The Secret of 5 M Framework for launching your Program with Michelle Ward | The Ask Avi Arya Show

Yes.

And then once you recognize that, maybe feel bad about it for a bit and that's okay. Yeah, go ahead. Because a lot of people are at that stage, they want, they feel bad and then shut down, nothing else.

Yes, yes, yes.

They don't approach that conversation with themselves because they don't want to feel bad.

Right, right.

But so, so those people who are like, you know, I feel bad every time I look at myself and I feel I'm a failure, I don't have the courage to go through that next level and call a coach and say, can you help me? What would you say to them? How should they get out of that?

You know that I came from the performing arts world and somehow found myself being a business Coach. I run 90 day business launch where I help creative women ditch the overwhelm, ditch the perfection, ditch the procrastination.

Hey guys, this is Avi Arya, father of two girls, six dogs, husband to a superwoman, a streetcar racer turned hotelier, now social media marketer and founder of Internet Moguls. Welcome to my channel, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Another episode of the Internet Moguls of the World where we bring in people from around the world who are heart workers, people who work from their heart and bring value to other people's lives. And for them, family is as important as it is for me. So we go around the world and now virtually scanning through profiles and seeing what people are doing. And one special guest that we have for all of you today is Michelle. Michelle, anytime that we introduce our guests, we believe we talk about the hero story. We always say that the shortest distance between two human hearts is always a story. You tell a perfect stranger a good story and you win a heart for life. I'm going to quickly tell you my hero story and then I'm going to request you to tell us yours.

Great. Love it.

My name is ABHI Arya, father of two girls, six dogs, husband to a superwoman, a streetcar racer turned hotelier, now social media marketer and founder of Internet moguls. Over to you Michelle, what is your hero story?

Okay. My name is Michelle Ward. I am a mom of a feisty seven year old girl. I am the wife of a superman. We live right outside of New York City and I came from the performing arts world and somehow found myself being a business Coach. I run 90 day business launch where I help creative women ditch the overwhelm, ditch the perfection, ditch the procrastination and have an impactful and effective launch in just 90 days.

That is fantastic. So now we're going to deep dive into, into the business aspect of things. So more so now in the last two years with whatever craziness is happening around the world. There are two types of entrepreneurs who seem to be emerging. There are people who are like, I've hit my back against the wall. I what's the worst that can happen? Let's go all out and let's launch a new business because there's nothing more to lose and it's only upwards and onward from here. And then there are others who are still anxious, worried, scared, sleepless nights. So as a business coach, what is your message to both types of audiences?

Oh, wow. You know, I think the most important thing, the thing that holds anyone back from making any sort of identity shift, but definitely making an identity shift into being an entrepreneur from wherever they're at right now is really the, your own worst enemy is yourself. You are holding yourself back more than anyone or anything else is. It's the own, your own inner critic. I call them the vampire voices because they suck all the good stuff out of you. It's vampire voices in your head. It's worst case scenarios. And I work specifically with women who have been successful in their lives and do feel like they need to show up for everyone else and, and they feel like this might be a selfish move and they worry about how people are going to perceive them and they wor about not being successful but also being successful, if that makes sense. And so I really think that if you know, you want to be an entrepreneur in 2021, 2022, you need to look at yourself and say what do I know about myself so I could set myself up to succeed. And that might be you. You probably know enough about how you work best that you know, well, I need accountability and so I need to make sure to find a buddy or find a community that I could check in with. Or you're someone that says, I know I need a coach or a consultant or a guide that's just going to tell me what to do so that I don't have to have analysis paralysis. So really looking inside yourself and saying what's the structure I need to set up for myself in order to give myself the best chance to succeed.

Lovely. So you're saying that, so what from, from what you're saying, what I'm understanding is you're talking about some level of self awareness to know what, what is it that I am repeating as a pattern and not being able to break through.

Yes.

And then once you recognize that, maybe feel bad about it For a bit. And that's okay. Go ahead. Because a lot of people are at that stage, they want, they feel bad and then shut down nothing else.

Yes. Yes. Yeah.

They don't approach that conversation with themselves because they don't want to feel bad.

Right, right.

But so, so those people who are like, you know, I feel bad every time I look at myself and I feel I'm a failure, I don't have the courage to go through that next level and call a coach and say, can you help me? What would you say to them? How should they get out of that?

You know, that I think baby steps build the strongest foundation always. And so I'm hoping a very safe conversation and a smaller baby step could be, you know, who's, who's. How can they get the help that they need by just kind of dipping their toe in. So maybe they're not yet ready to work with a coach or join a community or even try to find a buddy to help them, you know, be accountable. But maybe their partner is a really great sounding board and is going to be someone who's going to be supportive and they know believes in them and so maybe just talk to their partner. You know, I'm thinking about starting a business. What do you, what do you think? Or why do you think that's a good idea for me? So just taking those baby steps of whatever that might be. And I, I would hope that the coaches out there that are doing the work that, that this person needs would be a safe space to, you know, check in and see what they offer and ask questions without feeling pressure or obligation to sign up for something or pay for something that they ultimately don't need and wouldn't help them?

Right. So, Michelle, when people come to you, how much of that coaching consulting is on that, on that human being versus the real, the real program?

Yeah, I joke that clients sign up for my program in order to be given that action plan and to have those, you know, logistical, tangible things of, you know, let's have that community, let's have that, that guidance, let's have that personal attention, let's have that plan, let's have that follow through. But they stay for the emotional piece. And I would not be very good at my job and I wouldn't have made it this long if I neglected, you know, the mindset and the fears and those, those internal and sometimes external emotional, intangible pieces because that will, that will get us every time for sure. So, so I make sure that that is something that is baked in, discussed as soon as someone registers for the program and is touched on throughout the program, for sure.

So, Michelle, as a coach, how much do you need to work on yourself and tell us some of your rituals that you work on for yourself? Because many times they say that a teacher needs a teacher finds the student. That will also be a reflection of what the teacher needs to be. That you'll find the challenge in your life in the form of a student. A challenge that also helps us as teachers, coaches, sort of further our journey.

Yes. Then this is why I continuously say that this is why business coaches need business coaches and life coaches need life coaches. You know, I'll have clients come to me who want to start copywriting businesses and say, why can't I write my own copy? You know, this is why copywriters need copywriters. It's so hard. We're so close to, to what we're going through that it's hard for us to see what we need. And having that outside perspective and someone who's nonjudgmental and who is supportive of us and wants us to succeed but doesn't have a stake in it is life changing. And so for me, I've. I've probably worked with. I've been coaching for 13 years. I've probably worked with just about that many coaches, maybe about eight to 10 coaches in those years. And I know for me, I need to exercise in the morning, I need to move my body. I need to run or do yoga. I need to do meditation. I just bought a notebook that I'm turning into my mindset notebook. And I'm going to put specific things in here that help me do some mindset work. And so for my clients, I have a courageous corner because you need to practice courage. Courage isn't something that's just gonna come to you or you're just gonna make up your mind one day to be courageous. Just not how it works. And I do that for myself as well. What do I need to do to practice some courage today? What do I need to do to build up my trust?

That's fantastic. So tell us, Michelle, tell us. We'd like to deep dive into your 90 day launch program. Tell us about how it starts, what kind of people can come into the program and eventually where it takes them.

Absolutely. Well, I'll start by saying this. Everyone who comes into the program does so in an application process and a consultation call. Not because I'm someone who wants to, I don't know, be, be exclusive or pick and choose. I only want the people who are the right fit for those who I work best with and whose businesses are in my wheelhouse. So no matter what I say right now, I would encourage everyone to just fill out that application anyway because I'm going to let you know. You know what? I don't think I'm your person. I don't think this is the program you need. I don't think that I can help you with this business or I can, I am, I will. Let's, let's go talk about it. But mostly I work with creative women. They're smart, they are multi passionate, they are kind, they are committed. And really that commitment piece is a way bigger piece of the puzzle in terms of, you know, are people really going to follow through? Are you really going to make it to your launch in 90 days? If that commitment is low, it's not happening. So that commitment piece stands for a lot. I want to know how much you're going to prioritize this and your commitment level for it. When you register for the program, you get these mindset exercises right away that I want you to get started on. To think about the fears that are holding you back, to think of permission pillars, as I call them, that you could start giving yourself permission to do certain things that you know are going to help you along the way. And on the first day of the program, I open up the private mighty network community. So the whole group is there. It's only up to 20 women at a time. So it's a really small, intimate group. We're there in the private network community. We have weekly calls for, for the 12 weeks and then some. And we really that one of the highlights of the program is what I have dubbed the one perfect day, which happens the Saturday after the program begins. And that's the day where in eight hours together on Zoom, everyone walks away with their business mission, message, money, marketing and milestone pieces. So it is a fun, intense clarification day to the extreme of, you know, what problem does my business solve? Who am I serving? What's my elevator pitch, what are possible business names, what's my first offer? Pricing, onboarding, marketing plan. We go through all of that in one perfect day. So that's really the pillar of the program in a lot of ways. But I make sure that we spend 90 more days together after that so that I could set my clients up with the best chance of them getting to that finish line and having the most impactful and effective impact. Impactful and effective business launch that they can.

I love that. So after the first one perfect day. What happens in the subsequent 12 weeks?

Yes. Oh my gosh. There's a lot of live calls that meet them right where they are. So I have things structured and set up where you know, we might have a Q and a call for a bigger group discussion of, of whatever's on their mind. We have teaching calls. I bring in a branding teacher, I bring in a squarespace teacher, so there might be a teaching call. I teach about copywriting, so I'm giving them all of those pieces so that they really don't have to go down the Google rabbit hole or sit on YouTube for hours watching videos. I bring all of that to them. There's co working calls that I'm about to add, weekly co working calls. So they have that connection and that structure. We have hot seat calls depending on what we're working on and I'm really proud. There is also a private call for the bipoc launchers led by a black coach, VP Wright, and she does private monthly calls with my non white clients. So they have a private space to be supported while they go through this identity shift. And there's a private space in the mighty network group for those launchers as well that VP is leading. So there's, you know, a lot of moving pieces, but it's structured by these calls and, and the private community that they're able to get what they need whenever they need it.

So people who are listening and want to work with Michelle. I love the One perfect Day. I love the 12 week follow up calls. And at the end of every follow up call or every weekly call with a branding coach, squarespace coach, is there an assignment that you give to them? How do you make sure that they implement.

Yes, that's a really great question. So I used to just kind of have one way of doing things. I would tell them, here's the plan, you know, check off these 30 boxes, let's say, and here's, you know, you should focus on this week one and week two and week three. And what I realized during the pandemic and specifically this past summer, was that my clients were just going through lots of upheaval, trauma between Covid, between racial justice, social justice here in the states. It was, it was a lot. And I said, okay, I'm, I'm changing these, these milestones for you. So I still have plan A, these 30 tasks and I'm very specific. I give that to them at the end of the one perfect day so they could see everything at once instead of kind of spoon feeding them. But there's also guilt free plan B which is an abbreviated plan A. So instead of 30 tasks, maybe there are 15 because your life has turned upside down or you need some space or you don't want to hustle because I'm anti hustler at this point in my, in my life. And then there's a prioritized task list of okay, great, you have these 15 things, you've launched your business. Then when doors are open, here are the things to, to prioritize in order. And then there's also shame free plan C which is like things have really blown up. You can't get there. You could only do three things. Here are the three things to do. And I always tell my launchers, don't aim for shame free plan C, aim for plan A. Or if you know you're just not going to have the bandwidth or you need more rest or you know something is in flux, aim for the guilt free plan B. And everything else is, is a cherry on top. So I give that to them right at the end of the one perfect day. And you know, we're, we're grown ups. I trust that they're able to take that, that plan and raise their hand if they have questions or if they need to move things around. You know, they're, they're able to do that.

That is fantastic. I love the name, you know, the One Perfect Day one, we call it a super day, but in our community. But I love the shame free and the guilt free.

Yes.

And I love the fact that you've understood that life will happen. So you don't need to say, you know, you have to do the 30 or you're out of my program or nothing is going to happen.

No, no, no. And I think really that's how entrepreneurs, if they, if they start their businesses giving themselves some grace and some rest and, and more bandwidth and they see recharging their batteries and not going at a breakneck pace as something that is going to be productive and ultimately will serve their business. I'm trying to give them that lesson because that took me a very long time to learn and I wish I had someone to tell me right at the offset especially the women I work with are all solopreneurs. So it's them and most of them are doing service based businesses or they're doing product based businesses where they're physically making the products they're baking or they're making jewelry and if they're burnt out and they have nothing left, then there's going to be nothing left. To the business. And that's not going to serve anyone.

Lovely. So, Michelle, this has been fantastic so far. Thank you for sharing all of that.

Thank you.

All of these people. So, you know, speak to our audiences who are like, and give them a sort of a sneak peek into, you know, the 90 days. Like, maybe I can go one by one into some of these classes. So what happens in the branding class? I mean, what do they learn? Give us a few takeaways. This is what I can learn about branding.

Absolutely. So I'll say this. Um, everything that I create for this class is really for that beginner. Right? So it's branding 101. It's Squarespace 101. So I do not lead those classes because I'm not a branding expert. I'm not a Squarespace expert. I bring experts in for those two classes. Vero Souza is a alum of mine, and she comes in and does branding and square. Coya Mulgrave of Daily Mode Studio, she does Squarespace. And so I say to them, I want my launchers to leave these classes feeling like, okay, I know how to choose my colors and my fonts and create a logo that will work with my brand words and the audience that I want to serve. And so Vero is giving that presentation and answering questions in real time, all about, how do you pick the color palette, how do you choose the fonts, and so on and so forth. Similarly, for Squarespace, it's really Squarespace 101, because I know how overwhelming it is to get in a platform like that on your own and say, where do I start? What do I do? And I. And again, I hate sending my. My launchers to just, oh, go, go watch some training videos. It's just. It's just not how we learn best. So Sequoia is there to give them the overview of, here's what the platform is and here's what you could do, and here are the things like you need to know in order to get it up and running. And then she takes them through. Here's how to build a page. And it's really about doing it the quick, quickest, easiest, most effective way. Always all of my calls. So that's. That's what someone could expect coming in.

Lovely. So, you know, so you teach so many things on your own. Then you have teachers coming in. So, you know, we want. We are at 11:21. We have nine more minutes with you. If you can give us five, you know, five, five elements or maybe three elements on anything, on branding, on social media, on how to launch a course so people can have some, you know, takeaways and say, hey, I learned something from Michelle even before signing up for her.

Yes, yes, absolutely. Okay, so I'm going to do this because I'm not the branding expert, I'm not the squarespace expert. But. And I like how you, how you mentioned 5. So I have a 5M framework where the one perfect day, these mission message milestones, marketing money comes from. So I want to talk about those pieces because what I have found most people, especially in 2021, where, you know, we know how successful you could be with, with an online business, see, see people doing it. We know it's possible. The people, my clients, before they come to me, they've tried all sorts of things and they have all these things in their head of, oh my gosh, I know I need. In order to have a successful business, I better start a podcast that has, you know, a million downloads. I better be an Instagram rock star. I better learn how to do a webinar and turn it into a funnel and master Facebook ads. And like they're totally focused on these marketing pieces more than anything. And they've convinced themselves that unless they're superstars in this, that their business is going to fail. But not that there's not a place for that. There is absolutely obviously a place for marketing. We need to get to the mission first. You need to really clarify what problem your business solves and who you're solving it for before you do anything else. So getting that mission down and then figuring out that messaging so that. And you threw a curveball. Cause usually I have the elevator pitch down pat. That hero's journey I love. I'm gonna go back and like write my hero's journey down and memorize that. But figuring out the language of how are you explaining your business? Will a 10 year old be able to understand it? Will it resonate with your right people? A lot of the times people are bypassing getting all of that information and just going right to, well, I want to be a copywriter. So let me just jump on Instagram and put some posts out. That doesn't. It's not, it's never going to stick. It's not going to work. So you really need to focus on what that mission is, what your messaging is and your offer, what your offer looks like. So I had someone once apply for my program and she wounds up registering and she put in the application this amazing elevator pitch. It was so clear, it was so great. I said to her, I'M really impressed. I usually don't see this, you know, this early in the process, but if you say that to me and I say to you, I'm so interested in this, how could I work with you? Would you know how to answer me? She's like, no, I have no idea.

Right.

How to put that together, what the pricing should be. Nothing. And so it's like, okay, well that, that needs to be the first step so that you know, when someone is interested, you're able to take charge and say, this is how we work together. Otherwise things just get messy and lost and the whole thing could implode. So figuring out that money piece on.

Very clearly being able to tell other people how they can work with you and what transformation they may get.

Yes, a million percent. And then once you have those pieces, then the marketing comes into play. Where I've been doing this, I've been coaching for 13 years. I've been running 90 day business launch for five years. I know, I see it over and over and over again that my clients get their first clients by opening their mouths and talking to the people that they know. And so many times new business owners will bypass this. They'll just like again post on Instagram or they like, oh, you know, they're not, they might go out on social media or maybe they're updating their LinkedIn profile. But when it comes to actually tapping people on the shoulder and saying, hi, this is what I do now, or this is what I'm also doing, you know, in addition to what you know me as, and here's what I do and here's how someone could work with me. And you know, is, is this something you're interested in or is there someone you could introduce me to? I call it seed planting. And I tell, I tell my new launchers you need to plant 20 seeds a month at a minimum. And, and get that, that's how you're going to get your first sales. It's going to come from one or two or three degrees of separation and that's probably it. So even though I like, yes, find that social media platform that you think is a good fit for you and a good fit for your audience and show up there, you know, 3ish times a week to start and send out a newsletter. I'm like, very pro newsletter. But I tell my launchers, that should be all you do in your first 90 days. Don't worry about Facebook ads, don't worry about a webinar, don't worry about a sales funnel. And that Gets the best results. The best results.

Lovely.

Yeah, sure.

I've got one last question for you, Michelle. Where do you see your the 90 day business launch program in five years from now?

Because I have a really big, hairy, audacious goal which is that I want to help launch a thousand businesses in the Next, oh, by 2028. So. So in five years I will be, you know, getting to that number, if not already there. I'm really looking to, to grow this. Help creative women who know they are entrepreneurial. This is what they want for themselves, their futures, their families, get out of their own way and make it happen.

That is fantastic. So that was lots of learning into 27 minutes of conversation. We're going to put footnotes, we're going to put a link to your course, we're going to put a link to the application if people want to go in for it. Because this is definitely one of those heart workers out there, people who work from the heart. And we know it. We see it in your reviews, we see what your clients are talking about. And we've been wanting to do this for a while. Thank you so much, Michelle, for taking the time out. And for all of you people who are watching, you know, if you listen to this episode one more time, post on your Instagram channel. What's the one thing you learned from Michelle and Tag? Michelle and I, one lucky winner, gets a book on entrepreneurship through this podcast every single Sunday.

Amazing.

Sent to your home.

Amazing. Thank you so much for having me. This was fantastic.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Thank you, Michelle. Thank you very much. The show will go live within four weeks. We'll send you all the details and everything.

Thank you so much. So great.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I hope you enjoyed this episode once again. My name is Avi Arya, father of two girls, six dogs, husband to a superwoman, a streetcar racer turned hotelier, now social media marketer and founder of Internet moguls. Don't forget to listen to the next episode.

Sam.