Joy Phillips is a certified archetypal consultant who created her own WordPress site for her coaching business “Once Upon an Archetype“. A self-described perfectionist, it took her a few months to get the content and graphics exactly how she wanted it – and by creating her own website and having the knowledge to make changes, she also had the FREEDOM to make changes without having to fork over a ton of cash. Read more about Joy's business and journey below.
When did you start your business, and why did you create it?
I started my business in March, 2014 after completing my training and a rigorous certification process with Caroline Myss’ CMED Institute to become one of her certified archetypal consultants.
I created Once Upon an Archetype to help courageous women who are struggling to lose weight and dealing with chronic pain, fatigue, invisible illness, and stress identify their core archetypes (patterns of behavior), and I then teach them how their archetypes contribute to the chaos they’re experiencing. This is my passion and my life’s purpose because I am so much like my clients. I share their struggles, so I totally “get it”! As a matter of fact, we share many of the same archetypes.
What do you feel makes your audience/readers special?
They fight a courageous battle every single day while maintaining a positive attitude and remaining proactive – never giving up.
Has anything surprised you about creating a website?
The time it took to finish it LOL!! I love how WordPress tracks your edits. I think I’m up to nearly 2,000 edits on my welcome page right now. Yes, that’s the Perfectionist archetype in action!
But seriously, I really enjoyed creating my site (I have the Artist archetype too, so being creative is a part of who I am). It’s so ME – the colors, the graphics, the content. And it attracts perfect clients!
How long did it take you to create your WordPress site?
I actually started working on my website after my training was complete, but before I was finished with my certification. It took about 3 months before I felt good about releasing it for the public to view. But even after I released it, I still made quite a few changes in content and graphics.
Did you hire a graphic designer or did you create your own graphics?
I created my own graphics using Photoshop. Creating the graphics was probably the most fun for me! I also love to write, but writing the content for my website took much longer than creating the graphics.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about starting their own business?
Put your doubts aside and GO FOR IT! You wouldn’t have the dream in your heart if you weren’t born with the talent to make the dream come true. Believe in yourself!
If you could go back in time and do something differently, what would you do and why?
I would have put aside my perfectionism (and my fear of rejection) and put myself out there in a bigger way much sooner than I did.
How fast did your audience grow? How many visitors/subscribers do you have?
It took a few months before my audience started to grow. I am currently on my 3rd opt-in and I think I’ve hit it right this time because I’m getting quite a few sign ups on a daily basis now. It seems like it took forever, but I’m getting visitors in the thousands now per month. I know that’s nothing compared to a lot of online entrepreneurs, but I see increases each and every month in Google Analytics, so I’m pleased.
I’m also the type who believes that the Universe will bring me the right clients in the perfect timing, so I’m going with the flow. 😉
Is this your only job? Did you launch your business while working another job?
No, I was not working another job when I created my website. As a matter of fact, like many of my clients, I’ve been on a medical disability for many years.
Do you have an email list? If so, did you start it when you launched?
Yes, I created my first opt-in and signed up with Mailchimp before launching my website, so that I could start building a mailing list immediately. Everything was in place and ready to go the day I took my website off of “maintenance mode”. What a relief that day was! 😉
How do you promote your site?
Thus far, I use social media to promote my site – mainly Facebook. And, of course – word of mouth. My clients have been very kind in sharing my services with their friends and family.
Do you earn money from your site, and if so, how? Affiliate marketing, ads, products, etc.? Did you intend to earn from it when you launched?
I earn money from my private coaching programs and self-study programs/workbooks that I created to help women who prefer to save a few bucks and go it alone. I still make myself available via email to offer as much support as I can to my self-study clients.
I’m also launching an online “healing” retreat in the next couple of weeks, which will be a monthly subscription-based service set up in an eCourse format where clients will have my daily support in discussions and reflective journaling exercises designed to help them “dialogue” with their 12 core archetypes.
Who are your favorite bloggers right now?
Truth be told, I have not had a lot of time over the past few months to keep up with blogs, so I’ve lost contact with some of them. But, I definitely gravitate towards the spiritual, metaphysical blogs. My all-time favorite (and one that I read no matter how busy I am) is, “Leap Like a Frog” by Cythina Ortiz. I love her writing style and the topics she chooses to write about.
I had never heard of archetypes and find this super-interesting! The thing that resonates with me most from Joy's interview – and I hear this from almost every single entrepreneur that I've ever talked to – is to put aside your fears and just get started.
You have absolutely nothing to lose. The 5 Day Website Challenge is free. Any products I recommend in the challenge have money-back guarantees. And if you have a passion that can help other people as much as Joy's does, why not just do it already? Maybe it's time to meet your archetypes 🙂
