Interview with Sarah Anne

1 Can you tell me about your life path and what led you to be the entrepreneur you’re today?

I started my first business at 18 by mistake, without knowing that I was starting a business. My first venture was a multi-level marketing role that involved doing door-to-door sales. I went for it because it required no experience, and the ad promised high income as a result of joining. 

At the time, I struggled with a mental health crisis, diagnosed with bipolar and borderline personality disorder. I did not stick with anything for very long, but I knew after I started working in MLM that one day I was going to have a business of my own. 

The psychology behind sales and human buying behavior fascinated me. The ability to use that knowledge to make money was the main driver back then. I had dropped out of school and felt the weight of the massive disappointment of my parents as they were expecting me to go to a university. I connected making money with being successful, so I became obsessed with sales, money, and human psychology. 

At 21, I went bankrupt, and with what little I knew about business, I assumed that I would have to wait until this passed before I started another business. I spent a few years building a career in sales, creating sales systems, processes, and training for companies like Metlife and Bayer before realizing I could start a business anytime I wanted.

During my business journey, I spent the first year going to a series of live events, paying my entire salary each month to walk away even more confused and lost. I built a website over several weeks that I never ended up using. Additionally, I fussed months and months over creating the perfect program with no idea how I could sell it. To top it off, I consumed several hours going back and forth with design people over logos that I did not even know what I needed them for.

I never ended up selling that very first program that I had created with my blood, sweat, and tears. To make matters worse, I bought an expensive camera, lighting, and backdrops to record it only to be told by my business coach that the people I wanted to sell my program to were not my ideal clients. Instead of sales professionals, I needed to teach entrepreneurs how to sell.

Learning all this led me to teach coaches how to close sales for their high-ticket programs. It was probably close to a year and a half before I signed my first client using Facebook. 

During the year that followed, I went from zero to over 200K. After having clients come back to me, sharing they could not sell because they did not have leads transitioned into creating training around how I was also generating leads and finding clients on Facebook. 

2 What were some of your first challenges in entrepreneurship?

While I was working with my business coach, I did not realize that my message was vague. Although my first Facebook group included professionals, business owners, people selling jewelry, coaches, multi-level marketers who needed help with sales—I mostly just posted ads. The announcements (ad posts) made it very hard to connect with people, get engagement in the group, and position myself as someone who got their struggles and could help them. 

The biggest challenge that drives me insane to this day is technology. I felt like I needed to learn and be able to do everything which became a problem in itself. For example, that problem led me to spend so many hours trying to build my website. Similarly, I spent several hours wanting to cry and bang my head on the desk, trying to edit videos or create pretty things. I could have easily paid someone to do the things that I found challenging to do.

3 What does a workday look like for you? 

During the week Tuesday through Thursday, my days start with group training calls for different programs I run at either 6:30 am or 7 am.

Once I’m done with training, I’ll usually reply to messages on Facebook that have come through over the night before going to the gym or the beach for some fresh air. In the afternoon, I work on different projects, like creating new training and taking care of admin work.

Usually, on Wednesdays, I will head to friends and work there to break things up a little. This way, I am not sitting at home all day every day of the week, and we keep each other accountable.

4 What do you enjoy most about the work you do? / What are you most excited about right now?

What I love most is what I have always loved most. I light up when I sign up clients because, at that moment, I commit to help other people solve their problems while building my financial freedom. The vision of their success fills me with joy. When my clients share with me that they have signed clients, I feel the exhilaration and fulfillment of being part of their journey. I love it so much!

Also, I am crazy excited about this new business partnership with Divya to include her services inside my program to have my clients gain media exposure. 

I am convinced that simplicity is key to execution and success. I am always trying to find ways to get my clients better results without overwhelming them with more sales and marketing information or training. This ability to bring something like this to the table for them is inspiring.

5 What skills do you think are most important for someone interested in becoming a successful business owner?

People can learn any skill or outsource tasks that require skills that you are not good at. Most people remain stuck where they are at because they hold themselves back or lack discipline or the ability to face rejection, or they lack belief in themselves. Thus, when outcomes are not desirable, people tend to pull back rather than push forward. It is all about having an open mindset to keep pushing through the challenges.

Nothing is more important than an open mindset. Having an open mindset allows you to stretch yourself, see possibilities in failures, and continue on the path to success.

6 What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage it? 

For a long time, I had this massive fear that I would have to give up the friendships and relationships I already had to be successful. Over time it has become apparent that this isn’t true, as long as an association is positively serving all the people involved. A person doesn’t need to have a ton of dollars in their bank account. What matters is the kind of person they are. 

Last year I got to work with Michelle Bridges in a mastermind group. She answered a question about my fear beautifully. She responded that she surrounds herself with passionate people, whether that be her nail lady or cleaner. Michelle’s answer guided me to have loving and happy people in my life! 

7 What advice would you give to other women who think they are not enough?

Woman up! Put your big girl pants on and prove yourself wrong. I spent close to 10 years of my life, fighting for my mental health. And plenty of times, I did not feel good enough, but the fact that I wanted more for myself kept pushing me. So, I kept turning up and trying. Not recognizing my value is a confidence issue, and the only way to fix a confidence issue is to turn up and do the work, do the uncomfortable things over and over until you build that muscle just like any other.

When you prove to yourself time and time again that you are enough, and you can do whatever task is in front of you or overcome whatever challenges you face, confidence eventually becomes part of your identity. You become someone who will always be more than enough and can achieve anything without questioning herself. 

8 What is the vision of your life five years from now?

This vision question is tough for me to answer. I know they say that the most successful people have long term plans, but I am not sure. I am pretty blessed to live my life and have the freedom that I have. I totally love what I do as I continue to get better.

I want my signature program to become the best in the entrepreneurial space for getting coaches and service providers 10K months, but what that looks like, I am not sure yet. 

9 What do you wish you had known when you were starting in this role?

If I were to do it again, I’d start with a business coach sooner and not have spent so much time and money on events or doing random courses without having a clear direction first on how I was going to grow my business. 

Sarah Anne Bio

Sarah Anne is an authentic, caring, and client-centered sales and marketing trainer who helps coaches reach six-figure income by bringing more value to their clients. Sarah shows entrepreneurs how to charge more by either increasing the results, or the speed or ease with which their clients get results. You could go without numbering. I’d even go as far as suggest you remove it. But it all comes down to magazine interior design, so it’s up to you.