The story of 5 people vs 100 people
The highest money I made from a single training happened with just 5 people.
For 4 years, here was my thesis:
- I need to sell a class to 100 people.
- If I sell to 100 at 50K, I will make 5 Million.
- I need to run ads and reach 10,000 people.
- Write a complex funnel.
- ETC.
Each time I tried to execute this, the plan fell flat.
8-Figure Effort
60hr work weeks, stress, manual hunt
Punishing Model
Underpriced, high-maintenance services
5-Figure Reward
Pennies, operational exhaustion
All of them had me working too much. Things felt too difficult to push, especially because I didn’t have the audience to monetize yet and I had lost most of my contact list at this time (story for another day).
But some people use my stuff to make so much money.
So one day, after a series of studies and months of watching dozens of businesses that make $100 Million a year, one theme became clear:
A model is more important than your effort.
It's like a flying boat vs. a canoe. In one you just sit; in the other, you have to row. It is not how hard you row, but which boat you are in.
Some business models are just boats that keep you working every hour. When you stop, you either stop right there and sink, or you have to keep working just to stay alive.
So I decided to stop trying to launch like those big brands. Doing so only guarantees a sense of loss. I need to help you address this problem before you fall into it too.
The wrong way to model success:
Most people want to launch a great company, so they look at Elon Musk, they look at Netflix, and all the big names. But they forget that these companies took years of capital and massive infrastructure to be able to serve lots of people globally while operating at a loss.
If you model their current success, it's only normal that you will experience years of no profit at the start. Only in your case, you don't have big investor money.
So you need to avoid that mistake now. Quit a bad model and relaunch with customer cash on day one.
Remember: You are NOT Elon Musk or Netflix.
They have massive infrastructure to serve hundreds of thousands of people. Imagine if someone is still asking you for a Netflix login or trying to cancel their subscription. It's too much stress.
Here are the exact steps I followed.
Change your math and money model
It started with changing my frame of looking at cashflow. It used to be "How do I make money?"
I changed it to: "Who can I help solve a 1 Million dollar problem that will pay me 100K dollars for solving it?" Of course, my questions started with bigger numbers, and that was what began it.
How can I make money, but without the enormous stress?
Can I collect cash while still building?
And can I make it recurring?
I stopped doing the wrong math. No longer looking for 100 people.
Before this, I had been asking myself and using one mental model:
With just 10 of them, you make 10 Million.
So do the proper math. Few people at a higher price point. If it has not worked for you until now, here is why: 100 people have different unique problems. Even if you collect all their cash, you will still need to provide support, jump on classes weekly, and manage them. And most people are charging peanuts for that kind of workload.
Old Math: Charging ₦15,000 per CV. To hit ₦3,000,000/month, the owner needs 200 clients. They spend 60 hours a week formatting bullet points for fresh grads and answering angry emails about font sizes.
New Math: Target VPs and Directors looking for ₦30M+ salaries. Bundle the resume into a "C-Suite Career Transition Program" priced at ₦600,000. Now, they only need 5 clients a month to hit the same ₦3,000,000.
Does that remove the small CV hunts? No. It actually makes the ₦15k CVs easier to sell because you can create templates and sell them claiming your CV framework helped those 5 elite corporate leaders land C-suite roles.
Old Math: Selling random ₦5,000 thrift dresses to students. To make ₦1,000,000/month, she needs 200 sales. She is trapped in endless WhatsApp photo sessions and returns.
New Math: Curated "Elite Wardrobe Box" containing 5 hand-selected designer-grade outfits priced at ₦100,000. She only needs 10 clients a month to hit ₦1,000,000.
Old Math: Charging ₦10,000 to teach people marketing in a general class. To make ₦1,000,000/month, I need 100 students.
New Math: Instead of teaching marketing theory to everyone, I changed the offer to a $850 "1-on-1 Guided Lab" where business owners bring their actual businesses to build live. I only need 4 business owners to make $3,400.
🔒 Change your math. Change your money model. Lock step 1 in.
Find the Money Market
When you change your math to charge premium rates, a new problem arises: Most of the people you currently talk to cannot afford your service. And it is fine.
You need a money market.
Asking someone earning 500,000 to pay you half of their net worth is insane. No matter who you are, they won’t.
You must find the zone where a market is qualified to hear from you. I call it the PMS score (Profile-Market Suitability).
To pick a money market, ask one question: "Can this current market pay this amount of money within the realities of their earnings?" If no, find a market that can.
They stop pitching job seekers who are unemployed and struggling. Instead, they focus on currently employed VPs, Directors, and General Managers who have corporate budgets, are looking to earn upwards of ₦30M+ annually, and value speed and headhunter access over price.
Before now, she was trying to sell to everyone (students, general clothing buyers, etc.) and spent money on ads with no return. We used the Money Market signals to find her true buyers: Ladies with a major ceremonial or corporate occasion coming up in the next 10 days. No longer girls; ladies who need to look stunning and have the money, but lack the time to go thrift hunting.
We stopped targeting employees who wanted a freelance marketing skill. We targeted established small business owners who already had cashflow but were trapped in a punishing model.
🔒 Find a money market. Lock step 2 in.
Map your existing proof of work / Competence
How do you find a money market? Look at your existing proof of work, or the problems you already have the competence to solve (not what you will need to go learn).
Look at the customers who paid you the most money, who gave you the least trouble, and who you loved to work with the most.
That customer is your profile. Just map them. Use this simple framework:
- I helped [Specific Avatar — make sure it's a real person you know]
- They contacted me to help them with [X]
- The situation that finally made them reach out was [The Trigger Event]
That last one is golden. Because that is your core message. That is your ads. Hundreds of people have that exact pain, so mention it publicly.
1. Avatar: VP of Operations at Telecoms/Tech.
2. X: Resumes get filtered out by automated headhunter software, making them look like mid-level managers.
3. Trigger Event: A new, younger executive is hired above them, or their division goes through a corporate restructure.
1. Avatar: Fashion-conscious corporate lady.
2. X: Finding high-quality, authentic designer thrift clothing without open-market stress.
3. Trigger Event: A major corporate dinner or wedding invite in 10 days, and their closet feels empty.
1. Avatar: B2B service agency owner.
2. X: Exiting a model that consumes all their time and pays pennies.
3. Trigger Event: They worked 80-hour weeks for a client project and ended up making zero profit after team payouts.
Solve a narrow problem and give it away
You need to earn the trust of that market fast.
Map out their normal journey to their dream outcome:
Resume Service Example
Write CV ➔ Pass ATS filter ➔ Get executive call ➔ Ace panel interview ➔ Negotiate contract.
Azeezat Thrift Example
Browse options ➔ Select size ➔ Verify quality ➔ Match colors to skin tone ➔ Order ➔ Feel confident.
Demand Acceleration Example
Identify demand enemy ➔ Write VSL script ➔ Build scorecard ➔ Launch ads.
Pick just one narrow problem in that journey. The problem that is very painful, they know they have, and you can solve for them fast with just information, a playbook, or quick advice. Something they can implement on their own and get instant gratification.
Solve it and give it away (video, PDF, playbook). They see you are good, and they share it with people they know.
The Journey: Write CV ➔ Pass ATS filter ➔ Get executive call ➔ Ace panel interview ➔ Negotiate contract.
The Narrow Problem: Passing the initial 6-second recruiter glance test.
The Free Asset: The "C-Suite Resume Header Template"—a simple layout that bypasses automated ATS filters instantly.
The Journey: Browse options ➔ Select size ➔ Verify quality ➔ Match colors to skin tone ➔ Order ➔ Feel confident.
The Narrow Problem: Women buying premium thrift outfits online that look stunning on models, but look completely off on them (because it clashes with their natural skin undertone and hides their glow).
The Free Asset: "The Glow Formula Diary"—a simple 1-minute home test to identify their skin tone and instantly know which clothing colors match and amplify their natural glow.
The Journey: Audit current model ➔ Design new offer ➔ Build lead magnet ➔ Setup booking funnel ➔ Collect cash.
The Narrow Problem: Finding where your current business model is bleeding cash.
The Free Asset: The "1-Page Demand Surplus Audit Checklist" to diagnose model leakage in 5 minutes.
Setup a Decision Funnel
Now, invite them to the next step. But don't setup a complex funnel. Setup a simple **Decision Funnel**.
This helps you score people and know them before they even talk to you. Inside your lead magnet, show them your offer. Not more than two or three packages so they can choose right there.
Inside the resume template, they link to the "C-Suite Executive Recruiter Readiness Scorecard." A VP takes a 9-question assessment. If they score under 60%, they are labeled "High Urgency" and the thank-you page invites them to book a "Diagnostic Interview Surgery" for ₦600,000.
Inside the Glow Formula Diary, she links to the "Event Wardrobe Readiness Quiz." Ladies select their occasion and undertones. Low confidence results redirect to her curated "Elite Wardrobe Box" order form.
Inside the audit checklist, they link to the "90-Second Straightline to Cash Scorecard" checking if their business model is punishing them, leading to the 1-on-1 Guided Lab.
Pitch with a clear, villain-centric offer
Name your transformation. Name the villain. Show them how you solve it.
The Offer: The C-Suite Transition Accelerator.
The Villain: The ATS Black Hole & Recruiter Ghosting — sending out your resume to dozens of executive roles, getting automated rejection emails within minutes, or hearing recruiters say "you've got a great profile, we'll keep you on file" only to never call back, while less-qualified people land the positions you should have had.
The Resolution: We rewrite your history from a list of generic daily duties to high-impact business outcomes, then map a direct line to elite executive headhunters.
The Offer: The Elite Curated Wardrobe Box.
The Villain: The "Full Closet, Empty Looks" Loop — looking at a closet stuffed with clothes and feeling like you have absolutely nothing to wear, or buying outfits that looked gorgeous on the model online only to wonder why they look completely wrong on you because they clash with your skin undertone and hide your natural glow.
The Resolution: We analyze your skin tone, then hand-select, dry-clean, steam, and deliver a box of 5 designer-grade outfits that are guaranteed to match your undertone and amplify your natural glow.
The Offer: The 1-on-1 Guided Lab (where founders bring their actual business).
The Villain: The Parasitic Business Model — that rewards an 8-figure work ethic with pennies instead of multiplying it.
The Resolution: We audit, restructure, and relaunch your business with customer cash on day one.
Productize & make it recurring
Remember the logical steps we mapped in Step 4? All those problems in those steps are your source of content and products.
Turn every problem into content and ongoing retainers so they pay you monthly to monitor their business.
Once the VP lands their new ₦50M role, they don't say goodbye. They transition them to a ₦100,000/month "Executive Advisory Retainer." Each month, the agency ghostwrites their quarterly board presentations, drafts corporate updates, and prepares them for performance reviews.
Once the client gets their wardrobe box, they transition to "The Monthly Wardrobe Update Retainer." For ₦50,000/month, she delivers 2 fresh, hand-picked designer outfits every month so they never have to think about "what to wear next."
Once the class ends, I looked at what they wanted to keep paying for and designed it directly with them (converting 2 out of 3 participants to monthly retainers). The training didn't end in class; it transitioned into structured monthly advisory: 2 hours weekly on a live call for premium clients, and 1 hour biweekly for lower tiers. I monitor their work, review their ads, and give unfiltered input to ensure everything they learned is fully implemented and they keep closing deals.