How I Built a Six-Figure Business from a Balcony in Cyprus

And conquered my fears…

OMG we’ve just gone over the $100k mark‘ I shouted to anyone who would listen in the foyer of the hotel I was in.

I was at a marketing event in London a few days after I had just launched my ’Social Networking Academy’ and had been watching the sales climb during the week.

By the time the launch ended, I had generated $117,000 in 7 days.

I couldn’t believe it. All the doubts I had about myself and this business model melted away as I realized all the hard work and months of frustration and fear were worth it. It worked.

Four years later I topped $600k in course launches and a year after that $1million in physical product sales.

All of that from $1000, 3 suitcases and a 4 year old under my arm!

How it all Began

Ok it wasn’t that bad, I don’t have a super dramatic rags to riches story, but it all started back in 2010, when I was visiting some friends in Cyprus, soaking up the sun and enjoying a much-needed break.

At the time, I had no idea they worked entirely online. To me, they just seemed to have this easy, carefree lifestyle - spending their days sipping coffee at beachside cafés or planning their next big adventure.

But during our stay, they shared more about how they were building online businesses they could run from anywhere in the world.

Back then, the UK was still reeling from the post-recession blues, and like so many others, I was desperate for a change.

Before we left, they handed me a copy of The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, which I devoured on the plane ride home.

Every page felt like a spark igniting something deep inside me. The idea of escaping the traditional grind, traveling the world, and designing a life on my own terms?

Yes, please.

Less than six months later, my husband (then boyfriend) & I scooped up our 4-year-old, sold everything we owned for the princely sum of around $1,000, and headed back to Cyprus to house sit for those same friends while they set off on a six-week tour of Europe.

Where it all began…

We really had no idea what we were doing or were going to do and had limited savings and a couple of credit cards, which we calculated might get us through 3 or 4 months without any income.

Nothing like burning your boats and giving yourself a deadline to encourage some massive action taking!

The Road to Millions!

I had joined a mentorship program called ‘Chris Mentor Me’ created by the lovely Chris Farrell, and was learning how to build an ‘optin’ page and start generating email addresses.

Plus I was doing some webinar training and had made some great friends along the way all on their own journeys towards making money online.

However, I didn’t know what I didn't know, and back in those days every online man and his dog was touting ‘make money fast’, ‘make a million with a click of a button’, ‘download this program and get rich quick’!

In my naivety I was convinced with my work ethic, I’d be a millionaire within a few months!

How wrong I was.

But rather than sit about and do nothing I just started experimenting with everything I was learning about.

• I started a forum and generated a 500 strong email list

• I created a short video series and made my first $27 (and celebrated hard!)

• I played with webinars, blogs, article writing, JV (joint venture) giveaways, PLR (private label rights) products.

Basically anything that looked like it might generate leads or income.

I was getting pretty frustrated when…

Facebook Fan Pages

Back then Facebook business pages were a much bigger deal than they are now and most businesses didn’t understand how they worked, so after watching a webinar on how to generate leads from inside your fan page, I had my first ‘big idea!’

I paid a chap from the Warrior Forum (now I’m showing my age) $100 to create me some easy code to build landing pages inside a facebook fan page. I set it up as a lead page and over several months of publishing videos, running webinars, creating content, engaging with people online I built an email list of 18,000 people.

Along the way I launched a video based course called 2000 fans in 27 Days for about $47, and sold around 300 copies which was handy as the credit card bills were starting to pile up.

Then in April, back in the UK for a short stint, I launched The Social Networking Academy (a membership program) from my Mum’s living room.

I made thousands of dollars of sales on the launch webinar and as I said at the start of the post generated a total of $117,000 in seven days.

The rest they say is history. We haven’t looked back since.

How I Generated $117k in 7 Days

1. I found a hungry niche. Every man and his dog wanted to know how to use FB to grow their business. I tapped into that niche and became the go-to person for total beginners.

2. I offered a massive amount of value. I made videos, jumped on Skype calls, responded to emails, and went out of my way to help as many people as possible understand how to use Facebook for their business.

3. I created a high-converting lead generator. My free fan page templates went like gangbusters. They only cost me $100 to set up, but meant that people had a very easy solution to the complex problem of adding code into their FB page (back in the day my friend, back in the day!). Within 6 – 8 months I built an email list of around 18,000 people.

4. I put a lot of time and energy into ensuring The membership academy would be a high-quality product that I could sell with energy, enthusiasm, and absolute conviction.

5. I had a lot of help. From Chris’s program to chats on the phone with friends and colleagues to people helping me build pages and graphics etc, to working with some awesome people to actually build and sell the site, etc. Without all the help I had I probably wouldn’t be living the life I am now.

From Zero to Six to Seven Figures

There is no secret to building a successful business online. Every model I’ve pursued has followed the same formula (and interestingly all those I’ve tried without following this formula have failed).

You start with something you’re interested in, curious about, can immerse yourself in, and has a passionate audience.

Think; pets, gardening, health, fitness, TikTok, music, travel, relationships, personal growth, mental health, happiness, productivity etc - the list goes on and on and on!

You identify the passionate audience, get to know who they are intimately, and speak to them directly.

Then you build a huge audience by offering immense value over a long period of time.

• Amy Porterfield - 10 years of weekly podcasts

• Gary Vaynerchuck - Over 1000 Wine Library TV Episodes

• Justin Welsh - 4 years of daily LinkedIn posts

• Seth Godin - Daily blogs for over 10 years, plus over 20 published books

I’m not saying it’s going to take 10 years, but all of the above examples started where you are and have grown exponentially the more content they have consistently produced.

“Figuring out what you are supposed to produce, and learning the priorities in the creation, quality, and frequency of that output, is one of the greatest breakthroughs you can have in your career.”

Brendon Burchard – High Performance Habits

You then create products, offers, and services that meet the needs of your audience.

Getting Out of Your Own Way

Looking back at my journey from that balcony in Cyprus to where I am today, my biggest obstacles haven’t been technical knowledge, money, or even time.

The thing that’s got in the way the most has been my own insecurities and fears.

• Fear of failing

• Fear of having others watch me try (and fail I guess)

• Fear of rejection

• Fear of judgement

And the bad news is that your fears never really go away.

Even now, with multiple six and seven-figure launches under my belt, I still feel it.

However now I know it’s a signal that I'm pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and am growing and evolving.

Once you take that first leap and prove to yourself that you can survive (and even thrive) outside your comfort zone, something shifts inside you.

The unknown suddenly becomes less scary than the thought of regret. Regret of never trying and never knowing what could have been.

My story isn't particularly special. I didn't have everything figured out when I started. I simply decided to begin before I felt ready.

I learned that perfect timing doesn't exist, and sometimes you just need to take that first step.

So remember - that flutter of fear in your stomach means you're about to do something worthwhile.

Go get it!

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