Donna: Maybe like you, when I think about my business journey to this point, where I'm at right now in this thing, we call life. There has been lots of twists and turns, especially as it relates to my career path, but what has always guided me in my decisions when it comes to my career, has been my values and the constantly evolving season of life.
We've all lived through different seasons of life, in childhood, moving through those teenage formative years and into adulthood and then there's often the season of love, maybe marriage and then for me, the season of motherhood and I'm very much still living that season and I expect it will be for the rest of my life, but through each of those seasons, naturally our values, our wants and our needs change.
And that has certainly been something that has influenced my career development and my business journey too. If you're regularly listener or perhaps you follow me on socials, you'll know that after starting and growing and selling three businesses over the past 20 years, which by the way, makes me feel really bloody old.
But I did start my first business at 19, but now I'm a specialized business coach and I'm an online course creator for mums in business, which I absolutely love. I feel like I have the best job in the world because I get to help savvy business women stepping into their potential of being a thriving business owner to grow that business, to grow their profit and to prevent burnout, which I feel like it is so amazing that I get to do that.
What you might know also is that recently I sold a six figure business. That thanks to my team it was running 80% of the time without me and so I've been frequently getting asked a question, which is why did you sold a six-figure business that was running most of the time without you? And then the next question that always comes is, well, how did you do that?
So that's what I'm going to talk about, today in this episode of the She's In Business podcast.
Before I jump into the podcast today, I have to tell you because investing with excitement that the dose to the Ready To Rise program are open, which means I can help you to level up your business to grow your business in alignment with your values and to support you in creating a healthy work-life blend.
Plus, I teach you how to make your business more profitable and to reach your goals sooner and the great news is you can join right now. The doors opened today and they will close on the 7th of June. Now I want to tell you, it's not just an online course, although there are seven modules that you can work at in your own pace.
They'll give you the business skills, they'll give you the templates and the strategies that you need for your business, but you'll also get me as your business coach. So in the first 12 weeks of the program, you get a weekly group coaching session with me, which is so, so powerful in accelerating your business growth, in getting you unstuck and making sure that you're working on the things that are actually going to make a difference to your profitability and your goals.
And then there's also a exclusive Facebook group that you get access to as well. So that's a beautiful online community filled with like-minded women who are also on the journey to rising as well.
So now's the time to join. I want to invite you to choose, to invest in you and the development of your business skills, so that then you can create that freedom of time to be present with the people who mean the most to you and of course, another area, which is a huge passion of mine is enjoying self care and the most common feedback that I get from ladies who have already been through the program is I'm so glad that I did it or that they wish they'd done it sooner.
So you can DM me on Instagram. If you like, I personally respond to all my messages or if you are absolutely Ready To Rise, then you can jump straight in, sign up to the program right now, doors close at 7:00 pm. on the 7th of June. All you need to do is go to my website: donnahann.com and it's all there for you.
Now back to the podcast, let me tell you why I sold my six-figure business and how I did it.
The business of that I'm speaking of, was a dance studio and it was really successful. It was my third business and so I want to give you some history and context, in how it came to be that I started a dance studio because that's pretty unique and it's a little bit different.
So I need to take you back to when I was a little girl, when I discovered dancing, now it became the space where I could really find myself and lose myself all at once.
And because I was a little shorty, I got put up the front all the time. I also had a bucket load of character, so I wasn't afraid to turn on the sparkle and to go for it on stage and often all of my exam reports and notes from competitions and stuffs, the judges always filled the page with comments about my animated facial expressions and all that kind of stuff.
So yes, I was that kid and if you watch any of my reels on socials, this will all now make sense. I also loved musical theater, so in my teams, I became obsessed with musical theater. I really enjoyed the community. When it, if you've ever been involved in musical theater in your local community, it just brings together such a beautiful group of people in my experience anyway and it was lots and lots of fun.
And I entered into a season, as I explained at the beginning of season of life, where I was determined to be a world-class performer. So I went to Uni, I studied a bachelor of arts in drama studies, and I opened my first business at 19 as a children's party entertainer. It was great extra cash in my back pocket, it meant I wasn't working extra shifts at the cafe.
As you probably maybe have experienced yourself. If you went to Uni or have done any extra studies, at that age, you kind of a juggling two or three jobs at once and I was also accepted into a theater program through WAAPA which is the Western Australian Academy Of Performing Arts and I did a certificate level course there as well.
All of that happening at the same time and my other goal was traveling the world stage. So I decided that I went to London, did a bit of work in the west end of London for a short period of time and also in Birmingham city and I discovered that I really loved theater, but the element of that career path that I didn't feel so comfortable with was the uncertainty.
So I'd gotten to the next stage or the next season of life, where I realized that making a stable, consistent income was actually really important and the thing, the nature of being in a theater is that you can be, a laid on a really high paying job and then three months later, you can be back to eating baked beans because that's just the way the business works, right?
So living from basically one job to the next and that really contrasted with my core values of stability and ease in what I wanted at that stage of life, I wanted to be becoming financially comfortable, in paying my bills.
So I guess that's the dance history side of things, which I'm sure you're now wondering how did that become a business many years later? Because there was this massive gap in between, right?
So, as I explained there was a lot going on for me in those years, going to Uni and enrolled in moving Arts Course and I was part of business and I was doing extra jobs around the place.
So I was tired and I decided to take a gap year from performing and instead I scored a job earning some big mega bucks, which I was so stoked about. I was in the fly-in fly-out industry in the mines in WA Western Australia and that gap tended to for years.
I worked initially in an administrator role and that then evolved into joining a learning and development team. I became a certified trainer and assessor and that then started me on the journey into coaching, the team and I, at the time created and facilitated a leadership program for the work Crew On Site, for people who were stepping up into positions of leadership and they had no idea how to do that. I didn't realize at the time that, that would lead me down to what I now do with coaching for women in business as well.
So, really interesting when I reflect back on that time, I also met my husband there and eventually we moved our way across to Queensland and started a family and then as a stay at home mom, I realized that I needed to use my brain. I wanted to do something where I was working in my own hours and that's where I turned my attention back to business ownership, like many stay-at-home moms do.
And I've always been inspired by business. Always been intrigued by other people's business journeys and strategies and things like that and I think that comes from growing up in a family business. So my parents had a business, they immigrated from England with two young kids, I was one of them and they had to make something out of nothing in a new country.
And so, I loved sitting behind the desk with my mom and helping her stick stamps on envelopes to send out quotes and watching them chat with customers and the way that they engage with employees and I guess seeing them create something from nothing was really formative for me and so I guess it makes sense that since I've grown three businesses and sold those and the fortunate position where I get to help other women to do the same.
And along that business journey, I did try a few different things. I explored the multi-level marketing arena, I guess with famma mix and a few other things that didn't fit for me. I also started a business called Tiny Travelers, which is where I sourced different products, which were really helpful for families who like to travel.
And that went well, but I sold that business because it wasn't quite what I was looking for and that's when I turned my passion back to performing arts, I saw a gap in the market here in our local area and decided to start a dance school with a real difference and that journey lasted almost seven years with two young kids and a shift working husband, it was pretty tough.
And I learned so much about business, but also I learned a lot about myself as a mom and a business owner and the point of burnout, which I think is so common for moms in business, which is now why now, I love helping moms in business to rise above that and to teach them the business skills and give guidance and support to avoid burnout.
Now, I'm going to cut to a short break here, but when I come back, I'm going to share with you the biggest challenges that I faced with that business. I'm going to get really real and raw with you on that and I'm also going to talk about the situation where my marriage was completely on the rocks. So stay tuned.
Hello, I'm Haley and my business is Meli Bugz Hand Made, an Australian boutique style fashion label for little girls in sizes 1 to 10. I'm making hassle limited collections of pretty, practical, fun and sweet clothing and accessories. I joined Donna's program because I felt lost, indecisive and had no direction.
I needed clarity because I was feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and incredibly disheartened I love the community of courageous driven ambitious women. The tools, information and resources are so valuable. The results for me personally have been plentiful. I have clarity, passion, implemented systems and started to really plan.
My confidence has grown and I know worth. I've learned to trust and invest in myself and no longer suffer from comparison syndrome. This has been possible, because of the support and guidance from Donna and inspiring, thoughtful, creative mind, who will challenge you to be the best version of you that you can be, in a positive and uplifting way.
Thank you, Donna.
Okay, so the biggest challenges, so many people talk about all the good stuff, but let's get real for a second. So when I first created the dance studio, I knew that I wanted to create a super friendly, inclusive, nurturing dance experience for anyone who walked through the door. I wanted them to grow their confidence, to learn social skills, to make new friends.
And of course all the other great things that dance brings with it, in regarding health and wellbeing and I was pretty lucky that from the very first day we opened the doors, it was really successful. So within a couple of years we had 300 students, we were in two locations, I had an amazing team of teachers.
Running the dance studio was very hands on and I quickly found myself feeling really overwhelmed and stressed. I also started the dance studio with a three year old and a six month old, which wasn't an easy juggle. I look back now and think maybe I was a little sleep deprived when making the decision with a six month old and a three-year old to start another new business.
But anyway, I had tried being a stay at home mom a couple of times, and I knew it wasn't for me. I knew I was made for more and so even though it was tough, it was still a great decision for me. I don't regret it at all. That's for sure, but because of the age of my kids, I would find myself working whenever they slept.
And when they would wake up, I would have one on Monday, the other one would sometimes be watching TV or playing Nearby and the afternoon would roll around, I'd tag team with a babysitter or my husband. He would be heading in the door as I was heading out to teach afternoon classes. And so, I would come home from the studio and work on the admin side of the business, until the early hours of the morning and then get up and do it all again.
So, as you can imagine, who was absolutely on the path to burnout and the overwhelm was suffocating, the guilt was horrendous and I felt like I was never in the moment with my kids and I need, there was distance growing between myself and my husband. There was other things that play other than just the amount of work that I was doing within my business.
He worked long shifts as well and so it was pretty exhausting, but luckily I guess, the beautiful thing about my past experience was that the dance studio wasn't my first business. So I knew that I needed to make a change to the way that I was running my business instead of my business running me.
So I took action, I created a plan to shift myself out of teaching so much. I started documenting systems and processes, and I looked at my team and I made sure I got people working in their zone of genius. I also made sure that they were documenting systems and processes as well and I started to really pay attention to my profit and loss statements and really get savvy on where I was spending money and where I could increase my revenue.
And so slowly, the overwhelm started to fade and the profits started to rise and the business continued to grow, but in a much healthier, sustainable way, which was fantastic. So everything was going really, really well on the business side.
However, here's the kicker, while there were amazing things happening with the business, there were some major cracks in my marriage, which we had continued to ignore for far too long and I think a lot of marriages go through this when you've got a young family, if you're both working, perhaps like me, you live in a different state from grandparents and you haven't got like uncles and aunties and all of that sort of stuff readily on hand. It can be so tough, it all just falls on your shoulders as parents.
And neither of us really wanted to break open the problems that we were having, because I think we both really feared that we would fall apart at the seams. So we just kept pushing on, we just kind of kept ignoring what we were thinking and feeling because we both feared that we would fall apart, but truthfully, neither of us were really living our best life.
And so the kicker was that I'd reshaped my business to be super profitable, to run most of the time without me, it was like a well-oiled machine but unfortunately it wasn't soon enough and my marriage had already reached breaking point and we separated for a little while, and that experience in itself really worked me up to the reality of being a single mom and the need for financial independence.
And that has actually become part of the reason that drives me, in helping other moms in business, is to build a business that ticks all the boxes but also brings financial success, so that if you ever find yourself in a position where you are a single mom or you choose that path, then there's opportunities that you can still continue to operate your business and have that financial backup for yourself.
So poor, there was a lot going on, right? And I had always planned to sell the business at some point and when I first set up the studio, I'll admit that I didn't really look too far into the future so, my business model was after school classes, which worked when the kids were babies, but not so well when they grew up and they wanted to do their own after school activities.
And again, this is something that now I coach my clients on all the time in shaping a business for the long-term vision, as well as filling your cup for what you need right now but I knew that at some point I would need to look at selling the business and ideally what I had in my mind is that it would be before my eldest was in grade four.
Now I know there's a few people who listen that are not from Australia. So he, in my mind, the age that my eldest was going to be with 10, and at that point I would be wanting to sell my business, because I wanted it to happen definitely before high school so that I could be available to them.
Now, I've got two boys, they don't overly come to me to ask for advice or to tell me if they're experiencing problems. You'd just kind of need to be there at the right time when they're having that moment of vulnerability to open up and to chat about those big feelings and I wanted to be home for those moments, those tricky pre-teen teen years.
So, what happened was I actually sold the business when my eldest was not eight turning nine. So a little bit earlier than I thought would happen and the reason for that is because there was a few things that all just seem to kind of fall into place. I feel like the universe had a lot to do with it and I'm, I am a bit of a woo person, but not to the point where I just throw my hands up and just trust in the universe that it's going to do everything for me.
I do believe that there's work involved, that we need to do that but there was lots of things that were nudging me towards, opening my eyes and taking steps towards selling the business.
The other side of it too, I think I'd reached a point where I felt like I had done everything that I wanted to do with that business and I want to highlight that because, again sometimes it's really hard to accept that and admit that, if you have reached the point where you feel like I've done my duty here, I've created it into the vision that I want it to be and I'm ready to move on to something different and that's where I found myself at.
Yeah, so the other thing that I was kind of experiencing as part of my journey in that business, was I often felt quite lonely as a business owner and another thing that has helped shape the Ready To Rise program and when I work one on one with clients is also about really creating a beautiful community of like-minded women.
So that was another kind of thing that inspired me to shape the Ready To Rise program in the way that I have, but when I think back to it was around 2019, that kind of all this stuff was starting to happen, that I knew I kind of needed to start to make a few changes and around that time, Tina Tower who is now my business coach, wrote an amazing book called One Life.
And that book was really impactful for me because it really polarized how I was feeling, knowing that I wasn't living my best life and it really introduced me to an online business model, which is what I work in now, right? And it really sparks some ideas that sort of just seem it away in the back of my mind.
But the real turning point came in March, April of 2020 really found myself in a bit of a pickle at this point. So the first wave of COVID had, had hit Australia and we were forced to close the doors to the studio for three months and take all of our classes online and that was a real forced wake up for me to really live what it would be like not to have a studio.
And in that time was also when I separated from my husband, so I had a business that was initially impacted by COVID pretty hard and then also a marriage that was in tatters also very hard and it forced me to look at what I really wanted and I had been thinking for a while that I wanted to explore the idea of an online business.
So I dug into that into what I could do in that space and I do believe that I was put on this planet to support, empower and share my knowledge with other women. They that initially with little girls in needing and supporting them through dance, into becoming confident young ladies or in helping moms in business who are made for more and seeking the business skills and the support to step into their power and to shine.
So I was really inspired by the idea of doing that, then I continue to shape my bricks and mortar business to operate without me and I continued to drive my team to take more responsibility within the business and I was in a great position where I could dip in and out of the business as I needed to.
And that also opened up lots of time for me to start to develop my vision for the online business. So once I've gotten through 2020, which was a really bloody hard year, I decided that perhaps it was time to explore the option of really selling this business and this is, like I said before, the universe kind of like kept tapping me on the shoulder.
I remember being in Brisbane for a conference in December of 2020, and we were heading into another new year for the dance studio, everything was all set up, teachers were allocated their hours just about ready to wind down for Christmas and I got a phone call from a staff member who was looking at a full-time position, which of course meant that she would no longer be working for me, but she was my main teacher and it was really like one of those, oh shit moments.
And so being that she was my main teacher, there was a lot of really great things about her and she was in an amazing season of her life, where she was young, she was looking to expand her career and she didn't have children and so, there's just so much that would align to running a dance studio. So I just took the plunge and I said to her: Hey, would you be interested in possibly taking over the dance studio?
And it was from that conversation that we entered into a contract of sale and 12 months later. So there was a bit to that, so if I rewind back a little bit, what we decided to do was I offered her the opportunity to set up a mentoring agreement. So over the year of 2021, I mentored her to step into the role of being the business owner for that dance studio.
And over that 12 months, she hired me incrementally for a deposit for the business, because she wasn't in the position to apply for a bank loan or a business loan and she certainly didn't have the savings for that. So it worked out really well for her and then at the beginning of 2022, I stepped out of the business and she stepped in as the new owner and over the 12 months of 2022, she is paying me for the business out of the profits that she's making, of course, to the agreed amount that we've signed within the contract.
So it's a really unique, it's called a vendor finance agreement, if you're interested in exploring that area and it was a really great way to sell the business that worked both for me and for her.
So if you're interested in maybe doing that for your business, I'm going to give you a few steps that you can take for that. So my first step would be to get in touch with a lawyer, so gather some advice together around how you want to sell your business and what the contract may look like.
They will definitely speak to you if there's any red flags that you need to be aware of and then what I did is I got a confidentiality agreement drawn up, and then I had a meeting with a prospective buyer to disclose a profit and loss statements to show in the backend, all of our systems and to discuss the clauses, the special conditions and the timeframes that would be within the contract.
From there, we had a verbal agreement based on those conditions and clauses and from that point we had the final contract drawn up. We signed it and as I said, there was a quarterly deposit that was paid during 2021 and then throughout 2022, the repayments for the actual business itself happened, so in a nutshell that's how we did that.
What I want to say is that the value of your business, when you come to selling it, really comes from it systems and how well that business can run without you and this is why in the Ready To Rise program and with my one-on-one clients, I really encourage you to create documented systems, almost like a manual for your business and to empower your staff by creating a healthy workplace culture, where they feel comfortable to take on the responsibility, have initiative to follow those processes and procedures, and also to ask for help if they need to.
My other advice here is to keep your business claim, keep your books claim and know the profitability of your business and work to always increase that profitability within your business, because that is what the value of your business is assessed on, whether someone can walk in and start running the business as you would have, and still be able to turn the same profit within that business.
If the business is completely dependent upon you doing everything and you've got no systems documented, then it's really hard to sell that, so I'm not suggesting that selling your business should be the reason that you get into business. But as I said, at the beginning, you need to be creating your business with an idea of what the future will be.
And if the future will be at some point in selling your business or perhaps the other thing that sometimes can happen, is you may be forced to sell your business maybe from a health problem or maybe you might need to move locations and perhaps it's the kind of business you can't necessarily take with you.
It's an opportunity. It's an option to have in your back pocket to go well, if I ever need to sell my business, I definitely could. All of the work and all of the energy and all of the expense that goes into running a business, you want to be able to have a contingency plan if you ever need to sell it. So make sure that you are creating those systems and processes, make sure you're building your team to be able to run the business for you.
So it's not completely dependent upon you to run and then as I said, keep your business clean, get your books clean, know your profitability margins and always work to increase those.
But I hope nonetheless, it was helpful in getting to know more about me and how I sold my third business and perhaps that there were maybe some tips in there that you could take and apply to your business too.
So before I go, don't forget to check out the Ready To Rise program. If you're a mom that's made for more, if maybe you're ready to start a business and get it right the first time or maybe reshape your business, then the doors are open now. So, jump in! They close on the 7th of June at 7:00 pm and I'd love to have you in the program and support you in achieving your ideal business.
