674 - The Messy Middle: What No One Talks About When You're Scaling

Hey lovely. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to let you know something really exciting. Doors to the Next Level Mastermind are officially open, but only for a few more days. If you are a six figure business owner or very close to it and are feeling capped out with your one to one work and you know you're ready to scale with more strategy to create more spaciousness and need more support to support you to step up into that Next level expansion. This Mastermind is specifically built for women who have done the hard work of getting established and are now ready to stop weighing it and start leading it and start becoming the next Level. Go to person in your industry. Inside we map out your scalable offer or improve your scalable offer, build out a repeatable sales strategy that doesn't just rely on referrals or random posts, and support you to step into your full CEO identity. If you're ready to scale your business to multi six figures without burning out, without hiding behind your content or doing it all alone, the Next Level Mastermind is your next step. Doors close 17th of June and spaces are limited. Head to the link in the show notes or DM me Next Level on Instagram and I'll send you all the details. Now let's get into today's episode. Welcome to the Next Level Life podcast with Christine Corcoran. This podcast is made for the powerhouse business women who are ready to ignite their fullest potential. This is where we will dive deep into the mindset breakthroughs and sprinkle in some pick up the butt motivation so you can scale your business with confidence and clarity. Whether you're craving more income impact or inspiration, this podcast will be your ultimate resource for all things Next Level. Listen in as we have authentic conversations with game changing female entrepreneurs as we reveal the secrets of what it takes to rise and thrive. So go ahead, ignite your inner fire and let's get you taking massive aligned action. Are you ready to elevate? Let's go. Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the podcast. So excited that you hit download. Thank you so much and I would just love if you feel like you get any value from this podcast. I would love it if you could take a moment just to head to whatever app you're listening to this podcast on to go and actually leave a review. The reviews help so many more people find the podcast and it means the world to me because I just don't know who listens right and what you get out of this. So if you find value from it, if you could just head to the app that you're currently listening to this episode in and leave a review. That would be amazing. So. I can't believe that we're in June. Like, there's been so much that has happened in the first six months of this year, but it still doesn't feel real that it's June. Like, I still feel like I'm back in February. Uh, and I don't know how it's been for you, but I feel like sometimes we get to this point of the year and there's a natural self reflection, a self reflection of, like, am I where I thought I would be by the time I got to June? Have I taken action on things that were really important to me? Did I achieve my goals? Where did I get stuck? Right. Because it is a perfect time to do that reflection, and it's so important that you do that in order to not make the next six months fly by without realizing or making the changes that you really want to make. So we can all look back on. On the. On the first six months of the year, and we can look for the bad or we can look for the good. So I employ you to look for the good and look for the lessons. The lessons are what are going to change the outcome of the next six months. So what lessons did this first six months of the year teach you? I think I'm going to do a whole episode on the lessons that I've learned from this first six months because it has been an absolute roller coaster for me. And what I mean by that is I've been bringing so many different things to life, been pivoting in different areas, and really working on quite a few things behind the scenes. And as you know, like, I'm bringing an event to life which is happening in August, which is going to be incredible. And I've been building out all the things for the back end of that, which I really should share more of that. I think it's. I just get so involved in the planning that I forget to share more about it online. And obviously my masterminds and obviously bringing my book to life. Like, all of the things. I feel like it's been an absolute roller coaster, and we can always look back on things and look at it and be like, oh, I could have done better, or I could have changed this or I could have fixed this. And yes, that's true, but there's absolutely no point in judging yourself for the decisions that you made. It's so important that you look back on yourself and go, I did the best that I could with what I had and the decisions that I made. Because the self judgment doesn't serve you. We need to look back and do that with compassion and with empathy and then allow ourselves to extract the lessons, to support ourselves, to move forward. So today I want to do an episode on the messy middle, because I've been having so many conversations with beautiful women in business who are really in that messy middle. And I love this part because I think not a lot of people talk about the messy middle and the scaling process. Because I don't know, like, I don't know whether it feels like this space in between where you feel like you're not really where you are, want, where you want to be, be also not where you were. And you also should be happy with the success that you've created, but you want more. And everything feels like it's moving fast, and everything feels messy. And you feel like you're trying to just keep it all together. And you feel like you don't have enough time to do the things that you really want to bring to life. And you also want to be the best version of yourself for the clients that you currently are serving. Like, there's so many things when it comes to the messy middle. So let me just describe to you what I mean by the messy middle and see if that's where you currently are at the moment. And then I would talk to you about the things that no one talks about. And if you're in the messy middle, the next level Mastermind, is designed just for you. And I just need to tell you this because the doors are closing in a couple of days. So if you are listening to this, the episode, the day that it goes out, the doors are gonna close within 24 hours, 48 hours. So make sure that you grab the link in the show notes, check out the details, because if you are struggling in the messy middle, then that's designed specifically for you. And I'm gonna go through exactly why towards the end of this episode. Because the messy middle is the piece where getting support helps you navigate faster through the messy middle. Because it's hard, because you just can't see things that you need to see in order for you to scale. And there are so many different parts to it. So I'm gonna speak to that today. So you may have gotten to a point where you have gotten fully booked, or you have gotten to a point of creating a level of consistent clients, consistent income in your business, and you're recognizing that you're filling your calendar with a lot of stuff and time has becoming stretched. And you may have realized that that maybe isn't where isn't the reason why you got into business. You didn't want to fill your calendar with full of zoom calls where you're stuck behind your desk and not truly making the impact that you really want to make. And maybe you have gotten to a point where you've developed a scalable. Maybe it's a course, a program, an event, something that you feel like you really want to go out there and sell it. And maybe you've tried to sell it, maybe you've launched it once or twice, but you're still stuck in the space of still serving one to one and wanting to step more into the group component or the one to many offer. This middle piece can be messy because it takes time to transition from one to the next. So when I did this I was, I had like 99% of my clients being one on one. And then I recognized that this isn't going to create the freedom of the travel freedom, the creativity freedom, the time freedom that I wanted for my life. And it was time to start to implement some group options. And so I started with a group option. Way before unstoppable sales existed, there was a program called Elevate and even before that there was another group program. So I have worked on transitioning my income to be 90% now within my groups and 10% being my my one to one mainly. And so I've transitioned my business model to go from one to one to one to many. Where now majority of my income, like 90% of my income comes from the one to many offers, the group offers. And so I want to share with you what it took to navigate that because it did feel messy. And I feel like not enough people talk about this because what you do see is often other people out there in the market talking about how they just created a really cool offer and they put it out to the world and it's sold out. And I was talking to someone recently about this where this wasn't the case for her. And I said to her it's not the case for a majority of people. And we have to acknowledge that there is certain strategies that people put in place in order to sell out their programs. And if you're not doing those things and just thinking that social media is going to sell it, that's where we really get stuck. And so it can feel like you're stuck in this in between where you're still serving one to one. And I'm always A big believer of like not, not stopping doing all the one to one just because you're about to launch a group offer. Because I've seen that go badly in the past as well where people have like, oh, I've got this incredible course or I've got this group program and I'm just going to sell this. And so they end up finishing off their one to one clients. And then there's their group offer doesn't actually sell to the certain extent they hoped it would. And then they're like, God, now I need more income. And so then they have to go back to the one to one. And so then there's like this juggle between the one to one and the one to many offer which can feel really like this element of failing or feel like you just, it's not working out for you. And I want you to know that majority of people with the amount of women that I've worked with, with my experience with it as well, to get it to 90% for my business took years. And there's a few reasons why that happens. One is the messaging piece. You've got to get really good at nailing your messaging for your group offer. So then the right people are attracted to it and that it speaks to the solution and the outcome that you're creating for people so they know it's something that they really desire. It's also mastering the launching phase because whether you are live launching or whether you have an evergreen model or whether you have a, a reoccurring model where you bring people into the fold, maybe it's a membership or you have specific times of the year where you enroll. Whatever it is, you've got to learn to master it. And that's different to one to one. And so it can feel like we're not getting it right or feel like it's not actually working. But in the process of launching it, you're perfecting your messaging and then you're getting better at it. You're not only just perfecting the messaging, your marketing, but you're also perfecting the sales strategy. And so it can feel really messy in that middle piece while you're trying to navigate that. And a lot of people give up after launching once and they go, oh well, it didn't work. So then I'll just go back to the 1 to 1. It's so important that you continue to do it again and again to nail it. Because if you want your income to be from a scalable offer to give you the freedom you've Got to give it the attention that it needs in order for it to work. And so don't give up on it. And I think that that's why the messy middle is so challenging, is because you have to really motivate yourself to go again and to go again and deal with the rejection and deal with the failure and deal with the things not working out in order for you to get better at certain parts. And so when we go to do that, it really highlights the mindset challenges, it really highlights the gaps in our marketing, it really highlights the gaps in our sales strategy. And we need to master that in order for it to get to the point where it works for us. So for instance, let me give you an example. A past client of mine, she had launched her course a couple of times and did okay, wasn't great, but she did okay with the first two launches, right? She found the first two launches quite exhausting because she live launched and it takes a lot of energy and effort and a lot of mindset work in order to live launch publicly. And through that experience, she really didn't nail her outcome. She really didn't nail her goal, unfortunately. And so when she came to me, we looked at the data and what we uncovered were the gaps in her marketing. So there was huge gaps in her marketing, marketing and especially her lead generation. So she ended up selling, when she did the two live launches, she was selling just to her existing audience. She hadn't done any lead gen in between in order to fill her list to sell to. And so we needed to then go on building out her lead generation in order for her to have the numbers in order in order for her to convert at higher rates. And so I want you to know that through this period, it can feel really challenging. And having support through that time is so, so important because it helps you not feel alone. It helps you feel like, yes, to get the support in order to nail your messaging or to nail your launch process or to nail your, your sales strategy in order for it to actually work consistently. Because scaling at that level, right, is so different to one to one that we need to look at so many different avenues to explore what is going to work for my audience, what's going to work for me, and how can I build out enough in order for it to scale on mass? Because everything is testing, everything that you're doing in the first couple of times is testing and measuring in order for it to hit. So like recently another client of mine came to me and she was part of the next level mastermind and she had the exact same scenario. She had taken a bit of time off social media. She really wanted to launch this new program. She built out this, this new program and recorded it all ready to go. And then she went to market. And so she went to market and we identified that before she could go to market, she needed to do some Legion. Because she hadn't done Legion in quite a while. Her lead magnet wasn't really working. And so we spent some time in one of her one to ones, really diving into what would be a juicy lead magnet that will grab her clients at the perfect time in order for her to build her list. And so then we organically tested it, put it out to the market, just to her social media. It did really well there. So then she put it, she put some Facebook ads up in order to get to more of a colder audience. Now one of the things that I see so often when it comes to scaling at this level is that we not only need to build the Legion, but we need to nurture. And this takes time. And so sometimes if that cold audience is coming in right from the beginning and then you try to sell to them, sometimes it's not the right fit. And so we actually need to nurture in between. And what I'm noticing as well in the market at the moment is that people are needing a lot more nurture. They need to be getting so much more value from you before you ask them to spend any money. So if you're not nurturing them, if you're not giving them lots of free stuff, if you're not communicating why they really need your service, if you're not speaking to the desire that they truly want and you're speaking to the challenges that are going to get them to that desire. This cannot just be basic content is probably what I'm trying to say. It's so important that you create something so valuable that you don't charge for or you charge a low ticket for, that they get so much value from it that they're like, oh, what else have they got? What else can I do with this person? And so if you are not taking the time to do that and you're just live launching or you're just launching to your existing audience, that will stop working because you are exhausting your current audience. And so as I'm going through all of this with you right now, you're probably feeling the heaviness, you're probably feeling the exhaustion, you're probably feeling like, oh, that feels really hard. That's why in the Messy middle piece. Getting support is paramount, not only working on your own mindset to challenge the way that you're thinking about business and challenge how you are seeing yourself within your business. Because this is where that CEO mindset needs to step in. Because you are no longer going to play small. Because it's so often I see this too where that becomes so hard, the launching on the or the working towards your scalable offer because maybe you're talking about it so much and it's really falling on deaf ears and you get frustrated and you want to give up. And so then you end up just going back to one to one where you feel confident, where it's easier to convert because it's just one person making the decision, it's not multiple and it feels easier to just go back there, which you know is important to do if you need the income. And then it's important that you come back the drawing board. And they'd be like, okay, how am I approaching this? What do I need to do differently? How can I see myself as the successful business person and perceive my business as this incredible entity? Or like a machine, right? So if you look at this separate scalable offer as a machine, look at all the cogs and see what's not working, what's missing, what are the gaps and what do I need to work on in order to improve that? Because it is its own income stream separately to your one to one. And you may have relied on referrals, you may have relied it on just a few social media posts in order to convert one to one clients. And now this feels different and it feels uncomfortable and it feels scary and that's okay. Because what you want, the dreams that you're going after, the visibility that you want and the impact that you want to create and the freedom that you want to have in your life deserves that attention. And it's possible through that offer, even though that feels uncomfortable and challenging, it is possible for you and just be conscious not to get caught up in comparison. Because this is one of the biggest things that causes a lot of downfall for business owners, that they get caught up in comparison being like, why is it easier for them? And it's not working for me. Why does it look like they know what they're doing? And I feel like I'm doing. I don't know what the hell I'm doing. Why are they so confident? And I still doubt and fear that this is even possible for me. All of that is the mindset upgrade that needs to happen in order for you to be the CEO in order for you to act as if it's all working out for you and receiving the information that your business is telling you so you can learn from it and improve it. The business owners that succeed to scale are the ones that look at that data and be like, okay, how can I improve this? What's not working? Is it the messaging? Is it the email email sequence? Is it the Facebook ad copy? Is it the Facebook ad image? Is it the way that I'm speaking about it to people on social media? Like, is it because there's a disconnect between the ads and what people are seeing on socials? Like, we look at all little parts of it and that's where it gets hard. Like, it gets like we're looking at the nitty gritty, but that's actually what it takes. And so how can we look at that funnel and go, how can I improve every part of it so it actually hits and when it starts to hit and you start to really resonate with the messaging that you're putting out into the world and you're, you're being seen as the go to person or industry because you're consistent with your messaging, that's where things start to shift and change. Plus, we must also not to just add another layer on this. It's going to make you feel even more overwhelmed. I apologize for that. But I must say it, the next piece on that is then your visibility of how you are showing up, who you're being and how you're being the version of yourself being that go to person of your industry and having congruence with that person. Because without that, it all falls apart. So what do I mean by that? I mean like if you've got the funnel and you've got all your social media content going out there, but if that's not truly authentically you, or if you're doing it from a place of distrust or you're doing it from a place of not believing that it's actually going to work for you, then you're most likely going to sabotage it. And then secondly, sometimes it's your messaging, it's actually your positioning of how you perceive how you're being perceived by other people. And we need to adjust that so that other people who are reading your content and resonating with you are like, yes, I see this is the person that's going to serve me. I see. This is the person that's going to help me. I see. This is as the person that I need advice from. If you're not stepping up as the leader in your industry, then sometimes the offers fall flat because there's a complete miscommunication happening. It's like your offers might have the best copy, maybe you've even had a copywriter do it and it has the best copy. But if then what people are seeing from you online is not great or is lackluster or is confusing or overwhelming, or if it's not professional and they really desire someone that's professional to take over that part of their business or to learn from. And I was talking to another client about this actually recently, and she's going to start a YouTube channel. And the space that she wants to pivot into, I was like, oh, this is going to be so good on YouTube. And I was saying to her, one of the first things that I want you to do is we need to create your pitch at the beginning of every episode that's going to position you as the person that people should learn from. And she was like, oh, yeah, okay. And I was like, every single video must start with that pitch of why they should learn from you. Right? You've got to look at your expert positioning, because if you're not positioning yourself as the expert, they're not going to continue to listen. And the people who do this, well, owning that, owning it and stepping in and having that confidence to be like, yes, this is why you should listen to me. And that can feel super uncomfortable in the messy middle because maybe you're not getting recognized at that level just yet, or maybe you just don't have the proof there to be like, oh, can I even call myself an expert? Can I even say that that's why people should learn from me? And I want you to know it's in the action and it's in the saying it that you evolve, that you step into those leadership shoes because. And having self integrity with that is so key. Like, you've got to own it and stand in it and act as if until you become it. Otherwise it just doesn't happen because you can have a positive mindset around it. You can have a mindset of like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm the leader. I'm great. I just do really great with my clients. My clients love me and I get really positive feedback. But if you're not stepping up and owning that and be like, this is why you should listen to me. This is how I'm different to everybody else. This is my opinion, then the rest of it will fall flat. So this is what I help you do. In the next level Mastermind is step into your iconic presence so you become known and in demand. I help you challenge your expert positioning. And so we create your expert positioning, your sales messaging for your scalable offer and look at all of those gaps, look at your sales strategy and build out a 12 month sales strategy to support the growth of your business. And we look at then where are the gaps, what do we need to improve on? And the reason why the container is six months is because it takes time to implement this stuff. So I want to support you in the messy middle in that navigating every step of the way and where you're having the mindset wobbles and where you're having the challenges come to the surface that maybe you haven't come across just yet, or maybe it's in the delivery of your, of your one to many offer that you need the support with. There's so many elements to it that when we don't have anyone that's done it before in our corner, it can feel really bloody hard. So let me leave you with this. I want you to know that this space is temporary, but only temporary if you're willing to look at your gaps, gaps in your mindset, gaps in your business model and gaps in the sales strategy. When we look at these key pieces, it can change the way that we look at our business. And also it calls us forward as the leader to be like, okay, who do I need to be in order to create these results? And so if you're feeling called to check out the next level Mastermind, you will find the link in the show notes or feel free to send me a message that says next level in DMS and Instagram and we could have a chat about whether this could be the great fit for you for this next phase of business for you. Remembering that the doors are closing very soon. So check out the link, ask your questions. I will never ever sell you into a program that I don't feel is the right fit for you. Plus also just want to highlight like yes there is, it is a program, but it is not a course. So this is a supportive container to support you to navigate the messy middle. And I give you all the resources every step of the way to support you. So whether it is creating custom bots for your business, whether it is your, your personalized sales strategy, whether it's templates for onboarding your team members, whatever it might be, we also build out your 12 month sales strategy together which is personalized with quarterly focuses. So if you feel called to be a part of it. Check out the link in the show notes and I look forward to supporting you over the next six months right into 2026. Thank you for listening. And if you found any value out of this episode, make sure you hit the follow button so you get access to the episodes as soon as they alive. And make sure sure you come hang out with me on Instagram. You can find me at Christine Corcoran Underscore Coach have an incredible week.