps people to figure out if the life of having a full-time RV or traveling around an RV for their spare time is a life for them. I’ll say, “Well, why don’t we do a summer camp?” And her whole face just lit up with the idea of her launch being called the Summer Camp where she could just be her and bringing all these fun elements.
And the thing is people aren’t thinking about launches like that. They think, “Okay. Well, I’ve got to have this webinar or this challenge or this video series and these are things I need,” and they’re not thinking creatively. So, for me, it’s all about that really fun experience. And a really good tip for this is instead of thinking about the launch itself, if you could host the most amazing paid event for your customers, what would you do? And then the question I want you to ask yourself is how could I do that for free? Because thinking about how I can create that same kind of fun transformational experience, but do with the tools I’ve got for free, it gets those creative juices flowing. So, that’s number one, creating that really fun experience and moving like the tech out of your peripherals just for a short while so you can think about that super fun experience. Because, Shelli, let’s face it. If someone’s hosting a really boring event, what are you going to do? I am going to find absolutely every single excuse. I’m like, I’m a full introvert anyway, so I’m always looking for reasons to get out of social events, but you want to make your event like absolutely unmissable, right?
Shelli Varella: Absolutely, yeah. For sure. Well, it’s funny you say that because I’m a big proponent of leading with possibility, not leading with logic. And I loved what you just said because it really does speak to that. Like, if you could do anything, forget about logic, what would that look like? And what happens is it opens you up to go, “Hey, like, what about this? Or how about that?” But more importantly, it changes your energy and your excitement around that and that translates like the story of that translates.
Laura Phillips: Oh, it gives me goosebumps just like the whole idea of what you can actually create when you open yourself up to just being creative with your ideas. I guess that really leads on nicely to the second one is about you and your personality. And for me, my launches are always driven by my values. So, my number one value is love. And actually, I used to think it was family. But actually, I feel like family is quite an exclusive thing but me, love is a very inclusive thing. So, when you’re creating your launch, what is the one thing that you want people to know about you from the minute they get to know you and your launch? And for me, it’s love. So, let me tell you a really cool thing I did in my last launch in February, which was I launched my membership, which was super fun and I decided that I wanted people to feel loved the moment that came into my launch. So, I recorded them a personalized video to each and every single person who signed up, those 500 people with 500 videos.
Shelli Varella: What?
Laura Phillips: Yeah, it was crazy. Super fun. Used a really cool app called Bonjoro and it was free. So, I love tools that are free anywhere. Much rather you invest your money into other things. And sent out like maybe 30 or 40-second and they got shorter and shorter as the launch got busier, I will grant you that. But that just that one-minute video max to those people to say, “Hey, it’s Laura. I just want to say how happy I am you’ve joined. I’ve just been on your website,” because they were like, “Uh, you’ve been in my website.” Or if they’ve got a really funny email address, I’d reference that just to prove to them that this is me actually talking to you. I wanted them to feel seen, I wanted them to feel supported, and most importantly, welcomed into my launch. And it was amazing, like people were going absolutely nuts. So, whatever your like number one value is, how can you inject that into what you’re doing? And again, it’s that creative element but ultimately, if you are showing up in your launch as you and you’re bringing in the right people, and they’re getting to see this part of you that you want them to see from the absolute moment they join, you are going to build such an amazing relationship.
And that is the third part of what makes my launch style so special. It’s all about the relationship. So, every opportunity I am building relationships whether it’s through the emails, whether it’s through the video content, whether it’s through making sure every day that you don’t leave any comments unanswered, whether it’s on your videos in your group, your emails, people just want to be seen. And so, the opportunities to build those relationships is amazing, because then by the time you get to the end of your free content, they’re already convinced that you are the answer. And it makes that third piece of the launch, the sale, the easiest bit. It’s going to feel so good to you because you’re showing them some cool stuff and just showing them the next step. So, to me that experience, making sure your launch is values-driven and then injecting your personality into it, and focusing on building relationships. And really, all the other tactics are secondary to those three things. But if you can nail those, you’re going to have the most wildly successful launch. And I guess that’s also what makes small launches really powerful, because you can do even more of those things.
So, guys, if you’ve got a small list right now, just make this the most amazing experience and create those touch points. And your launches will just be so fun, and you will love launches. But more importantly, your customers will absolutely fall in love with you and that’s what it’s all about.
Shelli Varella: Well, I love that you’ve taken something that most of the people feel is very foreboding and turned into something that’s fun. And also, the fact that if you have a small list, how about we make that your rocket fuel? I love how you reframe them, you recalibrate, and you refocus how we feel about launches, the vibe of the launch, and turn it around. So, instead of it feeling oppressive, it feels like something you get to do instead of something you have to do. And like this podcast is about membership sites. But the fact that you’re launching, people are teaching people how to launch in a way that allows them to have that membership site, to have that community, to build those relationships with those people that are going to be with you for two, three, five years, yes, paying month-after-month, but also being able to interact with you and learn from you and get value from you and shore each other up. It’s just incredible the work that you’re doing in the world. My last question for you is what is the best piece of feedback you have received as a result of serving people in your Launch and Thrive community?
Laura Phillips: I think for me it’s always the overcoming of the huge hurdles. I had an amazing lady who joins during my last launch. And I have to tell you, we did what I call it a right fit call. This is a great strategy. You should definitely offer these throughout your cart open period, where I invited people to have a 15, 20-minute conversation with me if they weren’t quite sure, if they just want to have a chat with an actual human on the phone or on video. And I spoke to her and she was really visibly upset and she was telling me how she’d invested. Shelli, the number just blows my mind. It was like multiple five figures on different courses and coaches and she had absolutely nothing to show from it. And I said, “Okay. Stop everything you’re doing. I can help you, but you have to go all in.” And so, she joined. Within 12 weeks, she had launched. She had found her confidence and it didn’t matter that she had made a great amount of money. It was a fact that she finally, finally, finally had got this product into the hands of the people that needed it and she felt like she was actually making an impact in the world.
And that for me is better than anything like better than any money or like numbers thing. The fact that she was able to use a launch, to get her message out to the world and to create the impact that she had been dreaming off, oh my god, I was crying. We had people in the group crying. She was crying because she was broken before she joined. And then after she launched, she was just, “Oh my God. This is amazing. I can’t wait to join.” In fact, she’s flying into the UK on Monday to come to one of my live events. And I think there’s going to be lots of tears because she has just completely transformed herself because of the work she was willing to put in but also that she was willing to let go of all of our past failures and just go for it. And it feels the joy, gives me goosebumps, makes me want to cry but like that to me is the greatest joy I could ever have in my life is being able to help those people to help us.
Shelli Varella: Well, that’s a testament to your genius also because when you have somebody who has tried and failed and tried and failed and tried and failed, and comes to somebody like you who gives them a complete reframe, and it’s like, what if it were easy? Like what if the way we feel about this and the results that you have gotten previously what if all of that is just a simple fix through the lens of the amazing and incredible Laura Phillips? But what you did for her personally, though, I mean, when you think about, yes, it’s great that she made this money but what does that mean to that person who now feels confident, feels energized, feels like that they can take on the world, and are now excited to do their next launch? Like that is hats off to you, my friend. That’s incredible.
Laura Phillips: It’s mind blowing, isn’t it? And I think it always brings me back to one of the things that our very own Stu says all the time. It’s not about the money. It’s about what the money makes possible. And I love that she’s made that possible for herself and I can’t wait to see her next launch.
Shelli Varella: Right and you have to bet she’s going to love on and serve for people like nobody’s business.
Laura Phillips: Oh, she absolutely is.
Shelli Varella: If you had a piece of advice to give to somebody who’s considering a membership site or has a membership site and is considering upsizing their launch, what would your advice be for them?
Laura Phillips: I also think about like, how do you want your membership to look first and foremost? So, I’ve had a couple of memberships and this coaching membership that I have now, I wasn’t actually considering growing this. I was actually considering growing my more hands-off one. And it was actually a conversation I had with Stu in Toronto last year and he was like, “What is it that you love? What’s the thing that lights you up? It’s like, you got to do more of that.” So, it’s coaching. I could coach all day every day and I realized I actually have to grow this coaching membership. And so, for me, that was the thing first getting clear on like what does that membership actually look like? And how do I want to feel in that membership each and every single day? Because it’s got to feel good to you. So, there were things that I let go, there were things that I brought in, and there were decisions that I made based on how I wanted to feel in that business every single day. And when it comes to actually launching that, the best advice I can possibly give you is try and not launch something all the time. Because if you can spend your time nurturing relationships, growing your social media and profiles organically, delivering so much value to your list that when you do launch, people are already waiting for it.
People believe that there’s this like crazy belief out there, the more you launch, the more money you make, and it’s just not true. So, every time you launch, increase the amount of time between your launches, give yourself that breathing space. Because the reason I love launches is because I sell maybe once or twice a year and I get back to my zone of joy, which is coaching. And so, see that launch is that thing that’s going to help you to get to where you want to be and how you want to feel in there. But if you are always launching, you’re going to have burnout. So, just give your that breathing space, breathing space for creativity, breathing space for building your audience, breathing space for building those amazing success stories. Try not to get sucked into like this whole launch roller coaster like launching all the time. I won’t do it. And people like they come to me and say, “I want to do a launch in this month, that month, and that month.” And I’m like, “What’s the reason for that?” “Well, I want more people.” It’s not going to get you more people. It’s actually going to take your time and focus away. So, definitely just give yourself that breathing space for that creativity. If you need revenue in between, just do some other things. But that one thing that you’re launching, give yourself that time to plan out the most amazing experience and build your audience and you will thank yourself for it most importantly, and your husbands, your wives, your kids will thank you for the fact that you are building a life that is around them, not you building your life around your launches.
Shelli Varella: There it is right there. That’s incredible and what I’m really taking away from this amazing conversation is what if it were just easy? Because to your point, you can launch a whole bunch of times, but it’s taking you out of serving the people that you originally wanted to have a relationship and to have dealings with in the first place. So, if you spend your time loving on the people that you have, instead of trying to get more people in your group, your retention rate will be better also.
Laura Phillips: Absolutely. It’s that customer lifetime value. It has a quote that goes around about the cost of bringing in a new person. It costs seven times more to bring in a new customer than it does to retain an old one and I completely see that in my own business. When I’m focused on serving and not selling, my business is growing anyway. And I think that focus for me putting your focus on what really matters, the life you’re building, the business you’re building, and not on the actual launch event itself. It’s just a way to get there. You are just going to have so much more success. You’ll be far happier and healthier because no one wants to be burnt out and that you will be saying, “I love launches,” rather than, “I hate them.”
[CLOSING]
Shelli Varella: Well, thank you so much, Laura Phillips, and your Launch and Thrive membership. Appreciate you, appreciate your time, and thank you so much for these value bombs, because they’re going to serve all of us. So, thank you so much for hanging out with us.
Laura Phillips: Thank you so much for having me. I’ve been looking forward to this for such a long time. It’s an incredible podcast with so many wonderful stories. So, it’s an absolute pleasure to be here.
[END]
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