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Cohort vs. Evergreen: Why I Choose Cohorts

Cohort vs. Evergreen: Why I Choose Cohorts

by | Jun 25, 2025 | Business model

Cohort vs. Evergreen: Why I Choose Cohorts for My Group Programs

Cohort vs. Evergreen: Why I Choose Cohorts for My Group Programs

I’m going to discuss the cohort vs evergreen but first let me tell you my story. Back when I first started this business, I came across a business coach running a highly successful membership for entrepreneurs. She had thousands of members and was charging around £40 month bringing in six figure revenue each and every month. As you can imagine, I was inspired by this model.

Wanting to learn more, I joined the membership and witnessed first hand the weekly live calls and extensive resource library of classes and decided (rather naively) that I would create an ethical business membership along similar lines.

In 2017, the Female Business Academy was born. I built my own website, reached out to some amazing business owners to come and teach classes, had a beta launch where 20 women signed up and I was excited to grow it into something big and profitable.

I worked my butt off and created some really great classes with some really amazing teachers.

2 years later I shut my evergreen membership down because it simply wasn’t making enough money.

One year after that I launched my cohort business mastermind.

Cohort programs are a big part of my business model. I’m a huge fan of the format and I want to share with you why.

The downsides of evergreen

Evergreen groups usually mean something that people can join and leave anytime they want.

With this situation, there are two things you need to be paying constant attention to: the retention of existing members and the recruitment of new members.

If you don’t pay attention to these two things then existing members will eventually drop off and few new members will join. Meaning you’ll be doing the same amount of work for diminishing financial return.

This is pretty much what happened to my membership, resulting in a situation where I was working hard to create new content every month for a tiny number of people, who were paying just a couple of hundred euros a month between them.

This is why when clients come to me with dreams of running an evergreen group program, I usually recommend that they don’t. Here’s two reasons why.

It’s hard on your own

What I failed to take into account when creating my membership and hoping for the success I’d seen others have, was that I didn’t not have a marketing team and huge ad budget.

It was just me. Me creating the content, me doing the marketing, me delivering the content, me onboarding new members, me managing the community. And to top it off, zero budget for ads.

Those big successful memberships you’ve seen? I bet they’re all from established multi 6-figure business owners who spend a ton on ads and have a team to help with marketing, content creation and community support. They’ve likely been in business 10 years plus and have a goldmine of existing content they can repurpose and repackage without being on a constant treadmill of content creation

Can lack a sense of community

When you have a group that people can join at anytime, the group is constantly shifting. One of my favourite things about running group programs is the bond that develops between group members. The same set of people working on the same things at the same time.

If people are joining and leaving at different points the group never really gets a chance to bond and develop into something that feels truly safe and supportive.

The Shift to Cohorts

I made the shift to cohorts back in 2020 when I launched my first yearlong group mastermind. It meant a set start and end date with a big launch to fill it.

It definitely wasn’t all plain sailing, That first year, I charged way too little, gave way too much and only had 6 members sign up, which dropped down to 4 as two members dropped off part way through the year,

That first year was a slog and given the time I spent creating content and on live calls, it definitely wasn’t a profitable first year. But, I was determined to make it work so I launched again in 2021, this time I put the price up, offered less (I took out individual 1:1 sessions) and got 14 people signed up (which dropped to 12 as the year went on). Much better.

Since then it’s grown year on year, so much so that I now have two groups a year. And of course because I spent those first few years developing marketing materials, class content and structures and systems, what I have today is something I can roll out with ease, year on year.

Why Cohorts Work

There are several reasons I love the cohort model:

Marketing is contained to one launch

For some people the pressure to fill the group with a single launch is a reason to avoid cohorts but that’s what I love about them. Once the launch is over, I can focus on service delivery without worrying about getting more sign ups. Is the launch period intense? Sure, but I’d rather a contained period of intense marketing rather than needing to market all year round.

Strong sense of community

Because everyone starts together, it’s easier to cultivate a sense of trust between group members. For me the group dynamic that grows in my yearlong program is a huge part of the group’s magic.

Even in my shorter programs, strong relationships are built that often last longer than the program itself. It’s not uncommon for members of my group programs to go on meeting and co-working together long after the paid program ends.

Creates shared momentum

Because people are working on the same things at the same time and at roughly the same pace, I’ve found a much higher level of engagement and accountability. People don’t want to miss calls because they don’t want to fall behind and also because you get to know your fellow group members well you don’t want to let them down by no-showing on calls.

Clear boundaries

I like the fact that with cohorts, there are clear boundaries around when I’m marketing and when I’m not and also when I’m in service delivery and when I’m not. Because my Conscious Business Mastermind is yearlong, I don’t get to switch off from that one, but my shorter group programs are between 5–7 weeks which means they’re intense while they’re live and then I can switch off and focus elsewhere when they’re not.

Who Evergreen Is Good For

Is there ever a good time to build an evergreen group program? Yes, in my opinion when you have the following two things in place:

You are an established business owner with a sizeable audience that is growing all the time because of consistent marketing.

AND…

You already have content to share plus a budget/team for things like ads, community support and marketing.

Can you do evergreen without these things? For sure, but it will be harder. That doesn’t mean it’s the wrong option for you.

Which model is right for you?

I’m not saying that cohorts are the right approach for everyone.

Or that one model is better than the other, but if you’ve been struggling to make evergreen work, you might find some of things I’ve shared helpful in understanding why.

I’m also not saying that I would never use an evergreen model for groups, in fact I have one currently in development but for now, the stage I am at in my business with the audience size I have, cohorts will usually be my go to for group programs.

How about you? Which model do you prefer or feel most drawn to? I’d love to hear about your experience with either cohorts or evergreen or your plans to start with one of those formats.

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Rethinking Your Business Non-Negotiables

Rethinking Your Business Non-Negotiables

by | Jun 11, 2025 | Big picture

Rethinking Your Business Non-Negotiables

Rethinking Your Business Non-Negotiables: Prioritising What Really Sustains You

Have you noticed that there are some things in your business that are considered business non-negotiables? Meaning you’ll show up for them come rain or shine, even when you’d rather be doing anything else.

Client sessions, for example, are one of the things in my business I show up for no matter what. I plan around them, prepare for them, and hold that time sacred. And rightly so—they’re the heart of what I do.

If you’re anything like me, however, there are days when you just feel like hiding under the duvet (I think it’s an introvert thing), and the last thing you want to do is talk to people… yet, even on those days, you can bet I turn up to my client sessions with my game face on, mustering all the energy I’ve got for the person in front of me.

Recently in a mastermind call (I joined a business mastermind group myself in 2025!), the coach said:

What would it take for your content creation to be as much of a non-negotiable as your client sessions?

As someone who has been struggling to stick to my once-a-week newsletter schedule, I haven’t been able to get her question out of my mind.

Why is it that some things feel like non-negotiables in my business and others don’t? Business activities that are just as important as client sessions but feel much easier to put off.

The backend tasks. The outreach. The content creation. The systems maintenance. The inbox. The quiet behind-the-scenes work that doesn’t always feel urgent, but is absolutely essential to long-term sustainability.

I can’t help wondering what would shift if we treated those actions with the same level of commitment as a client session?

If following up with a potential collaborator… or writing your newsletter… or reviewing your finances was something you just did—without the internal back-and-forth?

This isn’t about rigid routines or being in a mode of hustle. It’s about recognising what truly supports our business and honouring that with our time and attention.

The Difference Between Urgent and Essential

Part of the reason these tasks often get deprioritised is that they rarely scream for our attention. There’s no external accountability, no set appointment, no one waiting on the other end of a Zoom link. No one to let down (but ourselves).

But that doesn’t mean they’re not as important.

The most sustainable, easeful businesses are built on the quiet consistency of internal commitments. The weekly newsletter. The regular outreach. The financial tracking—even (especially) when income feels sparse.

These are essential tasks.

I’ve seen first-hand how prioritising working in the business (client sessions and service delivery) at the expense of working on the business (e.g. content and outreach) leads to a slowdown in growth.

In 2024, I got so busy working in the business, delivering sessions and group program calls, that I let priorities like writing my newsletter and keeping in touch with people slide. As the year closed, the number of 1:1 clients I had on my books had dropped to its lowest number in 4 years. I don’t believe this is a coincidence.

Why Client Work Feels So Non-Negotiable

It makes sense that client sessions come first. They’re:

  • Time-bound and scheduled

  • Tied directly to income

  • Connected to your sense of service—you don’t want to let anyone down

But what if your content, your visibility, your outreach were also seen as acts of service? What if they were just as crucial to your ability to show up for your future clients as a session is for the ones you already have?

When we only focus on the urgent and consistently fail to show up for the essential, our business will at best, cease to grow; at worst, slowly die. That might sound dramatic but it’s not.

I remember years ago looking at six-figure business coaches like George Kao and Tad Hargrave and wondering why they worked so hard on marketing when they already had huge audiences and were fully booked. I soon came to realise that they prioritise their marketing so that they stay fully booked.

Making Time to Work On the Business, Not Just In It

If you want to rethink and recommit to your non-negotiables, here’s what I recommend:

1. Identify Your Core Non-Negotiables

Not everything needs to be sacred—but some things do. Choose 2–3 actions that you know you need to be doing on a regular basis to move your business forward. That might look like:

  • One newsletter a week

  • Two personalised outreach messages

  • A Friday CEO check-in on finances

  • Time blocked for creating new products and services (or working on that sales page!)

2. Choose and Commit

Once you’ve identified your non-negotiables, pick one you’d like to focus on for now. As tempting as it is to try and start being consistent with several things all at once, I know from personal experience that this is just setting yourself up to fail.

It’s easier to add in one new non-negotiable and get consistent with that before adding any others.

Once you choose your non-negotiable for now, head to your calendar and block out the time. Make the slot recurring every week if you have to. The key is to protect that time. Don’t book over it. Don’t shrink it to the margins of your day. Give these actions the structure and respect you already give your client work.

3. Build in Accountability

I know how hard it is to stick to our plan when we’re the only one watching. You might think I just make a plan and stick to it when nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, over the past 12 years of working for myself, I’ve had to learn ways to keep myself accountable. My favourite ways are:

  • Announcing my commitment to my audience. For example, telling you right now that I’m recommitting to my weekly newsletter schedule. You heard it here first!

  • Doing regular co-working sessions. At the beginning of this year, realising how much more work I got done inside the monthly Cabin Intensives I attend, I reached out to Cabin host Daniela and asked if she would let me host a second monthly intensive. She said yes, and now I do 2 half-day co-working Cabin Intensives a month. I can’t tell you how much more work I get done.

  • Use your calendar. I’m always surprised by how few people schedule their most important activities. I’m a huge advocate of creating and following an ideal schedule.

  • Tell a business buddy. Just telling one other person what we plan to do and then making the commitment to circle back and update them on how we got on can work wonders for our motivation.

4. Let Go of Perfection

Sometimes the very reason we find it hard to follow through on something is because we’re making more of it than we need to. We’re trying to be perfect, which only stops us from doing anything!

If we’re striving for perfection, it’s likely we’ve attached an outcome to the task at hand. For example, this piece of content has to make people want to hire me. With thoughts like that, it’s no wonder that we buckle under the pressure. So what if you just took the pressure off and went with good enough for now?

Let Your Business Evolve With You

Non-negotiables can change. What worked for you six months ago might not make sense now. As your business shifts, your time, energy, and focus will too. That’s not a failure—it’s just feedback.

So take a moment to ask yourself:

What actions do I know support the long-term health of my business—but haven’t been treated as essential?

Pick one. Just one. And this week, show up for it like you would for a client.

No debate. No rescheduling. Just presence, commitment, and trust that it matters.

Because it does.

Leave a comment and let me know what your non-negotiable is and how you get on. I’d love to hear.

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Once a week, in the form of an e-letter, I share the best of what I know about building a business with integrity for conscious business owners.

The intention behind these letters is to be a voice for integrity within your (undoubtedly) cluttered inbox. To be the one email you can count on to contain strategic and soulful advice for building a business without selling your soul.

If you want to receive the Soulful Strategies Weekly, simply share with me your name and email address below and you’ll start recieving emails right away.

Selling Without Selling: My Approach to Sales Calls

Selling Without Selling: My Approach to Sales Calls

by | Jun 3, 2025 | Selling

Selling Without Selling: My Approach to Sales Calls

Selling Without Selling: My Approach to Sales Calls

I want to share with you a behind-the-scenes look at how I run my “sales calls.”

A colleague of mine shared with a group of fellow business owners about her sales process and said, “I hate sales calls.” In the responses that followed, nobody seemed to question this and talked about everything else she had shared instead. But for me, that’s the only thing I heard.

You see, I love sales calls. Well, if you can call them that. I don’t actually think of the call I have with a prospective client as a sales call at all.

In fact, as I pondered her statement, my first thought was that perhaps she hates them precisely because she sees them as “sales” calls.

I have never described the call I have with someone who is interested in working with me as a sales call. Instead, I call it a Work Together Call, and selling is actually the furthest thing from my mind when I get on those calls.

I’m not sure what my colleague does on her “sales” calls, but my guess is that she’s doing some version of pitching her offer. I don’t pitch. Instead, what I seek to do is serve.

Step 1: The Application Form

Why I use one:

1. I get to collect important information that informs my decision as to whether this person is a good fit or not

2. It sends the message that working together is not a given. It speaks to the fact that I don’t just work with anyone who wants to work with me. I have clarity on who my ideal client is, and I choose only to work with those people.

I’ve learned over the years that working with less-than-ideal clients benefits no one. As the coach, you end up dreading the sessions and fail to perform at your best, and the client also suffers because you are not a fit for them. So what’s left is just a deeply unsatisfactory experience had by all. Not worth the money in my opinion.

Step 2: The Work Together Call

Early on in my coaching career, I realised how sales or “discovery” calls were set up in such a way that it felt like the onus was on the coach to convince the prospective client that working together was a good idea.

I rejected this outright.

For me, more important than getting the sale is determining whether or not we are a fit.

  • Is this someone I actually think I can help?

  • Is this someone I think will do what they need to do for the coaching relationship to work?

  • Is this someone I want to work with long term?

There’s no pitching in this scenario.

Entering Work Together Calls with ascertaining fit as my intention is so different from entering the call with the intention of making the sale.

So if I’m not pitching, what am I doing?

Usually, I’m mentoring. I start the call by saying something along these lines:

“We have around an hour together today and I’ve found that the best way to determine whether or not we’re a fit is to dive right into mentoring you. I’d love to know more about your business and your current struggles and in return, I’ll share my best advice and strategies so you can get a sense of whether or not my approach to business is one that will work for you. There’s also time for you to ask me any questions about how I work if you have them. How does that sound? If there’s anything else you want us to cover on this call, let me know now and we can make sure we save space.”

And that’s what we do. If someone were to listen in to one of my Work Together Calls, they would be hard-pressed to see the difference between that call and a session with a client.

Typically, around the 50–55 minute mark, if I have made the decision that this person is a fit (which thankfully most people who apply are), I’ll say something like:

“I’m just noticing the time and I want to share that I would love to work with you. How are you feeling?”

And usually follow up with:

“There’s no need to make a decision today but I’d just love to check in at this point to see where you are at.”

Most people are already a yes, and I actually have to encourage them to sleep on it. I’m a big believer in slowing down the sale because putting the person and their best interests before the sale is a key principle of what I call conscious business.

Why I Don’t Need to Sell on Calls: My Content Does the Heavy Lifting

Most people who get to the point of applying to work with me have already read a fair amount of my content. And because I write content with the goal of serving people rather than selling to people, they already have a really good sense of how I work. They know my approach and my point of view and, as such, have a good idea of what they will get if they work with me.

At the end of Work Together Calls, when I ask how they’re feeling about working with me, it’s not uncommon to hear:

“I was already a yes to working together before we got on the call.”

It’s not my sales page that sells my offers. It’s not the sales call that sells my offers. It’s more often than not, my content. Time and time again, I see this to be true.

A Final Note

I hope this insight into my process has been helpful and, if you have been dreading or avoiding sales calls, that this offers you a more aligned way.

It’s also worth noting that I use the application + Work Together Call process now, but when I was still building my business and had far fewer clients, I would offer a gift session + a Work Together Call, which you can read more about here.

In fact, if this is something you’re working on actively, you might also be interested in a class I taught called Designing Your People-First Sales Process, which you can watch below.

 

If you have any questions about what I’ve shared here, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you.

SIGN UP FOR MY SOULFUL STRATEGIES WEEKLY

Once a week, in the form of an e-letter, I share the best of what I know about building a business with integrity for conscious business owners.

The intention behind these letters is to be a voice for integrity within your (undoubtedly) cluttered inbox. To be the one email you can count on to contain strategic and soulful advice for building a business without selling your soul.

If you want to receive the Soulful Strategies Weekly, simply share with me your name and email address below and you’ll start recieving emails right away.