Hey, hey, welcome to the summit host hangout podcast where you'll learn how to host a high converting virtual summit that leads to your biggest signature offer launch yet. I'm your host, Krista from summit in a box, and I have a special guest on the podcast today who I'm so excited to introduce you to. This is someone who I got to work with in our launch with a summit accelerator program. And those of you with memberships, crafty businesses and maybe a little self doubt, are going to love it. So to give her a brief introduction, bail Ansari is a laser educator and SVG file designer who focuses on laser cut files for crafters and small businesses. She is the creator behind just one more project and the host of the laser craft fest. She is so wonderful I cannot wait for you to meet her. So without further ado, let's dive in and welcome bail. I always love chatting with you, just in general, because you're someone to talk with. I of course love chatting someone's with you. But before we get into that, I want to just take a step back, slow it down. Have you tell us a little bit about you and your business?
Yes. So my name is Bail. I am the owner of Just One More Project. I am a mama of two little girls, and I started just one more project, I don't know, years and years ago, when I decided to quit my job as a social worker, and I thought it was going to be like a temporary thing, because I could stay home with my kids. And I was like, it's fine. And then I started dabbling with digital file design, and really started enjoying that passive income. And I was and I was like, oh, okay, this is easy. I can do this. And then slowly, I started creating files for folks with laser cutting machines. And then, I don't know, I've been selling files for about five years now. I created a digital course teaching people how to create their own files. And then little bit after that, launched a membership for people with lasers. And now I'm currently planning my third Summit,
Yay. I love how you just kind of like, fell your way through each step you're like, and I'm doing this and this and this, and you've just figured it out.
I had no idea it was all in like some kind of master process.
I love it. I mean, that's when the good stuff happens too. Is when we're listening to our gut, when we're listening to what people are asking for, and you know, that's when things stick. So I love that. I want you to remind a little bit now you are you've got your third summit on your mind, I want you to think back and share a little bit about where you were at and how your business was going before you were hosting or before you hosted your first summit. What did that look like?
So like I said, I've been selling files for about five years, and I think back before I hosted my first summit, I really had the mind frame of, this is still a side hustle. This is temporary. I am going to go back to work for what I went to school for. I am going to, you know, it was still a, you know, this isn't me. And I will say that my business was in the baby stages of my business. It was, I didn't have any core offers, I didn't have anything that I had, anything that I like, really wanted in my business. I just wasn't where I wanted to be. And I think my first summit definitely changed that.
Yes, oh my gosh, that's so crazy to think back where you were when you came in to the accelerator and, yeah, like, what a change in what a year. Like, it hasn't been that long.
I don't even think I I knew it. And, you know, it's funny, because I think about my daughter just finished kindergarten, and I just went to her kindergarten graduation today, and this is exactly the same. It's like, you start kindergarten and you have no idea like that. You're about to be a big kid at the end of the year. This is literally the same thing. It was just like, I was thinking about that during the little kindergarten graduation. I'm like, wow, that's like, exactly what I just went through. It's so funny.
I love that. So good. Okay, so you are running this business, you would have maybe not even called it a business. You weren't sure if it was gonna be something you could keep doing. What made you decide to host your first summit when you were in that place?
You know, you asked me that before too, and I can't actually pinpoint it. I just, I don't know. I just had this thought in the middle of the night once, and I was like, I think I'm gonna do this. And I had no idea what it entailed. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into. I just knew that I hadn't seen anything like this in my community of like laser creators. So I was I just sort of did it. And that's kind of the motto of just one more project, which is my my business. It's more of, let's see where we go. We're just gonna start another project. And so this was ultimately a project, and it just sort of turned into something bigger.
Definitely did. Were you confident going into this project, or did you have some fears and doubts?
You want to answer that question. What?
I'm just kind of posing the question for the listeners.
Those of you that can't see her, she's got this like smirk on her face. I was not confident at all. I had no idea what I was doing. I was very certain that I was gonna fail miserably. You know, obviously, before I started the summit in a box accelerator program, I didn't even know if I could invest in it. I had no idea what I was doing. I just sort of went with it. But yes, I had all kinds of doubts. I was scared of all the tech. I was I mean, now I will say, I love the tech. It's very cool. It's really fascinating. But I was like, how am I going to do all this? It's, you know, unimaginable. I was terrified of speaking, pitching speakers going live, you know, talking to sponsors. It was just a whole brand new world to me. And, yeah, it was, it
was a lot, yeah, and I'm, I'm thinking back to our time on the accelerator, and I think you were, and I'm glad you were, I think you have been our most like vocally doubtful client that we've ever had. But I was always so glad, because then we could help you, like we couldn't help if you wouldn't have told us, and he would have just been boggling it up. But it was always so funny, from my standpoint, because I am the one like looking at your material, giving critiques, and I'm like, This is amazing. Like, this is going to blow up, and you probably didn't even know if you're going to break even. I feel like, and
absolutely yes, 100% I think I even set my goals for very low. And I was like, you know, it's, it's okay, it's, and I think it was still the mindset of, this is a baby, this is a it's a baby project. It's not gonna be what I have ever imagined it could be, you know. And so it just, it was, yeah,
okay, so let's talk about it. Tell first, tell us about the event. Who was it for? What did it help them with all that stuff?
So I primarily work with folks who have lasers. So I made an event that was the event that I would have wanted when I first got into lasers. The whole goal of the event was to explore the full potential of having a laser cutting machine, because when people first get a laser, there's just like, oh, I can engrave wood, yay, you know. And they're not really sure. They don't really know that there's so much cool stuff that you can do. And it was just more of, you know, you have a laser. Let's show you all the cool stuff now. And so it was workshops of all the different materials you can use, and all the cool types of things you can make, and different tips and different I mean, there was, it was very cool. So people would have left that event if they didn't have a laser, they probably were going to get one, or they had just got one, and were like, holy smokes, I can do so much stuff. I'm ready. So it was a, it was more of like an exposure. Let's learn all about lasers and see what you can do with them. And it was, it was awesome. I
love that so much. I want to ask you about the results, but first I feel like I should probably have you kind of tell people what a laser is, because there's probably people thinking of like this red pointer thing.
So it's, it's primarily, it's a, it's a cutting machine, so it will cut materials with a beam of light, right? And so you can cut things like wood, acrylic, leather, and you can do all kinds of things with them. You can do you can create crafts. You can create products to sell. You can, I mean, there's, there's so much you can do. And the, primarily, what I do with just one more project is I create the digital files for folks who have the lasers. So there's a certain kind of file that the laser cutting machine can only read, and so I make it I love that. So
would you say the audience for this summit was primarily crafters, or was it a wider range?
Well, that's that was one of the things that I had found. So I had geared the entire event to crafters. And one of the big pieces of feedback that I got after the event had ended was we want more business type content from this event. Because I always say this, and it's so true, if you are a crafter, you're basically an accidental business owner, because you're like, oh, people are going to buy this, oops. And then you have no idea what you're doing, because you're like, Well, now, how do I do all of that? And so you know that there was people in there that were crafters and hobbyists, but then there was people in there that had legitimate businesses selling products, and they just needed the tools to, you know, be successful in their business. And that was not something that I had touched on in our first event, and so when we got to the second event, that was something we really focused on. Yes,
I loved seeing that shift, too. Again, another example of you listening to your people and adjusting and shifting what you're doing in your business and adding just one more
project. Do it. My sanity. It's how I do it, right,
exactly. Okay. So let's talk about this first summit. Tell us how it went. So you weren't expecting great results. You were hoping you would see something from it. How did it go? Okay.
So I will say, first of all, my I expected it to be extremely easy, but I'm saying that, as in, I didn't really have a grasp of, like, the volume of people that that would like come into my world. You guys all warned me, you're right. It's like, this is gonna be big, but I really had no idea what to compare it to. It was like, it was the first time so many people had so many, I like, there was just so many eyes on my business. And it was just the first time that it ever happened, right? So I had expected it to just be like, you know, yes, it went smoothly. It was great. Everything was fantastic. But I don't think that I actually grasped the, oh, my God. There's so many people, you know, and it was, it was very good. I will say I took some notes on this. I want to make sure I tripled my attendee goal. So I and then I tripled my revenue goal. And there was a few like tech hiccups and different things like that. Nobody even noticed, except for me, and I added 6000 people to my email list in three days of that event. Was nuts. I say all these things, and I'm still kind of like, Wow. I can't believe that happened, but very good. It's great stuff. Yeah,
are you comfortable sharing the revenue numbers and the membership growth as
well, sure. So this first event I I had only, I hadn't only anticipated, like, $10,000 you know, and Krista, you was laughing at me. You were like, no, just be quiet. So I made $67,000 in revenue, and I brought in 314 people on my monthly membership, which I offered as an upsell for with the VIP pass. And so I brought in, yeah, it was pretty extensive, and
I feel like we can even look at your membership launch as like an accident, like you accidentally added over 300 people to your membership because it was not in the plans. It was
not in the plan. And you it. It was more of, like a last minute thing. You guys, well, what are you doing? What are you launching after this? And I'm like, I don't know what. I don't I don't know you're talking about. It was more of, I didn't like the word launch, and so I had just ignored everything you'd said, because I was like, I'm not doing that. That's too much work. And it was, it was a little bit overwhelming to think of, like, I'm launching this program, and it just put an added amount of stress on me, because I had no idea what I was actually doing first. And so this turned out to be a last minute launch. We offered a free trial to the membership and brought in several 100 people. And it was great.
That's probably another area where, like you, probably weren't prepared for over 300 new members at one time unexpectedly,
and I got some gray hairs, and they just kept growing after that, and that's great. Something
else I want to talk about is another cool outcome of this is your huge sponsorship and partnership and all the things that has now done for you. Can you tell us a little about
that? So I actually ended up getting, basically my dream sponsorship for the first event, and I was a little bit, I mean, I was, I was like, holy smokes, that's actually happening cool. And it was just such a great way to bring the community together by having that added sponsorship involvement. After the event, I, you know, started getting, like, spot like people reaching out to me, like brand deals and all, I mean, all kinds of things. And so I was slightly overwhelmed with that, but crazy person that just doesn't know what she's doing, I probably said, You know what I'm doing. I think
it's adorable that you just like so don't expect the success, and it just keeps coming.
Let's not say that. Can we just knock on wood? Because sometimes I don't know, let's just it has been nothing, but I mean, good things since then. Okay,
so first summit brought in 6500 registration, 67,000 Evernote 314, new members. Tell us about the second one,
the second summit, like I mentioned earlier, we had all the feedback about the business of the kind of the having a little bit more emphasis on business and entrepreneurship. So we kind of tailored the content for business owners, and it was like the tools that you're going to. Need for success, and, you know, those types of things, we had the same branding. Everything was the same, but we just really put a different emphasis on it this time and made it really clear. And all the messaging and all of the positioning on the website and that event actually don't have the attendee number, but I feel like the attendee number was very similar. It was, I think it was like 7000 I don't have it written down, but my revenue was $123,000 and then and that one, I actually committed to doing a launch. And you're gonna laugh so hard because the event was in March, and I committed to doing the launch in, I don't know, like, the first second week of April kind of thing. Like, I was like, Okay, let's do that. And we just did it. Oh, wait, no, I mean March, no, the second week of February. Gosh, I'm like, not even thinking it was the second week of February. And I was like, All right, I think we can think we can launch this course after this. And we decided to do kind of like a workshop the day after the summit ended. And it was great, because it had, there was so much momentum from the summit, and everybody was really it was, it was awesome. And so I actually ended up doing that with doing it as a bundle course offer with another person in the community who had a course that was, like really similar with like they were just aligned really well. It was, it was really nice. It was, like a really great kind of deal for the people who were jumping in. They kind of got the whole thing instead of just a little bit. A little bit. So yeah, how
did that launch go compared to the membership? How many people did you add through
that, I brought in 137 people to the course, which gave me a $45,000 I don't even think these numbers are real, but yeah, they are real. So that was actually quite good. And I really hope nobody is listening to this, but I well, I hope I listened to it, sorry, Krista, but I hope nobody that actually knows me listening to this because I had recorded zero lessons
after selling the course to 137 people, and that was stressful. I was like, holy smokes, I have to record all these lessons and don't do that. So if I'm giving you guys advice, don't do that.
Wow. Yeah, that's a lot to go from summit plus launch to then having to totally create a brand new course. That's, that's, I
will say, I just finished about two weeks ago, and I am incredibly burnt out. I think, yeah, it was, I'm ready to lay on a beach for like, a month. But
that's another part, you know, that's like, another big piece of why I'm like, please don't do that. But you always just do your own thing, and you figure it out, and you got it. I
think with summits, though, is it now has really helped me, kind of, obviously, summits are a huge part of my business now, and they are kind of like the the where I can plan my offers and my launches, and they really helped me with, like, my annual planning now. And so they've kind of just, like, set the foundation of, like, my year in my business. And so, like, Now, I know, you know, if I'm doing this summit here, I'm launching here, this is the weeks I have free, you know. And it's actually really, really helpful to have it all planned in advance. And it's definitely forced me to plan it all in advance. Plan it all in advance. It's not more of like a go with the flow kind of thing anyway. But yeah, I'm okay with that. I think I'm okay. I
love that. Sometimes structure is good. What would you say is the like impact you've seen these summits have on your business? You went from not knowing if it was actually a business to where are you now?
Well, now I have a business. I do. I have a team of two gals that work with me daily that I couldn't survive otherwise. I just, I don't know. I'm just, it's, I don't have any words. It's just good. It's all really good. It's a lot. Because I didn't actually, I thought, as it was, still, I never anticipated having a business and being in charge of all this stuff and knowing what I was doing all the time, because I don't know what I'm doing all the time, but it is. It's a learning process, and it is a challenge, and it's not something that I had known I was going to be going into because, you know, there's things, there's things that come up all the time, like, you know, accounting for God's sakes, and I'm like, taxes and things that I had just never even really cared about. And I sort of just like, shoved the papers over to my husband. This was the first year that I had officially fired him. I was like, I think I gotta do this. So have someone do this now. And so it was, yeah, which is growing as good, growing as good. I
mean, you've gone from you very quickly, gone from hobbyist to CEO, and that's a big change. That's a big change when you do it over years, and you did it within months. So, you know, there's some stuff that will come up with that. Congratulations. Thank
you very much. I think it was all due to someone in a box, though. So just so you know, there's my plug on you guys, because I don't think I would have had the guidance, the support, the I mean, you guys kind of saw like, Oh, she's got a lot going on in her head. There's a lot. And you guys need to, you need to structure that out. And so it was, yeah, it was really helpful. Well,
I'm glad it was, like, truly a joy, absolutely like you are, just like you were always bright light when, no for real, you were always a bright light. I knew you were gonna have me laughing. And sometimes I felt bad laughing while you're, like, kind of having a crisis. But like, I could always see what was coming. I knew what was coming.
Like, a lot, like, I would make this awesome website, and then I'd be like, No, I
don't like, it's okay. Exactly what would you say? Like, thinking back on all this is the biggest takeaway you'd want people to get from your experience.
Do the thing. Just do it. I mean, that's how I've grown. People always sit on decisions, and they sit on, you know, investments, things like that. Just do the thing that was that's been the biggest thing for me. I when I was designing files, I knew I was interested in lasers, and if I didn't do the thing and spend the money on buying a laser, I wouldn't be designing files for lasers, you know. And so if I didn't do the thing and decide on investing in the support for creating a summit. I wouldn't be creating a summit, you know. So I see it a lot that people are like, well, that's a really big investment. And, yeah, it's an investment, and it's, it's hard, and you just sometimes have to do the hard things. And that's okay, for
sure, for sure. That's what, that's what a business is, is doing the right hard things. Don't
think you can do it alone. Make sure you have people to help you, even if you're not paying for them. Like, I mean, I was, I had pulled in my sister, and I was like, I need you to write these social media posts now, you know, and it was okay, and so it's okay, it's totally possible. Yeah,
I love that. Thank you so much. Where can people go to connect with you and learn more about you?
Yeah, I am just one more project.com, if you're interested in learning more about my Summit, it's lasercraftfest.com. You can find me on Instagram at just one more project.
Thank you so much for tuning into this episode For show notes and resources mentioned, links to all of bail stuff. Head to the link in the episode description, wherever you're listening now go out and take action to plan, strategize and launch your high converting virtual Summit.
