The reason I quit my job was because I wanted to create something of my own.
I wanted something that combined all of the things that made me ME, coupled with the learnings I’ve had along the way. And, I wanted it to be impactful, valuable, and meaningful to the people I wanted to help.
But before there was a 6-week cohort called Just Start, a landing page, or this email I’m writing now, it started with a whole bunch of questions.
I didn’t know the format for what it was going to look like, who it was going to be for, or how I’d promote it.
But this is where both my product marketing background came into play, as well as lots of support from my business coach, where I could bounce off different ideas.
Here are some messy notes of my brain trying to visualize my journey!
So first, I asked myself a few key questions.
Who do I want to help? I thought about my own journey and broke it down into 3 major phases. “The breakdown”, “experimentation”, and “the leap”. I identified that I want to help people who are in the “experimentation” phase—exploring their options and ready to do the work but aren’t ready to leave their full-time job yet.
How do I like to learn? I’ve been in both 1:1 and group coaching programs. When I was only in 1:1 coaching, I wish I could have connected with the other people in the 1:1 program. When I’ve only been in group cohorts, I’ve wanted to have a little bit of 1:1 time. So I decided that I’d include all of it + an IRL event for those who were in NYC. Why not meet in person if you can?
What would be fun for me? I knew that a central theme in my life was about bringing people together, which is what I focused on. A lot of the play came into the branding and marketing component, too. I focused on how to infuse my energy into the landing page and content I created.
Then, I validated it with research and testing.
Research: Once I had an outline of the program, I hopped on calls with a few people who I asked to give me feedback. I used their insights to make adjustments and pick a direction.
Here’s a framework I used to map people I talked to, which helped me
target & refine my message!
Testing: I broke down my experiment by hosting a virtual workshop. Before I even created the content, I spun up a Luma invite and started promotion 3 weeks before. While I was aiming for 30, I got 100 registrations! It was the signal I needed that what I was talking about resonated with a lot of people.
I created a launch plan.
I used to work at Asana so naturally, I created a launch plan in Asana across social, web, and email. This is where my product marketing skills launching products for 7 years really came in handy too.
My promotion plan in Asana
But then, life happened.
I was getting ready to launch and felt the momentum from my workshop, but I flew to CA for a wedding, my grandma passed away, and it felt like all of the client work was starting to balloon all at the same time.
I decided to delay the launch a week to give myself time to rest and recover.
…and finally, I launched Just Start! 🚀
I didn’t feel 100% ready and was debating on if I should host another workshop before launching, but I decided I should take my own advice and just start!
And I’m SO excited about the women who are already signed up for the cohort. They’re committed, ready to take action, and also not sure exactly what that’s going to look like for them yet.
That’s the whole point!
When you feel the discomfort but do it anyways, that’s where the real growth happens.
I hope my story of “just starting” gives you the push to do it, too.
If you want to join Just Start, doors close in 4 days.
I’m not sure when they’ll open again because this is an experiment after all, so by you joining and giving me feedback, I’ll learn if this is something I should iterate on or stop entirely.
I’d love to have you join us! You can sign up here.
If you need a refresher of the program, you can learn more here or reply to this email with any questions. And if financial barrier is a cost for you, let’s chat about options.
Have a great weekend,
Maggie