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A Blueprint For Making Your Passions Into An

Abundant Business

CLASS ONE

With Leonie Dawson

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CLASS ONEA Blueprint for Making Your Passions

into An Abundant Business

(AKA My Story & How I did it!)

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When I was growing up, I knew in my heart of hearts what I was destined to be. When someone would ask me at age four what I wanted to be when I grew up, I recited: Artist, poet, writer.

By the time I was a teenager, I still wanted to be all those things... but I also wanted to be someone who changed the world.

It just seemed like the most obvious, true and right thing.

There wasn’t much career guidance available for someone who wanted to change the world though. And even with my definable dream jobs, I heard the same old story that most people do – that artists starved, that being a writer was hard, that it was all just a little bit impossible.

I decided I wasn’t going to listen.

I decided that I would find a way. That it might take some time – but that I could do it.

When I finished school, I worked in numerous office jobs – as a finance assistant, a receptionist, a database entry clerk, a personal assistant and a public servant.

In this lesson, I’m going to give you a run down on how I grew + evolved my little creative biz into the wildly successful company that it is today. Knowing the stories of others really, really helped me to get clear on what I wanted in biz, and

still fascinates and inspires me today. I heart biz bios!

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As I worked, I studied at university as well. I studied fifteen subjects at three different universities, each one getting closer and closer to my dreams.

I had so many passions – I was just trying to find one that really, really sung to me. I studied psychology, journalism, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, Australian Aboriginal studies + even economic history after I had a brief fantasy of becoming the Prime Minister of Australia.

I kept exploring, knowing I would find the How of making it happen. My path would present itself to me – all I needed to do was keep following the trail of my passions.

I landed a job working as an editor of www.business.gov.au - the Australian Government’s website for people starting and growing their businesses. It was so much fun that I ended up working there for seven years.

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At night + on weekends, I made art, I took photographs. I shared them online – first on my favourite message board (Planet SARK), then on my own blog (which I started using Blogger).

People contacted me to buy my art, and to commission pieces from me. I was happier than a piggy in mud.

At the top of this page is one of my paintings from when I was playing + exploring. So much fun! At the right is a picture of one of my first commissioned artworks.

Here’s what my first website looked like(LeonieLife.com)

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I quit studying at university as it was eating into my non-working hours + my potential art-making hours.

I started believing I could do even more. I self published a book using Lulu.com (cover over on right). I designed t-shirts + journals using Cafepress.com (me modelling on bottom left).

I blogged my little heart out – and have been doing it ever since 2004!

I tried out selling at art markets. For me, I didn’t find them as successful or fun as selling online, so I kept selling through my website and through Etsy.com. I signed with a licensing agent. I held my first solo art exhibition at 23.

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Most of the time, you just need to dive in headfirst.

Shining Business Tip

I decided I wanted to start doing spiritual work as well. For a few years I had been a part of a women’s circle. The leader of the circle moved away and I really wanted and needed to have a circle in my life, so I decided the only thing to do was for me to start running one myself.

So that’s what I did.

I started out doing them for free. It was an incredible growing time. I learned so many lessons along the way. I found that I needed to start running circles as paid courses so that I could continue running them. I needed to make them sustainable for me + my energy levels. I also found that women were more committed to going to circles if they had paid for them. This was one of my first lessons in sacred commerce!

When I was 24, I felt the calling to create a three-day women’s retreat – even though I’d never even attended one myself. So that’s what I did.

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You’ll learn what you need along the way. And it will be perfect

Shining Business Tip

I just trusted that I would know how to teach and hold the space. It was hard work, and I was incredibly grateful for just how magically it

turned out. Immense, powerful things happened along the way.

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Then I followed my next passion + started photographing women as goddesses, weddings + pregnacious goddesses.

And all at the same time, I drew, journalled, kept growing in love with my love, travelled in India for a month, went to Uluru on a spiritual retreat, had adventures + a ridunkulous amount of fun.

I followed wherever my creative + spiritual heart led me. I chanted at the top of mountains at midnight while a storm blew around. I sung in teepees. I walked labyrinths in moonlight. I painted with my whole body. It was a time that was totally wonderful + nourishing in my life. And FUN – oh my goddess – the FUN! And I kept working at my public service job and had fun there too.

After a while, I started working part-time in my office job so I could spend more time creating. I want to say something about my dear office job: I have never believed in the philosophy of breaking out of cubicle jail. Instead, I found a place to work that would give me an income while I played with my passions until I had a totally sustainable business.

Which brings me to a little side-note I want to add for working goddesses!

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Find a place that doesn’t suck to work. You know – one that isn’t super awful + without a nutty boss.

If you can find a place that is flexible + allows you to go part-time at some stage, even better.

Not having to worry about finding money to pay rent while you play with your passions + work out what you want to do is really, really lovely. Having the back-up of a job’s money, structure + stability can be really healthy. It definitely was for me!

HOW TO WORK WHILE STARTING A BUSINESS

BRING GLITTER WHEREVER YOU GO.

I’m convinced that half the reason my office job was lovely was because I made it lovely. I was the one who did angel card readings at her desk. The one who held a hugging competition and hugged 200 people in one day. The one who gave shoulder massages to other people. Who wrote very silly weekly roundup emails to bring joy to the job. Who interviewed people in the office to find out what their passions were, and got them published in our work newsletters. I even took a three month stint doing financial reporting (yuck!) because I wanted to see just how far I could spread the glitter into the belly of the public service dinosaur.

My findings?People everywhere are open to love and joy and having fun. They just need someone to start it

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Once your business is built up, and your income streams have been worked out and fine tuned, then you can start the process of transitioning from full-time work to part-time work to full-time business goddess. It doesn’t have to be an ALL IN, ALL OUT kinda thing.

You do NOT have to quit your job in order to start the business of your dreams. My recommendation is to have some balance, and do it in a way that is fun, easy, non-stressy and in line with the evolution and growth of your business.

I repeat: You can have a job + STILL be a business goddess.

Having said all this: whatever you choose to do is perfect for you. Just make sure you choose something.

You have no idea where your experiences will take you and what your jobs will end up helping with in your business.

No matter where you are and what you are doing

Make glitter. Make magic.Miracles happen to those who create it.

Shining Business Tip

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There were a lot of very, very boring things I did in my various jobs. And I always considered what I was doing to be completely the antithesis of what I really wanted to be doing.

But here’s the thing: every single one of the jobs I did taught me wonderful and valuable things. Things that came in handy much, much further down the line in my business.

For example:

Every job taught me incredibly useful things.

All in all: the things you are learning right now in your job may end up giving you solid skills that end up being hugely useful in your business.

• The time I spent as a legal secretary helped me get more comfortable with the legal contracts I needed to know about when we formed a company.

• The time I spent in financial reporting made me feel less squeamish about numbers and spreadsheets and profit and loss statements.

• My job at business.gov.au taught me all sorts of odd + wonderful skills that have come in handy – from project management to online editing to events!

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As I explored my passions and dreams, I realised I wanted to do more than just have a gorgeous creative hobby that made me a little bit of money.

I was making a little bit of money doing the things I loved – but nowhere near enough to do it full time. I remember going for a walk through the streets and fields in our city suburb one day, I decided to make a goal. I decided I was going to make$30 000 in the next year.

MY TRANSITION TO FULL TIME SOLO BIZ GODDESS

I went home, took out a piece of paper, and worked out how much I would have to sell in order to make $30 000 a year. As I played with the numbers, I just couldn’t make them add up.

I was frustrated – I wondered how on earth other people were able to manage it.

It dawned on me that I had no idea about business.

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I realised I’d been spending so much energy developing my creative and spiritual gifts, and no time at all developing my business ones. My creative and spiritual muscles were well developed and pretty buff-looking, but I didn’t have any business muscles and knowledge to support them.

I decided that I needed to spend energy developing my business muscles. I needed to build a business vehicle – or a vessel – that was big enough to contain all my dreams, and strong enough to support me.

So that’s what I did.

I began poring over business and marketing books, studying, using business coaches and training. In the space of 18 months I went from earning around $3000 a year from my passions to being on track to earning $50 000 a year. A year later, I doubled again to do over six figures.

In 2012, it grew to close to half a million dollars a year.

In 2014, it grew to a seven-figure business. (A one million dollar business!!)

In 2015, we hit the $2 million mark.

I’ve continued to grow my business at a rate of doubling or tripling in revenue each year.

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I’ve learned what I needed to know at each stage of the journey.

And I’ve done it all while not working full time hours. I still only spend about 20 hours per week working on my business. It used to be less, like 2-3 hours a day, but now that my sweet girls are a lil older, they don’t need me as much and I get to spend more time in my own biz world.

I didn’t think any of this was possible. Just a few years ago, I didn’t think $30 000 a year was possible. And then I made it. Then I didn’t think $60 000 a year was possible. And then I made it. Then I thought: What would it possibly be like to earn $100 000 a year? What would I change in order to make that?

And then I did it.

And then I did it again, and again and again, until I’m where I am now.

I now run a $2 million dollar company that has four full-time staff members plus my hunky love and myself and eight part-time contractors working in it.

I have 70 000 people on my mailing list + a social media reach of 200 000.

I have financial security for my family for the future.

I still only work part-time.

It’s still my dream job and my favourite thing to do. I get to help more people, all the time, all over the world.

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My huge secret to success is in implementing what I learned. As I learned, I made sure I acted on the lessons I was reading. They didn’t just sit in notebooks and texts on my shelf. I highlighted, committed to action, implemented.

My aim was – and still is – to build a world-class company based on excellence, integrity and spirit, integrating the spiritual and practical so that it could embody my highest intentions.

And each level of growth required personal growth too.

If I didn’t work through the lessons and blocks that came up at each stage of growth, I’d remain at that level until I did.

I’ve worked with energy healer Hiro Boga for seven years now, with only small breaks for the integration of the energy shifts she has helped me make.

Kerry Rowett of Awaken Kinesiology is also an essential part of how I stay top of my game in my biz.

I couldn’t have done what I have in biz without the support of these amazing healers who have held me through the necessary growth I had to experience to bring my company vision to birth in the world.

THE SECRETS TO MY SUCCESSMINDSET + EDUCATION ALONG THE WAY

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The utterly beautiful thing about my business is that it evolved and grew more real and true as I evolved, educated myself and grew my business muscles.

I use a model – which has remained the same for YEARS now – that allows me to help as many women (and now men!) around the world as possible, while earning me abundant passive income that supports the life I love with my family and delivers incredible value to my customers.

My model includes the Shining Biz and Life Academy, and the Shining Biz and Life Workbooks and product range.

But the story of my biz model starts WAY before this point.

MY BUSINESS MODEL

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I thought I’d be happy with that – to have helped ten women to have a better, more successful year. That would have been amazing!

I was so wrong. It was amazing, and it GREW. Women LOVED the workbook. They bought it for themselves. They bought it for friends. It changed lives. It took on a life of its own and expanded more than I could ever have imagined – and as it grew, it went through several different stages, each one furthering the reach and honing the efficacy of the workbook.

I first sold the workbook as an ebook for women to download and print for themselves. Then, in 2013, we started doing a print on demand service with Amazon Create Space. And we embarked on the self-publishing journey in 2014. Of course, the workbooks continued to be available as a digital download, always.

We made the decision to self-publish for a number of reasons, but mainly because it gave us more control over every aspect of production. Printing, pricing, quality, profit. We wanted as much value for both us and our customers as possible, and we’ve honed our production process down and will continue to do so into the future.

MY SHINING PRODUCTSLong, long ago…. In 2009 I had the idea for the workbooks fall into my (pregnant) lap. I wanted to create a New Year planner for myself that was fun and interesting and that went deeper than the average year/goal planner. I created the workbook mainly to delight myself, and when I decided to release it into the world, I thought it might end up helping ten other women at most.

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The workbooks got completely overhauled for 2016, and we added the diary and the To Do List pad as well, to make it an integrated, strategic goal setting system for biz and life goals. We now have a team who work on the workbooks to create the best possible products each year.

After having major issues with shipping the 2015 workbooks, and also so that we didn’t have to pass massive shipping costs on to customers as in previous years, we moved to using shipping houses on three continents in 2014 for the 2015 workbooks.

Workbook sales have doubled each year, if not more. To date, more than 200,000 women (and men, too!) have used the workbooks to create their own inspired, shining life.

It’s been a wild ride, learning how to be a responsible steward for this baby of mine that I totally didn’t expect to launch into the world in this way, way back when the idea first glimmered in my soul. I’m so glad it happened this way though. And I’m so grateful for where it’s taken me.

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MY SHINING BIZ AND LIFE ACADEMYI started by first creating and selling e-courses and meditations and ebooks online for a couple of years. In 2010, I decided there was a better way for me to organise my offerings. I decided to pool all my resources into one membership site and sell just the one product. It began as the Goddess Circle.

The Goddess Circle started at a price point of $99, and I added in one or two courses a year to it. I’ve doubled, and doubled again the price for the Academy, as I’ve added ginormous amounts of courses and massive value to it.

Over the next couple of years, my online Academy went through several name changes, from Goddess Circle to The Amazing Biz and Life Academy to The Shining Biz and Life Academy.

Now my team and I add not just one or two courses to the Academy every year, but loads more. We’ve done about ten or more in the last year, and we’ll probably be looking at doing a large amount more in the years to come.

I felt deeply that I needed to have aligned branding – and realigned branding – whenever I went through personal transformations and revolutions in my growth.

At one point, I had a dalliance with selling high-end, one-to-one coaching for $1000 per hour, and also ran high-end business coaching retreats in my own home. I met amazing women and had huge amounts of fun, gigglesnorts and learning. But Chris and I found the retreats a huge energy drain, and the return on investment was not enough for us to keep them going. It just wasn’t a good business model for us to pursue.

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MY SHINING PHILANTHROPYOne beautiful, breathtaking thing that has been SUCH a blessing on my business goddess journey is how it has supported me to do good in the world.

Philanthropy is built into my biz model, with a portion of money that comes in going to causes and organisations around the world that resonate with me.

My staff get to choose where their portion of the donation goes, too.

I love that we’re in the top 1% of Kiva lenders.

I love that me and some of my favourite business friends teamed up to pool our cash and build a six-room school in Ghana, West Africa.

I love that we’ve donated hundreds of thousands of copies of digital licence and physical workbooks to around 2500 charities around the world.

I love going back to my old high schools to speak, and giving the girls workbooks so that they can learn how to set goals and live happy lives, believe in themselves and achieve their dreams. It is so hugely important to learn this as early as possible!

It is sacred work. Earning abundance means that you get to change the world. You get to decide your own higher purpose and create the business to support it and the world you want to live in.

And that’s why I won’t be changing my business model anytime soon.

I know that some biz owners thrive on the coaching and retreat-holding model, and I am super-excited for them! It’s so much fun when you discover the model that suits you and works for you! And the most wonderful thing is that when you discover what works for you, you get to keep on doing that thing, and developing it further so that it grows and supports YOU.

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THIS JOURNEY OF TEAMWORKLet’s talk for a little bit about teams.

I’ve had mahooooosive learning around teams, and staff, and hiring, and firing over the last few years.

It’s been huge. Profound. Sacred. And messy. The steepest learning curve ever.

We’ve had some extremely difficult experiences with having to end relationships with contractors and people who are working with us. It has been so painful to learn these lessons, but they’re all part of sacred business growth. Becoming a steward responsible for my business is what my company needs from me. I’ve learned so much about what it takes to be a business owner and CEO and manage people. I try. I stuff up. I don’t get it right all the time. And sometimes I do. I try to get it right more often that not. I educate myself.

I’m still learning. I’m still growing.

Hiring the right team means having the right people on the bus, which means hiring the right people as you find them, and firing the people who aren’t a good fit too. It’s all just so important to business growth.

My team and I worked through many, many books (All the Jim Collins books, and others like Scaling Up by Verne Harnish), implementing the lessons and actions from each one that would push the company further, and grow it into the vision that I’ve got for it.

In 2015 I hired Grant, first as a part-timer but then convinced him to come and work for us full time, as COO (Chief Operations Officer).

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The boost to everyone of having a dedicated, heart-on-legs in the COO chair meant that 2015 saw huge achievements in my biz. We created at an unprecedented rate, and got SO.MUCH.DONE. I am in awe at what we got done!

But.

But, but, but.

Both Grant and I could see that we were creating at such a pace, and expanding the vision for what was achievable so quickly, that it was taking more and more time for the both of us to keep the plates spinning in the air that we’d started off.

We were starting to be the bottleneck in the biz again.

In order for us to go out together to forge new territory, create even more new things and vision the next growth of the company, we needed somebody to take over more of the operations and project management.

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In a true convergence of spirit, entrepreneurship and philanthropy, Sonya is now our Operations Manager, Grant is moving into the role of General Manager, and I continue on as CEO. Our roles overlap, and we each cover several bases as part of our jobs. We are all committed to taking the company further, and visioning the shining future together.

It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. And it will also change and evolve as we do.

I know that I can evolve and change with it.

That someone turned out to be my longtime BFF, Sonya.

Sone (as I like to call her) has been on her own journey ascending through the ranks of design agencies in Sydney from Project Manager to Senior Project Manager to COO to CEO.

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As I look at growing my business into a multi-million dollar a year company, I know the same lessons apply. What would it be like to make multiples of a million dollars a year? What would I need to change in order to make that? How many more people could I help? I know that whatever my goal is, all I need to do is plan for it, learn new things and keep on growing. That’s all I’ve

everneeded to do, and that’s what has brought me here,

right from the very beginning.

All you need to do is plan for it, learn new things and keep on growing.

That’s all you’ve ever needed to do, andthat’s what will take you to your goals.

Shining Business Tip

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MY JOURNEY OF BECOMING

a biz goddessIt’s been a profound journey – the greatest personal/spiritual growth journey of

my life. Having a gorgeously profitable business has meant:

I was able to start working part-time in my day job to spend time on my biz… and then I could quit, to give all my work time to my biz.

I could finish work a few months before my beautiful daughter Ostara was born.

I was able to only work minimal hours while pregnant and suffering through the monstrous experience that is Hyperemesis Gravidarum with our second daughter, Beth. My biz still grew without my attention on it!

My love was able to quit his job and stay at home as well to help with my business, study at university + parent our sweet girls.

We were able to become location- independent, and have an around the country adventure, living in gorgeous locations and dream houses. We lived in a little cottage in my hometown of Proserpine, in the tropical rainforest in Cairns, in a house where we could contemplate Mt Wellington in Tasmania, and have now relocated back to my beloved Canberra, where we’ve settled.

It means we can hire the support we need for our family so that we can all thrive. Our children need us, but they also need us sane, so we have a nanny. Sometimes we hire a cleaner for periods of time. We are looking at ways of sourcing healthy meals to look after our bodies. In the past, we’ve hired personal trainers and a Pilates instructor. We’ve committed to supporting our best selves so that we can enjoy this life + biz we’ve created.

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It means we don’t have stress about money. We have choices and freedom when it comes to where we live, how we educate our girls, what we buy ... everything.

We’ve been able to do an enormous amount of philanthropy work through donating money, services and resources. It’s the biggest thrill to help the world be a better place. I have massive goals about becoming the next Bill Gates (but hotter + way more liable to talk about sacred vaginas).

Becoming a Business Goddess has been such a huge gift in my life. I adore that I get to do the thing in the world that is my soul’s gift + my heart’s longing.

And I KNOW it’s possible for YOU too. This program will take you through a massive amount of information, tips, resources + guidance for you to create your own shining life and business.

This class’ homework is to fill out the worksheets for this week.

These are really important to get you in the right place and framework to supercharge your growing business.

Set aside some time to do them, commit, and then DO IT.

(Go on, schedule it in. I’ll wait.)

In the next classes I’ll be telling you all the different ways you can earn money as a Business Goddess, how to grow your business with magical marketing as well as how to stay sane + happy as you do it.

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YOUR BIG WHY WORKSHEET

Now that I’ve told you my story and the big “whys” that fuel my journey – it’s time for you to clarify your own big “whys”. Knowing WHY you want a

thriving business will be a massive driving factor for you, to keep you totally on track when fear or indecision threatens to sidetrack you. Spend some time + list as many WHYS as you have – they can be spiritual, monetary, family or anything else – there are NO wrong answers here, but be specific! The more

specific you get, the more powerful this exercise is.

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YOUR DREAM DAY WORKSHEET

What would your dream day working in your business look like? Make sure you describe where you live, how much time you spend working, what kind

of work you do, what your office looks like, what support you have… This worksheet is muchos important – trust me, it can create big

miracles + massive clarity!