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Andrea Nordling 0:00
Welcome back to the profitable nutritionist Podcast. Today, you are going to meet one of my students done thought Heimer, who I just had the best conversation with about many different things. But we just at the end, we were debating what to call this episode. It could be it's not a problem. That's a leading contender, you'll understand as he listened to it, or it could be called behind the magic curtain. That was another leading contender for titles for this episode. I'm telling you, we just had the best conversation that is going to be so valuable for you. If you are at the stage of your business, I think at any stage of your business, but especially at the beginning stages of your business where you are trying to figure out what is normal. And what is a problem. If people are ghosting you, if people are asking for refunds if people are saying no, if people are saying yes, and then they're ghosting, is it normal? What's happening? We talk all about it. I think Don has some really good gems to share about the last two years of her business, but specifically in the last six months since she joined the profitable nutritionist program, which she talked about quite a bit. And she didn't know this when we were recording the episode. But it was a perfect timing for her to do such a lovely commercial for the program. Because if you do not know the profitable nutritionist program is currently open for enrollment when this episode is live. So if you're listening to this in real time, you have until midnight on March 8, which is tomorrow from the day this comes out for you to enroll in the program. And the program is only open for enrollment a few times a year. So do not delay, you get all of the information on what's included, including your links at Build a Profitable practice.com/join J o i n. And like I said dawn had a lot to say about the program. She She called it behind the magic curtain. She wanted to tell people about things that we do secret things that we do inside that have been really helpful for her. And I know that you are going to love hearing the perspective of someone who is really living their craft. And I think that she does such a wonderful job of this. She truly is invested in her clients and in making the experience that they have with her as impactful as possible. And just like really being genuine, and having a lot of integrity in what she's selling what she's delivering, which you are going to hear about, obviously, as she explains what's been going on in her business. Spoiler, it is early February, and she has signed as many clients in February as she did in all of 2022 put together so she has a lot to say I won't I'm not gonna give away any spoilers Other than that, that is it that you're gonna get from you have to listen to this episode. Thank you, Don, for coming on and sharing with us. And enjoy. So, Don, thank you for coming on the podcast today. It was rather short notice, but I'm so glad that you did because I have to give a little backstory. So Don was posting in the profitable nutritionists community group today. We call it the lounge. So if I referenced the lounge, in this episode, I'm talking about our private community for the program. And the last, I mean, the last few weeks has been you've had a lot of updates about things going on in your business. But yesterday, I saw posts that you had posted about recently like, I mean, I'll let you tell the story. But you've had like several clients coming back from before that didn't sign up before. And then they did. And I was just like, oh, we have to talk about this. So I invited down on the on the podcast on short notice. She said she gets bored. She's like, sure. Okay. And so here we are. I would love it. If you could tell us a little bit about kind of the evolution of your business, how you got to the point where you're at right now, just like give us some backstory. I mean, everyone wants to know the story of how you got to where you are.

Dawn Thalheimer 3:50
Everybody wants a backstory. It's hard to know how far like how far do you go back? But let's do the last two years backstory. Okay, so part of my background will give it a chunk over here was in personal training. So I was going to the gym, doing all the things. I'm like, Oh, this would be a nice side hustle. I could be a personal trainer, you know, that seems like a good idea. So I did my certification in that. And I've been doing that almost 10 years now, sort of as a side job. And then it became a lot of going back and forth. It involves a lot of travel back and forth to the gyms or to people's homes. So it's not very time efficient for me. And my life is pretty. I don't like to use the word busy. That has a negative connotation. My life is very full. I'm a full time taxi driver for my children. So it just was not efficient. So I came to kind of a crossroads where where do I want to go going forward? And so I thought that going into nutrition coaching was sort of a natural complement to what I was already doing. And it gave that piece to my clients that they were missing, a lot of women going to the gym all the time working out all the time, but not seeing the results that they wanted, because they were missing that other part. So throughout 2020, I spent that year doing the nutrition certification with the I have then becoming a remote worker sort of regaining back my time, and then with the long term vision of being able to sit on a beach and work is that all our dreams, like, we're always on a beach. We're never never, you know, in a basement, we're always we're always on a beach working. That's that's the goal. So yeah, long term goal, my youngest son has like four more years of school, and then my husband and I will, I don't know, be in the south of France. This is what we'll be doing. So So I took that certification and in 2020, and on in 2021, like January, I put up my website like you do, and it's like, oh, all the people are just gonna come like, here they come. And then you're just waiting, and they don't. And you're like,

Andrea Nordling 6:15
that's where this thing I personally want St. Where are you?

Dawn Thalheimer 6:20
Don't they know? I'm sure I have all the SEOs Don't they know that I'm there. And so that is probably where I found you would be through your website in a weekend course. Okay, I'm imagining I remember sitting on a McDonald's somewhere at some sports tournament working on my website in a weekend. Yeah. So I think that's, that's, that's where I found you. Yeah. And so do we want to go forward from there? I don't know.

Andrea Nordling 6:50
Yeah. So then we email back and forth. I remember there were several enrollment periods of the profitable nutritious program where was open, and you were emailing we were talking Have you guys done is super fun to she also sent me a pirate flag. And I said, we weren't gonna talk about politics on this episode. So we're not, but we're just gonna say that were kindred spirits. she could, she could feel it, I could feel it. And I got a present from her in the mail, which was like the most unexpected and fun thing ever. Anyway, so but that was before she was a client. So that was fun. And we had been emailing back and forth. She had questions about the program. So it was took several rounds for you to enroll. Do you want to talk about that at all? I think that that's kind of like thinking about the sales psychology of somebody making a big purchase or making a big investment in their goals. I think it's pertinent to our conversation and thinking about clients. So I just would love your

Dawn Thalheimer 7:37
I think so. Because I think we talk a lot about that in the program, how your clients are often a reflection of you. And I think specifically for me, because I am a coach in a different way. I'm a nutrition coach, I see that parallel between my clients struggling, and the same struggles that I have as a business. I think when I came she at one point, I had hired a business coach, I had invested quite a bit in a business coach that summer of 2021. And I was like, but Andrea, I've already invested in this coach, like, like, oh, like, I've already spent all this money, you know, and I haven't got it back. And why will you be different? And it's sort of like, Yep, I've heard so many of that from my clients. Oh, I've already tried this weight loss program. I've already tried this diet, how will working with you be different? And so I think even you said to the said that to me, and one of the one of the things you're like, but having your clients said that too before? Yes.

Andrea Nordling 8:42
So how did you answer that for yourself? Like, how is it different?

Dawn Thalheimer 8:45
So yeah, but it was that that same parallel, and you just I think you have to trust that it that it was different, and I just had to decide, I'm a real Stickler, the decide part is a real is a real tough one. For me, I just had to decide that this was the best fit. For me moving forward and growing my business. And at a game when I set out an analogy of my clients, like your environment is super important to you, you know, their environment needs to support their weight loss journey, they need to physically be in an environment that doesn't have cookies and candy all around them. But also you need that environment of people that are like minded, that are working towards similar goals as you and having a coach on the outside that can challenge your thoughts and offer suggestions and and sort of guide that process. So I know how important it is for my clients to have a coach and so I know vice versa, that it's important for me to have that too. So I was just like, we'll figure it out. Like we'll figure out like

Andrea Nordling 9:54
you're in different even if it's like what I've been what what's going to be different about this sounds like But I'm different now. I'm different now is the time I'm making the decision. I'm different. That could just be reason enough. I've, as you were saying that that's what was coming across from me. I'm like, I want to tell that to anyone who's thinking about their clients, or their decisions that they're making you just maybe just hear different now. That's it, I think it would be different.

Dawn Thalheimer 10:16
I think I needed to, like, really struggle in order to go, oh, shoot, and I did the same thing that people will do that where they'll be like, Oh, I'll be ready next week, or I'll be ready next month, or I'm not quite ready now. And I would push it over, and then I would have little games that I would play. Okay, well, I'll make the money ahead of time to pay for this program. So that I don't feel like I'm out of pocket like, Okay, if you want to be in this program, you've got to go out and hustle, and you have to earn it. Instead of going, why don't they just pay for it now? And then I'll earn it on the other side. Yeah,

Andrea Nordling 10:57
it'd be so much easier, turn it like our clients, right? It's like your client coming to you and being like, Okay, listen, Don, I really want to hire you, but I'm gonna go figure out how to do a pull up first, and then I'll be ready. And then

Dawn Thalheimer 11:07
I'll be ready. And then I'll be ready. And you sit there and you'd look back. And you're like, Oh, but I just wish Andrew was the first person that I found. Like, that's all I kept repeating that and it's like, well, that that's not served that thought wasn't serving me like that time has gone. Just, you know, she's here now. Here we go. Let's go.

Andrea Nordling 11:29
Yeah. Okay, so let's talk about since you joined the program, and like what kind of has happened for you since then I think I always get feedback on these types of interviews, where I'm interviewing students, they're like, I love to hear what it's like in there. And I'm like, well come in and find. But from your experience, like, I know that your business has changed quite a bit in the last six months or so. And you just, I mean, maybe you don't see it that way. But I feel like as your coach, like watching the way that you talk about your business has changed a lot in the six months. So maybe I should lead with that. And then let you kind of talk about what that has felt like on your end, like what's

Dawn Thalheimer 12:05
behind the magic curtains? What's behind people? Yeah. And I like that, that during clients week, which is upcoming now for us, depending on where everybody is that you do show a little bit of how you teach, right, you do share a little bit of, you know, this is how I teach. And this is, you know, part of the things that you'll learn. But I don't think that people fully see the sense of community that happens on the inside the, the the lounge that we have, where people are posting their journeys, and sharing their stories, and going through all these things so that you're not reinventing the wheel all the time. You know, we I think we talk a lot different members are going to some kind of convention or Wellness Fair, where they're, you know, where they have a table? And what should I put on my table or those kinds of things. And so people that have done it before, are just sharing that. So you don't have to go out and resource all of this over again. We've done it, here's what we've done. So it's a collective mind of people that are Oh, yeah, you know, you need your website built, or you need to design this, or you need this back end piece. Or I've done it. I'll share that with you. Right. So

Andrea Nordling 13:31
something like that recently, in a comment somewhere in there where you said, like a situation had come up with a client. And you felt like you had already lived through it, even though you hadn't just because you had watched other people be coached on it. Or you had heard other people talking about the same scenario. I don't remember what the specifics of what it was. But I was like, Oh, it's so true. You felt like you already did it?

Dawn Thalheimer 13:50
I think so. I'm trying to remember what it was. I know we've talked a lot about people when they get to the to the end of a contract or it's coming up, you know, that renewal process. You just like, oh, yeah, yeah, people have done this. They've talked about this. I know how to handle this. I don't have to spend my wheels on it. There's been there's been a few things on that. Where, yeah, where it's like, oh, yeah, we've talked about this, you know, when you go back and listen to old coaching calls, and I think that's one of the first things I did when I joined was I went right back to the beginning recordings of when the program started. And I listened to all of those, and I followed all the journeys of these members

so far in it, so you have all that

experience. That's, you know, you're like, Okay, I'm putting that in my backpack. I didn't have to go through it. But now I can take it forward with me, right.

Andrea Nordling 14:44
Oh my gosh, that's so good. I didn't have to go through it. I know that's gonna be a Mic drop. I love that.

Dawn Thalheimer 14:52
Like, you don't have to go through it. It's sort of like having, you know, I mean, sometimes you do have to experience it, but it's like having your parents It's like, Oh, yeah. You know, last time I didn't press the button to cross the road, you know, car almost hit me. So how about I just teach you that? And you don't have to experience that yourself?

Andrea Nordling 15:10
Yeah, no, it's totally true. Yeah. And it just normalizes these normal things happen. People asking for refunds, people flaking on appointments, people getting cold feet and canceling at the last minute, I just all of the things that happen that if, if you're in your own bubble, it feels catastrophic and feel. Easily you could think I'm doing everything wrong. What am I doing wrong? And then when you're amidst a bunch of successful people are like, oh, yeah, that happens. Yeah, yep. You're on the right track.

You're gonna get? Yeah. Are you failing? Yes, keep

going, keep going, keep going. It's great.

Dawn Thalheimer 15:43
And I think you're right, it totally makes it like, oh, this happens to everybody, not just me. It's not a problem. If you join this program, you will, in the back of your mind, just hear Andrea saying it's not a problem all the time. I now think to my kids, my poor kids, they're like stressed about homework. No, it's not a problem. It's not a problem. We need shirts. Pretty sure it's not a problem.

Andrea Nordling 16:08
You're just confused. It's not a problem. Not a problem. Okay, so things have changed for you like in the way that you approach? Problem solving or approach? Like, what is the problem? What isn't a problem? I think I've seen that just over the last six months. What What else have you seen, I just love hearing this so much.

Dawn Thalheimer 16:28
So so many things. So I'm a big Dweller in the decide, that decide I will be in a store and there'll be like a purple towel and a brown towel and I could be 20 minutes. I can't decide, I can't decide. And so that is a huge growth part that I've had over this program is just decide, yeah, and then circle back later, if it doesn't work the whole? Well, you have it behind you like the divide into action and

Andrea Nordling 16:58
rebellion. This is a three step process. A three step process.

Dawn Thalheimer 17:03
Yeah, just decide on one thing like that is not helpful to sit in the decide. Just decide on one thing, move on, did that work? circle back. And again, this ties back to, you know, to when I when I coach people, it's like, okay, you know, here's your nutrition plan, here's how we're going to work. We're going to do this for a couple of weeks. And we're gonna see if it's working. And if it's not, we're going to tweak it. And then we're going to, you know, make it better, whatever. So that decide part was very big for me. And I feel like I've been Yeah, made some huge strides in the deciding.

Andrea Nordling 17:43
Yeah, and then obviously helping your clients to do that to to move through their indecision faster, the faster you process that and you get comfortable with it, then obviously, you can guide people through that faster as well.

Dawn Thalheimer 17:53
Yep. And also being being resourceful. I was a real, like, tell me what to do. No, just tell me exactly what to do. And you're like, No, I won't do that. What I remember, I remember being in a car and one of your podcasts where you said, you know, oh, I don't know the how, like, I don't know how it's gonna happen. And I was devastated. I thought, no, no, no, no. I'm gonna hire you. So you can tell me exactly how, how? No, no, you're going to be resourceful. You're going to figure out the how. It really shocked me. If it shook me to my core. No, you need to tell me exactly how please.

Andrea Nordling 18:39
Three so happy. I love it so much. Oh, yes. Spoiler, I'm not going to tell you how. Right? Yes. And we're going to figure out why you're not coming up with the house. But I'm not going to tell you how. Because you already know how or you have some ideas about what the house might be.

Dawn Thalheimer 18:54
Yeah, under for that, that was just like a real like that really got to that really caused a lot of hesitation in me being really fearful of the how, and and I think we talked about this on a coaching call a little while ago, like, I had really big ideas. You had a fancy word for it about how people were going to come to me and how they were going to find me. Was it okay, if I still did personal training and people found me that way? You know, those were real blocks for me because I sort of was like, now I'm this and I'm no longer that. Yeah, like can there

Andrea Nordling 19:29
be crossover? Can it be an in between? Am I doing it right? Is that wrong? Do these not count?

Dawn Thalheimer 19:35
Yes. Yeah. Does it not count? Like when I did my financial evaluation? Well, does it count if these people are over here in the personal training realm versus over here in my new business when my offer what counts? Like, why are you wasting time? Does it even matter? Does it matter what counts?

Andrea Nordling 19:58
Like this is your fun disk. question to think about why do we make that matter? Because it feels so familiar to worry about if I'm doing it right. You know what, like, we all have our own patterns. Mine is, I always think I'm behind. I'm always behind, like, I should be doing this faster can't celebrate enough because I should have already had it done by now I can, you know, that's like my pattern, but I think it can also a very common one I see a lot is like, but is it right? Am I doing it? Right? Like, okay, I'm doing it. But am I doing it? Right. So if that's a pattern for you, I bet it shows up all over the place. I know mine Sure does. And it's just like, here we are, again, for the fifth time today having that same thought.

Okay, brain Thank you have.

Dawn Thalheimer 20:36
And is it perfect, right? Is it perfect? Is it perfect? Like, let's let's turn this email. let's reread and reread and is it perfect is a perfect if it's not perfect? I can't send it and it's like,

Andrea Nordling 20:48
yeah, it's not right. If it's not perfect, for sure. Yeah.

Dawn Thalheimer 20:51
Yeah, if it's not perfect. Yeah. So those are some things that once you release that, once you take that away, and you go imperfect is better than nothing. Which again, is the same for my clients. If you don't work out for an hour today, and you only do 15 minutes, that is better than zero, every time, every time something is better than nothing every time. And so yeah, so it's not going to be perfect. That's okay. They're not all going to be winners. We're just gonna keep hitting them.

Andrea Nordling 21:27
Keep going, keep going, which you have done in your imperfect kind of still personal training, people interested kind of nutrition, messy in the middle of this, all of it has been working for you. So let's fast forward. Well, maybe I'm skipping critical things. If I am, we can go back. But I wanted to talk about the 3k in 30 days challenge with you a little bit.

Dawn Thalheimer 21:48
So it was so weird, because I got to kind of go back to like, December, when I was and I'm trying to think when we had we had this conversation. I think it was back in December about like, stop worrying about how people are coming. Like, let go of that. Do whatever and stop making rules for how you'd

Andrea Nordling 22:10
be surprised every time they show up. Like that's weird.

Dawn Thalheimer 22:15
It's so strange. And so I went into January super pumped on the 3k in 30 days, I have like my little my little journal here with all the days I got a special a special journal slay girl

Andrea Nordling 22:27
slay. I love it. Yeah. Okay, so a little background for people that don't know what the 3k 30 days challenge is, it is a challenge that we do inside the program twice a year, where everyone is working on a goal, like an income goal in a 30 day timeframe. And I suggest 3k Unless you have a bigger goal. Some people have bigger goals. But this just amazing thing happens when you have an actual number and an actual timeline and then your brain completely melts down. So that's what we do we introduce the that into the equation and then we watch our brains melt down and we figure out what's happening behind the scenes, which is super fun is that is that

it's so fun when your brain melts down. That's

completely so that's the challenge that we're talking about.

Dawn Thalheimer 23:12
So that's, that's, that's the challenge that we do. And so daily, you do these things. And then in the lounge, which we love people post what they've done and their thoughts and everybody shares and some people share a lot and some people just go in and observe. So you know, every you don't have to if you're not a big sharer, you don't need to be afraid that you know, oh yeah, I've got to go in there and do this. No, a lot of people are just looking and maybe, you know, commenting, or just liking something or whatever. So some people share more than others. So I did this whole thing in January and it was like it was it was crickets there was there was nothing, nothing. Nothing happening. I was doing the challenge. I was doing the challenge. I was doing my thing nothing happened. And then February was like I was just walking around like February's the new January people, all of the people are coming. And they came from all over the place. Like there was not a common Oh, they came from my website or they came from my gym or they came from is the people came from all over. They crawled out from under the rug

Andrea Nordling 24:24
under the rocks. They were slithering towards you at a rapid rate from all the places they were coming.

Dawn Thalheimer 24:29
And because of what we had talked about, some people came and one person was like, not into the nutrition part but one of the personal training. Okay, let's just do that. Like, whatever. People came different ways. And I offered them what they wanted. Sometimes, you know, I would offer them my program, and sometimes they didn't want that they just wanted the personal training piece. Okay, let's just do that. So just saying yes to all All these people for what they wanted, and getting them in my world. And then, and then I did have, you know, I've started to have now people come on in my nutrition coaching with my offer, I've had as many in February as I had all of last year. So, so it's just like it's just exploded. And I think I've always known in the back of my mind that once this starts going, it's going to be like a snowball down the hill, like, I know that and I feel that it was just I didn't know how to start the Snowball.

Andrea Nordling 25:42
Snowball, it's just it, it's seriously just from keep going, keep showing up, keep, keep going. And then it just happens and the people are talking and they come out from under the rocks. And now they I'm gonna be very curious. So you're gonna have to keep me posted on this, how many of the people that think they just want to start with personal training now eventually come back as nutrition clients, because I hypothesize that they will.

Dawn Thalheimer 26:05
And that, for me is, is where people see the big change. And it was interesting. I had, of course, one of my many new clients. But a new gal just came on. I've done three, three weeks with her three coaching sessions. And she said to me this week, she has a friend who she works out with. And she, you know, it's like, oh, I have this new coach that did it. And she's told her friend and shared with me and she said, I got my value out of what I invested in the first coaching session. Day one.

Yes.

Right. So like, good. Yeah, I'm like, furiously writing that down in my notes. Absolutely. But it's

Andrea Nordling 26:51
what she's sharing that with you. So of course, you sharing that with so many other people? Yeah.

Dawn Thalheimer 26:57
So, you know, this is you want great things for these people. Like I want great things for my clients for themselves, you know, and also so that they can share that. So other people know that it's possible, they know that it's possible for them, I work a lot with women sort of in the pre menopausal postmenopausal area where they just feel so stuck, and nothing is working. And they just feel like, well, that that's it for me, right. And so when you have somebody that that does the work and shows them what is possible, and changes their relationship with themselves. And with food, it's huge, right? It goes beyond they come for the scale, they come for the for the weight loss for the results there. But when you see that it changes their relationship with food, and their mindset around it, that's a huge win, for me,

Andrea Nordling 27:58
a huge win. And of course, they're going to be talking about that to anyone that like, I always think I mean, of course, I could be talking about that result. But the little, just the little seeds that we plant in conversations with people where we connect dots that we assume that they've already connected, and they absolutely 100% have not connected the dots about maybe your insomnia is connected to something else going in your body or this, you know, just these things that when you're surrounded in the world that we most of us are in, we take for granted that people really don't know that stuff. So within your coaching calls, as you're dropping these little seeds, like I'm sure that you are like think about how many conversations that person leaves and has in their life that will eventually come back to you or him or not. And if they don't, that's fine, too. But just these things, we think it has to be such a profound, like teaching. It has to be so structured, we have to like say the right thing, and it's like, but you don't know what that one thing is that just unlock something for someone and connect the dots that they seriously had no idea about. I have so many people in my life. So many times people have said to me, how do I find like the underground network that you're in? I'm like, Tell me more. Tell me more. And they're like, you know, like the people that you know, to work with that the rest of us we don't even know where to find them. Like that's so interesting. Like, how fascinating is that? I've had so many conversations about this where people are like Tom, tell me who I need to call because I don't know how to find this person. If that is true, it's it is like a secret for a lot of different reasons. And of course we could talk about that too, which we won't but that it is like a secret. It feels like a secret society like I have my information that could unlock it for you but you got to know the secret password to get into the speakeasy first and I'm just not sharing that with everybody.

Dawn Thalheimer 29:47
But But so often it is like that right? Like like people are looking for for the magic, right? Like they just want that magic pill. My clients are looking for this this oh you know like they We'll see on the Instagram or the tech talks or whatever this person says you must do X, Y, and Z if you fast for 20 hours. Oh, that we it's just gonna melt off, right? It's always melts off. And in my mind, it sure does. And it's like magical. And I think people feel the same for the business like, oh, you know, this person's going to tell me exactly the secret magic formula for the millions. Yeah, and really, it's just show up and do the work. People

Andrea Nordling 30:33
do the boring stuff that would be really easy not to do

Dawn Thalheimer 30:37
it make it simple, right? And I think this is what you're so good at. It's, you know, what would this look like? If it were simple? Why are you doing the song and dance upside down chewing gum and cartwheeling? When you could just make it easy? Make it easy for you and for them? Yeah, make it easy for everybody. And this is really the same conversations I have with my people like, oh, friend, like it does not need to be all of those things.

Andrea Nordling 31:09
No. I think on a from a business standpoint, for a lot of health and wellness professionals, they think it has to be so complicated because they think this simple stuff isn't working. And in reality, it comes back to like, no, those people just seriously don't know what you do. And they don't know how to find you. They think it's the speakeasy that they don't have the password to. And you're imagining that if they if they wanted it, they would have asked if they wanted it. And it's like, no, they actually don't know that you help with heartburn. Like they they don't know that that's the thing that they should call you about. You should probably tell them that they have no idea what you do.

Dawn Thalheimer 31:41
And I think that that is a lot of what we see people struggling with in the lounge is people really, and I think this goes to my big aha moment with Stacey Bateman is just like, go out and meet people and tell them what you do and offer to help them like three things.

Andrea Nordling 32:01
Right and stuff. Yes,

Dawn Thalheimer 32:03
that is really what 90% of it should be. And I think everybody has a little bit of impostor syndrome. They're just starting out. What you know, am I going to be salesy am I going to seem you know, like, pushy if I tell people what I do, and you may be tell them, I could help them. Right? I'm so, so daring.

It's like, it's like if you're going

Andrea Nordling 32:31
on a date with someone, which is very hard for me to even remember back in those days, but like going on a date with someone and then getting to the point where, like, everyone's enjoying the date, like, you want to go out again. And then there's like, five that everyone just leaves like, Well, that was rather unsatisfying. Okay, I guess. That's what I imagined it when we stopped short of saying, and I can help you with this, like not asking for the date, like everybody wants the next day here. Come on, let's keep going. It's so funny. And I

Dawn Thalheimer 33:03
had like, every Friday, I teach at a gym, I have like a microphone and a stage, I have a headset, I have an audience literally on stage, I am on stage with an audience. And I'm like, oh, would it be okay. If I offered to these people that clearly care about their health and wellness that clearly are showing up? Would it be okay, if I told them that I do.

Andrea Nordling 33:31
I think it would be okay. We could be a really good idea. And they probably like in a lot. Yeah. And then

Dawn Thalheimer 33:36
like and then again, it was like in January or February like I was like, hey, and I've made an alliance with that gym. I'm offering a different program to them. So that gave me like, Oh, I'm legitimately can offer this. I'm like, Hey, I have this new program. And I offer you know, this and this and this and literally coming out of the gym downstairs. The girl the friend is like, Oh, I have this post it from this lady who's in your class, she'd like to talk to you.

super weird. She wants to go weird.

Andrea Nordling 34:07
I said, I do this thing. I can help you

solve your problem that you're trying to find the solution for actually have that solution. You're here's how we do it. Make it so complicated, isn't it? So fun? Just smart brains. Just so predictable.

Dawn Thalheimer 34:24
So I think we do talk about this a little bit backstage behind the secret Carter, that you all could be part of. We talked about how when people look and I think this is particularly in social media or other businesses, they're looking at somebody that has been doing this for five years for 10 years. And they're looking at that journey and they're comparing it to their own. They're looking at what those people might be posting on social media and comparing it to what they're doing and it's like, but they're not where you're at their

Andrea Nordling 34:59
lives. If they're beginning, are you gonna look at their middle? Yeah, they have a

Dawn Thalheimer 35:03
whole team of people. They're not they're not they're posting on the Instagrams are doing that they have people for that. So losing that comparing to other people and what they're doing and what they're offering and, and knowing that, oh, but those, those people are not starting out, this is not your one or two for those people. You know, you don't just get to go to the gym once and be ripped, you don't just get to send one email out and be like, Oh, no, I'm so famous. All the people want me teach me though, teach me. But

Andrea Nordling 35:41
honestly, you wouldn't want to. I mean, we, we think that we would want to, but then really what happens is, I mean, we know if we're not that good at something, and we don't actually want all of the people to see us fail. So I also see the flip side of that, where people are just, like, obsessing about it, but I have such a small email list I have such I'd have hardly anyone's getting my emails. And then, okay, so they think that that's problem. It's not a problem, guys. Problem. Sure. It's not a problem. Because if tomorrow I gave you 10,000 email subscribers, then you'd be saying, my emails are shit. I don't want anyone to hear that I don't want I can't send this out to 10,000 people, they're terrible. So pick a lane, everybody pick a lane, be a beginner in the beginning and learn how to do it really well. So you're much more well rehearsed, and you've gotten the messy, icky part out of the way, by the time there are a bunch of eyeballs looking at you.

Dawn Thalheimer 36:33
Yeah. And I think I just I think this was for me, your latest podcast that dropped was that one from a couple years ago, where you talk about that, like, spit your garbage emails, your bad, terrible things out? When you have only five people in there all your friends. So they like you anyway, practice on those people. Yeah. So that, you know, when you do have these 10,000 people that are clamoring after you know what to say to them? Yeah, you've put in the hours you put in the practice, you've done the things, you've got the feedback, right? You're getting feedback from people, I'll have people respond to my emails, oh, that email was so good. And you're like, Okay, that one resonated political star next to that one, people liked that one, you know, and so you're getting that testing, you're getting that feedback, and I sort of look at it, like, like a spiral, right? When you start out, just just start, and then you're gonna come back to that you're gonna come back and you're gonna hone your messaging, I've changed the words on my, on my website, multiple times, the first time, I was so obsessed with every word, and then I'm like, like, Oh, when I think of a better thing to say, I'll just look back and change it. It's, it's beautiful that way, right? You can just move forward, and then, and then you're gonna get better each time, and you're gonna hone that message. And you're gonna practice on these clients, and you're gonna hear what they're struggling with, and what similar people are struggling with. And then you can focus on that.

Andrea Nordling 38:06
Yeah, and it gets better and better. And also, I'm just going to add to that, because I think it's just a good little bow to put on. It's never just one thing that's going to make someone call you are scheduled, like, it's never gonna be one email that you send, it's never going to be one page on your website, one perfect paragraph versus the imperfect paragraph. It's just not like, we know this as purchasers ourselves. It's, it's the whole experience. Like we take ourselves on this whole emotional buying journey, when we're deciding to invest in something or deciding to book a call on something or deciding to start something new. It's never just one thing. It's like the whole experience, the positioning of the whole, the whole thing, the vibe that you get, then you talk yourself into it, then you go do the thing. We make emotional decisions, and then we rationalize them with logic later to make ourselves feel better. And it's never just like the one email. It's never just the one web page. I just want to say that too. And when you're when you're talking about this, I'm really wishing that I could resurrect some of my early emails when I had 30 people on my email list. And I don't have that email service provider anymore. So I think that they're deleted. But I wonder like, I'm going to remind me of this, like this so bad. If I could resurrect some of those old emails and then show this is what emails to me look like in the beginning, because now I've written 1000s of emails, I think that they're getting to be up pretty all right. But they certainly didn't start that way. So to your point about comparing your journey to someone else, that's further along. It would be great to show you guys some of those early emails. It's like this worked. But wow, that was rough.

Dawn Thalheimer 39:43
And why would you you know, why would you expect that email one is going to be as great as Andrea's email number 1000. Right, like, give her a little credit. She's written, she's putting some time but you know what? Stops People from from starting because they're, you know, they're afraid to take that first step. And I, it was funny, there was a coach that I talked to right at the beginning because I was so afraid of the failure. And I was like, like, I don't want to fail if I hire you, you know, will you stop me from failing? And she said, No, no, no, we're just going to fail faster. Yeah, okay. It's so much a part that you have to embrace. If you're gonna go on this journey, you need to fail many, many, many times. So that you can get through those reps to the goldmine on the other side, right? Like you've you just have to fail and fail and fail. So that you're, oh, that's not how you do it must be a different way. Yeah, yeah.

Andrea Nordling 40:49
I'm so and obviously, like, this ties back to your clients. I have recently started working out with a trainer, and I have not, I had my ACL reconstructed in 2019. And then the pandemic, like right after that, while I was in physical therapy, and everything shut down. So I never really finished that. So I just haven't worked out hard. Since then, I'm going to be totally honest. I just have like, I'll go for a run here and there, but nothing. Really nothing too aggressive. And I am now

and I'm like, Oh my gosh, I'm so bad. So bad at this. And it's, I mean, I

I'm enjoying it a lot because I'm okay, being bad at it. I'm okay failing. But I do feel like, wow, that that was really, really uncoordinated and terrible, and really bad. And I'm like looking forward to the day when it's better. But I don't know something about was whatever you just said about like, yeah, you just got to put it in the reps. And I'm like, oh, okay, note to self. Yeah, do just need to keep doing that. And quit expecting that after how many years of not really working out that I would just go back to the gym and be like, gravy. No, I

Dawn Thalheimer 41:54
feel like that all the time. I just feel like I'm awesome, right out of the gate, like, everybody else will struggle, but no, not me. I'm awesome.

Andrea Nordling 42:02
Like, I've done this before, that was three years ago, four years.

I've never, I've never, you know, ever done this, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be great. Like,

we have these expectations. So okay, now you have like things are really picking up with your business. You're working with more clients, you're having more experiences with renewal conversations and people, like on a call with you that are like, Ah, I gotta think about it. And then we'll maybe do you want to talk about that at all, like, just some of these scenarios that have happened. I think that's so fun to talk about.

Dawn Thalheimer 42:35
I've had it. Yeah, I've had a few. And I think, yeah, one of those emails was one that we had talked about, because it's been so busy, you know, my world. But I but I did have a lady, you know, we, we talked a lot about the program about what I offer, I'm really upfront with with the pricing and stuff like that. I feel like when pricing is a mystery, you just assume that you can't afford it. And I just, I don't have that drummer. But you know that that's me. Like, if somebody is somewhere in there not sharing with me the price I'm like, that's because they know. Oh, interesting. So I just throw it out there. Here's what it is. Here's, here's why. Here's what we're going to do. Here's what you're going to become. And if people some people want to know, exactly, like, exactly how many times are you going to call me? Exactly what are we going to do that makes them feel comfortable? Which is fine. So I went back and forth with with one girl. And then she was like, okay, you know, yeah, I'm gonna think about this. And then you're like, oh, and part of our review process is going back looking at those emails. What did I say? What could I have said better? Right? What? Where did I lose her? You know, what, what could I have done? What you know, it's just, that's what we do is part of our process. And so I sat with that, you know, not replying, like wanting to get the follow up email, right. And then a few hours later, like, my phone rang, and it was her and it's like, yeah, I'm in just how do I do it right now. So I Don't chicken out, like, dive into that. I'm like, Okay, send me your money. And, and I had a another one I just signed. Yeah, this week. Same thing. You know, back and forth having conversations. This is something she wants to do. This lady is a younger lady. She's she's looking to maybe have babies soon. And so she's wanting to get this part in check. So she's like, okay, okay, like, I'll get back to you in March. And then like, two days later, yeah, I'm ready. Right now.

Andrea Nordling 44:45
Right now. Let's go. Yeah, sounds like Oh, okay. I love this

and I wanted to touch on it because you came full circle on this and then you you posted about it, but I want to like just shed more light on it and kind of normalize it that it really isn't the money It really for most people, it is not now, are there circumstances where it might make money for people? Sure. But is it useful for us to dwell on that? And to try to solve that problem? No, because we can't make people have more money than they have or make them willing to spend more money than they want to. So that's just a futile effort. We're not going to do that. So for all of our intensive purposes, it's never about the money. What is it about? And then what you uncovered, and you beautifully put this in a post in the lounge was like, they just didn't trust themselves. They just had to get to a point where they were like, I'm going to trust myself that I'm different this time. And I somehow you said it somehow, like, yeah, them had said, I trust you. I trust the process is me. I don't trust or something like that. Yeah, that's natural that's going on for people. And then we tell ourselves, I knew it was too expensive. I knew it. It's like, No, we just need to really help coach them to the point where it is different this time. You're different this time. So what do you have to say about that? Yeah.

Dawn Thalheimer 45:50
And that's yeah, I like that you have these cues to remind me because that is exactly what she said, this latest one in her email, she said, I trust you. I basically, I love what you do. I just don't trust myself. Okay, what do I do with that? What do I What does Andrea do with me when I don't trust myself? So I offered her we have a thing called a UPC. It's a useful belief, belief creation. I'm like, I don't even know what it's called. But basically, basically, you just say, I believe in this or this situation is true. And then you just create all the reasons why that's true. And so I offered this to her. I said, write down, why you're going to be successful this time, like, right, that's the statement, I will be successful. And then I want you to fill that page with all the reasons why you can trust yourself to be successful this time. And so I gave her the exact same thing that you would give me.

Yeah. And lo and behold,

Andrea Nordling 46:55
she probably looked around in her life and was like, Oh, I actually can trust myself in a lot of places. Wonder if I could trust myself here, too. And then that helped her.

Dawn Thalheimer 47:05
Yeah. So I love that's what sort of for me has been so helpful in this program is taking the things that we use for ourselves, and offering those to clients as well. And it works just as well for them as it does for me. So sneaky, these magical things that are behind the curtain.

Andrea Nordling 47:26
I love that this ended up being a commercial for the profit. I'm not sad about it. Bring it on.

It's like the Wizard of Oz. What's

going on back there? Come on.

All right, no things all the unicorns are dancing right back here.

I love it. So anything else that you want to talk about today? I mean, I don't know if we covered what you wanted to share. Was there anything else you feel like people need to know?

Dawn Thalheimer 47:53
I don't even know you? Like, like I said to you? I'm like, I could talk all day. Let me go. I don't think so. I think for me, it's just really been a journey of kind of getting getting in my own way, making things overcomplicated. And just really, like you said, being at the point now where I could trust myself to make this investment, which for me, you know, it was seer, it's so funny when you look at yourself, like if my kid signs up for a sport and the fees for volleyball are $2,000 for the season. I'm just like, oh, like, here you go like, but this is me. Oh, isn't that interesting? Yeah. Yeah. Like, if it's my daughter playing, you know, whatever. Oh, yeah. That for me, it was it was a really different decision. So it was significant, the investment in myself. But when you do invest in yourself, you pay attention. And so I was, I'm going to do this and I'm going to, like, I'm going to do this. Yeah, and I'm going to pull wall in and and, like I pretty much unsubscribed from a lot of other things that came into my mailbox. And like, I don't even want to look at those things. Right now. I'm going in on this program. This is the program that I'm doing. I don't need the rest. It's just clutter in my brain. So that really made it simple. Like, just follow this program, follow the steps, do the videos, do the decide and the action and the review and really get good at that. And then you know, again, I thought like, oh, as I do, I've signed up for the program. All the people are going to come you have to you know you

Andrea Nordling 49:43
leave the house but they're coming.

Dawn Thalheimer 49:46
It's because you didn't tell me how. But but just working working through that and being immersed in that and I think also really clarifying my why the why is really important. And I think for me, because I wasn't somebody, this is not me paying my rent, being really clear on the why that it was powerful enough to pull me through uncomfortable things to make me choose working on my business over working on something else that was going to be pretty strong. And so because it wasn't, you know, life or death, because it wasn't horrible, you know, if I don't get a client, I'm not going to eat, I had to really make it something magnetic so that I would put in the work and do the things. And then now it's just like, it's like the seeds, you're reaping what you sow, I did a lot of laying down seeds and putting everything down, and you got a circle in that place for a while. Now,

Andrea Nordling 50:53
that's kind of what I'm taking away from what you said, especially about January, especially about in the 30 Day Challenge. But like I was doing the things that I was doing the things that I'm kind of, maybe I'm paraphrasing here, but you're like, I kind of had to just let go of the house and like, okay, we're, we're just gonna keep going in February, and then it didn't it just it was just a week later than you thought it was gonna be. Yeah, so who cares? You know, what a different person would do the many people what at the end of January and be like I knew it. I knew what, once again, here we are, and quit, and then use it as a reason to not keep going versus Okay, well, let's just see, is it gonna be 3k? In 35 days instead of 30? That's all right. Is it gonna be 40 days? What's it gonna be? You know,

Dawn Thalheimer 51:37
and I think that's the thing is, is allowing that to be there as a goal. And then whatever this timeline is, whatever your 3k is, if it's two months, then the next 3k, can we make that? Seven weeks? The next week? We'll make that six weeks. So once you're going with that goal, can we then start to compress it so that you're, you know, that 3k All of a sudden, you know, comes down to 30 days, and then maybe it comes down to 14 days? And then maybe it's friggin daily?

Andrea Nordling 52:10
Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. Go? Yeah. Oh, my gosh, thank

you so much for coming on, and sharing your story and just your positivity. And all you always are so willing to share the insights that you have, and to share it in the lounge. And I'm just so grateful for that, too. I know that it's so helpful for so many people like it's so good, it's journey with you. And I'm glad to be there. I love going in there and reading what's going on. So thank you, selfishly for bringing me along.

Dawn Thalheimer 52:40
But I think I think so that's so when you have that community, everybody sort of takes ownership of everybody else's wins. And the same thing when somebody has that, that that hard time or that difficult thing they face then we get to, you know, to have that as our learning experience as well. So I think that that hopefully that community supports everybody, you know, in so many ways, right?

Andrea Nordling 53:06
Yeah. Oh, so well said. All right. That's a great ending point. Yes, everyone supports each other. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing. I do appreciate you so much. For sure. For sure.