From $100/Month to $30K Projects: How Rachel Bearbower Completely Transformed Her Business Model
"I was having to fight for every single dollar at a hundred dollars a month. Now I don't get out of bed for less than $30,000 - and I'm working with people who just want to get shit done." - Rachel Bearbower
From $100/Month to $30K Projects: How Rachel Bearbower Completely Transformed Her Business Model
If you've ever struggled to make a profit while serving nonprofits, you're going to love this conversation. Our good friend Rachel Bearbower is back to share how she went from running a membership that was literally losing money every month to commanding $30,000+ for her automation services. And yes, she's still serving the sector we all love!
Rachel opens up about the emotional journey of letting go of her Small Shop Strategies membership (it took her over a year to fully grieve it) and the scary but exhilarating process of building the Nonprofit Automation Agency through pure trial and error. In classic Rachel fashion, she doesn't hold back about the messiness - including the website crash mid-pitch webinar that accidentally led to creating a second business!
I'm still blown away by her transformation. The Rachel who once fought for every $100 membership fee now confidently tells prospective clients on sales calls: "We are very good at what we do" - and they believe her. And they should! She's gone from barely covering expenses to making more in two months than she did in all of 2023.
Highlights:
Done-for-you is a game-changer. Rachel realized that nonprofit leaders don't want to learn automation - they just want someone to handle the "hot mess of tech" for them. And they'll pay premium prices for it!
Real talk on following up. Rachel followed up with one prospect for 109 days before they signed. Her secret? She BCCs herself on every proposal email, then snoozes it weekly as a reminder to check in. Don't assume silence means "no"!
Your referral network is gold. A whopping 44% of Rachel's revenue comes from referrals. She pays 10% commission to fellow consultants who send clients her way - making it a win-win for everyone.
Pricing should evolve with confidence. Rachel's first automation package was $3,500. Today, it's $30,000 - and it's basically the same service! Her team commits to raising prices every quarter as they prove their value.
It's okay to not have it all figured out. Rachel built this incredibly successful business by flying the plane while building it - no grand strategy, just constant iteration based on what worked with real clients.
Timestamp summary:
[00:03:00] - Introduction of Rachel and her "Extreme Makeover Business Edition"
[00:04:00] - Rachel introduces herself and her transition from Small Shop Strategies to Nonprofit Automation Agency
[00:08:00] - Rachel explains how her membership wasn't profitable despite her best efforts
[00:09:00] - The website crash during a pitch webinar that led to creating a second business
[00:13:00] - Rapid fire questions - Rachel's favorite automation tools and her love for Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
[00:15:00] - Discussion of how Rachel iterated her service offering with each new client
[00:17:00] - The shift from a $100/month membership to $30,000 done-for-you services
[00:20:00] - Rachel's sales strategy and how she structures payments over 6 months
[00:22:00] - The mindset shift in clients - from scarcity to "want to get it done"
[00:25:00] - Why done-for-you services are easier than membership models
[00:27:00] - Lead generation and tracking sales calls
[00:29:00] - Revenue breakdown: 44% from referrals, 22% from podcasts and speaking
[00:30:00] - Rachel's 45% close rate and average 39-day sales cycle
[00:32:00] - Rachel's follow-up strategy - including following up for 109 days
[00:36:00] - How Rachel builds referral relationships and her 10% commission structure
[00:43:00] - Discussion of future business challenges and scaling opportunities
[00:46:00] - Revenue confession: From losing money to booking $180-190K in revenue
[00:47:00] - Rachel's goals: Hoping to hit half a million this year with potential for 7 figures
[00:49:00] - Where listeners can connect with Rachel - including her side project
Resources Mentioned:
Nonprofit Automation Agency: https://www.nonprofitautomationagency.com/
Kit (formerly ConvertKit): https://kit.com/?gad_source=1
"Letters to Randy": http://letterstorandy.com/
Find Us Online: https://www.confessionswithjessandcindy.com
Connect with Rachel:
Website: https://www.nonprofitautomationagency.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelbearbower
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smallshopstrategies/
Connect with Cindy:
Cindy Wagman Coaching: cindywagman.com
Fractional Fundraising Network: fractionalfundraising.co/
LinkedIn: ca.linkedin.com/in/cindywagman
Connect with Jess:
Out In the Boons: https://www.outintheboons.me
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jesscampbelloutntiheboons/
TRANSCRIPT:
[00:00:00] Welcome to the Confessions podcast. I'm Cindy Wagman. And I'm Jess Campbell. We're two former in-house nonprofit pros turned coaches and consultants to purpose-driven organizations. After years of building up our separate six figure businesses from scratch, we've thrown a lot of spaghetti at the wall and have lived to see what sticks.
[00:00:20] We're on a mission to help other nonprofit coaches and consultants looking to start or scale their own businesses past the six figure mark by pulling back the curtain. Whether you're still working inside a nonprofit and thinking of one day going out on your own, or you've been running your consulting business.
[00:00:37] Four years. You understand that working with nonprofits is just different. We're giving you access to the business leaders who serve nonprofits as their clients, you know the people who truly get it. No more gatekeeping, no more secrets. This podcast is going to give you an inside look at what running a [00:01:00] successful nonprofit coaching and consulting business looks like.
[00:01:03] Basically, we're asking people how much money they make. How they get paid and what has and hasn't worked in their businesses. Listen in as these leaders share their insights, their numbers, and the good, the bad, and the ugly. When it comes to building a nonprofit coaching or consulting business, we're gonna empower you to make the power moves that give you the income and freedom you set out to create from day one.
[00:01:28] You ready? Let's go.
[00:01:29] Hey Jess, welcome back. Cindy. Thank you Of course. We'll have a separate episode all about your travels. I dunno, we need to have an episode about it, but, It was so nice. We took two weeks. We were in Japan, and it was glorious. Really like a good memory making trip. So yeah, I can only imagine what easing back into it feels like.
[00:01:53] Ugh. Jet lag is really brutal. This time. I slept for two. you went far away. It was [00:02:00] really far and. Because we were so active there, and then we came back and I'm like at my desk all day and barely leave the house. I feel like it was even harder to adjust. Yeah. but aside from that, it was so great.
[00:02:15] So great. Awesome. And maybe one day I'll talk about how we upgraded our seats for one leg of the trip, which was very fun and fancy. So yeah. I might need your tips because I've got a. Very long husband and we've got a very long trip this summer, yeah. when I look at the price though, I'm like, oh, sorry babe, you've gotta just squeeze.
[00:02:37] Yeah, he's very, because like it doesn't really matter for me, like I can, it's fine, but for him. Oops. Yeah. A little hard. actually, today's guest, I think is a better person to ask about that because I feel like she gets Oh yeah. She knows all the secrets. and I'm calling today's episode like the Extreme [00:03:00] Makeover Business Confessions Business Edition.
[00:03:02] 'cause everyone, our listeners should all know Rachel Bear Bauer by now. hey, Rach. Hey, this is definitely not your first time on the podcast. You are one of our very first guests and, you've been on our mastermind edition podcast episodes and, we're revisiting your business because since you joined us, those very early days, your business is Completely different. Yeah. that is so exciting for people who might not know about you maybe, or like most people probably don't know your new business. So do introduce yourself and what you're doing now? Yeah. Hi everybody. yeah. So I have been small shop strategies for the last. Seven years, I ran a membership for small shop executive directors.
[00:03:56] Really taught, or, systems productivity, time [00:04:00] management. That was really my jam. And, really big shift, last year. And so now I have the nonprofit automation agency. I wasn't exactly trying to create a second business. It was more out of a need. but. Yeah. Right now through the agency we're helping nonprofits automate their donor stewardship period.
[00:04:23] Okay. Why, like I'm, why is I start a second business? Or why did, and I think that's actually an important distinction because I think you're in the transition phase, like towards the closure of transition. But the goal isn't to like necessarily have two businesses, right? She's shaking her head no. And but my larger question and like I would say I'm a but why person? I think Cindy's a very but why person. You definitely are a but why person. And I think there's a lot of people out there [00:05:00] that make the decision to leave their in-house job, in a nonprofit, start consulting, and then they think they need to do this the next 30 years.
[00:05:09] And I think it's. A very brave, but also I really just admire that you have always had your listening ears open to the needs of your customer and you're such a, I'm gonna fix it kind of person. And so walk us through the thought process. what were the signs your clients were showing you?
[00:05:31] Like what, when was there a moment where you were like. I need to maybe s not do this thing and start doing that thing, walk us through that evolution. Great question. Okay. so I ran this membership for three years supporting executive directors. Very much like it was a very close group of people and.
[00:05:58] So I really had the [00:06:00] pulse on a lot of organizations and the needs of organizations. Okay, let's set that aside. That's through, that was through small ship. I also like doing automation stuff. So I was always like, and I was teaching systems, so it was like they go hand in hand. And so what was happening is I was having executive directors come to me and be like, Hey, can you help me with this automation or can you help me?
[00:06:25] So I, and then I was having. Consultant like, or just run, be like, Hey, can you help me with this thing? And so it became like I was starting to do this, I don't know what we call like maybe a backdoor offer, even though it was like all over the place and nothing like it. It wasn't an offer. It was like everything.
[00:06:45] and so I started doing that more and I was like, okay. I really like automation. This is something that people are gravitating towards, but in order to do it, especially within the nonprofit sector, like there's all these other [00:07:00] things that have to be aligned, like the tech and and anyone who's worked in nonprofits know that, like we all work in nonprofits, but that like they're, the tech is frustrating and it doesn't always work.
[00:07:11] okay. Then in. What I think one thing that should just be called out here, despite my best effort, just to be really honest and transparent, the membership wasn't making money. I was losing money every single month, and it was brutal because I loved running the membership. And so I had this point where I was like, okay, I need to figure out how to make money.
[00:07:40] There's this backdoor offer. The membership isn't working, and so it everything collided the end of 2022, beginning of 2023. And so I made, I was like, okay, I'm going to put out an offer that was a, an automation offer. Everyone [00:08:00] yourself. I am in the middle of the pitch webinar and my website.
[00:08:08] Like it's, you guys are like, oh yeah, I remember this. The crashes not because too many people were going on, it was some glitch. So the reason I have two businesses is not because of a strategic decision, it is because I had to build quickly a new website so that I could then. rebuild my small shop website.
[00:08:37] And and I needed a new URLI needed like all, so I built a new website, nonprofit automation agency.com in a weekend. yeah, I remember like all your, like links weren't working. Like I just, I remember it was like 300 lengths. Like it was just like, but What are they say? Necessity is the something of invention. The mother of [00:09:00] invention. What's saying? It sucked. I suck at those things. I always get them wrong. I know, I'm like Biff, but like you went from this crisis mode to being like, oh, okay.
[00:09:16] Wait, there's some, there's something real here. Yeah. Tell us about that. Transition and maybe like letting go of and moving on, Yeah. there's so much you went through. Yeah. and just I think the process of stepping away from something that you spent so much time and had so much passion for and then you do this thing really bootstrappy really quickly and you get fast traction with it.
[00:09:46] that's a bit of a mind fuck. Oh yeah, no, I think you guys have seen me for the last 18 months and my eye, that emoji that's the eyes are always like, you are like, yeah, that's me. Like for, [00:10:00] I'm like, is this real life? I don't know. the transition was a lot harder than I expected.
[00:10:05] it took me a. Full year plus to let go of the membership. it was really hard. I'm still not sure it was the right decision. it was, but it was really hard. It was a big, I really had to grieve it. which sounds like slowly, but I did, I worked really hard. I loved it. just what you said about listening to your people,
[00:10:27] every small shop is I don't have time, I don't have systems, I don't have resources. I built all of that. I built the, an incredible course. Like all these things. it was not working. And so the, but the transition, When, okay, so I built the automation agency and then, you're trying to come up with the headline and like all the copy and what is the offer?
[00:10:49] and again, I was like, overcomplicating it and it was like, from where it started, I don't even remember exactly. but [00:11:00] over the course, so like I really let's say launched it in like April of last year, so almost a year ago. Every single new project, I refined the offer. The offer kept changing until I would say about October and I was like, okay, we offer five automations to, for the first a hundred days of your donor experience, we create remarkable donor journeys.
[00:11:28] Okay, so now I know exactly what I'm offering, but like where I started. It evolved so many times. It literally evolved every single time I did a project. I also increased my prices every single time I did this project. I didn't have the answers. I had no idea. I just kept going with it. There was no big strategy.
[00:11:55] I think I is like something I just wanna underline here real quick.
[00:11:58]
[00:12:03] All right, Rachel, we're back for another round of a rapid fire questions. Or you ready? Ready? What is your personal favorite automation? Oh, it is the draft email automation where an automation, like the draft email goes into your inbox er. Okay. Okay. And tell us one tech tool that you could not live without.
[00:12:33] I love Kit, formerly Convert kit. I've, I love it. I love it so much. So much. Okay, cool. And if you could only pick one breed of dog, which would you pick?
[00:12:49] I would pick the feral ones.
[00:12:55] Mine are phal. I love them all. Don't make me pick [00:13:00] one kind. A fair, super fair. what you guys don't see is that my eyes are burning because one of my dogs, just before our call, rolled in something dead, and it feels so bad in my office right now. Oh my gosh. Oh, life on a farm.
[00:13:18]
[00:13:23] I think you're the definition of what's this thing? Build the plane while flying it and yeah. I think that's really normal and okay. Yeah. And I think that your willingness to like, tweak and adjust is what's made you so super like successful.
[00:13:36] And I think people, once we get to it, will be blown away by, by your success. I don't wanna reveal that just yet. But what was my question? Oh my gosh. I hate when this happens. Damn, we could come back to it. I know. My God is right here. It comes off a minute. I hate when that happens, and it's so rare that it does to me, but here we are. Sorry. do you [00:14:00] want me to, I can step in while you're thinking Thank you. Or it'll come back when you're not thinking about it. Yeah. okay.
[00:14:05] So I love that because. Again, this idea that like you have to have everything perfect, holds so many people back, and you were able to be responsive to real time, like what's going on? And you built it a. Business based on what people like were actually needing at the time. Another really big shift is you went from a group program to done for you and we are, I still, I told Jess this idea question.
[00:14:38] No. Okay. Did it come back? Do you wanna a ask it? Yeah, I do. And it's related to pricing a bit in the sense of done for you. So you just, that was it. Sorry. Thank you. Sorry. And thank you. what I was thinking about when you were talking about how you had built all these things for all these times, strapped eds, but you were charging a price point of [00:15:00] I, and I can't remember what the membership was, but it ranged like under $300, right?
[00:15:05] Yeah. And now your services, what's the starting point like. 30,000. Yeah. Different way, different category. No different. And I was just thinking when you were talking, so recently, I hired, Cindy's favorite, Airtable gal Ashley, and she's great, but like during her sales call, she was like, and this and that.
[00:15:30] And I was like, I'm gonna stop you right there, babe. I don't wanna learn any of this. I just want you to do it for me. And even now, I got three emails from her tomorrow today, which are from like, I'm sure her welcome sequence and it's babe. I'm paying you so I don't have to learn this. And I think, and I'm willing to pay so much more for that.
[00:15:52] And I think that's why people hire me too. They're like, I'm not really in the business of trying to learn how to write compelling emails or grow [00:16:00] audiences or raise money through email. I just want it done. Yeah. and I am, I guess I'm just curious how like the sales process has shift in selling a product that's.
[00:16:12] 30,000 versus $300 a month or whatever. do you have the same objections or do you have totally different objections, or are you actually finding people are like, yeah, sign me up, I don't wanna hear anything else. Just do it for me. I'm just really curious because it basically sounds like while you're serving.
[00:16:37] A person who still wants to save time, who's strapped for time. They're also very different people, very different customers. A hundred percent. I was having, so the membership was like a hundred dollars a month. don't do the math. it doesn't work. so the, and I was having to fight for [00:17:00] every single dollar.
[00:17:02] the first couple. So I have, I don't know, I didn't wanna call 'em sales calls. They're sales calls, they're called demo calls. I was listening to podcasts and a guy was like, here's my sales pitch. And I like copied it and made it my own. And I basically am like, what do you need? Okay, great.
[00:17:19] Here's what I offer. and to your point, Jess, I realized kinda, and a few months ago that I was like giving too many details with the pricing and it was feeling very like a la carte. And I was like, oh, yeah, no, like it's a whole package. I was like, breaking down the prices for you. And so I go in, I'm like, here, I listen to the needs.
[00:17:40] I've gotten so good at this that I can now tell you exactly what you need and exactly what it's going cost you on the call, you get a proposal. And I just gave you the top line number so you know what it is. the other thing that I do that I feel is like brilliant is okay, maybe brilliant [00:18:00] for me.
[00:18:00] I split the payments over six months, and the reason I did that was because I was terrified that this was not going to work, and I just wanted to make sure that I had some cash flow. And so instead of getting like a lump sum of money. I spread it over a couple of months, which has helped me just to feel like I could plan on something.
[00:18:22] So I don't know if I totally answered your question, but I Yeah, so you mentioned fighting for every a hundred dollars a month and this, you know exactly what they need and you're not breaking down the details because you're serving this big. Need, like urgent need and it's so clear. And I think like part of that is the done for you, right?
[00:18:50] Yeah. And I think we're seeing that as a trend overall in the sector, with consultants. So I'd love to talk a little, let's talk a [00:19:00] little bit about, so you have very clear, took you a little trial and error. A lot of iteration, but now you have bingo, there's, this is the product, this is how it's gonna help you.
[00:19:10] You have your sales calls, demo calls, but how is let's talk about your business today. 'cause Jess alluded to this earlier. So before you were fighting for like a hundred dollars at a time. Now you don't get outta bed for $30,000 or for less than $30,000. How has it changed your business? what are your, yeah, what's your kinda like.
[00:19:31] Bottom line. Now, one thing that I do wanna just okay, the audience I was serving before were like very like scarcity minded nonprofits. Like the nonprofits that you love wanna help, but can't. I was actually walking in Mexico City with RIA when she was like, so what's the operating budget of an organization?
[00:19:50] and I was like, it. and mind you, we were just like walking, I think we were walking to our cooking class and I was like, actually, it doesn't really matter what their operating budget [00:20:00] is, it's the, it's basically executive directors that like believe in infrastructure, believe in technology and want me to just get it done?
[00:20:09] And she was like, oh, so you like to work with people who, just like. Wanna get shit done. And I was like, yes, because I have $200,000 organizations and $12 million organizations. So the, like I am doing the same thing, but I'm like the audience is like, the mindset of the audience or that I am serving is so drastically different, drastically.
[00:20:35] and I'm still learning. but how has my business changed Is, dramatic, Now product is currently 30,000, but like my first one was 3,500. And let me tell you, it's almost the same exact thing that I am offering now. there have been tweaks down the road, but I don't know what percentages, but that's a lot.
[00:20:57] My shout out to Veronica, who [00:21:00] is my like right hand person who's been with me for years now. She was like, okay, we've got this product figured out, like this service figured out every single quarter we're gonna raise our prices because we know it's valuable. And much like I had to grieve the loss of my membership, I have to like.
[00:21:24] Work myself up to the price point. Like I did a proposal today, I am still like talking myself out of charging what I should charge. and she was like, we're gonna raise the prices every single quarter. So over the last year we have been raising the prices and I just a month ago, I actually hired somebody, Heather, shout out to Heather Hooper, who I literally flew out to the farm and was like, I need you to go through with me.
[00:21:56] Because Heather was a client, as an executive director, she knows exactly what I [00:22:00] do. And we went through every single line item of like painstakingly detailed, of the entire project so I could really figure out what the steps are, what The reason why that is so important is because this product is it's so dialed in there, there's no variation.
[00:22:21] It's all or nothing. We're doing the same exact thing over and over again. And the reason for that is I want to crank. I want to be able to just do this over and over again. and Dumb for you Services is a different beast. It's a high touch offer. but it's so much freaking easier. It's so much easier.
[00:22:41] Okay. Tell us more about what you mean by easier. you did talk about you're building something that you can just crank out, so I'm assuming that's one part of the easy, but what else that Sure. that is an easier part. It's. It's the leaders that I am working with because [00:23:00] they are paying me because I am an expert and I say that my demo calls I have gotten so confident on, I literally say we are very good at what we do and like just you do emails, we do emails.
[00:23:17] we're like, so we are handing you these emails. they're basically done. We just need you to factually check that they are factually accurate. and we ha I have the results to prove it. So I'm not like making it up. and every single time I'm on a demo call, I'm like, Ooh, I have this great story.
[00:23:34] then I that I add and just talk about, and so the leaders just. Don't want it to be an issue. it's that it, they have such a mental load knowing that they are not caring for their donors once they become a donor, that this is relieving such a huge stress. And I'm also taking care of so much of their tech stuff, which is a hot freaking mess all the time.
[00:23:59] I [00:24:00] know it's endless. one of the questions, or like one of the things that I think you've really paid attention to is, is your discovery calls. And so one of the things I'm curious about is like, how are you generating leads and then what are you tracking in these discovery calls to. Make tweaks to improve your conversion rate.
[00:24:22] and the reason why I'm asking is because I just put out a survey to, BBT members and as I was reading through them yesterday, unsurprisingly like the number one pain point is lead generation, getting people on the phone and then converting them to buyers. And it strikes me that. You're just like, the more as like a learning ground.
[00:24:50] so I'm just curious like what that process has been like. 'cause that's a new process compared to how you were selling prior to this product. Yeah. okay. I'll start [00:25:00] with I am tweaking them every time I have a formula. I have a script that I use. And did you learn from someone or you're just like making this up on the fly?
[00:25:11] I found a podcast, like literally a podcast episode. Don't ask me who it was. It was some guy with an accent who I think he was an Australian accent and I really wish I could remember 'cause I don't remember the original Podcast. It'd be nice to like, have the original script. but I, maybe a j Kyles episode.
[00:25:28] I don't know. What's that call, Colin? No, I'll look up now. Anyway. Yeah, it, so it was a very random one. so I have a script. The script works. I have made tweaks that like work for me. But let me, I'll give you, I know you guys love numbers. guys, I love numbers. I have, so big picture, 44% of my revenue last year came from referrals, 44%.[00:26:00]
[00:26:00] So that's a lot of money. So having really good relationships with people, it's huge. and working with people. Brooke and Maria are two of my best referral partners because the work that they do, the next thing that their, their leaders need is me. And so it's referrals. 22% came from podcasts and speaking.
[00:26:26] and I have how did you hear about me podcast speaking? Something like that. might be a little off. but I think the referral piece is really interesting because I haven't done a ton of marketing. If you go and look at my social or whatever, like I'm posting about the weather, and I'm posting about dogs.
[00:26:42] I swear I'm gonna do some something else here soon, but I'm not, okay. The other couple of members that are important that I, that were important for me to track is my close rate and my curiosity. Couldn't not, Track my, the like demo call to [00:27:00] closing, timeline. And so the, my close rate, I have a 45% close rate.
[00:27:08] so that was pretty good. I'm also being handed warm leads, right? People are talking one saying wonderful things about me and then I get on the call, I don't blow it and they hire me. Okay. the, this varies, but the, demo to call is thirty, thirty nine days right now. It varies. it changes every single time.
[00:27:36] I close a new client because it's a different, however long it takes. I have had clients that have paid the first invoice the minute I, send it. And I've had one that, the one that's screwing me up took 109 days. And that one is screwed up his number. But I also have a pretty like I follow up, Jess, you might laugh at me.
[00:27:57] You'd be not shocked at all. but I [00:28:00] follow up. Hey, how you doing? How you doing? You need me? where are you at with this? That 109 days? I followed up. I was like, I'm gonna close this out. You are you still. And then she paid the full invoice that day. Okay, we need to talk about this because so many people are afraid of follow up or they just say, I'm being ghosted, and therefore they're not interested.
[00:28:24] And they read into it all these stories of like why they're not following up. so can you. Tell us a little bit more about your follow up process and even your thoughts around like why it's so important to you. And I will just point out that our sector is infamous for really long lead times, so yeah, that is insane.
[00:28:52] You are moving really quickly with people and I think. Part of that. There's lots of reasons, but let's talk about the follow up. So [00:29:00] give us a little bit more details on that. Yeah. okay, this, I, I'm strategic about it. I'm also not,I, because I have dialed in my, proposal Pro process it, I can bust out a proposal in an hour, less than an hour.
[00:29:15] It probably takes me an hour 'cause I have to go make a. So then what I do is when I send the proposal, I bcc myself on every single email. So what happens is that pops up into my in inbox, and then for the first month, I follow up every single week. So do my follow up snooze, do my follow up snooze and the snooze.
[00:29:41] Like you, you have a, I don't know, tracker list, whatever. That's my trick. I bcc myself and then I snooze the email and then I follow up. after a month, I then, so I should back up real quick. On the demo call, I'm not, [00:30:00] there's this like sense of like urgency that like isn't real. Mine has been real like, and like I am not trying to push you, but I can do one more client.
[00:30:13] Right now, and there are four of you in the queue. Best of luck, whoever gets there first. and I'm honest about it and I've had clients who I'm like, great, thank you for signing. I cannot start you for two months. And that's been a crappy like feeling, but I'm just honest about like where I'm at.
[00:30:33] the, so then the like after. A month. so one more thing, sorry. Try to go through all these. the other thing is I basically put them into the queue and I say listen, you're in the queue. You are taking up somebody's spot. I don't wanna give this spot away until like you've made your decision.
[00:30:57] I know that it can take some time. because. [00:31:00] Open or my demo to close rate is 39 days. I've made it 45 days. So after 45 days, then like this proposal is no longer valid. Do the math on that. That's half a quarter. That means the next time they do a proposal, it's likely going to go up. so the, let's see.
[00:31:25] Might have to cut part of this, but, all my thinking. so we've got like a 45 day, it closes, but also just saying Hey, you're taking the spot of somebody else. jumpstart them. Like people don't wanna take the spot if they're like just avoiding responding back to you. But nine times outta 10, nine and a half times outta 10 people are just busy.
[00:31:47] And so I just keep doing the follow up and then even once the proposal closes. I follow up like probably every month for six months. And I'm like, Hey, just checking in. nothing [00:32:00] pushy, just Hey, what's going on? Anything changed? Do you wanna revisit this? So I don't know if that's, no, that's that's great.
[00:32:10] and I think just we all need to hear that reminder that You are not a bother and everyone's busy. Think how busy everyone listening is right now. And I always say reminders are kindness. Reminders are yes. so super helpful. and so until they really say no, I'm not interested, s you know.
[00:32:30] If you're like Rachel and you set it up to be like on the automation SNU situation or you have a different system, like I think that's just a really important reminder. okay. Going in a slightly different direction. One thing I just wanna unpack a bit is, I. Is this 44% referrals? And going back to what I was saying, based on that survey for BBT members, people are asking all these questions around like, how do I generate leads?
[00:32:54] How do I get more business, generate leads, get more business? And 44% is, a [00:33:00] really high number. And so I'm just curious like how do you go about building referral relationships? What do you offer referrals? I'm just curious, like what that program looks like for you. or has it been super organic where people are just sending you stuff and you're like, Hey, how about this?
[00:33:17] I'm just curious because I think it's a really, underrated. I know Cindy's like a huge fan of referral business and, I still see folks out there who wanna suffer through referrals, for lack of a better word. Meaning they're just like doing all of these free calls and not, crediting where that original business came from because they wanna be like quote unquote nice or whatever.
[00:33:43] but this is a literal income stream for you. yeah. And for them. so I'm just curious what that looks like. Yeah, I will say I have been doing this for a long time, so I have a lot of relationships. I've had a lot of executive [00:34:00] directors who have been through my program. like I, I'm not starting cold.
[00:34:05] like when I started all this, like I'm not starting cold. And and I think that every Everyone, like when I made the shift, everyone was like, oh yeah, no, that, that fits you. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense for you. and I think that, so a couple of things. when I'm working with, just like telling people what I do, I make sure that I have, they can easily say what I do.
[00:34:27] So oftentimes it's like Rachel is gonna solve the hot mess of your tech. She's gonna make sure that things all work together and then she's the automation person. Okay. That's what people say beyond that, it's up to me. but they at least know that hot mess, tech automations great. I can handle it from there.
[00:34:53] I, if you send me business, I am sending you money. Yeah. so I have been doing [00:35:00] about 10% of the base package, and the reason for that is the, there's a few pieces of the entire service that are, contracted out. And so it's like a different, and I haven't quite figured out like the math on it.
[00:35:19] It, I should make it easy for me. but it's about it's 10%. and with my new, like the new way that I'm doing it, it's all kind of in-house, but it, I've had to like, I couldn't quite make the profit margin work with all the extra people. So I was like base price, everything that, basically everything that I do.
[00:35:40] I'm offering 10%, if that makes sense. Everything else I had to like, 'cause yeah. Again. Through my back a little better, but yeah. And would you say that, like what percentage of that 44% comes from past clients versus like consultants, like people who've accessed your work and are [00:36:00] just true raving fans because they've seen the power of your work versus, someone like me or you?
[00:36:07] I, me know, you mentioned like Brooke and R and stuff like that, so that's a great question. I don't know exactly, but I will say, let's say. Half. Okay. Half of that 44% are consultants that I have close relationships with. Then I would say half of that 45. Okay. 44% pie. a quarter of that is just like random people who know that I do automation.
[00:36:34] I've had a couple just like random ones that I'm like, I've never talked to you and now we're friends and thank you. and then Part of that pie the last quarter, I would say our past clients. so that's like super interesting to me because I have to be honest like this. Yeah. I've never really thought to and use my clients.
[00:36:58] Like I haven't [00:37:00] ever, and it's obvious and they have, but I've never really Pushed on that, and I probably should. Oh, I am, I'm not pushing, they're just like so happy. or yeah,same. The ones that have come, but I've like just, I don't know. I, that's never clicked for me that way.
[00:37:15] Oh. that's, that, that's what that is. Even, I don't know. it is such, I one time got an email that I now use. Repeatedly and share with everyone. the subject was like, got a clone and it was from one of my service providers. And she's I love working with you. If you know anyone who is like you, who has these needs as well, here's how you can send them my way.
[00:37:41] I was like, yeah, I will. so it's yeah, you are. You are helping. It's an act of service to other people, okay. Oh, Rach, I just wanna talk forever, but we don't have that much time. But I wanna ask one more question about the future of the business. and it might be in true [00:38:00] Rach fashion that it's just gonna iterate, but I know that you're at this really interesting point where you.
[00:38:11] Have automated a lot and templated and systematized. Your business work is coming your way. you mentioned earlier about not posting much business stuff on social media because you don't have the capacity to do much more. Like you're putting some organizations off for a couple months, but I know that's not what you wanna be doing.
[00:38:34] What are the your next big challenges, opportunities, hurdles that you wanna overcome? I think scaling, that's really like figuring out how to scale. I mentioned, I like the idea of who, not how, like I hired a past client to come out and help me figure out. The exact press process because I know that I need to hire people, but I [00:39:00] don't like, so much of it is in my head.
[00:39:02] I have a lot of SOPs, but a lot is in my head. And I had to figure that, like the process out so that I could write. So actually more so I could figure out like what positions do I need to hire? and so really the future is, it's scaling and I wanna scale in a big way. I think that every time, man, entrepreneurship is like such feast or famine.
[00:39:26] Like I was like riding high the last few months and then this last month, like I've had so many demo calls cancel, and I just got super stressed and I was like, everything's coming crashing down. And then I had amazing demo call a day.
[00:39:40] I have a document that says, this is what happens when Rachel focuses. And,it's my strategy document. And so it's really trying to stay focused, stay in the lane of this is exactly what I do. and just cranking that out. and so that's the current future, [00:40:00] how long that lasts.
[00:40:01] I don't know. but yeah, I'm, I'm, it's working for right now. I'm having fun figuring out the process side of things and so I'm just gonna keep trying it out. Yeah. So that's okay. And before we let you go, 'cause I feel like that was a bit of a confession. and this isn't a confession question, I feel like I teased it at the top, but I said I didn't wanna come to it.
[00:40:26] can you give us an idea of, where you were pre automation agency and where you are now as far as like active clients, revenue round numbers, obviously You mentioned before, like you were losing money. Are you making money? give us the evolution? Yeah. I'm finally paying myself, which is a huge win.
[00:40:47] it's not a lot yet, but, so let me, let's see. so in 2024, I had about 20 clients. I [00:41:00] booked a hundred. 80, 90,000, in revenue. about 125 of that was in the last two months of the year. so like it, like I made more in a month in the last two months of 2024 than I did. All of 2023 and probably Q1 of 2024.
[00:41:35] it, like I, I hit a rhythm. I hit and everything was starting to click. so I have big dreams, big goals, for 2025. And I think there definitely. Achievable. but it's also a, we had our mastermind and I kept doing the math and I kept [00:42:00] being like, this math like, of like how much I can potentially make.
[00:42:05] And Cindy, I think it was you who is this? no, you're doing the math, right? You just don't believe the. and I'm hoping I'll hit half a million this year and that's freaking wild. I was doing the math again and a million's not out of the question. probably say this now and everything's again crashing down.
[00:42:24] 'cause it's probably, but no, it's not. It's not, but it's. It's a transition I've had to make. Like it's a mental shift. I have had to shift in myself. Like just paying myself a salary has been, really hard. It's been really scary. Like I definitely have got a lot of money, baggage that I am trying to figure out, work out, and thank goodness for long.
[00:42:51] Who called you on your shit? so yeah. Awesome. we're so proud of you and we can't wait to see where it all goes. [00:43:00] Thank you. what a transformation, like it's so awesome to, to be witness to this, tapping into What's working right now where the business is just like exploding. So we're so excited.
[00:43:18] As I said at the beginning, extreme Makeover business edition. I feel like you've had a extreme Makeover, house edition Health edition. Like everything, it's a new rage. but all the old rage that we still love, so congratulations. It's so amazing to have you back and. Where can our listeners connect with you?
[00:43:44] Good question. I'm on small, I'm at Small Shop Strategies on Instagram. Rachel Bauer on LinkedIn. oh, I'm doing a little side project. Can I talk, can I say, I don't know, I'm just, you can also find [00:44:00] me at, So I started a substack called Letters to Randy. I am trolling my congressman, because he has, decided to not answer my, letters anymore.
[00:44:10] And so I'm making them public. And so it's my little corner of Iowa. It's Iowa Farmer Healthcare specific, but it's just a little, And it's letters to my rep on Instagram. So yeah, just a little side project. It's really good. It's really good. I subscribe and I don't live anywhere near Iowa or have anything to do with farming or anything, but it's really good.
[00:44:36] Thank you. Thanks Rach. You guys good to see you. See you soon. Bye.
[00:44:46] Thank you again for listening to the Confessions podcast for nonprofit coaches and consultants. If you enjoyed today's episode, which I sure hope you did, you can show your support in one of three ways. Number one, post a screenshot of this [00:45:00] episode to your Instagram stories or LinkedIn profile. And text Cindy, India and I so we can repost you.
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