Ines Ruiz is a Spanish teacher. She is also the founder and CEO of an incredibly successful online business. How and why did she make such a major switch?
Originally from Spain, Ines was once a professor at the prestigious Cambridge University in England. But when she married an American Air Force serviceman she knew she needed to create a career that could travel wherever they ended up stationed.
“I had no idea how to run a business, how to have a team, how to scale, how to do any of that.”
With skills in both Spanish education as well as teaching online, Instructional Design and Education Consulting was an obvious choice. She embraced her new path with the same passion and enthusiasm she shows in all of life.
Despite her passion and knowledge, Ines struggled with execution. In fact, in the first six months she brought only $10,000, she was over her head.
Ines felt the impact of information overload.
There were voices at every corner telling her what to do, or how to make money by following a secret formula. There were courses, templates, frameworks and marketers who preyed on her insecurities in order to sell a seat in their program.
“I joined every single course, I did everything that I could possibly do, and it was not working…Nobody in this industry gives you the right tools because the only thing they want is for you to buy their course and then go into their mastermind, to keep on buying from them. To be honest, they don’t really want you to succeed.”
Then Ines stumbled across Todd and 90 Day Year and immediately she could tell that this wasn’t like the rest.
What drew Ines to Todd?
Todd’s “tell it like it is” communication style and no BS vibe set him apart. She was searching for a mentor who had that perfect combination of being both tough AND supportive. She found that, and more, in Todd and 90 Day Year.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s rough, if it’s what you need to hear, he’s going to say it.”
The moment of hesitation
Hitting the buy button was not an easy call. Ines’s business had only brought in 10,000 in its first six months. The investment felt huge. But Ines paid attention to her gut feelings. She knew deep down it was exactly what she needed.
Once Ines understood the basics, she stopped chasing options and began to focus her business within the 90 Day Year Framework.
“If you really want to build a business, this is the place to be.”
The Power Of A Single Exercise
When asked about the most powerful pieces of the program, there is zero hesitation in Ines’s voice when she mentions the Roadmap Workbook, in Module One, which forced her to answer key questions, and allowed Ines to recognize exactly what she had been doing wrong, take action to fix it, and move forward to scale her business.
“Every time I do the roadmap, it’s just life-changing, it’s like putting time back on your business.”
Ines quickly realized that she had her distribution channels all wrong. She had a great business, was busy working on her content, her website, her funnels – but nobody knew who she was.
Ines began establishing affiliate relationships with influencers who were connected to her niche market. The change was rapid because Ines was finally being proactive, instead of just waiting for her clients to come to her.
One year later Ines was frustrated in her business for entirely different reasons. She completed the roadmap and once again immediately got insight.
“Every time there’s something new and every time there’s something that is going to completely transform my business and myself and my mindset. This is going to be my third year, and I’m sure this year I’ll find something new that it will, again, transform everything that we’re doing.”
The gift of slowing down
Ines is, like most entrepreneurs, continuously in go mode, so busy running her business that she doesn’t slow down.
Despite the feeling that she had three million things to accomplish in any given day, she gave herself permission to sit in one place and focus all of her attention. Putting down the busy work for a period of time allowed Ines to learn to identify the things that really matter – and she says it’s the most valuable time for her, her business and her team.
Time to scale
Prior to 90 Day year, Ines was a solopreneur, the program helped her realize she needed support. By the end of 2016 she had hired one person, and now has a team of nine. The speed of her growth meant Ines needed to pay more attention to her people. On her second attempt with the roadmap, Ines realized she wasn’t communicating properly with her team.
Now, instead of working 12-16 hours a day and still not completing tasks, the team has created a culture of concentrating on the projects that matter, instead of countless smaller tasks. The team feels like their voices are heard enabling them to become more successful at connecting to their audience. The email list has grown to 37,000, and more than 3,000 people have gone through the course.
“For us, they’re not just numbers, they’re connections and people who we can help.”
So, has Ines’s revenue kept up with the growth of her team?
Definitely.
The six months following enrollment, revenue shot up by 6 times the first half of the year. In her second year of business, Ines cleared $420,000, and projections for year three stand at $800,000 – double the year before.
“I’m having goosebumps right now. It’s been life-changing in a way that is not only about the money but also the freedom to be a military spouse. I can still grow without having to leave anything behind”.
Beyond the number, Ines says that changes to her mindset have been just as profound with her going from somebody who didn’t believe she could be an entrepreneur to the CEO of a successful company.
For someone wondering if 90 Day Year is the right choice for them, Ines says it comes down to one question:
“If you really want to be a business owner and look into growing and expanding, if you’re thinking about legacy and leadership, this is the only program that I recommend. I really believe the 90 Day Year is the best decision that you can take for yourself and for your business.”
Breaking down the numbers….
June 2016 (Before 90 Day Year)
- Email subscribers: 5,000
- Team: Just Ines
- Website Traffic: 17,182 visitors
- Revenue: $14,507
June 2017
- Website Traffic: 98,137 visitors
- Revenue: $117,614
July 2018
- Email subscribers: 35,522
- Team: Ines + 5 full-time & 9 part-time team members
- Website Traffic: 646,672 visitors
- Revenue: $767,573
Are You Ready To Start Growing Your Business?
Achieve game-changing results in your business in just 90 days. Get the peak performance system used by Olympic athletes, Fortune 50 companies and Entrepreneurs alike.
