The Lab Results

I stopped being so precious about it all. In order to solve my problem, I had to consider every option.  Interestingly, the big breakthrough came in the form of conversations with local city officials to produce and host an official city podcast. That conversation kicked off a lot of creative movement, which then led to conversations with co-working communities and I started to see multiple ways of solving this problem. Whether it was through my own self-owned and managed location or hosted locations in satellite communities, I knew I could build the pipeline and they were actively looking for a solution.

Acquiring the physical studio space with funding and a pipeline of clients.  I have had a vision of a luxurious space that is run by the standards of Los Angeles and London, the two major global hubs for podcast studios. Easily bookable, reasonable rates, and quality environments with all of the tech toys ready to plug and play.  I wanted to provide human engineering and producer support to my clients as well because it's the major component missing from most podcast and YouTube resources, which tend to focus overwhelmingly on tech tools or or marketing.

I had pitched the idea of an official city podcast to the City of Vancouver, I talked with three different co-working communities about possibly setting up my studio in their spaces, and I got market confirmation that people wanted recording services the way I had envisioned it being delivered for them.

I met an angel investor who understood my vision immediately and will introduce me to a local-based media company for greater connections. I have a friend who told me about another angel investor she will introduce me to and he's the principal investor in the media company that the first investor told me about.

I submitted my materials for an incubator in Vancouver that is providing heavily subsidized office space in a historic location. Through that process, I acquired a mentor through SCORE and crafted a 5 year business plan and financial plan. Because of Uplevel Lab, I got so clear about what I really wanted that when I outlined my business plan, it was easy to do. My mentor was able to take a very detailed plan and help me expand it even further.  I got unafraid to say, "I want to own a whole building on Main Street," and that it wasn't a fantasy; it's a very real probability.  I'm also outlining a self-funded beta season for the city podcast so that we can revisit the idea, as planned, for their next budget cycle.  I have a whole fresh line up of workshops coming for the summer to support a fresh lead pipeline with a number of hot leads that I plan to sell into a pre-production workshop in the next couple of months. It's easy to tell people "I'm a media producer" and they respond with, "Tell me more."

"My breakthrough was making the roadmap and getting all of the ideas down on paper. I was in a stage where I needed a tangible roadmap and I was able to design one."

"Publish and promote a 4-week course on breaking the habit of people-pleasing."

"I had the course outline and lead magnet finished. I had also lined up a videographer to shoot the course."

"I had selected the platform for the course content. I had hired a writing coach for the book I planned to write on the same topic. I sent out a survey on people-pleasing and analyzed the survey findings. I have been asked to be on multiple podcasts. I have a speaking opportunity lined up that will be huge for my course and book. I have also planned out how I want the course to perform once it's launched, how I want it to fit into my offering, and how I want it to fit in financially."

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"The major breakthrough that I had was that I am very much a strategic thinker and I get stuck in trying to break thinks down to the tactical bits, then I get overwhelmed and discouraged. Design Jam really helped me to not only narrow my focus, but it helped me boil down ideas into action very quickly and easily."

"Pitch services for executives to corporate clients."

"Within a month, I started to create a path toward the Big Goal and realized that it's still too big and I'm not ready for that level yet. I was able to break the ideas into even smaller pieces that feel more aligned and I was able to start executing them, instead of leaving them in this big idea bank."

"Within 3 months, I was much more clear on where my business is right now and where I want to go with it. I could narrow down what I need to be focusing on right now, and what needs to be shelved for later. I started building offers that make sense, completed a guide I've had stuck in my head, and started building the operational foundation I need to have in place to execute the bigger stuff later. I was also offered an opportunity to collaborate with someone in my field, and that blew open my revenue projections and, more importantly—my connections, one of which I already know will be someone that makes a critical introduction that will help me accomplish the Big Goal. I'm also working on launching my Thought Leadership Library workshop. It's designed to help get those ideas out of folks and into the content they want to create. It was another one of the stuck things that wiggled loose as a result of the Design Jam."

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Yes, but maybe not in the way one might imagine. The best idea that I came away with was a wonderfully fun sounding traveling bus/RV that we could rove the country in and help people at stops along the way. This became a bit impractical as my spouse's work life changed and as we investigated costs. But what it did do in terms of a breakthrough was get us thinking of other ways we can bring people together in local communities to support their job search or career development efforts.

Reimagine the business' offerings --  in a manner that helps people transform their careers and lives without such a heavy lift that's required with so many 1:1 services. In other words, find truly beneficial and powerful ways to support more people, maintain or grow revenue, and have fun (and, at the end of each day, at least a bit of remaining energy!)

Not much progress in first month, largely due to my intense schedule.

Initial brainstorming around what would be realistic, tangible, and genuinely beneficial to both the business and, importantly, the clients we serve.

Definite progress, brainstorming, and strategic planning for new product and service offerings and potential strategic partnerships -- and they are all on the calendar for 2025!

"I started getting more freelance work. I realized that I'm not currently tied down to a 40 hour a week job and should just use the time I have to travel and see what happens. Maybe I can get a student visa abroad that could help lead to more career options through getting a masters degree or taking language courses."

"Getting a gaming job/jobs that allowed me to travel and/or get a job that supported a visa in Spain or France so I could live abroad."

"I did a few freelance opportunities within the games industry. I got a free ticket to a games industry event in San Francisco where I got to reconnect with friends and meet new people. I also met someone from Norway who expressed interest in bringing me onto their team."

"Megan allowed me to do an Ask Me Anything event as a marketing expert for a local networking event, which was awesome! I also got a part time job that allowed me the flexibility to continue doing a lot of other things while still getting paid for creating videos and doing social media."

"I have enough money (and experience) saved up from the work I've done this year to feel pretty good about where I'm at so I feel comfortable seeing what happens."

"I am someone who is going to have a small amount of deep relationships, a small amount of big donors, versus lots of smaller donors. That's why the idea of an advisory council appealed to me more than a membership business model."

"Having the sponsorships packages planned out and start creating relationships to help me get the money so that I could have the business funded and running."

"I started recording episodes and creating structures for the business. I loved the way we used Figjam and started to build my own flow carts for customer journeys, onboarding sponsors, and producing podcast episodes."

"I have recorded five interviews so far. I'm iterating on my standard operating procedures to help create a streamlined back-end of the business. I have a wireframe for my website made so I can start to figure out where sponsor content goes so I can visualize what sponsor packages could look like."

"My biggest breakthrough was when someone in the cohort asked me, 'Is it possible to have my best year ever and feel great?' And when I started seeing it from that lens, I realized I could have my best year yet and feel great. That's when I realized that my business is still a thing. I can still. have my best year yet."

"I made a financial goal that would allow me to quit my job at Home Depot."

"I made the mental note and shift in intention that, 'I'm going back to my business.' I did't know how it was going to happen, but it was going to happen. And I think it was a couple of weeks after that where I just started getting daily emails of people asking to work with me. One such person reached out and wanted to do nine months worth of work. I said, 'Here's three options for payment with a little price break if you paid all at once,' and they said, 'Checks in the mail.'"

"Past clients keep coming back. It really feels like there is a lot of opportunity."

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"My focus was too broad. I was clearly trying to do the job of many people, so it was clear I was setting myself up for failure and frustration. When I was a freelancer, I was a one-stop shop and that kept burning me out. It became clear I was trying to replicate that again, even knowing it was unsustainable."

"To identify my business model so that I knew what services I offered so I could market them and source contracts."

"I made a decision about what to do with my business: consolidate my efforts. I had clarity on where to start. I realized I needed to start with personal webinars and work with individuals instead of launching my services to corporations. I also went back to a full-time job as it gave me more financial and mental freedom. I had too much anxiety when I was solely working for myself. All the best ideas came from being employed. So I'm happy with my decision because it's allowing me to reduce my stressors and have my best ideas and build my best business on the side."

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