Let's keep it real: You can do anything you set your mind to.
Lisa Johnson built her 7-figure coaching company from the ground up. On this episode of She Believed She Could, Lisa let us into just how she was able to make this dream a reality through grit, determination, and hustle through the pandemic.
As an inspirational leader who has been published in various magazines and newspapers, Lisa is a masterclass in making passive income and doing it right. Not only does she deliver amazing financial results for her clients, she routinely presents on expert stages around the world about passive income and has over 50,000 followers on social media. Talk about Queen-energy.
If you have a message or skill that you know should be shared with the world...here's your sign to stop wishing and start doing. And guess what...you can probably monetize it, too.
Learn HOW in this information-packed show - and for more wisdom from Lisa - check out her podcast, ‘Making Money Online’ wherever you stream!
Want to listen instead of watch? Tune into the podcast (and catch up on all our latest episodes):
Want to read the transcript? We've got you, Queen:
Lisa Johnson 00:00
And I think the biggest thing, if you haven't started growing an audience yet, no matter what, how you want to make money online, passive income, one to one, whatever, growing an audience is your biggest thing, and it's the bit that most people, quite frankly can't be bothered to do because it's hard. It's the bit that takes the time. But actually, it's the bit that's going to change everything and make you have a real passive income in the future.
Allison Walsh 00:27
Hello, and welcome to the She Believed She Could podcast. I'm your host, Allison Walsh. I'm a corporate executive, entrepreneur, coach, professional speaker and mom of three who's obsessed with mindset, confidence, brand building and helping you create the life and career that you can't stop thinking about. If you're a queen who's chasing your dreams, you are in the right place. I love nothing more than empowering you and equipping you with inspiration, motivation, and the resources you need to make your goals a reality. This show is designed with your dreams in mind. And I am so excited for you to soak up the knowledge and wisdom that my incredible network of guests will share with you. They're successful leaders, impact makers and world changers and they're coming in hot with words of wisdom to help you go farther, faster, and make epic things happen for your future. Remember that I believe in you 1,000% And my goal is that you do to never forget that you are a queen and you deserve to have it all. So sit back, relax and get your favorite note taking device because you're about to receive positive vibes and advice that will help you level up in business and in life. Now let's get to work.
Lisa Johnson is a multi seven figure business strategist who makes 90% of her money through passive or semi passive income streams. In one launch alone during the global pandemic in 2020. She made a million in a week and then 2.5 million in a week only eight months later, earning a million dollars in the first hour of sales. She is an inspirational leader who has been published in various magazines and newspapers. Because of the amazing financial results she gets for her clients. She has presented on expert stages around the world about passive income recently headlining at Expert Empires 2021. She launched Making Money Online that went straight to number one in the UK business charts in July 2021 and had over 36,000 downloads in the first eight weeks alone and has been listened to in over 111 countries. She lives in the UK with her husband and twin sons and is a super cool guest. I am so excited for you to meet her, to learn from her and to be inspired by her. So let's tune into Lisa. Lisa, I am so excited to share some time with you today and introduce you to our audience. But would you mind just sharing a little bit more about yourself?
Lisa Johnson 02:49
Sure. Thanks for inviting me. So I never know what to share with these things. So I'm going to share the most important thing. I'm a mother of twins, who are 10 years old. I am a travel lover like constantly traveling for like 70% of my life. And I help people in business who want to make semi -passive income streams from things like courses, memberships, ebooks, that kind of thing. I've been doing that now for about five years.
Allison Walsh 03:20
So cool. Well, you've got your hands full with twins. Yeah. So I have one 10 year old and she's a lot but I've got two little ones younger than her and I'm just constantly like juggling so bracing for those like tween preteen years. That's a lot. The struggle is very real. So, But anyway, I want to dive into this because you've been doing this for five years, you've been extraordinarily successful. So can we talk about how you got started? And then we can get into some tips for the audience in case they're like, I just want to be Lisa.
03:53
Yeah, it has been a wild five years, like, six years ago, I was around 30,000 pounds, so $45,000 in debt. And so I was in corporate I had to leave corporate because I got pregnant with twins. I was a single parent at the time, was going through a divorce my husband so I knew I was gonna have to do a bit of this alone. And then I had to find some kind of job that was near my house because the job I was in, I had to leave at seven o'clock in the morning and I wasn't back sometimes till 10pm. And I couldn't do that with twins who were five months old. And so I decided to get a job near my house and the only things I could find were like Office Junior type jobs. So my salary went right down. And while I was there, I got bored and started a business. I don't know anyone who has had a business at this point because I grew up in poverty. So no one really around me had money or or businesses or entrepreneurial skills, but I thought well, I may as well try. I tried and made every mistake that you could possibly make. I started a wedding planning business despite knowing nothing about the subject. Got lots of weddings did a really good job, but ended up, I think, when we looked at it after the first year, I was making like one pound 15 an hour, it was never going to be enough for me to leave my nine to five job. And then decided that I needed to properly learn about business and like, stop playing, and do something real. And that meant, you know, going from 30,000 in debt to 35,000 in debt because I needed to invest in myself and knowledge. And so I did. Then I went to every webinar, you know, read every business book, you know, the drill when you get into self development. And turned that business around. So that was making nearly 100k a year in like, first year and a half. And so then people coming to me saying, how have you done it? So I was just describing some of the things that I'd done, like, worked out who my ideal client was worked on my money mindset, you know. and They started making more money. And then people who weren't in the wedding industry came and started asking me, and so organically, this kind of second business grew, where I was just teaching people the stuff that I'd already learned. And so five years ago, that's when I thought, Well, okay, maybe I can set up this Lisa Johnson strategy business, because if you'd have asked me what I wanted my life to look like I wanted to travel, I couldn't because I was doing weddings every weekend. So I was like, this might be the way in. And so I did, I started Lisa Johnson Strategy, and this time, everything went right, because I'd already learned all the business things in the first business that did not go right. So this time I made 220,000 In the first year, you know, it became successful very, very quickly. But people were telling me I was successful in that first year. And I didn't feel it, because I felt like I'd given up my nine to five business to work again, from six o'clock in the morning to 11 o'clock at night just on my business instead of somebody else's. And so I decided in the first year, to look at different ways of working different business models. So at the end of that first year, 220,000, but 80 hours working a week, which is a lot when you have twins. And then I learned everything I could about semi passive, passive income models, all different types, some of them worked, some of them didn't, I would implement things in tweak them make them better. And then by the end of the second year, I was working 30 hours a month, and I was making over a million. And then I knew that's the thing, I need to teach people how to have actual freedom in your business, rather than just have a business. And it all kind of went from there. And now we make $10 million a year. So it's it's been four more years now. And it's crazy.
Allison Walsh 07:48
I love this, and you have so many valuable nuggets of wisdom that you just dropped in there that I want to pause and just highlight too, because for so many people, they think that they have to get it right the first time, right. And you very much have this growth mindset of like, I'm going to just do it right, I'm going to try, I'm going to learn, I'm going to tweak and we're going to adjust, and then I'm gonna lean in and do it even better. And I just want to applaud you for that. Because that's a huge factor in success. And I think sometimes it can be really scary because people think they have to do it right the first time or it's got to be perfect. And it's like, that's only going to get in the way. So how did you get to that place?
Lisa Johnson 08:29
I don't know, I've always had a belief that you have to fail a few times. And I've seen that happen. You know, we've seen it with people like JK Rowling, we've seen people that have tried things, and it's not worked out. And then eventually it has, I've always had in my mind that nothing will work first time. I'm not one of those people that don't believe it will. And so I'm up for learning. And I believe that every time I've failed, I've learned something that has made me much stronger and made my programs better and that kind of thing. So I think it's it's not failure, really, if you're learning every single time you're doing it. And even now, like people who's got everything you touch turns to gold. It doesn't I'm just not very loud about the things that have failed. Like, there's definitely things that I put out there that don't work, and I just quietly tiptoe away and try something else. But I'm a big believer in failing fast. Like, if you're going to try something that may or may not work, get it out there. Like don't wait for it to be perfect, because if you waste two years, then put it out and it fails. You're gonna be hurt a lot more than if you waited a couple of weeks.
Allison Walsh 09:26
So true. And yeah, no, I agree. I think some of the biggest lessons the most valuable things have been when it hasn't gone right the first time and sometimes you know, you kind of start cruising you're like oh my god, this and then all of a sudden one day it hits and you're like what, but then you do it better the next time and you get faster and more efficient and more productive and then it becomes fun again and but yeah, it's nothing's gonna be perfect 100% of the time. It's not always gonna go right. But you are a perfect example of somebody that has figured it out. So if somebody is sitting here listening going, okay, Lisa, you're making all this money, you're doing all these great things. You're helping so many other people do this? What are some tips or advice that you could provide our audience if they're thinking of like new ways of generating income, passive income, semi passive income? Because, you know, in the US now we're facing everybody's talking about this recession that's coming, right. So I think people are freaking out a little bit like we're just coming out of a pandemic, right? And about to face this, that it's a really important time for us to all look at, like, what other streams of income do we have coming in? What else can we do to create that financial security and lean on the gifts that we have to make a big impact in this world? So what advice do you have?
10:42
I think the biggest thing is when we talk about a doubt, an economic downturn of any time, so during the the big 2008, great recession, I was working as an investment banker as a risk analyst in Canary Wharf that has stood me in good stead, because I saw the businesses that thrived, and the ones that didn't. Now, some tips. During the next year, you need to make sure that you're solving a problem. Anyone that has anything fluffy out there right now, and I know we like all these weird names, you know, the Maverick, Warrior, goddesses and all of these kinds of things. They're brilliant, they're fun, they're not going to get you business over the next year, we need a tangible result, something that you solve, that will still stay that people still need to solve their problems, Anything to do with wealth or health is more likely to sell in the next year than other things. But I think more than that, make your messaging very strong. Whatever it is, you're doing. So become the go to person in your industry for something that means being visible. So the fears we have over being visible, they've got to disappear for the next year or two, like we're gonna have to just go for it. I think as well. Don't worry so much about recessions, they’re cyclical, there's opportunity in recession, there's big opportunity for people that want to do something new. People are looking for different ways of doing things. Generally, the mid tier pricing bracket is the one that doesn't do as well, during the recession, you know, people who have high tier offerings, it doesn't really hit them, because it doesn't hit the luxury sector recession like it like it does everybody else. So high ticket works well. And low ticket, you know, if you haven't got a few low ticket things out there at the moment, get some, because what people generally do is they say, Okay, well, I can't afford this thing that I was doing for 2000. I wonder if I can find the same solution, maybe in a membership for 35 a week, I still want to be around people. So find different solutions. So if you haven't got those little solutions there for people add them in, because that could mean you know, my it's a volume game memberships, my my membership makes me half a million a year, just because it's a small price thing. If there's a lot of people, then you're onto a winner. And I think the biggest thing, if you haven't started growing an audience yet, no matter what, how you want to make money, online, passive income one to one, whatever, growing an audience is your biggest thing. And it's the bit that most people, quite frankly, can't be bothered to do because it's hard. It's the bit that takes the time. But actually, it's the bit that's going to change everything and make you have a real passive income in the future.
Allison Walsh 13:29
I love when great things get even better. Now, I've been using Thinkific as a coach, trainer, educator, and course creator for years. And I love that I can keep all of my content in one platform. And now with the launch of Thinkifics new communities feature, I can now add even more value to my students, my clients, my team members and my community, all in one place, I no longer have to go outside of the platform to engage and communicate. Everything is within one place, making it super easy for me to create connection, collaboration and community. So if you are an educator or community builder, or a teacher or a course creator, I highly recommend that you check out this new feature. No longer do you have to create Facebook groups or Slack channels to engage with your community. You can keep it all within Thinkific along with all of your course content. So if this is something that's interesting to you, please check out the link in the show notes and learn more about how Thinkific’s communities feature can help benefit your community too. I know you'll enjoy it just as much as I do. Thank you for highlighting that. We talk a lot about building our brands around here because you got to show up and get visible you can't serve to your fullest capacity if you don't tell anybody what you're doing and you're not showing up like you know, people aren't just like searching under rocks, right? They want to see what they can find quickly, easily that solves the problem. And you know, they are searching for people to help them but you can't make it hard for them to find you. So I'm so glad that you brought that up. And, you know, your audience will be there. And, you know, we talk a lot about that. We've talked to a lot of experts on the show about, you know, different ways of doing that, right. Whether it's social media, it's building your email list, I think it's got to be a multi prong approach, right?
Lisa Johnson 15:19
Especially right now, like, let's try all the things! Let's do all of it a little bit. And, you know, there's no one way to make money, there are a million ways to make a million dollars, you just need to choose the one that you're going to do and be consistent with it and not get the shiny object syndrome, where you see someone doing something, oh, I have a bit of that at the end. And oh, but this person is doing over here. I can't tell you how many people I see go from coast to coast to coast without implementing any of the things, just implement something, and you will make money.
Allison Walsh 15:47
I love that advice. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is so wonderful. So Lisa, I'm curious, what does confidence mean to you?
Lisa Johnson 15:55
It's a big word in my life, because I didn't have any. So I was bullied really badly as a child, because I got I obviously grew up in poverty and council housing here in the state in the UK. And I then got scholarship aged 11, to a private school of like a really prestigious school, where everybody was rich, apart from me. And you know kids are like, they see somebody that's different, that they're the one that's gonna get picked on. And they saw I was different, because my second hand uniform, and you know, you could tell, so I was picked on for being poor for a long period of time, I was bullied really badly at school. And as an adult, I got married, I just turned 18, and I got bullied by my husband. And so my confidence was the thing that I had, I had no self esteem, no self worth, no confidence at all. And then one day, I had decided that maybe I don't want to be around anymore. You know, I was 23, I got sacked on my first job, again, because people were bullying me there. And I thought, I'm attracting it by this point. And I don't really like my life. And I had this voice. And I don't know what it was this day. I think it was a higher version of me that said, What if everybody is wrong? What if you won't be always ugly, always poor? Never make anything of yourself? You know, what if you could do something with your life and help people. And I thought, I'll prove it. Like how I prove that that's the case. So I thought I'd left school at 16, no real qualifications. And so I decided to give myself a task. And like a test, really, if I could pass a test of something that was hard, then I would allow myself to live. If I didn't pass the test, then I wouldn't feel guilty about opting out. And I couldn't think of what to do at first. And I thought I know what I'll do, I'll do a degree, I'll do one of the hardest degrees there or I'll do a law degree. First, I had to find somebody to allow me into a university to do a law degree, but I needed to be able to do it while working full time, because they didn't have any money. So I found a university that would let me go there in September and pick up all the books that I would need, go study myself in my bed set on my own every night for three hours, and then go and take the exams every night. And I did that for four years. And I passed with a really high two one was one mark away from a first. And that proved to me that was my test. It was like if I can do that, this hard thing that was a hard thing to me. And for other people, it might be a different thing that they need to prove to themselves they can do that made me realize that actually confidence isn't it isn't about what other people tell you you are, it comes from within. And it has to come from you loving yourself and not just loving the good parts of you. You have to write down all your flaws. We all know the bad parts of us, you know, we know what they are, we don't need other people to tell us. And if you write down those things, and you decide that you're going to love yourself for all the bad, and all the good, then you will always have confidence. Because, you know, if somebody comes up to me now and says bad things about me or my programs, or anything else, I can learn from it, but I'm not going to take it you know, I'm gonna have a layer in front of me that it never goes through it because that's my self worth layer. And I already know who I am. So I don't need somebody else to tell me. On the other side, though, if someone tells me I'm beautiful, or I'm the best person out there at this job, also, I'm going to thank them for it. But I'm also not going to let that go through because I know who I am. I don't need external validation. And once this clicked, I had so much confidence and now people say to me now like you're one of the most confident people I've seen. And I think if you could have seen me 20 years ago, like it's a completely different person you confidence can be learned. It's a learned behavior. It's not something that you have to wish you had.
Allison Walsh 19:56
Thank you for sharing that story with us and I'm like bursting over here on the other side of it, because I agree, like confidence can be learned. And I, you know, I'm so grateful that you gave such important advice to like love your whole self love all of you, right. And, you know, when you honor and respect yourself, and that way you love yourself, it does create that self worth worth shield, and it helps to protect you. And at the end of the day, the only person's opinion that really matters is the one that you have of yourself, right. And like, You got to honor it, protect it, respect it, and do everything you can to allow yourself to step into that next version of confidence.
Lisa Johnson 20:36
You know, we have to be careful, we tell ourselves things on a daily basis that we would never ever do to somebody else. You know, you dropped something. Yeah, I'm so stupid, you get something wrong, you go -- this up again, like the things we tell ourselves, we wouldn't do to a friend, we need to start treating ourselves how we would treat a friend.
Allison Walsh 20:56
Absolutely, you've got to be your own best friend. So thank you so much for all of the conversations that we had today. This was so great. And I'm so grateful for you and what you do for others and the way that you've been able to share your wisdom with the world and make a huge impact. And as you know, I love to ask all of my guests that come on the show. Who else should we be following or reading? We'd love to read around here. So who would you suggest
21:22
Some great people out there. I mean, business books that I'm I love: Jen Sincero, You're a badass at making money. I bet that one's on here a lot. Michael Gerber the E-Myth I really like people to follow or people to interview, I would definitely go and check out Danny Wallace. She's someone in the UK that's doing big things right now. A real person that likes to give she you know, she's all about standing on stages of getting your voice heard. She was a survivor of domestic violence, and so didn't have her voice heard for a while. And I think that it's very powerful stories, it'd be great for you to go and listen to her. I mean, I have so many amazing people like that. This industry is so full of great people who inspire me every single day and my clients do all of my clients do. So yeah, like, go and go and go and check out my Instagram and see who are the people that I'm shouting about on there? Because they're the people that inspire me.
Allison Walsh 22:22
Ask them well, thank you. And we will link to you in the show notes, all of the things all of the places. But if you wouldn't mind just telling our audience where they can find you.
22:30
I mean, the easiest place is on Instagram @Lisajohnsonstrategist, you will see a very uncurated Instagram Stories feed because I do like to be transparent and kind of show everything. So yeah, come and hang out with me over there.
Allison Walsh 22:46
Awesome. Well, thank you, Lisa, so much for being on our show today.
Lisa Johnson 22:49
No worries. Thanks for inviting me.
Allison Walsh 22:53
I hope you've loved this show. If you did, please head on over to Apple podcasts and leave us a five star review. It makes a big difference and helps a lot more queens who are chasing their dreams to find the show too. We work really hard on creating a quality production. And I want to make sure as many people that need to listen to it can, so we appreciate your help in advance. And of course, check out the show notes. We always include lots of great information in there as well as links so that you can continue the conversation or access additional support or resources or the book recommendations from our guests. So please check that out. We would love for you to continue to stay engaged with our beautiful community. You can also access this She Believed She Could Facebook community from the link in the show notes as well. And you know, we'll be continuing the conversation at Allison Walsh on Instagram. So please join us there. And remember, I believe in you 1,000% And my goal is that you do too so please stay connected. Let me know how I can support you as you chase and accomplish your goals. I'm always happy to make a connection or maybe it's just to fill up your cup and tell you that you're an awesome queen that it can accomplish anything that you set your mind to so whatever you need, I'm here for you. I'm so excited for you. Stay focused, beautiful, it is all within reach and you deserve abundance success. Talk to you soon. Bye.
Comments