#037 What REALLY happens in the first few years in business

Start-Up Speakeasy Episode Guest: Maya Gaddie Today we’re talking with Maya Gaddie who titles herself a Digital Mentor and Tech match maker. She tell us all about her biz in the beginning of this episode, but this interview isn’t about tech at all really… After having her own small business for a little over three years, Maya has transitioned her business through various phases of growth. In this episode, Maya is being completely transparent and taking us behind the scenes of some key points in her business that has shaped what it looks like today. We dive into how she grew it to be a great balance between what her ideal clients wanted, how she wanted to interact with them and what she wants her business + lifestyle to look like. Maya provides insight gems sprinkled throughout no matter what stage of business you’re in now. Some of the key points where Maya tweaked and shaped her current business model was: She noticed a disconnect with her biz and the businesses of her customers She felt over worked and under paid Wanted to work more hands-on with other people (not just crank out client work) She realized that she was working with the wrong customers and not in her genius zone Good points to remember during transition phases: She trusted her gut when she made her pivot Maya frequently 'checked-in' and reassessed where she was and where she wanted her business to go Focused on connecting to other people and other people’s businesses "Your main business is something you grow into and shape over time" -Maya Gaddie ( Tweet that! ) Maya’s Lessons learned from her first online class: Should have done it faster. Find a balance between planning out the course as well as you can, but it will take on another life when people are actually in it. Leave room for adjustments. She sold the class before she created it This allowed her to make sure that people were interested in buying the class- tested interest One-on-one conversations guided her curriculum She adjusted the class based on feedback She continued to listen to smart suggestions+ implemented thoughtful changes How to find 10 people to talk to (even if your just starting out) Directly contact a handful of people you think would be a perfect fit for your next program. Take a look at their website to see what phase they’re in and write them a personal email (or reach out on FB or Linked In) describing the course and that you would be interested in: This is what I’m doing This is why I think it would be great for you Set up a Skype call to jam about what’s going on in your business right now A few key questions to ask:I have this product that I’m thinking might be good… what do you think? Is that something you’d be interested in buying? If you bought it today, what would you think would be a price you’d pay for?

You can listen to #037 What REALLY happens in the first few years in business online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

#037 What REALLY happens in the first few years in business is an episode from Start-Up Speakeasy by Kristy Oustalet.

This episode is 30:29 long.

This episode was published on Jun 19, 2014.

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