The Exact Strategies I Used To Grow My Business Fast When I First Started

I’ve been in business for 14 years – WILD. It’s prompted me to think a lot about what it really takes to build a successful business that offers the uncaged freedom we all want.

And I’ve been thinking about the advice out there about what it really takes to build this kind of successful business.

News flash: what it takes and the advice that is typically given, are wildly different.

What I see SO much out there in the online space is mass confusion about what you should actually be doing.

Marketing strategies when you’re at multi-6-figures are NOT the same ones that someone who has been in business for a year should be using.

But the way a lot of marketing classes are sold? “Everyone is welcome! This works at any stage of business! Come on in!” Not only is this not true, but it can devastate a new business owner to spend money on a course or coach, only to fail at using their startegies. Often this ends in the business owner quitting entirely, either because they are burned out from trying, don’t feel they can trust anyone anymore, or because they feel like a failure and assume it will NEVER work.

So let me break down the stages of business I’m going to focus on here, because this matters! I don’t want you wasting time on things that just won’t work for where you’re at in your business.

Stage 1: Foundations

This is what I teach inside Uncage Your Business, because when you know your niche, message, offers and marketing inside-out, it’s basically impossible to NOT have clients coming to you.

Stage 2: Visibility

Once you have your foundations in place, it’s time to get visible so MORE of the right clients can come your way. That’s what this post is all about, so keep reading for strategies that actually work!

Stage 3: Scale

When you have an offer that gets results and lots of happy clients and customers plus a basic marketing strategy in place, then you can look at scaling to group programs like I did with my signature course, Uncage Your Business. More on how I did that in this post. But you don’t start with scaling. This is a huge mistake a lot of new coaches make. You can’t scale from 0. You need to start from the ground up with Foundations, get things working, get your systems and process in place, and grow from  there.

 

Ok, now that’s out of the way, let’s look at the exact strategies I used once I had my foundations in place so I could get visible, build credibility and gain traction — fast. 14 years later, I can say with resounding confidence that these strategies work.

On to the strategies…

 

Strategy #1: Podcast pitches!

If you’re trying to grow your business, getting visible is the name of the game. If no one knows who you are yet, DO NOT even think about starting your own podcast or endlessly blogging on your website — please!!!

At the visibility stage of business, you need to get in front of other people’s audiences in order to grow! But how?

With a strong pitch.

I managed to land over 30 interviews, guest posts, and podcasts in less than a year with mine! And my business grew like crazy! Like, thousands of new signups, new clients coming in, and so many new opportunities.

Now, years later, I don’t have to do the heavy lifting, because people seek ME out to be interviewed. I’ve been featured in places like Being Boss, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Entrepreneur On Fire.

A big part of why people seek me out now is because I have always had strong messaging and a clear focus in my business. I haven’t changed my offers every 3 months. I have something to say and I say it loud and clear. THIS is part of your Foundations that you need to nail before you start pitching.

Need a clear and compelling message? Join us in Uncage Your Business –  this is a huge part of what we teach.

 

Strategy #2: Kickass testimonials

A suuuuuper important part of building credibility is social proof – showing people that OTHER people have trusted you and gotten results from you.

You NEED great testimonials.

There are testimonials that just waste space on your website and can actually turn your clients OFF from working with you (like ones saying how nice you are, without any specific about results), and then there are killer testimonials that will turn people into buyer’s just from reading them (that’s the kind we help you get in Uncage Your Business).

I ask for testimonials all. the. time. including waaaaaay after students have completed Uncage Your Business (because sometimes it takes a little more integration time for the results to really land). Your prospective clients are smart and discerning, so you need to make sure that your testimonials help them feel secure in making their purchases and persuade them to sign up, and testimonials that weren’t intended as testimonials can help you do this. This means grabbing real client language that they posted elsewhere or sent to you unsolicited.

If you have a Facebook group or a private forum for your clients, that’s a great place to grab your client results on the go. Or if you receive client emails during your work together that captures them RAVING about their results, don’t be shy – ASK those people if you can use their words! And then of course, make sure you are sending your clients a feedback and testimonial form as soon as you finish working with them.

Want to read some great examples of effective testimonials? Scour the ones on our Uncage Your Business page here.

 

Strategy #3: Focused daily action

It’s sooooo easy in the earlier stages of business when your schedule isn’t 100 percent full with clients, to spend hours messing around in Canva (hello #procrastibranding)… or with the widgets on your website… or endlessly scrolling through Facebook groups comparing and despairing.

Deep down, you know this isn’t what you should be doing, but it’s so tempting to just change the colours on your website one more time.

For me, the fact was that I couldn’t afford to waste ANY time. I am not someone who had a husband or parents paying for everything in my business when I started. I didn’t even have savings. I barely had a job when I started out. I did this all on my own and I hustled to make it work. There is NOTHING wrong with folks who have financial support (good on you! take it!). But I didn’t. So if you don’t either, and you’re starting from square one like I was, I get it.

I learned what actions would genuinely move the needle in my business and did more of them! That’s why in Uncage Your Business we give students a plan where we literally break down what to do every day, every week, and every month, to help you get traction fastest in your business.

These include strategic networking, following up with people, creating niched in content, pitching yourself to get in front of other people’s audiences, and hosting free events so that people can start to learn what you do.

These do NOT include tweaking your website one more time, re-writing all your copy, or posting endlessly on social media, hoping someone sees your reel and hires you.

Being smart (and honest with yourself!) about where you spend your time is one of the best things you can do to help your business in the early stages.

 

These 3 things above are key to helping you succeed when you’re new. We help you with a lot of this in Uncage Your Business. Apply now and let’s get your business working this  year.

xx becca