About Your Mentors
ABOUT JULIE
{from the desk of Madelaine}
{from the desk of Madelaine}
Julie’s clients are online entrepreneurs - they build businesses from scratch, launch courses that sell, and create products and offers that are branded and designed to convert. Julie’s client work is top notch. With an astonishing array of talent {from copy to design to code to marketing strategy} she’s built a six figure business out of a blogging career that started over 5 years ago.
With a family of 6 to support, Julie knows how to hustle, find clients, do solid work, gain referrals….and train others to do the same. She runs a solid business that brings in well over 15k per month, all while wrangling 4 children and her own life with her new husband Alex.
Her experience on the ground over the past 5 years is what makes her LOVE helping other freelancers achieve success. The freedom to raise her family in the way she wants, the financial security to support them, and her kick ass experience networking with and signing clients, give her PLENTY to talk about when she works with CYLL students.
Anyone would be lucky to have her for an hour. Having her online in a community plus weekly coaching calls over a year, is an opportunity second to none.
ABOUT MADELAINE
{from the desk of Julie}
The first time I met Madelaine, she was my client {true story}.
I'd had a lot of clients in similar industries as her, but never had I met someone so on the ball, together, and professional. We clicked immediately, and I could tell..she had skills I knew not of.
I helped her launch the BETA version of what is now CYLL, and it was wildly successful because Madelaine just intuitively KNEW how to connect with people, help them feel heard, and deliver great content about all the nitty gritty details of business building.
Madelaine started her Freelance business after her third major burn out before the age of 30. She was exhausted and miserable working a corporate career that was (in her eyes!) taking her nowhere (fun!). She realized that the ladder she was climbing was not on the right wall.
There are a lot of details to consider when starting up her freelance business: tracking finances, sorting out how to get ready for tax time, time management, automation processes, sorting out how to communicate with clients online. And what I noticed was how flippin' good at it she was.
She almost made it fun?! What was this wizardry she performed?
Helping freelancers get a business set up professionally, and land their first clients exhilarates her. She's the kind of mentor who will cheer wildly when you take what she's taught you and go further than we even are right now. There's not a mean or competitive or slimy bone in this Canadian's body, And she loves sharing her knowledge and experience with others in an authentic and professional way.
In her spare time Madelaine spends time focusing on her family - her husband Jarrett and their two corgis. Oh, and her garden.
Madelaine’s goal in life is NOT to have a Corporate career, or make 10 million dollars. Madelaine’s goal in life is to live a good life, work with great people, and have the time and energy to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
Also, she bought me a new bra, sight unseen, in a wedding day emergency. You can trust a woman who can pull that off.
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What if every day you could wake up,
roll out of bed, and, when you’re ready to work, take your...
hot cup of coffee...
tea...
green smoothie...
hot fudge sundae...
over to an organized workspace with all of your favorite things.
Everything you need is organized and easy to find.
Everything you need is organized and easy to find.
And it’s only steps away.
You’ve left break rooms and sterile office buildings behind.
You take breaks at your favorite...
overlooking your favorite city scene,
or on your back deck with a good book.
or on your back deck with a good book.
You’re working every day where you want and when you want
in a business that you designed yourself.
in a business that you designed yourself.
On your own terms.
You can have that...
and it can be sooner than you think.
and it can be sooner than you think.
But first, we must acknowledge that building a freelance business,
doesn't always mean freedom.
Many women start out their businesses and
quickly hit burn out when they hit
even just a few of these obstacles.
quickly hit burn out when they hit
even just a few of these obstacles.
1. Cluttered inboxes
2. Conflicting advice from "gurus"
3. Tax and bookkeeping overwhelm
4. "Feast or famine" revenue
5. Charging too little
6. Too many projects at once
7. Unreasonable client demands
8. Pressured deadlines
9. Wearing "all the hats"
10. Constant need to keep up with your skillset
11. Digital product struggles
12. Searching for your next client
13. Project scope creep from needy clients
14. "on the clock" 24/7
15. Lack of colleagues and a support network
These obstacles don't just cause burn out, they waste money, time, and ultimately, ruin businesses that could have been wildly successful.
Blech.
We DO NOT want that for you.
Let's say NO to wasted investments, rabbit trails, or teary nights wondering what on Earth made you decide to start a business.
Let's say NO to wasted investments, rabbit trails, or teary nights wondering what on Earth made you decide to start a business.
This is WHAT you can have. We have it ourselves {more on us later}, and have helped many women just like you...accomplish the same.
Time and again we hear from our members that learning skills and finding clients were all they focused on at first (and this is where lots of programs focus as well), but then quickly realized just how much mindset, time management, and expectations play a role in whether or not you can successfully make your business last.
Even when you have acquired skills to market, built your website, and even landed a few clients….
- Comparison-itis
- Imposter syndrome
- Unrealistic expectations for yourself and clients
- The freelance emotional rollercoaster
- Family, spouse, and kid obligations and expectations
- Inefficient lifestyle habits
- Poor self-worth
...they threaten to derail every success. The more you grow, the more obvious these problems become, and it’s not too dramatic to say that the above list can force you out of your business as fast as you got in.
If your business isn’t started yet, getting these problems out of the way before you start, is like clearing a plot of land full of boulders so you can place your house’s foundation. You’ll be saving yourself a heap of trouble down the line.
Here’s why….
Businesses aren’t built in a vacuum.
If you have a family or a 9-5 job, you don’t have the luxury of a 40 hour work week...
You need to learn how to manage your time and hold onto your sanity even when you’re trying to develop your freelance career while still holding your 9-5 job or watching a gaggle of children.
Anxiety, self-doubt, and fear don’t go away once you strike out on your own. If you’re prone to these emotions in life, they won’t go away in business...
Freelance work is a roller coaster of emotions. Learning how to set realistic expectations helps keep the lows not so low.
Family and friends aren’t always the biggest cheerleaders...
In fact, they can be the opposite. “What are you doing?” “Isn’t this just an Internet scam?” “Why do you have to be so selfish? Just get a 9-5 like everyone else.” “You’re so ungrateful. Most people would kill for a job.” How do you hang on to your fortitude when people don’t understand what you do or why you’re doing it?
Freelance work can set you up to be a slave to clients...
Especially if you’re coming from an employee mindset, once you start assisting others virtually, it’s easy to fall into a relational dynamic with a client that makes you feel like you have to earn your position, answer their every whim, and fear their wrath (because of a bad review).
There are all kinds of new soft skills you’ll need that you’ve never used in a 9-5...
Like, how to stand up for yourself respectfully in negotiations and in communications without sacrificing or over-delivering, or how to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of one two hour block of time.
We know firsthand the sabotaging effects our mindset and habits can have on business.
We’ve seen it happen to us as individuals and we’ve seen it time and again in our members.
But there’s good news!
Whether you’re on your first client or your 50th, taking time to remove these obstacles ensures that you’re setting yourself up for long term stability.
Reflect, for a minute, on why YOU chose to build your freelance career …
… for your children or family?
… for the chance to be your own boss?
… for the flexibility to set your own hours and schedule?
… because of your passion?
Whatever your reasons for starting your business, there are unique considerations that freelancers deal with every day that most regular job holders don’t have to face.
We want to help you….
- Navigate the complexity of being your own boss yet having clients you “work for”
- Figure out how to structure your time and your office so that you’re productive and efficient
- Crush self-doubts that seem to insist on riding shotgun while we work on closing sales
- Recognize when your expectations are all out of whack because you are following “gurus” who only show you their highlight reel
- Set guidelines to navigate the highs and the lows so you’re not whiplashed every other day
Need to hear no more? Ready to go? Click below to...
The Happy Freelancer:
Six Foundations to a Fail-Proof Lifestyle Business
...is for freelance entrepreneurs like you who want to overcome mindset/lifestyle challenges when they creep up so as to not jeopardize their business goals and dreams.
FULL OF WISE AND PRACTICAL STRATEGIES, SUGGESTIONS, AND TOOLS TO HELP YOU WIN OUT, THE HAPPY FREELANCER WILL HELP YOU…
- Manage your expectations and ride the highs and lows of owning your own business
- Manage the most precious of all resources for the entrepreneur...time
- Build confidence in your skills or as you expand your business.
- Be as productive as possible in the time you have, from choosing the right clients and managing your home routines.
- Handle the lack of support and understanding when family or friends don’t support your freelance lifestyle.
- Assert yourself with clients so you can maintain your power and independence, yet still be a welcome member of your client’s team!
While other VA and freelance coaches and mentors may give a brief nod with trite advice to the thinking that gets in our way of success, we speak from experience - our own, and the experiences of hundreds of our members.
We support them with these very issues in our private Facebook group for students of Create Your Laptop Life, and we see these issues in our other Facebook group, VA and Freelance Lifestyle Mastermind.
We don’t just talk the talk, we walk it, hand in hand, with our MEMBERS.
FROM SOME OF OUR MEMBERS
Some of our peeps....
I had the most amazing meeting with Julie. Seriously, 2017 is going to be the best year ever for my business (so far).
I feel totally up-leveled! Confident and ready to go after more clients. THANK YOU JULIE!!!
- Meghan
Tonight I will be locking myself in my bedroom and planning out my first quarter for 2017. I have also decided that I will charge what I'm worth and not feel bad about it! I'm going into 2017 with a new mindset and aiming very high!
- Erica
"Thank you again Julie and Madelaine for helping me KNOW my worth and what's worthwhile for me and my business."
- April
"I have been an under-earner my whole life up until now and it stops here! Drawing the line in the sand!"
- Dani
"Here's to Julie Christine Stoian and Madelaine Corke, setting the best examples with strength, determination, and fierce don't f*ck with us confidence. We love you, we're with you. You are two of the best people I have ever known."
- Jenny
"Thank you so much Madelaine Corke for an insightful (can't think of another word lol) strategy call. I feel more confident than ever about my new career move and really determined to see it through. Oh yeah, the word just came to me...awesome! Thank you."
- Chido
About your CYLL Mentors
ABOUT MADELAINE
{from the desk of Julie}
The first time I met Madelaine, she was my client {true story}.
I'd had a lot of clients in similar industries as her, but never had I met someone so on the ball, together, and professional. We clicked immediately, and I could tell..she had skills I knew not of.
I helped her launch the BETA version of what is now CYLL, and it was wildly successful because Madelaine just intuitively KNEW how to connect with people, help them feel heard, and deliver great content about all the nitty gritty details of business building.
Madelaine started her Freelance business after her third major burn out before the age of 30. She was exhausted and miserable working a corporate career that was (in her eyes!) taking her nowhere (fun!). She realized that the ladder she was climbing was not on the right wall.
There are a lot of details to consider when starting up her freelance business: tracking finances, sorting out how to get ready for tax time, time management, automation processes, sorting out how to communicate with clients online. And what I noticed was how flippin' good at it she was.
She almost made it fun?! What was this wizardry she performed?
Helping freelancers get a business set up professionally, and land their first clients exhilarates her. She's the kind of mentor who will cheer wildly when you take what she's taught you and go further than we even are right now. There's not a mean or competitive or slimy bone in this Canadian's body, And she loves sharing her knowledge and experience with others in an authentic and professional way.
In her spare time Madelaine spends time focusing on her family - her husband Jarrett and their two corgis. Oh, and her garden.
Madelaine’s goal in life is NOT to have a Corporate career, or make 10 million dollars. Madelaine’s goal in life is to live a good life, work with great people, and have the time and energy to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
Also, she bought me a new bra, sight unseen, in a wedding day emergency. You can trust a woman who can pull that off.
ABOUT JULIE
{from the desk of Madelaine}
{from the desk of Madelaine}
Julie’s clients are online entrepreneurs - they build businesses from scratch, launch courses that sell, and create products and offers that are branded and designed to convert. Julie’s client work is top notch. With an astonishing array of talent {from copy to design to code to marketing strategy} she’s built a six figure business out of a blogging career that started over 5 years ago.
With a family of 6 to support, Julie knows how to hustle, find clients, do solid work, gain referrals….and train others to do the same. She runs a solid business that brings in well over 15k per month, all while wrangling 4 children and her own life with her new husband Alex.
Her experience on the ground over the past 5 years is what makes her LOVE helping other freelancers achieve success. The freedom to raise her family in the way she wants, the financial security to support them, and her kick ass experience networking with and signing clients, give her PLENTY to talk about when she works with CYLL students.
Anyone would be lucky to have her for an hour. Having her online in a community plus weekly coaching calls, is an opportunity second to none.
The CYLL Network is a business + lifestyle community for service providers who want to learn, grow, and collaborate. Members pay $199/yr. to be a part of this exclusive network, receive coaching, and build strategic relationships that make them more effective for YOU - the business owner.
CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
Are you thinking, "Hey hey - I want to be on the other side of these job notifications!" Good news! You can be! Just go here.
CUSTOM JAVASCRIPT / HTML
Are you thinking, "Hey hey - I want to be on the other side of these job notifications!" Good news! You can be! Just go here.
FOR SUPPORT ISSUES OR QUESTIONS, PLEASE EMAIL US AT [email protected]
Copyright © 2017 • Create Your Laptop Life™ • A Pipe & Lime Media Brand • All Rights Reserved • Cheshire CT • 203-464-9185
30-minute 1:1 call with Madelaine {schedule at any time}
Join Madelaine for 30 minutes of strategy and brainstorming about your business. Get personal, share your business goals, map out your ideal lifestyle and then strategize about how you will get there! Madelaine will share her ideas, specific to your personal situation. Leave the call feeling excited and focused.
Freelance & VA Toolkit - templates galore!
The Virtual Assistant toolkit is packed with all the tools and templates you’ll need to keep your business running smoothly from day 1. You’ll find templates for proposals, contracts, and more to make it easy to look professional. You’ll impress prospective clients and get better conversions INSTANTLY when you present a professional, organized appearance with what you’ll find here. How much would even one more conversion be worth to you? Now multiply that.
Bonus Course: 12 Sizzling Secrets to Great Selling
Do cold calls make you shiver in your boots … or Jimmy Choos? Tired of waiting for people to return your emails? The Sales Sizzler is coming to the rescue. This 12 day challenge will give you what you need to boost those phone sales, and build your business faster.
CYLL TV: All access pass to every past & future webinar
Tune in to our past (and future) webinars! Get access to both recorded content AND printable slides. Learn about the top mistakes newbie VAs and Freelancers make, and about why it's important to choose a niche to work in! Upcoming content will cover pricing and packaging, and charging your worth! Tune in with us (almost live!), get to know us and learn about the online freelance industry!
One year of free hosting for your new {or better} website
Get a year's worth of free hosting for your new (or existing website). Compliments of Julie and her work as a web designer, take advantage of the benefits web hosting hub has to offer, including....1 year of hosting, unlimited sites, and a custom email address.
1 pager website workshop
Even though our course comes complete with a Genesis web design class (that's THOROUGH)...we also have a 60 minute 1pager workshop where you can literally, have you site...up in one hour.
Sales Funnel Training Class
One of the most lucrative tech VA jobs out there is in sales funnels. If you want to learn the ins and outs, this course will show you step by step, how some of the best funnels are made!