Playing Bigger with Lianne Kim

[00:00:00] Hello dear ones. What is happening in your world? I’m really excited about today’s episode because we’re talking about playing big and I remember several years ago when I first started my business and I was struggling to get things off the ground. I read this great book by Steven Presfield, who is an extraordinary writer.

Even if you don’t. Connect to his content. I find his writing style to be so magnificent, and he wrote a book called Going Pro, and that book just came to me at just the right time about really, you know, saying I’m no longer an amateur, I’m no longer doing things half-assed. I’m going all in and. We’re gonna be talking about that today and taking it to the next level about being all in and then playing big and tapping into the bigness that’s inside of you.The bigness of 

[00:01:00] your gifts and your sole mission, and the impact you are meant to make on your clients, your loved ones humanity. And I have an amazing guest here. To help me unpack this really powerful and timely topic, and that is Leanne Kim, and I’ve known Leanne for a few years now, and I’ve seen her putting this into action in the last few years, playing bigger and bigger, and I’ve seen how it has paid off in her life.

and that has been a very big inspiration for me. So why don’t we go ahead and get right to it. In today’s episode, Leanne shares why so many soul guided leaders have been playing it small or safe, coming on the heels of the pandemic.

Why now is the time? To own your expertise and innovate and how to do just that. We’ll end on an invitation that will have you playing big in the magical ways your heart 

[00:02:00] has been nudging you towards. So be sure to stay with us until the end. Hello Soul Guide Circle. That is the name of this global community of soul guided leaders, influencers, and entrepreneurs in the Soul Guide circle. We are pursuing our soul guided dreams while lifting up humanity. Find the link to join our closed Facebook [email protected] or in the show notes.

[00:03:00] Today’s guest is Leanne Kim. Leanne Kim is the founder of Mamas and Co. With the aim of bringing mama entrepreneurs together to support each other in their efforts to grow their businesses. In addition to leading this community, Leanne is also a business coach who helps business owners at all different stages of their growth while she loves her work.

Leanne’s number one passion in life is spending time with her family, and she believes that it is possible to have the life and business of your dreams. I had the most wonderful time connecting to Leanne over this really powerful topic. Please, joy. Hi Leanne. Welcome to Soul Guide Radio. Hi Allison. Thanks so much for having me back. Yay. I have to say you were on, was it 

[00:04:00] like a year or two ago and I got a lot of really cool feedback from your episode. Oh, I loved hearing that and I don’t know if you know this, but I got a client because of that episode.

I happen to know that and you know, I heart this, this particular client so much and I was so happy to hear that that worked out. It’s so great when good, when great people come together, magic happens. And I’m not at all surprised, but I’m just, I’m so grateful cuz there you are all the way across the pond and this person who’s over there as well found, listen, found me.

And it just so happens she’s a perfect dream client and we are already making amazing things happen. So thank you so much friend. Oh my gosh. You’re so welcome. And I love that. And I just, You know, I just, the, the, the most, the my, the latest client that I just signed, not, or the person who just decided to work with me privately.

She came in through the podcast like four years ago. I had a peer and a friend on the 

[00:05:00] show, and she was a former client of this peer. And she signed on to my newsletter four years ago, and I never really, I never really knew who she was. She didn’t like come to any of my master classes. And then out of the nowhere she booked a discovery call and then now she’s working with me and it’s like, it’s so magical how this can work.

Oh, it’s so fun when that happens. Yeah. So I mean, th this is why we do this, right? And it’s so tied in with what we’re gonna talk about today. Yay. So we have a great topic. We’re gonna be talking about playing big, and I think it is such a timely and important topic for 2023 energetically. You know, there’s some real themes, energetic themes for 2023, and the collective one is, Isolation.

So we’re really being called to like find times alone, find times to connect in Refortify, our daily mindfulness practice. A second theme is introspection. So connecting to the intuition in the higher

 [00:06:00] self and really being guided by that heart. And the third, I think that’s what we’ll be unpacking today, is that innovation.

And we’re gonna be talking about playing big. And innovating and getting those big soul guided dreams off the ground. So, what’s my first question, Leanne? What do you think about that? I think this conversation could not be more well kind, because what I’m definitely seeing is I’m seeing still a lot of fear and I’m feeling like we’ve spent the last, I don’t know about you, but my people certainly have spent the last, you know, two, three years.

Contracting, right? We’re in this place where coming out of a pandemic, the economy hasn’t been great. A lot of people over here are like, what’s next? You know, like, oh my gosh. So we are, we’ve been kind of contracting in, we’re on the defensive, and what I’m seeing is a lot of women who need that 

[00:07:00] permission to step up and play a bigger game because they’re.

Is so much opportunity right now coming out of a phase like this. Historically speaking, is when we see the biggest growth, the biggest, as you said, innovation. You know, some of the most interesting companies have been founded off the heels of recessions and depressions, and so we’re entering a time where so many things are possible.

But I gotta tell you, I’m seeing a lot of women admittedly, so playing small. And part of my job as their coach, as their mentor is to help them understand what playing big looks like for them and to really embrace that and step into that next level version of themselves. And I have three different areas here.

You know, primarily geared towards entrepreneurs, women, entrepreneurs, that I think if we can start to embrace these three areas, we will start to see ourselves 

[00:08:00] play bigger, and we’ll start to see ourselves as a result, as you know, receive bigger as well. Really start to create that success that we’re craving.

Beautiful. Send them. What are these three areas I’m dying to know? Well, the first one that I see a lot, and this is more so the case with more beginner. Entrepreneurs. You know, I serve a lot of mama entrepreneurs. Many of them are transitioning from a past career or a stay-at-home mom, or they’re, you know, they’ve just wrapped up a couple of maternity leaves and they’re ready to take their business out into the world.

But what they’re failing to do, what they struggle to do is really to step up and own their expertise. I see a lot of people who are like, well, I’m a wellness coach. But do I really know that much? Well, I’m a photographer, but there’s so many photographers that have been doing this so much longer than me, right?

We find all these reasons to 

[00:09:00] keep calling ourselves a beginner at our craft, and it’s not serving us. I’m, I’m sure you see this as well in your work. Yeah, for sure. I just got off a client call with a very well established coach and she was talking about this retreat she wants to offer and it’s all inclusive, v i p, and I was just like she, and she was gonna make a very small profit, earn it, and I’m like, this is just too low.

This whole offer. And so we really got into, when you really tap into the value of what you’re offering and owning this value of what you’re creating in the world, that price tag has gotta reflect that. Well, that really is kind of like where I’m going next with this. This first piece to me is really about stepping into like I am the expert.

Right, like I do have what it takes. I do know more than my clients. I may not know more than 

[00:10:00] everybody, but I know more than the people who are coming to me, and it’s this idea around how can I show up and serve with what I do have? With what I do, what I’ve already cultivated. I coach women who have years and years of experience at their craft, but perhaps they’re new to business or perhaps they’ve just rebranded, and so they’re struggling to really step up and be that expert guide for their people.

They’re sh they might be showing up online, but they’re not sharing what they know. Right. They’re keeping it to themselves, or I don’t know if you hear this like, oh yeah, like of course I know that, but like, that’s not a big deal, is it? Yes, of course it is, because there’s so many people out there for whom that stuff is gold.

I remember when I first started, you know, I didn’t know much about running a business or self-employment, but I came from a sales career and so I would host these workshops and be like, well, I can teach on, you know, 

[00:11:00] this element of sales, but like, doesn’t everybody already know that? No, they didn’t. And so that’s where I started and that’s my advice to people is if you’re struggling with owning your expertise, start with the areas of what you do that you feel the most confident, and remember that you don’t have to be a million miles ahead.

You just have to be that little bit further than the person who’s on the other end of that conversation. Yeah, that’s such good advice, and I’m so glad you mentioned how people will tend to be like, oh, well I know that about myself, like. Yeah, okay. I can do that big thing. But yeah, I already know that like it’s no big deal.

I think when, with our own genius, with our own really big gifts, because it’s something that’s been part, it’s like I feel like we want our gifts to be like this big secret that we’re gonna unpack and be like, whoa, yeah, this, these are my gifts. But it often, and sometimes that can happen. You uncover this new piece of yourself that maybe you weren’t really, weren’t aware that it was 

[00:12:00] there, but I think it’s often, it’s just, yeah. These are our gifts. We know that about ourselves, and they are really that valuable and amazing a hundred percent. And if you’re not certain exactly what your gifts are, I’m gonna give you a couple of little coaching prompts here that will help. The first one is, what are you constantly giving people advice on?

Or what are people constantly coming to you for? Right? The questions that people generally ask you a lot, that’s typically your zone of genius or. Here’s another one. If I were to put you on stage tomorrow, you know I run a, a huge conference here in Toronto every fall for mama entrepreneurs. If I were to put you on stage tomorrow, what would be the topic that you could speak for 40 minutes, 30 minutes, without even rehearsing it?

That’s typically that zone genius stuff is typically what we should be leaning into first, because it’s already there. But o oftentimes what we’re doing is we’re scrolling on 

[00:13:00] Instagram and we’re seeing these other people in our field who are experts in slightly different things, and then we think we have to be experts in that too.

But I’m here to tell you that people are already in need of the stuff that you are great at there. There is a match for every skillset and every level of experience. There is a match for that. When I was just starting out, I was looking for my first 12 clients who would hire me for 500 bucks. And do you know why I chose that number?

I knew that if, if someone paid 500 bucks to work with me, they were invested enough, but it was also low enough that I could feel confident that I would knock it outta the park for that price point. Now, if I had it to do over, I probably wouldn’t do it the exact same way, but it gave me the experience of coaching people and it gave me the confidence I needed.

But in order to get those 12 clients, you know, I really had to start stepping up and talking about the things that I 

[00:14:00] knew they needed. So I talked about sales, I talked about how to make more money. I talked about how to be more visible on in your business. I talked about the things, okay. I wasn’t the number one expert.

But I was expert enough for them, and that is the key. We gotta step up and be the expert even before we feel like we are sometimes. Yeah, for sure. You are. Uh, Step ahead of me. My first package was five sessions for 125, no, $150, whatever the math is. It was 25 bucks a session. Oh wow. Okay. So, I mean, we’re not far off.

Mine was, mine was 50 bucks a session. We are not far off. Yeah. And I remember I wanted, I wanted to get five people in and I still had at the time a full day job, so I didn’t wanna, like I, this was a side hustle at the time and I just remember thinking, I just wanna get five people into this five sec session package.

Exactly what you’re saying because I think it’ll really build my confidence that I can do it. 

[00:15:00] Yeah. And when I did, I did, I got five people in, five really amazing people who I think they’re all like still on my mailing list like eight years later. I mean some really amazing people I’m still like connected to.

And it did just that. It boosted that old confidence. It’s amazing. Yeah, I mean we, we really gotta think about, you know, where is it I want this business to be, and then what is the business require of me? You, we just, we’re living in a day and age where there’s so much competition for what we’re doing and it’s very visible now.

Everyone’s online. And so if we’re not stepping up, if we’re not showing people, Hey, I got what it takes. I am your person. How can they find us? We gotta have the courage to do that. And it’s funny you mentioned we’re talking about packaging and pricing, cuz that brings me to my second area where we need to be playing bigger, which is charging your worth.

Now you’ll notice Alison and I both 

[00:16:00] said, we both confessed that we started out charging less than we thought we should, but we did it strategically pretty quickly after that. I’m sure this is the case for you too. I started charging more. Once my confidence got boosted, once I had a few testimonials, I started charging a more appropriate amount for the business coach that I wanted to be seen as.

I knew I couldn’t keep trading a single hour for 50 bucks every single time I wanted a coaching client, so I looked at things like. Really refining my package, really making sure that my website and my social presence reflected the kind of coach I wanted to be. And then I started charging based on that.

I also, and this is funny, this brings me to, you know, what we were talking earlier about finding our, our soul clients. I also started being the kind of woman that I knew that person would want to be around and be coached by. 

[00:17:00] Right. So money isn’t just about money. It really is. All tied up in energetics. It tie, it’s it, it links so much with the kind of person that we wanna be and the kind of business that we wanna have. I just knew in my bones I could keep selling my business coaching services for less, but it wasn’t the kind of person and the kind of business that I wanted to have. I wanted to have a highly lucrative business where I was working with a select few people who were a perfect match to work with me.

And now, you know, six years later I have that. I have a dream business. I truly, I wake up every morning excited to do what I do. But if I was still charging pennies by the hour, I wouldn’t feel that way. And that’s what I see women do. You know, they charge less than they’re worth. They’re not ready to own it yet.

So they keep their prices low because they really need to hear that. Yes. But then they run themselves into the ground and they burn out. Right. So this is. Really 

[00:18:00] about the kind of business we wanna have. But energetically speaking, I’m willing to bet that most people listening to this right now are charging less than they could be and should be for the kind of expert that they are.

Yeah. And what happens when you charge less? I mean, it really does get down to energy. I mean it, and I always say, let the energy do the talking. So if you’re charging less than the value of what it is you’re offering, you’re taking your offer out of alignment and you’re putting the wrong energetic signal out there that attracts the wrong client.

It might be a nice person, it might be someone who can really benefit from your offering, but it’s not, Leanne, what you were talking about that those soul clients were, it’s just like, yes, this is the person I was born to serve. your sole clients want to pay every penny.

They do. They do. They don’t want a bargain coach. They don’t, they, 

[00:19:00] they don’t want a discounted business coach. Right. They, there is something about it for them when they step up and play a bigger game. Right? Yeah. I’ve had women literally on discovery calls, talk themselves through this big and scary move of investing in my services.

I’m sure you see that as well. If you just sit quietly and you watch them go, well this is a big expense, but you know what? I really need this and I know this is gonna help me up level. And I know that the, you know, like you give them time and space, they will tell you why they want this, but we’re so busy assuming it’s too much.

We’re so busy assuming, oh my gosh, you know, this is a big number. And maybe it, maybe it is, maybe it’s a big number for who you are or who you used to be, but having the courage to move through that fear and charge it anyway and just watch what happens, right. It’s cultivating, again, it’s, it’s about cultivating that courage before we think we’re ready.

[00:20:00] I was charging, I remember back when I was charging about 5,000 for my one-on-one coaching, which was years ago. But there was this real fear in me to charge that big number, and I remember feeling so not ready. I remember feeling so like, oh, now I’m playing in the big leagues. And now, you know, I’m competing with some of these bigger coaches who’ve been at this for years.

And I’ve only been at this for, at that time it was probably about a year and a half, maybe two years that I was charging that. and you’ll note it was 10 times what I was charging just the year or so before. But I felt really scared, and I worked with my coach on this. I worked through the blocks, I worked through the mindset stuff, and worked on the mindset to be able to put that offer out there and just sit with that, be comfortable in my own self, knowing that whether they said yes or no to $5,000, it wasn’t a reflection about who I was or what I could 

[00:21:00] offer.It was about them. So I made those discovery calls about them. I put those offers out there. I got a lot of nos, but guess what? Eventually I got my first yes, and then my second, and then my third, and that’s how we do it. We build confidence through taking those steps one by one, right? Amy? I mean, I’m I, I’m sure you coach people on exactly the same kind of stuff.

Yeah, I always tell people with pricing go, if it feels too easy, it’s probably too low. Like, feels really easy to say. I, I remember one of my brilliant coaches I was working with who I know, you know, Anna Sue, and this was, I was working with her a couple years ago and she was really the one who helped me raise my prices.

And I remember I had just raised it to 10, it was a 10 K package. And I was having a real hard, really hard time just saying it. I’m like, I, I had a couple discover calls booked and I wanted 

[00:22:00] to, you know, pitch the new offer at the new rates. And she said, Alison, all you have to do is say it. Just say it. The offer is $10,000. And I remember in that first discovery call, I was like, okay, all I have to do is say it. And I did own it. I knew that it was worth that. I knew it was actually worth more than that. And I got there and I was just like, the offer is 10 K. And the client said, all right, I’m in. It was just like, oh, but you know, and it’s, it’s more than just saying it, but at the same time, it’s really not just like you feel into what it’s worth and just say it.

And, and it, you know, we sometimes we make it harder than it needs to be. Yes. We get in our heads. Yes. And this is why it’s so important. If you’re not working with a coach, you need to be either a coach or a mastermind or something where you have a sounding board that you can talk these things through. I love Anna so much, and I actually didn’t 

[00:23:00] know that you worked with her, but that doesn’t surprise me at all. She’s fantastic at this stuff and it’s true. It just, just the mere act of saying it, You know, moving through the fear, hearing yourself say it. And then, you know, my biggest thing that I always remind people is once you’ve said it, shut up. Like don’t try to explain it. Don’t try to justify it. Allow them to absorb it and let them sit with it.

Cuz really the uncomfortable part shouldn’t be for you. It should be for them. They need to figure out if they are ready to make a 10 K investment. They need to figure out if they’re ready to level up, and it’s not on you to decide. I always try to remind myself, you know, it’s my job to show up and give them a great experience in those discovery calls, but it’s not on me to decide whether they are ready for this or not.

And I know when they are ready, they’ll be there. I don’t, I don’t ever worry about that. I’ve done the 

[00:24:00] work. I’ve got, you know, over 200 episodes of a podcast. Now, if you’re not listening to it, you should be the business of thinking big is the name. You know, but people say, I’ve been listening to your podcast for years.

I already feel like you’re my coach. Here’s my money. You know, like, let’s do this li I’m ready. So when you do that, when you do, which kind of brings me to my, my final, you know, key area here where we could be playing a bigger game. Is stepping up and really putting out those boss moves. I’m not talking about putting up a reel once a week on Instagram.

I’m talking about the bigger plays, the business milestones. I’m talking about launching that podcast or hosting your first webinar or writing that book or you know, something that I’d mentioned way back in the day. I remember when this was a first for me. Hosting my first conference for mom entrepreneurs.It’s those big moves that you are currently so afraid of that 

[00:25:00] you think there’s no way I could do that. That’s exactly what you need to be doing. Yes. Yes. I love this so much and I wanna just back up a little bit to something you said that is like the best piece of advice, Leanne, just listeners, she just gave you the gold nugget to a sales conversation.

Say your number and shut up. That’s it. You say your number. I think one of the biggest ways that we, we all, I think have been there where we overtalk during a sales conversation and you oversell is just, you know, we’re passionate about our stuff. So it’s, it’s, I think it’s, a lot of us will get into that and it’s training yourself not to talk too much in a sales conversation.

Here’s the offer, here’s how to change your life. Here’s a couple of examples of how other people have been, you know, benefited from it. The offer is 10 K, 25 K, 50 k, whatever it is. Are you interested? And stop. And I love what you were saying, Leanne, about like, how then they’ll, sometimes they’ll just start 

[00:26:00] talking themselves through.You know, like, oh, I’m so interested, but oh my gosh, I don’t know if my partner will support this. And it’s, you know, it’s a lot of money. And then they just start talking themselves through. And if it’s a person who’s getting that heart Yes. And that body like expanding, yes. They’re gonna talk themselves to a yes.

And all you have to do is hold the space and be quiet and listen. Yeah. And you men, you, you hit, hit it right on the head. You know, they do need a few minutes. To get there. It can’t happen instantaneously, but our, our programming is such that we are such doers that the idea of sitting quietly and waiting for someone to get there themselves feels counterintuitive because we think we should be.

Oh, I, I guess this is the part where I have to sell, so I’ll give your listeners a tip. This is kind of, you’ll appreciate this, right behind this laptop that I’m looking at. I have a row of crystals and I struggle with sitting still cuz I am a, I’m 

[00:27:00] constantly moving, right? So I’ll pick up one of my crystals and I’ll just hold it in my hand.And the act of holding something in my hand reminds me to just sit quietly and breathe. And just by sitting quietly and breathing, and I do, I do my discovery calls on Zoom. I always do them on camera and I just smile. I just smile and nod and receive whatever it is they have to say. Whether it’s a hell yes, whether it’s a, I’m not sure whether it’s a, I can’t afford, I just sit and hold space for whatever it is they need to talk through.

And then my job isn’t to do anything. It’s not to sell them. It’s just to offer whatever the next step is. So if I can see that they’re getting there, I can say, okay, so if you are thinking about this and it looks like you are, here’s what the next steps would look like. And I just calmly walk them through that.I mean, I can’t, I can’t tell you all the magic Alison, but like it’s this overarching 

[00:28:00] sense of knowing that we got what it takes and knowing that whatever happens on any given day, It doesn’t define us. That’s really what playing a bigger game is all about. It’s stepping up, knowing that we can fail, knowing we might hear a no right, and being okay with that.

Anytime. And, and we’re gonna talk about this when you come on my show you know, it’s energetics. Anytime we’re putting out any kind of needy, clingy, desperate energy, our people can feel that. And that’s what we wanna cultivate here when we’re talking about, you know, really stepping up and playing a bigger game is moving through some of those more junior emotions.

To get to a higher state, to get, to be that higher sell that we all know is available and out there for us. So yeah, I just, I, I could talk about the money stuff all day long, and for the record, I was not a gifted salesperson when I 

[00:29:00] first started out. I just got better at it over time and I worked on it, and I worked on myself more importantly. So, yeah, I, I love this stuff. I could talk about this all day. I could do, and I, I wasn’t either. And I, I’ve come to learn, you know, you get to learn how you sell well, and everybody sells well differently. What you need. Do you need the camera on or off? You know, do you need to hold the crystal, like all these little tactics?

That’s brilliant by the way, and I’m definitely gonna be trying that. You know, and I, here’s, you’ll love this. I get to choose which one I’m feeling like today. So this one is, I think this is pyrite and it’s good, good for like business energy. So like, when I wanna feel like a boss, I’ll hold this one.

When I need to calm down a little bit, I’ll hold something else. So I thought you’d love that. I love that. I love that. And, and one thing that I came to learn is like, I can write, I can write a great email. Like if I just wanna like, touch your heart and give you something super inspirational. I will deliver on the emails.

If I wanna write an email that’s selling something, 

[00:30:00] I’m okay. I wouldn’t give myself, like I, I’m all right. There are definitely people out there who do it better than I do, but if I wanna have, like, invite someone into a sales conversation to talk about an offering, I’m like, like I am good at discovery calls.And that’s not something, when I first started, I thought the exact opposite. I can’t do a sales conversation. I don’t have a background in sales. I’m not good at this. And I really had to get over that mindset that was telling me I’m bad at this, to discover that I’m actually really good at it. And, and because of that, I set my business up around that.

So if you’re gonna offer something for $50, you don’t wanna have a sales conversation around that because that takes up too much time. Yes. So if you’re gonna offer, if you’re gonna operate a business around having to have a sales conversation, you wanna have high end offers. That it’s, it just makes sense.

So that’s kind of, I have, you know, I have a small number of very bespoke cayenne offers and I basically [

00:31:00] assume all people will be on the call with me at least twice, if not more. I typically have more than one discovery call. I like to have the initial call and then a follow-up call. I’ll have as many calls as someone needs to feel comfortable to get to a yes.I’ll have all the time in the world for calls. If I feel a sole client connection, I’ll meet you a half dozen times. It’s no problem for me, but I had to learn that about myself. Mm-hmm. It’s just like you said, it was like doing it over and over to be like, oh, this is where I really shine. This is where I’m not so great.

So maybe I hire help here. Maybe I don’t put all my eggs in that basket, but I shine here, so let me set my business up around where I’m shining. Oh, I love that. I love that. And it, you know, it, it does all come back to where am I shining? Where do I wanna shine? What is, what is the kind of life and business I wanna have?

So maybe we can dive into this, this, this third area here about. You know, achieving 

[00:32:00] those big boss moves. Yes. Because I talk more about this. Yes. Yeah. I think once, you know, you’ve mastered the whole, like, okay, I’m owning my expertise. People are seeing me as an expertise, ac as as an expert, as I wanted. They’re coming in, I’m charging my worth.

That’s going well, but now there’s this like, next level for me. Do you know what I mean? I often see this right around for me when, when my women are like nearing six figures. So the first like big money milestone that they wanted to make, they’ve made it, you know, they’ve been able to make a living doing what they’re doing, whatever that is.

And then there’s this like, okay, I’m feeling called to play bigger. I’m feeling called to do this. And so o often I find this is really more in the realm of like, Showcasing our thought leadership. I know for me the idea of starting this, you know, starting my podcast was really terrifying. I’d been blogging for, I, I’d been weekly blogging for about two 

[00:33:00] years, and it was going fine.People were finding me because of the blog, but the thing was, it wasn’t where I shined. I’m not a great writer, but I’m an excellent speaker if I do say so myself. I, it’s just where I connect with people the most, so, I put out this little feeler. Right. I’ll, I’ll talk you through how I did it, which is very similar to how I coach people to do it.

Today. I wanted to start a podcast. I had the title, the Business of Thinking Big. I even had the editor picked out. She was the first person I talked to. Shout out to Emily Milling, who still edits my podcast today, 230 episodes in, by the way, she from, I got her name from you and she edits mine. I love that.

I love that. Yeah, and I love her. I love me. It’s talk about positive energy. I love that. Oh my gosh. So, you know, I had this idea, but what was, and, and here’s the thing. Here’s how you know it’s a big deal. You will give yourselves reasons why you’re not ready. 

[00:34:00] So I told myself I wanna start a podcast, but I’ve got this blog thing going on.I wanna start a podcast, but I’m not sure my people would actually listen to a podcast. I wanna start a podcast, but, I don’t know that I’m ready to put to, you know, commit to a weekly episode cuz that’s what I wanted. I said if I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna show up every week. Cuz I know that that’s the smart thing to do and it’s still what I advise people today.

And so, you know, I had all these butts which were really just fears masquerading as reasons. want you to note that down. Our fears show up as things like butts. Reasons. They show up as things like, oh, I’m, no, I’m just strategizing, right? Oh, I’m just working through this. This question I have. Questions are simply our own brains objections and fears come into the surface, and that was what was happening for me.

So what I did about it was, I said, I’m not 

[00:35:00] gonna, I’m not gonna decide if my people would like it. I’m gonna ask them, and do you know what I did? Every, every week I’d been emailing my people, my blog, my, my audience was quite small. I probably had 200 people on an email list at that time. Not a lot. I shouldn’t say quite small cuz it was enough to hit six figures.

It was good enough for now, but it’s where I started. So I emailed them, but instead of emailing them a blog or a bunch of text I sent, I said, Hey, I’ve got a voice message from you. Could you click here and listen to it? Because even just by seeing who would listen to a message, it was telling me the type of person who would listen to a podcast.

And the message was about, I don’t know, two or three minutes long and it said, Hey, I’ve loved doing this blog. I’ve, I love coaching you and guiding you, but I’m thinking about doing a podcast. Could you hit reply to this email and tell me would you listen to a podcast? And I think, you know, we didn’t get a ton, but we got about 30 replies, and I think about 

[00:36:00] 25 of them said, yeah, hell yeah, I’d love to hear a podcast.So I thought about what they’d need to hear from me to get on board. And I just put it to them. I didn’t make it about my need to get their approval. I just made it about doing my homework right, and so they gave me the permission that I felt I needed at the time to step up and serve them in a bigger way.

The blog was fine. But it was not the piece of art that I wanted to create. It was not the impact I knew I could make. If I could use my voice, if I could get in their earbuds once a week, I just knew I could change lives. And as a result of doing that podcast, my business exploded. I started getting more leads.

I started getting higher caliber leads because they knew who I was. They had already connected with my message. And guess what? I was getting faster yeses in those sales calls because as I mentioned, they already felt like I was their 

[00:37:00] coach. So right now, whoever is listening to this, I’m talking to you.There is something in your business that, you know, if you had the courage to step up and go for it, you would be able to make a bigger impact on your audience. There’s something, whether it’s podcasts, webinars, public speaking, you know, delivering your wisdom from the heart. There’s a way in which you could be doing this better, but you’re probably not because you’re probably scared.

So, but I’m telling you. The thing that you’re scared of doing is exactly the thing that you need to be doing. Write that down. If you’re scared of it, there’s a reason. It’s what you gotta lean into. Love this. Yes. Yes. Really powerful questions. sitting here listening to you like, I got like such a clear answer about, you know, how I wanna boss up.What do you call it? You said boss up. 

[00:38:00] I said Play big. Play big. Sorry. And also, you know, I, I do, I do a lot of content around Boss Energy. Okay. Which is, you know, we’re really talking about the same thing. We’re talking about cultivating courage to do the big and scary things that would force us to operate at the next level.

It’s so much easier to stay still, isn’t it? It’s so much easier to stay where we feel comfortable. But that’s not why you got in this business in the first place, is it? Yes. Yes. And I think another thing that will come up is like, if it’s playing big, it’s a big idea, right? It’s launching the, the next big thing.

And you can also get hit with that. Well, will I have time to do that? Well, I have time to do all that. It’s so big. And what I’ll offer, and I just love everything that, that you just shared. So inspirational. When it is a big idea, getting back to energetics and it really is a soul aligned. You’re getting that 

[00:39:00] heart.Yes. Like this is what I wanna do. I wanna launch this podcast, I wanna write this book. The resources are gonna come. You don’t have to have it all done tomorrow. All you have to worry about is your next best step, right? What is my next best step to get energetic momentum behind this big idea? And the universe is gonna have your back and you’re gonna get flow of momentum going and it’s gonna happen.

So just also, I would offer to notice that like, oh, when it feels, maybe it can feel exhilarating followed by it. Like an overwhelm like, boy will I have the energy to, to do that big idea or, you know, play that big in that big way. And the answer is, if it’s coming from the heart and your heart is saying, yep, this is it, then yeah, you will.You will a hundred percent. You will find the space for it. And I wanna kind of echo something you just said, which is play big, but start small. Right? 

[00:40:00] The biggest things that have ever happened in our lives didn’t happen in one foul swoop. They happen by us having the courage to take that first step. I remember having that conversation with Emily.

And having all these, what I thought were totally dumb questions about launching a podcast, cuz I didn’t even know, like I’m a not a techie type of person, so I didn’t even know how podcasts worked. And I had maybe two podcasts that I listened to on the regular at that time. That’s why I knew it was a, a good move for me.

But I mean, I wasn’t a seasoned expert by any means. And so having the courage to book a call with her and ask her those dumb questions, which turns out weren’t so dumb, they’re pretty common. And having her say, yeah, like, we could do this and this is what it might look like and this is what it would cost, and this is the timeline that I would suggest.

You know, having someone like that take me by the hand and walk me through the, that got me over the first step and then that email to my customers with the little voice note, that was the second step. And then the 

[00:41:00] third step was, you know, finalizing what the podcast would be about and starting to create content like, It’s not gonna happen in one go.

So stop trying to make it be like that and, and I think if you think about it, just breaking it down into those bite size baby steps today, your only job is to decide that you want it and choose your first baby step. Tomorrow it’ll be the next baby step. And that it really is true that momentum does breed more momentum, right?

Just by having the courage to take that first step. I felt like someone who could have a podcast, I felt like someone back in the day, you know, when I launched my first conference, just deciding that I was gonna have a conference and not worrying about if it was gonna be perfect. Not worrying about if they would come or what they would pay, just deciding, I’m gonna have a conference.It’s for mom entrepreneurs, it’s gonna be called Mama Con and it’s gonna be great. Whatever it 

[00:42:00] looks like. Good enough is good enough to start right. And I think we’re, we’re all comparing ourselves to people who are five years, 10 years, 15 years, our senior who have been doing this forever. We gotta think differently when it comes to playing big.

We gotta be willing to play big. But also be willing to start small. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So, Leanne, this was such a great episode. I learned so much. I feel very inspired actually by my playing big, but I wanna do so thank you for inspiring me. I really appreciate that. And so I have two more questions for you.

Yeah. I would love to ask you to leave our listeners with an invitation, inviting them to do some homework or some inspiration, inviting them wherever you wish to go. And then I will ask you how listeners can find you. Oh, that is so beautiful. Allison, I love this question. I invite your listeners to think

 [00:43:00] about what is that next big and scary move for me that I am currently shying away from?Maybe it’s something you dreamed up in the last six months, but you’ve been kind of shoving it aside or sweeping it under the rug. Or maybe it’s something that keeps coming back to you as an idea, and you keep giving yourself those reasons as to why you can’t yet. I invite you to just explore that concept.

Spend some time today, journal on it. Maybe go for a walk and think about it. One thing I love to do is open up my Voice Memo app and talk it out. Talk out the idea of what your next big move could be. Get comfortable with it instead of being afraid of it and play with it. That is your first step because there is something greater out there for you.Your calling, your next level calling is out there and it’s waiting for you, but 

[00:44:00] you have to have the courage to at least explore what this is first, and then, I mean, You know, as you’ve said, it’s about taking the next best step. But before you do that, before you worry about how will I do this? How will I make this come to life?

Just sit with the idea of it and get clear on what that is that you really want, that you’re currently not going for. That’s my invitation. Brilliant, brilliant invitation. I love that so much. So Leanne, I know that there are listeners out there who are gonna wanna learn more about you, connect with you, deeper, get in your world.

How may they do that? Absolutely. So if you like my kind of coaching style and you’re interested in growing a service business all around this idea of, you know, attracting what you want, working with, you know, these higher caliber clients, and I invite you to check out my free masterclass. It [email protected] 

[00:45:00] slash dream, and it’s how to attract and secure more dream clients. It’s an extension of what we talked about today. I think your people will really love it, and honestly, the best place to keep in touch with me on the day-to-day is on Instagram. You can follow me at Leanne Kim, coach.

Beautiful. Those links will be in the show notes. Leanne, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom. It’s such a pleasure to be in your energy. Oh, likewise my friend. I’m so grateful for you. Yay. 

And I wanna thank you dear listeners, so much for tuning in and being with us today. If you’re feeling so called and a nudge from your heart to leave us a review, I would be so grateful. There is a link in the show notes and I would love to hear what you receive from this podcast. And as always, until 

[00:46:00] next time, may your soul guide the way. 

Timestamps:

00:01  Intro

03:52  Meet Lianne Kim

05:30  2023 themes & playing small

08:13  Own your expertise

11:38  Understand your gifts

13:22  Charge your worth

21:27  Name your price

28:56  How YOU sell & where you shine

31:56  Big boss moves

37:48  Boss energy & starting small

42:35  Invitation & conclusion