THE PODCAST FOR ONLINE COURSE CREATORS GOING BIG!

Join business strategist Tina Tower as she explores how to build your empire by packaging your expertise into online courses, speaking, content, podcasting and credibility.

Tina has over 17 years of experience in starting, building and selling companies, she's a speaker, teacher, mama and world traveller.

She's unapologetic about living an intentionally big life and if you want too, this show is designed to show you many different options to help you gain clarity over YOUR version of awesome.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Creating a beautiful community for your online business that will serve and elevate your customers 

• Cultivating your own million-dollar community of expansive, generous and like-hearted humans

•  Distributing your precious energy in a way that will best serve you and those around you

RESOURCES MENTIONED

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Her Empire Builder is a combination of live sessions and pre-recorded content to help you get what you need, when you need it.

I know that you're the expert and you've got all of your subject knowledge nailed - now it's time to build the business behind your online course and stop being the worlds best kept secret. 

Show transcription 

Intro 

[00:00] Hello and welcome to episode 185. I am recording this it does sound a little echoey in my headphones. I apologise for that. I'm recording this from Hawaii. So I got in here about, Oh, when did we get here like 24 hours ago, there abouts. And I'm here for a month. So we've got everything set up now. And I had not pre recorded this episode because we're coming in to launch. So her Empire Builder launch week is coming up, which I'm sure as a listener of the podcast, you know that. But we have our waitlist opening later this week. And then doors open officially on Fifth of September, if you're in the US, and sixth of September, if you are in Australia, New Zealand, Asia. And so I wanted to not pre record this episode, because the title that I had been working on was the courage to go your own path, because that was the episode that I wanted in the lean in to her Empire Builder launch, because I know that it takes so much courage to really step into that next level of business and to really go, You know what I'm going to make some changes, I'm going to do the things I've never done before. I'm going to like I'm scared shitless, but I'm just gonna do it anyway. And that was my plan. But then I got here and I went, you know what, I don't want to do that episode yet. So I changed my mind. Because I got here and I mapped out what I mean, obviously, I've already had it mapped out. But I really sat in the space. And I have a whiteboard that I that I wrote every day what I'm doing. And the thing that I am most excited about is the humans is the people is the launch is building community. And that's what I want to talk about today is community both building your own for your own business, and being part of one that's super powerful. And so if you want to hear more about creating your own million dollar community, this episode is for you. Let's get to it. Hi, friend. I'm Tina tower, business strategist and digital online Empire Builder. I've been in business since I was 20 years old. And I've since built and sold for businesses. I started in the world of online courses in 2017 and grew to a seven figure annual turnover in just under two years. To say I love the game of business is an understatement. I'm a world traveller, a mama, a wife, a best selling author. And I love the freedom that we have to create the business and life that we want to live. It takes courage to break the rules and shake things up and do it your way.

Through her Empire Builder, I share my experience and bring you lessons from some of the world's best to help you dream big plan well and take massive action, it is absolutely possible to run a thriving, growing business to positively impacts the world and have a beautiful personal life without hustling and working yourself into exhaustion. I want that for you. Let's enjoy the journey, my friend.

Main episode 

[03:07] As I look at the month ahead of me. I'm an introvert. And I think a lot of people know that. Sometimes I almost feel like people will be disappointed when they meet me in real life that I am a lot more quiet than what I appear online. Because I'm very happy. I'm very bubbly. But I am quite introverted. And it's been interesting to map out a month that has a lot of people living in it. But one of the best things about building your own community is you get to choose who you surround yourself with. And this was something that really struck me when I got here and I thought of the month ahead. And I always look at you know, when I'm planning things, like launches and retreats and conferences and, and anything really in my businesses, I look at the energy distribution because I know for me as a course creator, and I'm sure you're the same, our most finite resource that we have is like time and energy, right? So I will always look at things. It's kind of like an energy trade off. I know that like private coaching is something I love. I used to do a lot of private coaching but what I found was that it took so much energy that I didn't have like an abundance overflowing well to then do the other elements of maybe Business, which was really scalable, and I decided that I wanted to impact more people. And so I had to scale back the coaching, not necessarily for time, like I can squeeze it in. But I felt like I didn't have that like overflowing well of energy to give. And so when I came into this month in Hawaii, I was looking at it going. Alright, so I know energy is one of the most important things for launch. If you're launching Please, no. Energy is one of the most important things you can do everything strategically, right? That often if a launch goes, Well, it's because like, your energy was magnetic, you were in your zone, you knew exactly what you stood for your messaging was clear, you spoke directly to the people that needed you and wanted you and you connected, when it launched usually goes bad, if strategically you've like, planned and mapped everything out. If it goes bad, it is often not the strategy once you've got the strategy, right. I mean, yeah, I've seen a lot of people launch them, like there was no strategy there. But if you've got the strategy, right, and the launch doesn't go as well as planned, it's usually because your energy is off. And it's the time that I go real work is in launch time. And so I always I only do it twice a year, two weeks of the year. So I put a lot of emphasis on making sure that my energy is going to be the best it possibly can be. And so when I was looking at this and looking at at the launch week, I was like, Okay, so I've got a retreat right before I've got a retreat right after that my family comes like we've got a lot going on, what do I need to do to ensure that my energy can stay high, and I wasn't concerned, like, normally, I will look at a lot of people things and I go, Okay, I need to like factor in this here, I need to take a break here, I need to like figure out how I can handle this. There was no, there's nothing but happiness with what's coming up. And that kind of surprised me is not that I don't love doing retreats, but there can be an element of going who, okay, this is going to take a lot of energy. And when I looked at it, I was like, Oh my gosh, it's because I really, really want to spend time with all of these people. All of the people that are coming up people that I cannot wait to chat with, to sit by the fire we have to eat we have to laugh with to drink, we have to plan with to conspire with like all of that sort of stuff. And I know that by being around people that are is a certain type of person, that you're filled with more energy, not less energy. And that is what I have created. And that's why I decided I really wanted to share that with you today both twofold, because I want you to focus on building your own community within your online business and also seek out one that can raise you up because often when we're leading our own, like our own online businesses, our own communities, where the big fish there. And so it's important that you can also put yourself into a pond where you know, you're like, because I know for me, sometimes I'm going off on segues here, this is what happens when I go with no notes.

[08:20] But I know for me, I can be in my pond sometimes. And sometimes I can be like, gosh, I've I've gone a little outrageous here like I'm I've gone a little over the top, I've officially left the reservation, like I really need to bring myself back to Earth Tina too much. And then I will go into my community groups. And they're like, What, no, you could do this. And you could do that. And I walk away going, oh my gosh, I was playing so small. Okay, I'm capable of so much more I can do this. And I think bigger and it's that expensive thinking. And I think we all need that. For me a lot of the time. You know, the the person I spent the most time with is my husband. I spend a lot of time with Mat. We were even chatting because we've just had a week in Fiji together and now we're here for a week in Hawaii when we have a retreat on and it's the first retreat that Mat's really been on with my business friends so it's gonna be interesting. Anyway, that's a whole whole side note. I'll let you know how it goes. But Mat is always my sounding board. We spend a lot of time together a lot more time than I think a lot of couples do it you know, in our morning, our kids go off to school at about seven 715 And we sit on our back deck and we have our tea and we sit and chat for about 3060 minutes like an hour together. And then we have a sit down cooked lunch Mat cooks lunch every day so we have lunch together and then in the afternoon like all often sit on the kitchen bench while he's cooking dinner and then we eat together there as well. So we spend we spend quite a lot of time together and all bounce ideas off because obviously I work from home solo. And there's often times because we are very different humans. I'm very ambitious, very motivated, very blue sky thinking kind of kind of thing in that, you know, I will say yes to things because I go, that's fun. And why not me? I mean, someone's gonna do it, why not me?

[10:24] Whereas Mat is like, well, let me tell you the reasons why not me. He's more of sometimes he goes, like he just has to come along for the ride. That is our life, because it's exciting. And it terrifies him a lot. Even when we arrived at this house in Hawaii, he was like, super uneasy, because he's like, this is too nice for us. Like, this is too good. Like, what are we even doing here? What what is this? Like? How is this even possible? Tina, this is insane. Like he finally finds it really uneasy. And so for me, I have to know he's a great sounding board, and oh, my gosh, is he a sensational partner, like, there is no way I could have built the business that I have built without him. I couldn't have my life. Without him. He's such a supportive, kind, generous, beautiful man. And he takes such good care of me of our kids. And is nothing but encouraging, except when it comes to like the big massive things that he's he says it out of a out of an area that he wants me to be safe. So our loved ones can often you know, not want to see us fail, not want to see us hurt. And so when he is discouraging, it's usually in a way of him wanting to protect me. And so there's many times that I have to remember that my husband is not my business coach. And I think that a lot of us can fall into that trap is going you know, our partner, our friends, our family, they're not our business coach. And often they just don't know, like, I know, even with some of my best friends that aren't in business, if I'm talking to them, I do like, consciously omit some things or not talk about certain things, because I know for them, it will make them go Whoa, you're doing what hang on a minute. Like that's, that's you get out of control here. But then I talked to my All Stars group, like my business friends, and they're like, Hell, yes, Tina, that sounds amazing. Like go it. And I'm lifted up. And so it's so important to have that community. And that is what her Empire Builder is like, I created her Empire Builder purely because in Australia, I couldn't find anything like it. And I wanted to have something that was like Australian grassroots. And obviously, now we're International, we've got a lot of members in the US. And we've got a member in Dubai and over in Europe, and in New Zealand. And we're in about, I think seven or eight different countries now. But when I started her Empire Builder, it was very much because I couldn't find the community with the touch points that I wanted. And I remember, one of my good friends, Clint said to me, they'll come for you, and they'll stay for the community. And that really stuck with me. And I have purposely from the beginning of her Empire Builder created it as Yes, it is extremely strategic, tangible, group business coaching, like there's no getting away from that I really intentionally never wanted a group of fluff. I never wanted a group where people kept each other up and came all motivated and excited but didn't actually get results and get anything done. I am extremely pragmatic and extremely results orientated. And I want to create a lot of wealthy women with her Empire Builder, I am unapologetic about that goal, I want 100 women making a million dollars a year by 2025. Because they think wealthy women change the world. However, they do that by lifting each other up. They do that by supporting one another and surrounding each other with that encouragement with that inspiration. And I purposely from the beginning cultivated the community inside her Empire Builder, there is a lot of things that we do with the sole purpose of creating solid connections between our members. And oh my gosh, it's worked. It is true what Clint said, people may join her Empire Builder because of me. And while I like to think yes, I give like master classes like nobody else. They're bloody good.

[14:42] People stay because of the community and the connections in there. So we have people that get on each other's podcasts like every single day someone will say, Well, I've launched my podcast and other people say hey, do you need guests or vice versa? People say I'm starting to be a guest on people's podcasts. because they come on my podcast. So there's that, like speaking in other people's business programmes. Speaking on other stages, when each other have conferences going on, like, there are so many different things that it's like this own ecosystem where everybody rises together. And I love that. And so I want to say, if you are building your online business, just make sure that you're also cultivating a community. And there's different ways that you can do that. I mean, we have, obviously, Facebook groups. But a lot of our members, you know, we have some people that are really active in Facebook groups, and some that aren't. So we do that we also have like little silo messenger groups to the side with different people, we have different groups, like we've got our six figure clubs. So once people get over 100,000 A year into their online business, then we put them into a separate group, because we know that the conversations that they're having, they're different that people are having on the road to that first six figures. So we try and keep our community groups really connected and really relevant, so that everyone can encourage one another to kind of get to that next level. So we do things like that we do and networking sessions. So we've got every month, we alternate between coffee and connections and business and bubbles. Because we know, we know, we've got so many different time zones that we operate in. So we go morning to evening, each month, and a lot of that is meeting other people because there are Holy guacamole, we've got some exceptional humans in our programme. And often, you know, it can feel really lonely being in business. And then you can jump into like one of these networking sessions and you're talking to someone else and go, Oh, my gosh, I love you when you're best friends now. And it's so helpful with that expansive thinking. And so it's one of my favourite things, because I have seen well, I have seen so many friendships blossom, as well, I've seen so many people go through so many things. You know, death of loved ones and personal stuff that's really heavy. And when you're operating a business, and you're the breadwinner of the family, or you're just trying to create something really, really great. It's really, really integral to surround yourself with people that get it with people that encourage you with that. There's a quote by Dr. thema, that goes, you could spend more time trying to teach them your song, or you can go where your music is already being played. And I love that because for online course creators and wonderfully ambitious women, we can sometimes be different to the norm. I mean, I have to be reminded all the time, like my husband will remind me like Tina, you are not a normal like in like, like the air quotes. I mean, who is normal, really, but not the kind of, I'm different to like 95% of women. And I know that. But I forget that quite often because I try not to bubble myself too much. I try to keep you know, an open mind for things. But I do. I spend a lot of my time talking to really awesome humans, I have no patience for assholes. I have no patience for negativity, like you get on that happy train, or you just get right off. And I don't mean toxic positivity. Like, of course Shit happens. But I mean, like having a crack at life, trying to do something great, trying to always better your situation, trying to be generous and kind and do good things for other people. And because I'm always surrounded by those type of people, both with my clients, and with the groups that I'm a part of it, it puts me into this zone where the expected behaviour and the expected thinking is always up levelled. And I am so grateful for that because I know that if I did not have that I would not be sitting in this house in Hawaii right now. I would not be sitting here if I didn't have the women when I was talking to them. going, Hey, I'm thinking of doing this.

[19:30] Am I crazy? And they're like - Fuck yeah, you're crazy. But crazy can be fun. Like, isn't the world for crazy people like Don't we have to do things that are just out of the norm and and what's the worst that can happen? You know, can you recover from the worst? And anyway, I looked at all the different sides. And then I was like, Yeah, I want to do that. And often and this is where I circle back to courage in terms of the original purpose of this episode. When was sometimes we need a helping hand to be courageous. Sometimes we need that encouragement. I certainly do. And I imagine that most people do. I mean, I am very intrinsically motivated, I work my butt off when there's no one looking. And I think all successful people are very intrinsically motivated. Because let's be honest, as an entrepreneur, if you're waiting for someone to come and tell you, you did a good job, you're not gonna last very long. So everyone's intrinsically motivated. But sometimes when we need to take those big leaps, and we have that dream burning inside us, and we know that we're capable of going to the next level, because but it's very, very scary, because we haven't been there before. And we're afraid of the consequences. And we're afraid of failure. And of course we are, there's nothing wrong with that, because failure sucks, it feels horrible. And nobody enjoys it. But there's a lot of lessons to be learned from it. So I think that surrounding yourself with people that have been there and done that before, and can help guide you and help mitigate your time, your mistakes, your failures are really, really good. So I want to give you three tips, if you are part of a community, or if you're going to become part of her Empire Builder, when we open our doors next week, or if you're one of my beautiful members that are already in there, the people that I say get the most out of the community do these three things really, really well. And I can tell you, it is like you get so many things inside of her Empire Builder, but I think it's worth it just for the community. So the number one is give without expectation, always. So I think when you go into a community, and you are the person who's giving, you're the person who's commenting on things, when people are stuck, you will get known as that really lovely person, that kind, generous person. And then the second that you need anything, you can bet your ass, there's so many people lining up to help you. So always try and give without expectation, that is one of the top things. The second is to get involved. So you know, there's, I know, there's groups I've been part of before where I'm kinda like ghosting it, you know, I'm part of it. But I dip in a dip out, I don't really get involved, I don't go to the live events or I don't, you know, go to like the live sessions and connect with people, I don't use the chat box, I just kind of am like an outsider looking in. And that can work. And you can definitely do that if you're not a community person. But if you want to get the full benefit out of it, get involved, say hi, introduce yourself, you know, when you go in and you and you do that post, and you put your picture up and you say hi, this is who I am, this is who I serve, this is what I do. This is why I do it. There will be people that instantly connect with you and go oh my gosh, this is fantastic. I do this let's partner together. Let's do this. Like it is awesome. So second is get involved. The third is ask my beautiful friend Kemi Nekvapil, she wrote a book called The Gift of asking. It's a great book, if you haven't read it power is her other book. Also love it. But ask is the number three. And it is so incredibly important that you only get what you ask for. And there's people that I talk to sometimes inside my community, and I find out that they've been struggling with something for a month or so. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, all you had to do was ask and we could have like solve that for you straightaway. And when you're a part of a community like her Empire Builder, you've got support on tap. But nobody's going to make you access it. You know, I'm not going to call you on a Wednesday and go Hey, friend, I noticed you haven't written anything. How you going? Because that would be weird, right? You like overstepping my boundaries? But you ask. And I'm there. Everyone's there. And a lot of the time when I see people like Springboard up and up and up and up and up. It's because they ask like not like one of those annoying people that asked something that you can just Google like, how do I you know, how do I make a button work or something like that, like we don't want to be that person.

[24:25] But anything that you're stuck on or anything that you're wondering or anything you're going into launch for the first time and you're crapping your pants or you're doing a webinar or you wanting to launch a podcast or you're wanting to do a JV with someone or set up an affiliate system or anything that you're going through. That's there that you want a sounding board or you've got questions or there's so many people that already have that experience that can share all you need to do is ask. And I do find that a lot of the time people don't ask either they're afraid of being judged. Or and I probably didn't help the situation by saying Don't be the person that asked because sent about the button. For you know what I mean, if it's Google trouble, like I always Google it first, if you can't find the answer, then chuck it in. And then you will always get that help so that you're never they're stuck. So that is my thing, give without expectation, get involved in the community and ask for help when you need it. And you will have access to so many wonderfully smart, supportive humans at your fingertips. And it will help you leap frog. Everything that is getting you stuck so quickly. And that is why it like I see people that join her empire builder that have been going through for, you know, maybe a couple of years, and they're kind of, you know, treading water a little bit. And then you see everybody else in the community like doing that launches and doing different things. And getting into this and getting into that, and it is so inspiring. And going, oh my gosh, if they can do it, I can do it. Let's do it. Because it becomes normal, to have that behaviour. you're surrounding yourself with people who are success orientated, who are ambitious, who are ready to serve their communities and show up like that. And so that is really the only thing to do. And so if you're wanting a community like that, please go to her Empire builder.com, we are open from the fifth of September to the 13th of September. If you're listening to this late, you can jump on the waitlist for the next round, we open twice a year, so every six months. So not all that often. So if you're thinking of joining jumping in, one of my favourite things about her Empire Builder is we have no contracts. So there's no we don't lock you in for a certain amount of time. Like you're not there for 12 months, or a lot of people join and never leave, which is wonderful and lovely. But if it's not for you, you can leave. So if you do jump in and you go you know what, this isn't right for me, we have a 30 day money back guarantee. So you literally have nothing to lose, you literally have no risk there is you can come in, you can check it out, I I'm pretty 100% sure that you're gonna frickin love it. So I hope to see you on the inside, have the best best day. And if you are wanting to kind of dabble in that too, you can and not ready to join quite yet. There's a lot of launch activity. So I'm going live every day, I'm running a challenge. And I'm running a webinar so that you can kind of get a taste for what it's like inside before committing and seeing whether you like my teaching style, seeing whether you like the content, the community, all of that sort of thing. So you can get the details for all of that at Tina tower.com. I'll see you there. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of her Empire Builder. If you loved it, please share it on Instagram for your friends and be sure to tag me @tina_tower so I can say thank you. And if you really want to deliver me smiles, you can pop on review on Apple podcasts. I would love to hear from you.

So if you have any questions at all, email me at [email protected]

And if you would like to work with me further, all of the free resources and my courses can be found at tinatower.com. Now I truly hope this podcast gives me so much value and you can use it to dream big plan well and take massive action in building your very own empire. That's just for you. Have the greatest day