From struggling to find the right clients to creating and selling a clear offer.
Name: Kath Robinson
Business: Based in Berlin, Kath helps business professionals overcome their challenges speaking English at work—giving them the language skills and confidence to actively participate in meetings.
https://www.kath-robinson-english.com/just-talk-club.html
Problem: Kath was struggling to attract the right clients and felt lost about how to change this. Her focus was too broad and generic, making it difficult to create a sustainable, impactful business.
Result: Through the programme, Kath developed a clear picture of her ideal client and refined her niche. With practical, step-by-step guidance, she successfully launched her Just Talk Club, which is now a key part of her offer for both online and face to face clients in Berlin.
“And I think I’ve got probably lifelong lessons from it. That’s, you know, not only have changed what I’m doing in the short term, but in terms of, yeah, what I can use going forward with my business. It’s made the world of difference.”
Why did you decide to do Designed to Flourish?
I decided to do Design to Flourish because I was really struggling to get enough of the right clients and I was feeling quite lost, kind of floundering about on my own. Knowing that lots of things weren’t right, but not knowing how to make them right. I had been aware of Rachael for probably a year and a half before I joined the course.
I first came across her on LinkedIn and then I joined the membership. I’d been to several training sessions and I just found that Rachael always spoke so much sense. And after going to all the workshops, it was always like, ah, that was so obvious. But somehow on my own, I just couldn’t quite get there myself.
And I think that’s actually always a sign of a really good trainer who makes it all. Yeah, in hindsight, suddenly it all seemed so obvious and it just made everything fall into place. So, yeah, I liked her clear, calm, very organised way of working.
Did you have any hesitations about doing the programme?
So I first thought about joining the course probably a year before I did… and then Rachael told me how much it was and I went very quiet for a very long time. As I slowly digested this huge amount of money, which because I couldn’t get my offer right, wasn’t earning very much, so it also seemed particularly big. But as time went on, I realized I kind of had to bite the bullet, and by spending this money, I would be able to earn it back multiple times over.
What were some of the specific benefits of doing the programme for you?
I think the first benefit was definitely getting a much better idea of who my ideal client is. Interestingly, I didn’t really realize quite how far along I’d got with this until quite recently. I was going back and reviewing something I’d written a year ago or 18 months ago before I did the course. And God, I was so general because I was just talking about business English.
And obviously, Business English is this massive area and what I do is, it’s very specific. So getting a much better idea of my niche – the course has definitely made me much more strategic in my approach to business. Rather than just throwing stuff and hoping some of it stuck, actually assessing it and taking the time to really work out what was working and what wasn’t.
Any ‘aha’ moments?
I had several ah ha moments on the course. Probably the biggest and most helpful for me was to realise that to launch a new course you don’t need to have the finished all singing, all dancing course ready. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. You just need a minimum viable product and then you see what works. you see what doesn’t, you learn what you have to spend money on and what you don’t and you get lots of feedback, and all the things you couldn’t possibly have thought of beforehand. So probably without the course, I’d still be working out how to launch my Just Talk Club and what it should look like and, and going through all those things.
Was there anything which exceeded your expectations or suprised you? .
Something that I found very, very useful that I hadn’t realized was included was the unit on time management and efficiency. I realized the best, most valuable time of the week when my brain was at its best, I put aside to do all my boring admin. So that was not going to change my bank balance much!
I also hadn’t really thought about working with other people in the group calls and I made some great connections and our intake are all still in contact and we meet month on month and we talk about how we’re doing, so that’s been a good benefit. And in terms of surprised, yeah, Rachael always surprised me actually by just quite how far she was willing to help us and how generous she was with her time and her ideas.
Would you recommend the programme to others?
I think if you’re someone who knows you’re a good teacher and has got a great idea, but just somehow can’t get your business working for you, I think Rachael’s course is worth its weight in gold.
And I think I’ve got probably lifelong lessons from it. That not only have I changed what I’m doing in the short term, but in terms of what I can use going forward with my business. It’s made the world of difference.