Earlier this week I shared with you a piece of my story about how I turned an obstacle into an opportunity and embarked on the path to transition my business 100% online AND, as a result, built a 6-figure business.

HOWEVER, this did not happen overnight…

In January 2017, when I arrived in Last Vegas to join Eric at the luxurious Candlewood Suites, I wanted to grow my online training and workshop business, and have a business that was 100% online, but I just couldn’t.

By the end of 2016 I was BURNT OUT and this burn out carried over into 2017.

Even when we moved into our apartment in Las Vegas two weeks after my arrival, I still wasn’t mentally and physically in a place to put the energy towards growing my business online.

I was fried from,

• managing our gym and all the stresses and challenges that came with it;
• traveling all over the US and to Australia to teach my women’s strength workshop I Am Not Afraid To Lift® AND to speak at other fitness events;
• AND balancing online coaching clients while doing all of the above.

At that time in 2017, even though I had been in the online space for 5 years, starting in 2012 with my blog and Facebook, because Instagram wasn’t really a THING in 2012, it wasn’t that easy for me…

I needed a break.

I needed to sleep and not wake up to an alarm…

I needed to read…

I needed to lay out by the pool and do things that I hadn’t done in years, like go to an indoor cycling class…

I needed to explore other opportunities, because even though a large part of me wanted to grow my online business and be 100% all in, another part of me felt like I was done with the Fitness Business…

I honestly considered going back to work in IT Consulting as a Business Analyst.

Luckily, Eric was there to support me financially and emotionally.

While I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, I still had a small online business, and I accepted a part-time Strength and Conditioning position at Cirque du Soleil.

Even though I was working, I was really just going through the motions, waiting for the burn out to pass and for a light switch to turn on that would light the fire under my ass to feel motivation to focus on growing my online business.

By August 2017 I STILL felt burnt out, washed up, and irrelevant, and I was SCARED…

I was scared that the feeling wasn’t going to change.

Then, after we returned from a vacation in Hawaii at the end of August 2017, I started to feel motivated and inspired again.

I started to post and share consistently on social media again and I scheduled a StrongFirst kettlebell course.

After I taught that course, I felt a SPARK again.

It was not only exciting, but also a tremendous relief.

That spark led me to schedule another kettlebell workshop.

After I taught THAT course, the spark turned into a small FLAME.

Then I re-vamped the curriculum for I Am Not Afraid To Lift® and scheduled my first Lift® workshop in over a year for 2018.

I continued to put out regular content and that small flame turned into a FIRE.

Little by little I got pieces of myself back.

It wasn’t easy… but I stayed consistent,

• creating and posting content
• teaching workshops
• managing my small online business
• training small groups in-person out of our garage
• working part-time for Cirque du Soleil as the dedicated Strength and Conditioning Coach for their show KÀ.

Fast forward to July 2018, Eric and I returned from another vacation and our wedding on the Big Island of Hawai’i and I had an epiphany…

It was the calm after the storm of preparing for our wedding and as I went back to work at Cirque, I was BORED. I thought, “THIS IS IT?!!”. I needed more…

You see, there was no growth for me at Cirque or for Strength and Conditioning in general, and as someone who had owned and operated a business and worked as a consultant prior to that, I needed more professional challenge, growth, and opportunity.

In that moment, 18 months after I arrived in Las Vegas, I realized something that I already knew to be true…

there was UNLIMITED growth potential with an online business… AND

I was FINALLY ready to transition my business 100% online and grow my online business.

A few months later, I invested $3,000 in a business coach, enrolled in a group coaching program and set two goals for 2019:

1. Transition my business 100% online by December 31, 2019.
2. Make 6 figures by December 31, 2019.

I achieved the first goal of transitioning my business 100% online 8 MONTHS EARLY by April 30, 2019.

In fact, I left Cirque on March 13, 2019, 10 MONTHS EARLIER than planned and provided notice to my in-person training groups on April 9, 2019, 9 MONTHS EARLIER than planned.

I achieved my goal of making 6 figures 30 DAYS EARLY on December 1, 2019.

By December 2019, I had successfully grown my less than $30k online business to over $100k in a SHORT 10 MONTHS.

There were TWO SPECIFIC THINGS that I did that helped me to reach these goals early,

1) I BUILT TRUST THROUGH CONSISTENCY, CARING, AUTHENTICITY, AND BY OPERATING FROM A PLACE OF SERVICE.

I spent 8 years building trust with my audience by writing my blog, consistently posting online, and sharing content through multiple channels – e.g. blog, social media, email, videos, Facebook and Instagram Lives, speaking engagements.

In this content I shared my personal story and the solutions that brought me success AND the stories and challenges of my clients and the solutions that I provided to them that brought them success.

This consistency and credibility helped me to build trust with my audience, which led many to become clients.

With this, and THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT POINT, when I started to write my blog and post content online, I OPERATED FROM A PLACE OF SERVICE, to help people.

I had no intention of selling anything.

As a coach, I wanted to help people move better, get stronger, and live healthier, longer lives.

My audience knew that I GENUINELY CARED and therefore trusted me to HELP THEM.

2) I HIRED A BUSINESS COACH. 

Hiring a business coach was a NON-NEGOTIABLE.

I learned my lesson THE HARD WAY about NOT hiring a business coach when we owned our facility.

When we owned our facility, we did not hire a business coach to help us until we were almost 3 years into our business.

This was a HUGE MISTAKE.

As a result of this mistake, we had made a lot of bad decisions, and had a lot of challenges UNTIL we had our business coach to help guide us.

The most successful businesses are successful because they hire a coach from the get-go to provide them with,

• a roadmap to follow
• support and accountability
• unlimited resources
• and SO MUCH MORE!

Therefore, I immediately signed up with a coach and enrolled in a group coaching program because I knew I needed a coach so that I could be successful and achieve my two big goals for 2019.

If you have never hired a business coach before, enrolling in a GROUP COACHING PROGRAM can be THE PERFECT WAY TO START.

That’s why I created my ==> EmpowerU Business Academy <== group coaching program.

Get the details and apply for EmpowerU Business Academy ==> HERE <==

Enrollment is limited to only 10 people and I’ve already scheduled interviews with people for next week.

The 10 spots will go quickly, so apply TODAY!

 

p.s. In my next email I’ll share with you specific tips to help you to stand out online.

 

Sending you vibes of positivity & abundance!

Artemis

Follow me on Instagram @Artemis_Scantalides

 

Artemis Scantalides

Owner

EmpowerU Online Coaching

I Am Not Afraid To Lift® Workshops