Episode 102: Behind the Scenes of Building a Scalable Business Model with Michelle Vroom

Welcome to Scale to Seven®! Your behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to scale your business to seven figures. I'm your host Kathryn Binkley, business and leadership coach for online entrepreneurs. Here's what I know, building a business that will generate millions requires the mindset, strategy, and action of a future seven-figure CEO, starting now. Ready to Scale to Seven®? Let's go!

Hello, hello, welcome everybody back to the podcast. I am so excited to have such a special guest today. I want to introduce you all to Michelle Vroom. She's an incredible client, who I've worked with for a very long time. And I can't wait to tell you a little bit about that and let you learn about what she does. She's incredible. And she's just an example of what's possible to so many of you. And so can't wait to talk about it. Michelle, welcome.

Michelle Vroom  

Thank you for that introduction. We have worked together for a long time 

Kathryn Binkley  

We have, why don't you go ahead and just tell everyone a little background about you and your business, and then we'll lead into our time together.

Michelle Vroom  

Sounds great. So I am a business coach who helps women reach 10k months using their Facebook group. I didn't use to be able to speak so clearly about what I do. Because it has been an evolution as Kathryn knows, I've been in business for almost six years, can't even believe I'm saying that. Like it has it been six years, almost a couple months away. And I started my business when my oldest son was six months old, three boys at home. And I remember just wanting something different, like wanting more than the corporate job that I had. And I decided to pursue some new opportunities that came my way soon after I had him. And that's how the business was born. Kind of unintentionally, but I think that's how the best things happen. I was prior to running my business, I was in a cushy corporate job that was making, you know a lot of money, I was the breadwinner of the family. And so to go from that to my own business involved, what was for our family at the time, a very big financial sacrifice. And that was pretty scary. And so we did it. My husband, thankfully was very supportive has always been very supportive, which has certainly helped. And I don't think that I could have ever imagined just what my business would bring me and like where I'm at today. When I look back over the last six years. You know, when I started my business, I was doing full service marketing, like doing the work for my clients, whether it was social media management, website, copy, developing taglines, like I was doing it all because I thought I should. And over the course of my business and primarily from working with, with you, Kathryn, I really zeroed in on coaching. And then even after transitioning to one on one coaching, started zeroing in on group coaching, and, you know, really thinking about, like, what aspects of coaching I enjoyed and what I wanted to lean into. And it's just kind of been, you know, a really a really cool journey, a very difficult journey at times, but a very cool journey. And I think that's, that's sort of the, the overview. I mean, there's so much more I know, we'll get into but that's kind of know.

Kathryn Binkley  

I'm so excited to dig into details. So I don't necessarily want to zero in on like our first months of working together. But why don't you give the background of like, why you came to me, and then what's happened over the last four years, because it's been four years since we first started working together, which is crazy.

Michelle Vroom  

That is crazy. So I was a year and a half into business. When I knew I needed a business coach, I knew I needed a business coach, because I had too many offers. I was under charging, I knew that more was possible. That was never a question in my mind more as possible. But how long do I want to wait for that to come? And so I remember searching in a Facebook group, like looking for a business coach, a couple people referred you and tagged you in the thread, and I booked a call with you. And I remember filling out the application saying like, I want to get to eight to 10k months. Like I know that's possible. I just don't know how to get there, right. I just don't know how to get there. And so that was sort of where I was at, like, at the time, I think I was making maybe like a 1000, 2000 a month, you know, super, super low revenue for the work that I was doing. And the amount of time that I was spending, I had just welcomed my second child into the world. He was only a couple months old when we started working together. And so it was no longer it's not like I wanted to work all the time when it was just my first child. But now that you add another child to the next it's like things change with every kid right? And so I knew that I needed to run things differently. I knew for my mental health and sanity I needed to run things differently. And so you know, I knew I wanted to work with you from the very first call I think I wasn't an immediate yes on the call but I think I sent you like maybe an email 30 minutes later within an hour after just saying yes, I'm in and we hit the ground running and I know that initially, we talked a lot about, you know, moving into coaching, and I need a lot of sales help, like, there was definitely a lack of confidence, but also fear of success and fear of, you know, supporting clients, I had some bad client experiences prior to working with you that I think left me, you know, fearful of can I deliver, right. And so that was like our main like, stuff at the beginning, right. And then very quickly grew doubled my revenue that year, the first year that I worked with you and continue to do that every single year, with the exception of last year, which I know we'll get into. And a lot of that was due to my mindset. I mean, I didn't really know what mindset was, it's not that I didn't think your thoughts were important. Like, I think I had some level of understanding about that. But so much has changed in the last six years, just in terms of coaching and mindset. And I think there's a greater awareness about that than there was at the time when I hired you. And so, you know, I thought you're just going to get into strategy. But like, there's so much more that happened as a result of that. And that's been, I think, the biggest piece that we've worked through, it's not that we haven't worked through strategy, and we haven't worked through, you know, moving from one on one coaching to group coaching, creating that scalable offer, but at the core of everything has been my mindset around what's possible. And so I grew very quickly, especially in that first year of working with you and doubling my revenue every single year, led to some other challenges right around, you know, is more possible, have I hit my ceiling? Like, what do I do about all that? And so, um, you know, how do I manage my time, like, I'm serving more clients, what does that look like? And so, I think those were a lot of the the things that we covered kind of over the last four years, and then last year was obviously a very different year, I don't know how much of that you want to get into now. But that was obviously a very different year, which involved I think, some different perspectives. You also supported me when I had my third child. So I had my third child, he's a pandemic, baby, I had him literally May 2020, like two months after, you know, everything locked down, at least in our area, but it was all across the world. Of course and you know, a lot change there, right? Like taking a full maternity leave, as a full, it probably wasn't as long as it could have been but like taking a maternity leave to some degree. And then dealing with, you know, the level of clients that I had at that point, I still had a lot of one on one clients, if there was so much that came up there. So you've really supported me, you know, before reaching six figures, but then after reaching six figures, and now working towards seven figures, there's so much more that we have to dive into that, you know, was different than when I first came to you.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah, and I do want to talk about that difference. But first, I can't help but just think, the Michelle, that you were when we first started to work together, like what she would think about everything you've accomplished today. And then and I want you to share a little bit of what that looks like what has been possible because of what you've done over the last several years. But then also, I'm even more excited for you because I'm like, what does Michelle today not think is possible for the future? And I see that for a year. And I'm so excited.

Michelle Vroom  

Yeah, so good. You know, I think I knew that I would be successful. That was never a question for me. I don't believe that I thought it was going to happen as quickly as it did. I don't believe that I like the Michelle at the time, you know, five and a half years ago, like would never have expected to double her revenue for four straight years. Like that just was not something that I thought of. I wouldn't have expected to be in the home that I'm in like, thanks to my business. Almost three years ago now. We moved into our dream home like truly our dream home. I absolutely love it. I look around every day. And I think I can't believe I live here. I mean, my business provided that right? Like my business provided all of that. It's not that my husband didn't do anything. Of course he did. But my business. I mean, my business was the breadwinner when my husband lost his job for six months because of the COVID lockdowns and I was, you know, seven months pregnant and didn't have to worry, which is so funny because prior to hiring you, when I was a year into business, I was also pregnant two months prior to giving birth. And I lost three clients in one day, which was the majority of my client base and had had almost nothing coming in. So when you look at even those two situations, you know, three years in between them. I mean, that's really powerful testament to the fact that not only my business carry us, but I made like a 20k plus month, you know, on maternity leave, like while I was taking that month off and so, you know, those are the things those are some examples of the things that my business has provided me being able to hire. I have two full time people working for me. I mean, that's incredible. Like, I don't think I ever expected that also, and just what the ripple effects would be of the wealth that my business is bringing in. You know, one of those team members was able to purchase her own home last year like that is incredible. And when I remember seeing the picture, well I knew I knew that she was obviously purchasing her own home because I was contacted like as her you know, employer but when I saw the picture that she posted on Facebook of her closing on the house and like how happy she was. Not that I think I'm responsible for that mean, she's, you know, worked hard. I don't, I don't mean to take any form of like credit for that. But just knowing that in some small way my business contributed to that is massive like that really has stuck with me to not just the impact on my life, but the impact on other people's lives. And I don't know that like Michelle, at the time, when I started working with you would have thought like that it would go that far. Like, I think it was like, Okay, I just want to make an eight to 10k a month, and then I'm good. But I didn't think about looking after that. And the Michelle today, who's going after seven figures, like I have some really like scary goals and like big dreams, like I just shared with you. And I don't mind sharing here publicly, I don't know that any family members are going to listen to this. So if they do, like, they'll, they'll know what our goal is, which is fine. But um, my husband and I want to buy a second home in South Carolina. And that literally, what's so interesting too, is when when that came up, it just came up like the other the other week. So this is super, super recent. And I think there's, I can see that it's possible, but there's definitely a part of me that's like, Well, how long is it going to take? And when I told my husband about it, he is so excited. It's not even he's like, yeah, we'll probably start like looking at you know, like getting a realtor by the end of this year into next year. Like he, he's thinking differently about my business than I ever did. And so, I mean, you could say so much more about this. But like, I just I think I believe that certain things are possible. But I always and you know this from our work together, I always like overestimate how long it's going to take to get there. And like we'll talk about hiring and I'll be like, Well, I'm not ready yet. I've got to wait, you know, much longer. And it's usually throughout the conversation, me realizing no, wait, you're here already. And you also have to start making decisions from the perspective of the person who's already gotten there. Because I think that's been really powerful, too.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah. Oh, my goodness, I am just so proud of you. And so excited for you and what's to come. And as you talk, like, I want to even share with everyone listening, like you shared where you started, and then you've created this multiple six figure business, you're going for seven figures, like it takes time, we're talking about the process and what that looks like in a moment. But I know that, like you said, that happened faster than you thought it could happen. And I'm curious, from your perspective, I didn't ask you to think about this question ahead of time. And I'm going to toss it to you anyway. Do you think it was harder to make your first 100k in business? Or do you think it's harder now? Like, what are your thoughts on that? Because I have some thoughts and perspectives. But I'll ask you first.

Michelle Vroom  

that's a great question. My answer probably would have been different. Prior to last year, I think that there was a belief that like, Okay, you get to six figures. And then it's like, good, like, you're good. Your mindset's good, like everything's good. Now, I mean, I actually look back and I think the first six figures was easier in many ways for me to, to bring in not, not necessarily there was a lot of strategy, right? That, but and mindset, of course, mindset, I was part of it, there was definitely a lot of strategy that I think needed to be done, leading up to the six figures. But it's almost like after the six figures, there's still strategy to strategy is so much, it's actually so much simpler at its core, which makes it more challenging, because it's like, going all in on fewer things and repeating and like sticking with things. Like I actually think on the way to six figures, there was a lot of, you know, I've been fairly good about shiny object syndrome, though, it certainly has come up for me and you've coached me around it. But I don't know that that was ever like a primary massive problem. It came up for sure. But there are definitely like, on the path to six figures. It's like, oh, exciting, like you get to try a bunch of different things and like, do a bunch of different offers. And some of that is just the natural course. But now it's like, no, I have landed and even last year, I mean, I know we'll talk about last year, but I landed on some core things that are working really well. And now it's just making them work even better. And I've never been in that position before my business. And I can see how challenging it is to like keep your brain on task and not think that you have to do something different or do more to get to seven figures.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah, so good. I think that that first year, there's so much learning, like there's such a learning curve of all the things you have to figure out to make the money but then every year and you and I've talked about this, like you've never arrived, you've never just like figured it out, and it's done and you ride the wave forever. And in part because even once you learn to make that first 100k then you have to learn to make it again, but in a different way. And then again, in a different way. So part of that and this will lead into your, your last year but part of that is really understanding that you have to slow down to speed up and I know that there's a concept we've talked about to where when you look at someone who's grown and it looks like it's exponential growth when you really zoom in, it looks more like a staircase. And there are these moments where you really have to stabilize and focus on maintaining your revenue level, but making it in a different way. So that then you're ready for that next growth spurt, if you will. So last year was a year where you had to learn that for yourself and deal with all the feelings, and all the things you probably made that mean, which weren't true, because that was exactly what needed to happen. But I want you to share a little bit about what that year was like for you what you expected, how you knew you needed that year? Or if you even really understood that you needed that time. Like, how did you make the decision to slow down? Or did it just happen? Just tell everyone?

Michelle Vroom  

Oh, gosh, there's so much here. I don't know that I fully knew, like, people say you need to slow down like, and I think we throw that out, you know, out there. And we know that that's true. But do we really know what that means? Because it means a lot more than just throwing it out as a phrase. And I don't know that I really understood the meaning until I went through last year. So there were noticeable cracks, if you will. And I don't know, I mean, you'll probably remember this when I referenced it, you obviously didn't know I was gonna bring this up. But toward the end of the prior year, I had some pretty big breakdowns that fall like tearful Voxer message. I mean, I've cried a lot in our coaching, which I'm fine with admitting but like tearful Voxer messages, just talking about how stressed I felt and how I just felt really overwhelmed and not, not in a way that I felt before because I had a pretty full one on one client base 2020 was a challenging year with some client situations. And so that certainly had built up. And then I just hired my team, one of my team members is full time, or actually was even prior to that it was like thinking about it and knowing I needed more support. But just feeling like my business was really messy. And I remember crying to you about it pretty regularly and having some like, almost like panicky, not panic attacks, but like, panicky moments where it was hard to catch my breath. And so that was starting to kind of seep in the cracks, even prior to 2021, like toward the the tail end of 2020. And so I think looking back, like there, definitely something definitely needed to change. I just didn't know what it was. And I didn't know what it meant to like slow down in the way that you're referencing. And so I think that I did believe going into 2021, that I was just gonna double my revenue again, like I did it before, right? Why not like, keep doing the same things. But the same things. And I don't know how else to explain this, hopefully, I'll be able to do it justice. But the same things weren't always working the way that they did before. Because what I had built up until that point was a great six figure business. And I could keep going with that. And like, just stay the course. And there's no shame in that. But I didn't want that. And so what I wanted required me to think differently. It required my business to look different. In some ways, my business looks the same. But in other ways, it looks very different. And all of that led to kind of a staircase part, right? That you're talking about where it's like a pause on the big revenue jumps. And I throughout most of last year, I had a really hard time with that. I felt like I was going backwards. I felt like I was losing touch with my audience. I felt like people didn't want to work with me anymore. I was like dried up. I mean, I'm trying remember what else I said to you. Because there was so much I said, and that was a big part of our work last year was, you know, me being okay with that. Because you do see people talking about those big leaps, like quantum leaps, so to speak. And they don't talk about what went into them, or they keep doing the quantum leaps. But what is it costing them right, like some people do keep growing like that, but they can't handle that growth. I mean, I'm thinking about a couple people in mind right now have massive, you know, built these massive businesses seemingly overnight, but then couldn't handle it, and the business infrastructure couldn't handle it. And it came crashing down. And so, you know, I didn't want that either. And so it was kind of like being okay with the fact that, like, I can slow down. And I don't have to double my revenue, to be able to get to seven figures like this gets to be a year. That is a very important turning point. And I remember my husband I talked about at the beginning of the year, and he was like, yeah, like he reminded me even throughout the year, like remember, it's a turning point ever. It's a turning point. And even though we had plenty of money to sustain us if I didn't really work much last year, it still it was more of a pride thing. And so I had to keep reminding myself, and like owning the fact that no this this is what I want. Like I can't have it both ways, right? And the way that I've chosen is the slower quote unquote path just for that year. Right and so it was intentional. But I kept acting like it wasn't intentional, which I think messed with my mind a lot.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah. And I mean, it just caused you so much. I'll just use the word pain generically here. But it caused you so much pain to not really just like own the fact that this was a decision or this is something that needed to happen and to feel like something was wrong, where instead I think over time, as the year went on, from the outside looking in, I saw that you began to really, like, accept that this is what was needed. And to see that this period, could you have doubled your revenue? Again? You could have, like you said, I don't even know what that would have cost you or I mean, I have some ideas. 

Michelle Vroom  

I don't know what that would have even looked like. 

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah, you could have, you still had a great year, multiple six years, like, it's not like you had a bad year by any means. 

Michelle Vroom  

Only would have loved last year. So if I hear perspective changes, because old me would have been like, what it killed for what I made last year, but it didn't seem good enough,

Kathryn Binkley  

Right. And you're just used to that pace of doubling. And so for a year of not doubling your revenue, it felt like something was wrong. But what I really want to make sure that everyone hears that I do believe that you eventually got to was if you had pushed to double your revenue you could have, but by slowing down, that's not the end all be all, like last year's results weren't the end of your business, the end of seeing success. And what's possible for you, last year was a moment to set you up for even greater success moving forward. So if we look at the short term, if we only look at last year, then sure, maybe you didn't make what you could have if you had pushed, right. But if we look at the long term, and we play the long game, which is what I'm all about, you're going to make more money long term, because you took the time to slow down last year. And so let's talk about some of the things you did during that year. Like what did that actually mean? Or translate to tactically?

Michelle Vroom  

Yeah, so a couple of things. Number one, really going all in and when I say all in, I think I was all in before. But last year was all in meaning like willing to put in the work and wait for the results kind of all in because I think there's different versions of all in, me doing that for my signature group program, the dream quit accelerator, like I made a very intentional choice last year, to shift away from having just like a full roster of one on one clients, like a full roster for me, at my height of one on one was probably 10ish clients, maybe even more. And it was not sustainable, especially adding a third child. I mean, that third child, some people told me it'd be easier. It was not easy for me adding a third child to the mix. Like my husband, I talk every day about like, how did we do this, like, he's gonna be to, you know, in a couple months. And we're still I mean, really, in some ways, because there's just so much more now going on right in our family. And so I knew that I couldn't sustain that and nor did I want to, I really didn't want to deep down. And I wanted something different. And so we had talked a lot about, you know, what would it look like to have that scalable offer? Like what would it look like to only have, you know, two group coaching calls, you know, a week or whatever. And I remember just feeling really excited by that. And so I really started off the year with the intention of how can I go all in and make the dream client accelerator, a business or a program that had brought me in six figures already? Like how can I make this the driving force behind seven figures. And so what that meant is really examining the program and getting rid of some things that were no longer serving me in the program, which can be really hard, because I love the program, and zeroing in on some aspects of the program that I hadn't had the courage to do prior and like really going deep. So no longer being like a little more general like this program, I went all in on I'm going to help you get to 10k months using your Facebook group and it took me quite frankly probably the entire year close to it to even get to that point where I was that specific. But being more specific about who this program is for what it delivers having a very specific intentional framework in the program for helping people get results which is going to continue to be a really big focus for me this year it was like last year was setting the stage for that you know setting the stage for being able to take on fewer one on one clients and still bring in multiple six figures because there was a belief that I had, you know, which I'm sure we're gonna touch on to that like there's no way like one on one was my bread and butter because it's the highest ticket you know, offer there's no way I can recreate that revenue through a group coaching program because I also felt like sales had dipped for that program starting out the year. And so there was a lot of like mental drama around that program that I think you know, really working through last year, you know, gave me the push for what's going to happen this year. Team was massive. I mean, again, always had the two team members like the two team members started with me in 2021, or 2020, so it wasn't getting used to new team, necessarily, it was like delegating more like putting systems in place and also challenging my team to take ownership of entire projects, entire strategies, which I had never really done before. And so that required me being a leader. And that was something that I felt so ill equipped to do last year, still still do sometimes if I'm honest, but like, feel better about it now. And so working through that, and being able to start to like, relinquish the hole that I had on my business, like, if I clenched my fists, it's like, that's how tightly I was holding my business last year, so tightly that it was like I was constantly just like, gritting my teeth, and like, you know, put applying pressure. And so starting to release some of that to other people, you know, starting to release some of that in terms of the offers that I delivered and the clients that I took on and the strategies like going back to some of the core strategies that worked, and then putting a system around them so that I'm not the one always doing them. Like that was also I think, a big piece of it, too. There were a lot of other things I'm trying to think of like, what were the big kind of categories of things that that made a huge difference last year, although am I missing anything, you might have other things that I might be missing? 

Kathryn Binkley  

Well, I think you touched on so many things that I was thinking about. And you know, when I talk about it or think about it, you know that we like to structure our businesses, the way that I teach it into different departments. And it's really, if we look at marketing and sales or your growth department, and then we look at the delivery of client programs, coaching, whatever client support and bundle it all up into client success, last year was a huge year for you in both areas to make those scalable, in other words, to be able to get results in both categories without you. You handed off sales calls and trained a team member to do that, for the majority of your calls. Team members are like we could go on and on and on. But you have strategies to bring clients in through the bootcamp through sales calls, that you don't even have to be the primary person doing anything, you're leading those initiatives. And then on the backend, yes, you're still coaching. And that's because you want to coach, right. But you have a team who's supporting and handling all the other things. And if there were any point that you didn't want to coach, there's a way to scale your business without that. But as long as you want to, we can build a business that allows that. So last year, so much of that. And you know, when you're talking about just almost your jaw clenching, and like white knuckling things, holding on to things, no wonder, like you felt the way that you felt before going into last year, like when of the CEO or business owner and entrepreneur, any human being for that matter, tries to hold on and control everything. Of course, it's going to feel that way, so last year, there was a lot of that learning of not just because it's not easy. And so I also want to commend you, 

Michelle Vroom  

I'm a control freak already. Like I already struggled with control and giving up control in life. And so apply that to business. And there you have it. 

Kathryn Binkley  

And I just want to commend you because you did such a great job of learning to really let go and lead and your team is getting just phenomenal results. 

Michelle Vroom  

Yeah. 

Kathryn Binkley  

That obviously we can give them credit for but you credit for for leading them. And I know that you're bringing in consistent clients every single month without having to do it all yourself.

Michelle Vroom  

Yeah, I mean, just to give some commentary, and some of this you don't know, because I was going to give you an update today. You know, toward the end of last year, I would say mid October was when we really honed in on like that sweet spot with DCA and it was just okay, now we're just going to get people in. And every single from October through December, we signed five DCA clients every month, easily. And I remember there being times full transparency where we would do a launch for DCA like prior to that year, and get three people in four people maybe five, right during a launch, like where you're putting all this effort in. And this just came from a combination of sales calls a couple people purchase from the sales page, which was exciting. That's something that I want to you know, ramp up again this year. But that was huge, just having that like consecutive revenue. And then at this time of recording we were talking in January so we were about to end the first month of the new year. And not only did I sign two new one on one clients today, which I didn't tell you about the second one, but we are actually at a 50k sales month. It won't be all cash collected this month, which is fine, but literally like almost up six figures for the year in sales. And it's it's January it's the first right so I want to share that too because I had an entire year where I you know had some of my lower revenue months that I hadn't seen in a while where I you know of course had a great year but like really not the way it is I expected it to go. And it set me up so well that literally in January, the first month of the new year, I'm bringing in more in sales. I mean, I'm trying to remember I've maybe I've had it, I don't even know if I've had a 50k sales month before, I feel like it's kind of it's been close. But most of that has been like it cash months, right? This is like, I mean, something that I haven't experienced before, at least at this level, and definitely not like kicking off the year. And so I share that because I mean, I have more clarity about where I'm going and how I'm going to get to seven figures than I've ever had before. And less control in the sense of the day to day. I mean, last week by team member sold somebody on a sales call, right? Like, didn't have to do anything to get on the call, like heard about it and slack welcomed the person in and that's amazing. Even more than like the sales and the clients, we have more inquiries more interest, right? And some of those will pan out into clients, some may not right away. But when you look at the scope of what's ahead of us for this year, I feel very, very optimistic. I feel very excited about what's to come. And yeah, I thought I'd share that too. I haven't even given you all the flavor of the so Kathryn's hearing this for the first time, but like, that's a really big deal to kind of kick off the year with this, you know, at a time where we just got through the holidays, and January feels like a long month for people like I am seeing great interest. And a lot of that is due to the clarity that I have about how we can support clients and what that looks like, and who's a good fit for DCAA. And who's a good fit for one on one?

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah, so obviously, congratulations. That's amazing. And what comes up for me that I want to tell you to think about this is like behind the scenes coaching almost because you would come to me in a coaching call and give these updates. And so real time I love that this is on the podcast. But when you're talking about hitting 50 60k numbers, I want you to think about how close you are to that million dollar run rate. 

Michelle Vroom  

Right. 

Kathryn Binkley  

Do you know what that million dollar run rate is? Like what that monthly is? If you had to guess? 

Michelle Vroom  

Oh, if I had to? Well, I was gonna do the math. Yeah, well, you do the best I can just tell you. Yeah, you're telling me. 

Kathryn Binkley  

It's 83,000 and change, like, basically 84k? You're not that far off, right? I'm having a million dollar run rate for sales month, and then from there, the cash months are gonna continue to climb. So it's happening.

Michelle Vroom  

Yeah. And it's like, it's actually very similar cycle right to back when we were trying to get me up to 10k months, it's like there were the sales came first. And then the cash flowed it like it's this, it's actually the same cycle just at a different level. And requiring much, much less of me. I mean, I can say on a personal note. There's always stress, of course, and I don't want to diminish the fact that there are new stressors that I'm dealing with at this level of business. But I am working less than I've worked, I am less stressed on the day to day, I feel like I have time to think and to be creative. We're going to carve out more of that time for me this year. Now that I have a babysitter, praise God who started just the other week. I mean, there are so many things that are happening and the kids are in a busy stage. I mean, I've got a six year old, a four and a half year old and an almost two year old. And I am less stressed and making more in my business than I did when I first started and had one six month old.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah, is phenomenal. I love it. 

Michelle Vroom  

Yeah. 

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah. And so again, like just that learning to make the money in a new way. So you learn to just sell one on one, you learn how to deliver results to clients and package that up into a container that was different than doing the work for them. Then you went through a process of really learning how to even start the group program and hire team members. And just each year, you had to learn more and more. But now you truly are making that multiple six figures with a team who's doing a lot of the work with a proven process inside of your group program DCA dream client accelerator for those who are just hearing about it for the first time, there's a proven process where people can get the result. And it's without you holding their hand every step of the way. Now they have every bit of support that they need. But it doesn't require you to tell them everything or to coach them on everything.

Michelle Vroom  

Not at all. In fact, you know, one of them I checked in with the group prior to coming on this interview and someone posted a question about something related to the framework and the others who had gone through the framework, were actually answering the question and doing exactly what I would have done like not even just my team member, my client success manager, of course jumped in. But so did everybody else like so to hit a couple of other ladies in the program. Like I'm like, oh, okay, great. They're, I mean, they're learning and applying it and teaching it to each other. Not that I'm not doing anything I wanted to tell like that. But they're, they're like the framework is so clear that people in the program are learning it and being able to answer others questions like which is so powerful for them, so powerful. It's just powerful for me, it's powerful for them. And so that was another update I was going to give you some giving you all the updates, but like, it ties in well with what we're talking about. It's like, oh, okay, cool. I went and I go, I went and ate lunch, like I went and like, went to the bathroom chill, you know, cuz this is what's happening.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah. And we didn't really hear that not just you, everybody listening, clients are getting answers, they're getting results while you had lunch.

Michelle Vroom  

By lunch, and they're getting them faster than if they waited for me to pop in the group because I'm not in there, you know, every five seconds, obviously, I've certain times that I check in, but um, you know, the fact that they're able to hear from their peers, too, is also really powerful. And that that never happened before and DCA, maybe a little bit, but not to the level that it is now and how I think it will continue to happen. Because there was never such a clear, simple strategic framework. It was like some people were over here doing this, some people were over here doing this, and it felt like I was just corralling so many different people. I mean, listen, I'm not saying that it's perfect, and that there's not challenges now, which there obviously are, but it just felt like there was always like, I could never really wrap my hands around the program. And I think that was the biggest challenge because it pretty much was a one on one coaching program.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah. So I want to talk about that transition from one to one to one to many, tongue twister there a little bit. Could you share some of your biggest fears or challenges, like some of the things that you had even thoughts about beliefs about that you thought would be a problem going into that transition? And maybe you can share what you think now if, if there's something clear, but what did you think about it, then what were you afraid of? Or what were you worried about?

Michelle Vroom  

That was afraid of loss of revenue, because the one on one coaching was such a big chunk of my revenue, so I was afraid of loss of revenue, I was afraid that my clients wouldn't get results, I was afraid of losing control, because one on one coaching was easier to control well, so I thought it's like a false sense of control, because you can never really control it's up to the client, ultimately, I mean, you can control how you show up in coach, but you can't control everything. So but, but it felt like I could control and manage one on one easier than a group of people going through. And that was at the time when DCA was much smaller than it's becoming, you know. And so it was like, you know, okay, I'm going to lose control, they're not going to get as good results, I'm going to make less money. Like those were the sort of the reoccurring thoughts that kind of came up for me when I thought about making that transition.

Kathryn Binkley  

Okay, and looking back, what do you know, now that you wish you had known then?

Michelle Vroom  

What I know now is that my clients can get better results with less of my time. They don't need me there every five seconds to get results. And I mean, we've even done some recent coaching around the power of a group. And the power of you know, how people can actually get faster results with a group program, which is honestly a new concept for me, because one on one, as long as I've had, it has always been my shining star. And it's not that one on one doesn't serve a purpose. But just realizing wow, like, I don't have my team, my client success manager can manage a lot of things. They don't need me there every five seconds, like sometimes they'll reference something that she told them or that she did. And it's like, cool, because it's not just the Michelle show, right? They're not now, yes, of course, they love when I coach them. Yes, it's like special, you know, to be on that coaching call and to get support. But they're able to, I think become more independent and stronger business owners, then they would be if they worked with me one on one. And that is a pretty powerful realization.

Kathryn Binkley  

So many good things. And I wish that you had known all of those before, but I'm so glad that you're sharing them here so that everyone listening, like really listened to what she said, I've meant what I said earlier, you really are an example of what's possible. And everything that you've experienced, like, there aren't shortcuts, everyone's going to have to do the work and go through it. But if they listen to the lessons that you learned, the things that you faced the things that you know, now, it can certainly help, at least with their own thoughts to know that it's normal. That's so much of I think so much of this journey is just knowing that what you're going through is normal and okay, and part of the process to get to where you want to go.

Michelle Vroom  

Yes, having you as a coach to even be able, like sometimes, all I need to hear from you is it's normal. And it's, it's much easier to shift and move through it now. 

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah. 

Michelle Vroom  

And that's really powerful. Because as you grow to new heights in your business, it can feel even lonelier, right? It feels like well, is anybody else at the stage? And no one else is really talking about it or being you know, potentially open or transparent about it. And so having that support and being told that you're normal, like, I don't know that I would have realized that last year was actually a very necessary part of my growth if you hadn't coached me around that. You know, I had all these thoughts about well, I'm going backwards and this isn't normal and to hear you say like there was one boxer message I think when you walk walk through the phases of like, firstly make the 100k then you make another 100k in a different way, like when you walked through all of that, that was so refreshing to me to be like, Oh, okay, like this is actually a thing. I'm not crazy.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah, nothing has gone wrong here everything is happening exactly as it's supposed to. And those are a couple of thoughts that really helped you like this is normal. That's a thought that served you very well. And I think we'll continue to, I'd love to hear what other thoughts that have really stuck with you or stood out that you've clung to maybe that have helped you so far to scale to where you are now. 

Michelle Vroom  

For sure. I'm going to work until it works. 1,000% has just, like, totally been the reason why I'm here. I'm going to work until it works. I can figure this out. I'm learning as I go, like I'm learning I'm never gonna arrive. I think those are just some of the ones that, that rise to the surface like people are watching like, this is necessary for getting to seven figures like reminding myself of what's necessary along the way, I think is really important.

Kathryn Binkley  

Awesome. And what would you tell everyone who's listening? If they're sitting there thinking, Okay, I have a roster full of one to one clients, I'm thinking about trying to go to group I like the idea of everything that I'm hearing about going to your scalable, offer scalable, selling, what would you tell them to help them in that transition?

Michelle Vroom  

I would say kind of going back to the staircase piece like this is what is needed to get to where you want to go. Like what's possible with group is so much more than you can anticipate from having done one on one. This is what's needed to have a greater impact not just for you and for your family, but for the people that you're serving. And this is truly like what freedom looks like. It's like everybody talks about freedom. But no one really explains what it looks like. And if you've gotten this far, you've been uncomfortable before that you can do it again. I think that's probably another thought, by the way that, that has helped me that I am going to offer up here.

Kathryn Binkley  

Yeah. Awesome. Thank you so much for joining me, I'd love for you to tell everyone where they can find you online. And check out all the things and we've got a podcast Facebook group, so definitely mentioned both of those. And if you're working to get to your first 10k, and you want to learn how to do that from a Facebook group, she has the perfect program for that. So tell them about that too. 

Michelle Vroom  

Yes, so um, you can find me on Facebook, Market Like a Boss is my Facebook group. There are 6500 Women in there and counting. So an incredible amazing group. It's where I share a lot of stuff about getting to 10k through your Facebook group, but also you know, behind the scenes stuff about my business and Kathryn will be featured in there, she and I you know we'll do we're going to be doing a live soon in there just about my business journey. So that's a great place to go. I have a podcast, Market Like a Boss as well. So easy to remember. And then the dream plan accelerator, otherwise known as DCA, which we've referenced several times throughout the interview, really is truly like your ultimate, one stop shop to reaching a 10k a month using your Facebook group. There are a lot of ways to get there. And I will never be the one to say there's one right way. But if you are on Facebook, you need a group, Facebook has changed. It's changing, you need a group in order to have that impact to have that visibility. And so I'm leaning into what I do best and what I know best, which is groups and if that's you know if a 10k a month is something that's on your radar for this year, but also, you know, if you have a Facebook group and you want that simple, repeatable strategy, the DCA is definitely going to deliver that to you.

Kathryn Binkley  

Definitely go check that out. Thanks again, Michelle. So great as always,

Michelle Vroom  

Yes, so fun. Thank you.

Kathryn Binkley  

Hey, if you like what you're learning on the podcast, you have to check out The Scalability Factor™. It's my coaching program where I teach you how to create and sell a scalable offer so you can earn more while working less. Just head over to kathrynbinkley.com/scalability and I'll see you inside.