How to Build a Heart-Centered Business Around Your Gifts – In Just 7 Minutes with James Lam

Resources/Links:

• Wanting to Find How to Move Your Business Forward While Being the Best that You Can Ever Be? Learn how you can monetize your gifts and build your business around you instead of the other way around: lookaheadmarketing.com/vipfreebie

Summary

Have you been wondering how you can turn your gift into an answer to people’s problems worldwide?

Do you want to find out which online platform will help you market more and get higher sales?

Are you ready to jump-start your journey into building a heart-centered business around your gift?

James Lam helps heart-centered entrepreneurs discover their superpowers and then use those gifts to shape their businesses into change-making enterprises.

In this episode, James talks about how you can find your gift, build a message around it, and spread it worldwide while getting sales from it. He also shares his tips and insights on what you need to do to make the most out of your gift and finances.

Check out these episode highlights:

• 01:40 – James’ ideal client: “As I said, you said it for me, I work with five-figure heart-centered entrepreneurs who have an inspiring message, who need to get on the ladder, so they need to monetize. They need a product to stand for.”
• 02:34 – Problem James helps solve: “We’ve got who they are, what they sell, and how to do it. That’s basically it. So I have a signature 12-week course. And basically, in there, we figure out what their gift is, how to wrap messaging around that gift, how to do marketing based on what they know, what their interests are, and it can always work.”
• 03:19 – Typical symptoms that clients do before reaching out to James: “We’re talking a little bit nebulous here, but let me put it this way. They distract themselves with things that don’t serve. One of the things I help them try to do is find courage.”
• 04:09 – Common mistakes that people make before they find James’ solution: “They have a dream and they have no way to get there. And they are sustained by a slowly diminishing sense of optimism, and a very quickly diminishing bank account, right? It’s one of the things that is absolutely true as well.”
• 05:14 – James’ Valuable Free Action (VFA): “One of the biggest things I’m going to tell you right now is to build your business around you. And I’m going to give you three examples really quick, okay? One of them is to build the business around the best transformation that you can achieve– what you can do, not what other certifications can do.”
• 06:06 – James’ Valuable Free Resource (VFR): Check out James’ Workshop: lookaheadmarketing.com/vipfreebie
• 07:09 – Q: What’s the biggest takeaway for people who work with me? A: And yes, they have a monetized product. Yes, they have a group coach. And yes, they have a way to a mastermind. But honest to God truth is they’re on the ladder. They have the confidence that they can actually sell.

Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode:

“Build your business around the best transformation that you can achieve- what you can do, not what other certifications can do.” -James Lam Share on X

Transcript
(Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Tom Poland 00:10
Greetings, everyone, and a very warm welcome to another edition of Marketing the Invisible. My name is Tom Poland beaming out to you from little Castaways Beach in Queensland, Australia, as per usual, joined today by the nest of the mobile, James Lam. James, good day, sir. A very warm welcome. Where are you hanging out?

James Lam 00:26
Hello. I can’t believe you’re on an island. We’re not an island. I’m based in Calgary, so we’re in Canada. And if you look at the map of Canada, it’s on the left side by the mountains. So, we’re not quite hitting the water. We’re sort of three-quarters of the way left.

Tom Poland 00:38
That’s a beautiful part of the world, I have heard. Do you have snow right now?

James Lam 00:41
Oh, it’s for those of you who work in Celsius, it’s about -15 Celsius, and it’s snowing. And we’re recording during the season. So, it’s going to be a White Christmas here.

Tom Poland 00:51
Right. Well, it’s Christmas Eve here on the 24th of December 2021. Wherever you are, whoever you are listening to this, I think you’re in for a great little episode here Because James helps heart-centered entrepreneurs discover their superpowers. And then use those gifts to shape their businesses into change-making enterprises. And this is a big thing, James. So many people start with a bank account balance. “What’s going to get more money in the bank account balance?” But your superpower is showing people how to start not with the bank accounts, but to start with the authentic them. And their gifts and their inclinations and their passion. And that bank account becomes just a symptom of fulfilling that very well. This brings us nicely to the title, “How to Build a Heart-Centered Business Around Your Gifts”. James, our seven minutes start now. Sir, question number one is who is your ideal client?

James Lam 01:40
As I said, you said it for me, I work with five-figure heart-centered entrepreneurs who have an inspiring message, who need to get on the ladder, so they need to monetize. They need a product to stand for. And to be honest, one of the things they’re doing is using all the mechanisms without the heart. So, all the tricks without any of the heart and passion that goes in there. So, I work with a lot of solopreneurs, feelers, coaches, those people who want a digital group program that is my specialty, and we do a great job and get them locked there.

Tom Poland 02:06
Bonus question, do you find this great sense of relief for your clients when you tell them they don’t have to bend themselves out of shape in order to be successful?

James Lam 02:13
Yes, absolutely! There’s a whole story behind that, but I’ll make it really quick. We have a company called, “Learn Photography Company”. It’s got 10 locations internationally. We’ve had over 5000 students. We only achieved that when we stopped being somebody else.

Tom Poland 02:24
Wow, powerful stuff! We only achieve that when we stop being someone else. Question two, tell us more about the problem you solve. Six minutes left.

James Lam 02:34
We’ve got who they are, what they sell, and how to do it. That’s basically it. So, I have a signature 12-week course. And basically, in there, we figure out what their gift is, how to wrap messaging around that gift, how to do marketing based on what they know, what their interests are, and it can always work. Right? One of the best things we do is- a key plank of what I do is do what’s called a “pilot beta” or “founder club”, whatever you want to call it. Essentially, it’s launching to some raving fans to test the product. What a lot of people don’t do is test the product. They try to sell it full board and launch a full price and it doesn’t work very well.

Tom Poland 03:07
So that’s a common mistake. And, let’s go to question four, then I’m going to circle back. What other common mistakes do people make? Five and a half minutes left. Before they find your solution, what do you see that these people are making?

James Lam 03:19
We’re talking a little bit nebulous here, but let me put it this way. They distract themselves with things that don’t serve. One of the things I help them try to do is find courage. And I know I’m taking time here; it takes courage to launch a product. It does. If this is your first product ever, it takes courage. A lot of people try to do all the “right thing”– five-day challenges, doing a summit, doing a lot of webinars and not getting anywhere because they are constantly distracted from what needs to happen, which is they need to stand for something and they need to put that out into the world. And it is much easier to do busywork than actually be productive.

Tom Poland 03:51
Right and be accountable! So, the next question, we’ve got four and a half minutes left. What I’m after here is kind of a heads up. Someone listening to this going, “Oh my goodness, that’s me!”. Some of the symptoms that your clients feel before they become clients: what’s going on in their life or the business that gives them a heads up that they need to talk with you?

James Lam 04:09
They have a dream and they have no way to get there. And they are sustained by a slowly diminishing sense of optimism, and a very quickly diminishing bank account, right? It’s one of the things that is absolutely true as well. A lot of my clients and it’s not- look, the paradigm these days is if you’re not successful, what do you do, Tom? You hustle and grind. You work harder. You put in more hours. And entrepreneurs are the greatest thieves in the world. We steal from our health. We steal from our happiness. We steal from our family, right? We steal from our bank account. And the honest to goodness truth is if you are working too hard and making no money, and you’re hoping things are going to happen, that is not a plan. Hope is not a plan. Let’s get you doing the things that you need to do in the time that you have to get results. And there was a very clear delineation of what to do before doing a summit or doing that five-day challenge.

Tom Poland 04:09
Perfect! Thank you for that. Three and a half minutes left, sir. Question five, let’s flip it! We’ve talked about some of the people listening to this, the challenges they’re facing. What’s one valuable free action that’s going to help them move forward like a top tip?

James Lam 05:14
They’re really- one of the biggest things I’m going to tell you right now is to build your business around you. And I’m going to give you three examples really quick, okay? One of them is to build the business around the best transformation that you can achieve– what you can do, not what other certifications can do. Okay? Number two, choose marketing channels that are going to work for you. Look people have been successful on YouTube. People have been successful on Facebook. People have been successful with email. Choose what’s going to work for you. There is no one thing you’re missing. And number three, as I said, look, launch a beta before anything else. Please, for the love of God, launch a beta, like a charge for it so that you know there’s interest before spending all the time and effort to build something that no one’s going to buy.

Tom Poland 05:51
Perfect! Three top tips, over-delivering. Thank you, sir. Two and a half minutes left. Two questions left. A bucketload of information already in value, but plenty to come! One valuable free resource. This is question six. Where can people go to find out more about what you do and learn even more about your work?

James Lam 06:06
Right. So, I think it’s in the show notes but it’s going to be lookaheadmarketing.com/vipfreebie, all lowercase. So, my last name is Lam, Look Ahead Marketing is an acronym for my name. Lookaheadmarketing.com/vipfreebie. You get- this isn’t for everybody, let me say this out of freight. Okay, it is completely free. It’s a workshop I actually charge $197 for, real people have paid that amount. And in there, we’re going to iron out the best transformation you can make, your story arc for true abundance, how to compete in the market where you don’t have any competition, and how you’re going to launch your product for 1000s of dollars without having complicated funnels jayvees, Facebook ads or even with a teeny tiny email list.

Tom Poland 06:44
This sounds great! I’m on that page right now, folks. There are lots of dates to choose from. It’s really simple to get started. It’s in the show notes, as you said, James, but if you’re listening to this, and you don’t have access to the video and the show notes, lookaheadmarketing.com/vipfreebie. All lowercase at the moment. So, thank you, sir. Question seven, last question. We’ve got 75 seconds left. What’s the one question I should have asked you but didn’t?

James Lam 07:09
Alright. First of all, if you do join me, which I would love you to do in that workshop, please turn your camera on. It’s one of the best things I can tell you. Tom Poland is going to tell you the same thing. If you’re going to show up, show up well. Okay. Well, first of all. The biggest takeaway for people who work with me is- the question that you should have asked is, what’s the biggest takeaway for people who work with me? And yes, they have a monetized product. Yes, they have a group coach. And yes, they have a way to a mastermind. But honest to God truth is they’re on the ladder. They have the confidence that they can actually sell. They have the confidence that the product is actually wanted. More importantly, they believe in themselves that they can achieve the transformation. And now they are ready to scale and spread their inspiring message all over the world. That’s what I do, my friends. And the very first thing before that is understanding you need to build the business around yourself.

Tom Poland 07:57
Perfect! James Lam, thank you so much. And thank you for sharing so that people could swap their frustration for fulfillment and freedom!

James Lam 08:03
You’re welcome, Tom. Good to be here!

Tom Poland 08:05
Cheers.

Tom Poland 08:07
Thanks for checking out our Marketing The Invisible podcast. If you like what we’re doing here please head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave us a review. It’s very much appreciated. And if you want to generate five fresh leads in just five hours then check out www.fivehourchallenge.com.