Feeling bored of doing the same launch over and over in your business, but not the ambition of starting and selling a new offer from scratch?

Today’s case study is a test of the perfect in between solution: selling a live cohort of an existing digital course with a low lift launch.

Candice Ward, food photographer and monetization coach for other food bloggers and content creators, decided to put a poll up on her IG story asking her followers if they would be interested in a 12 week, implementation-focused VIP coaching cohort of her signature course.

After receiving a positive response, she built out her new offer with minimal effort the very next day, selling only to those who had virtually raised their hand on her Instagram stories. By quietly launching only to this exclusive group through Instagram stories and DMs, Candice sold out of all spots, injecting $12K into her business in just 6 days!

We’ve got the full scoop on this quiet launch and how you can replicate something similar to refresh your digital courses (and revenue).

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/iW3DYSUsrr6u1S2FGLQfCpF5YY4?utm_source=copy_url

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When is the right time to exit your business?

For Suneera Madhani, it was after taking her fintech startup, Stax, from idea to unicorn - a moniker coined for the rare privately-held company that reaches a billion dollar valuation.

After selling to private equity and finding a new CEO to lead the company’s next stage of growth, Suneera knew she wanted to return back to the building phase of business.

Taking everything she knew about building a billion dollar business, Suneera’s set out to do it again, this time with Worth AI - a company creating the first ever credit score for businesses.

In today’s case study on lessons from building a billion dollar brand, Suneera shares the wisdom she took from her exit that she’s applying to this new venture, so you can borrow her hard-earned lessons & hindsight as well.

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/2TQtOkZEtS02epBZPV61RS8MbY8?utm_source=copy_url

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Connect with Suneera:

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I always say, the best business ideas come from looking outside your own industry. Today’s case study affirms just that. In 3 short years, this CEO has 3Xed her revenue without increasing her marketing spend AT ALL. In fact, she’s spending a fraction of what her competitors’ are, with greater success.

The client acquisition engine that grew her business from $1 to $6 million? A robust, mostly automated referral network.

Vanessa Rissetto is the co-founder and CEO of Culina Health, a revolutionary clinical nutrition care company, giving best-in-class virtual nutrition care covered by insurance. Instead of selling their services directly to the patient, they’ve structured a referral system with doctors and physicians who send their patients directly to them.

This referral program has grown by 9x in the last 3 years, generating 85% of the company’s overall revenue. Here’s the kicker though: there are no financial incentives involved for the referral partners.

So what motivates the referral partners to keep sending new clients their way? Keep listening to find out.

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/y9T7HJatL2JnUoAPmuukHXjDPPE?utm_source=copy_url

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Connect with Vanessa:

Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://ellenyin.com/quiz

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Is it ever a good idea to work for free? Many entrepreneurs wouldn’t consider it, especially after being in business for years, but this CEO makes a solid case for why selective pro bono work pays off - sometimes more than you would have even netted from charging for the original service.

Tracy Marlowe, founder of marketing agency Creative Noggin, has consistently taken on 1-2 pro bono projects a year. In today’s case study, Tracy details how she’s made MILLIONS of dollars in ROI over the years with this unconventional marketing strategy, either landing paid contracts with satisfied pro bono clients, or referrals from other businesses who were impressed with her work.

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/BziZqzdteytTGuT3X37PW8nCgeo?utm_source=copy_url

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Connect with Tracy:

Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://ellenyin.com/quiz

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This bonus episode on securing brag-worthy bylines pairs perfectly with Monday's case study on creating viral content for major publications using AI. Ericka Andersen - founder of Pitch and Publish Writing Co. - walks us through exactly how to pitch and get paid by media outlets to write content for them in your area of expertise or interest. Ericka makes six figures a year doing exactly this! Ericka gives us the insider scoop on how to pitch the right person, why it's important to have a strong thesis statement for your proposed article, and the reasons writing your own articles is better than being interviewed or featured in a story.

Access the transcript of this episode HERE: https://otter.ai/u/AdK0LzKYHDfSsT7aIi_Doo9NsdA?utm_source=copy_url

Connect with Ericka:

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Just in time for the release of the new Deadpool & Wolverine movie, you’ll love the story of how our guest caught the attention of Entrepreneur Magazine with a Wolverine costume and has since built a 9 years-strong content partnership with their publication.

Ben Angel is an award-winning and bestselling author, entrepreneur, and influencer with over two decades of experience leveraging emerging technologies for competitive advantage, including AI.

In today’s case study, Ben gives us his behind the scenes process for how he leverages AI to create viral content that has garnered more than 5 million views, including one video that grew his email list by 10,000 subscribers.

Keep listening to borrow his exact framework for creating headlines designed to trend on whichever publication you create content for (whether you want to be a guest contributor like Ben, or on your own website) and his top tips for leveraging AI - without sounding like everyone else.

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/wZsgs46BHPQUtS-n7Nt-c8G8D1g?utm_source=copy_url

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Connect with Ben:

Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://ellenyin.com/quiz

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Our Q2 2024 review is here! These quarterly review episodes contribute to our mission of creating financially transparent content - sharing what's working in our business, what we've learned, and what we're celebrating.

For more in-depth, behind the business case study episodes from within our business, check out the C-Suite: https://ellenyin.com/csuite

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/OUJFnhtmBbrs2sbaBPXL6ZGQjOU?utm_source=copy_url

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://ellenyin.com/quiz

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Today’s case study embraces experimentation on several fronts - new audience, new content platform, and new offer.

Seasoned online business owner and mentor to digital freelancers, Amy Posner, wanted to expand her audience beyond copywriters, so she got on LinkedIn, a platform she wasn’t active on previously, and tested a daily content strategy to build trust with a new audience of creative freelancers.

Within 6 months, Amy had attracted 708 LinkedIn followers and added 414 people to her email list - all organically. She then launched a new program to them, selling out the first round in just 2 weeks and generating over $45K in revenue - most impressive, all but one were first-time buyers in her ecosystem who had found her through LinkedIn.

This is the step by step LinkedIn content strategy that Amy plans to continue, and encourages you to borrow and test for yourself.

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/qqKGX5Xgk1hNYBaL2LaaVRcqZu8?utm_source=copy_url

Thank you to our sponsor!

• FOR A LIMITED TIME: Get 60% off your Babbel subscription at https://babbel.com/ellen

Connect with Amy:

Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://ellenyin.com/quiz

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We’re rounding up our 8 best tips and guest insights on all things hiring, from pre-hiring essentials, to successful delegation, to finding the right people to bring on your team. I’ll introduce each sound bite with the name of the guest and the original episode number, in case you want to go back and listen to the full interview. All referenced episodes will also be linked for you in the show notes below for easy access.

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/STlBAzdKb67YsLqZdHomcO_m1v0?utm_source=copy_url

Thank you to our sponsor!

Links to the featured episodes:

Check out our previous roundup episodes:

Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://ellenyin.com/quiz

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The media tends to portray women as over-spenders who are bad with money, causing Kickstart Accounting founder Danielle Hayden to notice that many of her new clients would come in asking “where can I cut back?”

But Danielle, who runs a 7 figure bookkeeping and accounting agency, challenges that narrative by examining where women are actually underspending in their businesses in a way that is prohibitive to reaching their goals.

In this case study, we dissect how Danielle is spending $113,223 on outsourced services for her business this year to drive growth, and why she has no desire to bring these roles in-house.

We’ll itemize every outsourced service, how much return she gets on these investments, and the process she uses to discern which roles should be hired in-house versus outsourced to an expert.

View the transcript for this episode at: https://otter.ai/u/UhFUoVcYoCFZ8XHV8H4YB5V-wMo?utm_source=copy_url

Thank you to our sponsor!

Connect with Danielle:

Iconic business leaders all have their own unique genius. Take this quick 10 question quiz to uncover your specific CEO style advantage: https://ellenyin.com/quiz

If you enjoyed today's episode, please:

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