The Business of Becoming

Can you build a full-time wellness business online without trading your time for money? In this episode of the Business of Becoming Podcast, host Lori Kennedy, founder of the Wellness Business Hub, talks with Elise Mason, an Ashtanga yoga teacher from Toronto. Elise went from teaching at a studio at 4 a.m. and living paycheck to paycheck to running an online yoga business with a high-ticket program.Elise shares how finding a niche changed everything. She sold her six-week yoga course for $97 until she focused on women dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss. Years later, she moved to a new niche and a $2,000 offer. Lori and Elise also explain why service-based practitioners can't compete with free YouTube videos, and why a clear niche, a painful problem and a solid marketing system matter more than credentials or branding.If you're a yoga teacher, coach, nutritionist, personal trainer or other wellness practitioner who wants to grow an online business, this episode will help you.What you'll learnWhy trading time for money isn't sustainable, and how online programs change thatHow to stand out from free YouTube yoga classes and $17 appsHow Elise found her niche by asking what her clients' real pain point wasHow she moved from a $97 course to a $997 program, then to a $2,000 offerThe lead generation system behind her business: ads, lead magnets, a Facebook group, DMs, discovery calls and a live webinarWhy her systems stayed the same when she changed niches, and why only the messaging changedWhy overthinking logos, branding and credentials holds practitioners backTimestamps0:00 Welcome and introduction to Elise0:56 From teaching yoga full-time to burnout4:19 The evolution of alternative health: you can now earn without being in the room6:25 Finding the niche and moving from a $97 course to a program11:40 Why you don't want to compete with free YouTube14:21 Why defining the painful problem is the biggest stumbling block19:51 Elise's marketing system: ads, lead magnet, webinar and discovery calls22:57 Changing niches and raising her prices26:18 Her $2,000 offer and four new clients a month28:24 What changes (tools and messaging) and what stays the same (systems)34:34 Why branding doesn't matter as much as you think36:01 Key takeaways: take action and stop waiting for clarityAbout the hostLori Kennedy is the founder of the Wellness Business Hub and host of the Business of Becoming Podcast. She helps wellness practitioners and coaches build profitable online businesses.

How to Make Big Business Decisions Without Letting Fear Run the MathLori Kennedy shares her worst case scenario decision-making process for business investments, using the real example of a 25,000 US dollar program she bought while raising two kids as a single mom. This episode is for business owners who are trying to decide whether to invest, scale, or stay put as the year ends and next year’s goals come into focus.The core message is simple: make decisions from your future business owner identity, not your current fear, current cash flow, or present circumstances.Key topicsIn this episode: Lori explains why practitioners and coaches should not make business decisions from their practitioner or coach hat, because that identity is for serving clients, not running a company.She shares how she trained herself between 2011 and 2015 to think like a business owner and why that shift was the difference between struggling and building a sustainable business.Lori breaks down the difference between current circumstances and future potential, arguing that where you are now should not determine whether you invest in growth.She uses her own story of seeing six figure and million dollar online businesses in 2012 as the moment she realized bigger outcomes were possible.She explains the first filter for any investment: make sure the offer includes actual deliverables, not just calls and inspiration.Lori gives her worst case scenario test: if the investment fails, can you live with the payment plan, and can you live with the regret of never trying?She walks through the math she used on a 25,000 US dollar investment, including accepting roughly 210 dollars a month over 10 years if needed.Lori emphasizes that she did not make the money back in 12 months, but still saw the investment as worthwhile because she gained skills like sales pages, launches, copywriting, email marketing, and audience building.She warns against being short sighted about 6 month or 12 month time frames, especially when the payoff of a decision may take years.The episode closes with a reminder that no one else can get you out of your current circumstance, even if others can support you.Timestamps: 00:00 - Live intro and why big business decisions matter now 01:46 - The end of year mindset for business owners 03:11 - Train your brain to think like an owner 06:32 - Why the practitioner hat should come off for business decisions 08:00 - Why making business decisions from expertise alone backfires 10:21 - The moment Lori realized she was not qualified to run the business side 12:16 - Seeing online income as possible for the first time 16:14 - Facing a 25,000 US dollar investment decision 17:36 - The reality of being a single mom with no savings and big goals 19:33 - Why fear and current circumstances cannot lead the decision 22:31 - First check: do the deliverables actually exist 24:22 - Why many people invest and get nothing tangible back 25:21 - The worst case scenario test for expensive programs 27:09 - Running the payment plan math and asking what you can live with 28:20 - The cost of never trying 30:15 - What happened after the investment and why it still paid off 31:55 - Why not to be short sighted about business growth 33:15 - Why time, friends, and opinions should not run the decision 35:05 - The only standard that matters is whether you did everything you could

How to Build a Six-Figure Online Business With the Four P’sLori Kennedy breaks down how practitioners and coaches can build a six-figure online business by starting with the foundation most people skip: a painful problem, a specific person, a proprietary process, and a clear program offer. This episode matters if your expertise is strong but your marketing still feels vague, because Lori shows why clarity in messaging is what turns knowledge into clients.She uses a weight-loss example to show how to turn broad topics into specific, client-driven offers that build trust and drive enrollments.Key topicsThe real bottleneck in online business is usually marketing, not knowledge, certifications, or effort.Lori explains why “smart enough” is not the same as “booked out enough.”Success leaves clues: the most consistent client-getters are usually using similar messaging and strategy, even if their niches look different on the surface.The first two P’s matter most - the problem and the person.Broad topics like weight loss, burnout, self-care, and menopause are not specific enough to sell well on their own.Lori shows how to narrow a market to a painful, urgent problem people already know they have.She explains how to build a proprietary process that links symptoms to a clear solution path.A strong offer should feel like a personalized, outcome-driven protocol, not a bundle of modules and vague support.For a $100,000 year, Lori says the math can be simple: four clients a month at $2,000.Good marketing language comes after the foundation, not before it.Timestamps00:00 - Welcome and the live podcast format 00:51 - Why marketing matters more than more content or more certifications 03:07 - Why education alone did not bring Lori clients 05:33 - Success leaves clues in the businesses that consistently enroll clients 07:54 - The real skill gap: turning knowledge into marketing 10:14 - How to structure a new online business to reach $100,000 in year one 12:30 - Introducing the four P’s: problem, person, proprietary process, offer 13:26 - Why broad topics are not the same as painful problems 14:43 - How to identify a problem people already feel and search for 16:04 - Narrowing the ideal client with a specific weight-loss example 18:19 - Turning expertise into a proprietary process 20:12 - How the process leads people into a call and then into coaching 22:28 - Why a personalized plan makes a $2,000 offer easier to sell 24:00 - Why vague offers fail to convert 27:10 - How the problem affects every area of life 28:28 - Building a process from the real reason a symptom exists 30:06 - The simple revenue math behind a six-figure business 33:05 - Why messaging becomes easy once the foundation is clear

What I Would Do If I Started Over in 2027Lori Kennedy breaks down the exact business foundations she would build from scratch if she were starting over in 2027. The episode focuses on how practitioners and coaches can get clients consistently by building two things that actually work together: a clear offer and a lead-to-client system.If you want a practical blueprint for attracting the right clients without relying on random content or generic marketing, this episode lays out the core assets, the order to build them in, and why specificity matters more than tactics.In this episode: Lori explains why success in 2027 depends on specialization, not broad wellness messaging.She shares the two-part business model she uses for practitioners and coaches - the offering and the lead-to-client system.She breaks down the four Ps of a strong offer:The problem you solveThe person you solve it forYour proprietary processYour program support structureShe emphasizes that the problem must be painful, specific, and already top-of-mind for the client.She explains why vague offers like “health coaching” or “wellness” are too generic to convert.She argues that your proprietary process is your real differentiator, especially in an AI-saturated market where information alone has little value.She gives examples from her own WOW Weight Loss business to show how one offer can have multiple support levels without becoming multiple offers.She outlines the five parts of a lead-to-client system:Automated awarenessAutomated audienceAutomated nurtureMarketing campaignEnrollmentShe explains why a website alone is not a lead-to-client system and why email list growth and nurture matter more.She makes the case that your marketing should emotionally activate the right person, not just inform them.

Self-Doubt, Capability, and FU EnergyLori Kennedy uses a client question about overcoming self-doubt to make a bigger point: what we often call self-doubt is usually a lack of skill, experience, or exposure. She shares how divorce, single motherhood, and a refusal to depend financially on anyone pushed her to build a business with urgency, discipline, and time autonomy.This episode is a blunt, practical reframe for anyone who feels stuck: build capability, collect evidence, and stop confusing being new with being incapable.Key topicsIn this episode: Lori explains why she does not see self-doubt as the real issue for most entrepreneurs.She shares how her divorce created what she calls “FU energy,” a chip on the shoulder that became fuel to build independently.Lori describes how she refused to rely on alimony, her dad, or a partner to fund her life or business.She talks about launching the Wellness Business Summit in 2013 after a mentor named Craig told her not to do it.She shares the early years of losing money on the summit and continuing anyway because she knew the industry needed it.She explains how becoming a single mom changed her business model and forced her to move from in-person clinical work to online offers.Lori details the bridge strategy: working full time in her nutrition business while building her online business for three years.She says she waited until her online business made $25,000 a month for three consecutive months before winding down her offline practice.She reframes “self-doubt” as being low on the capability scale, not lacking potential.She emphasizes that skills, experience, and repetition are what create confidence and business success.Timestamps00:00 - Opening the self-doubt conversation from a client question03:02 - The real question: how Lori kept herself motivated03:25 - Divorce as the trigger for self-reliance05:12 - Turning anger and resistance into fuel08:27 - Why purpose needs personal motivation underneath it09:08 - Being told not to launch the Wellness Business Summit10:08 - The summit’s long-term impact on practitioners and coaches12:27 - Parenting, online business, and changing her model fast14:14 - Grateful and unsatisfied at the same time16:09 - Working full time while building the online business17:03 - Why $25,000 a month for three months was the safety threshold20:10 - Why Lori says she never really doubted herself22:07 - The difference between doubt and lack of skill24:59 - Failure, bad decisions, and why they do not define her27:03 - Are you doubting yourself or just inexperienced?30:23 - Replacing self-doubt language with capability language32:24 - How discipline and skill-building drive real success33:19 - The investment decision that changed everything