Episode 166 – How to Grow Your Business So Fast it Feels ILLEGAL

Subscribe on: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | YOUTUBE | GOOGLE | RSS

Note: This blog post serves as an accompaniment to the corresponding podcast episode of A Changed Mind, where we’ll distill down the core ideas of this week’s theme, along with additional distinctions and insights. If you haven’t listened to the episode yet, you can go here to do so.  Enjoy.

Everyone’s telling you to hustle harder, build more funnels, and chase more leads. But that’s exactly why so many entrepreneurs are stuck. I built a $40 million business by doing the opposite of what every guru teaches, and today I want to share with you the 11 steps that actually work. These aren’t theories. This is the exact roadmap I used, and it’s the same framework that has worked for thousands of my clients.

Here’s the part most people won’t tell you: this isn’t just about business strategy. It’s about how you think and who you have to become in the process. The tactics are important, but the transformation in identity is what sustains everything. Let’s go step by step.

Step One: Spiritual Vision
Every successful business begins with spiritual vision. This is more than just setting a financial goal—it’s about aligning your business with who you’ve become through the unique experiences of your life. You have been designed with certain gifts, challenges, and lessons that have prepared you for a specific contribution. Your business is meant to be an extension of that. When you create a business rooted in your spiritual vision, you’re building something that expresses your essence, not just something designed to chase dollars.

For me, years of suffering through addiction, trauma, and limiting beliefs gave me a deep empathy for human struggle. At the same time, I had entrepreneurial experience and a gift for breaking down complex ideas into simple frameworks. All of that combined into my spiritual vision: ending human suffering by making the complex simple. That vision became the foundation for my business. And here’s what I know—when your business is born out of who you’ve become, it sustains you when times get tough. Because tough times always come, and if your motivation is just money, it won’t carry you through. Vision gives meaning to the grind. Vision pulls you forward when motivation fades.

Step Two: Identify Your Ideal Client
If you try to speak to everyone, you end up connecting with no one. Identifying your ideal client is about dialing in with specificity. It’s not enough to say “I work with people in their 30s and 40s.” You need to understand the emotional experience of the people you serve. A stay-at-home mom struggling with mindset is not the same as a CEO running a business. When you get specific, you can craft offers and messages that resonate deeply.

I learned this lesson the hard way. My first attempt at building a course for people in recovery flopped because my audience was conditioned to receive free support in 12-step groups. Later, I tried focusing on people who loved the law of attraction, but most of them weren’t actually manifesting money, which made it a poor market for my services. Finally, I pivoted to entrepreneurs—a group that aligned with my own experience, valued transformation, and had the financial resources to invest. That decision was a turning point in my business. The more I refined my ideal client, the clearer my marketing became, and the more clients felt like I was speaking directly to them.

Step Three: Create Irresistible Messaging
Once you know who you serve, you need to communicate in a way that stands out. The marketplace is crowded with “red ocean” messaging—everyone saying the same thing, competing on price. To succeed, you need a “blue ocean” message that differentiates you. For me, that meant combining neuroscience, psychology, and spiritual wisdom to frame transformation in a way that was unique in my market.

One of my favorite messaging tools is the “What I Found” framework. Instead of telling people what I do, I share what I’ve discovered: “What I found is that most entrepreneurs are chasing strategy when what they really need is a mindset shift.” This makes me sound like a researcher, someone who has insights worth listening to, rather than just another coach making promises. And because people love to feel like they’re being let in on a discovery, they lean in and want to hear more. Over time, this type of messaging positions you not just as a service provider but as a thought leader.

Step Four: Build a Premium Offer
Your offer is the bridge between your message and your business model. And here’s a truth most people miss: undercharging will keep you stuck forever. If you’re charging $125 an hour, you need too many clients just to get by. But if you charge between $3,000 and $8,000 for a transformational package, just a few clients a month can change your financial reality.

At first, I underpriced myself badly. When I raised my fees to reflect the value I actually provided, I lost some clients—but I made more money while working less. Premium pricing not only increased my revenue, it created better results for my clients, because they showed up with real commitment. And here’s the hidden benefit: when you work with fewer clients at higher rates, you have more time and energy to overdeliver, refine your systems, and scale sustainably. A premium offer is not just about money—it’s about freedom.

Step Five: Master Enrollment and Sales
Sales isn’t about manipulation—it’s about service. Selling is helping someone overcome the objections that stand between them and the life they desire. When you see enrollment conversations as sacred, everything changes. You’re not trying to trick anyone; you’re guiding them to commit to their own transformation.

If you can improve your conversion rates, you won’t need endless leads. Ten leads with a 50% close rate is five clients—far more efficient than chasing 100 leads at a 10% close rate. Learn basic persuasion skills, create a script to guide your conversations, and treat selling as service. This single shift can transform your business. And when you truly believe in the transformation you provide, you’ll find that sales becomes natural—because you’re simply helping people step into the life they already want.

Step Six: Align Marketing with What You Do Best
Forget the myth that you’re one funnel away from success. Most heart-centered entrepreneurs aren’t natural internet marketers, and trying to force yourself into strategies you hate is a recipe for burnout. Instead, align your marketing with your strengths. If you’re a teacher, use presentations as your marketing strategy.

For me, presentations became the foundation of everything—whether it’s a webinar, a keynote, a podcast, or even a casual conversation at a networking event. Sharing knowledge in a structured way positions you as a thought leader, builds trust, and attracts clients naturally. Marketing doesn’t feel like a grind when it’s something you love doing. And when you find a strategy that energizes you instead of drains you, you can sustain it for the long haul. That’s the key—consistency, not gimmicks.

Step Seven: Build Offline Before Online
Online business is crowded and competitive. Offline, you can stand out instantly. I learned this after struggling with online funnels for over a year with little to show for it. Then a friend invited me to give a presentation to a small group. Fifteen people attended, and three became clients, generating $27,000 in one hour. That was more than I had made in months of online hustling.

The lesson? Build offline first. Speak to real people in real rooms. Create connections, deliver value, and enroll clients face-to-face. Once you’re generating consistent income offline, you can translate that into online strategies. And here’s the bonus—offline experience builds confidence, sharpens your message, and helps you master delivery. When you do go online, you’re not guessing—you’re scaling something that already works.

Step Eight: Start with One-on-One Work
Ignore the advice to avoid trading time for money. At the beginning, one-on-one work is the fastest path to income, experience, and testimonials. Charge premium rates, work deeply with clients, and refine your process. Later, you can expand into group programs and courses—but don’t skip the foundation of one-on-one.

When I began charging $3,000 to $8,000 for one-on-one work, I was able to build a solid income with just a handful of clients. Over time, as demand grew, I introduced group coaching and raised my one-on-one rates to reflect scarcity and value. Today, I charge $150,000 a year for private coaching—but that only became possible because I built from the ground up. One-on-one work gave me mastery. It gave me stories. It gave me the confidence that my process worked. Skipping this step is like trying to build a skyscraper without a foundation.

Step Nine: Launch a Digital Course (at the Right Time)
Courses are powerful, but only after you’ve proven your process through one-on-one and group work. Your early programs teach you what questions clients ask, what challenges they face, and what frameworks get results. Then, you can codify your system into a course that reaches more people.

This sequence matters. Too many entrepreneurs try to launch a course first, without experience or proof. By following the order—one-on-one, group, then course—you create something based on mastery, not guesswork. And your course becomes a scalable asset that fits naturally into your business ecosystem. Courses should be the fruit of your labor, not the seed. When you launch at the right time, you’ll have the confidence, clarity, and case studies to make it successful.

Step Ten: Automate and Amplify with AI
Once your business is working, you can automate processes and scale. Build lead magnets, email sequences, webinars, and funnels—but only after you’ve validated your offers and messaging offline. AI now makes this process 10 times faster and easier. I use AI to create content, refine messaging, and streamline operations. But I never let it replace real human connection. Use AI to reduce busywork, not to avoid the essential work of building relationships.

The danger with automation is trying to scale something that doesn’t work yet. That’s why steps one through nine are so important. When you automate the wrong thing, you just amplify failure. But when you automate something proven, AI becomes rocket fuel. It frees up your time to focus on creativity, vision, and leadership while the systems handle the rest.

Step Eleven: Master Your Mindset
This is the step that wraps around all the others. Your beliefs create your reality. Limiting beliefs will show up as procrastination, indecision, or self-sabotage. Business is the greatest spiritual game—it mirrors back to you the places you need to heal. If you don’t transform your mindset, no strategy will stick.

I’ve spent years rewiring my beliefs, facing my trauma, and choosing new identities. Every leap in my business has been preceded by a mindset shift. If you want to build a sustainable business, this is non-negotiable. Mindset is the foundation. And mindset isn’t just positive thinking—it’s about facing the fears that come up, learning to regulate your nervous system, and choosing new perspectives when old ones try to pull you back. The better your mindset, the more resilient you become. And resilience is the true superpower of entrepreneurship.

The Roadmap That Collapses Time

Most entrepreneurs fail because they try to do things out of order. They want to automate before they have anything to automate. They want to launch courses before they’ve mastered one-on-one. They skip mindset work and wonder why nothing sticks. But when you follow these 11 steps in sequence, everything stacks. Authority builds. Pricing rises. Testimonials multiply. And you’re not just building a business—you’re building your life’s work.

This is the roadmap that took me 15 years and half a million dollars in mistakes to discover. You can piece it together over a decade—or you can follow this path and collapse time. The choice is yours. But remember: you don’t get what you want in life. You get who you are being. So be someone who takes action, and watch your entire reality transform.