Hi everyone! Today I have Lape Soetan, The Love Coach, and I am excited to ask her some questions! Lape is a Corporate Rescue Plan member and from Nigeria. She has a coaching business that helps women find love and improve relationships particularly women who are single in their 30’s because these women have endured a lot and confidence can be low at that point in time. She helps them find ways to attract the kind of love they want in ways that are easy and don’t feel strange. She just launched my first e-course.

I am excited for you all to be inspired by her story. Thanks for being here Lape!! Let’s dive in.

 

Growing My Coaching Business as an Introvert With Lape Soetan (Case Study)

 Where are you at in your coaching business startup journey? 

I am at the Side Hustler phase of Corporate Rescue Plan. I have a full-time job and I am building my business on the side. I am looking to take it from side hustle to something full-time.  

What fears did you have when you were starting your coaching business?

My fears were around doubt and is this even going to work. Am I ever going to take it full-time? Am I just wasting my time? Those fears when I first started I still have now.

What were you thinking before you joined CRP?

I really just wanted support from businesswomen but also help from a business person who I trusted and who had started a business on the side of a full-time job. I wanted to learn from someone who made their side-hustle a full-time job. I had been reading your blog for awhile. I wanted support from a group of women and a coach.

I also had been in a few other groups that were really big and I was disappearing. I wasn’t getting the information and support I wanted. I am an introvert so if there are a lot of people I am uncomfortable. I liked that CRP had a smaller number of people and I was given attention which is why I was attracted to CRP. I was having a hard time finding the right support as an introvert online.

I have gone to networking events here in Nigeria. I go and I don’t want to be there. They are always big events and not really focused on people trying to build a business online. I never seem to get what I expect from the event. So networking events that I have been to in real life don’t work for me so I wanted something online.

What other challenges did you have at the beginning of growing your coaching business?

There is always the problem of how do I make money with my side hustle. I have a blog that was only about travel. I like traveling. In my second year, I got paid to do a series of posts. It was a big sum of money but I got tired of writing about travel and I just couldn’t find a way to make consistent income from that.

So I didn’t know what I was searching for I just kept reading online and hoping something would happen. I got married and after that, I had more time on my hands. I wanted to write a book. I asked friends what my book should be about. I thought I’ll write about career stuff but they said I should write about love or a romance novel. I was surprised. They were interested in that topic and I didn’t know they saw me like that. I wrote a book about being a single woman and my brother shared it on his Facebook profile. Then, people bought it. Because they bought it, I thought maybe this is the direction I am supposed to go into, love and relationships.

So I started on that path and I got encouragement and people would write in and tell me their problems. I thought this was the segment I was supposed to be in. But I came up against the same wall of how do I make money with this. I wasn’t making enough with my Ebooks to confidently leave my job. I really needed to be doing courses so I started looking into that. That’s the stage I am at now. I am still working to make money from courses and trying to continue to stay motivated as I continue on.

Staying motivated when things don’t turn out the way I want them to is also a challenge I faced.

How did you come across our Corporate Rescue Plan materials?

I was reading your blog a long time ago when you started. I was really into the career topic then. I didn’t read your blog for like a year just checking once in awhile and when I came back your blog had rebranded. It was pink and focused on career and courses and dream career launchpad. Then, I saw a $1 trial for Corporate Rescue Plan and couldn’t believe that you were doing that so I joined thinking there was no way I would stay after a month. When I got in, there was so much information for me to read, over like 30 modules. And I realized that you were answering questions and I could get the support I needed so I decided to join for a year get the support that I needed.

[RELATED: Moving From Inspiration to Action With Claire Trost of Bent Arrow Acres (Case Study)]

Did you follow the modules?

I downloaded and watched the modules. I read everything. I don’t know how long it took me. Now I am reading different things again and going back in. I looked at the workbooks too.

What did you learn that helped you grow your coaching business?

I had taken a course from someone else on how to make courses but I didn’t create the course. When I joined CRP, there was something that gave me the confidence to start preparing my course. I don’t know what it was or what module but I got the confidence to develop the course through watching the videos. I needed the support and I got that there.

Then, I was thinking about Instagram. I just want to grow my Instagram followers and I saw a tip in CRP to everyday like 3 pictures and leave 1 comment. I did it every day for a month. I did that there was a definite growth I gained 100 followers by the end of that month. I thought it was like magic. It worked!! This is how they do it. You actually have to go in and like everybody’s post.

Once I got to 500 followers it is now so much easier. I prefer Instagram over Facebook. Networking on Instagram is easier.

What would life have been like if you had not followed that plan?

I think it would have taken me a longer time to get to where I am now. I probably wouldn’t have known about how to grow my Instagram followers. It would have taken me longer to build my confidence.

What are some results you have seen in CRP?

1. I’ve been interviewed twice on TV. The first one I actively looked for the opportunity and the second one the email came to my desk. Somebody shared my Instagram post and someone from the TV station saw the shared post and that’s how I got interviewed on TV. So the networking on Instagram paid off. The networking had a result. It directly led to me selling more books. After the interview, I got Ebook sales. Interviews worked like magic.

2. I finally launched my first course. It’s called Communicate Better With Your Partner In 6 Weeks. I am happy about that.

3. My Instagram has also grown to 600 followers now. Before it was 200.

What are you most proud of since you started?

The TV interview. It gave me more reach and made people take me more seriously. The interview was put on some blogs so more people saw it. People in the office saw me on TV and a blog so they took me more seriously.

Do you have any final words of wisdom?

Don’t give up. I knew I wanted support and help for my coaching business. I knew that there was more out there for me but I couldn’t put it into words what I wanted but I found it. Never give up. You need support. Find the kind of support that you are looking for. If you are a woman interested in building a business, Corporate Rescue Plan is a good place to start doing that.

If you want to learn how to become your own boss and grow your coaching business just like Lape is doing, make sure you grab your free spot to our upcoming Freedom Workshop starting December 29th. Sign-up here.