The Group Program Trap (& why your brilliance isn’t enough)

Business Foundation Skills, Business Mindset, Get Out Of Your Own Way, Strategic Planning

Let’s talk about the entrepreneurial equivalent of trying to run before you can walk – launching a group program before you’ve built an audience.

I see this all the time: brilliant women with transformational gifts who create amazing group programs… that absolutely nobody buys.

And then they’re left wondering what the heck went wrong.

Here’s the truth that nobody wants to hear (but I’m going to tell you anyway because I actually want you to succeed):

Your genius isn’t enough to sell a group program.

I know. That stings a little. But stick with me.

Think of your business like a basketball arena. (Stay with me – this metaphor works, I promise.)

Your group program is the game everyone’s coming to watch. But if you don’t have people in the seats already – a warm audience who knows who you are and what you offer – you’re essentially playing to an empty stadium.

And trust me, nobody wants to be the first one at the party.

This isn’t about how amazing your content is. Your content could literally cure everything from anxiety to cellulite, but if nobody knows about it, nobody’s buying it.

Just ask Kimberly Joy Rieli, one of my RISE clients…

Kimberly is a gifted sound healer and voice coach. She’s magnetic. She’s magical. She can literally transform someone’s energy with her voice.

But when we first connected, she was sobbing on the phone with me because:

• She had FOUR people in her group program
• Her savings account was draining fast
• She had followed another coach’s advice to “just build it and they will come”

Spoiler alert: They did not come. Because not enough of them knew she existed.

Inside RISE Business Academy, we completely flipped Kimberly’s approach:

1. We filled her 1:1 practice FIRST – Because cash flow is queen, and because working with individual clients gives you the insights to create a group program people actually want
2. We built her lead generation system – Speaking gigs, partnerships, content that actually attracted her ideal clients (not just random likes)
3. We clarified her message – So people instantly understood the transformation she offered
4. THEN we re-launched her group program – With 5 women already enrolled before she even officially opened it! 

When Kimberly finished her second group program launch – drumroll please…18 people in her group program!! BAM!

Now Kimberly’s teaching in Bali, going on tour, and running her business from wherever the heck she wants. (Because freedom is kind of the point, right?)

If you’re already at six figures plus and rolling your eyes thinking “This doesn’t apply to me,” I’m going to lovingly call you out.

I’ve seen plenty of established entrepreneurs crash and burn with new group offers because they stopped filling their arena.

Your audience has a shelf life. People move on. They solve the problem you help with. They get distracted by the next shiny thing.

If you’re not constantly bringing new people into your world, your next launch will feel like trying to squeeze water from a stone. Or worse – you’ll fill your program with misaligned clients just to hit your numbers, and then spend the next six months regretting it.

(And trust me, no amount of money is worth working with people who drain your soul. Been there, done that, needed a spiritual cleansing afterward.)

Look, I get it. Building your arena isn’t as sexy as launching a group program.

• Creating content consistently? Not sexy.
• Networking and building relationships? Time-consuming.
• Showing up to speak, even when only three people register? Humbling.
• Having sales conversations? Terrifying for many.

But these foundational activities? They’re what actually WORK.

When you build your arena first:

• You don’t have to beg people to join your programs
• You don’t have to discount your offers to get people in
• You don’t have to convince anyone of your value

Instead, you simply extend an invitation to people who are already fans. And that, my friend, is the difference between struggling and thriving.

Your Next Step

If you’re nodding along thinking, “Darn, this is exactly what I needed to hear,” then I have a question for you:

Are you ready to build your arena the right way?

Because inside RISE Business Academy, that’s exactly what we do. We help you:

• Get crystal clear on your ideal client
• Create a lead generation system that actually works
• Fill your offers
• Scale your business and launch your group programs

If you want to chat about RISE, hit reply and let us know you’d like a conversation. 

We’ll jump on a call to see if RISE is your next best move. And yes, if you cry on the call (like Kimberly did), we’ve got virtual tissues. And strategy. And possibly inappropriate jokes to make you laugh through the tears.

Because building a business is hard enough. You shouldn’t have to do it alone.

The irony isn’t lost on me that I’m telling you not to launch a group program… in a post about my group program. But here’s the difference: I’ve spent 14 years building this arena. And I’ve helped hundreds of women fill theirs too. If you’re ready to be next, comment below.