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Welcome to Shiny New Clients, the marketing podcast that helps you attract shiny new clients to your business. We talk about social media marketing. I'll give you actionable strategies to get more clients today and the mindset that it takes to grow a business all in 25 minutes or less. Whether you're an online business owner or have an in person service or even a course or membership, if you've got a service based business, this is the show you need to fill your calendar. I'm Jenna Harding, your new marketing coach and this is Shiny New Clients. I don't want to be a gossip, but I'm going to gossip with you right now because I was on a zoom call with a friend, a colleague, someone I know from the business space. And when he told me how much he was making from his membership, I went quiet. I was so shocked. He actually told me how many people he had and he had previously told me the monthly cost of his membership, which is relatively low. And then I paused and he said, I can see the gears turning. You're thinking about how much money that is, aren't you? I was like, actually I was thinking about how easy it all felt. The way that he put this membership together, the way that he promotes it, it all just seems to like come together. His people are happy, he's happy, and it's a lot of money. So. Dear friend, I have brought to you today someone whose expertise is helping us become millionaires with memberships. Maybe, hopefully. I brought in today Jairose, who is a business coach who has a specialty in content creation, messaging and memberships and also just sold out her program on how to start a membership. So hopefully we all leave this conversation. Millionaires, is it possible for us? Journey J.
B
Like, Maya, I mean, it's 100% possible and I think it just totally depends on how much healing you've done.
A
Fair. And I know you're probably sitting there like, oh, Jenna, we don't need to be millionaires. Why do you keep saying that number like it's not your brand, it's my brand?
B
No. And it's adorable. Like, I love the idea of million dollar membership just in full transparency. My membership is not making me a million dollars yet, but it absolutely could. So that's something it fully could.
A
Can you just explain to us, like bare bones, so we're all on the same page, what are we talking about when we talk about a membership in general?
B
Yeah, so. Well, I think there's a lot of different ideas of a membership and I will use this example of how I joined one myself this week and all the lessons we can learn from that. But and I'm probably going to say some things that aren't as complimentary. So the idea that a membership can just be thrown together and just be a, say like a Facebook group or something on one of the apps where they host community, I would say that that's false. It's not just a community where you offer some value. I think that that's a misconception. So what it actually is is your expertise put into a learning portal. Say like a course. You could think of it like a course. And people rent that course from you and while they're renting it from you, they're inside a community that. That helps them do it. It helps them with accountability. And I love to say too, practice, like you're going to have the bestselling membership if you have something that people need to practice. And a lot of people have that going on and they're maybe doing one on one. And I look at it and I go, you can have all these people that you're talking to one on one. Learning in a portal. I just call that, I call it a portal learning portal. But it's a. You know what I'm saying when I say that, right? Like a course where you have laid out teachings and things. Yeah, yeah.
A
There's podcasts, there's materials you learn from that you log in to see.
B
Thank you very much. Yes. So, so you could put your expertise into the learning portal and then not have to teach people the same thing over and over. Hallelujah. Right. And then we have what they have to do to get the result, which is actually the action taking. And that part requires practice, it requires feedback, it requires support and community. Perfect for a membership. Right.
A
So like we wouldn't just put our, like write a ebook and then put that behind a wall because once you read it, you're done.
B
Yes. It has to be a journey. It really does have to be a journey. People are going on. I don't know what to say. Isn't a journey. But fitness is always a good example of someone going on a journey. Maybe they aren't working out and they want to be doing it consistently, but they have the constraint of being a stay at home mom. Well, a membership design for them specifically is really great because we can meet those needs. Oh, you're at home. Okay. It's on demand. Oh, it you're with a kid. Okay, let's make them short. Right. Let's make them effective. So whenever we can be more Specific in that way, a membership is going to do better.
A
There's a misconception then that I have had because some people say that, well, some people join Magic Marketing Machine, my program, and then they start calling it a membership. And I'm like, it's not a membership, it's a program. And other than the pricing structure, which is, you know, there's payment plans or lump sum, but whatever. So, like, aside from that element of it where it's not a subscription, I always thought it needed to be a program because the beginning is a proven process. So the beginning of the program modules 1 to 3, we want you to do them in order as a proven process. And then. And that was like part of our selling feature. But then after that, it's material support calls, coworking, like it's all those different things. So now I'm wondering if maybe that does sound more like a membership. Facebook.
B
Well, except what are they? What's the agreement? What's the time constraint agreement? Do they have. Is there an end?
A
Well, they. It's a year's access. Because once someone does the proven process, there's, like you said, a journey. There's all sorts of things. They want more views, they want to run a promotion. They grow and they want to know what to do with this new audience. They want to grow their email list. So that's the of it. And then people started getting to the end and wanting to stay. So then we created ways for them to stay.
B
I mean, that sounds like it could be a membership really easily.
A
Oh, no, what have I done?
B
I know, I know. Well, I mean, you've created something that you can transition into a membership, which is great.
A
Wait, hold on. Maybe this call will end with me being so rich because you open my brain to, like, a new way to structure everything.
B
Except I don't know what you're charging if someone pays. Well, do you want to say what you're charging or.
A
Yeah, I mean, sure, because it's a thousand bucks. But then last year we created an extended payment plan of 99amonth. So a lot of people just.
B
Yeah, so you're basically giving. It's literally a membership, but you're having a demand of the time. So it's a year. It has to be a year. But also you're kind of saying it's only a year, but on average a membership. I actually, I need to check these numbers, but I think retention is around three months for a membership. So you're actually doing better by bringing people in and actually helping them get Results over time and having them commit to that, that sounds better to me.
A
Well, I mean if this can be a lesson for the listener, it's like there really is no perfect structure. So how do you decide what is going to be? And no. And you can also always change your mind, always change your structure. But what would you tell someone if they're trying to decide if this is the structure they want for their business?
B
Yeah. Well, first of all, personality plays a part in this. So there are people who just shouldn't run a membership and there are people who are very prone to doing it successfully. So I'll just talk about the successful part. If you like community and that's a part of your mission, is bringing people together around your work, kind of a no brainer. Also, if you're somebody who tends to center other people, I think it's a really good thing versus there are a number of people in our industry who are more like the main character. And I love a main character, but I mean their brand is built around their Persona and they're maybe more luxury. I would say those people in general might not be as good for a membership because it really is about bringing people together and it's not about you as much. Also, you just really need to decide about access to you. That's what I was going to say about yours. The fundamental difference between a learning portal that teaches you X, Y, Z to get this result, whether or not it's a group program where they get coaching, whether or not it's a course where they get nothing, or it's a membership where they have a community and ongoing access. The difference is really what access to you is needed for someone to get the best result. And sometimes people are going to say, oh, I need to get on a call. For example, in my membership design school, it's not a membership. It's an eight week program that walks them through the curriculum to pick their topic, to get clear on the marketing, to map their membership and to launch it, that's the, that's the trajectory. Right. And with that I could sell it as just a course, but I know that people need feedback, they need validation on their offer, they need insight on the marketing messages. So many things that are my expertise. And so I don't want to take myself out of it, I put myself in it. And so then it's a higher ticket. Group coaching experience versus a membership.
A
It's so funny that you say that. Part of what makes you good at this is centering the person you're talking to, right? Center because you have this. I don't want. I don't want to make you hyper aware of it, but I love this active listening ism that you have because. And you can hear it. Everyone's heard already.
B
That right there.
A
No, it's. Well, it's close. It's like when I ask a question, you go, mm. And then you answer. So it's like when I hear in that sound is, yes. That's a really good question, Jenna. Good girl. And then you answer.
B
So it's like a validation to you.
A
Yeah, I feel validated every time I'm like, oh, I asked a good question. You can tell she liked it.
B
That's so interesting. I love that. And now I'm. Yeah, okay. I'm not going to be aware of it. I'm going to be unaware of. Naturally works. Right. I think there are people who want to take themselves out of their work and they want to scale and. And that's fine. Just be an education business. Right. Just have courses and there are plenty of people who do that. And then for me, I have a
A
pet peeve about that whole thing because I think people do that too early.
B
Sure.
A
The. I don't want to say obsession because I don't want to ashamed people, but this like, thing that we've been sold about passive income and scalable business models and stuff caused people who were. Who were still very new at their whole thing to want to remove themselves too soon. And it doesn't behoove them or their audience. Yeah, right.
B
Because the quality gets diminished. And I think that that's fair, especially if your work originates with actually helping people and working with people. Scaling is an interesting thing. It's nuanced, and I think it needs to be. It needs to be cared for. So I tried to take myself out of my work about four years ago, and I developed courses and I sold them. They sold fine, but I was like, ew, I don't like it. I want to help them. I want to help them. And so for me, I also don't want to be on calls all the time. So that's what's attractive about scaling. My work is taking some of myself out of it, giving myself back time, but then also having the influence and the impact of working with the people. That's why I love, like, I'm obsessed with my membership. Yeah, I love it. I do a Q and A and I am so excited. They probably almost think I'm weird because every single Q A, and I've had it for three years now, and So I do a Q A once a month, a live training once a month. I give them feedback on a video of theirs once a month. And then we do a batching club where I hold them accountable to them batching their videos. That's sort of the, the breakdown of the live components of the membership. Right. So every single time I do one of those live components, when I'm working with them, I probably seem like a nerd. I'm like, yay, I'm so happy for you and all this. But it's because I genuinely love it. And the load of work for me is so low that when I do the work, I'm genuinely happy to do it. And I just think that that's such a win win.
A
Well, and I just want to clarify when we say scaling, because there might be people who are like, what are we talking about out there? So when we're saying scaling, we're like, if you're working onetoone with someone and you want to make more money, you can do basically three things. You can charge more, you can start hiring people to work alongside you, like junior experts and build out your team, or you can find a way, like a education product or a membership or whatever to serve many people at once instead of doing everything one to one. So Jaya's saying is like, when she teaches in a group setting, in the time it would normally take 10 hours, do one on one with, with multiple people, she can do it in a group. And my experience is that people push back against that if they've never been in a good group. But then people like, just from what I've experienced, from the groups I'm in and the groups I teach, it's so much better for people. It's so much better for the learning. You're learning from people who are ahead of you. People are always in my groups going, man, I'm so good at writing hooks for other people. But then it comes to me and I'm like, not as good at it. I'm like, perfect. That means you are gaining the skill. Doing it for yourself is next instead of just sitting there not being able to do it, you know? So that's just for clarity.
B
Totally. No, that's very helpful. And I think that if you're in one on one, it can feel really hard to figure out how could somebody still get results from my work and take this one on one component out. I know I was there for a long time before I came online. I was a personal trainer for 12 years and a life coach. I took that online 10 years ago. You know my brand name from then? What did I tell you? This Booty Mind and Spirit. Oh, I know. So I was bootymind and spirit.com and I had online fitness. It was fascinating because I had been working one on one with people for 12 years. Right. I had a lot of expertise and a lot of experience. And so when I took it online, I had built a course. My first course was called the 21 Day App Challenge, and it was 21. I sold it to 150 people, which actually is quite impressive for just. Right. I'd only been online for a few months at that point. I was learning so much all at once. And then I launched another course and then I launched a membership. So that was my first membership 10 years ago called the FitLife Academy. And once I got to that point, I was about a year in online and I realized that I had taken out the part of fitness that I liked, which was the people. It was the working with people, the helping hold accountable, the work, you know, in transformation. And I had just stripped that and I was just a teacher and I didn't like it at all. And I literally quit everything. I pivoted over a weekend, which. Welcome to my world. That is not shocking if you know me now, but it was the first time I had done it at that point. I had built all that stuff for a year. And then I went for a walk and I had just listened to that book, the Big Leap. Oh, yeah, right. And that book was really transformational for me. And I thought about those ideas. If y' all haven't listened, it's the idea that we have multiple zones, one zone being your zone of excellence. Do you remember the different ones? Zone of excellence, zone of genius. Wasn't there another one?
A
No, I don't remember.
B
Okay.
A
What I'm thinking of right now that you also might have read in that moment is 10x is bigger than 2x. And that's. No, when I read that one, that's when I was like, oh, oh.
B
And my brain.
A
Let me look it up.
B
Interesting. Well, this idea is that you have a zone of excellence, which is like what you're good at. That's not your million dollar idea. Right. That's just your I help people idea. And so he talks about being in your zone of genius. And that zone of genius is the thing that really only you can do. And I went on this walk thinking about that, and in that moment, I realized that I loved video because I had done hundreds of videos teaching fitness, and I Thought I just want to teach people how to talk to camera and use their voice to share their message.
A
And.
B
And so I threw everything away for booty mind and spirit and launched a program called rock your videos. And rock your videos scaled to 150k that year. In 10 months, I have the zones here.
A
Zone of incompetence, zone of confidence, Zone of excellence, and zone of genius.
B
Okay, yeah, like, you suck. You're okay. You're good. You're the best. There you go. Good is really easy to stay at.
A
Yeah,
B
Yeah. I just put everything on its head and challenged that. And that's when I started to scale my work. Even though rock your videos, I think the first round had seven or eight people in it. But that to me was. I was like, wow, this is so cool.
A
I mean, one of the things they say that is a marker of a good entrepreneur. And I don't want everybody to just blow up their business on a wall. But being able to make big decisions
B
quickly is, yeah, well, I'm a good entrepreneur in that way for sure. I'll be decisive af.
A
And what an invitation for all of us to really tune into what it is that we like. Like, some people might have been in the position you were in and just identified it as burnout and just been like, oh, I'm burnt out. I don't know what it is, but never actually clicked into what it is that they miss so that they can. So that we can move more toward the part we enjoy and the thing we. Instead of just feeling a general sense of overwhelm or unhappiness.
B
I love that. Right. It's like, what am I missing so I can create that instead? And I have. I mean, that's been 10 years. My membership is about talking to camera. So I'm literally still teaching that 10 years later. And then now I teach you also to create your own membership because I love it so much. So there you go.
A
Okay, so that program is sold out, but you are about to launch it again and bring in a new cohort of people who want to put their zone of genius, turn it into a membership. So what's the scoop on that and how can we find you?
B
Yes, well, I'm sure we can give you a link or something, right, to put somewhere. But I'm with J. Rose on Instagram and TikTok at with Jara Rose. J A Y A R O S E and I'm pretty easy to find when I'm launching. But the base of membership, Design school really is getting that topic. I think this is very underrated, but the topic you have for a membership is the make or break of how you're going to build the whole thing and then sell it. So I take you from that, from the ideation all the way to having your first founding members launch, where you bring in your first 20 to 50 people.
A
That's amazing. I'm so excited. I'm so excited for all the people you're going to help and you're going to be back on the show because we still have a lot of gabbing to do. I'm not finished with you.
B
Okay. I'll be back.
A
Okay, thanks.
B
Thanks, everyone.
Podcast: Shiny New Clients!
Host: Jenna Harding
Guest: Jaya Rose (Business Coach & Membership Expert)
Episode Title: Should You Start a Membership in 2026?
Date: August 3, 2026
This episode explores whether launching a membership site is the right move for entrepreneurs in 2026. Jenna and guest expert Jaya Rose break down what a membership really is, who should (and shouldn’t) run one, the differences between memberships and programs, and the mindset shifts needed to succeed. Blending practical marketing advice with candid stories, the episode arms listeners with fresh perspective for shaping their next business move.
“The idea that a membership can just be thrown together and just be a, say like a Facebook group or something on one of the apps where they host community, I would say that that's false. It's not just a community where you offer some value.” (Jaya, 02:31)
“What's the agreement? What's the time constraint agreement? ... Is there an end?” (Jaya, 05:46)
“Personality plays a part in this. There are people who just shouldn't run a membership and there are people who are very prone to doing it successfully.” (Jaya, 07:40)
“The thing that we’ve been sold about passive income and scalable business models caused people who were...still new...to want to remove themselves too soon. And it doesn’t behoove them or their audience.” (Jenna, 10:50)
“The load of work for me is so low that when I do the work, I’m genuinely happy to do it. And I just think that that’s such a win-win.” (Jaya, 12:29)
“I loved video because I had done hundreds of videos teaching fitness, and I thought I just want to teach people how to talk to camera and use their voice to share their message.” (Jaya, 17:07)
On redefining what counts as a membership:
“You can have all these people that you’re talking to one on one learning in a portal. I just call that…a portal learning portal.” (Jaya, 03:32)
On the trap of chasing passive income:
“I don’t want to say obsession because I don’t want to ashamed people, but this thing that we’ve been sold about passive income and scalable business models…people…remove themselves too soon. And it doesn’t behoove them or their audience.” (Jenna, 10:50)
On matching format to your strengths:
“The difference is really what access to you is needed for someone to get the best result.” (Jaya, 08:29)
On being decisive in your business:
“Being able to make big decisions quickly is…yeah, well, I’m a good entrepreneur in that way for sure. I’ll be decisive af.” (Jaya, 18:10)
This episode is an energetic, honest dive into memberships in the current online business landscape, blending actionable advice with personal stories to help listeners decide whether to add a membership to their model in 2026.