289: Tasha Booth on What it Takes to Create a Million Dollar Business

Did you catch that moment in the show last week where I was like, someday I'm going to have a million dollar business? As it was coming out of my mouth, I couldn't even believe myself, which is a problem because you definitely have to believe yourself. I'm working on it. I'm working on it. The truth is there are a lot of us out there that want to become a million dollar entrepreneur. That is a milestone that is worth pursuing. And yet I didn't totally believe myself when I said it, but that is what this million-dollar mission is all about. Today on the show, I'm bringing with me somebody who can actually speak to it for real, because she is a million-dollar business owner.

Hey, movers! It's Sally Koering Zimney with Be Moved. Let's go create some talks that will move this world. We're going to talk with amazing speakers, share tips, tricks, resources, and we are We are going to be moved so that our audience can be moved.

This moved me.

What is moving you? Hey everybody.

Welcome back to This Moved Me. My name is Sally Koering Zimney, your speaker coach, if you're not familiar, and I empower big-hearted entrepreneurs like you to leverage the power of speaking so that you can finally have the impact that you've always wanted and escape the frustration and time suck of unrecognition. Today on the show, I have with me Tasha Booth. Now, Tasha Booth is an incredible entrepreneur herself. She's the CEO and the founder of The Launch Guild. That is an agency that helps entrepreneurs like us launch their programs out into the world. They're amazing. And she's also a speaker and has courses and all of her own brand as well. And last year they hit $1 million and this year they're hitting $1 million already in this year. I mean, incredible, incredible growth. And so I wanted to have the conversation with her, like, what did it take to get there? What was the mindset shift required in order for this magic to happen, because a lot of us want it to happen and it takes something a little special to get there. What does it take to get there? Well, listen in and find out. You guys, I have something new to share with you. It is called the Get Started with Speaking Guidebook. Now here's the deal. It's not for people who have never spoken before. It's for people who want to really get serious about their speaking, who know that it is time for them to leverage speaking on behalf of their business or their idea. They're not quite sure how to go about it, right? If you want to become intentional in this approach, if you want to really leverage speaking, then this new resource is totally for you. I'm very excited about it. You can find it at be moved .com/gss.

It's a perfect little entrée into our conversation. Yeah, because you have built a million-dollar business.

I know, how crazy is that?

I mean, it's amazing, and the stats are They are not necessarily in people's favor. There are a lot of entrepreneurs out there. It's like 2% of women.

I didn't read that stat until we had already hit the million-dollar mark, and I was like, I'm really glad I didn't read that beforehand because I would have been like, oh well, maybe it'll happen, you know what I mean?

I kind of wish I hadn't heard that stat myself, so I understand that instinct. I'm like, ah, shoot. Yeah, everybody talks about the million-dollar business and it's a, it's a milestone and obviously it's significant. It's a huge deal. And I know you guys celebrated it.

Mm-hmm.

As about a year ago, right?

Yeah, it was a year that we hit a million dollars overall for like the time we have been since we, you know, started.

Yeah.

And this year we're gonna be hitting our first million-dollar year. So that's crazy.

It's amazing. That is so fantastic. So huge, huge kudos to you and your team. And your team, you've built a business.

Yeah.

So to lay that, I'm gonna like pick your brain how this happened, the, the, especially the thinking that we need to adopt.

Yeah.

As entrepreneurs. And of course I'm really talking to speakers and aspiring speakers to help them step into that next level. And start charging more. Yeah. For their talent and their expertise and, and to make more money with their speaking.

Yeah.

Because there's a lot of money out there in speaking and too many of us take too long to get there. We're soaking in your inspiration.

Yeah.

As you've laid the foundation for yourself and for all the rest of us. But I would love to start with your story. You started out as a VA, right? And now you've got this business. So tell us about your entrepreneurial journey.

Yeah, well, I was a little girl like selling things at 7 years old, like door-to-door. So I have always really enjoyed being an entrepreneur and having my own thing and my own money and like, and just being in charge of how much I make basically. And when I started as a VA, I did it just to pay off some like student loan debt and that sort of thing. And it grew really fast. To the point of where I left my full-time job to become— to do VA support full-time. And I quickly realized that like there were all of these needs that my clients had all the time. And I personally couldn't fill each one of those needs all the time. And launching was something that I just really, really enjoyed. I was, I was fortunate enough to get onto some pretty large launch teams pretty quickly for clients as the tech VA normally, and seeing like the inside of the cog and what all of the needs were. It just made sense to kind of take it from what I like to call a me to a we and making it a team effort and having those experts that could support our clients in a bunch of different ways instead of just like me being, you know, the tech VA.

Right, right.

Yeah.

So a wholesale approach to launch, which is a beautiful thing that I've personally experienced. It's such a relief because launching is so taxing.

It's there, there's just so many things. And I think especially when our clients who haven't launched before or who haven't launched a lot before, they come to us and think like, oh, you know, I just need like a sales page and then like I do the thing and then I make a million dollars. Right. And we're like, okay, here's our like 200+ like project plan with, you know, 200+ tasks and everything. It really does take a team effort, whether that's a small team for, you know, brand new launchers or our, our whole team basically, but it's definitely a huge effort.

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And a big part of launching is our thinking about money. So there's a really interesting overlap here. You are helping entrepreneurs deal with their own money mindset. So not only are you growing your own business, you're really helping other people grow theirs and deal with their money mindsets. So what are some of the big blocks that you see with people as you were trying to push them to a new level and be like, "No, you can do this." Yeah.

So there's two, there's two that come to mind immediately. Number one is charging what their services or what their course or program is actually worth. I know that I dealt with that when I first started. There's a program that I still teach every once in a while. We live launch it like one or two times a year, and it's a month-long thing. And I used to charge $197 for a month of my time, all live classes with like group coaching involved. It was crazy, you know. And it was this deep-rooted belief that like no one's going to pay more for that, you know. And when we like really like unfold that belief, it's 'Well, I'm not worth,' you know, or like, 'The time that I've put into what I have learned is not worth XYZ price.' So a lot of our clients deal with that and just figuring out, you know, how to charge accordingly for all of the— the not just like hours of work in creating and preparing for their launch, but all the hours of work in and years of work in becoming an expert in what they're teaching, you know. So, so that's definitely one. And then the other thing is asking for the sale. And this one, like, it, it shouldn't surprise me, but it still surprises me the number of clients that we have and they have amazing, beautiful products. The launch is ready to go. And then they don't show up on their social media and on those places to actually ask for the sale. And we have to remind them, you have to tell people about the fact that you're doing this thing. And I think that there's something about— I think once again, if we unfold and unpack where it comes from, it's like women being too salesy. Too pushy. You know, it's, it's all of those things that were often taught even as kids and that we take with us in our entrepreneurial journeys.

It's amazing how the childhood stuff— yes, it's head in entrepreneurship. I mean, yeah, of course, but entrepreneurship and speaking is obviously a particular form of entrepreneurship. And most speakers, especially the ones I'm working with, they are— it's existing with in an ecosystem of their business. And so their visibility is a big piece. And even people, like even me, I like being visible. I'm amazed sometimes where I'm like, I have not been showing my face. I've not been showing up. I don't have a problem. This face is crazy.

I love that face.

I don't have a problem being external, but it's amazing how safe the inside of the business can feel sometimes, where I'm like, this is— I'm gonna get really obsessed over this thing internally here instead of, yeah, showing up externally, where it just feels more like I'm just leaping off the cliff and I don't really know what's gonna happen, right?

Well, and it's, it's the thing we know, right, our business and our, our area of expertise, versus the thing that we don't know. And like, most, most people become entrepreneurs, become speakers, become of the thing that they know, you know. Um, welders become welders because they're great at that. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're great at the social media, the visibility, the marketing pieces. Those are all things that you have to practice and be taught in some ways. And so yeah, if you don't practice it, it's really easy to just be like, I'm just gonna tinker with this thing over here.

Yes. And in order to grow a million-dollar business We don't have to be experts at everything, correct? Yes. Right. So I'm like looking for affirmation.

Yes. No, you do not have to be an expert on everything.

In fact, probably trying to do everything is going to keep you from stepping into that space. And I, I just wonder if there are some other lessons that you have learned along the way that would be especially applicable to us as not just entrepreneurs, but maybe even as speakers? What are those things that you're like, well, to get here I had to— I don't know, what are some of those things that you had to embrace or do?

Yeah, I think the big one is embrace community. I am huge on community and huge when it comes to community. And I know that like I would not have the business that I do now without the steps that I took really early on. Actually, on my first full-time year in business, I 52 coffee chats in 52 weeks. And I know, and it was actually more than 52 because there were a number of weeks that I did like 2 or 3 or 4. So it was probably closer to like 70, 75. But there are people that I created and formed connections with that eventually I was on their podcast, or they referred me to a new client, or, you know, they, they saw something that they thought that I would be great at grant-wise. Like, there's all of these connections that I still that, you know, are still near and dear friends to me today. So I think, I think about community a lot and just getting yourself out there and realizing that I don't, I don't ever see somebody as my competition. I always see like, how can we learn and grow together and kind of climb the mountain, you know, to success together? So I think that that's probably one of the big ones. The other one is not doing it all alone. Like, I, anytime somebody's like, oh, how did you create a million-dollar business? I'm like, I have a team, you know? And I quickly realized what I'm great at, what my strengths are and what my weaknesses are and surround myself with the people who complement me really well and have strengths in the places that I'm weak and vice versa.

Yeah.

And so that's a big one. And then also surrounding yourself with people who are a little bit farther ahead than you. So that's— and what I mean by that is I'm always looking for a place where I'm either the small or the medium-sized fish. Instead of the big fish. Because if I'm already the big fish and I'm seeing small and medium only, then I think, "Oh, this is the pinnacle. I've reached it. This is it." But if I'm the small to medium, I can see what's possible. And I had an experience like that recently in a group, and it's in an incubator, 6-month incubator group for those who have million-dollar or more businesses, for women who have million-dollar or more businesses. And I'm like, "Okay." I want to see what is a $3 million business look like? What is a $5 million? And so it was our first meeting and this woman in the group shows up and she's on a private yacht vacation with her husband, like Zooming in from her yacht. And I'm like, okay, I needed to see that. Okay. All right then. I know. I was like, okay, this is where we're headed.

I love it. Okay. So I just did a Movers Live. In my Emerging Speaker Society, the Facebook group, and I was talking about how important it's going to be for us to blow our own minds.

Yes.

And, and to me, that, that absolutely mirrors the experience of being a paid speaker again and again, again and again. I was like, can I ask for this much money? Are they gonna say— like, are the people gonna pay me this much money? Yeah, and I'm just like, like, that was an easy yes. I wasn't expecting that. I just blew my own mind. Or hearing about even like, because I work with speakers who get paid more than I do, and I'm like, holy cow, he just got paid 15 grand for a 30-minute keynote.

Yep, that's great.

That's awesome.

Yeah, I can do that.

If he can do that, I can do that. And just continuing to to blow my own mind and, and see what's possible. So there are a lot of my speakers who are like— because I'm trying to push people into $10 grand per speaking gig, like, this is— that's totally doable. And they're like, that is bonkers, that is crazy. I know it feels bonkers, but once you start, I think, surrounding yourself or even just being aware and learning about what other people make you start going, oh, there's— yeah, it's so much more possible than we realize because all we think is, is possible is what has been possible so far, and we think that that's it.

Exactly, exactly. And I'm actually experiencing that right now as a speaker. I like wanted to speak last year, and then last year didn't happen. And so now this year I'm starting to get in, you know, invited to in-person things, and I'm like Oh my gosh, like, how— what can I, you know? And like, the other day I said a number to somebody and I was like, they are gonna like turn around and be like, well, thanks but no thanks. And they were like, okay, that's great, that's totally in our budget. And I was like, crap, I should have asked for more.

I know, right? Because once you put that number out there, yeah, you can't take it back. Be like, actually, I meant to add another zero on there.

Yeah. But yeah, I know that when I first started off as a VA, like the number that most VAs are trying to get to is $5,000. Like if I, you know, can consistently have a $5,000 month, like that's awesome. And yes, that is awesome to have. But one of my first coaches, she was in one of those groups and she was making $200,000 a year. And I was like, oh, that's possible. Like, that's a thing. Okay. You know, and like, like you were saying, like when I saw that she did it, it was like, okay, well, It's not out of the realm of possibility for me. It's just doing, going through the steps and doing the work.

Yep.

Yeah.

And, and honestly, that's part of the reason I'm taking on this, this million-dollar mission, because I know that there are people watching me and sometimes I can, I can do things for other people way more easily than I can for myself, which is a thing. I'm working on it. Like I'm aware, but having that as a motivator for me. That I want to lead the way on this and I make $10,000 when I speak, not always, but sometimes, then if that's possible for me, then it's possible for you. And I'm going to keep pushing the envelope of what I think is possible to blow my own mind. And I want everybody else to come along as well because there is so much potential and impact if we can push into that next stage and just not settle for what has been. Yeah, because there are people out there who need to hear from you.

Absolutely, absolutely. They need to hear your story. Absolutely.

So, Tasha, we're talking so much about mindset and how powerful our thinking is, and a lot of people look at a million dollars And it's kind of like this, this little dream that they have. But there's this— well, all kinds of stuff, I'm sure, come up for people. Like for me, I'm like, I think I could be a 2%. I could be one of those 2%. Like, I think I could be. But it sounds more like I think I can instead of this is happening. And so I'm curious for yourself, how your thinking has maybe evolved over time so that you, you are a person who makes a million dollars, who has a million dollar business.

Um, yeah, I love that.

I'm that person, you know.

We do.

Yeah. And if you had said 4 years ago, hey Tasha, your, your business is going to make a million dollars a year, I'd be like, huh, Sally, you're hilarious. You know, so there, there is definitely a growth in what my brain and what my mind and my heart can imagine and envision for myself. And I think it's a matter of a couple things. Number 1, last year, we started doing this in 2019, or I started doing this in 2019, where when we decided, or really when I decided, because usually I just go, "Hey team, this is what we're going to make next year," and then they all have heart attacks. But in 2019, I was like, okay, Okay, 2020 is going to be our half a million dollar year. And so at the end of 2019, I started saying it all the time. Every single podcast that I was on, if the guests asked me or if the host asked me, "What question do you want me to ask you?" I would say, "Ask me my goal for 2020." Yes. And the reason was because the first 100 times I said, "We're going to make half a million dollars this year." I almost threw up in my mouth. It freaked me out. I almost pooped my pants. It was terrible. But then it started being just like, oh, the sky is blue. I'm making $500,000 this year. And the same thing with the million dollar year. When we made that goal, I was just like, I need to say it and I need to say it out loud until it doesn't scare me anymore. And now I have this thing where every time the clock strikes my birthday, so my birthday is March 24th. So every time it's 3:24, I say million dollar year, million dollar year. And it's just a matter of making it so matter of fact that it's like, why wouldn't I hit that goal? You know? And then the second part to that is I think sometimes we stop at, oh, I'm going to make $1 million, and then we forget that like there are actions to do that. So yes, there are different roads that it can take. And I try not to be as rigid as like to make $1 million, we have to do this, this, this, this, and this. But I— we look at You know, we create a strategy around it and we say, okay, what are some of the roads in order to be able to do this? And then following through in that action piece. I think a lot of times we sit too much in the cerebral or just like the, the mindset, you know, the meditation and the mindset and everything, and then we don't walk into the action.

Right.

Yeah.

I heard something the other day that was really helpful for me, and it was talking about the becoming, right? So our thoughts help us. I love this idea of—

I—

you had to say it out loud enough times that it didn't freak, freak you out.

Yeah.

But part of the reason we do that is so that our behavior can back it up.

Yeah.

So that our actions— we actually take the action. So sometimes we have to start there, you know. We have to be like, I, I have to believe this harder. I have to convince myself a little bit more, but also our actions are a way of convincing ourselves as well. And we really have to do both. We can't just, like you said, meditate and have all the candles and the, you know, yeah, I'm like, I've got a million Post-it notes around me right now that are like, make decisions, Nelly. I've got all the things that are telling, reminding me. What to think for myself and what to repeat. But if I don't do, if I don't show up, yeah, you don't get external. If you don't get visible, if you don't, like, you, you aren't becoming the person who has a million-dollar business.

Exactly. Yes. And the other thing, one of the other things that, as you were saying that, I just remembered that I did was I literally Googled, what do, what do million-dollar business CEOs do. Like, what do they do, you know, like with their day? And read some of like— there's, there's a whole bunch of articles on like what million-dollar CEOs like how they spend their day. And I was like, okay, how, how am— do I need to show up as a million-dollar CEO? So I wrote down like, you know, she, she makes sure that she connects with like her friends and family, like she eats well and exercises, like she, you know, believes in her own abilities, like all of those things that are just Oh, these are things that I need to embody and either continue doing or do better in order to step into my next level.

Beautiful.

Yeah, I was just reading this morning, I'm listening to the Rachel Rodgers book. Everyone should be—

everyone, we should all be— we should all be—

we should all—

we should all be millionaires. That's a much better title.

We should all be millionaires. So good, so inspiring. And that idea of what it— what does it look like? What does your day look like? Because that is the embodiment of it, the becoming of it, and finding those little ways to— I just listened to the one she was like, what, what a million-dollar action is, and the littlest thing. And it is things like making sure that you walk out the door feeling really good, like you're wearing something you feel really good in. Yeah, that's, that's a million-dollar behavior. That's a million-dollar becoming. And even those little tweaks can make a big difference because we have to convince ourselves, right?

Exactly.

It's all tied up.

The thing is, doing, being, the becoming, the becoming.

Awesome. So let me ask you this: what is next for you in the million-dollar journey? Like you just said, you're in this group, you're starting to imagine Yeah, even more.

What's next?

Yeah.

So about a month ago, I was driving back from Starbucks as I do every morning. It's like the only place I go. And all of a sudden I was like, we're going to do $3 million next year. So I voxed my team and they fainted. And then when they, when they came to, they were like, okay. And we have, we've been intentional about, so I kind of have two sides to my business, right? I have the agency side and then I have the coaches coaching and course side for myself that I do. And we this year have been intentional about evening it— evening out like which side, you know, does what in terms of revenue. And now we next year taking the Tasha Booth side, as we call the coaching and course side, to like double if not triple it. So that's the cool high five, right?

That's your speaking side.

That's the speaking side.

Yes, it's you.

Exactly. Yeah. So that's, that's super fun. And that's one of the reasons that my leadership team is flying in in October for, for 4 days, because I'm like, okay, so how, how are we gonna do this?

We know the goal.

How are we gonna get there?

All right, I can't wait to see more Tasha Booth out in the world.

Thank you.

Because you have a— this is a fun little fact I learned about you after we worked together and after I knew you, I had forgotten— if I knew before, I'd forgotten— you were a theater person. You're like a performer, legit performer.

I am. My degree is in musical theater. I did it, I did it for 12 years, like professionally, until I— I know, how crazy is that?

Well, it makes so much sense, but it's a really interesting career path, right? Yeah. Because you went from there and then you're a tech tech VA.

I know, who would have thought?

Those are not typical skills that exist in the same human.

They're not, they're not. And people are shocked by it all the time. I'm like, I don't know, you know what I think it is? Because I've been dancing since I was 3 years old, and when I see tech, I see it as a dance. Like, I see in my brain, I see how all of it connects, and like, it's like choreography to me. That's the best way I can explain it. But I think that that's why it works.

But, but what I love about this is as you are stepping more out front in your own brand where you are, you're the teacher, you're the coach, you've got the course, like that's the ecosystem of your business. And you know, the Launch Guild is part of that. It's like a little offshoot for you. But, but all of those skills as an entrepreneur, as You know, you're mastering being a badass CEO.

Mm-hmm.

Because you are like, oh, thank you. Every time you post something, I'm like, yeah, yeah, what she said. But you get to be a performer again. You get to. Yeah. And you already, you are external, you are out front, you are on podcasts all the time.

So many.

So many.

Summits. I'm like, Tasha's doing another summit. There she is doing her thing. But I love that you are embracing you as the brand, as the external voice and face, and getting out there and kicking butt. So do you have any specific goals for yourself as a speaker in the next few years?

I just want to speak more. I think that that's, that's really my, my big goal now. I think it'll, it'll morph and it'll kind of shape itself a little bit more as I go. But right now it's just a matter of like saying yes to a lot of opportunities when they come to speak and, and continuing to refine it. Yeah. Yeah.

Yep. That's how, that's how it happens. And I love that you're—

thank you. That's good. Which was not something I was doing 2 years ago. I was doing a lot of like free stuff and then all of a sudden I was like, huh, I should probably start charging people. Yeah.

Cuz you can. And You know, as entrepreneurs, there's always going to be a role for free visibility. Like, yeah, it's powerful. It has its place in your business. Absolutely. And it can be a part, a really powerful part of a funnel where, where you're— it's a lead generator, right? I mean, that's why you do podcasts. Exactly.

Exactly.

Into your universe in a pretty simple, you know, low-time commitment. Low stress way, ideally. But I love that you're also operating as a high-level million-dollar business CEO.

Yeah, thank you.

And not enough women in particular, and women of color in particular, you have got to push that for yourself. So I'm really happy to see that.

Thank you.

That's awesome.

Yay!

Well, this has been really fun. I am so grateful for your time and your energy and your brilliance and for just leading the way for us. Because I personally, just because you're in my, you know, whatever universe in some small way, I'm like, I love that, follow behind you, do my— do your thing, and then it helps me do my thing, truly.

So yeah, oh, well, thank you for that.

Okay, well, tell everybody where they can connect with you and follow up with you. What's next? Yes.

So my company's called The Launch Guild. That's our website too, thelaunchguild.com. Also, you can find me at tashabooth.com. So those are the two places. I hang out on Instagram way too much, so come and find me, say hey.

And every once in a while we get to see pictures of Tasha back in the dancing days.

I know, it's crazy. I am super excited because I live in Albuquerque and Albuquerque has an amazing theater community. And it's the weird, like, quirk— that and the ballooning is the weird quirk of Albuquerque. But yeah, I'm very excited to get back into theater. I did a lot of it the last time we lived here, and since we've moved back, theater hasn't been a thing. But, you know, it's coming back. So when it comes back, I will be there.

Well, this is— I mean, yes, sign me up.

Like, can you livestream that?

I don't know. I'm going to get to Albuquerque. You're awesome.

Thanks for being here.

Thank you.

All right, everybody. Thank you again for joining me here on the show. I hope I will see you next week right here. Now, a quick request. If you've been listening for a long time, you know this. I've been doing this for years. Years, my friend. We are almost at episode number 300, but here's the deal. You amazing, sweet people who listen and watch. I love you. I'm so, so grateful for you. But I want more people to find this show. People reach out to me, tell me how much they appreciate it. That means the absolute world to me. If you haven't yet, to rate and review this show over on Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, wherever you listen. And then would you share it? Would you please be willing to share this show over on the socials? The easiest way to do that would be, of course, to follow me on social and then share what I'm sharing, because then it's really easy and it takes like 3 seconds, right? Okay.

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