In this on-the-nose episode, Ann Carden, Founder and CEO of A. Carden Inc., shares how she took the lessons she learned successfully launching and selling multiple businesses and packaged it up in a program that helps coaches build a business to fully harness their remarkable expertise.
You will discover:
– How to know if you are ready to scale
– Why the answer is not another clever marketing strategy
– How to build a million dollar coaching business
Episode Transcript
Scott Ritzheimer
Hello, hello and welcome. Welcome once again to the secrets of the high demand coach Podcast. I’m here with yet another high demand coach, actually a high demand coach for coaches. And that is Ann Carden and she’s a strategic business growth consultant marketing and sales coach, CEO of Ann Carden, Inc and the founder of the expert in you brand and programs. She’s a 3x, author and a number one international best selling author. She’s a speaker and host of the podcast expert in you now Ann has more than 41 years of business marketing and sales experience. She spent 13 of those years in corporate business management, managing multimillion dollar apart departments for multibillion dollar national retail Corporation since 2010, and has helped hundreds of coaches, consultants and service businesses add hundreds of 1000s and millions of dollars to their business in over 50 different types of businesses. Well, what a storied career right out of the gate, I can tell this is gonna be a great conversation. And I’m so excited to have you on the show. Before we get to kind of the magic of what you do with and for your clients. I’d love to just hit rewind for a second and talk about your your story. What were you doing before getting into coaching and consulting? And why did you ultimately make the leap?
Ann Carden
Yeah, first of all, Scott, thanks so much for having me here. I’m super excited to have this chat with you. So oh, gosh, let’s go back 32 years ago, I started my first business out of financial hardship, because I made the decision to leave my corporate career, my corporate income, we moved halfway across the country. And I wanted to be a stay at home mom and raise my kids. But so my husband was driving back and forth to the city. And the math didn’t work. Like his paycheck just didn’t cut it. And, and so we really found ourselves struggling, oh, gosh, I could go way into that. But started my first business that business went global, before the internet. So I was running a manufacturing company. Basically out of my home, I had lots of employees, and I was shipping all over the world. And shipping. I was in stores all across the country with handmade crafted dolls. So seven years. And then I went into the pattern side of that I did all my own designs, everything was unique. Went into the pattern side, and then I sold out seven years later and sold all of my designs and my pattern, I was ready to move on, started a fitness business, just teaching classes in a community hall. And that turned into two health clubs to weight loss centers. And I’ve sold all five businesses before I got into coaching. So what brought me into coaching the last two businesses, I was running I was running for at the same time, I was exhausted. And then the two new ones, I had two new ones. And I couldn’t get those businesses above breakeven, they were in a new market, they were in a new location. I was they were an hour apart between those four businesses. And I was just killing myself. So I finally hired my first business coach. And Need I say more. It turned everything around in 30 days, it was really a marketing problem. It was not a business problem. I hired her it was such a game changer. I said, Oh my gosh, I want to do this. So really became such a student of business marketing, sales, like anything and everything I could learn, get my hands on just to better my skills. And I was already networking and doing things out there. So I knew a lot of business owners and people I’d built relationships with. And I went to a couple of people that I knew well. And I said, Hey, I’m thinking about becoming a business coach, I want to make sure I can do this. I knew I knew how to build businesses. But I said I want to make sure I can do this. And let me coach you and what after the first two clients, I said, Oh my gosh, this, this is my thing. I know what I’m doing. And I made such an impact in those two businesses, like even in the first week, that I knew I had to jump into this. So that that’s it in a nutshell.
Scott Ritzheimer
Amazing. Amazing what a story. So I mean, there’s so many things to unpack in there. One of them has actually come up several times on on these interviews recently. But I think so many of us try and skip it. And that is you said you became a student of business marketing and sales. Right. And and you went out you tried the thing you wanted to make sure. And what do you think the role of the things that you did before you made the leap? What role did they have in your success after you made the leap?
Ann Carden
Oh, gosh, everything. Because when I first started, I didn’t have the business model that I have now. So when I first started, I literally just said, Hey, what do you need help with in your business? Let me help you. Right, I’ll help you. Let me show you how I can grow it. And so I would figure out what were their problems, what did they need? What were their struggles, and then I just would consult them and help them fix that. And so that’s why I was getting really really fast results for people because I knew exactly what to look for. And I knew exactly how to help them close that gap and what to shift to get results. So they were people that were already CDN business. And it just kind of took off from there. But I didn’t have the structure. So this is sort of where my journey went, I was just selling them a 90 day thing. I didn’t know what like how to sell the services, it was completely different. So I was selling a 90 day program, let me help you for 90 days, right. And then I wasn’t really I was offering them if they wanted to keep working with me, but that was kind of this, there was no structure. That’s it. I helped people, because I’ve made a lot of investments and things like that through the years with, you know, selling those businesses. I mean, I had a client I, I think back to him, and he was thinking about selling a building, and I’m helping him and like, Okay, well, here’s the things you have to think about. So like, my skill set, bled into a lot of areas, there was not this package it little perfect, you know, package this perfect offer. And, but, but quickly, I realized I was working mostly with local clients. And I was running around exhausting myself again, I felt like I had created another job for myself. And so when I decided to come into the online world and have a more global business and have a mobile, business, global and mobile, and be more online, that’s when everything had to shift. I mean, I had no clue how to build online. That was where I really had to pour a lot of time and effort into, okay, now if I really want to grow this thing, I need to, I need to figure this piece out. And so that was really what brought me to where I am today. But I was working with all small business owners, and I’m working with mainly coaches, consultants, professional entrepreneurs, that actually happened by accident. And that niche kind of found me I never wanted to work with coaches and consultants to be really transparent. I didn’t I wanted to stay with small business owners. So when I kind of cracked the code and figured out wow, I can have this really incredible business. If I structure things in the right way, which is where my book came from, or my brand came from. That’s when everything shifted for me. And I hit my first million in the business.
Scott Ritzheimer
yeah, it is. I’ve, I’ve had the opportunity of interviewing around boss count now. But around 300, coaches and consultants and the number one thing, we’ve surveyed around 1000 of them. The one thing that I find again, and again and again separates what I would call a high demand coach from kind of the coach who’s on their journey to becoming a high demand coach is a structured process. Right? And I mean, you’ve created a beautiful case for it. And it’s hard to do though, right? Because you can help in so many different ways. You, you know, you like your story is so similar to so many is like you have this background of all these different experts, pieces, right where you’ve had to learn it. And then you walk in and you do it. And I mean, the one thing that I would say is if you don’t have a structured process, and you’re kind of resisting it, How tired are you? Because it’s exhausting, right?
Ann Carden
When you are trying to be everything to everybody, you just can’t be? Yeah, you can’t.
Scott Ritzheimer
I’d love to unpack this, because not only have you found a structured process for you, but this is what you help other other coaches and consultants do and I believe it’s called Is it the Expert in You course, and just the whole kind of curriculum in?
Ann Carden
Yeah, I don’t have a course. Okay. So I really work A to Z with them. Okay. And yeah, so it’s, it’s an attire. That was a little bit of my pushback with the industry, I was seeing a lot of rinse and repeat. But people that were not ready to scale. So they were doing scale strategies, but they weren’t ready to scale. And I think that’s where a lot of oh, gosh, a lot of people feel like they’ve been ripped off in this industry, because they have bought into those. I bought into a lot of those kinds of things, thinking that those were the, the answers. And I’ll tell you what makes me very different is I I am not a piecemeal process. I’m not cookie cutter. So when I work with my clients, I have, for example, marketing a lot of people, okay, build a Facebook group, monetize a Facebook group, like one way or the highway, right? It’s cookie cutter. But my method is not like that. So I take someone’s real, true expertise. And we learn to package that, but I’m an A to Z approach for them. So I don’t let them piecemeal, we get their offers in place the right offers, we figure out which marketing strategy will be best to bring in the clients they’re looking for. So I have, I don’t know, 10 or 12 different ways that are high level that help people bring in clients, very high end clients. And then I help them with the sales process, whether they’re writing proposals or which I helped them try to get rid of or they are, you know, struggling with the sale so I help them with that. But then I also help them scale build their team. How can we now layer on how can we build new revenue streams into your business. So I am really a to z. But I still work at a very high level. So I say you can build a million dollar business with a handful of clients.
Scott Ritzheimer
Wow, wow, now this is an interesting point, because I agree one of the I mean, the heart behind the podcast is going out and traveling and speaking with a lot of CEOs. On the other side of things, I found out that my story and my experience with coaches and consultants as a CEO was not very dissimilar to others. And it wasn’t a good one, right, I had a number of bad Coaches and Consultants before I came across two amazing coaches. And, and so it’s a similar thing, like a lot of people have had a bad coaching experience. In my experience, I’ve seen, you know, around nine out of 10, people will raise their hand and say they’ve had a coach, which was really surprising to me, entrepreneurs, and about nine out of 10 of those have had a bad coaching experience at some point. So this is really, really common thing. And I’ve found, you know, there are coaches who someone said on the podcast, they can’t coach themselves through the front door, right? There’s some that you know that that’s not really what they should be doing. They haven’t really found a structured process like someone like you can help them create. That’s part of it. But the other part of it is, we’re not asking the right questions on the front end as, as CEOs, right as coaches. So you mentioned this idea that they weren’t ready to scale. What does that look like?
Ann Carden
Yes, so one of the things that I see is that people buy into a marketing strategy more than they buy into building a business. So a good example, I’m just going to because this just comes to my mind over and over again, build a Facebook group and monetize the Facebook group that is really a marketing strategy. That’s not a it’s even though you’re making money, you’re not? Are you learning how to really build a business? Like what if that gets shut down? Would you know how to go build a business. So I have pushback to that, because I think we don’t own any of those platforms, right. And so if that is the process, and there’s so many people doing that, I feel like people are very much at risk. A good example of this is right before the pandemic, I actually got shut down, my account got hacked on Facebook, I was making a lot of money on Facebook, but it was not my only place. And someone hacked my account. And everything got shut down everything. And it was right, right around the pandemic. So I mean, you know, I took a hit, but I know how to build a business. So I wasn’t only doing quick little one off offers, I had client clients that were in a retainer, you know, like in recurring revenue. So I still had great recurring revenue, all of those things, that’s building a business, right. And so my business, it took a little bit of a hit, obviously, like it took a cash injection yet, it didn’t really take a hit in my business. So when people are buying into those things, they’re buying into a marketing strategy. And that is not the same as learning how to build a business. So I see people that do that, because they’re seeing them, like they’re seeing the money, you know, build a $5,000 program, but you’ve never worked with anyone before. You’ve never coached anyone before. But this is your method to riches, right? And then what happens is that particular person doesn’t have enough knowledge, experience, skills, insight, to number one, know that that’s not the right thing for them, but also to, to really know whether they’re whether or not they’re bringing in the right people. So I bought into a lot when I was trying to learn online, it was all very new for me. And I remember buying into a program, I paid $10,000 for it. It was 60, you know, 60 days. And I when I had the conversation with the sales person, I said, and at that time, I was still working with small business owners. And I said, This is who I’m looking for. I want to go online with them. I was already speaking, I was out speaking, I was getting clients. I was networking. But I wanted to bring it online. And I said, I’m not finding these people online. They have Facebook pages, but they there they have people running them their office manager or whoever’s running their page, I’m not getting to them. They convinced me they convinced me that those people were there. And I listened to that. And I bought into the program, only to find out that they were not there. So I couldn’t scale that I couldn’t do anything with that. And that’s just an example. Because I trusted that they knew so I thought well, they know something. I don’t know. I mean, I’m new to the online thing. They they know something here that I’m just not aware of. So I bought into that. So that’s what happens a lot. I don’t know if that answered your question but somebody People buy into scale strategies, quick little offers. You know, here’s how you, here’s how you grow this monetize this, not saying you can’t do those things. I just think in the long run, it’s not serving people the way it should.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. And I think particularly with coaches and consultants, and sometimes other professional services, there’s this idea of, I know how to do everything I need to do, right, don’t touch any of that. I just need more clients. You know, I just need more clients. And so I think that’s why the marketing thing is so appealing to a lot of folks. But it’s not enough, right. And I think the, you know, if I could some of the secret sauce behind what you do in this A to Z approach is that it’s, it’s, there’s continuity the whole way through, it’s not just this bolt on, you know, let’s cram stuff into a funnel for you. It’s, Hey, who are you? What’s your expertise? And how do we leverage that from the very first conversation all the way through to completion?
Ann Carden
Yes, absolutely. And, you know, the thing is, I can get, I can teach people a marketing strategy that could literally make them money in 30 days, but it’s not going to be sustainable. And it’s not going to build anything long term for them. And that the problem is, that’s what a lot of people are out there selling. So it’s kind of like getting the magic juice, but you’re not ready for them. Like, I can do that. But you’re not ready for that in, you’re not laying the foundation to have a sustainable business. And, again, not saying those things can’t work. I just think for most people, that’s why they find out the hard way. Yeah, that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. And so when I wrote my book, it was really a push back to the industry and the way that they were doing things because here’s what was happening, Scott. So I was taught to build, you know, a small program, right, so I was doing a 60 day, but it was actually 10 weeks, a 10 week program, I was selling it on Facebook, this was just one thing I was doing, selling it on Facebook getting people in, and I was getting. So my whole program was getting close, higher paying clients. So really three to 10 times the fees for what you’re getting. But I did everything with them, not just change their offers. But I so they were with me for 60 days, I would get them quick results, I have amazing testimonials and results. But then I had nothing on the backend to sell them. At that time. When I did that I had nothing on the back end, because I wasn’t really familiar with how to do that yet. Even though it’s weird, I was already doing that with small business owners. But when I came into the coaching space, I was told by a coach I worked with, you’ll never get people to pay you for 12 months in the coaching space, that will never happen. You’ll be lucky if you could even get them for six. And that was the advice I was given. And I paid her for that advice. So it’s really excited about that. But long story short. So what would happen is they would get these great results. And then I would watch them go off. And the next two or three months, they weren’t even doing the thing that they had just gotten results with they were off doing something different. They had hired another coach, that coach changed everything. I even I see it now. So I felt like okay, I’m not serving people like that. Like I know, I’m capable of so much more to help people build businesses. I don’t want quick fix clients, that that’s all they’re looking for. They’re just looking for cash injections. And so I said, I’m not doing this anymore. I’m changing my model. And that was when I took a step back. And I completely changed what I was doing now, I will still work with people short term if they’re in the right place to do that. And that’s what they need. But that’s I’m very specific now about who those people are. But that’s not my main business.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, yeah. Wow, so there’s a question I’d like to ask, I asked my guests, and it’s this, what would you say is the biggest secret that you wish wasn’t a secret at all? What’s that one thing that you wish everybody listening today knew?
Ann Carden
I would say focus on your expertise in it at a much deeper level. Most people think about one thing that they can do really well, but they don’t pull all of their expertise together. And that becomes that becomes something that they’re really known for. And nobody can hold a candle to that and nobody can compete with that. And I wish everybody knew how to do that. But they don’t like I work with people that have been in corporate for years and years and they’ve got all this blood sweat and tears in genius, career collateral that they’ve built up. But no people are not out there really helping them pull that together. And happy to that but again, they’re selling them they’re really undervaluing all of that experience and expertise because they’re trying to fit them into a cookie cutter thing. So I have to say that the biggest thing I wish people would know is that they’ve got a lot more that they’re capable of doing and selling. But a lot of people aren’t doing that with them. So they don’t know how.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, so true. So true. All right, I’ve got one more question for you. And then we’ll we’ll make sure folks know how to get in touch with you. Because I know there’s people listening who want to. And so before we get there, though, I’m gonna have you take off your your coach hat for a moment, put on your CEO hat and talk to us about what’s the next stage of growth look like for you and your business? And what challenges will you have to overcome to get there?
Ann Carden
Yeah, at the next stage for me, is I’m actually just implementing some new things into my business. So for the next year, next two years is going to be like my highest growth, and the challenges that they’re not really challenges, but the things that I have to do that I’m doing some different things. So I’m implementing some different marketing strategies, I have not been, and I haven’t done a lot of paid advertising in my business, because I haven’t had to. And that is something that I’m now learning to do and doing differently. Right, you know, writing another book, and I always just looking to build my skill set, so I can be a more valuable coach to my clients. And I don’t rest on anything. I don’t say, Well, you know, Oh, great. I learned this, and I’m gonna keep doing this. I don’t rest on that I’m always looking for how can I speed results even faster? How can I help clients do things even better and faster, and make them more money? Those are the things I’m consistently working on. And that will never change? How can I stay ahead of everyone else?
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, I love that. I love that. The passion and determination is so clear. And everything that you do in the way that you said, I love it. I think it’s, it’s amazing what you do. I really appreciate it. So on that note, how can folks find out more about the work that you do? And how can they get in touch with you?
Ann Carden
Yeah, well, first of all, I would love to invite anyone to check out a free webinar that I have, it’s instant play. So you can you can go get that. And it is really how to bring in $25,000-$125,000 clients in 7 to 60 days, and then get more front cash. And so I have that and that is an expertinyouaccelerator.com. So if you want to really dive in and see I know you’ll get some golden nuggets that you can apply to your business. And then if you are interested in following me, you can find me on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, I have a pretty robust YouTube channel. And you can book a call at annlcarden.com.
Scott Ritzheimer
Amazing, amazing Well, excellent. And thanks so much for being on the show. It’s just a privilege having you again, you’re onto something really special here and I’m so glad we were able to help you share it. I’m looking forward to seeing what this next stage of growth looks like for you and your business and the folks that you can help along the way. So thanks so much and for everyone listening, you know your time and attention mean the world to us. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I know I did, and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care.
Ann Carden
Bye bye. Thanks, everyone.
Contact Ann Carden
Ann Carden is a Strategic Business Growth Consultant and Marketing & Sales Coach, CEO of A. Carden Inc., and founder of the “Expert in You” brand and programs. She is a 3x Author & #1 Int. Bestselling Author, Speaker, and podcast host of “EXPERT IN YOU.” Ann has more than 41 years of business, marketing, and sales experience. She spent 13 years in corporate business management managing multiple-million-dollar departments for a multi-billion-dollar national retail corporation. Since 2010, Ann has helped hundreds of coaches, consultants, and service businesses add hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars to their business in over fifty different types of businesses.
Want to learn more about Ann Carden’s work at A. Carden Inc? Get instant access to her free webinar on landing 5 or 6-figure deals in as little as 7 days by unlocking the Expert in You at expertinyouaccelerator.com and check out her website at https://annlcarden.com/
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