If you’ve been with me for a while on the Heart-Centred Business Podcast, you might already know bits of my start-up story. But with so many new faces joining us lately, I thought it was time to go back to the beginning AND share the five business lessons from my start-up story that are still absolutely essential, even with how much the online space has changed since 2013.
So, whether you’re brand new or just curious about what still works for start-up businesses, this one’s for you.
Let me tell you the start-up story…
Here for the links referenced in the show notes?
Karen Leslie WP Fairy Godmother – karenlesliewpfg.com
Mags Sheridan Putty Retreats:
– puttyretreats.com
– magssheridan.com/putty
Last ever Heart-Centred Virtual Business Conference – tashcorbin.com/virtualconference
Take Off Program – tashcorbin.com/takeoff
EPISODE 538: Listen using the player below, or click the links to your fave platform to subscribe and listen over there:
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Starting From Zero: The Real Start-Up Story
Back in 2013, I was the only person in my group program who still had a job. Everyone else was working for themselves. I loved the idea of more freedom, more money, being paid directly for the work I brought to the world—plus, I needed an escape from a really toxic workplace. My job as a consultant was being gutted because of changes in government, and honestly, my boss was just toxic (no better word for it).
Then, on a work trip, I grabbed The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss at the airport and absolutely devoured it. There was this exercise in the book: what’s riskier—starting a business or staying in your safe job? For me, staying in my job felt way riskier.
So, I tried to go part-time, but my boss said the soonest we could make that happen was three years away. Not what I wanted to hear. My partner and I had already booked a trip to Europe. Basically, I had a choice: resign now before the holiday and really give this business thing a shot, or keep the job and delay everything. So I gave my notice, used up my last four weeks, then we went to Europe—and I came back with no job to return to.
That meant sitting at my desk, maxed-out credit cards, zero savings, partner earning less than one-third of what I had been making… and my “business plan” was just that burning desire to do this.
I had nothing ready. I had pre-purchased a day with a business coach, but didn’t have any structure, clients, or even a clear idea of my specialty yet. All I had was my brain, a secondhand MacBook Air, and that VIP session in a couple of weeks.
Finding My Niche: The Many Pivots In Week One
At first, I figured I’d be a career coach for corporate people. But after just three free sessions with people in my network, I quickly realised I did NOT want to help people navigate all the hierarchical, patriarchal power games in the corporate world. What I wanted was to tell everyone: “You should just start a business!”
By the time I actually did my VIP session, I knew I needed a different angle. That’s when I landed on business coaching for artists and makers—a niche where my experience could really help. I had no idea how I’d find those people, let alone get clients or even price my services. My coach gave me the advice to charge $197 an hour, but honestly, I didn’t care about price at this point—I just needed to start.
And, as you might guess, when I shared my new plan with my partner, the first thing he said (in this really high-pitched voice) was, “Wow, that’s a really good idea.” He was thinking, “Starving artists don’t have money!” But I was determined to make it work.
The five big lessons from my start-up story that are still relevant today:
1. Clients and Contacts Come First—Price Comes Later
I needed clients, and fast. To get experience (and actually make sales at all), I was more focused on people booking than what they paid. I tried free sessions, but people thought there must be a catch or just didn’t show up. So I played with prices: $25 for a two-hour coaching session, then $49. I experimented until I found what worked.
It taught me two huge things:
- The more sessions I did, the more confident (and better!) I got.
- The process forced me to set up simple systems (invoicing, digital calendar, PayPal/Xero) only when the pain of being disorganised got annoying, not before.
I refused to solve problems I didn’t have yet. For example, until people actually wanted to book with me, I didn’t bother with a digital calendar or fancy systems. So many people waste time and money solving “future problems” before they have any clients at all. You don’t need a group program if you aren’t full with one-to-one yet. Focus on today’s problem, not tomorrow’s.
I always set myself a goal: five paying clients every week, no matter what they paid. If the week was nearly over and I wasn’t there yet, I’d jump on Facebook Groups and say, “Who wants a two-hour session for $20 at 10am this Friday?” I didn’t care if the amount seemed tiny. I just wanted clients and contacts. And you know what? Those early low-ticket clients often came back for bigger packages later.
2. Validate, THEN Build Assets
I validated every angle before building anything. No website, no mailing list, not even a fixed list of offers, until I’d tested and tweaked through real conversations and paid work. I was lucky to be on holiday for the month before I started—otherwise, I probably would’ve wasted time and money on a career coaching website I didn’t need. I didn’t fall for the sunk cost fallacy, because I had nothing built yet to get attached to.
Eventually, once I’d gotten my first clients as a business coach for artists, I tried to build my own website. I actually wasted $2,000 on a course that just didn’t work for me, then ended up paying someone $660 cash to build it. The validation (making sales and getting clients) came FIRST, before the assets.
You don’t need a website to make sales. The most successful start-ups I see are the ones who sell and validate first, then build the assets once they know what works. If you already have everything built out for a niche that doesn’t pan out, it’s so much harder to pivot. I see this all the time with clients who already made their websites. They get really attached, even if it’s clear their messaging or niche isn’t viable. My advice? Don’t change your website just yet—validate the new idea first. If it works and you make sales, rewriting the website is a breeze.
3. Building Sales Skills Is Non-Negotiable
I knew from day one that building my sales skills and having a real process would make all the difference. A lot of people try to avoid sales in the early years, or hope their website/social media will sell for them. But I wanted to know exactly how to convert leads into sales—what to say, where to find people, and how to predict my income.
My previous consulting experience was in-person and old-school: selling to big manufacturers or government. Selling coaching to artists online? That needed a totally different approach, especially since I wasn’t a big social media user. So I focused on learning to sell, even when I took courses that, frankly, felt icky and inauthentic. (Some online sales training is all about manipulation and binary thinking: “Buy from me and succeed, or don’t and fail.” No thanks.)
Even if a program was sleazy, I used what I learned to build my own way of selling—one that felt good. I mapped out my own process (now I call it the Client Attraction Process), always focusing on relationships, not just transactions. You have to learn how to sell before you can outsource it. If you can’t sell in person, you can’t write a website that sells for you. AI won’t save you either—sales copy written by chatbots is never as good as your real voice, and your audience can always tell.
4. Review and Raise Your Prices Based on Real Evidence
Yes, I started at low prices, but I made sure to review my prices regularly. Two things triggered a price increase:
- Demand: Every ten VIP clients, I’d check if it was time to go up.
- Evidence: I needed proof—real results—for my clients before raising rates.
No bumping up prices just because time passed. I wanted to know that every price change was based on more demand or better outcomes for my clients. That way, I could always stand behind my offers and keep building a strong reputation as someone who delivers.
Even now, with one-on-one sessions over $1,000, my clients still see it as incredible value because the outcomes are there to back it up. That reputation started from consistently delivering amazing value, even at the lower rates.
5. Mindset Support Makes Everything Work
From the start, I was surrounded by great mindset support. I was in Money Bootcamp with Denise Duffield-Thomas and worked with a friend who was a student kinesiologist (for $20 a session!), seeing her every week.
Honestly, my strategy was simple just because there were fewer choices back in 2013—pretty much, you posted daily to your Facebook page, hung out in a couple of Facebook groups, wrote a blog or did a YouTube video, emailed your list once a week, and ran a webinar each month. No Canva for fancy PDFs, no podcasting, no endless options for content. This simplicity made it super clear what was holding me back: my mindset.
If creating a simple Facebook post took me an hour and a half, it wasn’t strategy—it was me overthinking. If I deleted a question post just because nobody answered in 30 minutes, that was my embarrassment showing up and blocking progress. I had every self-sabotage you can imagine: fear of visibility, fear of failure, fear of being paid well, money blocks, upper limits… the works. Having support for mindset made it easier to see and work through these blocks.
Six months in, I’d already had a $20K+ month and worked with over 200 paying clients, but inside I still felt like a fraud sometimes. Having simple strategies meant I couldn’t blame the complexity for my resistance. If I didn’t post, it was mindset, not lack of tactics.
The Truth About What Works Now
People sometimes say, “It was easier back then.” Sure, there was less competition, but also much smaller audiences and fewer ways to reach people. What I teach my clients now is an updated approach—Facebook groups might not pack the same punch anymore, and in-person connections are back to being HUGE. But at the heart of it, the five lessons from my start-up story are still true:
- Get real clients, fast. Price doesn’t matter as much as momentum and learning.
- Only solve the problems right in front of you.
- Test and validate before building fancy assets.
- Build your sales skills from day one.
- Raise your rates based on actual demand and client results, not just because you feel like it.
- Keep your strategy simple, and get the mindset support to break through your own barriers.
If you’re starting, pivoting, or rebuilding—and want support and accountability—my Take Off Program might be a fit. It’s for people who want real strategy and real mentorship, no one left behind, and access for as long as you need.
If you have questions about it, or just want to share what stage your business is at, reach out to me at tashcorbin.com/contact or in my DMs on Instagram or Facebook. I’m always happy to give personalised advice, and I only recommend the program if I genuinely think it’s the right fit for you.
I hope my start-up story and these lessons light a fire for you as you take your next step—whatever stage you’re at.
Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of the Heart-Centred Business Podcast. I hope you’ve enjoyed learning my start-up story.
Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.
