#68: How to choose the right platform for your online course + the power of your personal branding!

Often we hold ourselves back. Like we hold our own selves back and we're, or we're waiting for permission from somebody else. And so I would say just go out there because you never know, you know, what kind of business you can grow. And if you're getting stuck on the branding piece of it, go, you know, it's not something, of course it's something you can focus on for months, but it's not something you should let it, it's not something that should keep you stuck for more than a couple days or more than even a couple hours, let's say, you know, it's not, don't overthink the branding.

Hello, welcome to Aligned and Wealthy. Whether you are an online business owner, a growing professional, or a woman who just desires more, we welcome all of you here. This is the community where we lead through both tenacity and heart. Each week you can expect solo motivational talks and trainings with your host, Lindsay Faddeo, that's me, or interviews and candid conversations with guest experts. Experts and fellow rising leaders. We cover all things marketing, business, current events, and personal development. New episodes are released every single Wednesday, so hit the follow button and get ready for the rise. All right, welcome back to the podcast, everyone. Welcome to Aligned and Wealthy. It's your host here, Lindsey. I'm so excited for today's episode. I have Elizabeth, Elizabeth Averianova in with us. She is going to be jamming on all things personal design, branding, setting up your first platform for websites and funnels and all of the good things that we hear a lot of questions on this of where should I start? Should I choose Kajabi? Should I go to Teachable? What, what should I, where should I really start? What's too much? What, you know, how do I really get started with that? So I'm very excited for our call today with Elizabeth. She has been in the industry for over 10 years. So welcome on Elizabeth. Thank you so much for so much for joining us.

Thank you, Lindsay. I'm excited to talk to you today.

Yay! I know it's gonna be so good. So tell us a little bit about your background, Elizabeth. I know that you shared something very unique that got you into the online space with your husband. Would you want to share a little bit on that?

Okay, sure. So I've been in the online space for 10 years. It feels like way longer than a lot of people I talk to, but it's like a decade that we've been full-time entrepreneurs. So I say we, my husband and I, were both trained actually as architects, and we have an architecture background, and that's been a huge part of our business. But we— how we got into the online space was we were just recently graduated from college, looking for jobs, but it was like right after the, you know, like the economic crash of like 2008, 2009, and still into 2010, '11. It was impossible to find a job as a young architect. And so we were like, how could we just, you know, use our talents, use our skills, and use our passion for design and make some money so we can make a living. And so that's how we initially got into the online space. And we just figured out everything along the way since then. And it's been a huge journey, but that's the mini version. Wow.

And so can you just like kind of elaborate a little bit? What were you an architect of? What were you designing with your husband? What did that work into?

Yeah, I didn't want to talk too long on architecture, but I love it. It's still a part of our business. But we specialize in classical and traditional architecture. So very traditional-inspired, like inspired by history, inspired by classical beauty and principles. So it's a very rare niche. And that's what I studied in school. And then we've carried it through our work. So, and we do a lot specifically with residential architecture. So that was, you know, yeah, go ahead.

Yeah. Yeah. I think that that's, that's such a unique perspective that you bring, because even if you look at your aesthetics, like I've, like, I've looked at some of your pages and the design that you, that you currently have up that I can see, it's like, it brings such a fresh light so that, so you can tell that that comes from your background in architect, right? Like you have this, this fresh approach. You have this unique approach that makes your design skills stand out from anything else that you see. So I think that's super, that's super cool to jam on that. And yeah, bring that in?

Yeah, thank you. I love, you know, I love the training that I got. It was so difficult, but we spent years learning how to draw by hand and learning like really traditional art skills. And it's something you don't see in schools in design education these days. And so I think it does bring us a really unique perspective on our digital design work as web designer and brand designer. And that's, you know, I love combining the two.

I love that. I think that's so cool. I, and a lot of our listeners know this, but I am a certified elementary educator by, by trade, right? So I have also found that I bring so much of that knowledge, and like so much of that background into what I do now in mentorship and in coaching and in marketing, because it's always teaching, right? It's still getting to the psychology of how do people learn? How do they absorb information, right? So I think it's, it's So like, it's unavoidable, right, to bring in your past knowledge and your past experience into what it is that you do now, right? Like there's no line in the sand that says, well, this is what you did before, like this is what you do now, and they're totally different, right? Like there's gonna be overlap.

Yeah, I love that because I always— people always think, oh, I'm gonna— if you start something new, then you're starting from the beginning, or you're starting from scratch. But it's like a false belief, or like a limiting belief, we could say. And it's not true. You're never starting from the beginning.

Yep. That's— oh my gosh, that's so true. You're never starting from the beginning. You always have past experience, you have past knowledge, like all of that. Absolutely. And it's leading— it's leading you up to where you are, right? Like it's leading you up to this moment to, to do things better, or to do things differently, or to bring in that new approach. So that, that's such a good Such good insight, Elizabeth.

Okay.

So tell us a little bit about how it is that you help. I know that you mostly work with female entrepreneurs, online entrepreneurs, online coaches, course creators. Tell us a little bit about the magic sauce that you bring to their businesses and how it is that you help their businesses come alive. Hey gang, Lindsay here. If you are a rising business owner who is navigating the personal and professional woes of entrepreneurship and you find yourself thinking, I wish I had someone to help unclutter all of the plans swarming around in my head, or I have big goals for this year and I could really use a plan to help me achieve those things, then I invite you to book a one-time laser strategy session with me. This is a one-time private coaching and consulting session where we map out your high-level marketing and sales plan. We'll answer any questions you have around business mindset or leading within your life and business. You can book your one-time session directly through the link in today's show notes. Spots are limited for each month, so be sure to book yours as soon as you desire to get on the calendar. Okay, now back to today's episode.

It's such a combination of strategy and intuition with how we approach, you know, working with our clients and working with online entrepreneurs, because I think because we've been, because I've been in the online space for so many years, I've seen how it has evolved. And so now I'm able to look at somebody's business strategically and not just make it beautiful, but really think about the strategy of what are they launching? What is their coaching program like? What are they, how are they going to be working with their clients? Who are they attracting in their business? And how can we, further elevate that or further extend that. So it's always the strategy combined with, okay, making it beautiful.

The strategy combined with making it beautiful. I love that. That's so good. And what part, okay, so let's say that I want this like to sort of educate our audience that's listening. Let's say that they are getting off the ground and they have maybe a course, like for an example, I advise my brand new coaching clients who are starting to package their services into courses, I just say, hey, put it into a Google Drive for now, right? Like just start out putting it into a Google Drive and you can always put it into a platform later. So let's say that one of those amazing coaches, they've been compiling all the stuff into Google folders, they've been emailing it, it's so traditional, right? So old school, to their clients. And now they're ready to move it into a platform and they're ready to have a process, right? What would you advise them to do or where would you advise them to start on that?

So if you are, if you're at that point, that means you probably have a proven offer, right? It means you, yeah, you need to make sure you have a proven offer, you have clients who have had positive experiences working with that structure that you have. So that's a really great place to be considering a more professional platform to use for your business. There's no right answer, like which platform is the best, but it matters which one is the best for you. And, you know, we We work with people with Kajabi. We work also with people on Kartra. And, you know, the one that Lindsay uses, it's a different one. And, you know, there's several different platforms that you're gonna be faced when you start to research this, right? When you're like, okay, well, how can I make this more professional? But the real goal is not just choosing a platform, but really how can you better serve your clients and which platform is going to help you do that and make it a smooth process.

Oh, that's such a good point. Yeah.

Let's just like come back to that.

How can you best serve your clients?

Because that's what's, what, that's what's at the forefront of our businesses, right?

Like whether you're a coach or a service provider, it's how can I best serve them? So even thinking about like what platform to choose, well, which one's going to be user-friendly, which one's going to be easiest and most efficient for you to put the information into, right. To get it out to your clients.

Right.

And it does, it comes back to what are your clients looking for? Are they looking for something super robust? Like we were talking about before we started playing the show, or are they looking for something very just simple, simple user face, very simplistic, right. Which is easy to navigate a lot of times. So, so yeah, I think that's super important.

And what, I mean, how do you find out what's best for your clients?

Like what are some of the questions that you would have? Maybe your, your potential clients who are coming in, maybe they're on a discovery call with you, or whatever your process is, like what would you advise them to start asking themselves to find out which platform would be right for them?

Yeah, a great, great couple of questions to consider are, are you tech savvy? Are you design savvy? Because if you are tech savvy and design savvy, those would lead you in a different direction. If you're, but like a lot of our clients, they're not tech savvy or they just don't want to deal with it anymore, even if they are. They want a tech— they want an easy-to-use platform. And so that will lead you into a different direction. So like, you know, I'm going to talk about Kajabi. It is very tech easy. Like it really simplifies the technical side of setting up your funnels, setting up your email list with your freebie and building your email list and also setting up like a sales page and connecting that to payments and checkout. And then leading people into that course or that portal where you want to put all that content that you previously had, let's say in your Google Drive.

Yeah, that's so good. That's so true. I am one of those people, even though I now use a much more quote unquote robust platform, I am definitely one of those people that I don't want to spend a lot of time behind the scenes, plugging stuff in, creating all those things, the pages and the courses and You know, and I just don't want to do that. I'd rather be doing this. I'd rather be conversing, serving clients, like, like doing the speaking, the forward-facing stuff. So that is such a good point to consider whenever you're deciding on that platform. And then whenever it comes to, okay, so say we're gathering our docs off of Google and we're moving into, we're moving into Kajabi. Do you ever get asked the question of like, well, Like now, how do I sell this course that's inside of Kajabi? Or like, how do I get this in front of more people? You know, like what would you say? Do you, do you help your clients in that front?

Yeah, exactly. We do. And so we, I can give you, I can give a really good example, I think, which is we had one health and fitness coaching client. She had exactly like you said, had the Google Drive with the folders and all the resources and for the, for her one-to-one clients. And that was fine up to a point. But, you know, the problem is it's not as professional as it could be. It's not secure, it's not password secure. That could matter with your content, you know, your signature frameworks, that could really matter. And then she was doing everything manually of signing up her clients, sending the contract, sending the invoice, all manually. And And she had at the time a 2-year-old baby. And even if you don't have a kid, still that is taking a lot of your time for every single person you're signing up. What we did, we got her started on Kajabi. We built out the sales page, which is when we helped— first we helped— first, like you asked the question, did we help with the strategy of that? We helped advise that what is the path that a client could take and how can How can as many steps as possible be automated? And how can it be also visually elevated, like a more clean, beautiful brand every step of the way? And so we had together like a strategy, almost like coaching, design coaching calls, but we had together strategy calls and we worked out all those steps and then we went and built it all out and implemented it. And so then she has a really beautiful sales page for her coaching. Then there's separately an enrollment page where people have different pricing, investment options, and payment plans. They can click a button, they can then make the payment, then they will automatically receive the next steps, and it's all automated. And then all the content that was in her Google Drive folder, it's all built out into a nice platform where people can log in and access all the information. And it's, it's a streamlined experience for them. And it's just, it feels really good for them. And, you know, it allows her to sign on, you know, she was able to raise her fees, she was able to book out, you know, the next program she launched. And, you know, all those clients, of course, give like really positive raving reviews.

Yes. Oh, wow. I love that word automation. It makes me so happy.

Automate.

Oh yes.

So good.

Yeah, you're so right. Because like whenever we have more time, right, and we're not bogged down and filling out contracts and revising them and sending them over and waiting to get it back and sending the follow-up email and collecting payments and all of those things, we're going to feel so much lighter, right? We're going to have so much more bandwidth to go on and start planning the next launch or to go on and sell the next offer, right? Or to follow up with whomever, right? And to serve serve at a deeper level. So there is so much power in automation. Speaking of that, is there anything else inside of, we can even talk about Kajabi specifically or any of the course building platforms. Are there any other things that like you personally advocate to automate? Like what are like a couple of things? This conversation is just like so good. I think that it's like, it's diverse, but it's very good. It's going to answer some questions for a lot of people who've been thinking about moving their stuff into a course platform, but What are other things that you would advise for our listeners to start automating or to start thinking about automating?

Exactly. It can be relevant to any platform. Like different platforms can probably do this. So we don't, you know, not just Kajabi, but other platforms. I would automate something like your testimonials. So really important, you know, as a coach to get feedback, get testimonials from your clients, and then use those in your social media, use those on your website. Use those on your sales pages everywhere. You know, I've heard the advice to post social proof on your Instagram stories every day. You know, I've heard that advice. So testimony. So for example, we were just doing this even for our own business, where we have a testimonials page, it's like a landing page. And then, and then once somebody fills it out, it's, it's automated, is automated, but they'll get a nice thank you note, they'll get information about our referral program. And they will get Well, that is just a nice experience. Those two things.

And it's seamless and it's smooth, right? And it's going to happen consistently and it's going to happen like the same thing is going to happen every single time, right? So I personally, in my— and I, and that this is a really good reminder for me to start automating this, but I do have a time and a place within like client contracts, especially private clients, where I am sure to collect a testimonial, right? And I'll do a written testimonial and also a possible most, most of the time, a video testimonial. So I love that, like, in, in this case, whenever you're automating getting those client testimonials, it's the same thing that happens every time. And you know that you're not going to, like, skip a step, or you're not going to skip a question, right? And you know that you're going to be collecting that as you go. That's super great. Yeah, I love that.

Yeah, that's a great one. Another great place to automate is the, uh, the onboarding process. So So as soon as somebody signs the contract and pays the first deposit or pays the invoice, what happens after that? And that's a really great place. It probably is the same thing every single time for every single client in that container, in that offer. So that, that is a great place to look at what can you automate in that process. So yeah, we— yeah, yeah, yeah. We have an onboarding process and I'm even for my own business again, like Working on which, which steps can be really automatic, automatically happen either with Kajabi or with our, you know, we also use Dubsado for contracts. So also with that, or, or, and then what can we use like with Zapier, which is not like a tool that's really useful if you don't know about it, but it connects platforms and helps automate things.

Yeah. Yeah. We have like this running saying in the company that I work with and it says like, but can you zap it? Like, is there a zap for that?

Yes, exactly.

Is there a Zap for that? You know, how can we save time? How can we exert our energy to somewhere else within the business and within serving our clients rather than like tagging people in campaigns or sending out emails manually? Like, is there a Zap for that? You know? So good. So good, Elizabeth. Okay, so now let's talk, let's kind of shift this conversation and let's go into design. Design is just not, my element. Haha, you see what I did there? It is just not my element. It is not my strongest suit. I have ideas. I'm a super big visionary, but sometimes I need help. Oftentimes I need help, someone else, from someone else to pull those things together and to make it look really good, right? Or even the opposite. I can look at something and I can say, ooh, that really inspires me. Let's go and do this. But it's really difficult for me to come up with something from scratch and to just build from ground zero. So I mean, whenever it comes to design with your clients, how, how does one find their design? How does one find what their brand is like, especially visually in the sense, um, like what does that process look like whenever it comes to design?

The process is, is very intuitive, but again, also strategic. Uh, but it's very intuitive and you have to dig deep on things. Before the design process actually begins. So you have— you need to dig deep on the strategy before design begins. And one part of that is looking at your ideal clients and knowing really, really well who that is. And that doesn't sound exciting, but you really, as a designer, I need to understand really well who are your ideal clients, you know? So it's like, I know who my ideal clients are, and then it's a step layer beyond that. Who are your ideal clients? And then understanding what are your goals for this year, what are your goals for the next 5 years with your business. And that is really important for me to understand because I can think strategically, how will this design, how will the systems we're setting up support those goals. So that's always the questions I ask when I start new people. Then, you know, then you're diving into, okay, what do you— of course, it's like, what do you like? And we can start really simple, like what colors do you like? What colors do you not like? But you have to consider many things about choosing your colors, because the colors you like might not relate to your ideal client.

Ding, ding, ding! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So yeah, it's a great place to start, is like looking at the colors, looking at your style. And if you're just really at the very beginning, you're clueless, you know, You have to think about those two things: your clients, your market, your industry as well, and your own goals. And once you get clarity on that, then you can go into fun exercises. And I'm sure you know about it, but like go into Pinterest and save a lot of things that are inspiring you, that you think would relate to a visual brand that you might evolve.

Yeah. So do you help your clients like really design, like come up with their visual branding from like ground zero? Like, do you help them ask those questions and then you go in and you're designing their website and you're designing their pages for them? Yes.

Yeah, exactly. That's our favorite. We work with, you know, from the ground up people, you know, we're totally rebranding their business or we're building a brand from the beginning. And those are, those are the best. Those are absolutely, you know, amazing projects to work on. And If you have an established brand, we help. Usually at that point they want to refresh it or they want to evolve it. And so, you know, we work also at that direction. If you're building the brand from the beginning, it's so important to not just think, okay, I like these things, you know, like I like butterflies or I like, you know, sunsets on the beach. And a very tropical vibe. You really have to go a bit deeper than that and understand, you know, who you're speaking to with your brand.

That's right. And does that speak to my ideal client? Is that, is that what's going to make her stop?

Right.

Is that going to make her want to click the link, right. And register for the free course, et cetera. Like, is that really going to be speaking to her and to her desires and the solutions to the problems that she craves? Right. Such a good point.

Such a good point. Yeah.

And I, I'm definitely one of those people that I have no idea. I don't know, just tell me, just tell me what to put on there. So I have felt really frustrated in my branding over time, like, and it's getting a lot better because I have clarity around things a lot more. And, and, but it can be frustrating and it can be like overwhelming even, or you can get caught up in like overanalyzing your brand or changing it 1,000 times. And ultimately what that's doing though, right? It's taking you away from the other activities that really need you. You know, it really needs you as the coach or the CEO or the business owner, you know, like serving your clients or selling your offers, right? So like Elizabeth, like the work that you're doing in making that easier and making it just a much more, um, digestible project of like, of getting your branding set and getting your website up and going and getting those things designed. It's the work that you're doing is just so important. Because you're literally taking that, that off of, you know, their shoulders and you're saying, hey, I've got you, like, we can do this together. And then you can take your superpowers and you can go do what you do best. Right?

Exactly. It's, it's all about building your confidence. So if you're thinking like, what is the point of branding? I hear all these people talking about branding. I don't really understand it though. And I'm not good at it. If that's you, you know, it's all about building your confidence online. And branding is a vehicle to help do that. Because you'll gain much more clarity on who you are and how you show up online. That is the extension of your brand is how you show up online. And so you are going to build your confidence. You're going to be more excited to pitch your offers and to talk about your programs, you know, on social media. And you're going to ultimately be able to make a bigger impact in the world. And that's what I love about helping, you know, coaches and female entrepreneurs is, is it can, we can really extend our reach and you can extend your reach in the world and your impact in the world by having that confidence and that clarity with your brand.

Oh my gosh, that's so good. You're so right. Because whenever you can stand confidently in how it is that you're representing your business, right, and how it is that you're representing your company and your legacy, like, of course you're going to be able to make more money, right? Like, of course you're going to be able to serve at a higher level and really call in the clients that you truly desire to work with because you feel confident in that, right? If you're like, yeah, I got a banging website, I can't wait to put it out there. Like, of course, you're going to feel much better about that. So that's so true, Elizabeth, to just really like equating our brand with our confidence that I mean, they're, they're right there with each other. That's super important. I think there's like a little bit of a lag. So we're good though. All right, Elizabeth, so if you could send our listeners away with one tip or one, just, you know, juicy piece of advice or anything that you, that you feel the call, maybe using your intuition or your experience expertise that you feel the call to pour into them right now, what would you say to our listeners? What would you send them away with?

So if we just extend on that confidence topic, you know, don't be afraid to show up online as your true self. Don't be afraid to put out your ideas to the world. So if you're like, you think, thinking about being a coach, or you're thinking about Offering a specific— often we hold ourselves back, like we hold our own selves back, or we're waiting for permission from somebody else. So I would say just go out there because you never know what kind of business you can grow. And if you're getting stuck on the branding piece of it, go. It's not something— of course, it's something you can focus on for months, but it's not something you should let it it's not something that should keep you stuck for more than a couple days or more than even a couple hours. Let's say, you know, it's not— don't overthink the branding.

Just get it out there, right? Just get it done and get it out there and let— allow it to be easy. Like, allow it to be a reflection of you and your voice and the people that you're speaking to in your messaging, right? And I like to say that, like, to kind of riff on that, like, I like to say you can't say the wrong thing to the right people, right? Like you can't, you can't mess it up. You really can't. And so it's the same way with your branding, right? It can't be wrong because it's going to come from you. It's going to, you know, speak to the people that it's meant to. And of course it could be improved, right? So I have personally learned over the years it can always be improved, but get it done and keep moving forward. Right? Yeah. Awesome. Awesome, Elizabeth. All right. So where can our listeners find you? How can they explore working with you? How can they explore learning from you? And do you have anything, maybe a resource or a guide or anything like that, maybe a community that you would want to leave with them and invite them into?

Amazing. I can offer you to go to check out studioclassica.com. It's our website, studioclassica.com, and our website is finally live after trying, you know, many months, many, almost a year getting it out there. And, you know, don't do like we did, you know, get your website out there sooner in the world. But yeah, and on our website you can check out a great resource is our, if you're just thinking about Kajabi, which is something we talked about, you know, earlier in this conversation, if you're thinking about Kajabi and you want to check it out, you can go and you download a free checklist, a free resource checklist, which will help you get started. So it's like the essential steps to getting your Kajabi up and running. And it's great, really great for beginners at Kajabi. And so the link you can find this at is studioklassica.com/kajabi-checklist.

Perfect.

Kajabi-checklist. And then you'll be able to download it.

Amazing. I know I was just creeping at your website and it's so beautiful. It's so pretty.

Yes, thank you.

It was worth the wait.

So thank you so much for joining us, Elizabeth.

This was such a juicy episode. I know that our listeners are going to take away something tangible that they can go and apply. They can start working on their branding, start asking themselves those questions. So I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you so much, Lindsay. It was a pleasure.

Yeah, amazing. All right, gang, you all can hop over to Elizabeth's website, StudioClassica.com, download that free Kajabi guide, come and see us on Instagram, come and leave a review. Let us know what you took away from this episode. You can visit our Instagram at Aligned and wealthy. And I am looking forward to seeing you all back in the next episode of the Aligned and Wealthy Podcast. Have an amazing day and remember to keep moving forward. Don't get stuck in perfection and over-comparison and analysis and all the things. Keep moving forward. You got this. All right, see you guys later. Hey gang, it's Lindsey. If you enjoyed today's show, it would mean so much for you to take 1 to 2 minutes and leave us a review right here on your podcast platform. You can click directly on the link to our podcast page, scroll to where it says reviews, and leave us a 1 to 5 star review, 5 star preferably. To really be the gold star student, you can share with us what episode or what episodes episodes you've enjoyed most and what you'd want to hear more of. I personally read every single review, and I would love to be able to share your review on one of our next episodes. So thank you so much for listening, and I will see you in the next episode.