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- [00:00]
Steph Crowder
Hey there. Are you ready to learn the only process that you need to fill up your group program or really any signature offer anytime you want year round? I've got an upcoming advanced sales training class called fill your group program in five weeks. This is a three part roadmap to consistently sell out your offer year round, anytime. In this training we are going to talk about my signature 5 week buzz blitz process. I'm going to show you the calendar for how to create a five or even six figure launch and also going to learn the three key ingredients for a step by step rinse and repeat sales cycle that brings you consistently full groups. You just have to go to stephcrowder.comworkshop to get all signed up again. It's on June 24th. That's a Tuesday at 12pm Eastern Time and I cannot wait to see you there. Welcome to the Courage and Clarity podcast. I'm your host, Steph Crowder. I'm a former sales training director who's helped thousands of entrepreneurs earn a living doing something they love over the past 10 years. On your journey, you'll need the courage to be bold, to take risks, and to do what looks crazy on paper. You'll also need the clarity, the brass tacks, simple strategies that actually work. And on this podcast we deliver both in equal measure. Oh, and by the way, we've got absolutely no time for bs, gross marketing tactics or get rich quick schemes. Just sustainable business strategies for good humans with big dreams. If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Let's go. Richard, welcome to the podcast.
- [01:43]
Richard Low
Thanks for having me on. Steph, this is, this is really cool. I'm excited to be talking with you.
- [01:47]
Steph Crowder
I'm so excited to have you. Okay. Tell the good people who you are, what your business is, how it is that you earn your living.
- [01:53]
Richard Low
Yeah, weirdly enough, I'm a dentist, but I don't do dentistry. I. I now have a men's fitness group for burnt out mid stage career dentists who have lost their health and purpose and sometimes relationships and self trust along the way. And they realized that okay, being a dentist and having more money at my dental practice is not the most important thing. And maybe I should do something about that. Maybe I should get healthy again. Maybe I should reprioritize this. The stuff that needs to be prioritized, which my poor wife has to tell people, yeah, my husband's a dentist. And then they're like, well where's his practice? They're like, well he's actually kind of like a personal trainer. For dentists at this point.
- [02:37]
Steph Crowder
That's a good way of describing it.
- [02:39]
Richard Low
Yeah. And she gets weird looks at that point, so she's got to get over it.
- [02:43]
Steph Crowder
I love it. I love it. Okay, cool. I am so excited to unpack your journey. It's been really fun to be along for the ride. So you and I have known each other for a while. You know, for those of my. I do have listeners who've been with me since the Fizzle show days. Richard is one of of those who was a fizzler. So we have been on this journey in one way or another together for a while. But Richard came into the sold out group programs Mastermind last fall. And so, Richard, I'd love for you to kind of take us back to that moment of when you were considering joining the program. Of course, it's a big decision. I know that a lot of people feel that way and they might be weighing this decision as they listen to this podcast. They're thinking about coming into the Mastermind. Take us back to where you were. It would be like September ish of last year when you came into the program, what was on your mind and where you were in your journey as you kind of decided to come into the program and what you were hoping to do.
- [03:37]
Richard Low
Yeah. So the shortest version of the back, I mean, because the Fizzle days are relevant to this, but we can't. We can't go into the whole arc. I started podcasting two dentists about entrepreneurship, how to be a good caretaker of your dental practice, how to buy the right one. Don't buy a lemon of a dental practice, how to grow it and scale it. Back in 2016, when I was listening to Steph and Barrett and Corbett and Chase, all the, all the guys back there on the Fizzle show, and I just remember so distinctly this concept of, like, serving a very specific audience deeper than anyone else for a long period of time and how powerful that could be. And I, I made up my mind. I'm like, I'm going to podcast to young dentists, not the older ones, because they're not going to listen to me about how to find and buy a dental practice, how to grow a dental practice for five years. And if no one's listening after five years, I'll just shut it off. And at least I learned something along the way.
- [04:41]
Steph Crowder
Hold on. Just real quick. What a great commitment right there. Right? Like, not. I think not enough people are like, let me try this. Not for a month, not for six weeks, not for six months, for five years. If this isn't working. After five years, I'll shut it off right out of the gate. I love that as a commitment.
- [04:58]
Richard Low
Well, and part of it was that I was stuck in the army for another five years. And podcasting is very low cost. And if that's like your only kind of like, side hustle, you can do that alongside a full time gig. But the thing is, is that it sets you up as an expert and it. And it's such a default networking tool. You get to meet people you would never meet before. And so it was selfish. I was like, I need to know this stuff for me. So I'm going to podcast along the way on my journey and I'll get a ton out of it. No one listens. Like, that's fine.
- [05:32]
Steph Crowder
Yeah.
- [05:33]
Richard Low
But because I had done what you guys did, which was serve and underserved what you guys recommended. Serve an underserved niche, solve a problem for them. And for this, this group of people, for dentists, this is actually a really big, expensive problem. How do I buy the right practice? How do I shorten the time period from deciding I want to be a practice owner to actually owning the right one? It took off and it became a really highly. It was the number one rated dental podcast in the industry. And that turned into a coaching and consulting business, and that turned into a dental group. And I found myself the CEO of a 35 office dental group about two years ago. And I was completely miserable. It was like I went from this podcast in my closet that I loved, that felt very serving of a audience I really cared about to all of a sudden, like, being corporate. And I hated my life. I felt very trapped. It was a very stressful thing. We were building lots of offices and I burned out really hard. And I had to step away completely from this. This company that I had founded. You know, this was Shared Practices was the podcast that turned into the consulting company that turned into this dental group. And walking away felt so painful to step back as CEO and then step down completely. And I broke down. I had to take several months of mental health leave, unpaid medical health leave. I was like, guys, I got to figure out what's going on. I felt like I let people down and then I had to figure out what to do next. And I, you know, worked on my marriage, worked on myself. I found this high accountability fitness group, not for dentists, but just for, like, fathers who want to be better. And it was a bait and switch. You talk, you talk about the spinach smoothie all the time. You have to Give them what they want and then sneak of what they actually need in there. And for, for this group, it was, dads want to be shredded. They want like a six pack and they want to feel strong again. They want to feel respected, they want to take their shirt off at the pool in the summer. My dad can beat up your dad. And not that you'd actually go beat anyone up. That's not. But you want your kids to feel like, oh, my dad, my dad's strong.
- [07:44]
Steph Crowder
Yeah.
- [07:44]
Richard Low
And I'd never had that. I was like the soft nerd. That's who my wife married. She had no expectations of marrying a Division 1 athlete. But this journey of getting in shape, they use that as a vehicle for life coaching. Working on yourself, self sacrifice as a father, like, life is no longer about you. When you're a father, you do the most and you need the least. That was the mantra of this group that I was in. And that eventually turned into, you know what, maybe I could do this for dentists. Maybe I could start my own group. And that ironically sounds terrifying. Like, I, I have this audience, but I can't directly podcast about this on our main show. It's a separate business. There's non competes. I can't talk about the entrepreneurship stuff. So there was this tricky, like needle I had to thread of. I've stepped back from this company. I want to start my own thing. I think I could do a group format. I don't want to build stuff one on one. And I've been listening to your stuff for like two years. I, you know, I've been listening to your group coaching format. The two things I had, I had a validated offer. I had the structure of this men's group, this fitness driven men's group, and I had an audience. But I just needed to like, connect it all and have the support and the structure and the encouragement. And there's all these little decisions when you're starting something new. And I just needed someone to kind of like tell me and guide me, okay, here's how you bring together the audience, and here's how you bring together a program, and here's how you start it. Here's how you launch it. Here's how you run your first cohort and your expectations. And that's why I was like, you know what, Steph? Like, I need this, I need your help, I need your. All the recordings. And so that's, that's where I was when I joined last September. I don't, I hope that wasn't too long of an answer.
- [09:43]
Steph Crowder
No, it was. It was great. It was perfect. That sets us up beautifully. So, okay, you came into the program with. I like the way you put that is like, you had an audience. You had these. This. These dentists. You knew. There was. I remember this so clearly, talking to you, where you were like, there's a laundry list of things that I can't talk about. How do I make this work? Like, how do I talk to this audience and solve their problems in a way that's gonna be safe for me and also help you pivot into helping them as fathers and in. You know, they're, like, more holistically in their lives. So that's the point where you came to me. What happened from there. So you joined the program. What did you do? Tell us the story. It's. Guys, it's such a good story. Just be prepared.
- [10:23]
Richard Low
Well, like, the honest truth was, like, I was rearing to go, and, like, rubber meets the. I think I joined. Do you remember when the. The October cohort officially kicked off? It was, like, the end of October, right?
- [10:34]
Steph Crowder
Yeah. So if just for context, for those listening, when you join, you get bonus time in the program. And Richard was one of my earlier joiners. So you had. If I recall correctly, you had a good bit of, like, you just get extra time with the material and all the trainings and my recordings. So you get to have that time before, like, all of the support starts. So, yeah, it was the end of October.
- [10:53]
Richard Low
End of October. So I don't know why I did this, But I chose November 1st as, like, okay, I'm going to launch my first cohort in November. And so I was like, I had access to all the materials, all the training you had done, the courses you had built, the previous coaching calls in the hello, Audio format, which I use now. The asynchronous, like, just record the coaching calls. Put it in the pod. Private podcast feed.
- [11:20]
Steph Crowder
Private podcast. Yeah.
- [11:21]
Richard Low
I love it so much. And so I had posted at the beginning of October these two posts. One in my Facebook group of about 5,000 dentists and one on my personal page. It was the same post sharing my, like, ugly crash and burn as CEO and finding this men's group, my fitness journey. And I shared some before and afters of my wife and I. You know, she. She had done the GLP1s and lost 50 pounds, and I had done this program and lost 50 pounds. And so we'd had this transformation together as we worked on our marriage. And, like, I shared some embarrassing crap on there, like, the fact that we were sleeping in separate beds and that she was embarrassed about how my partners and doctors perceived me because she felt like I wasn't pulling my weight in the business. I. I didn't respect myself, that as an adult, I was like, I'm an ADHD CEO who can, like, barely check his email, and unless I'm in meetings, I'm. I am kind of a wreck. And I put all that out there on social media. But a lot of those pain points of like, feeling a lack of fulfillment, feeling like, unhealthy, coping with stress, of like, not recognizing yourself really resonated with a lot of dentists in my network. And so I had, you know, I made this big Long coast post and I said, comment in if you're interested. And I.
- [12:47]
Steph Crowder
For everybody listening, this is part of our framework in same day sales. Some of you may recognize you get access to same day sales in the Mastermind. We call this a dip a toe post. So you kind of followed that framework of going fishing. Right? So you, with that sort of like, comment in if this sounds like you. Okay, keep going.
- [13:05]
Richard Low
Yes. And I had like 70 guys reach out between those two posts, you know, and like I said, I had the audience. Some of these people have listened to me for like 600 hours of podcasts. And so, like, they feel like they know me, they trust me. Some of them had done coaching with us and they'd grown from an $800,000 dental practice to a 2,3 million dollar practice. So these are people that, like, this is the warmest of audiences you could ever have. And like, as I had conversations with them, some of them were like, it felt like I was looking in a mirror as I read your post. Um, and they just could identify with the pain points that I had shared so, so much. And so I started to have sales calls and I'm like, oh, crap. Like, I don't have my offer built. Like, I don't, I don't know how to, like, resolve all these concerns. So I am like, binge listening to your group calls. I'm like, binging all the content. Yeah, Um, I don't have a website yet. I don't have an entity set up. I don't have, like, anything.
- [14:11]
Steph Crowder
Yeah, we tell people you don't. Like. I, I think people don't really believe me when I tell them, like, you really don't need to have all of that stuff. And I know it's terrifying and feels like a leap of faith, but you truly do not need to have all of that to get started. With your group.
- [14:25]
Richard Low
And, and I took your word for it. I believed you. I jumped off the cliff, Steph.
- [14:30]
Steph Crowder
You did. You, you, you went to another level with it.
- [14:33]
Richard Low
Well, and I'm also an ADHD entrepreneur who struggles with project management. I struggle managing myself. And if I've got a deadline, I know that I will whip it out in, in the last minute and it'll happen. And if I don't have a deadline, I'll procrastinate for three months, like piddling with the little things and getting stuck in my perfectionism a hundred percent.
- [14:54]
Steph Crowder
Yep.
- [14:55]
Richard Low
So ironically, like the timeline, I was like, like, I need some coaching. I need some help. And I, you know, you know, I had some limited access to you at that point in time. I had all of these coaching calls and I was like, I'm just going to go for it. I remember re listening to like your sales call coaching and I started doing some calls and I went back and re listened to it and I took notes and, and out of those 70 calls, you know, I kept track of every call. I had a CRM that I was like, is this what do I do? And I was just taking notes and trying to stay organized. That was like the only thing I had at that point and was able to get 20 guys to sign up for the program. And because it's a dental mastermind, combined with fitness and nutrition, combined with life coaching, and it's a dental mastermind so they can run it through their business like pre tax. I knew I could charge more. I knew how I had the trust baked in. So I went with 4500 for 4 months or 9k for the full year. That was the offer right off the bat. And I had 20 guys sign up and it was about half and half who sign up for one who signed up for the other. I did a little bit of like payment plan stuff for the four months, but not for the full year, and was able to do within that first, like two months about just over 100k, which was insane because it was like, it was do or die. Like we. Our bank account was running out of money. It was like, I need to go buy a dental practice or I need this thing to work. Um, and as a dentist, that's the opportunity cost. Any business venture I consider my default is I could go open a dental practice and within some period of time be taking home 300, 400, 500k a year. And, and I know that because I've done that, I've helped Dennis do that copy and paste over and over and over and over. So it's like, this needs to have legs and proof that it's, it's even worth me not being a dentist, not being a business owner in dentistry. And this was proof right off the bat. I was like, okay, Steph, group format works. And, and I structured it very carefully so that it could scale. Not a lot of one on one coaching baked into this. All of our calls were group calls and, you know, support within the app and the platform. We had one weekly coaching form on Airtable that then I would provide feedback to within 72 hours after they submitted it. But other than that, I was like, I think this format's scalable. I think I could get, eventually get to about a hundred guys in this group. And so I was like, okay, I've got the path and it worked. So I was like, okay, Steph, this works. This is amazing.
- [17:51]
Steph Crowder
So it's so interesting because it's like that initial investment of into the program, $8,000, especially when you're watching your bank account come down, like, that's not a small amount of money. I completely understand, it's a big decision. But 8k and within a couple of months you had brought in over a hundred K with a group that didn't even exist yet.
- [18:09]
Richard Low
Right? Yeah. And, and I hadn't, to be clear, I also hadn't built the program.
- [18:14]
Steph Crowder
Yeah.
- [18:14]
Richard Low
First week of November, I was like, okay, guys, this is orientation. And I'm like setting up the fitness stuff, I'm setting up the nutrition stuff, I'm setting up the onboarding, like behind the scenes as it was happening. And I knew enough to be, you know, I had the support of the group, I had some things, I understood my offer, I knew what I was building. I just had to actually build it. But I was so grateful, I was so grateful for your program, the education that was in there, the recordings that I just binged consumed. And then, and then the program kicked off and I was like, okay, great. Now I can get support directly, one on one or within this, this group setting. I can ask more questions. I can get feedback on website copy and, you know, sales copy and you know, all the stuff that, like, I'm not a good copywriter, I'm not a good writer, and it stresses me out to do those things. And being able to submit that to you guys and get your feedback, get your eyeballs on those was really big for me. And another reason that I was very appreciative of the format, because that combo of the group support, but then the individual attention on a few items per month that are like E4 pieces of your. How you present yourself online and sell things was, was really good for me.
- [19:30]
Steph Crowder
Yeah, I'm just, I was just reviewing that you had sent me. I was in January, you had sent me a screenshot where you said you've made over 20x what you paid for the mastermind. Incredible.
- [19:42]
Richard Low
Yeah. Well, and, and so then the scary thing was this worked with my initial audience. What do I do next? And so the 20 guys who joined right up front, then I had like 60 or 40 people to follow up with and it felt kind of weird and ick to like follow up too much with them. And I'm like, how do I find new people? And so then it's like, okay, I gotta start to create content, I gotta put stuff out on Instagram, start a new Instagram account. I gotta try different things. And I've, I've had some success interaction with other dental Facebook groups and kind of carefully navigating those relationships and not spamily posting, but sharing here and there and providing value, but also having some CTAs and some conversations. And I'm at about 30 guys now. I've had some turnover and you know, the, the last I, I knew that that was like my initial bolus of like built up demand and trust. And then that gave me a lot of Runway to figure out how to scale this on an ongoing basis. And my real goal right now is to get to the point where I've got five people signing up per month. I'm not there yet. I think I might try like webinar launches every couple months. I'm still in that experimentation phase, so I don't want people to think like, oh, he launched this like 100k launch and then you know, within the first four months did like 160k. But then, then it's been hard. It's been like not linear, not straightforward, and it's both fun and terrifying, depending on the day.
- [21:26]
Steph Crowder
Yeah, absolutely.
- [21:27]
Richard Low
And that's just the reality of, of doing this. But I had enough that I knew I could do this without other work. And I can budget and plan for.
- [21:35]
Steph Crowder
That a hundred percent. And also, you're really speaking to the reason why folks listening to the podcast may or may not know that I pretty recently, like within the last year, change this program for from six months to a year. Right. So the point Richard's at, we're just six months in. Like you have another six months to come and get more coaching when it get like you could I see this sometimes where people have like initial big success and then it is normal to kind of reach that next plateau. Just like in fitness or weight loss, right? It's like you have initial success and then it gets hard when you get down to like the last ten pounds or something. I see this in clients all the time where they get off to a strong start and then kind of hit a wall and it's like we have to come up with a next level strategy. And so now the fact that you have another six months with us in this container to take advantage of the coaching and help you get to the next place, that's super exciting for me as the, as the coach of, of this mastermind is like we get a whole year to play. So if you get a strong start like Richard, that's great. You may hit a plateau. We'll coach you through it. Other people, it takes them more time to get where they're going. But either way, just, I love the thought like I'm your coach for a year. You have a whole year to get the support and all the feedback you were talking about to help you kind of scale. Because once you get that initial success, then it kind of does become about scaling and making it sustainable.
- [22:49]
Richard Low
Right? Well, and that's where the first three months of this year there was very much a heads down. Like I hired my first VA from the Philippines and it was like, let me iron out my onboarding because right now it's like all manual, it's all on me. Nothing is automated. And so we've been building out the onboarding and making that better, better, better, better. And then I've been working on, okay, how do we build a pipeline and a CRM to like manage these leads? Because it's with the dentist. Each person that's like in my sphere, between an Instagram follower, a Facebook follower, I've got their email address or I've got their phone number. Like that relationship means a lot. And they might not be ready now, they might be ready in three months, six months, 12 months. And I'm not very organized naturally and I need help and support. And so that first va, it was like not a big growth phase for quarter one this year, and now I've hired two more. So I'm at three. You know, I've got my project manager and then she's kind of leading my social media one as well as my pipeline manager who's helping me manage all of these contacts. And actually today was the first glimmer of hope. I woke up to Tricia who's three weeks into being my pipeline manager. I'm like, I just need you to help me stay organized and not have people fall through the cracks. And she found a DM conversation from a few weeks ago of someone who raised their hand and was like, hey, I'm interested and I just missed it. And so that's all I'm looking for is like, okay, help me keep track of these people so I don't miss these conversations and help me follow up with things. So now I'm finally back in a growth phase and it's like I'm looking at building a video sales letter, my vsl. I'm looking at doing a webinar. I'm looking at these kinds of things and I'm like, okay, I need, I need eyeballs on my welcome sequence. I need eyeballs on my VSL script. I need. So I'm so grateful I have that support moving forward over the next six months.
- [24:53]
Steph Crowder
We just did just for everybody listening. Brand new. I'm always updating the curriculum. That's the other thing. Because especially in the online business world, like the strategies are changing and part of my job as a coach is to like, I see myself as a thought leader in the industry. So I'm always studying what's working and changing up my strategies based on like kind of reporting back from the field. Right. So recently I just updated my entire like webinars in 2025 training. So there's a brand new training all about high converting sales webinars. So perfect example of we've had a few of our clients using it recently and had great results. So you come in, we show you exactly how to do it and then you get feedback on it as well to help, you know, help you kind of get to that next level with your selling. So perfect timing for you, Richard.
- [25:35]
Richard Low
Exactly. And that's, that's the amazing part. It's like, here's this problem I have.
- [25:39]
Steph Crowder
Yeah.
- [25:39]
Richard Low
And you're scaling your business as well. And those are the same problems you have. You're just a few steps ahead of us. And so I don't want the stale 3 year old version of what webinars looked like 3 years ago. I want the 2025 version.
- [25:52]
Steph Crowder
Yep.
- [25:54]
Richard Low
And sometimes I just, you just need to be told like, okay, keep at it. I remember one of our first coaching calls. I think this was actually even before this group offering. Like two or three years ago we worked together kind of like late Covid for a little window. And I remember distinctly, you're like, Richard, the Hard part is sometimes success is really damn boring. And I've shared that line with so many people in different context. Like you and you said that to me and like the ADHD entrepreneur in me just like, is kicking and screaming, but knew it was true.
- [26:28]
Steph Crowder
Yeah, there's not as much like, dopamine input when things are working. I, I watch people, like, actively start making problems when things are smooth. That's a real thing to look out for.
- [26:37]
Richard Low
And so having that coaching to like, come back and like, put the blinders on, here's the next problem you have. You got to solve that next problem. Here's what you need to do. And I love, I love that when you ask people on the calls, do you want me to be tough or do you want me to be nice? And, and like my, my, my group, like, it's all. It's. It is, it's a perfect balance of like, sometimes I'm yelling at guys like, dude, just hit your freaking macros and do your workout. Like, you can do this. You know, Hunter did it on a 10 day hunt. This guy did it on a cruise. This guy did it at Disney World. Like, you can do this under whatever circumstance you're in. And sometimes it's like, okay, you made it. You made a choice. Just get up and make a different choice. Like, there's this mercy, kindness depending on the mental state. And I like Steph yelling at me, which, which is what I need most of the time.
- [27:26]
Steph Crowder
If people ask me to yell at them, I always do. But I'm very gen. I can be very. People ask me that, they're like, what's your coaching style? And I'm like, that depends on you. Like, I will coach them what you need from me in any given moment. So I'm appreciative that you recognize that.
- [27:41]
Richard Low
No. And that flexibility is huge. I think the next thing I've realized is I have a very unhealthy and mainly a little bit of coaching and feedback here. I have an unhealthy relationship with social media and video content creation, which I'm trying to go all in on Instagram as a place where I'm creating content. I've got inbound leads, I'm having conversations in the DMs, I'm providing value, putting my lead magnets there. And that was like where I went the first three months of this year. And I've started to grow. I've gone from like zero to like 1400 followers, just like pushing out consistent videos. I kind of have batch, like scripted and batch recorded and I've. I'm working with an editor, but it's really, really hard and it's like, it's. I have a lot of anxiety around my perfectionism around content. I just want it to be at this level and it's like five tiers below and it frustrates me. So I don't know, like, what are your, your thoughts around that kind of perfectionism with social media stuff? How do you. And I've heard you talk about some of this stuff before, but I need to hear it again.
- [28:58]
Steph Crowder
Yeah, this has been. Look at you asking for coaching on a podcast episode. I love it. You know, we've been talking a lot, I've been talking a lot so far this year about social media in 2025. It is different. And I think for anybody listening who maybe hasn't heard this episode, if you go back in your feed just maybe five to 10 episodes, I did like a social, like a social media in 2025 episode. And if you have a similar question to Richard, it would be really worth a listen. But in. I actually just coached on this earlier today, another client in the Mastermind, and we were kind of talking about the role that social media plays in our business and how the way that it's set up with that follower count and the likes and the comments, like, if you go back even just three, four years, even probably two years, the game was won or lost in those numbers. And so we're looking at 2020 metrics to tell if we have 2025 success. And what I mean by that is the measure, like people are behaving differently on social media. I've been really leaning into this thought lately that 2025 is the year of the lurker on social media. People are driving by and they're watching your stuff. I think TikTok culture has really contributed to this where it's like you scroll and you're like, interesting and you keep scrolling. Oh, you laugh and you keep scrolling. You don't necessarily drop a like or comment or follow the way that you used to. And so in 2025, I think being present in the feed remind. I'm actually on a journey right now myself. I've been sharing with my people that I am doing a hundred days of reels. I'm on day like 16 and I'm doing it daily because I think people just being reminded and having me pop up is create like there is research on this that, you know, something like people have to hear from us like 86 times on average to finally Be like, maybe I should book a sales call with that guy. And so part of it is just coming to the top of the inbox, coming to the top of the of the feed and being on people's radar is the way that we win social media in 2025, I think. And one something a client just said earlier today, shout out to Brooke in the program. We were talking about this and she was saying that someone she knows found her mentor of 40 years, somebody like her coach she's worked with for 40 years, found that person by seeing a flyer in a coffee shop that, like, had me shook. I, like, almost started crying on the call. I was like, that's just so. There's something so powerful about that. And it's like, what if you imagine your Instagram is like a flyer in a coffee shop and all you need is for a. The right person, just one person. There are 30 guys, like, whatever it is you're looking for. Right. Just need that one person. It's not for 1400 people or 3500 people or 100k. It's like, we're just looking for the next one person, the next five people to see it and be like, that kind of seems like me. And I think if we view social media through that lens, it really takes away some of the drama of, like, what the hell? I posted and I only got 10 likes. It, like, actually, it doesn't matter if you get 10 likes, 100 likes, a thousand, what your follower count is if you're imagining, like, all I need this post to do is to be seen by a qualified lead and then that, like, if that one post can move them just one step further in the sales process, then it's done its job well.
- [32:18]
Richard Low
And like, I've realized, you know, people talk about the broke influencer syndrome of, like, people who make content that blows up versus people who make content that. That serves a very specific niche. Yeah. Like, I don't need a hundred thousand dentists following me. In fact, that'd be a very long journey to try and actually get a hundred thousand dentists.
- [32:38]
Steph Crowder
Yeah.
- [32:39]
Richard Low
To follow If I have 5 to 10,000 dentists that are following me. But I'm actually providing real value to them over time. I know that in three months, in six months, in 12 months, they are going to see that, but only if I show up in reels. I show up in stories. And once again, like, that's this new VA that I've just hired. I'm like, okay, your goal is to keep me on track and make sure I'm posting stories six or seven days a week. And if you do nothing else but that. And it's like she's repurposing some of our coaching calls and pulling out clips and topics and transcripts. And it's like, okay, here's things I'm passionate about already. Yeah, can we turn these into stories? And can we. And it's like, you give me homework of, hey, Richard, I need a picture of this or give me this. And then we put it together and post it. And here's the content calendar. Because I really struggle to focus on fulfillment, to focus on sales, to focus on, you know, scaling in the background, to also then be consistent on stories and Facebook posts and reels. And so I'm just trying to build like one layer of consistency on another to do exactly what you're saying. But I still get super anxious about it all.
- [33:52]
Steph Crowder
Totally. And you know what's really funny is like, I. I don't know. I. This is might be the year that I go ahead and get my probable ADHD diagnosis. My kids are diagnosed adhd and I'm like, my husband is like the most neurotypical person you've ever met. So I'm like, something like, I'm the creative entrepreneur here, so let's just go ahead and call a spade a spade. What I find that's been really helpful with social media this year is I've actually taken back my social media from my assistant. We were doing more of like the highly curated sort of like podcast clips and like over design overlays, and they just weren't. They didn't seem to be resonating and they certainly weren't creating conversation. And so what I decided to do instead was just tell myself I can get my social media content done in five minutes a day in my car is usually what I do. You guys will often see me in my car on social media. Cause I'll get to my son's preschool and I'll be like, okay, it's 2:56. I have to get him at 3. What do we got? And I'll make a quick reel. And I'm finding I. This is my emerging theory. Richard, in 2025, I think with the AI and ChatGPT and all the things, there's a lot of automation, there's a lot of robots. And I think the battle for us will be won or lost in our ability to do what the robot robots can't do, which is connect and be human. And I think the evidence of that is in your story that you told us of, like, your vulnerable toast. Like, every time I look at that post because you shared it with me and I reference it sometimes because it's like, I have a handful of examples that I just love to see. And it's like, it was so human. And the guys said it to you. They were like, it was a mirror. I saw myself in that post. And so I think with social media, we're going to see like a return to the more like, simple, underdone, conversational. Sitting in your car that's performing really well is like, just like you're just hanging out with me. Right. And so if we can kind of think of like, you talking directly to your guys when you film a quick reel, if you want to do some of the repurposed clips, I think that's great. But I kind of get the sense what people are craving is for social media to feel real again and for it to feel like Richard's really here with us, like, he's really talking to us. I think that's what's going to make the big difference for people who want to succeed on, you know, platforms like Instagram this year.
- [36:05]
Richard Low
Well, and I. The one thing I will agree or I agree with all that, so I shouldn't say it like that, but I do think repurposed is, is never going to work.
- [36:14]
Steph Crowder
Yeah.
- [36:15]
Richard Low
Because unless you're already huge, like, and, and you're, you're. You're having amazing conversations with really interesting people that just everyone recognizes. You know, if your diary of a CEO, sure. Repurpose the social media and it's going to work. If you're Alex Hormozi, Repurpose. Sure.
- [36:31]
Steph Crowder
Right.
- [36:32]
Richard Low
But the thing that I was doing, I worked with this editor who they. Their process was you give them topics and people that are talking about similar stuff to you and they will go and use Viral Finder, which is a viralfinder.com, you cut out the E in finder and you can sort by most popular reels for a creator, because you can't do that on Instagram. You can do it on YouTube, you can do it on other platforms. You can't do it with reels, but then they pull the scripts and the hooks in particular, and then rescript it for you and your niche, but keep the hook as close as possible. And so I wasn't, I wasn't really doing any repurpose. I was doing original stuff, but I was high production. And so it's like, I have a teleprompter. I've got this Camera here, that's like a dslr. I was shooting, like, B roll. And, like, I liked the aesthetic and the vibe. I liked what we were creating, but I just put, like, so much heart and soul into it and so much time and so much pressure on it to be something, you know, and to work and. And some of them did well, but, like, I didn't have anything that got more than a thousand views, naturally. And I threw some ads behind ones that were some. Some boosting at some ones that definitely called out dentists really well and performed. Okay. I still have not had a single thing pop off, but I'm like, I just need to, like, do the. The Steph version of, like, okay, I gotta do it in five minutes. Like, let's record something and push it.
- [38:06]
Steph Crowder
Well, you know what's so interesting? This is, like, an interesting corollary, taking us all the way back to the idea of getting your group program off the ground. Right? Like, you cannot imagine how often I see clients who are like, gotta have all my curriculum together. Gotta have it all. Like, I know that's the intuitive thought is like, if I'm gonna put out, it's where you were when you started. You shared with us. You're like, how am I. How are you telling me I'm supposed to do a group and not be prepared and don't have my curriculum? But then you kind of did that jump off a cliff model. It's the same thing. It's like that over. Over preparation. Honestly, like, typically doesn't end up being like, I think there's a level of self trust that has to come into, like, yeah, I can just like, launch a group and figure it out as I go. I can go on social media and just say what I want to say and get in and get out and get back to my day without it having to be so much drama. So I think for people, especially maybe who struggle with time management or you have ADHD or you're a parent or all the above, letting it be. I mean, this program started as the messy middle, and I think that is still. The heart and soul of it, is, like, messy works. It can be messy. You can. Your group can be messy. Your social media can be messy. And I would even argue people are gravitating towards that.
- [39:10]
Richard Low
Okay. This is the coaching that I needed. See, I. I was like, let's do it live, Steph, because I need. Even though I've heard this, I need to hear it again. Yeah, I need to hear it from you, and I need to hear it Today. And I'll probably forget in three weeks and need to hear it again. And I'll go watch your stuff some more and be like, okay, Steph's doing it a hundred days.
- [39:27]
Steph Crowder
A hundred percent. Okay, Richard. As we wind down our conversation today, I always like to ask my clients when they come on the show, if you like, there's very likely people listening who are considering joining and thinking about working with me. What would you tell people who are thinking about that decision right now? And they're kind of weighing the pros and cons. What do you think they should keep in mind as they make that decision?
- [39:50]
Richard Low
This, like, what is possible on the other side of starting a group program? Like, you sold me on the concept of group programs two years before I signed up or did a group program. My last consulting business, we built it one on one coaching. We got crazy good results, you know, but it was like we had to scale those coaching hours, those one on one.
- [40:13]
Steph Crowder
Yeah.
- [40:14]
Richard Low
And being able to be so lean is like, so valuable if you can deliver one to many with a very minimal team. Your business. And right now I've got mental health stuff, My wife's got chronic pain stuff. We've got, you know, stressors with family. I kind of need my business to be able to collapse and fit my lifestyle on any given day.
- [40:37]
Steph Crowder
Yeah.
- [40:37]
Richard Low
And that freedom and flexibility for me right now and that low overhead is so worth whatever it takes to get there, because it's just that freedom that can create in your life to be what you want it to be. And sure, you can scale it and push it and all those things, but that is what's available on the other side of doing group programs so well. And I desperately needed that. And I've built huge businesses with massive overhead and lost millions of dollars and all these things. And now this is the format that I'm sticking with is one to many group programs. You're the one who sold me on it. You're the one who got me going and providing the structure to continue to scale and grow. So that is what you need to think about not is this worth $8,000? It's like, how can I have a business that can fit my life and do it with other people who are doing it at every stage, from people who don't have an offer all the way to people who have an offer in an audience no matter where you are? Steph has the guidance to get you through all of that, and she'll either tell you what you need to hear in the nicest way possible or she'll yell at you like she does for those of us who need it. And we all love it.
- [41:55]
Steph Crowder
Cracks me up.
- [41:56]
Richard Low
We do. We do. Yeah. And. And I'm just so grateful. So that's what I would say is. Is amazing to think about what's possible.
- [42:02]
Steph Crowder
Thank you so much, Richard. Okay, please tell the people if they want to check you out, they want to see your site, your Instagram. Where should they find you? Online?
- [42:10]
Richard Low
Yeah. So the handle is doc. Dr. Richard Low on Instagram. The website sucks right now, Nick. The fathers.com, that was like the one that I threw together, like, right as I was launching last, you know, November. So there's. I guess that's actually really where they should go is to see, like, what is a messy, minimal website. Like, it doesn't need to be crazy. It's still only half works. And we have a group coaching program, so there's very real evidence of Steph focusing you on the stuff that actually matters, not the stuff that you think matters.
- [42:47]
Steph Crowder
A hundred percent. Richard, thank you so much for hanging out with me. This has been so fun.
- [42:51]
Richard Low
Love it. Thanks. Thanks, Stephen.