Should I Care About... Q4 Income Goals, Writing Off The Rest Of The Year & Growing My Audience Instead Of Nurturing It?
What this episode is about
This week on Should I Care? we (Sophie Griffiths & Ruthie Walmsley) get into what’s actually doable in the last 10 weeks of the year (recorded the day before Sophie flew to Australia, so the maths felt very real).
Because there are two ways to look at it. It’s only the middle of October, so that’s a whole quarter, and writing it off feels mad. Then you count the weeks the kids are actually at school, take out the half term, and it looks like a very different quarter. So do you push, coast, or do something in between? And if your plan is “I’ll just keep nurturing and sell in January”, we have a question for you.
Key topics covered in this episode
In this episode:
The sum that turned 10 weeks into 6, & the Mary Poppins bag problem it didn’t fix
The offer Sophie isn’t selling this autumn, & the one she’s building a system around instead
The 12-day event that made last December her biggest revenue month, & what she’s changing this time
Ruthie’s confession: brilliant at setting tasks, hopeless at setting money goals, & a January tax bill she’s been ignoring
The “I’ll just nurture until January” plan, & the line that stopped Ruthie mid-sentence
meet your hosts
Sophie Griffiths
Sophie is obsessed with working with impatiently ambitious women who want to build a business based on connection and depth and refuse to accept they can’t work less and still earn big money.
A fast talking scaling strategist who teaches women to grow their businesses with ads, offer they are obsessed with and marketing that actually feels fun.
Over the last 9 years she’s grown the business alongside 2 high energy girls, a cavapoo dog who doesn’t understand personal space, an ADHD diagnosis & strong (positive) feelings about trashy TV (yes Off Campus..) & salted butter.
ruthie walmsley
Ruthie is a storytelling strategist and recovering English teacher ( and deputy headteacher) who helps women turn what they actually think into content people can’t stop reading.
One husband, one son, one ridiculous puppy called Bernie, an obsession with storytelling and a CV that includes some of the biggest names in the online business space.
Read the Podcast episode transcript
NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by an AI tool. Please forgive any typos or errors.
SIC - Ep 19
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[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of Should I Care with me, Sophie Griffiths
Ruthie: I'm Amy Ruth Walmsley
Sophie: how are you doing?
Ruthie: I am good, thank you. I'm actually cold, which I love. Love being a little bit cold. but yeah, I'm good. How are you? Exciting times for you, Soph
Sophie: when this comes out, I will be in Australia. Ah. when we're recording, so we're recording the day before I travel. so I'll be traveling tomorrow. But I was saying earlier, to you that unfortunately my flight is at 10... Five past 10 tomorrow evening. So essentially I feel paralyzed. I can't really do anything before then.
It's really hard. I've, in an ideal world, I would have had these two days off. I would have been going to get my nails done. I would have just been, like, super chill vibes. What actually happened was I was like, "Oh look, I don't have many meetings on those two days, so what I'm gonna do is cram a load of work in."
So then I keep telling myself, I'm like, "It's fine, I'm just getting it done before I'm on Australia," because I don't really wanna go [00:01:00] to Australia and then have, loads of work hanging over me. I just wanna enjoy it. I will still be working, but not,at my desk nine to five
Ruthie: You can definitely get your nails done, in Australia. That might be quite a nice thing to
Sophie: Yeah, that's true. I did get them done yesterday, but I'm not even gonna go into it 'cause it's so boring. But it was just such a bad experience . Well, I've got like proper, gel nails done, so like extension proper nails, and two of them have already broken, which is ridiculous because I've had them plenty of times, and they normally last two to three weeks.
I'm furious. But annoyingly, I don't have any time now, unfortunately, to go back to where I went to sort it out. So I'll be doing some kind of DIY job
Ruthie: deeply
Sophie: I know. When you've taken the time and the money to, do it, and then this just doesn't deliver. It was not ideal. So anyway, talking of time, that's a, that was a tenuous link.
Talking about time we are gonna do this episode today. We're gonna be talking about the fact that as of time of, [00:02:00] release, we have got just under 10 weeks until the end of the year, and, just over eight weeks until the kids split up, for Christmas. Now, my children, because, Surrey have decided to do a cheeky little two-week half term just for shits and giggles.
They're not doing it next year. It's just a one-year thing that they've decided to trial and have already ditched it before next year, even though we haven't had it yet. so I actually have six working weeks until the children break up for Christmas, and I am in Australia for two of them.
So we thought in this episode what we might do is talk about ... 10 weeks till the end of the year, what are we doing? What are we actually doing? what is doable and what is, totally delulu, and we really sort of need to, like, sort a bit of perspective out. Because I think there's two ways of looking at this, isn't it?
It's like the first is it's literally the beginning of October. When we're recording this, it's the 12th. You've got a whole quarter. That is like an entire three months, basically, [00:03:00] which seems insane to write off. But then, as you've just heard me map out, also realistically for parents who have children and are trying to work around them being at home, we actually have six weeks in an entire quarter
Ruthie: when you said at the start, "How are you?" And I gave, that garbled answer, it was partly because you'd just shared that rationale with me out loud, and I had descended into deep panic.
Sophie: It's one of my skill sets, just
Ruthie: when you said at the start of the call, "Yeah, so they've probably got this 10-week, but actually once we take that out, actually by the time the kids..." So then I was just like, I think I do this all the time, where I think that there's more time than there is. I think this is a problem for me. this is why I'm always late, because I don't ever do what you just
did, which is actually, practically... I hear a top line, a top-line piece of information, I'm like, "There's 10 weeks."
I'm like, "Loads of time, it's basically three months." But actually I never do the bit which is , "Well, actually, if you take this out and you look at this." [00:04:00] I never do that bit, and I really need to, because I am the person that is delulu.
Sophie: Yeah. I--
Ruthie: loads of
Sophie: do you know what my problem is, though? Is that I'll do the math and still decide I've got insane goals. I'll be like, "Oh, yes, sure, I've got four weeks. I think I could probably create and launch a new offer then." that's fine, surely. that's my delulu, is that I know how much time I've got and I still think I'm like Mary Poppins' fucking bag where I can just like, "Oh, it's fine.
I'll just expand what I need. It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Okay, so what we need to do, I think, is come up with a little plan. and obviously by that I mean you
Sophie: I already have a plan. So I thought maybe I'll share my plan, and then we can then work backwards, can't we? I also am, like, working with a lot of clients on this at the moment, so I can also share some things that are coming up for them as well, and how we're sort of working around it. Because I do think that, like I just said, there's just a real balance between being delulu and putting yourself under, insane amounts of pressure, and [00:05:00] thinking like, "Oh yeah, I wanna launch this new course, so I'll try and, create it, build demand for it, sell it, and then start running it before Christmas," which is a lot.
Or the other way, though, is to write the whole quarter off and be like, "Do you know what? It's just a bit too much. it's fine. I'll just do some stuff on Instagram. I'll just run what I'm running, and then I'm gonna, pick back up in January and, really focus in January." And then what people don't do is build for January.
So it's like if you're gonna go for January, let's use quarter four to do a load of the scrappy back-end stuff that, to be honest, you can sit on the sofa and doing cozy in your PJs. Or maybe that's just me. But I like to do that sort of stuff where I'm nice and cozy and I've got, really nice food and a really nice drink, and then I might, do some back-end stuff so that I know that when I come to January, I'm actually gonna be ready to go, and I'm not gonna be starting in January, 'cause that is brutal.
so shall I share my plan?
Ruthie: is brutal Yes. Please do share your plan, because I think as well, one thought I just had, [00:06:00] which... actually I've got a few things I wanted to say first. Number one is you said something in last week's podcast that really got me thinking about this quarter, which was your client who had that project 33, I loved that and I found that really inspiring.
Not to make 33,000, 'cause I think that might be slightly outside of the realms of possibility for my business at this stage. But I do think there is something about whatever it looks like, having clarity of what you're going to try and get done. so I'm really excited to do that. And the other thing I was just thinking as you were talking, so I'm just gonna share it because, that's what it's like to be in the presence of me. I have a thought and I share it. Is that actually, oftentimes we're gonna be doing some of this stuff anyway. So okay, obviously it's October the 12th as we record today. I'm definitely gonna do a social post today. I'm definitely gonna do another one later in the week. I'm definitely gonna send an email to my list, 'cause these are the habits that I have to market my business. and so they just become nurture, nurture, nurture. If you're gonna be doing some of that stuff anyway, perhaps it makes sense to [00:07:00] like try and create some revenue. This is me giving myself a pep talk. I know that seems like business 101, but yeah, like maybe I could direct it somewhere with purpose.
Fucking hell. Mind blown
Sophie: got her mind blown. Now, I love that for you. I love that realization. I also think it leads back actually into Project 33 that I was talking about last week., If you didn't listen to last week's episode, then obviously go back and listen, I will summarize for you.
Essentially, I had a client who realized at the beginning of November that she - needed to create an additional 33Cs revenue in her business by the end of the year. and so what she did was she just almost sold continuously through that period. She created nothing new. So she bundled up things she had, she created new offers around things she had, say lifetime access instead of a year's access.
She, added one-to-ones to things. she sold courses she already had. She basically just used stuff she already had, and she sold it continuously. There was no mega launch. She did a few workshops, I [00:08:00] think, but there was no mega launch. It was literally just if I switch from , nurture, nurture, nurture, nurture, sell, to nurture and sell, nurture and sell, nurture and sell.
Sophie: Because the reality is, like especially for you and the way that you run your business, and for me as well, is that even when we're selling, it's in a nurturing way. we both know that from our recent launches. there's still loads of storytelling, there's still loads of like stuff that we do.
People don't feel like that we're just bombarding them with "Buy now,buy now." It's always wrapped up in a story or in a learning or in something that someone can get something from as well. So she just paired the two together. So I feel like that might be a starting point for you
Ruthie: I think so too. I think what would also be useful because you have got a plan, and also I think you are coming from a space where you've got, additional time constraints that you perhaps hadn't got in your mind at the start of the year, hadn't perhaps got in your mind even at the start of the summer [00:09:00] with your daughter being at home now from a school point of view. so yeah, I'd be really keen to hear about how you're mapping out the rest of the year, and would I perceive it to be delulu or actually, is it posible? Is it possible?
Sophie: Give me, yeah, you can give me some feedback on whether this sounds absolutely mental. so I have changed my plans. Nobody's gonna be surprised there. Surprise! Pivot. and I did, again, I did, allude to this, last week's podcast as well. So originally I was gonna sell Outrageous, and that was gonna be the plan.
So I would do the workshop, the sprint into Outrageous, and then that would pretty much be it for the year selling-wise. And then I'm gonna do Scaling Unwrapped. which is what I did last year. So it's a two-week free thing where it's a bit like this podcast really, but I just go into like the whole year and exactly what happened, how it happened, and how I've grown the business, this year.
Things I've done well, things that have gone, belly up. And last year it was incredible. It was such a great vibe. It was two weeks, well, it was 12 days. It was the 12 days of Christmas, and I released a podcast every day. Six of just me, [00:10:00] three , interviews with clients, and three interviews with like coaches I've worked with.
Worked so well. It was absolutely great. December was my biggest revenue month last year. and it was because I then sold, during that I sold Obsessed, which was a two-week sort of like mini course with me on your offer ecosystem. and then I also opened up Outrageous, and people joined that as well.
So that's definitely staying. So my December plans, if we're working backwards, is to do the 12 days of Christmas hopefully this year. who knows? it's nice to hope though, isn't it? I might be a bit more prepared. I know what I'm doing. last year I just was like, it was just new.
Sophie: I was just making it up, so I wasn't exactly sure how it was gonna go. This year, we've got the emails, I've got the social posts, I've got , the signup page. It'll obviously just all be updated for this year, and I'll have to record new audios, but other than that, I feel like that's pretty good to go.
So December my only plan is basically do that for two weeks then...
Ruthie: And will you, sorry to interrupt, , are you planning on
opening the doors to things? you planning on having Obsessed again? Are you planning on Outrageous from that? [00:11:00] Or are you just doing it as, warming things up to decide what to do in January?
Sophie: I think, and this then comes, to my next decision, because I think what I'm going to do is... I know what I am gonna do, but I think what I'll do from Scaley Unwrapped is Superfan Sprint. So I'm basically, the pivot I'm having is that I'm not gonna be selling Outrageous.
look, Outrageous is open. if anyone hears this and you want to join Outrageous, it is there, it's open. it absolutely is taking new people on. However, what I'm not going to do is be focusing on it in my marketing, primarily because As you would have heard if you listened to last week's episode, I found this launch really, really tough.
And actually, in reflection, I like launching. I like the energy of it. It's very ADHD. it's very, down to the deadline, push. have conversations with people. it's really, , dynamic, and it has a lot of momentum, and that just That sits so well with me. but what I've realized is that all the changes at home with my eldest being at home, and my youngest also struggling a bit at school, just - [00:12:00] needing a lot of nervous system regulation at home, is that having all of that and launching, it just completely drained my capacity.
And when I went into, freeze mode for a few days, I think it was literally just my body saying, You know, there was nothing wrong with the launch. I've had launches like that before. I've had it where I've had, a lower turnout rate or, the sales haven't gone to plan to begin with.
And, I know I can turn it around. I've got enough experience to know that, it's fine. It will all work out. I just need to change the plan a bit. But, the response my nervous system had was so extreme for, what was actually going on, that I was like, "Yeah, I really need to look at this differently."
And I think I've done a huge amount in my business to step away from being needed all the time. Nicola in my business, she does loads of stuff day to day. I don't have calls every day. I don't do client work. I have so many boundaries. There is so much in my business that is different from, a year ago, when I'm, like, able to step back a lot more.
But selling is one thing that I have never been able... Well, not, it's not even, [00:13:00] I've never been able, I've never tried to step away from it, because I like it. Like, I like doing it. so I've never really tried to do it, which is ironic, 'cause I help clients do it all the time. so what I've decided to do is to use, this is my plan, use October to create essentially what will be an evergreen funnel, where I will bring people in with ads, with a lead magnet, which will probably be a private podcast, and I will probably do a mini magnet as well, which will be more like something quick and easy to use.
Sophie: So I'll probably have two options. And then- They'll come in, and then they'll go through emails. They'll come into my world. On the socials I'll be talking about it. So October is like Superfan Sprint month. And then.. it's not running at the moment, so it's gonna start running on the 2nd of November once I'm back from Australia, once we've had half term.
So October is, like, all about Superfan Sprint, all about building that, funnel foundations. November will be about obviously then welcoming everyone in to the Superfan Sprint, and then the goal will be to continue [00:14:00] selling, but without the, big energy around it. So it will just be more a case of, organic socials and then the funnel working as much as possible.
Then I'll be prepping and getting ready for Scaling Unwrapped, and then Scaling Unwrapped will then sell into Superfans as well. So there'll be, like, three phases of selling into Superfans, and the goal will be that I bring in enough people and I get enough data that I can just continue to, refine the emails, refine the process, see what makes people come in, see what doesn't, so that going into January I can then just continue to run it.
Ruthie: Ja
Sophie: yeah, so that's the plan. So that's why I think Scaling Unwrapped links into Superfans. Then in January and onwards, if that is then running all the time without huge amount of involvement from me, that means that I can then focus on Outrageous I'm not sure if I'm gonna make that an automated system or whether it will just be relatively light touch because I already have people coming in.
already two-thirds of the people in Outrageous have done the Superfan [00:15:00] Sprint
Ruthie: I was gonna say, like I think what you're actually doing, which I'm sure is intentional, but my observation is like actually the people who have done the Superfan Sprint are often such a better qualified lead to then enter into Outrageous, because normally by the end of the Superfan Sprints, they've achieved X, Y, Z.
They've managed to get all of this incredible stuff done in this sprint program with you, that then going on to do some of the sort of deeper work scale it to six figures, like to have a six-figure offer with Outrageous, and that does make sense. So you can already see it, but actually what if in doing this evergreen funnel, as well as having sales happening all the time, what you are essentially doing is qualifying leads for Outrageous as well, because it does feel like the next logical step for people, doesn't it, often?
Which is why so many of them in there have done
Yeah, exactly. And then I'm also,, this probably sounds a bit delulu, but it's not, I don't think. I guess I'm starting a membership, but it's not a [00:16:00] membership. it is what so many of my clients have done such an incredible job on these, and I'm like, I've always been like, "Oh, I don't know how to create one for myself.
Sophie: I really want one." and, I think now that I've got this process with the Superfans Sprint, So you come into the Superfan Sprint, and it's eight weeks. So it's eight weeks where you get access to obviously all the content. You can submit stuff to me, which I will review for you, and, you get access to the community, which I'm adding more stuff to the community.
So I'm also beefing up the Superfan Sprint. So before, like we've talked about, I've dabbled in like all sorts of ways of running the Superfan Sprint. I'm adding in weekly ad reviews, monthly calls, , office hours every other week, and then the community. So I'm adding more of a community vibe to it ' cause I think it'll give people more of a taste of what it's like to work with me than in Outrageous.
so I'm adding a lot more support. And then once you've done your eight weeks or if you've previously done the Superfan Sprint with me or been in any of my high-ticket programs, because the Sprint is what I teach everywhere, I'm then gonna have an ongoing community. yeah, so almost like , [00:17:00] a hidden membership
Sophie: Yeah, backend membership. Yeah. So you'll only be able to come into that once you've done the Superfan Sprint, and it'll be the same community that you're in during the eight weeks of the Superfan Sprint, but it's if you want to continue, and then other people can come in as well.
Ruthie: Love
Sophie: Because so often people in the sprint will get their ads up, and they will, get them running, and they're like, "Oh yeah, great.
This is great." But then they're like, "Oh, but now I wanna do a master class," or, " Oh, now they're not working like they were," or, "They're working really well and I wanna add some more, but I don't really know what to do." And there is some guidance in the content, but the reality is it's quite dependent on your business and where you're at and what the actual results are.
So I'm gonna create a, backend membership that people can then come into, which will be relatively low cost. it's not gonna be like mega high ticket, but Again, it's just another opportunity for me to support people and also to stack recurring revenue
Ruthie: And is your idea that you would make that available at the end of the super fan sprint?
Yeah, end of the Superfan Sprint [00:18:00] or if you've done it before. So there'll be a little bit of a period where there'll be lots of people that can come in who've previously done it. But yeah, then going forward it'll essentially just be, you can come into it once you finish
Ruthie: with all this, so is this when you're working with your coaches or are you coming up with this in your own brain? I'm keen to understand, because it's rare that you and I, either on or off the podcast, don't have a conversation where you're like, "No, I already know what I'm doing for that." And I'm like, "No, I already don't, I don't know what I'm doing for that." like, where are you coming up with all this?
Sophie: ah, that's a good question. I think, but definitely partly with the coaches. That definitely helps. I think the challenge is with my business, is that although I have recurring revenue coming in, it's not enough at the moment. it's not enough that I could just not bring any more sales in for the rest of the year, because I don't have retainer work in the same way that you do.
So I do have two one-to-ones, which is great. But again, they're still six months. They still have to renew after six months. So I think there's probably always a bit of a drive for me to be like,where am I actually bringing money in from?" So [00:19:00] November, I have a gap that I have to fill.
So I have to sell something. So I guess , I'm always thinking,. how am I gonna do that?" , I think one of the biggest changes in the business now versus where I was probably last year, even, the year before, is that what you haven't heard is me saying I'm gonna create anything fundamentally new.
the backend membership I guess is new, but it's built off a program, and it's already current clients. I definitely, in the past, I would have filled this gap with something completely new, something really shiny. Something like, "Ooh, I could run like a four-week thing," or, "I could do this," or, "I could do that."
And I would have created a huge amount of work for myself with, sales page and messaging and all that, but it would've felt really fun. That's what I'm really conscious of, and I have been conscious of this year, is that I'm not creating new things. I'm just selling what I've already got. And the Superfan Sprint is like, it's really established, and I've never found a way of consistently selling it.
I [00:20:00] guess actually that's not even true. I haven't... It's not even like I never found a way. I've never given myself the time to work out how I can consistently sell it, because I've always had... So last year I had the Mastermind and the Minimind that I needed to fill all the time. And so all my marketing, and energy, and ads, and everything was just like, "Well, it has to be on that," because that's where the big money is.
and then this year it's obviously always been on Outrageous, but I think the trouble with that is that it just, is just exhausting me, and with the capacity I've got right now, that just doesn't work anymore. So I'm having to take, a step back slightly not a step back from Outrageous, but a step back from selling Outrageous.
It feels really uncomfortable. All I wanna do right now is sell Outrageous, because, the reality is, one or two people in Outrageous is worth probably, five or six in Superfan Sprint. So I have to sell more of the Superfan Sprint to make the same amount of money, and that feels really uncomfortable.
But until I get the system in place, it's just relentlessly relying on my energy, and I just don't have [00:21:00] the energy anymore. So I'm having to take a bit of a breath, hold my nerve, and then see where we go.
Ruthie: That's the thing, isn't it? Holding your nerve is One of my clients has a quote, and it's actually, her success has come from holding on when everyone else let go. I think there's so much to take away from that as well. I think . right now, every part of me wants to do an in-person Christmas-themed event, right? Because I did one last year. I really like hosting events. I like in person. I like thinking about little gifts for people to go.
on the table. it tickles my fancy. And, people love the idea of it, right? So when you start, , putting the feelers out to people, they're like, "Oh my God. Yes, yes, yes." But actually, the reality is, when it's the first week of December and you're already starting to feel a bit burnt out, and you're, like, overwhelmed by what's going on in, the school calendar, your family calendar, everyone's trying to see each other like, "Oh, we need to meet up before Christmas."
and actually, most Decembers I feel like I should've said no more. I should've [00:22:00] said no to stuff more than I've said yes, but I get carried away. but I was actually thinking about some of the conversations we'd had, but also.. i use Flow Desk for, like, some of my checkouts and stuff, and I could see Bloody Good Story Club 2 launch, Bloody Good Story Club 1, the Social Slay. was thinking, "God, the amount of effort I put into the Social Slay promo was probably not dissimilar to the amount of effort I put into launch." Not quite the same, enough. and the revenue that it generated and told me was just really small in comparison. And of course, it had massive expenditure 'cause you're buying everyone lunch, you're hiring a venue, I'd gotten gifts on the table. And so this is where I get stuck in indecision, is that I will talk myself in and out of things on, a really, really regular basis, where I'm like, "Okay, I'm gonna do this. No, I'm not gonna do this. I'm gonna do this. No, I'm gonna do that." , And that's why I asked that question of you, is like how do you get yourself to the point?
And I suppose as well, you've got this experience now where, the [00:23:00] Superfan Sprint for example, not only do you know there's appetite for it, but you really know it works as well. So there's the confidence to keep selling it, 'cause you're like, "Fucking hell, I can tell you what this is gonna do because I've got so much evidence of people coming out of this program with all of these incredible achievements." it feels, it's, sensible. But I think because I've got the Bloody Good Story Club, and then I've dabbled in, service, like your Power Hour and your storytelling shift and audits and that sort of stuff. I think at the minute I'm in freeze mode of, not really knowing to do, which isn't shiny object syndrome. Thinking about how little time does actually feel like I've got, like realistically six weeks, because I'm a Christmassy gal. do not ask anything of me past about the 15th of December, because I wanna be, , wrapping presents and watching The Holiday on repeat. , I can feel myself erring towards, oh, maybe just continue nurturing your audience and do something in January. But I know what happens in January. I come back feeling like, "Oh, I'm not ready yet. [00:24:00] I've just had time off. I don't wanna do anything." So I'm really stuck in freeze, I think.
Sophie: Okay, question for you. and you maybe you don't have this, but, what are your goals? So the reason why I have these plans is because I have money that I have to bring in, and so it's non-negotiable. I have to work out how I'm gonna do it.
And so this is the plan. what are your goals for the next few months? Because...
Ruthie: I don't
Sophie: No, and I think that's probably part of the problem, right? Because you're like, "Oh, it really tickles my fancy to do this in-person day. that would bring so much joy." But I also know it's a bit of a bugger to sell because of the time of year, et cetera.
Is that gonna make it feel a bit like hard work? I don't really want, that feeling of, pulling people into something, and it doesn't make much money. But ultimately, if your goals aren't around money for this quarter, if you've gotten the money you want, as in, obviously, more money's always good, especially around this year, but it's not okay, I've got a fucking gap to close here.
I have to close this gap, so I have to make enough money. 'Cause if you were telling me you've got, a 10 grand gap that you've got to close over the next, whatever we said, eight [00:25:00] weeks, then no, we're not gonna be doing the in-person day. because the proportion of work to revenue it's just not worth it.
We're gonna be looking at okay, what have you already got? What could you adapt quite quickly? Like for example, you could put out next week, if not earlier, that you are selling one-to-one, not done for you, but one-to-one, coaching for people who basically,, who want to join the Bloody Good Story Club, but are like, "I know it's a group, and I know that I probably won't do it."
I'm talking to myself here. And actually, what I'd really rather have is a fortnightly call with Ruthie where we plan out my content. She gives me some great hooks. She gives me some story ideas. I can go away and do it, and I know that I'll then be kept on track. you could pull that together really easily.
I think the challenge is if you wanted to do a group, and you needed to build the demand, the, the messaging around it, create the content for it. The reality is, if you want a new offer that you need to sell in Q4, you need to generate [00:26:00] revenue, you want to test something out, the easiest thing to do, and this is said by someone who is a groups expert, is not to do a group.
Sophie: if you don't already have it, it's to do a one-to-one where you don't have to create a load of content
Ruthie: Yeah. And I think that , when we had the strategy day, this is what happens though. I had this great,obviously led by your good self, I wrote this really great master plan, and I'd done October, I'd written down October, bedding in Bloody Good Story Club. So new members coming in, just making sure that everything was set up, that they were happy, onboarded. Obviously, a couple of my processes needed to change, so just making sure I'd done that. Then November, launch the Ideas Factory. for big-thinking founders who need to work one-to-one. And then December, I'd started to think about something for January. So once that's, done, start to launch a wait list and start promo-ing this idea that I've got for January.
But then, I step away from those situations and I'm like, "Oh, I don't know." And like I'm not very good, one thing I've realized about myself is I'm [00:27:00] actually not very good at setting goals for myself. I'm good at setting tasks. at setting achievement-based tasks. So actually, like the Bloody Good Story Club, I wanted to create some reoccurring revenue. I never put a price on that. I never said, "Oh, I wanna earn this much income." when you say, "Have you got a gap?" Yeah, I've definitely got a gap 'cause I'm gonna have a tax bill in January that I definitely won't have enough money for. So I definitely have got a gap, My grandad used to say, "Denial is not just a river in Africa." I think I could really do with getting comfortable with setting financial goals. I think it's my fear of not meeting that goal. think when I can see it's a task that I can tick off,So like last year in 2025,, I set a goal that I wanted to do an in-person or a couple of in-person events. So tick. As long as I did that, I'd hit my goal. Woo-hoo, everybody celebrate me. I'm so great. And like with the Bloody Good Story Club, all I said to myself was low [00:28:00] stakes. I'm gonna launch a group offer. That means I've got some element of reoccurring revenue that is attached to me, not a retainer client. And so I've done that, And I'm noticing that it's probably why I'm not taking as much action or as much decisive action, is because I'm not attaching it to something like cash
Sophie: Yeah. And I think , it is a real challenge, and I was definitely like that before, probably a couple of years ago. I think before probably we relied on my revenue in the house when Pete dialed down his hours, and then we've taken on this massive mortgage. It's like I've got so much more comfortable with my numbers.
I have this spreadsheet, I know exactly how much I need to hit every single month. I don't always hit it. I don't, and I do have some reserves, so it's fine. but I know when I haven't hit it, and therefore I know what my job is next month. And sometimes I think, "Oh, do you know what?
It was easier when I was in the dark," because I could go into a month with quite like, "Oh, great. let's see how much money I make this [00:29:00] month. How fun." Whereas now I'm going into it being like, "Right, well, you have to make this amount of money, otherwise you are really at the shit."
But it also allows me, to create really specific plans. So for example, like with your Ideas Factory, if you worked out roughly how much your tax gap was gonna be, Like . the great thing about one-to-one versus a group is like you can literally open up two or three spaces, and you can make quite a lot of money in quite a short amount of time.
Sophie: it'll be mind-blowing for you, I think, having people on retainer that you don't have to do any work with really in between. Like, you don't have to make anything. you literally maybe have a bit of Slack, and maybe you answer questions, and maybe you check their hook, but you're not actually doing anything
Ruthie: It would be so mind-blowing because, you'll know yourself from when you were doing ads, on the run-up to your business as it is now. sometimes the output that I'm creating for clients is,huge. . and often my clients tend to launch at the same time and stuff, and I'll be like, "Oh my God, I've written the equivalent of, like, six dissertations this [00:30:00] week."
the output is enormous. And so Yeah. And as you were talking, it's no coincidence, is it, that you've got really specific the numbers and have had your best revenue months ever and have generated, what was it? 200, 300 and ... some- some sort of fucking crazy number, a - quarter of a million quid or more. I just, yeah, it's definitely fear. I'm just nervous. thing about the Ideas Factory is it's exactly what you were saying. it's for the people who know that groups don't work for them but still want the control of doing it themselves, . know that they're not really great at outsourcing it. but when I think about pricing that, I get a real bad case of the willies and I'm like, "What if I ... No, what if no one wants it?" so it's just fear. I just need to keep being brave, and I think that's the hardest part, is just, like, when it's the first time of doing something, you are pitching something that you've made up in your head that you think there's demand for, but you're not 100% sure.
you think there is. I guess I'm worried as well. I was, felt more confident about it before I'd had all those [00:31:00] conversations with people about money as part of the Really Good Story Club launch that I mentioned last week in the podcast, where people were saying , it was just too much money.
They couldn't commit to it. And I think I'd priced the Really Good Story Club at a price that I thought was a complete no-brainer for people, and maybe that was, my own ignorance to, that. I'm not sure. So then the idea of then trying to sell something that's more expensive just makes me feel like, on the back of those conversations.
Do you know what I mean? I've talked myself out of it
what I would say though for that is those people, as, lovely as they are, like, they're not me. I'm the one who's gonna buy, I'm the one that's gonna buy, and I'm happy to pay more for one-to-one. I wouldn't buy the Bloody Good Story Club for no reason other than I have zero faith in myself that I would be able to do it.
Sophie: that I would be able to, go in and commit to it. And I know that I need that level of one-to-one accountability. But, the price is relative, I think, to how much people are earning. So when you're talking about, like, established founders, you're talking about a different type of person to the [00:32:00] person that is saying, "Do you know what?
I actually can't afford to come into the Bloody Good Story Club at the moment." they're the same client, but they're just at very different stages of their business.
Ruthie: Yeah
Sophie: if we just go back to the learnings in the Fuck Yes Sprint, that I know you listened to
so I have this whole thing about the Goldilocks client, and the Goldilocks client is where in the journey your person is. So whether they're too early, they're too late, or they're just right, and that's our Goldilocks client, the person that's just right. The person who is just right for the Bloody Good Story Club is too early for, the Ideas Factory, and the person who is just right for the Ideas Factory is probably too far on for the Bloody Good Story Club.
Sophie: And so really you're just looking at, it's the same person, they're just at different stages, , in their business. You're just two different Goldilockses. And I also think the other thing is, because I am your ideal client for the Ideas Factory, but I also do belong to some memberships, and sometimes I'll look at a membership and go, "Mm, that's too much for what I want it for."
'Cause I think there's context, isn't it? [00:33:00] I can go to Waitrose and spend, 60 quid, And , maybe I've got some dinner for the kids, maybe I picked up some, really nice chocolate, a bottle of wine or something to take to a friend's house, and I've spent 60 quid.
Put a jumper in front of me that's 60 quid and I will have, paralyzing decision fatigue around whether that's just too much to spend on a jumper. Do I really have the money and we should really be saving at the moment? And it's the same 60 quid, but my thought process around it is totally different, and I think that's probably what you would get with, the Bloody Good Story Club versus the Ideas Factory.
People's, perception of the pricing is like it's not equal
Yeah, you're so right. The whole reason why when I was doing the big thinking, in your strategy session is that I've noticed that there are people who are, like, really engaged with me, , maybe have had a power hour with me, maybe have done little bits of work with me, but they just know themselves to not work well in group settings, or they're already in some of the [00:34:00] memberships and they don't want to be in another one, they haven't got the time for it, or they just are like,sharpshooters.
Ruthie: Like, I just want to get this done. I just want this done. I don't want to have to do it too much myself. I want more guidance than what is available in the Bloody Good Story Club. So I do get it. I think I just... Yeah, it's just really interesting hearing how you see things and also,I know that I'm a bit tight when it comes to spending money on my business, and I think that I sometimes carry that in. And it's not actually that I'm tight. It's not about not wanting to spend the money. It's just I don't trust myself to make the right decisions as to, I've bought some absolute shit before and been burnt. I think a lot of people have in the online business world. I've bought some real tripe that I'm just like, "Well, that was just this amount of money every month that I've been paying out that I didn't use, and it wasn't very good when I did use it." so yeah, I think it's really interesting. I think it'd be interesting for people at home listening to also be thinking, like, what sort of planning are they doing? Are they thinking about the finances? Are they thinking about the logical [00:35:00] step? if I hadn't already just done a launch for the Bloody Good Story Club, I would definitely be thinking about how I could be using that.
I did listen to, the Fuck Yes Group Offer audios last week when I was in London. I was just like, "Oh my God, yes. Yeah." I thought I should've listened to this in, it's very selfish of you, Sophie, to not plan your launch to help me
Sophie: I know
Ruthie: listen to it ahead of my, launch.
But I'll definitely be using it for when I launch again in April. But yeah, I just think it's interesting to think about planning in this way, and I wonder how many other people at home are sitting thinking, "Oh, I don't know
what I'm going to do for the rest of the year," and needing that kind of incentive to really think it
Sophie: Yeah. I think the other thing as well is if you'd , quite like a bit more revenue, but actually you know that you've sold in September, you're like starting delivering a program maybe , in October, or you're just delivering a lot It's a big time of year, and you actually don't want to be delulu, and you kind of wanna go into the end of the year rested.
I also think there's a real temptation to, like what you said,I think towards the beginning, you're like, "I think my instinct is just to [00:36:00] nurture." Nurture, nurture, nurture, which I'm totally here for. I think if you're gonna go into a launch in January, you absolutely need to nurture
It's a great use of your time. However, I do think one of the big things people miss is you need to grow your audience as well, and I think that's the biggest challenge, is thinking about delivering a program, doing all the stuff with the kids, nurturing your current audience. , That feels like a lot anyway to then be like, "Okay, I really actually do need to grow my audience with ideal clients during that period as well," because that's gonna massively serve me no matter what I do in January.
Whether it's a big launch, whether it's preparing for something else, whether it's a new offer, you need new people in your world. And that's why, like partly why I think the Superfan Sprint is just , one of my favorite offers to run because it's eight weeks. You get it done, and then you've got that system there that just works for you, like day in, day out.
It's bringing new people into your world all the time so that then next Q4 you're not really having to think about how am I gonna bring new people in, [00:37:00] 'cause your ads are already running bringing great people in, and you can just nurture. But if you don't have new people coming in, that's when people just get into a real hole of frustration
Ruthie: Yeah, and to be honest, as you're even saying that out loud, I'm like, fucking hell, yes, that is So true. Because what? I'm nurturing the same people I've been nurturing and nurturing and... everyone who's in my audience is really nurtured. they are well looked after. They know my inside leg measurement.
We chat,So even as you were saying that, I was like, "Fuck yeah, I don't need to Well, obviously I'm always nurturing, like it's the nature of the content I create and that you create is we are nurturing all the time. So it's not that I'm gonna abandon that, but actually, if I'm completely honest with myself, does my existing audience need to be nurtured more? probably not, no. I think they're probably, even if I just carried on doing, whatever I was gonna do, I think they would be adequately nurtured. I think that's really hit a nail on the head for me in that like actually, God, no, they don't need more nurturing. They're the same people who've been there for a while.
I haven't grown my audience massively [00:38:00] in, the past I haven't
Sophie: You look like dazed and confused there. Like I've just hit you with something and you're just like, "Oh my God."
Ruthie: I'm just having some ... I'm just like, "Oh, shit." Because I think I was ready to say that to myself. I think I was really ready to say, "I'm just gonna spend the rest of 2026 nurturing an audience so that I can sell in January, with this, program I've got in my head, this idea called Express Yourself." And so I was thinking, " I'll just do that." But actually, I've already nurtured them, and I'll continue to nurture them. What I need is new people. You are right. That's annoying, isn't
Sophie: I know, it's so annoying.
Ruthie: for you. Great for you
Sophie: Great for me 'cause I'm like, I just, I think it's just that for me it's feels like such a relatively easy solution because What I love about ads, and the, the structure that we put in place is that it's like it's done. Because I'm not someone can, hold something continuously.
I find it really hard to be consistent. I find it really hard to, like, say if I was, , relying on, trial reels or whatever, it's [00:39:00] a never-ending job. you've always got to be creating trial reels if you want more people to come in through trial reels. whereas with ads, it's once it's done, it's just, there.
And yeah, you need to tweak it a bit, but I just love the fact that it just can support you and is the set foundation. and is this not wonderful timing or not? But, last week when I was finishing up the sprint, in the Telegram group, one of my lovely clients who's done the Superfan Sprint, posted in there and she was like, "I'm a massive fan of the Superfan Sprint, everybody, because just literally today I made a £1,000 sale through one of my Instagram ads because of the sprint I've done with Sophie.
So I'm a big Superfan Sprint fan today." Love.
Ruthie: That's insane
Sophie: I was just like, "Yes. Yes." like a blesser. it was real, like, hard work for her to get it all done. It's a lot of work to get ,the lead magnet, the ads, the email sequence. That's essentially what it is to start with, and then you layer on,
Ruthie: Yeah
Sophie: and stuff on top.
But ultimately she did it and now she's, reaping,rewards like that. and that could happen again next week and the week [00:40:00] after because she did the work once
Ruthie: So, I mean, just run me through the Superfan Sprint, just as a potential client. 'Cause I'm now,I joke all the time about wanting free coaching, but I'm now, ready to be sold to. you've nurtured me sufficiently with your expertise. , What is it? Tell me what the Superfans, describe it to
Sophie: Okay, so it is eight weeks where we create your super fan system, which means bringing new people into your world and then having a journey for them essentially to start to nurture them, and then a strategy to continue doing that. So we create a lead magnet that is really specifically for your ideal client, either a mini magnet, which is like
. One that's like 10 Claude prompts. Those are mini magnets. They're something really like a little snack that's just like, "Oh my God, I want that." Or, a maxi magnet, if you like, which is more like private podcast, mini course, something like that.
Then we create the ads. So we literally set up your lead ads. We set up , your ad account. We set up the ads themselves in [00:41:00] the dashboard. We write the copy, we do the graphics, we create it all so that it attracts your ideal clients, your Goldilocks client, the person who's perfect for that, at the right point where they're ready to buy.
Then we create the welcome sequence that is gonna nurture them, send them to more value, make sure they understand who you are. We might drop in a little bit of a sell, but it's much more of a nurture, welcome to my world vibe. and then we turn the ads on, and then once the ads are on, then you're just using your...
Sophie: Like you would already have this because you're great at Instagram. But for a lot of people, it's them working on their organic content to make sure that once someone comes into their world, when they land on their profile, their Instagram profile, they actually are like, "Oh yeah, this person is for me," because they can see that from their Instagram.
'Cause it's a bit of a challenge if you're bringing people in from ads and they land on your Instagram and , they don't know that "Oh yeah, this is the person for me." So we do that in eight weeks. And actually just to say as well, loads of people come into it already having an email sequence, already having a lead magnet.
Some of them already run ads. This isn't about you having to be a beginner. [00:42:00] This is actually about taking what you've got and making it work for ads to bring in the right people. Because you can have quite a generic lead magnet and it work really well organically because people already have context.
When you go to ads, the biggest mistake people make is that they have a generic lead magnet that then brings in people that are not specifically coming in for your expertise. They're just coming in 'cause you're like gonna give them 10 Claude prompts, which just isn't ever gonna build that like authority and connection.
So we really work on how can we make this really specific to your Goldilocks client and to you and your expertise?
Ruthie: How much, and sorry, just one more question. And how much is it?
Sophie: if you join in October, it is, 997 plus VAT, and there's payment plans as well. and then afterwards it's 1,500 plus VAT
Ruthie: Okay. Listen, I am actually very much considering this, as always with me, - it started with an Instagram post. So because I'm, think in Instagram posts essentially, I did a post, seven goals for October. Goal number one, set up ads. So I [00:43:00] need to grow my audience to support the business I want, and organic growth alone isn't getting me there. and then goal five was around my offer suite, and thinking about,i've got one freebie. I've never really done anything with it. I don't even know if it's good anymore. And then the last one is set some income goals for Q4. I mean, I could just keep talking about it, which is I'll probably do another Instagram post in a couple of weeks' time, just like, "Okay, let's make that into goals for November." but I do think that , I've found that really useful. I hope that people listening have, to start thinking, actually what is realistic in the time that I've got available. what is it that I actually want to achieve? Because . I think , where I stumble is that I often follow of something I want to do that sounds fun, or tickle my fancy, rather than about the things that are, like, gonna have longevity, of setting up my business in a way that I actually want it to run, and giving that the proper rather than just being onto, the next shiny new thing.
, My problem is naming. I wanna come up with a new name. I [00:44:00] want a new little mini brand for it. , 'Cause actually I was even thinking when you were talking,I've obviously written down that it needs to be called The Ideas Factory, but actually does that complicate? , Am I just better to say, "I'm taking on some one-to-one clients, and this is how that would work"? Is calling it something actually a barrier to people understanding what it is? Because , I don't think The Ideas Factory is particularly wrong, so yeah, it's not telling them exactly what it is I do. so I've got on a personal level, absolutely loads out of that conversation in thinking about I spend the final quarter, and actually, , how good it would feel to actually do things that are really purposeful rather than doing things that are, like, about the razzmatazz, which is sometimes where I get distracted
Sophie: And I think that is so true, isn't it? , this is the biggest challenge I have, is like it's not the sexiest thing. it's not the sexiest, course to do and , the most, oh my God, that sounds so fun. But it is, so impactful, and it does give you that really clear, anchor of purpose of, I'm doing something that , will grow my audience.[00:45:00]
And, knowing that you're doing that and then, being able to tick that off before the end of the year, it's very appealing
Ruthie: and also, whilst the process might not tickle my fancy as much as like themed decorations for an in-person thing, idea of that success story you shared of like a person saying, "Yeah, like I set up my ads and I just had a thousand pound," that's really sexy to me. And so is the idea of , seeing my audience grow with the right people.
'Cause I know how excited I get when I get an organic follow and I go and look at their page and I'm like, "Oh my God, yeah, ideal client. Brilliant." they are definitely the type of person I wanna be connecting with. of that happening not constantly as a result, I'm still gonna post, but not constantly as a result of me coming up with a new way to get people to follow me organically is also ...
So I think probably what the case is, is that whilst the building of certain offers might be more enticing initially, the [00:46:00] impact of doing this sort of thing is definitely juicy and enticing.
Sophie: on that note, I'll pop the link in the show notes, guys. And if you've got, yeah, and if you've got any questions, you know you can always DM me about it as well. but yes, I would love to, I'd love to have you guys in there
Ruthie: Yeah. And I just think, yeah, it's just an interesting thing to think about for the rest of 2026, isn't it? what if the thing that we did in the end of 2026 was, like, grew our fucking audiences with the right people? That would be swell.
Sophie: Wouldn't it just? Okay,thank you so much. We will be back next week, same time, same place
Ruthie: you won't be in the same place
babe
Sophie: No, that's Trey. Oh my God. Ah!
Ruthie: In real time you will be in Australia.
Sophie: Oh my God. Bye
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