1352: Online Business Shortcuts for Women Entrepreneurs with Award Winning Business Coach Sigrun Gudjonsdottir

Robert Plank 0:01 Hey and welcome back to the podcast. If you're a female business owner and maybe you struggle with the confidence and the Getting Things Done and the growing your business, then we're in exactly the right place. Miss Sigrun is here who I don't even know where I first heard of her, but she's all around the internet, all around the podcasting world. Sigrun is an award winning business coach, Best Selling Author and multiple seven figure entrepreneur, and she is on a mission to accelerate gender equality through female entrepreneurship. And she's won five Stevie awards, Hero of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, and she is here to help us out, to think big and take the next step in our business, even if we feel that we're not ready, and how we can just figure out this whole female entrepreneurship mess, and how losing her job twice in two years, every coming six for seven months even made her a better entrepreneur. So we're going to dive in and find out some amazing stories, amazing lessons. Sigrun, glad to speak with you and hear you and see you.

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 1:05 Great to be here. Thank you for having me. Robert,

Robert Plank 1:08 very nice to have you. And so what did I leave out there? What are you currently all about? What's your focus and passion?

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 1:16 Well, I think a big part who I am is that I'm from Iceland and I live now in two countries, Switzerland, Iceland, both beautiful countries, and I also travel the world. I was just looking at some stats, 2023 I was hundreds, 34 days in Zurich, Switzerland. 124 days in retrovig Iceland, and 107 days on the road, traveling International, and that's a big part of my brand, and who I am,

Robert Plank 1:48 nice, you're a world traveler. And so what should we take away from that? Like you're you're a third of the time here, third of the time there, third of the time on the road. What's it all about? What sort of life are you living?

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 2:00 I moved to Switzerland. I chased love to Switzerland, and I immediately felt trapped in my job. You know, 20 days holiday, I know in the US, they have even less. And I felt like, Wow, I can't live in another country and not have enough time to visit my family friends who are all in Iceland. So when I lost my job and got sick and all of those things that you shared before, I knew that I wanted freedom. I wanted to have my own business where I can take care of my health, but also where I could be location independent, that was a super important factor for me. My dream was to split my time between two countries, and I achieved that quite quickly, and have been doing that since. Also I like to travel. I go to conferences, events, retreats. I host my own retreats and events, and basically, I created what I call a lifestyle business. It doesn't mean it has to be small. Sometimes when people hear the word lifestyle business, they think it's a tiny business making less than six figures. I think Richard Branson is the ideal lifestyle entrepreneur. You know, living on an island in the Caribbean and making billions. So why not us making millions, living and doing what we love,

Robert Plank 3:32 very nice. It's logical, right? And you wonder how people maybe get beat down by the world. They say, what like sort of in a ways that you did? You say, Well, move here for whatever reason, and now I'm stuck there, and now I can't visit my family, and my time belongs to someone else. And if I do want to have that adventure and travel after maybe wait decades and which may never come, right, nothing's guaranteed. And then you stay out of fear, out of so called job security, but they might just fire you, just because, right? They might have an economic downturn, they might downsize. And so we figure, well, it's time to perhaps play by a different set of rules. And say, I want to have my cake and eat it too, right? I want to have this travel time, vacation time, but I also want to help people change the world. And sure it will require a different set of uncertainties, different goals, different actions. And something that I found really kind of amazing, but also sad about your excellent podcast is, I think that you mentioned that only 2% of female entrepreneurs achieve seven figures. So this idea that, well, I have to, actually, you know, money is important. I have to grow a business. So what holds people back from doing this? Why can't anyone who wants to create this lifestyle business that you have?

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 4:53 I think anyone can do it. I think women in particular, sadly. Are held back by lack of self confidence. They definitely have lower confidence than men. I've also worked with several men. I used to be a CEO for 10 years, where I had mostly men working for me, and then also in the last 11 years, I've had a few male clients, and they don't have issue with pricing, for instance, or going out there telling the world what they do, and women hold themselves back. They're scared of what other people think of them, even just posting on social media or doing a video. How does this look? There's a lot of perfectionism at play, which is another confidence issue. You think, if you make it perfect, then you can put it out there. But Seth Godin had a fantastic quote, if you're shipping a perfect product, you're shipping too late. And this has been really my mission, and is my mission for women to go out there with an um perfect product program, and do it a little bit messy in the bin inning just to get it out. And I get so much resistance from them, but I have a special way to trick them into doing it anyway. But yeah, I don't know why women have less confidence. We know that until the age of five, both genders have similar confidence, but something happens school or, you know, just society. And so I am not a psychologist. I'm not a teacher. I don't know what happens in those early years and why this happens. But, um, the women are more in their 40s, 50s, when they come to me and then I show them how to do certain things to build an online business, and the confidence comes gradually. When you do those steps, you do baby steps, and each time you do something that you thought you couldn't do, then your confidence builds, and gradually they get there, but still, they find it hard to price, and it's interesting that they've done you know, you know about the gender pay gap in companies where the boss is deciding they're going to pay women less. It's anywhere between 10 and 20% Still, despite lots of efforts, well, women pay themselves less when they get to decide

Robert Plank 7:35 that's nuts, yeah. So we need to overcome that. And you know, I'm sure that you you being a prolific podcast, you think about what lessons stick with you over time, right? You have all these guests and like, it's the same lessons on repeat, and I feel like the past maybe two months, the lesson that has been sticking with me about guests is this idea that you're kind of stuck with your surroundings, and you're stuck with, like, a collection of maybe 150 or so habits, and to even change one or two, it takes so much right so much repetition and being around the right people and like this, this leap of faith of saying, like, well, I need to raise my prices. And I know it logically doesn't make sense in my brain, fights it, but I just have to do it. And then once I get those higher ticket sales, once I see the results, then I can kind of like, connect that that bridge, and say, okay, like, this is a thing I should have done all along. I should have even done it years ago, but there's a lot to be overcome. And like, I have a five year old son. Today's is his fifth birthday, and I'm so glad I have a son and not a daughter, because you just hear about all the you know, there's the the sexism and the mansplaining, but it seems like other women are just kind of like, like, mean and Catty, and it's like, and, like you said, the psychology, who knows what there is to unpack there, but there's a lot to overcome. So these women, they even may be beat down and adolescents and young adulthood, and now they come to you to get the increased confidence. And I'm really curious about you said that there is somewhat of a trick that you say to kind of get them to act better and have these new behaviors. And so is that something we can talk about? What's the trick?

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 9:11 Glad you asked. I started over 11 years ago in online business, and I built my online programs just like I thought they should be built like what I saw other people doing. So I was in my fourth year of online business where I created a 12 month program, and I was very proud of my amazing program each month there was like a new course within a course, like a whole module. Now you learn everything about copywriting. Now you learn everything about webinars. It was this massive learn everything about online business program in one year. The women loved buying it. They loved joining it, but I did not see them actually do the work and. One and a half years into the program, I got very frustrated because, you know, I identify with the success of my clients. It's not enough for me to just make money. I want my clients to make money. I want them to do something. And I found out that I had given them too much content. I gave them lots of pieces, but they they needed, they needed a much more structured path, uh, and lots and lots and lots of accountability. So I created a brand new program. I first tested it with this existing clients. I call it sompa summer school the first time I run it. But then I changed the name later into kickstart. It was eight weeks. They had to they didn't know what was going to happen. I said, join the summer school. And they joined. And I decided they have to create something concrete. So I decided they would create a four week free online course so that the by the end of the summer, they had a course, they had an email list with new sign ups who had done the course, and at the end, they would have a chance to make an upsell to a paid program. And this turned out to be a brilliant concept. First of all, I gave them very little information, and everything had to be done in one week. So you got a module on Monday, and by the end of the week, you have to finish because there was a new module the following Monday, and the deadlines were very strict, and I had a fill out a form, and then I said, I'll advertise your course if you submit it on time to me. And this forced them to come up with an idea, with a course and submit it to me on time. So I built in very it was not, it was not just about, oh, you have to fill out a form. No, there was a huge benefit for filling out the form on time and coming up with the idea on time. And all courses had to run exactly at the same time for everybody. So we had this massive accountability through the group that everybody's doing the same thing at the same time. They all had to submit. There's a huge like, when my my groups go crazy when I said, yeah, there's two hours left to submit. There's one hour left to submit. We have 90% we have over 90% completion rate. We went from 10% completion rate to 90% completion rate by changing less information, more action and massive accountability.

Robert Plank 12:45 Very nice. And I think we've all seen courses like that, if not been in them, or if not created them, the whole like, the 12 month and like, there's the low confidence, and I just have to fit in everything that I possibly can. And it's like you're self sabotaging, right? Because then how do you even have a copywriting hook with that? When you say, oh, but it's got this, this, this, this, it's like having a restaurant menu that's like, this thick, like there's too much. If you say one quick thing, you're leaving all this out. And so you're single, instead of just the big box of stuff. Instead of overloading someone, you say, here's what we're we'll accomplish. You'll make your free course. And here's the schedule, and here's the deadline, and if you get it done by the deadline, then you get this big benefit, and then you have this community, and you have the positive peer pressure. That way, if someone's in there, they're just like, everyone else is rushing to get their assignment. You It's like school, right? That's why you called it summer school. And you know, I love summer school because it was a little stressful and a little more fast paced than regular school, but it wasn't forever. You said, Hey, I really need to make sure I bring my A game for this short window of time. And it's not like I have the entire school year. I have, like, just a few weeks to get this done, and by the time I do this sprint, I'll get some really great results. And so how is the recipe really that simple? Like, if someone says, I'm looking to make a course, like cigarette, I'm looking to build an amazing business. Is that the formula really that simple? Or, like, where do people you think fail? Where you succeed?

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 14:15 The formula is that simple. I do think, uh, think it has to happen live. You need actual people, and you need the actual we have. Typically, when I run the programs, is between four and 500 students in one go, but I hire 15 people to help me, so I'm not relying on AI bots or self study. It's, it's a massive coaching and accountability, but people can try to do it on their own. I wrote a book about it. I decided I would not keep this a secret my recipe, so I think it's three years. Ago, I wrote the book, I shared the whole recipe of the process so people can attempt to do it on their own. I do think, though, you miss out on the peer pressure and someone holding you accountable, but you can definitely there's no secret to the recipe, and that's that was important to me to just also share the message. You know, the more people get the book, well, I'll probably get more students, because some of them will realize they need that accountability as well.

Robert Plank 15:32 very nice. They call that an abundance mindset. And I'm sure you've seen that with your podcast guests as well, that you say, Well, I have no problem giving away all the secrets seeing how it's done, because knowledge is very commonplace, especially now, right? You think, in like the year 1740, every book that was ever written fit into one room. And now the way that information multiplies by the hour, and how much information is on YouTube, Google Chat, GPT, podcasting, it's all out there. But there's a difference between knowing what you should do versus actually having it in, like a structured plan, as you mentioned. And then also, on top of that, a coach and accountability and someone to get you unstuck when you do get stuck. And so that information is it's just like that first level out of many. So even though it probably is scary, I imagine, for maybe even you and your students, to give away everything. It's like, Hey, if you're equipped to do it on your own, if you have a team, great more power to you. It will benefit you because of the publicity, the word of mouth. But if you're someone that says, you know, I know all these things right, a lot of us know how to study it in school. We know how to get good grades. We've heard all these advice about money, but then implementing sometimes there's that gap to be filled, and that's why someone needs you. And so we're still talking, but I do want to drop a link here, which is SIGRUN.com/robert-plank so that's S, I, G, R, U, N.com/robert, plank. And if you go there, while we're still talking, you can get this book that Sigrun is mentioning. It's called kick start your online business. Create an online course and start to make sales. You'll get those step by step instructions on how to create online course, make sales online, find your dream clients and sell any online program, even if you have never sold online before. And so as you know, Miss Sigrun podcast is great for the the teas and the taste of things, and there's never enough time to fit in all the start to finish. That's why the next steps the book is for. And so in the spirit of that, in these last few minutes of our conversation, I want to make sure, and it's up to you if you want to talk about online courses or female entrepreneurship. But what's the missing gap in this conversation? What question should I be asking you? I just don't know to ask you.

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 17:54 Yeah, so many things we could say, but I think it's, I think it's key to, you know, start, you are never ready. Nobody's ever ready for anything. I I've never been ready for anything. I became a CEO. I was 33 years old. I had no business education, no business degree. I just put my hand up, I made a phone call, sent in two pages of what I thought the company should do, and I got hired like it literally changed my life one phone call. And I think you gotta ask, you gotta take the first step, and don't wait until you're ready. You're never gonna get ready.

Robert Plank 18:36 Very wise, don't wait until you're ready. And as far as the excuses people make, or the objections or the negative self talk. Is there anything that you found yourself saying or that you be here on a repeat basis when you tell these coaching students, you say, hey, this thing that that you should do you're afraid of do it before you're ready. People say, but this and that? Do you hear any like common excuses?

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 19:00 There are many excuses. And coming back to the pricing discussion before, I didn't realize I was creating a quote, but my students quote me on this one, there's a client for every price. So what I mean, it doesn't matter what price you put, there is a client for it. Because, you know, if I see something, now, with all the experience that I have, if I see something, let's say a course that I want to buy, but I feel it's too cheap, I will not buy it, but another person will buy it because it's exactly the price point that fits to them. So I am probably looking for some sort of a VAP experience, or one on one, or mastermind or retreat, and my price point is higher, so there's a client for every price versus the other way around. You know, make the prices lower fits everybody. That's not how it works,

Robert Plank 19:56 right? So there's so many of these just just counterintuitive things. Things about entrepreneurship, isn't there? So you're saying that it's more like a client product fit, not a product client fit, right? Like you shouldn't be necessarily making the product or the course, and then saying, like, oh, well, what about this or that person? Like they can find you there's a client for every product. I love that, and it can be scary and it can be uncertain. And I think that that speaks to that need to always be finding new people, right? It's like this idea of, if you're dating, find new people. If you're looking to expand your circle of friends, if you're networking in business, it's so important to have those incoming leads coming in, which sounds cold, but in whatever context it is, right? You need to be always looking for these new people, and that's also why you're here, and that's also why you podcast, right? Because if you're not saying what you do and you're not getting the message out, then who is really going to get the message out for you? You need to do some of that. And so as far as some next steps here, if someone says, Well, I want to check out that book. Is it also appropriate to mention your LinkedIn, your podcast or your website, or are there any other resources, next steps you feel like mentioning?

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 21:06 Yeah, just I am Sigrun come in one word, Sig com on any platform, LinkedIn, Tiktok, X, Facebook, I use Sigrun com as one word, that's my Instagram. Yes, we are big on Instagram, but yeah, sigrun.com is my website. Just follow me and connect. And if you want to learn more, then grab that free book. Otherwise you have to pay for it. If you don't grab it with this link,

Robert Plank 21:37 ooh. So you better do it right. Sigrun is being generous with you and helping women sell value instead of time and scale to seven figures and beyond. So that is linkedin.com/in/sigroon com, and then her website is siground.com and that website or that book, kick start your online business. Create an online course and start to make sales. Because starting and scaling an online business can feel overwhelming, but Sigrun has her kickstart method, and she's helped 1000s of women kick off their online business by creating a four week online course so you can stop trading time for money and instead serve more people at the same time without compromising the quality of your work. And did Sigrun say that it would be easy or that it would be comfortable or natural or like anything you've done before? Probably not, but we want to pursue the fear and take those calculator risks and and just do our best and achieve more than we ever thought we could and have an amazing life. Because what's the point of sitting behind a desk all day? If you choose to live sometimes in Switzerland, sometimes in Iceland, sometimes on the road and meeting amazing people, then that is what you should do, because nothing in the future is guaranteed, but what you can do is create the course that kicks off your online business, whether you're just starting out or wanting to scale, this book called kick start your online business will show you how you can create an online course and make sales. And we mentioned that that is at SIG, roon.com/roberts-plank, s, I G, R, u n and sigun. You've already dropped so many amazing lessons and quotes for us, but I'm hoping that there is room for one final little tidbit, little sound bite. So in the spirit of that, as people are checking out, sigrun.com/robert plank, do you have a quote or lesson that has really helped you in business or in life that you can pass on to us today,

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 23:42 very early on in my online business to Well, I was invited to give a TEDx talk, and I was thinking hard about the script and the title. And this has stuck with me since then, is be inspired. Think big, take action.

Robert Plank 24:01 I love it. Be inspired. Think big, take action and do it despite the fear. So sigrun.com/robert-plank, if some of these ideas that she's been mentioning, starting your own business, helping others, creating an online course, getting accountability and coaching, because maybe you thought about it, but haven't even started. Maybe you've tried it before and failed. Maybe even went through like what Sigurd instead of you made this big, huge course, and then no one wanted it. And you said, Oh no, I'll just give up. She can say, well, you know, start again, but do it in this strategic way. Focus on traffic and social media and put this marketing in place. There's so much to know so much to learn, and just like it would be ridiculous to try to be become a doctor or get a PhD just from reading a book. Well, if you all you've been doing is book learning, it's time to get some of that accountability and get a coach and check out SIG roon.com/robert-plank, to get the kick start. Method, kickstart your online business, create an online course and start to make sales, and we'll see you there. And thank you very much, Sigrun, for being here, inspiring us, helping us to think bigger and act better and achieve more. I really appreciate what you brought to the table. So thank you for being here.

Sigrun Gudjonsdottir 25:17 Thank you for having me. Robert,

Robert Plank 25:20 all right.