Rebecca (00:03.376)
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Champagne Lounge Podcast. Today I'm joined by the wonderful Kim Fernandez. Welcome to the show, Kim.
Kim (00:11.736)
Thank you so much for having me, Rebecca.
Rebecca (00:13.776)
So whereabouts in the country are you located, Kim?
Kim (00:16.792)
I'm located at the very bottom pocket of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales and we moved here during COVID and really loving the regional lifestyle.
Rebecca (00:27.12)
Was it an escape from the city move? Yeah.
Kim (00:29.656)
It was actually, yes. Originally I was born in Sydney and lived in far North Queensland for many years, but moved back to Sydney 12 years ago and managed to escape and did a hybrid sort of corporate model for a while and now living here and loving it.
Rebecca (00:46.192)
Amazing. And the reason that you can love it so much is because you work very similarly to me in that we're building the businesses and lives that we love and we're doing it on our own terms and we're doing it in our own way. And majority of that is done virtually from anywhere.
Kim (01:02.648)
Absolutely. I love, I did a lot of research before putting together my business and it's evolved over the years, obviously about who I serve and all of those things. But essentially the life first business model is what really attracted me to this virtual online world. You can achieve so much in wherever you are really.
Rebecca (01:26.128)
Yeah. And before we definitely can, before we dive into the world of virtual and what you're doing now, just for the background of everyone who's listening along, like what has been your background to get you to that virtual business point now where you're helping people with their online businesses and their launches because they haven't been around for that long in the grand scheme of things. And we've changed careers all the time. And I know a lot of us do a lot of different things to get to the businesses that we've built to bring all the different skill sets along to make it a success. So what is your background?
got in it, I should say, that means that you can do what you're doing now.
Kim (02:00.152)
Yeah, so I mean, originally I've always been very creative and entrepreneurial and originally I really wanted to follow my passions in music and art, but just didn't really see career paths forward with that. So I sort of, I would dabble in music and other things as well. And I would find, I would pick up odd jobs on the side of my music career. I sang, I had a duo, a trio, a five piece band and I did that for many years in North Queensland.
And I've found I learned the ropes and entrepreneurial skills in that industry. And then on the side, I was doing odd jobs in places like retail and admin in finance industries and smaller businesses. And I would always end up being asked somewhere along the road to run a business, organize a business for somebody else. When I moved to Sydney, I then found myself in corporate with executive admin support and in ASX listed companies. So I would have my
entrepreneurial strategic hat, as well as my organization hat and combine those in the corporate world. And that was actually where I met a lovely lady in Grabea from the VA industry Institute. She just helped me understand this online world and how it was possible to take those skills online. And just organically, I just found myself supporting coaches and course creators.
And I was working in that area. I love personal development and personal growth. So it was a great fit for me. I love working with coaches and consultants and course creators. And I found just the breadcrumbs kind of led me to this place of being able to say, right, I can support people with launches. I supported a coach that unfortunately was experiencing burnout, you know, really booked out with one -on -one clients and launching a group program and
Through that experience, that was the very first launch I'd experienced. And through that, I thought, it doesn't have to be that way. I really need to go and find out more about this area. So I became a certified launch manager, took my strategic skills and dove more into that. And that's where I am today between helping people with accountability in the backend and putting together and structuring their launches online.
Rebecca (04:13.744)
That's amazing. And launches are a tricky thing to manage. So to have someone in your corner as a launch cheer squad is something that I know a lot of people will want and will need because, you know, definitely for me, I'm still classed as a millennial. I am classed as a millennial. So the technology comes easy to me, right? I can jump in, play with things, have a little bit of fun. If I haven't picked it up in a couple of realistically minutes, if I haven't picked it up in minutes, I'm bored and I'm moved on.
How did you navigate that technology? Not everyone is adaptable to the tech. It's constantly changing. How did you manage to just sort of learn that and keep on top of it?
Kim (04:54.2)
I'm a bit of a nerd, I have to confess. So I've found picking up tech similar to you very easy, but I love getting into the detail to know because it is easy to get frustrated with tech, right? Like things should work, but I just love diving into the detail of automations. One of my favorite words is leverage. So whatever I can find to make things touch once, you know, move forward and be able to amplify what's happening. I've loved.
digging into that. So I think that's helped with my sense of curiosity with tech and just the fact that, you know, working in this online industry in a support role, you really do need to understand a lot quite quickly. So yeah.
Rebecca (05:38.32)
Yeah, at least you're adaptable to it, right? And you can help your clients go through that. Now, you and I are talking offline before we hit the record button that a life by design is very different for everyone and building a business is different for everyone. And you and I are both building businesses and building our lives that don't have, we don't have children in our orbit. We don't have children of our own. And that can often be seen as, you know, of course you can do it. You have all the time. You don't have any of the running around to do.
You know, how do you, of course you've got the time to do that because you don't have to do the score on it and the pickup and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And the conversations could just really spiral down into a, okay, thanks for, you know, thanks for judging me on that. How have you navigated that as a business owner, for yourself and also your own clients navigating that education into the life and business by design when, you know, there's very different parallels to the way that people live their lives.
Kim (06:36.696)
Yeah, so you're right. And we were talking about this before we press record in that everybody's life has, you know, all different challenges in it, whether it's family or not. But the life by design piece for me, I've always wanted to make sure that for myself and my clients, there's always a sense of purpose and you begin with the end in mind and then you work backwards from that. And just in different seasons of life, priorities change, right? So there's personal health, there's family challenges.
For me, it's with aging parents, my mother -in -law in particular, I've been supporting a lot over the last 12 months. So I've needed the space to be able to be a little more responsive in my personal life than what I was able to when I was working in corporate and had always a business on the side. Like it's great to have a side hustle, but life, I'm very good at filling it, but you know, quite often you really need to, you know, prioritize what's super important. So.
Rebecca (07:31.472)
Yeah.
Kim (07:36.92)
For me, I've had to really get super clear on what's important to do when and the not to do list as well so that I can fit in those other seasons. And I think quite often we tend to think a picture is going to look a certain way and then it evolves and it doesn't always turn out the way that you think it's going to, but it doesn't mean that you can't have a rewarding life first business.
you know, supporting you in whatever season you're in.
Rebecca (08:08.592)
I love that. You mentioned there your not what not to do list. What kind of things have been on your not to do list when you've been navigating those changes of family life and life seasons in general? What have you taken off the plate and not worried about?
Kim (08:14.616)
Mm.
Kim (08:24.92)
Yeah. So interestingly tech, I'm, I'm a huge fan of outsourcing in a way that suits you in the season. it would be easy for me to, you know, and I spent a fair bit of time earlier this year because I've rebranded earlier this year when I left corporate and went into my business full time. And I spent a lot of time on websites and messaging and marketing is super important. but the backend tech of setting that up.
And I just, I had to just step away for a minute and realize this is not serving me. Like the minute that you're in business, that you're not just serving clients, you're in, you're in sales, you're in messaging, you're in marketing, you're in building a brand. And that's where I had to focus my time. So my not to do list includes tech and a lot of social media aspects is on the not to do list. And also the not to do list.
Rebecca (09:11.92)
I'm sorry.
Kim (09:22.584)
try and outsource as much as I can in my personal life as well to create some freedom there. And that could be as simple as scheduling the robo vac or, you know, automating meal deliveries, you know, getting meal kits and things like that, just to create mental space as women. I find we do tend to carry a lot of mental load in households, not just, you know, in building our business. So I quite often assess the not to do list and make sure that I can add as much on there as I possibly can.
Rebecca (09:31.568)
Nice, yep.
Rebecca (09:52.912)
I like that. I am. I'm a big fan of the not to do list, but they do take time and boundaries to put into place, right? You've almost got to really have those hard boundaries with yourself so you don't slide into, well, I've always managed that, so I'll always take that on. I found in my own life, and I know some of our other members have talked about it in the past in some of our virtual meetups, that you've got to take the family along for that, for that to work in your life.
So for anyone listening now who's going, I like the sound of that. I like the idea of the meal kits coming through or setting these up to be more like automatic, automated decisions. How did you get your partner along for that ride to go, okay, this is like my husband will go, this sounds a bit crackers, but okay, if you're going to give it a go, go for it. Like how did that conversation happen in your home and how does it continue to happen as it evolves?
Kim (10:45.848)
Yeah, yeah, admittedly, I am really blessed. My husband is also entrepreneurial and we are a great partnership and we are we are friends and husband and wife first and everything else second in terms of priorities. But we're here to support each other and we do have open conversations very regularly. He has his own web design business. So, you know, we both have, you know, different competing priorities compared to what time dinner happens, for example.
so it, it has been a real blessing in that we're both open to the fact that, you know, how long's a piece of string as entrepreneurs, he's very neuro spicy, so he can go down the rabbit hole for three days. So, so there are conversations and they happen very regularly, sometimes on a daily basis to make sure that we've got those boundaries in place.
That word's fascinating, isn't it? Boundaries. I mean, as an executive assistant, I met a lot of people in corporate that in those types of roles and careers, you're in a service role. And just by nature, you aim to please, you aim to anticipate people's needs. So establishing boundaries was a really deliberate skill for me. I really had to practice it in a lot of ways. And I have to say, I'm proud of how I've now
Rebecca (11:37.008)
Yeah.
Rebecca (11:53.712)
Hehehe
Kim (12:02.872)
put that in my life, but it hasn't always been that way. So, you know, I encourage anybody to just know it's a skill boundaries, but it is, it is going to help you and others.
Rebecca (12:06.256)
Yeah.
Rebecca (12:14.256)
And what does that look like in your world where you've put one in place and maybe haven't followed it through? You know, has it been one of those ones where you've gone, I'm not following it through because I genuinely don't believe in the fact that I need it there or has it been, okay, I keep tripping up. What am I putting in place to make sure that I am sticking to this boundary?
Kim (12:34.04)
I'm trying to think of an example, Rebecca. I think...
Kim (12:42.104)
drawn a total blank as to an example of a boundary.
Rebecca (12:42.96)
It's a hard one, isn't it? Yeah, one of my hard ones at the very start when I started doing this work was not using my phone on weekends and evenings. And it took a really long time for me then to... I would very happily ignore my phone, very happily. But the people who I wasn't responding to text messages in a timely fashion, are you OK? What's going on? What's happened? And you all of a sudden feel like you have to have it back.
to respond to those because it just gets more and more and more urgent in the thing. So it was almost training my friends and family to go, I'm fine. I'm just not going to respond in the same speed as I have before because I don't need my phone next to me all the time.
Kim (13:14.04)
Yes.
Kim (13:24.6)
Yes, yeah, I think that's a great example. So for me having, I have team members in a few different countries and their time zones are different to mine. So I think the resistance to responding straight away on Slack, different messages, because you're excited about a project that's happening. And for me, establishing those boundaries, turning notifications off on my phone so that I can still be contactable.
Rebecca (13:50.)
Big one, isn't it?
Kim (13:51.96)
And also having things like do not disturb unless there's key emergency contacts that I need to be in touch with. I use a lot of things like that in terms of communication. Yeah, so I have found that to be a little bit challenging when I'm excited, but I have to promise myself, hey, hang on, even though you're typing, put it down. You know, you don't need to respond until Monday.
Rebecca (14:16.016)
Sometimes I wish I could schedule text messages like I can schedule emails. I really wish that was a feature.
Kim (14:19.16)
Yes. Yep. Yes. You know, I think in Slack that's come out and I think it's just, it's something that's going to become more and more prevalent as we're all so accessible and so connected. They're not to do this, but also they're not to respond less.
Rebecca (14:38.263)
Exactly right, but I don't know about you, but I find I read the text go, no, not replying to that right now. I shouldn't have opened it. I put it as unread and all of a sudden it's 30 messages down in the list. It's two weeks later and I haven't replied.
Kim (14:52.84)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I think a little bit of comms scheduling helps for me to like, you know, a bit of a catch up. It's not the highest priority unless it's obviously an urgent message, you know, first thing Monday, but having that time in the calendar for the comms. Yeah.
Rebecca (14:58.256)
Yeah.
Rebecca (15:07.744)
Yeah. well, there you go. Boundaries are important, but they take time to put into place and a constant work and constant practice. Another constant work and a constant practice for you, though, Kim, is staying on top of this of the online trends that are constantly changing because of the world that you're working in, helping people build their online businesses. How are you staying across that and how are you navigating? What's the thing to follow and what's the thing to ignore?
Kim (15:34.232)
Yeah, so great question. So how I stay across it is a massive amount of consumption, which is a double -edged sword. Like I've got a bit of FOMA, like I need to know how things are working out for other people. I'll follow launches. I'll, you know, the whole funnel hacking side of things that happens. I'm very curious to see that. I love to see what people are doing that's working and jump into debriefs, but also I'll just
of research trends through the course creator in the online creator economy. And also just industry trends. You know, one of the beauties of being in large corporate mature organizations is having access to things like people who are inside strategic sort of intrapreneurs and that sort of strategic range set. So I've been able to access a lot about market trends and industry trends and the nature of all those things and the sort of the trend lines.
that happen in any industry. So I've been able to overlay all of that on top of what I'm doing. So how to know what's working and what's just a trend or what's hot, what's not. Yeah. So foundations are really super important in any sort of sale system. And that's really what launching is. It's a sale system. It's a way to be able to build an audience or a following to be able to create a container for your ideal audience.
Rebecca (16:40.304)
Yeah.
Kim (16:59.48)
and be able to show them why working with you is so compelling and why it's something that's important for them to want or need or do, whether it's right now or in a launch or two's time. So having foundations around that is super important to simple things like having structure around the project of a launch and certain marketing and messaging foundations. So even though there are trends and there are principles that are changing because
Your market is needing different things from you. There are certainly foundations that will stick. For example, having a social media following and no email list is going to be a challenge when it comes to the foundations of conversion rates, because we know through a period of time that you can measure an ROI from your email list. And it's approximately $42 per subscriber on your email list, approximately.
Rebecca (17:55.376)
That's good to know.
Kim (17:55.8)
Whereas it's very difficult to even gauge what return you are calling in those social media followers. It's very difficult to gauge how they're going from your social media to your program. So the other thing I love, I mean, I couldn't go down the rabbit hole of why I love email lists and subscribers, but
Rebecca (18:15.408)
You
Kim (18:17.368)
As a business owner, you have followers, but you also have people who are more invested in your message and what you have to say. And those people sit on your email list. So that's, for example, one foundation that is just really important to focus on. All the algorithm changes with Instagram and all these different things that are happening in the world. That's one thing that I would always encourage people to pay attention to building a list. Really? Yeah.
Rebecca (18:41.072)
period list.
Kim (18:42.616)
So, so there are foundations and in terms of what else is happening, I probably would overlay that with market trends in, in an industry. So at the moment we're in a phase in the last six months where the online education market has changed. So we've gone from almost at founding startup stage to a massive growth phase over the last sort of eight to 10 years. And the pandemic has really exploded that.
phase and brought it forward really quickly. So now we find we're in a phase where our markets are all very mature, quite often our ideal audiences. If you have an online program of any description, the audience tends to have already consumed small little mini products, perhaps had some coaching, a mastermind and quite a few courses. So it may not be that they need exactly what you were offering six to 12 months ago. So it's
understanding and adjusting your offer and your messaging to what your audience needs right now. And that will always be the case no matter what market you're in is really listening to your audience and adapting to those market shifts and market trends. So consumer psychology and that element really plays a part in terms of shifting trends rather than, you know, short form video versus long form or
Rebecca (20:11.408)
Yeah.
Kim (20:11.416)
you know, this type of webinar or that type of webinar.
Rebecca (20:14.768)
And I think the keys there that I've taken away from that is very much building your list so that it's an owned list that you've got that's not going to suddenly disappear if you get shut out of an account or things change or algorithms, you know, decide they're not in your favor. But also to be listening to your audience and using that database to ask questions, ask them what they're wanting and providing solutions that work to meet them where they're at now, which I think is a huge thing.
Kim (20:41.368)
Absolutely, yeah. And finding ways to engage with your audience off social media and getting really creative with that is really going to go a long way to building those relationships.
Rebecca (20:43.184)
Yeah.
Rebecca (20:54.384)
So in that, what has been one of the most creative ways you've seen someone connect with their audience that hasn't been with social media?
Kim (21:03.16)
So in terms of list building, there's a lot of collaborative ways to do it. And obviously we love podcasts. I love personally, I love one -on -one conversations in the smaller rooms. So the more I can find ways to do that rather than broadcast, then that's kind of my jam. So it's also finding ways for you that work with your style. And so for list building things like,
summits and like this list building bundles and collaborations that you can do with other partners there. But in terms of launching some of the more creative ways for me, I think people are really starting to use communities a lot more. So where people can join a community, whether it's free or whether it's part of, you know, and people use Facebook groups, but there's also other ways to do that through Kajabi communities, platforms like school or go high level, you can have these
online communities where you're having these real conversations. You might go live in there and do some trainings as well. And that could still be the place where you're warming up your committed ideal audience before you do the launch, whatever that launch event is. So I think that's really a great trend that's happening now where people are really using that space much more than social media to get closer. Yes. Yeah.
Rebecca (22:22.192)
Really intentional connection. Yeah. Intentional connection. And then, you know, finishing on community that Kim, obviously you're part of the Champagne Lounge because you're on the podcast. What has the community of the Champagne Lounge meant for you and why do you enjoy being part of it?
Kim (22:38.36)
So the champagne lounge, I mean, first of all, the name, hello. So I'm all about champagne, cocktails, confetti, all of that stuff. I love it. But having that online business where, you know, you're, you're on a screen, you're in a room on your own. Sometimes you, you really feel that need for connection. And I just find the champagne lounge is a great place to be able to do that with, with peers who are doing the same thing regionally across Australia and other countries.
Rebecca (22:42.032)
You
Kim (23:08.024)
That's how I've learned through listening to the podcast. and I just love that space for connection and that there's regular touch points that you can come together. You can have real conversations, you know, the way that you host those sessions and people can bring their challenges and we can all contribute to each other's, either perspective or, you know, offer some suggestions or, or just listen, you know, and I just love that it's a space to do that. just with other women that are just really kicking butt.
in their own ways, you know?
Rebecca (23:38.96)
Yeah, amazing, amazing. And you know, it comes back to what we've been talking about throughout this whole conversation, right? It's that what are people wanting? Meet them where they're at and have that flexibility to ensure there's a safe space for them to feel connected and feel supported. So Kim, I know that you support a lot of business owners in the virtual world. So I'm going to be putting a lot of your contact details below. So go along and follow Kim, jump onto her socials. If you're looking to dive in as a
consultant or an individual into that virtual world because she definitely is a launch queen. So Kim, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your business journey with us today.
Kim (24:17.368)
Thank you for having me.
