How I Made 8 Figures in 4 Years Sharing My Personal Story with Sunny Lenarduzzi: An EOFire Classic from 2021

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. Brought to you by the HubSpot. podcast network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like Talking Too Loud. Today, we're pulling a classic episode from the archives and we'll be breaking down how Sunny made eight figures in four years. And to drop these value bonds, we have brought Sunny into EO Fire Studios. She is a social media consultant, business growth coach, and philanthropist who helps experts turn their experience into six and seven figure empires using video marketing. And today, Foundation, we'll talk about the tipping point.

0:38Once you get out of that initial hustle and grind, it's better to do less. We'll talk about how audience does not come from virality. It comes from value, content, relevancy, and you are the basics for every platform, and so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Sonny and our sponsors. Marketing Made Simple, hosted by my friend, Dr. JJ Peterson, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Marketing Made Simple brings you practical tips to make your marketing easy, and more importantly, make it work. A recent episode all about how Liquid IV is using marketing to shake up the beverage world, dives deep into the strategies that have propelled Liquid IV to remarkable success.

1:17A must listen. Listen to Marketing Made Simple wherever you get your podcasts. Sunny, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Oh, hi, everyone. I'm so happy to be here. This is so exciting. So I would say that the biggest thing that most people disagree with me on is that you have to constantly be breaking your back to be successful. I find there's a tipping point once you get out of that sort of initial hustle and grind phase where it's actually better to do less and it'll make you more productive. And Fire Nation, we're actually going to be diving into that specific topic later in this interview.

2:00So stick around because we have a lot of awesome stuff when we go over how Sunny made eight figures in four years sharing her personal story. So let's just first off talk about, is this even realistic for entrepreneurs to share their personal story and actually generate significant revenue? Absolutely. And I really do think regardless of the type of business that you're going into, if you looked at some of the biggest businesses in the world and some of the most well-known CEOs, oftentimes the business is centered around a problem that they wanted to solve for themselves or that they have solved for themselves.

2:34And their clients and consumers are mirrors for them. And so not only is it possible, but I see proof of it every single day. So I was able to do it with my own story and build an online course business around it. But I've now helped people who have the most unique stories and most niche stories be able to take that and scale it into a real profitable business. I have one woman who was a very insecure and awkward teenager and hated going to any social setting or dance party because she just felt super uncomfortable and was a wallflower. And she's now built an entire business around teaching adults how to dance in social settings.

3:13And during COVID, she launched her business during COVID and she's generated$100 ,000 in nine months with this online program that she has. And she's impacting people on such a deep level because it's not just about learning how to dance. It's about being confident and not making up excuses to not get on the dance floor with your wife or your husband at weddings or at parties. So I've seen it firsthand on so many occasions that I absolutely know that your story is a vital piece of how your business can grow, but also it's a vital piece of why people want to do business with you. We're not in the era anymore of people buying from logos or necessarily these big corporate conglomerates.

3:55They're wanting to buy from a know, like, and trust factor and feeling relatability and humanizing a brand. And nothing humanizes you more than your own story. A deeper meaning. I love that part, Fire Nation. I love when Sunny talked about how it's not just about dancing or this stuff, but it's about the confidence to get on that dance floor and actually shake that booty and look somebody in the eye and say, yo, these hips don't lie. And like when you were talking, Sonny, about that, by the way, like the person that came up for me was Elon Musk. Like here's a person who is, you know, just this person that's, he's willing to tweet anything.

4:29Like he's just out there. He's, he's making a stance and he kind of now has this like pack of rebel followers. Like to own a Tesla is kind of almost like, I'm kind of like Elon Musk. Like I like to break the rules. Like I like to be a rebel and, and people kind of resonate with that. It's not a logo anymore all the time, Fire Nation. I think this is some really interesting things. And one thing, Sunny, about my audience is that they love specifics. So what specifically do you do to find the interesting parts of your personal story to share? What is the Sunny process? Yeah, there's a couple of questions to really help you get to the root of it.

5:04And this truthfully is the first step to understanding your niche, which I think a lot of people struggle with in the beginning. And oftentimes what I see is that it's because you're looking externally, you're looking at what other people have done and thinking, oh, well, if they've been successful, I can be successful doing that. But it has to be really unique to you. And oftentimes it's going to come internally. So what's the hardest thing you've been through in your life? Entrepreneurs are problem solvers. We are problem solvers. That's what we do. And so if you've overcome anything, that's a really big clue as to something that you can help others with and create a business around.

5:42Another great question to ask is what is a painful thing that you've been through that you were able to overcome and how did you overcome it? What was your process? What makes you different than anyone else on the planet? What are some of the things that make you stand out? Those are often at the core root of it as well. And then what is the number one thing people ask you for help with? I know for myself growing up, I was always making videos. And I honestly thought it was something that everybody did. I was making videos for my parents for their anniversaries and friends for their birthdays and making movies up.

6:15And I really thought it was a normal thing and it was a blind spot for me. So it's not that surprising that my entire business now revolves around some facet of video. So it's often the things that you take for granted about yourself that are really where your most profitable niche and business lie. Fire Nation, I want to go through a few of those things. What's the hardest thing you've been through in your life? Like think about that story. What's the most painful thing? How do you overcome that? Like the hero's journey? What makes you different? Like I love that question. What's the one thing that people ask you for help with?

6:48And how, Sunny, how you put that is kind of like the curse of knowledge. It's kind of like, well, I have the knowledge. Doesn't everybody? Isn't everybody good at this thing? Like, of course, like we have this curse of knowledge and it's just not true, Fire Nation. So I love that question. and you're willing to talk about specifics. I think that's one reason why you've had such success in the online world. And you had a terrifying experience while you were on vacation and it literally transformed your business. Tell us more. Yeah, I hit massive burnout a few years ago and it was something that I had so much shame around for a long time because I really felt like to be an entrepreneur, you had to be strong and you had to be independent.

7:32You had to do everything by yourself. And I realized that really does come from a place of ego. And it's a lot of the times to do with seeing examples of what entrepreneurship looks like without having any context for what goes on behind the scenes. And you kind of look at these people who are on a pedestal and you think, oh, well, they're doing it on their own. And so for me, I actually went on vacation and it was the first time I had taken a vacation in my business in a very long time and I had just started to build my team out and I had support. And so I thought I'm going to take some time off.

8:05And when I took that time off, I realized that I had all these underlying stressors and anxieties and things that were bubbling to the surface that I really hadn't dealt with because I was just so busy all the time with work that I wasn't paying attention to any of it. So it all kind of came to the surface And on a typical Wednesday night, I was just about to go to bed and I just, I couldn't fall asleep. My mind was racing. My heart was racing and it got worse and worse and worse and very meta. I was lying in bed, looking up and Googling what to do when you're having an anxiety attack because I kind of figured that was what was going on.

8:43And eventually it got so bad. It was like six hours later. It's the middle of the night. I ended up calling my mom as you do and bless her. I have no idea how she woke up. She woke up, drove over to my apartment and walked in. And I really thought she was going to walk in and be like, oh, you're fine. You know, let's just take a deep breath, lie down. You're going to be fine. She walked in and my mom's a tough cookie. And the look on her face was terrifying because she looked freaked out and concerned and she was trying to cover it up. And she said, you know what, I think I'm just going to call the ambulance just to make sure.

9:17And she calls the ambulance. And again, I think that the paramedics are going to come up and they're going to be like, oh, you're fine. You're having a panic attack. They come up, they see me and they say, you're having all the symptoms of a stroke. I'm 29 years old at this point. You're having all the symptoms of a stroke. I'm going to give you these baby aspirin and we're going to rush you to the hospital. So they rushed me to the hospital and I'm looking around my surroundings and there are people who are keeled over from overdoses. There are people dying of cancer. And there's me at 29 years old, totally healthy otherwise, having all of the symptoms of a stroke.

9:55So they rushed me and did all of the tests, did all the examinations. And they said, you're just having a massive, massive panic attack, massive anxiety attack. And it hasn't happened since, but it truly was the turning point in my business where I had to take a step back and realize that the way I had been operating was not healthy. And also in addition to that, it wasn't scalable. I couldn't go on being everything to everyone and customizing my services and what I was doing to every single person who wanted to work with me. It was like I still was in that very beginner stage entrepreneur or a mindset of just take what you can get instead of realizing that I had the experience and the knowledge that I could be more picky in who I wanted to work with and also more specific in who I wanted to work with and creating that specificity.

10:46And I always saying niching down to blow up, it allows you to create freedom. And so I, from that moment forward, really dove into how can I make this more of a freedom based business and a business that works for me and not against me. And I believe that's why I've been able to turn the corner in such a big way. I've never had an experience like that since I've really sort of kept my energy in check. And I've created this business model that from that day, we've doubled our revenue consistently every single year. And we've done eight figures in the last four years by packaging my expertise into scalable online programs.

11:24And Fire Nation, one thing I want to share is Sunny's still willing at this stage to be vulnerable, to be open, to be honest, to be transparent, to continue to share her story through this journey, to continue to be relatable on such an amazing level. And if you think Sunny's even close to being done dropping value bombs, Fire Nation, you have another think coming. We have some awesome things coming up as well as something we teased earlier about how to do more by doing less as soon as we get back from thinking our sponsors. There are plenty of things to worry about when trying to grow your business.

11:56Don't let tech be one of them. If you're looking for the right tools and a platform that connects your team seamlessly, then look no further than HubSpot's customer platform. With HubSpot's customer platform, you can spend less time switching between systems and more time on growing your business. Sounds pretty great, right? HubSpot's customer platform is a single source of truth for organizing and tracking all of your marketing, sales, and service activities. That means no more misaligned teams, no more switching between tools, and no more wasting time. It's that simple. Have customer service top of mind?

12:27Get ready to lighten your service team's load and scale support to get your customers the info they're looking for fast. Plus, with its AI-powered tools, you'll always have the most important and up-to-date prospect and customer info to close more deals, elevate your brand, and serve customers better. Get ready to grow with HubSpot's customer platform. Visit HubSpot.com to learn how HubSpot's customer platform can help you grow your business. Sunny, we're back and you somehow do more by doing less. How is this even possible? I am a big believer ever since I did go through that burnout, it forced me to audit and really pay close attention to what I was doing and more importantly, why I was doing it.

13:12I think as entrepreneurs, we have a tendency to believe that being busy makes us worthy or that being busy makes us more successful. And I really started studying some of the biggest entrepreneurs in the world and their habits and how they operated. And what I learned was, no, no, they're not doing everything. They're focused on the one thing generally that is in their genius zone. And so I started to identify, okay, what are the things that I'm best at that nobody else can do for me? And that is creating the content for our programs and creating content, obviously, to promote it. So marketing and building relationships.

13:50That's what I am best at and not something that I can have someone else do for me. So basically everything else, I started to get off of my plates or stop doing altogether. So I was either outsourcing it or I was not doing it at all. And I think it comes back to something I call my three A's and I live by this and I do this every single week and on a monthly basis as well. I do an audit and I go, okay, what can I ax? Meaning, is this entirely necessary? Do I actually need to be doing this? Or am I just doing this to fill my calendar and to feel like I'm successful and busy? So what can I ax? What can I ask for help with?

14:28Which is huge for me because I used to hate asking for help. So what can I ask for help with? And then what can I automate? Because there's so many things in your life you can automate. One little thing for me that was a game changer was I am not the best cook in the world, nor do I enjoy it. So I was like, you know what? Maybe it's best that I have a food delivery service. And that freed up so much time. So I think really paying close attention to the activities that you're doing and is there benefit to them or are you just doing them to do them? Fire Nation, I love these three A's. What can I ask?

15:05What can I ask for help with? What can I automate? I mean, on the exact same way, if Kate didn't love to cook, then I would so have food delivery to my door literally probably every day. I would just be like, just bring it seven days a week, you know, send somebody in, do my laundry. Like, let's just automate things so that all of my bandwidth, all of my mental bandwidth can go to the things that only I can do and that only I want to do. I know that nobody can work out for me. So I'm going to hit the gym hard. You know, I know that nobody, you know, can do these podcast episodes for me. So I'm going to hit the interviews hard, but all the other things that I could potentially automate or I could potentially hire out, like I'm going to do those things so I can be the best version of myself for the things that I can and need and want to do.

15:48And so let's talk about some secrets because you got some secrets, Sunny, and I'm not talking about like hidden secrets. I'm talking about secrets to successfully sharing your story on YouTube. If Fire Nation is listening, they're like, I get it. I understand this process. But what are some secrets to actually sharing their story? Yeah, I mean, I think it really does go back to those questions that I mentioned earlier as prompts for you to start writing down some of the things that you've learned for yourself and some of the biggest changes that you've gone through in your life or maybe in your in your business and identifying what are key things that you've been able to accomplish or overcome.

16:24I like to think of it as, and this is what I call it, a mastered that list. So you basically brain dump everything that you've been able to do or accomplish or master and start identifying the key themes there. And those key themes can start building out entire content pillars for social media. And you can turn those into videos for YouTube. You can turn it into written posts on Instagram. You can turn it into podcast episodes. So really going back to those questions and just the general idea of what is a problem you've solved for yourself or someone else, an obstacle you've overcome, a skill you've mastered, career experience or life experience, and then what's your own zero to hero journey?

17:08That is where your best content comes from because it's unique to you. I want to give a really quick example of one of the situations where I was talking to an entrepreneur who was so external focused, he had lost complete sight of what he was here to teach. So he was a very fit guy. And you could see just aesthetically, I was like, wow, you're in great shape. And he's a personal trainer and he wanted to create a program around personal training. And I said, who's your ideal customer or client? And he said, pregnant moms. I had to laugh and I said, why? He said, well, I saw this other woman create a business around serving pregnant moms and how to get healthier and more fit.

17:51And I thought that was a great idea. And he said, but what's your story? And he said, well, I, you know, I had a drug addiction and I was at my rock bottom and I discovered fitness and it was what got me through and saved my life. And I said, that's your story. I said, I don't know if pregnant moms are your ideal client or if you're really looking for more people who are a mirror for you and have maybe gone through something difficult and are using fitness as the outlet to overcome and be the healthiest version of themselves. And once he kind of turned the corner on that, he realized, oh, that's my client.

18:25That's my niche. So I think when you're looking at YouTube specifically, it's really not as complicated as people might think it is. At the end of the day, there's what I call a flywheel on YouTube, and it's like a business as well, the more you understand the four key components, the faster the flywheel starts to move and the more that it starts to grow on its own. So you really have to understand who's your ideal viewer first and foremost. And generally, that person is going to mirror a lot of the things you've been through and the things that you've wanted to learn that now you're able to teach.

18:58You have to create relevant content for them. So that content needs to be discoverable through the search engines on YouTube because YouTube is a search engine at the end of the day. That's the key functionality of it. But also, once you start building an audience through search and people are finding you through specific topics and keywords that are relevant to them, then YouTube starts to use the algorithm, which is the third piece of this, to categorize your channel. And once it knows how to categorize your channel, it knows how to leverage the other traffic sources in YouTube to attract more viewers, more ideal viewers.

19:32So it's using browse features. It's using suggested videos to help you dominate in your space and to reach more of those ideal viewers, which creates even more of an audience for your relevant content, which creates more algorithm categorization, which creates, again, just more of a push through the traffic sources to create more viewers. That's really how you grow. So the content has to be relevant to who you're trying to reach. And the really easy way to figure that out is what are you interested in? And what do you wish was out there? And what kind of content are you constantly searching for?

20:03What podcasts are you listening to? What books are you listening to or reading? And what do you want to teach the world? If you could talk about one thing for the rest of your life, what is that thing? The real formula for success on YouTube comes down to relevancy plus intent plus you. And I think that's what people forget. They think they need to be somebody else or copy the video style of some big influencer on the platform. But YouTube is like a big, huge ocean. And if you don't know who you're trying to attract or what you're there for and why you're making your content, you're going to sink to the bottom of the sea because there's so much content being uploaded to YouTube every day.

20:44And if you don't have an audience to begin with, you're not going to be able to grow by trying to jump in the deep end and creating these broad video topics or just motivational video topics. You have to start with knowing who your viewer is and creating relevant content to that viewer. And that starts to get the engine going and start to build the momentum to grow your channel faster. Relevancy plus intent plus you, Fire Nation, not some weak, pale imitation of somebody else, you. Now, Sunny, I'm not afraid of hard work, but at the same time, I would like to hear some realistic ways to increase our subscribers in a meaningful way.

21:21I will say this, because I've worked with thousands of people now, almost 10 ,000 in growing their presence on YouTube. And your first 100 subscribers, everybody will tell you this, your first 100 subscribers are the hardest to get. But after 100, it starts to get easier and easier and easier. And it goes back to that flywheel concept I was just explaining because when you understand who you're trying to reach and the algorithm starts to pick up on that, it starts to help your channel by distributing it to traffic sources. So in the beginning to start gaining your subscribers, one of my best tactics and something that I did in the beginning is spending 20 minutes a day looking up a topic or a keyword, Just type it into search on YouTube and go to every new video on that topic and go to every channel that's talking about that topic and get into the comment section and leave thoughtful, relevant comments because those comments can get pinned.

22:19I have a client that I work with who has a channel with about 100 subscribers and she commented on another channel that has the exact audience that she's trying to build and that channel has 1.6 million. And she left this really thoughtful, really valuable comment under one of his videos. And her comment got pinned. And she gained 10 subscribers an hour for the next couple of days. And it started to build this really relevant audience to her channel. So then her content was getting more momentum every time she pushed it out. So community is everything on YouTube. And community building is the best way to start growing a really relevant audience that your audience is actually interested in what you're sharing on YouTube.

22:58and they're going to engage with it, which is going to push it further to more eyeballs and more relevant viewers in the algorithm. So spend 20 minutes a day looking up any topic that is highly relevant to your audience and commenting on any of the new pieces of content, engaging with the other commenters, following people on social media who are commenting on those videos, building this universe basically, and this ecosystem around you on all of your platforms of, again, I'm going to say the word one more time, highly relevant audience members and viewers. And Fire Nation, if you're going to do all this hard work, you still need to remember at the core, your content has to be really, really, really good.

23:40Because at the end of the day, you can do all the right things and you can have your comment pinned. And then those people are going to go check out your channel. But if your channel kind of stinks, it kind of sucks. I mean, they're not going to stay. They're not going to subscribe. They're not going to add to that flywheel effect. So I always tell people hone your skills. Like people are like, John, how do I grow my podcast? I'm like, well, become a better podcaster. Like that's one huge way to help. And I'm being genuine with them too. I'm like, listen, I'm rooting for you. But right now, if someone goes and listens to your podcast with all this hard work you're doing and like advertising and all doing all these things and they're like, ew, this is bad audio quality.

24:15This is choppy. This is this and that they're not going to stay. So hone your skills, put in the reps. I mean, Sonny, you have something like, I think like 358 videos. I mean, you are putting in the reps. I have over 3000 podcast episodes, Fire Nation. I am putting in the reps. If you love this thing, if it's you, you should be as well. And you've been able to do so well. And what you do, Sonny, is that you've been able to level up your generosity. So talk to us about how you've been able to use your success to give back. Yeah, this has been something that I really do believe. And I've thought this way for a long time.

24:48One of my first mentors said this to me, generosity equals abundance. And I really, truly believe that. And it's actually how I built the beginning of my business. I started putting out free content with truthfully no real intent behind it other than I had a bunch of clients because I had a little agency and those clients were always asking the same questions. And so I thought, okay, how can I help all these clients without having to go to individual meetings or getting on the phone. So I started making YouTube videos, answering their questions. And I had no intention of building a brand, but because YouTube is a search engine, I was starting to get discovered and all of these thousands of views.