Rachel’s story
At 16, Rachel had dreams of fame and fortune. But all that changed when one of her coworkers said she was joining the Marine Corps. Despite having asthma and only being 4’11” Rachel decided to do the same. She wanted to learn how to be fit and liked the idea of serving her country. She also wanted to prove to herself she could do it.
Rachel enlisted in the Reserves at 19 and four years later she was deployed to Iraq.
After serving her time on the front lines she was stationed at a hospital in Germany as part of the Marine Liaison Team. While caring for wounded warriors she developed a greater sense of empathy and was inspired by her patients’ determination to rebuild their lives.
“There was something very powerful about that job. I remember thinking that when I’m done with this job I really want to do something meaningful. I want to help people achieve those unfulfilled dreams.”
However, before Rachel pursued that dream she needed to get her life in order. She was $40,000 in debt and weighed down by failed relationships and a fear of failure. So she decided to invest in herself and hire a life coach. Within one year she was out of debt and had met the man she would go on to marry.
It was this experience that showed Rachel her true calling. She wanted to help others find confidence and clarity, like her coach had done for her, so they could pursue their dreams and live the lives they were meant to.
Starting her business
While still in the Marines, Rachel began pursuing her life coaching certification. During this time she also got pregnant. Because she and her partner weren’t married there was no guarantee they would be stationed together. So, she left the Marines Corps with an honorable discharge and began working as a civilian.
However, she quickly realized that on-base work was not something she was passionate about. At this point she had a decision to make: she could keep working for minimum wage doing a job she didn’t love, or she could bet on herself and pursue life coaching full-time. Rachel chose the latter and left her job to start her own business.
She knew there was a big opportunity to sell her services online, but she didn’t have any experience with digital marketing. She found a course on how to start an online business, but there was just one problem—it cost $2,000 and she only had a $1,500 limit on her credit card.
Rachel decided to take a risk and buy the course anyway. She knew she could make the first three payments and would figure out how to make the final payment later. The decision paid off. Six weeks later, she had made $4,000 and her business was off and running.
“There’s something to be said about just giving yourself permission to take a chance and figure it out.”
Having to start all over again
Rachel completed her life coaching certification (and would later go on to become a certified master neuroscience coach) and started growing her business. She used Facebook to promote her services and her online following began to grow.
In fact, one of her followers liked her content so much that they offered to build her a website. Now with her own platform, Rachel started producing even more content. She filled the site with blogs and resources, and this became a big part of her digital marketing strategy.
In 2014 she had amassed an impressive content library and it seemed like nothing could slow her down. That is, until her website got hacked.
Initially, Rachel hoped the site could be saved, but after consulting with several experts she learned that the hack job was so bad that nothing could be done. Her website, and all of her content, were lost forever.
It would cost her $5,000 to hire a developer to replace her website. But did she really want to spend all that money to build a site, only to be hacked again? So, she decided to go a different route.
She used Leadpages’ Landing Page Builder to establish a new online home for her business (Leadpages now offers a Website Builder so you can create entire websites). Not only was the cost affordable, but the platform was easy to use—even for someone who didn’t know anything about coding or web design. This meant she was able to create and update web pages all by herself without the need to hire expensive developers.
“My Leadpages site did everything I needed it to do. It collected leads, it was a place for people to contact me, and it was a place for me to share my thoughts. It was like my digital calling card. It put me back in motion.”
With a new site in place, Rachel got back to work and continued growing her business.
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Finding her niche
Rachel had always loved journaling, and when she began pursuing a career in life coaching she developed what she would later dub the Faith Activated Journaling Method. Her clients would often ask her about journaling and she would happily offer them advice. Eventually, Rachel started to wonder if a course around journaling was something worth pursuing.
She also received some interesting insights from her clients. After asking them what was the number one benefit they received from her services (besides making more money) they all said the same thing—more confidence.
At this point, Rachel felt like she was narrowing in on her niche. But when she told her mentor how she wanted to teach journaling and confidence she was told she would never make any money doing that. She approached another mentor with the idea and was told the same thing.
So, Rachel continued to teach the thing everyone told her to—sales. And while she was extremely good at sales, she felt like she wasn’t being true to herself.
Interestingly enough, it was through practicing her own journaling method that she realized she needed to work on the things she was truly passionate about. So, she finally launched her first journaling program in 2018. She knew a few people were interested, but she was pleasantly surprised when she received 103 registrations.
Buoyed by this success, Rachel decided to aim even bigger and create her own event around building confidence. Again, she was told it would never work. She was also told she’d have to choose between keeping the production value low and making a profit, or creating a high-value event and losing money.
Rachel refused to believe any of this to be true. She turned her vision into a reality, and her event, Confidence Activated, delivered an exceptional experience and went on to generate $90,000 in cash revenue.
Practicing what she preaches
Rachel believes the journey of life rarely takes a straight path. There are many ups and downs and twists and turns. Just three days after the first Confidence Activated event Rachel discovered a lump.
She went to the doctor, and while concerned they told her she could wait for a biopsy. But Rachel didn’t accept that answer. She had the confidence to advocate for herself and seek second opinions. Just like she had the confidence to take her business in a new direction when everyone told her it would never work.
When Rachel finally got a biopsy her worst fears were confirmed. It was breast cancer—more specifically triple-negative breast cancer, the most aggressive type. Luckily, it was caught in time and, thanks to the money she made from Confidence Activated, she was able to receive treatment quickly and is now cancer-free.
Rachel doesn’t just talk about confidence. She lives it, and her story shows just how powerful a tool it can be, both in business and in life.
Challenges
After Rachel’s website was hacked, security was of the utmost importance to her. She needed a platform that reduced the risk of hacking and kept her content safe.
She also wanted something that was affordable. Hiring a developer to build a landing page from scratch is expensive, and that doesn’t include any future updates and changes.
Speaking of updating pages, Rachel wanted a tool she could use herself. During one previous product launch, her assistant went MIA, and when she needed to make changes to keep things on track she wasn’t able to. She vowed to never be in that situation again, so she wanted any technology she used for her business to be something she could use herself.
Finally, Rachel needed high-converting pages for her various products and services, and she wanted a way to track her results so she could continue to optimize her pages.
How Leadpages helped
Security
Leadpages utilizes SSL and HTTPS protocols to secure all pages. The software also updates automatically, unlike WordPress that requires manual updates (and if you forget or miss the update notification you could leave yourself vulnerable to attack). Also unlike WordPress, Leadpages is neither a CMS nor open-source, and as a result is less prone to nefarious attacks.
Affordable
Leadpages plans start at just $37 per month (when paying annually) which is a lot more affordable than hiring a developer for $5,000 for a one-and-done service.
User-friendly
The Drag & Drop Builder is designed to be easy to use, whether you’re a web designer or a complete beginner. This meant Rachel could build new pages and make updates all on her own without having to depend on others, and at a fraction of the time.
High conversion rates
All of Leadpages’ templates are designed with conversions in mind. Plus, the Leadmeter gives you real-time optimization tips as you build your page to ensure you maximize your leads and sales. This made it easy for Rachel to build promotional landing pages that delivered the results she was looking for.
Analytics
The Leadpages dashboard tracks visitors, leads, and conversion rates. This meant Rachel always knew exactly how her pages were performing and could make changes accordingly.
“I still use Leadpages for my lead capture because I understand it, I like the data, and it’s so much easier to integrate than other solutions.”
Rachel’s Results
$90,000 from 1 event
Rachel used Leadpages to promote Confidence Activated, which ended up exceeding expectations and has become an annual event, and a big part of her business.
Conversion rates as high as 78%
Thanks to Leadpages’ high converting templates and easy-to-use conversion tools, Rachel is able to consistently generate more leads at a very high rate.
How she uses Leadpages
Landing pages
Rachel uses Leadpages landing pages to promote all her opt-in offers, video trainings, workshops, and master classes. The Drag & Drop Builder allows her to quickly launch a new page any time she has an idea for a fresh promotion.
Websites
Rachel also uses Leadpages to host the website for Confidence Activated. The site includes information about the event, testimonials, videos, and more.
What’s next for Rachel?
The 2022 installment of Confidence Activated is taking place in October in Orlando, Florida (we’re excited to join her!). Rachel is very excited to get back to hosting live events to impact her audience in person. She also recently finalized a six-figure deal with HarperOne for her book Permission to Offend, which will be released on February 7, 2023.
We look forward to seeing where Rachel’s entrepreneurial journey takes her next!
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