Join host Savia Rocks in this enlightening episode of the "Us People Podcast" as she engages in a fascinating discussion with Adrian Williams, a Course Creation Specialist dedicated to helping established coaches overcome obstacles on their path to success.
• Childhood roots: Discover Adrian's upbringing in a rural setting in Wales that shaped his journey.
• Career evolution: From a flourishing career as a florist spanning three decades to his transition into a Course Creation Specialist.
• Personal growth: Explore the journey to becoming the best version of oneself.
• Business transformation: Gain insights into reshaping and rebranding oneself for success in the business realm.
• Embracing challenges: Learn the value of confronting weaknesses fearlessly and transforming them into strengths.
• The essence of commitment: Understand the significance of commitment in professional, personal, and relational aspects.
Don't miss out on this episode highlighting mentorship, commitment development across diverse industries, and the art of being a creator.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-williams-parrog-agency/
Website: https://parrog.agency/
"Starting with nothing is the foundation for ending with everything." Savia Rocks
Join host Savia Rocks in this enlightening episode of the "Us People Podcast" as she engages in a fascinating discussion with Adrian Williams, a Course Creation Specialist dedicated to helping established coaches overcome obstacles on their path to success.
• Childhood roots: Discover Adrian's upbringing in a rural setting in Wales that shaped his journey.
• Career evolution: From a flourishing career as a florist spanning three decades to his transition into a Course Creation Specialist.
• Personal growth: Explore the journey to becoming the best version of oneself.
• Business transformation: Gain insights into reshaping and rebranding oneself for success in the business realm.
• Embracing challenges: Learn the value of confronting weaknesses fearlessly and transforming them into strengths.
• The essence of commitment: Understand the significance of commitment in professional, personal, and relational aspects.
Don't miss out on this episode highlighting mentorship, commitment development across diverse industries, and the art of being a creator.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-williams-parrog-agency/
Website: https://parrog.agency/
"Starting with nothing is the foundation for ending with everything." Savia Rocks
Hey guys, we made it to season five of the Us People podcast. I'm your host Savia Rocks. And in this season, we aim to empower and embrace creativity through diversity as we dive into the fascinating stories and experiences of a diverse range of individuals. Highlighting their unique perspectives and creative endeavors from artists and entrepreneurs to innovators and activists. We celebrate the power of diversity in driving creativity and fostering positive change. Join us as we engage in thought provoking conversations like. I made myself intentionally homeless. In pursuit of my purpose,
J Harris:we're aware that a lot of people want to present and they, and they were in my position and, and what's worse, they weren't a white male, which is a joke that that's even still a thing. I
Mel:think my family never, ever say you can't do something. So full of support, full of support for whatever dream. If I said tomorrow when I fly to the moon, they'll probably say, I wish you all the best smell.
Savia Rocks:So guys. I just want to say thank you for supporting the Us people podcast for the past five years. And we look forward to sharing another new theme song with you. Let's go.
Adrian Williams:Hi, I'm Adrian Williams and I'm a course creation specialist and I'm here on the Us people podcast with Savia rocks.
Savia Rocks:Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Us people podcast. I'm your host Savia rocks. And today I'm humbled to have the lovely Adrian here with me. He's smiling already. I love it when I begin a podcast and a guest is already smiling. So Adrian specializes in coach creation. He's a coach himself. He's also a trainer and he's also a business owner. Adrian, I want to thank you so much for taking your time to come on the Us People podcast. How are you?
Adrian Williams:I'm good. Thank you, Saria. It's lovely to be here.
Savia Rocks:Definitely. So I'm going to roll into my first question for you, Adrian. And that particularly is, which I love to Us is, Adrian, could you tell me a bit about your background of where you grew up and like your family upbringing as well? Because I think that's also important, but also how that influenced you to be the person who you are today.
Adrian Williams:Hmm. Um, well, I grew up in a fairly sort of rural location in Wales. Um, Essentially a single child that had a brother who's 12 years older. So, you know, for most of my childhood, he was away at school and things. And I guess the being out in the middle of nowhere kind of has some benefits and also has some drawbacks. You know, it was a great childhood being able to just go off over fields and have. Adventures and thoroughly do what I wanted to do. Um, And I suppose, you know, I've seen times where perhaps a little bit different in terms of people's, uh, how they kind of allowed their children to have free reign, you know. Obviously I'm in my 50s now, so things perhaps have changed the way people treat their children now and the freedom that they kind of give them because of concerns. But yeah, I was six. It's quite kind of magical and you know from a young age Really just going off and having adventures, but as I say that also Kind of being cut off and you know distant from other friends it wasn't like we sort of could get get together easily and knock about and uh and do that so I guess from that point of view, maybe it's kind of solitary but Um You know, it was, it was enjoyable. Uh, and I suppose when I was in my twenties, I kind of then sort of moved into civilization, if you like. Get away, get away from country. Um, but, uh, but that was, that was awkward as well.
Savia Rocks:In what kind of aspects was it awkward to you? Was it a thing that you jump from one extreme to the other?
Adrian Williams:Yeah, I think it's You know, really the, my, growing up my nearest friend was probably about five miles away, you know, it was, um, you know, and it, as I say, it was very rural, you know, it was rural Pembrokeshire, uh, it's a beautiful, absolutely beautiful place to, to live and to grow up and safe and all of those, those things. Um, but perhaps. You know, then kind of going and living in a, in a town, and it, uh, it, suddenly, yeah, you had lots of people all around you and the kind of anonymity of it all. It was just a different experience. And yeah, enjoyed it. Never sort of lived in a city for, for very long, but spent time. But I, you know, I don't, don't regret or feel that I missed out really. I had lots of things people in a city you would never have had.
Savia Rocks:That's true.
Adrian Williams:And vice versa, you
Savia Rocks:know. That's definitely true. So talk to me about how your journey began into you becoming a coach and also how you felt emotionally connected to being a coach because For you to be a coach, and I have interviewed other coaches before, and one of the things that a lot of them do say is that you do have to have a lot of patience to be able to be a coach. How did you start, Adrian, to become a coach?
Adrian Williams:I think coaching had been something, you know, for many years I was a florist, you know, for the best part of 30 years before I started doing what I do now. Uh, and I ran my own business, so, you know, I'd been a trainer and essentially kind of coaching people on how to do the job and all of that. So, although technically I wasn't a coach, this is kind of a lot of the coaching skills you need. Uh, I kind of developed then. Then, uh, I suppose about four or five years ago, um, fortunately I had to give up the floristry business, but I kind of moved into online marketing, learning a lot about that, and I started working with coaches. Because I'd had coaching myself and couldn't really realize the value of it and how there were so many other people out there that would benefit from coaching in all sorts of aspects with a business, relationship, health, whatever it might be. Uh, so I wanted to try and help coaches coach more people and help more people. That was important to me. And that then ended up, I kind of moved into coaching. helping them with courses. One, because I found a lot had issues around courses, because there tend to be a few moving parts and they perhaps didn't know how to put it all together. And, you know, excuse me, a lot had sort of, uh, fears around the technology or blocks or whatever it might be. So I found that they, uh, they needed help a lot of them. And of course it helped in my desire. for other people to be, get coaching and help by introducing leverage and scale, so they could help, you know, many more people, um, through courses than they might be able to just doing one to one work. So that's kind of why I ended up going down the road of helping them with courses, particularly, as I say, a large part of it was, one, I saw it as an area they needed help, but also just satisfying my desire to help people get coached.
Savia Rocks:That sounds good to me. So I want to talk about you have quite a few skills. So we have you as a coach, we have you as a trainer, which is a similar thing, but then they also can be different at the same time. We have you as a business owner. And then we also have you which I've read, you can help people do courses in 60 days, which I think is tremendous because you being able to help people do courses and build a course in 60 days enables them to have a course for life if they choose to have this. So I would love to know. What a day in your life is like so Adrian, I'm going to Us you, could you break down from the morning that you wake up to your process of how you interact and communicate with a client who wants to have a course done by yourself and what is the process like, but also how it comes out in the end?
Adrian Williams:Yeah, well in terms of working with, with a, a client, you know, or a coach, it really starts from the initial topic idea of what they want to teach and that really should be congruent with their business model. You know, it should be a part of their over overall model. Uh, probably give somebody a foundational win and deepen. their desire and knowledge to, to go further for that, with that coach. So it becomes part of their overall marketing funnel. Um, but it's also what's very important is that they find out what their students want to learn. And this, this is something I find a lot of coaches kind of get wrong. They think I want to teach this. And I spent a lot of time creating, messing around with videos, you know, shooting videos, reshooting videos, editing, mucking about, uh, uh, And then they have their finished product, and they kind of put it out there. And if it doesn't actually meet what their market wants, they're suddenly left with a product that they have to try and find to fit to a market, rather than actually just starting off by Using their market, what do you want to learn about this? How do you want to learn it? What's, what do you need? or feel that you would need to make it successful for you, and then creating around that. And that's, you know, much better way. So, in terms of, if you like, my day, I guess I kind of very often start with sort of a bit of meditation, um, that kind of sets me up for the day. Um, I have done sort journaling, that kind of thing. Probably not as, quite as much as I should, but, uh, I sort of, you know, I, How to have a coach and, um, sort of trained by Bob Proctor, I don't know, you know, sort of working with him for a while. And a lot of that is kind of the repetition and, uh, and, and really becoming emotionally attached to that new person that you're trying to become, because essentially that's, that's, you know, you have to let go of where you were. Yeah.
Savia Rocks:Yeah. In order for you to evolve, you have to.
Adrian Williams:Yeah. And, you know, I think this is, you know, it's obviously, it's incredibly easy to say, you know, you have to become the version of the person that you want to be. Yeah. It's a lot harder to actually do it.
Savia Rocks:That's true.
Adrian Williams:Um, but I guess the, you know, the analogy of. of, you know, if you're a smoker and you want to become a non smoker, at some point, you have to give up being a smoker. You have to actually physically stop smoking. And it's whatever bit of coaching you're getting, At some point, you have to evolve from that person that does those things, has those thoughts, the behaviors, the actions that are driving your life and what is happening in it now, and move to becoming the person and that you want and the outcome that you want. But by definition, it means you essentially, you have to be different. You have to think differently. You have to act differently. Um, and, and it, you know, it's a lot easier said than done. Um, But but it, but if, if you want to get to that, uh, that place, you know, that sort of higher income, that better career, that better relationship, whatever it is, you have to stop what's not working for you now and do something differently.
Savia Rocks:I like that. I like the way you break that down to me. So my next question actually connects with this one, which is, could you tell me how you feel? What is the deeper meaning or personal significance? of what you are doing to help people develop themselves and their brand.
Adrian Williams:For me, it's a large part of it is so many coaches work just one to one and, you know, whilst that's great and you can get great results for, for the individual, they're limited by time.
Savia Rocks:That's true.
Adrian Williams:You know, how many one to one clients they can, physically talk to in their work week where courses can make a great difference is that they can introduce the leverage of scale, that it's one to many. And you know, whether it's five, 10, 100, 500, 1000, however many people go through that course, if you can touch and improve their lives. You've done it probably on a much larger scale than you would ever achieve through one to one. I
Savia Rocks:agree with you. I totally agree.
Adrian Williams:Um, you know, and so it's not to knock one to one in any way, shape or form. It's just a different way of delivering and it's bringing that scale of one to many into their business. So you know, their impact as a coach in helping people can be so much greater because they can help more people. And from a business point of view, it also allows them to bring more people into their funnel.
Savia Rocks:That's true.
Adrian Williams:And increase perhaps the numbers that they do one to one or perhaps hire a coach that works under them to build their business. And, you know, so, so there, there are many business benefits to it for a coach, uh, as well as the, the kind of more obvious sort of, um, impact that they, uh, can increase.
Savia Rocks:What is it like you being a coach and then you coaching a coach? Because it sounds, it sounds at first, it sounds quite bizarre. I was like, why would a coach need a coach? But we all need coaching. Like, it's like, Yeah. Even if I'm a mentor, I still have a mentor, which makes total sense. But in just in your opinion, and I always love to hear what people have to say about this, how do you feel you being a coach and a trainer helps another coach and a trainer to evolve within themselves and helps you evolve too?
Adrian Williams:Yeah, I think there are a couple of points. One, Yeah, certainly on the training side, you know, I am training them and helping them to learn and develop a skill that they may not have. Yes. Which is how to create a course, a successful course. On the coaching side of it, I can also call out their BS.
Savia Rocks:Yeah.
Adrian Williams:Because You know, we are generally our own worst analysts, you know, we're looking through the, our own, uh, distortions, deletions, you know, perception biases, whatever, you know, we're so. We tend not to see perhaps our own faults or maximize our faults, minimize our accomplishments, whatever it might be. But we tend to look at things from our perspective and having that outside perspective that a coach can have. can really make a, make a big difference because they can, you know, from that outside view say, no, come on, you're doing yourself down or no, you're not doing enough or no, you've got that wrong or whatever it is, they can introduce that, that perspective and, and perhaps give you a different perspective on, on where you are and how you're handling things or how you're doing things. So, yeah, I think, you know, A coach should have a coach, and for them to feel that they don't, It's almost, um, it's, you know, it's like, well, you, you, you're going to coach other people, but yet you're, because they need coaching. And then you say that you don't need coaching as well. Well, you know, why are you any different? Oh, I get you. Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah, so yeah, I, I think it's, it's, it's so important for, for coaches to have coaches as well. And yeah, as you say, you know, kind of the mentor thing, the, you know, mentoring perhaps is, you know, a little different to, to coaching in that, you know, the mentor is the place that you want to be and you learn how they got there. But again, that can be incredibly valuable that if you can get that insight from somebody who's. a step or two ahead of you, then you can avoid the pitfalls that they made to get there and, and, and leverage what they learned. So you can
Savia Rocks:definitely save some time too. So talk to me about the challenges, uh, within what you do. And also talk to me about the agency as well, Adrian, because I would love to know more about the agency as well in more depth of what you do. And but also talk to me about the challenges that you face within the agency that you think needs to change, maybe because of society or maybe because of the people that you work with. So I'd love to hear more about it.
Adrian Williams:Yeah, I think one of the challenges I kind of constantly battle is the kind of marketing messages from the industry. And I feel a lot of people perhaps get kind of unrealistic expectations based on the marketing message that, you know, all you have to do is spend half an hour knocking together a couple of videos, put a course out there, and suddenly, Lots of people will be queuing up to buy it. Whilst that can happen, it's pretty unlikely. Particularly if you haven't done your research properly in the first place to find out what people want.
Mel:That's true.
Adrian Williams:You have to market it, you have to get your marketing right, you have to speak to the potentials, you have to talk to them in a way that resonates with them at an emotional level to get them to buy. So you, you have to know all of these things, but yet, you know, the industry makes it seem a lot easier than it is. And one of the biggest things I feel with, um, the, the course bit industry is that it's also, so many courses have an, a, bismal completion rate. You know, the industry average for a pre recorded course is somewhere between 5 to 15 percent of people that start a course will actually finish it. And, you know, I, I understand why I've done it, um, you, you may have done, and I'm sure many of your listeners will resonate with this, that they've, they've started on a course, whether paid or free, and maybe they've hit a roadblock, you know, something they haven't understood, or, um, Life gets in the way, you know, some other shiny object, or something happens, or whatever it is, and they get distracted and they never actually go back. But, you know, the result is that the vast majority of people that buy courses will never actually finish them, never get the result that they've paid for, uh, and will probably never actually make the difference that they wanted to when they signed up. So, you know, I'm a great advocate for doing live courses. Which is good. Yeah. And because for a start, you get more, a higher level of commitment from the person that signs up at the outset, because they know it's going to be, you know, six or eight weekly calls or whatever the format is. And they show up, you know, they've made that commitment and they'll, you know, carve that time out and they will show up because it's live. And you can give much better support and accountability through that process because you can have Q& A, you know, if somebody's, you know, depending a little bit on the scale of it, and, you know, there is a kind of a hybrid model of just doing Q& A on as well as. pre recorded, which that can work fine as well, but you can give so much better support to your students as they go through the process and get the results. You know, there's a figure knocking around, which I've heard a few times, very well known figure in personal development industry who managed a 3 percent completion on a 2, 000 course. You know, quite why it was, it was that low, I don't know. Um, but it's be perfectly honest, you know, you feel that really should be a matter of conscience for the creator.
Savia Rocks:Yeah.
Adrian Williams:Uh, and, you know, whilst, yes, it is up to the student to do the work, to go through the course, to implement whatever they're learning, to, to get that transformation or whatever it might be, that's fine up to a point. If the format itself is working against them or not helping them, then that's a matter for the creator. And Whilst, you know, on a 10 or 20 pound book, you can say, well, if they read it and do something with it, fine, that's on them, and you say, okay, there's 20 to 20, you know, 10 to 20 pounds worth of, um, duty of care there, uh, it's going to be limited. If it's, you know, several hundred pounds or thousands of pounds on the course, then I think that duty of care shifts a lot more to the creator to actually produce something that works for the student rather than just saying, well, if the student does the work and makes the difference, that's fine, but, you know, my, my hands are, uh, uh, you know, have washed of them as soon as they've paid their money. I'm done. That doesn't sit well with me. I know, I know a lot of
Savia Rocks:people actually do do that, where someone buys the course as soon as they buy the course, they don't care anymore because they've got the money. But one thing I would like to Us you, because you've just said what you've just said to me about people only completing 3 percent and you're paying 2, 000. In your opinion, if this was you, For example, what would you change to make that percentage go up higher?
Adrian Williams:Well, the, the first thing is that, you know, I would have a live component, you know, either deliver the whole thing live, or you can do pre recorded content, but have live Q& A calls. But what is absolutely essential is having support and accountability. because it's through the support and accountability in the process that people will take the actions and get the outcomes.
Savia Rocks:Yeah, that's very true.
Adrian Williams:And, you know, you may never achieve 100 percent success or completion, um, you know, that's, That's kind of the way it is because at the end of it, you're not ultimately responsible for them changing their lives or, or implementing what they've learned, you know, it comes back to that thing of, you know, if you're a smoker, at some point, you've got to give up the smoking. At some point, you have to implement the things that you're learning, but the medium that you're learning should give you as much support and accountability. In the process to actually help you achieve that, you know, and it's why people can have great success at one to one, but, you know, perhaps not with courses because they're just doing a prerecorded thing that, you know, perhaps people will watch the first couple of videos, but something happens. They get distracted and there's no. no accountability, maybe little to no support, so they just fall by the wayside.
Savia Rocks:Which is such a shame. It's such a shame, Adrian, that I'm not going to deny it's actually funny that we're talking about this because I went online and they sent me a link to do a free course and then at the end of it you get a certificate and stuff. And there were things I was looking at that. that was like, okay, so the first thing is you get 30 days or two months or whatever it might be free. And then you have to pay 50 pounds every month for you to continue doing the course. So I was like, okay, so I started it, but some think it's like the course wasn't going fast enough for me, if that makes sense. But also they were only putting out one course a week. So I was only allowed to do one course. A week. So one lesson a week, whereas I find this is just in my opinion, some people work fast or their brain works differently. And I think sometimes in courses they want to prolong it to make it easier. sound like a very long course or be a very long course, but there are people whose brain functions differently when it comes to absorbing information. Do you think that that is something that also matters within the course because people do courses in different ways, like your courses live, which I think is absolutely tremendous that you do it live because then you're in, Everyone's face. You can say, Hey, this is me. I am a real person. I'm not a robot. Number one. Number two, you have that interaction and communication. Number three, if people feel stuck, you'll be able to see. If they look puzzled or stuck, the question I did want to Us you is how would you adapt or change things for especially for within my situation where I felt like I wanted to learn more quicker when you're building a program? How do you know? And I know this is a tricky question. How do you know when you've built it correctly?
Adrian Williams:It's Partly comes back to the research that you will have found out how people want to learn. Now, You know, at some point, you have to make decisions, you know, you can aggregate the data if you like, and you make decisions based on the majority. So, there are always perhaps good people who either want to move quicker, Or slower or have two lessons a week or one lesson a week who, you know, have more or less time in their lives to sit down and, and watch a video or, you know, attend a live call or whatever it is. So, You can only perhaps try and work to the majority. Uh, but if you're putting in things for people to, to practice, or for people to do, you know, in, in my case, it's a, sort of a very linear, you know, my course is very linear, you know, you start here, you do this, that, then lets you move to the next step, and, and you move through the steps. For some courses, it doesn't necessarily have to follow that linear pattern. Mm hm. But if you're introducing homework or for things people to try, you know, if perhaps it might be somebody working with stress or anxiety, you know, getting people to think a little differently or, you know, to recognize a negative thought and stop. And, but they want them to practice something like that, then, you know, maybe allowing them to practice for a week is going to, to help. So. I guess you're never going to please everybody is kind of the answer. Um, and, and whilst, you know, to some degree with the pre recorded, and I guess the hybrid model would work better with this in that you can. Um, allow access to to the content as people are going. So if somebody moves quicker, they move quicker through the content. If somebody moves slower, they can go at their own pace and you can have the Q and a, um, that would would support them at whatever stage. But, um, yeah, it's, I guess it is something that. You know, some people will have more time or move quicker, uh, and It's kind of striking that balance, and I don't know, again, it's partly comes back also to getting feedback from your students, you know, um, and again, this is where live courses can be great because you get live feedback. You find out you can, as you mentioned earlier, you can see if somebody perhaps is looking a little bit. unsure or the questions you're getting. Um, how, how is that going down? Are they understanding or whatever it is? And you can, you can always make changes as you go. You know, I know my first run of my course, I introduced the concept, um, around naming their Um, courses, and I have a feeling I perhaps didn't explain incredibly well, but I, you know, I got, uh, a few questions about it, and so, you know, the following week I kind of went back over it in a bit more detail, and yeah, everybody got it, and of course, the next time I did the course, Rebit went into the into the week it should be. And so, you know, it made the course better. And that's another thing that, you know, live courses allow you to do. Um, so yeah, I guess a bit of a long winded answer, but part of it comes down to getting, doing the research. You have to work with the majority answers within that. Uh, and you know, there are always going to be people who move slower or quicker. Uh, you have to just try and strike the balance that's right for the majority.
Savia Rocks:I definitely think so. I definitely think that's cool the way you brought that down to me. Now I have a better understanding of it because we sometimes, okay, sometimes for me, When you are dealing with so many different professions, when you're interviewing different professions, it doesn't mean you as an interviewer, you're going to know absolutely everything. And, and it, it's nice to know that you are teaching myself, and most probably thousands of other people who are listening, who will be listening to this podcast, um, about doing a course. And somebody may go, Oh my gosh, I've always wanted to do something like this. I just didn't know how to get to the right person to do it, you know, and that's tremendous that you're on the podcast talking about building a course because there's loads of people out there that might do yoga, who might be a runner, you know, who might do cooking and, and it doesn't matter what it is. It's just you getting your brand out to the market. Here's where we start talking about marketing, which is tremendously important. So could you break down how marketing plays such a huge part within the industry of any course?
Adrian Williams:I guess. For me, actually, in the first run of your course, particularly if you're doing it live, you really want to be going to a warmer audience. So ideally, you know, those you're connected to, whether that be your social media, uh, email list, or even if you can leverage, uh, joint venture arrangements. Which can be a great, great way of, of bringing new people into your world. So, you know, those people that are working with the type of people that you want to reach. Um, so, and developing those relationships, and getting them to approach their audience with what you're doing. So, For me, the process really is, in the initial thing, getting some people onto the market research, finding out what they want to learn about that topic. And they're also going to be your hottest prospects, because they're helping you create the course. You're finding out what they want to learn. And, you know, you can Us them, you know, if I'm going to teach this, would you like to be one of my first students?
Savia Rocks:Yeah, see.
Adrian Williams:Which, like, actually comes to a slightly different point, but people like helping you create because they have a piece of the, of that creation. They, Part of their blood, sweat and tears goes into the creation of it. You know, um, slight tangent. There was a, uh, kind of like an experiment done with some IKEA furniture. They gave a group, um, some flat pack IKEA furniture and said, put that together. And they also got some IKEA professionals to put together the same stuff. They were then Used to value, put a value. on their furniture and they all valued their handmade versions higher than the professionally made even though they may have had wonky drawers or you know sort of things back to front or whatever went on just the fact that they had had a hand and part of the creation of that Bit of furniture, they valued it higher than the professionally made perfect version. And so, you know, that kind of works with courses. People like to be part of that process and they'll actually value it higher than something that was, you know, the actual finished product just put in front of them. So, you know, that's a great way of bringing people in. In terms of how you market, you know, get your first students in. Now, again, you know, that could be that from that warmer audience of social media followings, email, joint venture, rather than going anywhere near adverts.
Savia Rocks:True.
Adrian Williams:Adverts come later. Going to a cold audience, you, one, have to get your marketing message absolutely right. And the whole thing from, you know, the advert to the copy, the creative, um, the funnel, the whole thing has to have congruence. testing and tweaking and playing around with, which costs time and money and particularly money. So,
Savia Rocks:you know, you, you
Adrian Williams:want to make sure one, that you've got a product that works. And this is another side of doing a kind of more limited, if you like, in a beta launch. is that you get people through, you can give them the support and accountability to get results, and then you get testimonials from them, which gives you the social proof, which you can then show to a colder audience and say, look, people like you went through this course and got these results. Here's the proof. Because if you go to a cold audience, who don't know you, they're going to want to know that it works.
Savia Rocks:Yeah, very true.
Adrian Williams:You know, particularly, you know, this is why people like, love Amazon, is because they can go and see what everybody else says about the, the product before they buy. You know, people want that, that, uh, that proof and those testimonials that it's good, it works. So that's, you know, another important side, side of it. Um, but you know, if you've got a course that makes the transformation has got great testimonials, you've worked out the, um, the messaging, and you know, you, you're sort of appealing to people on that kind of emotional level. Getting them to really want to make the transformations in their life, or the changes, whatever it might be. Or, you know, coming back to your sort of idea, you know, sort of cookery, you know, they want, want to, uh, to learn a new diet or a new way of cooking, whatever it is that they might want. If you can get your messaging and get them on that emotional level that they're going to, um, to react to, then, yeah, advertising can, can certainly work. But you, you will. You want to make sure your product works first, have gone through that, you know, um, that it is actually doing what it says, that people have got results, you've got the testimonials, and then you can look to, uh, go to a wider audience. But even so, you know, I, I think joint venture arrangements can be an incredible, incredible way of going, because you don't have to pay a penny up front. You only pay a commission when you've received the money. And it also allows the possibility of doing reciprocal payments. Promotions, that if you find somebody who's going to help you, you may be able to help them by promoting them to your audience and get a commission. So, you know, a lot of people tend to be, Oh, I don't want to give away 50 percent of the price. Well, you've paid nothing up front to get that sale and there's always the chance of that reciprocal 50 percent coming back to you from promoting them to your audience. So it's, it's a great strategy. Um, great strategy to follow.
Savia Rocks:I like that. There's definitely something I do want to Us you, which anybody who has any profession, I always like to Us them, what have you overcome? in your life that has changed the way you think and feel and interact with people, especially when it comes to the work that you do, if you would like to share anything?
Adrian Williams:Yeah, um, I guess it partly, it's why I ended up doing what I'm doing. When, you know, I kind of lost the floristry business, um, unfortunately, you know, the building was, I was in was taken over, not a long story, but, you know, I couldn't carry on trading. It put me in a really bad place, you know, financially, mentally, and, and, and so on. Uh, and, you know, part, that's part of why I do what I do, because, you know, I had help, and I had coaching. at that point, uh, and to be perfectly frank, some of the early help is probably why I'm still here. So, you know, it, it was a really, really bad, bad time. And, you know, I realize there's so many people out there struggling in their lives, one way or another.
Savia Rocks:Especially now.
Adrian Williams:Hmm, yeah, I mean this last year, yeah, I mean it's been incredibly hard for so many people in so many different ways, um, you know, either getting, being very solitary and cut off from society because of, it's kind of the way it's had to be, um, you know, I'm sure there are a lot of single people who are having a lot of problems, you know, they, their social avenues have been cut off, you know, perhaps they would have gone to the gym or the pub or whatever it, it might have been, and now that kind of social contact is stopped. Uh, and then, you know, the flip side of relationship breakdowns, because suddenly having to spend a lot of time Yes With somebody Yes And actually finding that maybe you don't like them as much as you thought Or, or whatever, you know, um, and, and work so many people losing work. Yeah. So, you know, there've been so, so many ramifications of what's gone on in the last year. So many people need help. Um, you know, particularly sort of mental health has, has deteriorated. On the whole, um, and the sort of provisioning that was there to help was pretty sparse anyway. Um, so yeah, I'm sure, you know, it's been, been very hard for a lot of people. But there is help out there. There are people that can, you know, that can, can make a difference. to you and yeah, but it's getting out there and and getting getting that help and I think so many people tend to feel that this is the way it is, this is the way my life is, this is, you know, and kind of accept their situation and Unfortunately, they kind of get stuck in that, but getting help to actually see the possibilities and changing. things in their life, really realizing that it's within your power to do what you want to do.
Savia Rocks:That's true. That's good advice there.
Adrian Williams:Um, yeah, and just make the most of it.
Savia Rocks:No, most definitely. What is the best advice that you, Adrian, have ever received from someone that has helped you within your life?
Adrian Williams:Oh, that's a difficult one. Um, I guess. For me, a large part of, um, the sort of problems I had was, you know, I kind of took a lot of things on book, you know, sort of on myself that, you know, taking a lot of things personally, worrying about what people would think and all of these things. And essentially, you were only responsible. for your own thoughts, behaviors, and actions.
Savia Rocks:Exactly.
Adrian Williams:You are not responsible for other people's thoughts, behaviors, and actions. That's their business.
Savia Rocks:Yep.
Adrian Williams:You should never seek to control their thoughts, behaviors, and actions, nor should you allow them to control yours. That's very true.
Savia Rocks:I'm glad you said that.
Adrian Williams:Yeah, uh, I mean, you know, it's, it's kind of Adler's idea of separation of tUss, essentially. And I, it's actually in a book, but I kind of read it, The Courage to be Disliked, by two Japanese gentlemen. It's actually a great book, and I think, you know, anybody who, Has sort of troubles with relationships and things, should actually read that book. Um, because it, it really sets it out, you know, in a really clear way, that essentially you are responsible for your life and what goes on in your life. And it's not anybody else's. business but yours. And, you know, it's, it, it kind of really helped me and I guess developed, if you like, kind of the duck feathers that it's just water that runs off, you know, it doesn't mean that you, you, you have to be ignorant or unfeeling about what other people Yeah, that's true. But it's ultimately You know, you are responsible for your thoughts, behaviors and actions, and don't allow anybody else to try and control them or seek to control others.
Savia Rocks:I know that's really hard. I know it's really easy to say and hard to do, like you were saying before, when it comes to doing a project on something that you really love or you really like. Um, what I really wanted to say is it's, it's just putting, finding peace within yourself because I think that's all something that we all need. Um, and also being able to let go and understand it's not your fault if somebody doesn't understand you or understand that you need to depart and go somewhere else because we all evolve at different stages of our lives as we get older. But also it's very, very important for you to find happiness within yourself and letting go. Or someone that you care about who might be controlling you could be the hardest thing that you ever do in your life, but essentially later on when you do let go and you walk away from it, you'll receive an abundant love, which showed yourself self worth is very important. And I have to emphasize that that self love is so important for everybody. To be able to have that. And I just want to share that with you because you were talking on the subject about people controlling and stuff. And I, I think it's very, very important for us as individuals and human beings to be able to understand that self love should come first. Within you. And then you can find it in somebody else. But the, the, the disaster that we do as humans is sometimes that we have insecurities within ourself. And then we try to look at somebody else and try to find, try to make them heal our imperfections within ourselves when we have to heal them ourselves first. Yeah. And, um, as very, very important.
Adrian Williams:Yeah, I think, you know, part of it, people sometimes feel that kind of self love or being taking care of themselves first is selfish. It's
Savia Rocks:not. But
Adrian Williams:it's not about selfishness. It comes back to the analogy of, you know, being on the plane and the mUss come down and they tell you to put your mUs on first because if you don't put your mUs on you can't help anybody else
Savia Rocks:if
Adrian Williams:you're not fit if you're not in a good state you can't help other people um so yeah you know it's it's not selfishness it's actually Being helpful. It is the best way that you're going to be able to help out and support others in your life.
Savia Rocks:That's true. That's definitely true. Rather
Adrian Williams:than constantly allowing yourself to be chipped away.
Savia Rocks:Yeah. As we do.
Adrian Williams:Because you're putting other people first all the time.
Savia Rocks:How do you feel about the next generation of coaches, of trainers, of Technicians, how do you feel the next generation will have an impact on society and making a change within the world?
Adrian Williams:I guess things have changed so much, you know, in just the last sort of 20 years, the growth of the internet, where the world has shrunk. True. Incredibly. Uh, you know, um, So that the ability to find help and support and information has grown enormously. You know, it's all in a little device that we carry around in our pockets, you know, that we can find out anything that we want in seconds, but, you know, assuming you don't scroll through 50 pages of Google trying to find your answer, but, uh, essentially, yeah, everything that you want to know is out there somewhere and the new generation is obviously going to be thoroughly conversed. And how to use it, you know, it always amazes me. I remember my daughter, when she was about, at that point, I think she would have been about 15 months old, it was sort of her second Christmas, and one of her older brothers was given a tablet for Christmas, and she was watching him playing on it, and then she picked it up and, you know, she was using it. And it's, you know, it's 15 months old, but you know, she was watching and obviously she will be absolutely conversant on how to use this technology as will all her peers. Um, so it's going to be far more. And every day, part of every day life, obviously, I mean, it already is. I think, for what I see in the kind of the coaching industry, is there are, is there an explosion of coaches, but also of people, You know, there's lots of people out there that need coaching, and I guess as, um, we become generally ever more affluent, then people will be able to more afford coaching. So, you know, I see it's certainly a growth industry, and I don't see it any other way. Um, I think the model and the way it's done has changed, you know, I mean, you get the, if you like, kind of the, the more traditional kind of coaching, um, which is sort of the kind of going the accredited route and, um, Uh, there's a lot of newer coaches who perhaps aren't going down that route. I think within the industry there's a move to try and get people accredited and give them that kind of professional qualification, which, you know, I, I don't see particularly as a problem. Um, For me, I think what matters most is that people are getting the results that they promise. Yes. Uh, and that is what is important more than a piece of paper. I
Savia Rocks:like that.
Adrian Williams:Because, you know, and it's something I, you know, going back to when I was a florist, you know, I had no professional qualifications, but I'd been doing it since I was 13. I'd grown up with it and, you know, I'd been doing it for, by the time I finished, the best part of 30 odd years. So, you know, I was thoroughly proficient, um, but didn't have any professional accreditation, but it didn't stop me from being a florist. And actually, you know, in that time I hired, you know, quite a few people over the years. Generally, I found that those that were professionally trained actually didn't make the best florists.
Savia Rocks:Didn't do it with passion that's why. And with passion, they had a piece of
Adrian Williams:paper that said that they were a florist, but actually those that came, um, perhaps being artistic,
Savia Rocks:And,
Adrian Williams:you know, creative and having a willingness to learn, they were the ones that made the best florists. So, you know, whilst there is a sort of a move within coaching or, you know, sort of a certain noise that people should be accredited. And I can kind of understand that because depending a little bit what area of coaching you are, you are playing with people's lives to some degree. Um, but what is most important is that people are getting the results. And I think that largely the market will dictate whether you survive or not. If you're not getting the results for people, then you're not going to get clients because you won't get referrals, you won't get, um, uh, testimonials. You won't get all of that that actually says that what you do works. Okay. And getting a piece of paper, if you're no good as a coach, doesn't make you a good coach.
Savia Rocks:Yes, I'm glad you said that. I'm glad you said that. It's a bit like marriage. Um, it's a bit like marriage. Sometimes people who don't have the papers have a way more better relationship. Sometimes people who do have the papers do, but I, in my opinion, I find that the people who have the smallest of weddings, the smallest intimate weddings, the smallest Their relationships last longer rather than the people who are doing it for show and having a big wedding and spending all this money. Their wedding only lasts about a year or two, but, um,
Adrian Williams:yeah,
Savia Rocks:I've seen it.
Adrian Williams:Yeah. I was going to say my past life as a florist, did I, I did enough with weddings to, to see that there were so many that, um, it became an all consuming thing for 18 months, two years of their life. This one day that, you know, their whole focus, uh, um, their whole focus was so much on that one day that they actually kind of completely lost sight of their relationship. And then it, you know, they, they actually have their. their big day. And suddenly, yeah, it's kind of, oh, who are you? You know? Oh, yeah. And you know, it's such a sort of anti climax. Um, yeah, yeah, I think the smaller intimate affairs were, you know, worked so much better. Not so good for me as a florist, but you know, I wanted lots of guests. And, uh, tables to decorate and all of that, but it
Savia Rocks:happens. It definitely happens. I've only got two more for you, Adrian, before we go. So my second to last one is, which I find to be one of the most important questions I do Us is what advice would you give to anybody looking to go into a similar field like yourself? But also the reason why I Used that question is because. Sometimes in life, they might feel like they don't have enough money. They might feel like they're stagnant. They might feel like they don't know what direction to go in. What advice would you give this person who has these doubts within themselves to keep on going, to keep being positive, to find avenues to do things? What advice would you give them?
Adrian Williams:I think, for me, you know, You can, you know, perhaps sort of some slightly more obvious limitations do whatever you want to do. You know, it's probably unlikely that I'm going to become a, you know, a Premier League footballer. Um, but, but essentially it's within your, ability to do what you want to do. Deciding what that is becomes a matter of you as, as a person. What skills do you have? What do you enjoy? What can you bring to the world that is going to be in alignment with you as a person? And, you know, uh, this is often something I talk about with coaches about niching. You know, a lot of coaches, perhaps a life coach. Well, you know, unfortunately, most people don't actually wake up in the morning and think, Oh, I must go and get a coach today. They think I have, you know, I want to have a better career, I want a better business, I want, um, to have a better relationship or whatever it might be. They're looking for outcomes. So, for those coaches, it becomes a matter of, of niching down and, you know, who are you helping and what are you doing for them? And deciding how you do that is really about alignment. Who are you aligned working with? Who are you aligned helping? How can you help them? And, you know, more specifically with coaches, you know, will those people be able to afford what you want to pay? Um, uh, but, you know, it really comes down to what is in alignment with you. I guess there's that kind of the Japanese ikigai kind of idea. Um, that if you can, you can get those four. Things balanced and achieving, you know, the, you know, your, your sort of purpose, your skill, your, um, your passion and mission. So it's, it's really finding out within you what you want to do, what lights you up, what is going to make you jump out of bed in the morning and think, yay, another day of work.
Savia Rocks:That's true. Because if it's not, you need to change your job.
Adrian Williams:Hmm. And unfortunately, you know, so many of us, or so many people do go through that thing of, Ugh, it's Monday. I've got another week of seeing those people I hate, doing a job I loathe, and dealing with, you know, idiot people. But yeah, you do it. Because that is what you have learnt to do, what you trained to do, what you were expected to do. Uh, and you know, there can be all of these sort of pressure from, you know, not just the economic, but sort of family, peers, expectations that people take on and end up kind of stuck in, in a position that they really, you loathe and wish they could break free from and I guess it comes back to what we were saying earlier about you are responsible for your thoughts, behaviors and actions.
Savia Rocks:That's true.
Adrian Williams:And if you don't like what you are doing. Only you can change what you are doing and do what you feel called to do.
Savia Rocks:That's true. That is definitely true. That's some good advice there. I know, I know people are like, yeah, but it's hard. But you'll find a way if you want to do it, guys, you will find a way. You would definitely find a way. Adrian, my last question for you. Everyone loves this one. Thanks. Could you tell us where we can find you on all your social media platforms? And if anybody would like to contact you the same way I have been humbled and grateful to be able to have an interview with you today, where can they find you?
Adrian Williams:Well, I'm pretty active on LinkedIn. That's kind of main, um, Place I am. Uh, so if anybody looks up Adrian Williams and then Parag Agency, that's P A R R O G Agency, that'll, that'll bring me up on LinkedIn. Uh, I am on Facebook, but not, um, an incredible user of it. Uh, and if anybody's interested, The website for the course is coursecreationclarity. com.
Savia Rocks:I like that.
Adrian Williams:You can always find information there.
Savia Rocks:Perfect. Adrian, I want to thank you so much for taking your time to come on the Us People podcast. You've been such a great guest with the information that you've given. And even I've learned so much from it because I didn't even know how to create a, how can I say, a online course that you could do it. And I was thinking, Oh, this is amazing having Adrian on because he'll be able to help so many people understand What they can now do to get their brand or their product out there in the world. So people can now be able to say, Hey, this is me and where they can get their products and just be who they want to be and go to the next level. So I want to thank you so much for coming on. I've had such a great time.
Adrian Williams:It's been lovely. Thank you very much.
Savia Rocks:No, you're welcome guys. Thank you so much for listening to the Us people podcast. And please remember you can subscribe to Spotify, iTunes, Google play, and any other platform that you prefer listening to. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And you can also donate to the Us people podcast by simply going to the Savya rocks website or just typing in paypal. me forward slash. Us people podcast guys, thank you so much for listening, stay happy, stay positive. And as always, please continue to be kind to one another. Spread your wings and let them wings out Fly like a superman Through the darkness of the night You'll be guided through the
Adrian Williams:light For me It's really just people getting out there and doing it. And I was just thinking, actually, as you were wrapping up, perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it, you know, it's, you start where you are. And I think this is something else that a lot of people kind of get wrong is they feel that they have to have professionally. Shots and edited video and all of them, you don't just get on in front of a camera with a, you know, your laptop webcam and, and, and produce it.
Savia Rocks:Spread your wings and let the wind glide you high. We're just soaring through this journey, leaving fear far behind. Our hearts are full of courage, you can win if you try. We direct the S to you, you'll see the power of the S if you try. I fly like I'm Superman, spread your wings and let the wind glide you high. And we're gonna go ahead and get started.