360 - From 125k Down to Best Year Yet...My Business Rebound
Jan 1, 2025
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The host shares a compelling journey from a shocking revenue drop to record-breaking success in just a year. Personal trials and a shift to a membership model were key to overcoming challenges. Discover how community engagement sparked growth and the importance of strategic marketing. Exciting new offerings in web design education are also introduced, aimed at helping others enhance their skills and elevate their businesses. This story of resilience and innovation is an inspiration for any entrepreneur facing tough times.
The transition from a one-time course model to a subscription-based membership highlighted the importance of community engagement in business success.
Overcoming personal challenges and focusing on member retention strategies were crucial for the business's rebound and revenue growth.
Deep dives
Business Model Shift Impacts Revenue
In 2023, a significant business model transformation occurred, shifting from a one-time course sales approach to a subscription-based membership model. This change was intended to consolidate various courses and foster community engagement within the Web Designer Pro structure. However, this pivot inadvertently led to a drastic decline in revenues, dropping by over $125,000 across two years, as previous course sales diminished almost entirely. The realization came that the new membership pricing created high entry barriers, limiting accessibility for aspiring web designers and consequently narrowing the customer base.
Personal Challenges During Business Downturn
Personal circumstances played a crucial role in the decline of business performance, particularly during 2022. A series of significant events occurred, including a house move, a pregnancy, and a traumatic health incident involving a family member. This overwhelming situation led to a corresponding drop in focus on the business, resulting in minimal marketing and promotional activities during that time. The combination of navigating these personal trials with a struggling business made 2022 a challenging year, providing context for the subsequent revenues downturn.
Key Strategies for Rebuilding Momentum
To facilitate a turnaround, decisive actions were implemented, emphasizing commitment to the membership model and increasing engagement within the community. A focused marketing strategy emerged, utilizing past success stories and testimonials to attract new members, while also reshaping existing courses as pathways to the Web Designer Pro membership. This pivot allowed for clearer purchasing paths and boosted confidence in the offerings, helping to re-establish the brand’s reputation. Furthermore, meeting members in person fostered deeper connections, reigniting motivation and enabling firsthand feedback from those benefiting from the community.
Embracing Community Over Course Creation
A crucial takeaway from this rebound experience was the shift in identity from simply being a course creator to becoming a community builder and mentor. This mentality change emphasized the importance of community support and engagement over isolated course sales. Employing strategies to enhance member retention, such as challenges, personal interactions, and emphasis on customer success stories, proved beneficial in sustaining a thriving community environment. By focusing on comprehensive support through the membership, success was achieved not only in revenue recovery but also in establishing a robust and engaged member base.
Happy New Year friends! I wanted to kick off 2025 with a special episode of the podcast to share what I learned from having two down revenue years (125k down from 2022-2023) to having the best revenue year yet in 2024!
This episode is broken down into 2 main parts:
What caused my business to have two down revenue years
How I rebounded to having the best year yet in 2024
As I and many other entrepreneurs have learned, business is not always up and to the right. There are hard months, quarters and even years. But there are a handful of things you can do in any situation to keep things going and growing.
In this one, I’m sharing:
What led to my business going 125k down in 2 years
What I did at my lowest point to keep going
The beautiful aspect of compounding recurring revenue
How meeting members of my community in person changed everything
A look at my actual revenue growth chart (and when things turned around)
And much more.
I hope what I learned through my business rebound helps you whether you’re in that season now or if you eventually hit a rough patch.
In short, here’s the checklist from my business rebound:
Didn’t stop
Committed to WDP being the main thing
Used courses at a lead in to Pro
Met members in person at WCUS
Doubled down on marketing Pro (in podcast, socials, YT, etc)
Did some lives on YT
Consistently shared member wins on socials and newsletter
Started bringing more members on the podcast
Worked on better retention for members
Let go of my “course creator” identity
Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/360
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