In this episode, I’m talking about what to do when you feel stuck growing your online business despite buying course after course and consuming endless content. I explain why the problem is rarely a lack of information, strategies, or the latest AI tool, and why there is no hidden “secret sauce” that successful business owners are keeping from you. Instead, I share the real factors that create growth and help you move forward faster.
I break down the three things that make the biggest difference in building a successful online business: working with someone who truly understands you and your business, getting advice tailored to your unique situation rather than following generic strategies, and having the support, accountability, and feedback needed to actually implement what you learn. I also discuss why trusting your own judgment is essential and how to avoid getting caught up in fear-based marketing that makes you feel like you’re always missing the next big thing.
3 Key Takeaways:
Generic Advice Can Only Take You So Far
What works for someone else may not work for you. The most effective strategies are tailored to your audience, business model, offer, goals, and personal preferences.
Implementation Creates Results, Not Information
Most entrepreneurs already have access to enough information. The real challenge is taking action, staying consistent, and getting feedback on what you’re doing.
Support and Accountability Accelerate Growth
Having someone who understands your business, can guide you through challenges, and hold you accountable can help you make faster progress and avoid costly mistakes.
LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE
Connect with Teresa on Website, (Grow, Launch, Sell), Sign up to Teresa’s email list, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook, Subscribe to my Youtube
Transcript
If you're trying to grow your online business and you feel like you've been stuck for a while, you've bought the courses, you've listened to the podcasts, you've done all the things, and you're still not where you want to be, then it might not be that you need another course. It might be that you need one of these three things
If we've not met, my name is Teresa Heath-Wareing, and I help course creators, membership owners, and coaches grow their online business in a way that suits them and by doing something that they love. And after being in the online space for over 10 years, I have seen the things that really help someone move the needle and the things that don't, which is why I wanna share with you today the three things that I feel make the biggest difference for trying to grow your business.
seen really make the biggest [:And suddenly, with this course, this latest thing, we are gonna solve all your problems, and you are gonna be rich overnight. And that can be really tough because we go through that cycle of, okay, we're not where we wanna be. What can we do about it? And you look out there, and you look into the online space, and you see all these experts luring you in, telling you, "Listen, I've got the answer.
ok who I've done it for, and [:But I'm just gonna come straight out and say it. That's all rubbish, right? There is no secret. There's no hack. There's no strategy or tool or thing that you haven't been taught or you can't find out probably for free. And I know that some people will probably strongly disagree with me and be very annoyed that I've said this, and it might sound like I'm doing myself out of business because I sell to online business owners, helping them grow their online business.
So how can I do that if I've literally just sat here and said there's no secret thing? Because there isn't. And if someone is trying to persuade you of the fact that their thing is the only thing that's ever gonna help you be successful, they're talking absolute rubbish, and honestly, you should run a mile.
ow, before I share the three [:Because as I've already said, you've probably done lots of courses, and the only courses I'm buying currently are very specific courses about very specific things, and honestly, they're not expensive. Like, I am buying courses that are probably £49, $49, maybe a couple of hundred at the very most, but it's something that I need to learn and I want to learn, and I'm going in, learning the thing, and coming out again.
ne space, they're very, very [:It's so easy to be swayed, to be pulled in, to be convinced that you don't know what you're talking about, and they have the magic hack and the trick and the whatever it might be. But you do, right? These three things I'm gonna talk about, they're all within you currently right now. It's not that you are missing something.
You're not behind, you're definitely not lazy, and you don't necessarily need more information, or not always. And you may not need that latest AI thing that's gonna pretend it's you, because we're in a world of we need to show up as us, and we need to be more us while the world is getting more AI.
ll buying into the latest AI [:You buy the course with the best intentions, and you go, "I'm gonna go through that and I'm gonna do the things." And maybe you're way better than me. Maybe you do go through it, and maybe you learn the things. However, the course and even the AI, and I will happily have a discussion with someone about this if they disagree as to my point of view, but even the AI doesn't know your business and doesn't know you.
teaching and basically told [:And people were trying it, and they're like, "So the bot said this," and, "The bot said that." And then I would get on a call with them, and I actually said to them, 'cause I didn't wanna be like, "Don't use that," 'cause I didn't create it and it wasn't my thing. But like, and it was using my knowledge, but I was like, "Do you know what?
Do me a favor. Come onto the call, our next call, and let's chat about what it said." And they would come on, and they would talk to me about what the bot had suggested they do for their business. And the main problem with the bot is it couldn't understand the nuances. It couldn't understand the tiny little details that I could get, or some of the questions that I would ask that it wouldn't even know to ask.
rything they need to do that [:So- Yes, there's a place, and yes, I use courses, and yes, I use AI, but in terms of really understanding and growing your business, for me, they can't do it. So what do I suggest? Okay, these are the three things I suggest that you look at if you are really trying to grow your business. Number one, work with somebody who understands you and your business.
This could be a perfect pitch for my stuff. I know it could, because obviously, I have programs that fit with my thoughts in terms of what is the most successful way to grow your business. However, this is also how I am working with people. So I recently joined a program because someone could get to know me and understand my business, and if I had a question, they knew who I was and what the scenario was and what my launch had been or what my audience is like, and therefore, they could give me the answer reflecting what they knew about me.
ry first one is somebody who [:With a course or an AI program, it can't really get under the skin of who you are and what you do. So a course, with all the love in the world, can be the most brilliant, detailed, in-depth course ever, but you're basically borrowing someone else's strategy, and potentially, someone else's strategy that worked a year or two ago.
I mean, even six months in the online space is moving very fast in terms of what's working and what's not. And then you go ahead, and you could do that strategy perfectly and brilliantly, and it still not work, and then you're left thinking you're the problem, and you're not. It- that strategy didn't work for you and your audience, your price point, your offer, the way you want to work, the way you want to show up.
who understands you and your [:But of course I do all of this. If I'm suggesting that this is the way I see the most success, then why wouldn't I create my program around it and the way that I get the most success? So it's so interesting, I'm currently, as I record this, I'm right in the middle of a boot camp, and this has happened every single time I've done a boot camp, every time I've done anything, okay?
t they should go in at, what [:Everything is tailored to those people in my programs. Because you can't follow a strategy that has worked for someone who's got 20,000 people on their list if you've got 20 people on your list. It just doesn't work. And that's not a negative thing. That's a, "You can do different things that they can't do," and vice versa.
And yes, obviously within my course aspect or teaching aspect, I talk about the different launch types, and I talk about what a webinar is and what a boot camp is. But when it comes to someone actually doing it, we tweak it ever so lightly, or sometimes we rewrite the rule book altogether to really help them to understand what might work for them and what might fit with them.
meone who helps you actually [:And I had this revelation the other day that I thought, "Why wouldn't everyone want to be in a group where they're seen, where they're heard, where they're understood, where the advice gets tailored, and where they get to actually have someone know whether they're implementing or not?" And I just thought, "Well, of course you'd want that," because that's what I want.
That's what moves the needle for me. That's what's made my businesses' success is when I've had those things in place. And then it occurred to me that not everybody wants that, and I think we have to be so very honest with ourselves. It's so easy to hide in a big group. It's so easy to hide behind a course, hide behind a strategy that isn't fit for you and your audience and your business.
courageous. The people in my [:And it's so easy for us to hide behind a course. It's so easy for us to hide behind something, and then blame it maybe on that thing, and I know I've done this before. You know, I've been in a program where it was a mastermind-style program, but there was 80 of us in there, and at the end of it, I was like, "Well, that didn't deliver."
But if I'm being really honest, did I deliver? Did I show up? Did I really try? And like I said, sometimes we think we want that, but actually, that's scary, and it takes real courage to step up and go, "Do you know what? I'm gonna go in. I'm gonna go all in. I'm gonna play full out, and I'm gonna try and make this work."
So [:So actually, in some ways, I'd rather have this bit first, maybe this should've been number one, because at least even if the advice wasn't tailored to you, even if they didn't give you the nuance for your business and they didn't understand your business, if you're taking action, then you might still end up getting quicker to the result you want because you're learning and you're moving and you're doing things.
that I add in in my program [:I literally just watched a webinar of someone in my program this morning so that I can actually watch the webinar, see exactly what they did, and go back and have a conversation with them about it, and then we can tweak and change it for the next one. So it's not just like, "Here's an implementation session."
It's like, "Okay, you've done the work. Now let's see how you got on and tweak it and improve it." So those are my three things. Number one, work with someone who can get to know and understand you and your business. Number two, make sure you're getting tailored advice from that person, and number three, make sure there's a chance to actually implement what they're doing and help in implementation.
s a lot of online people who [:And the way in which they do it is so smart. So although we may have lost trust in ourselves, we can't be annoyed or upset about that because honestly, these strategies and tools are so smart. They're designed to make us feel that way. But I'm here to remind you, you are smart, you do know what you're doing, and- Really, really, really believe in your own judgment.
If something feels a little bit off, it's not for you. If you don't buy that thing today and you miss out on it forever because they've said it's never coming back again, then you've missed out on that one thing. That one thing, I promise you, is not the difference between you succeeding and you not succeeding.
ittle things. But if you are [:They're not big, expensive courses. And other than that, I buy into programs and coaching where they understand me, they can give me tailored advice, and they help to keep me accountable. I really hope this helps. If you're not subscribed to the channel or you're not following me on your podcast platform, then please make sure you do.
