Ep 32: Expectations, Reality, and Failure
When is the last time you “failed”? (I put it in quotes because… was it really a failure?!) This episode is one of my favorite episodes yet because Gael Wood, business and success coach, shared extremely candidly about her experience as an entrepreneur. We covered misaligned expectations, the importance of time, “failure” and how much money we need to make to have a good month. Spoiler alert: it’s probably less than you think, and certainly less than we've been led to believe.
Gael’s Bio
Gael Wood - Coach, Entrepreneur and Author Gael Wood is a massage and spa professional with over 25 years of experience in the industry. She graduated from massage school at the age of 19 and then went on to open her very own day spa and therapeutic massage center in 2003, which she ran for 6 years.
In 2013, Gael launched her first online business, which she managed along with her career as a Massage Therapist. As the online businesses began to take off, she made the decision to retire from the hands-on massage work in 2016 and concentrate on using her extensive knowledge and experience to create tailored training and coaching materials and courses for estheticians, massage and spa professionals.
Gael is the co-host and co-founder of the Global Wellness Professionals Marketing Summits and The Work Freedom Summit. She was honored to be inducted into the World Massage Hall of Fame and featured as a Massage Magazine All-Star in 2019. Since giving up hands-on massage work and concentrating on her online businesses, Gael has been prolific with her creativity.
To date, she has created over 60 successful online courses, launched popular Massage and Spa Marketing Content Clubs, written and self-published more than 15 eBooks and created a library of invaluable resources for massage, beauty and spa professionals such as the popular Massage and Spa Resource Bundles.
Gael has always been fascinated by Feng Shui and this led her to study with the International Feng Shui School. In 2019 she gained certification in Feng Shui, enabling her to carry out consultations as another part of her business. She has since trained in Life and Business Coaching through The Rebel Millionaire Coach Certification Program and successfully completed her training in 2021.
Most recently, Gael has created the ELEVATE Mastermind, which is a program for people who want to learn about adding an online business to their income streams or segue into online business. She currently runs a low-cost subscription program alongside this called The Monthly Challenge Club for Entrepreneurs and she teaches online business strategy through The Elevate Mastermind.
Gael is happiest when she is in creator mode, finding new ideas for courses, marketing content, and books. She is constantly inspired to create more courses and materials - and continues to launch new ideas. She loves to educate herself and discover new ideas, learning as much as she can through reading books, online research, and studying online classes, and programs to boost her knowledge.
Her number one wish is that what she does can inspire other people, and she aims to help as many people as she can to thrive with her courses, books and programs. Gael lives in Boone, North Carolina with her husband Dave and son Santino who she has been homeschooling since March 2020. She also has an older daughter, Grace.
Connect with Gael
elevatewithgael.com
FB: gaelwoodsuccesscoach
Insta @elevate_with_gael_wood
YouTube
Episode Transcript
Becca 0:05
Welcome to Probably Bothered the podcast that cuts through online business man's, so that you can redefine your version of success. Because I believe if you aren't a little bit bothered, you probably aren't paying attention.
There is something about diverse experiences. And that just leads to diverse opinions in really, really interesting conversations. And today, I'm so excited to introduce our guest, Gael wood, she is a multi-time entrepreneur, she started out in massage therapy and had a physical location, and has certifications in life coaching as well as functional way, and also has courses.
And we had such a great conversation that brought together all of her experience and knowledge in a really fun way. And let me tell you, when I say we got honest, we got so honest on what the experience of entrepreneurship is really like, I am just going to jump into the show because you guys are probably super curious and you don't want to miss this.
This conversation today is probably I'm just going to predict it, it's going to be one of my favourites. I am sitting here with Gael wood. Although we share last name, I don't we didn't cover this, I'm assuming we don't share any relationship. But she is a business and success coach. And I was immediately drawn to her messaging because she talks all about kind of the reality that you find once you start your business, and how it's a little bit different than the dream that were sold and the way we talk about it. So, Gael, I want to start there, first of all, welcome to Probably Bothered,
Gael Wood 2:04
Thank you so much for having me.
Becca 2:06
Of course, and I want to start there with this idea of what were sold versus what the actual experience is like, because I was just having this conversation with a client where she's a CPA, and she was like, I spend 90% of my time on marketing. And I didn't expect that. So, so let's just dive into this topic. And I'll just hand it off to you because I'm sure you have a lot to add.
Gael Wood 2:33
Yeah, I think and just speaking specifically about my online journey, which started in in 2013. You know, I mean, it's just simply harder and takes longer than then we'd that we want it to than we think it would based on, you know, the courses that were being sold and the information that's out there. And I mean, I have had huge wins a lot of success.
But you know, right alongside of that might be one month a big win. It might be one month a big flop. And so having that, you know, like consistent profits, things like that. It's not the flashy, you know, fun sitting on the beach sipping a cold drink while the money pings into your ping pal, ping pal account
Becca 3:24
PayPal account. No.
Gael Wood 3:28
And I have had days like that, like, I've literally had days like that, but they are by far the exception. That took a lot of hard work. And I set that up before I went to the beach, you know that it is good to check your phone and be like, on the beach, but it's not like it's not automated. To the extent though I think we, you know, get sold this dream. And there's some reality to it. But there's also a lot of other stuff.
Becca 3:56
Yeah. So what do you wish people knew before starting a business? In terms of the reality? Is there something specific that comes to mind?
Gael Wood 4:06
Well, I think if people knew, you know, really how long it really takes to start making money. And even, you know, to quit, maybe your day job, things like that. I think people wouldn't give up so soon. I just think so many people get started. They think I've been doing this for six months or a year and it's just not working. And so I guess I'm not good at it. I guess I can't do it.
And that's, I think, not true. You know, you may have to keep tweaking or trying some different things. But thinking really that you're going to make money within the first year even I think is pretty unrealistic. Yeah, at this point.
Becca 4:46
So the episode of Probably Bothered that I released on Monday because I was out of town last week. So I went off my normal schedule, but it was all about misaligned expectations.
Specifically, in programs or courses or offers, but I think the same thing is true here, we see all of these loud voices shouting, look at my instant success, look at the money rolling in while I sit on the beach. And they're not talking about the one year, five years, 10 years it took to get to that point, and all of those other kinds of days.
And so I think this conversation is super important to really reset the expectations. I mean, that's what it comes down to. Because you're right, if you know going in, it's gonna be tough. It's gonna be harder than you ever thought, yeah, it's a lot easier to stick it out. Instead of thinking like, what's wrong with me? Why isn't this happening for me, which I think is a lot of times kind of the, opposite reaction to those messages that we're hearing.
Gael Wood 5:55
And I think harder is kind of a word like, it's just, I don't know that it's necessarily hard. There's a lot to learn, really to make any money online, there's a lot to learn. And there are days when I feel like it's hard, but I also kind of, like, I enjoy learning that stuff. And doing it. Like I really enjoyed putting my first website together and getting my first blog posts up. And it was kind of an exciting adventure.
But then after about six months, I was like, Okay, well, now how do I make money. And so I started, you know, kind of men, it was six more months before I sold my first ebook, which actually worked out pretty well. For me, though, because I have a full year of building an audience, then I had a first sale and I see a lot of people doing the opposite.
They start with a product. And it's probably a great product, but they have no audience. And so then it's like, I've actually working with a coaching client right now. And she's got some wonderful courses and products she's put together. And I'm like, it might be a year before you have really the audience to buy these wonderful things that you've made. Yeah, I know, she's a bit frustrated. But it's, you know, the way it goes, Really,
Becca 7:09
I wish more coaches were, I guess is confident the right word, confident in sharing that exact thing that this will take time. And it's not for lack of your as a business owners effort. It's not for lack of the ideas. It's not for lack of the offer or the offer being off, necessarily.
But let's talk about building an audience. Because before you said that, the thing that had popped into my mind was, the thing that I wish people knew about business is that it is about building relationships with people. Yeah.
And so I think this kind of goes two ways. I think that there's an offline relationship that you build, with clients with other business owners with a network of referrals. There's probably more to that category. But then there's also the online audience that you build as well.
And no matter what it comes down to relationships with people. So that's what I would say, if I started all over again, I would spend my time on building relationships, and not trying to figure out this new trend, or that new marketing thing or, or all of that stuff. If you just bring it down to relationships. It totally changes the game.
Gael Wood 8:37
Yeah. And that's, that's one thing I'm really working on right now. I actually just had a meeting earlier today with someone that might become an affiliate for me. And I'm doing less and less on social media. And I thought, you know, what if I had 10, to 15 affiliates, so you know, that were really a good match for my business.
And it might be a much better use of my time to find those people. Have a conversation with them, see if it's a good match, and work closely with them rather than, Oh, I need to, you know, post on social media certain amount of times per week or per day. So, yeah, there's all and there are so many different ways to do that and to build those relationships. Absolutely. And it takes time.
Becca 9:23
Absolutely. So I also want to dive in, because one of the other things that I know that you mentioned was not mentioned on the podcast, if you guys are hearing this, you didn't miss anything. But the topic of endless distractions and shiny objects.
Yeah, so let's dive into that a little bit. Because it's it's one of those kinds of circular things. I think it feeds in really nicely. And we kind of touched on it with the idea of like a bunch of new marketing strategies or try this and try that and I think that there are, I'm trying to think of how to word this.
There are two truths to be had. The first is that you need to give things time. And the second is that it's okay to try new things. So how do you balance between kind of setting a strategy and giving it time, but also leaving room for the unknown, leaving room to grow and change and try new things?
Gael Wood 10:30
Yeah, so I think I mean, I think the first thing to look at with marketing is, what do you like to do enough that you will do it consistently, you know, I love to make videos. So that's something I know I can, just because I don't worry about how I look or anything like that. So
Becca 10:52
that's my podcast,
Gael Wood 10:54
video or two each week. So one, one area that I'm leading into is YouTube. But my main recommendation and this goes, whether I'm working with a massage therapist with a local business, or somebody with an online business, is, you know, get your foundation in place, which to me would be your website, some kind of networking plan, to meet people make those connections, like you were just saying, you know, your social media presence, whether you're on there a lot or a little, you know, if you're going to bother being on LinkedIn or something, fill your profile out, completely have it, you know, optimized.
And then what's my fourth one, it's pretty important. For a local business, I would say print. And then for an online business, it might be you know, affiliates are finding some websites where you can advertise, advertise, you know, and do like, even just banner and stuff like that.
So there's like these four things that I feel like, once you get those into place, anything else you do is going to work better? So, you know, if my website isn't very good, and I make it a YouTube video every week, where am I sending people? You know, so I feel like there's like that foundational stuff. And then like, Okay, now what am I going to do on a regular basis to get myself out there in front of new potential clients and market my business, and that's where the sky's the limit, and we can get really, really overwhelmed.
So, so I just looked at, you know, what would what do you think you'll actually do consistently, and then I always say, Guys, give it three or four months, nothing works, nothing works overnight. And, you know, it's like planting all these little seeds. And you don't know which ones you know, when somebody might run across that video you made six months ago and go to your website and book a strategy call or something.
So it's like that's kind of part of the I guess the slog keep going to go into going not knowing if it's gonna work, not knowing what's gonna work but over time, you can see what's working do more of that do less of what's not working.
And the other thing I would say don't be afraid of paying to advertise your business. You know, marketing you can it's a great way to get more eyes on your stuff quickly. Yeah, but I would just do it very, you know, conservatively and then scale up. Because Facebook ads, you know, things like that, I mean, they will take all your money and they don't they will
Becca 13:42
Been there! (laughs) So, in terms of so we have kind of set your foundation have the basics and then you can kind of build off of those basics. So I'm curious because you have a pretty varied history I mean, we all do as humans but you if you want to, you know jump in with a little bit of your background from massage to function way to business and success coach.
How have you used this idea of kind of staying on track avoiding the shiny objects while still allowing yourself to have those human elements and explore those really, what seems to be outsiders is big shifts? I'm sure that there's a thread that links them all together for you, But yeah,
Gael Wood 14:33
Well, I'm definitely I can't say that I avoid shiny, completely, but I am pretty good at going. Okay, wait, you know, like, what are we doing here? Go back to basics. So, um, well, when I was in in massage therapy, and I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, that's why I went into massage.
So a few years in doing massage, I have the opportunity to purchase and take over a storefront business in a shopping centre. So I borrowed money, I bought the business. And I realised I didn't know anything about marketing.
Becca 15:20
Very, very different,
Gael Wood 15:21
I kind of had to, you know, I kind of had to give myself a crash course, and start trying different types of marketing. And it was, you know, I feel like I'm not very risk averse. So I was willing to kind of invest in marketing and see what happened. At that time, I really only had enough money to do one or two things at a time.
So that's where I think I kind of came up with that do, you know, do the thing long enough to see if it works. And then try the next thing. And kind of add in stages and layers. But what I learned to wait and see if it worked is, you know, I had a lot of surprises. I'd put some in add, you know, maybe in our country club, golf magazine, or something, and I would think, well, that didn't work. And but then I'd get that one client that came in for three years, every week, and I'm like, Well, it definitely did work, I just had to wait for that one person.
So I think we can often like, like you just said, expectations. You know, if we think if I pay for this ad I'm gonna get 10 clients from it. And that's the only measurement of whether or not it works, that will probably be disappointed. But if our measurement is like, let's see what happens. And, you know, one, a long term client is just as good as 10, one time clients or better.
Becca 17:00
This is one of the things that I've seen, particularly in my more analytical clients is that we want to see and we're so programmed, just generally, I feel like as a society to see that instant reaction to inaction, right? Whether it's, I posted Tiktok, or Instagram and I got a client. Yeah, but this idea and reset resetting of expectations that good things take time. Like there's a reason that that's the saying, right. So just making, making it more of like the prevalent voice that is being heard, because it is a really good reminder, like you don't know.
And I've seen this in my, in the web design side of my business where I felt like I was screaming into the Instagram abyss for a year and a half, and was getting most of my clients through referral sources, which is great. But everybody said, post on Instagram, so I kept doing it. And then eventually, you know, I think I had a message one day, like, I've been watching you for a year, but I just wasn't ready to launch my business. And now that I am I want you to do my website. Yeah. And so you don't know what, even if you don't have that immediate instant reaction to the things that you're doing and trying and testing, you never know what will happen as a result of them.
So it's hard for especially the more analytically minded of us because we want to see those return on investments, whether it's an investment of time or money, and it isn't always instant.
Gael Wood 18:40
Yeah, and I see this too, with funnels. You know, and I think a lot of people don't love the term funnel. But I'm like, it's just an email series, you know, to sell something. But with my clients that are, you know, are starting new businesses, they put so much work into that funnel, you create that free gift you write all these emails, you finally have it finished, it might have taken a couple of months to finally get it all pulled together.
And then it's like crickets because now like Okay, now it's how are we going to get people to your final, whole nother project that starts once that funnel is done, and they're like, but I thought the funnel was the project.
Becca 19:35
Yeah, it's always fun when you have that realization.
Gael Wood 19:41
You don't even know if it's worked until you get 200 people or so to put in their name and email addresses and see the results and if it doesn't work, back to the drawing board. And that's that's reality.
Becca 19:57
We're full circle back to business reality vs expectations.
Gael Wood 20:03
But at the same time I've also like, Okay, I'm in control of my attitude here. Like, you know what, let's just see what happens. And I really like to have that, try to maintain that kind of playful experimentation attitude. I just feel like that energy does attract more good things to my business than yes. You know, like that fear-based Oh, crap, it's not working.
Becca 20:29
So let's dive into this topic because I have some opinions on it. And I agree with you overall, I try not to, I'm not analytically minded personally. So I'm never looking at, you know, I'm never looking at data, I'm just gonna be honest, I'll own up to it. I don't look at data and my business, because it's not the way my brain functions. But having that attitude, like that playful attitude is important.
The other thing that I have found that is very important, I don't think I've talked about this on my podcast yet, is I just started pottery as a hobby. So literally, every Tuesday, I'm basically not working at all because I'm at my pottery studio, just like playing with dirt. And what I have recognized is, especially now that I'm full-time in my business, having something that I can accomplish, outside of the things I want to accomplish in my business, takes that stress away, it takes that need of achievement away.
And so that's one of my biggest coping mechanisms, like on the weeks where everything's going great, great. But on the weeks where things aren't going exactly the way I thought they would like, I go to pottery.
Gael Wood 21:47
It's not the full measure of whether or not you're, like a worthy human.
Becca 21:53
Right. And, then in some ways, it's like, no matter what I'm moving forward, it just depends on in what area of my life that week kind of thing. So that's one of my biggest coping mechanism mechanisms and like realizations of moving full time into my business, are there any other things that you personally do?
Because it can be a lot when your business is your whole life to to deal with those times where it's not going the way that you thought. So I'd love to hear what you do.
Gael Wood 22:23
I mean, I think another piece of that too, just to kind of go off what you're saying, too, is, you know, I'm not saying that it's like you shouldn't be disappointed when something doesn't work, of course. You know, definitely, like, have a good cry and stomp your feet. You know, don't throw your computer across the room.
Becca 22:47
No, that's an expensive entrepreneurial mistake.
Gael Wood 22:53
But like you said, like taking a break is amazing for your mental health. And, and often you'll get your idea of what went wrong, or what you could do next, or instead, during that break. So I think that they're definitely vital. Okay, can you bring me back to the question? Sure.
Becca 23:17
So basically, whenever things aren't maybe going the way that you expected them to go or taking longer than you thought you're not seeing that immediate payoff. Do you have any strategies that you employ in your business or in your life to, to kind of keep that level head to take a step back? Maintain your positive energy.
Gael Wood 23:36
Yeah, so definitely, you know, just, I give myself a reality check. Because, you know, often that thing working or not working, doesn't mean I had a successful month, or quarter or year, you know, so I really tried to remember that, like, yeah, there are just things that work and things that don't work. I want something a few weeks ago, not one person signed up, not one.
Becca 24:05
I've done that too, raising my hand. It's so common,
Gael Wood 24:09
that there was a little part of me that was like, Well, I you know, I either want 10 or more people or I really don't want anybody I don't want to run this program for two people.
Becca 24:20
I understand that too.
Gael Wood 24:22
I was energetically aligned with the program to begin with. My coach said to me, she was like, wow, you're powerful. You didn't let anybody but yeah, it's but I need I always try to remember that. Yeah, the next thing will probably work better. And just knowing that the things that don't work usually move you toward finding the right thing.
Like okay, well that one wasn't quite right. So what so I like to kind of reassess you know, when something doesn't work, like take a look at it, you know what, what may be He didn't resonate with the people on my email list. You know, what was I maybe wishy-washy about or unclear about? Because usually you can find something to learn from that and keep improving.
Becca 25:14
Yeah. I love that. You just said that because I think that's another thing that we don't always volunteer, I have had more than one idea that I've launched to crickets. And it's a normal part of the entrepreneurial experience. And people don't really always own up to it, because it's scary to look like. And I'm not saying I don't believe that this is a failure.
But it's scary to feel like you're putting yourself out there. In a way that seems like a failure to others. So we don't mention it. But I feel like this is why I love this podcast, because you can kind of peek behind the curtain and how long have you been in business?
Gael Wood 25:56
In some way, shape or form? Online since 2013?
Becca 26:00
Okay. Yeah. Nine years. Yeah. Nine years. And last week, there was something that didn't work the way you thought it would.
Gael Wood 26:07
Yeah, yeah. And I thought was amazing. I was like, people are gonna love this.
Becca 26:14
It's always the worst one that happens to you when you're so excited and think that it's like,
Gael Wood 26:21
sales page and I set up all this stuff like that about two full days to get everything ready to be like, here's the amazing thing. That was you know, I don't know, it could have been timing. It could have been just not something that worked. Right now, I have several theories about this particular launch. But yeah, you just never honestly really know in the end. Yeah. And sometimes it just comes down to numbers. Not enough of the right people saw it. Right.
Becca 26:57
And the other thing I love about this conversation, too, is, I think before I started going back to expectations versus reality, before I started my business, which has been in business about three years, a little over three years now. I assumed like maybe you come up with your first course your first offer, like maybe that flops because you don't know what you're doing. But then each one like goes a little better.
Yeah. And they always say success isn't linear. And I've always thought about it in terms of like, revenue isn't linear, which makes sense to me. But I love that. I don't know, I'm just having this realization too because I haven't, the majority of my business has been in web design. And I've just recently pivoted into coaching and having new offers. So one of my favs was earlier this year. But in my head, I guess I just made that assumption that like each launch gets better and better. And it doesn't. And that's okay.
Gael Wood 27:56
That'd be nice. Oh, my gosh, I'd have so many millions. That would be so. And then, but then you can have I have had these crazy, amazing wins. I have launched a marketing content club in late 2015. And it was just the right idea at the right time. I had 70 people sign up. Wow. But it was also an incredible price point. It was 995 a month. Geez. Right 70 people sign up. And I hadn't created one piece of content yet. Because I know myself and that's how I leveraged my energy is I promise it to people that I know it's gonna get made. And but it was really fun. And it was really exciting because that was my first recurring monthly and my first recurring income.
And I built that up over time to where it was, it was around 5000 a month for a while. Wow. And then I mean, five years though, I created comp monthly content packages and I just got burnt out. Yeah, I'm sure. But I actually sold all the content to people that want to run that type of business. Interesting. Yeah. So I sell my mind creation. And to me, that's one thing that's so mind-boggling. And that is probably one of my favorite things about online business. Digital products, I sell nothing
Becca 29:33
it's interesting when you put it that way.
Gael Wood 29:36
I just blew me away. I was like, I can make a PDF and charge people money. Yeah, a PDF I made on my computer. I was like, This is too good to be true. That's why I decided to try it. I was like, other people are doing this. Maybe I could do it too.
Becca 29:53
Yeah, absolutely. I feel like that speaks to the playful nature too that you had mentioned earlier. Like If everything is kind of a, what if like, what if this great thing could happen? What if this great response, you know, is the result, then it makes it so much easier to not be distracted, but to intentionally try new things.
Gael Wood 30:19
And you know, and I think that was part of the problem with that launch I just had, I think that that was from the energy of like, I've got to find a thing, I gotta find a new thing. That's gonna be my monthly recurring income. Did you just have too much? Like?
Becca 30:36
Did you just recently close the Content Club?
Gael Wood 30:39
Well, I closed the content club. It's been almost a year, it's been a little over a year. Okay. I had a Business Mastermind I ran for about two years in there as well. And I had a monthly challenge club I was running. And I just, I'll be honest with you, I got run out. And so I close those to do this new thing.
Becca 31:05
And then I love you guys can't see Gael right now. But she's seriously just cracking up this idea that all of her hard work flopped. And I just love that energy. Because when you're when you're excited to learn and try, and obviously, there's an element that like, there is a luxury to this, there's a luxury to be able to laugh at your failures and not have to have that income. And I totally recognize it, but the mindset of just having fun trying I feel like we forget sometimes as entrepreneurs, because everything seems so intense.
Gael Wood 31:46
Yeah, yeah. And I do, I do have a little bit of a cushion. Because like I said, I sold that marketing content. And so that gives me a little bit of money coming in. And I'm also one thing I'm really working on is leaning down my business. You know, I just me, and then I have two very part-time, Bas. That helped me with stuff because I've I've gone big on like, I'm going to get all this How are we going to do all this social media? And it just, it wasn't for me.
Becca 32:19
So let's talk about that. Before I ask my final question. I'm sneaking in one more. Because I know we have similar ideas on this idea of defining your own success. And for me, a big part of that is non-monetary success, and what do I want my life to look like and feel like? And so you I love that you've had this, this experience of I did the thing. And it didn't feel right, it didn't look right for me. So I'd love to hear your take on what was wrong with it. What did you learn you wanted instead?
Gael Wood 32:57
Yeah, so I mean, I think what I learned I wanted is to, to really be able to work part-time, you know, at least until my son's done with high school. And you know, the more the bigger your business grows, it just naturally takes more time, especially if you're managing four or five people. They're asking you questions all day. You know, I had more money going out for ads. So then it's like more pressure to work harder and make more money to pay the people and pay for that.
Wait a minute, I'm just bringing out the same amount every week. Whether I have yes or not. So that was kind of I kind of thought when I got to that point when I scaled up to that point that I would be making so much more money that it would be worth it. But I don't know what amount would be worth it. Yeah, not have my time to spend how I want.
Becca 33:54
That's a really good question for everybody to ask themselves.
Gael Wood 34:00
So yeah, look at things I've been thinking about this a lot, especially now. I've been homeschooling since the pandemic started. So two and a half years of homeschooling. Oh, wow. Now we have summer break, and then he's going to high school and I'm really like, Okay, this part of me is like, Yes, I can dig my teeth back into my business and do the things and then part of us like let's like really like in first of all, enjoy the summer and this time with my kid.
And then really think about what you know, what do I want my average Monday, Tuesday Wednesday to look like? You know, do I want to be done working when at 330 When I pick him up? Probably yeah. Yeah.
Becca 34:43
Do you want to go to pottery every Tuesday?
Gael Wood 34:44
Yeah. Go to a yoga class while he's in school, and stuff like that. And then And then really thinking about am I figured out for us for our family. When I can make about 1000 dollars a week. You know, my husband also works. He has a successful business. That is what kind of tips us into like, I feel like we just could do anything we want. Interesting, my number.
Yeah. And then I have kind of my low number is well, that being said, I don't really want to go under $500 A week pay myself less than that, because 500 keeps us really comfortable. I know that I have that coming in. My husband makes we're super comfortable. And that extra 500 A week like you can do it. That's a lot of vacations. Yeah, that's all, you know. A lot of extras. Yeah. So I kind of because I, you know, I really bought into all of that, like, millions and seven-figure businesses and all that kind of stuff. But when I really think about it, I'm like, I don't know, I don't know what to do with it. Be fun to have a beach house. But if I'm $1,000 a week, I can rent a house at the beach anytime I
Becca 36:03
want. True. Yeah, it's a lot better to maintain.
Gael Wood 36:09
You know, they get like 10.
Becca 36:14
So I just I really appreciate your transparency. Because a lot of people, I feel like if we're not talking about 10k months and six-figure businesses, we don't really hear the in-betweens. Yeah. And you're not the first person I was talking to leave them anonymous, because I'm volunteering, general information. But I was talking to someone earlier this week. And they had a similar sentiment they in their business it was if I can make $2,000 a month, that's all I need.
Yeah. And it's just, I feel like this is another expectations versus reality, kind of a conversation. Like, if you need more, you need more. And there's, you know, there's a whole other conversation to be had of figuring out what you need to survive, and then what you need to thrive, which is kind of how I break down my own personal financial goals. But the same would be said for me if I if I made probably 3 to $4000 a month, like, that's all I really need to do in my business. above that. It's icing on the cake, is that the right expression, but we don't really hear about people saying like, this is what I need. And this is what my goal is if it's not a 10k month,
Gael Wood 37:27
yeah. And then I just look at you know, I do have overheads, monthly expenses, and I pay, I'd say around $200 a week for virtual assistants. So I look at all that and I'm like, okay, $6000 a month. Six to $8000 a month is perfect. Really? Yeah. For my goals right now, they may change later. Right? And that's okay, too. Yeah.
Becca 37:56
Awesome. Well, I do I feel like we got a really great peek behind the scenes of your brain and how you approach your business and your goals and your time. And I really, really appreciate the candor because I know conversations like this helped me so much at the beginning of my business. So before we even dive into the last question, I just wanted to say thank you for being so open with all of us.
Gael Wood 38:24
Well, thank you. It's fun. I think it's really fun to kind of, like there's so much good and awesomeness about you know, doing your own thing and working on online. But, you know, it's a job. It still is a job.
Becca 38:40
Okay, are you ready for my favorite question? Yes. Okay, it is what bothers you? What would you like to see change in the business space in the world at large if you want to go that deep? What do we need to change for the better?
Gael Wood 38:58
You know, I just I think just false claims. And again, that's a lot of what your show is about. And I find I was saying just the other day to somebody like I think I could sell a lot more stuff if I just wide sales page and you're gonna get a reality check that I also feel like it will attract the right people. So and it's just never-ending. I am still on social media and even though I'm doing less on there, and when I scroll through, through Facebook, I even take screenshots of it. Sometimes I do these little ranty posts, but you know, just I have a $27 product and I made a million dollars last year. No, you didn’t.
Becca 39:47
Somebody had to say it a
Gael Wood 39:52
million dollars worth of it, but you did not make a million dollars right with that $27 product. Now you may have built an email As you may have sold a million dollars worth of it, but you probably spent $800,000 on ads, and $100,000 on an ad agency. And you might be able to leverage those email addresses into a million dollars next year, but I highly doubt it. Show me the numbers.
Becca 40:22
Oh my gosh, it is it's.
Gael Wood 40:24
And this same day, I saw another one that said they made some crazy $100,000 off one webinar. I'm like, No, you didn’t.
Becca 40:34
expectations versus reality
Gael Wood 40:38
$100,000 of sales off that webinar. But I ran Facebook ads for many, many, many years. And I know what it takes to fill up a webinar with 1000 people on your webinar. And that is probably close to $100,000. Yeah. Well,
Becca 41:00
I think in part where I see this, because here I go mentioning Tiktok, again, but my listeners know, I'm a huge fan of Tiktok, and one of the prevalent ideas and it's not new to Tiktok.
But I feel like it is so ingrained there that it's become like a monster of its own as having a hook on your video. And of course, we have hooks on Instagram posts and things like that. But people will go will say things in a way that's like partially true. Just because it catches your attention. Yeah.
And there's somebody that I follow who says, Some I make X humongous some off of Pinterest. And the way it reads is like you know, Pinterest has a creator program and all that stuff like directly from Pinterest. And then when she gets enough people saying, Tell us how tell us how then she does another explainer video where Pinterest is feeding to her website, and it's on services. Right? And so it's it's not technically wrong, if you want to ask her where those leads came from thought wrong. But it's not entirely true.
Gael Wood 42:13
Right? And is she boosting her Pinterest?
Becca 42:16
Who knows?
Gael Wood 42:17
Content? You know, that's what on my list is to try Pinterest ads for my eBooks, you know, to build my list and everything. Yeah. So. But yeah, but I kind of, I'm always like, Yeah, but But yeah, it's a story. Like you're there's a story there.
Becca 42:34
Yeah. So I actually had another guest on this show. Her name was Yuval, or her name still is Yuval. But she's an ethical copywriter. And we talked a lot about this idea of the intention behind your words and how to speak in a way that aligns with your values as a business. And if you guys haven't listened to that episode, I would highly recommend going back because this all kind of plays into it. Right? If you want to speak the truth, then you have to be super intentional, intentional, intentional about the words that you're using, whether it's written copy or Tik Tok videos or emails or anything along those lines.
Gael Wood 43:21
Yeah. And I think and I think it's, you know, I mean, I say on my website, like, yes, I've run six-figure businesses. But I make sure you know, to say like, I don't take home six figures, right? I don't, my business makes six figures. That's a totally different number. Right.
Becca 43:41
So absolutely.
Gael Wood 43:42
But you know, it's like, what, what do I get to do? Like, I don't set an alarm clock? Me 30 5am? Not me, I don't set alarm clock. Nope. I, you know, I do my own schedule. If I have a day where I want to go do something I block out the whole day. And off I go, you know, and I just think those things are worth so much more.
Becca 44:04
Absolutely. Yeah. Okay, I think we leave it at that. Because if I dive into it, I'm gonna ruin the center of it. So while we have you? Do you want to let everyone know where they can find you online? If you have any tools or resources that you want to tell us about? You can go ahead and do that. Yeah, so
Gael Wood 44:23
my website is elevate with Gael and Gael is GAEL. And then if you just go to my homepage, you will see my current free gift right now I have an ebook on decluttering your schedule. And I'm working on a new a new free gift more on the online business side of things. So hopefully that will be up there soon. But my current free stuff will be on my homepage because that's where that's the easiest thing to do when you're doing a lot of podcasts interviews. Perfect. Check out my blog and say hi in the comments and Yeah, awesome. Connect
Becca 45:00
Perfect, okay, and I'll make sure all of that, of course, is linked in the show notes. And Gael, thank you again for sharing your time sharing your thought process and being so open with us throughout this entire episode, I really enjoyed this conversation.
Gael Wood 45:15
Thank you so much. It's very fun.
Becca 45:17
I really don't think I've ever had a guest look at me and say, I only need to make this much money and announced the amount. And I respect Gael so much, because those are hard conversations to have. It's, it's tough to just put it all out there in a way that is so candid, and so open. And in a lot of ways against the grain of what we hear in this space.
So I am really curious because I know we did it again, where we covered so many topics in one show, which is why I love this show. But I'm really curious to hear from you all what was your favorite part? Just as a quick reminder, we talked about the experience you actually have as an entrepreneur versus the one that you're sold.
We also talked about the importance of the foundations in your business, and really got into business failures, too, which I think was my favorite part of the conversation. So, again, message me, let me know what you thought of today's episode. And I will see you next week.
All right, thank you so much for listening to this episode. As always, if you resonated with this conversation, if you would like to pass it along to a friend, I would be endlessly grateful. And if you want to subscribe or leave a review as well. That would make my day it would make my week if we're being honest. Until next week, this was probably bothered
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