Celebrating One Year in Business with Randi Robinson and Emily Vogel

 

Emily and Randi are former teachers who have made sleep consulting their full time business! They’ve done it as a team, learned a lot along the way, and now they are here to share their story with you! Emily Vogel Randi Robinson 

 

Links:

Website: Teaching Sweet Sleep
Instagram: @teachingsweetsleep
TikTok: @teaching.sweet.sl

 

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Transcript:

Intro: Welcome to Becoming a Sleep Consultant! I’m your host Jayne Havens, a certified sleep consultant and founder of both Snooze Fest by Jayne Havens and Center for Pediatric Sleep Management.

On this podcast, I’ll be discussing the business side of sleep consulting. You’ll have an insider’s view on launching, growing, and even scaling a sleep consulting business. This is not a podcast about sleep training. This is a podcast about business building and entrepreneurship.

Emily and Randi are former teachers who have made sleep consulting their full-time business. They’ve done it as a team, learned a lot along the way, and now they are here to share their story with you.

Jayne Havens: Ladies, welcome back to the Becoming a Sleep Consultant Podcast. I’m so excited to be chatting with both of you again. Before we get started, Emily, do you want to introduce the both of you? For new listeners, Randi and Emily have both been on the podcast before together. And we’ll give you an update of what’s been going on. But before we do that, tell us who you are, what you’re all about. Share a little bit of your story.

Emily Vogel: Sure. So Randi and I both have toddlers. She has a twin, two-and-a-half-year-old boys, and I have an almost two-and-a-half-year-old girl. When our kids were born, we were both working in the school system. I taught fourth and fifth grade for 11 years. And Randi, same, 11 years that she covered, like first, second and third. So we kind of had the gamut of elementary school covered. And when our kids were born, we were looking for something where we could use our teaching skills, our desire to help people and work with families closely but also have the flexibility to be present and raise our kids.

I stumbled upon Center for Pediatric Sleep Management when I was trying to find my next venture in life, and I signed up pretty quickly thereafter. Randi was looking to get out of the classroom too. And I was like, “You should do this with me. We’re both teachers. We could make something of this.” She signed on, finished the school year while taking care of two boys and working and doing this at night, and put in her resignation. And we kind of went all in from there. That was about it a little over a year ago.

Jayne Havens: Love that. Randi, do you want to tell us a little bit about what your business looked like in the beginning? You’ve been in business, I think, about a year now. So take us back to what it looked like for you guys to get started together, and then we’ll talk a little bit about what your business looks like now.

Randi Robinson: Yeah, so when we started about a year ago, it was a lot of like we would get our kids together in the morning for a play date, put them down for naps. Then Emily and I would work together during nap time. We would spend our time planning social media, reaching out to different mom groups in the area, different mom-kid focused businesses that we could try to connect with. Sent a lot of emails basically to anyone who were like they might have something to do with babies or toddlers. Just kind of like reaching out to anyone we could think could possibly be a connection. Got a lot of no responses, but then kind of just persevered and finally got some really good connections.

So now we still reach out to a lot of businesses. But also, I’ve been fostering those connections we were able to make. We have some reoccurring mom series that we go and speak at, some groups that we talk at regularly. Then also, we’ve met with some business coaches, kind of refined our social media, how we actually are trying to get clients. So it’s been really fun to see it evolve.

Jayne Havens: And where are you guys now? How many families are you supporting? I’d love to hear a little bit about, like, you’re two people but you’re one business. So I’d love to hear a little bit about that, Emily, if you want to take that one.

Emily Vogel: Sure. So, on average, every month fluctuates. On average, we support between 10 and 12 families a month. I would say it’s around five or six a piece. I think for us right now, with being home with our kids, that’s sustainable to be able to give every family the right amount of attention. So that is, I would say, a pretty accurate representation of how many families we support.

Jayne Havens: How are you figuring out who takes who? I would imagine inquiries are coming in, either via your website or also maybe people are just texting you or emailing you individually. What does that look like?

Randi Robinson: We use Calendly. And when people book on our Calendly, we really just do like a back and forth. And so if we get one booked tonight, I’ll take it. Emily gets the next one. Like Emily, last night, had a previous client reached out to her. They wanted to add on another week. They had hit a regression. So they just reach out to her, and she’ll take that one.

So when we have someone individually reach out, we just take them. Otherwise, it’s just, you got this one. I got the next one. And it works out well. Because there was like a week in July where I was on vacation, and I was able to take a couple calls but not as many. So Emily kind of covered some more of those. And if she’s out of town, I can cover some more. We kind of balance out.

Jayne Havens: Does one of you prefer working with infants more and one of you prefer working with toddlers more, or do you really feel like you’re both comfortable with both age groups?

Emily Vogel: I think we’re both comfortable with both age groups. But I would say because of our teaching background, we like toddlers better. We will obviously work with any client, but I think toddlers is more of like we get to access all those tools in our tool belt from our teaching career and kind of put our unique little spin on their plan or stuff like that.

I actually took a note from your playbook, Jayne, and started doing like video check ins with the toddler themselves. That’s been a huge hit with clients, me sending them videos as their sweet teacher. And I really frame it as that. So I find that to be the most fun and challenging, and I feel like you see such great progress with toddlers. But we enjoy infants as well. But toddlers are I feel like give a little bit more satisfaction at the end.

Jayne Havens: So you mentioned, like, as your business has grown, you mentioned already on this chat that you guys spent a lot of time fostering relationships with others that are sort of in the parenting space. But I also know that you guys have been dabbling in Google Ads. If you’re willing to share, I’d love to hear a little bit about what you’re doing exactly, who you’re targeting in your ads, and who figured this out and how.

Because as somebody who uses Google Ads for my own business — I use it for Center for Pediatric Sleep Management, not for my consulting business — I find it to be really tricky and overwhelming. So I kind of want to know who figured this out and what it looks like for your business right now.

Randi Robinson: So Emily and I can’t take complete credit for the Google Ads. My husband, his job is running Google Ads for his company. So he kind of runs those for us. We meet with him pretty regularly and he tells us, “I need this copy for this landing page” and kind of goes over things. He reviews them and fine tunes things. We’ve read some articles, and we look at them and things like that. But actually, running them, we’ve tried a little. It’s definitely tricky.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I just find the analytics to be really confusing. There’s so much information in there, that if you can figure out how to set it up properly, that’s one thing. But then to interpret everything that’s going on in there is, at least from my perspective, it’s really, really challenging and complicated.

Emily Vogel: We thank God for Randi’s husband. We could not do it without him. But I feel like Randi and I are really hard on ourselves too when the Google Ads may not be running the way we want them to, or we see a really big uptick in discovery call bookings where you get on really great momentum, something changes in the algorithm, and then it dips back down. We can’t really find that consistent pattern in it. But I think, like I said, we’re hard on ourselves.

We met with Randi’s husband on Monday night, and he walked us through it all. And when he ran the numbers, he was like, “You guys had a 400% income this month based on what you spent versus what you require. Are you upset about that? We’re like, oh, yeah, I don’t know. It just looks bad on our spreadsheet. They definitely work, but they’re very complicated.

Jayne Havens: Randi, if you want to take this one, what would you say is something that you’ve learned along the way that you could share? When I think about this podcast, I think some people who listen to this podcast are already sleep consultants, whether they be seasoned or green. Then I think some people are listening to this podcast trying to figure out if they even want to become sleep consultants. Do you have like a nugget of wisdom or anything that you’d like to share, something you’ve learned along the way in the past year of growing your business?

Randi Robinson: I think one of the biggest takeaways I’ve had so far is just like, it’s kind of humbling yourself and asking for help. One of the things I realized is, like, I love when I was actually working with a client. And talking to the families, writing the plans, all of that was no problem. But discovery calls, I hate it. They were so hard for me. I dreaded them, and I just felt uncomfortable.

Around the same time, it’s like Emily really hit her stride with discovery calls. She was killing it. And so we spent time, and she walked me through and kind of like gave me her script. We did practice once, which was so uncomfortable for me. But I would pretend that I would be the sleep consultant, and she would be the client. And we would practice it.

Doing that, I’m much more comfortable with it now. Just the other day, I was saying, I think I’m starting to figure it out. Like, they’re going much better. I’m feeling less awkward. I’m feeling a little more confident. So I think just kind of being able to recognize this is what I’m good at. This is what I’m not. How am I going to fix that? How am I going to get better?

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I love that answer. I think something that new sleep consultants struggle with is that, in the beginning, it’s not like you have 20 discovery calls a week, right? Like, maybe you have two or three calls. And if you’re not good at calls yet, then you have those three calls and you don’t land any clients. That doesn’t mean that your business isn’t going to be successful. It just means that you haven’t figured out how to articulate your value yet. You haven’t figured out how to get onto a call and make somebody feel comfortable with you yet, right?

Then all of that is not — in my eyes, it’s not a waste because it’s practice, and you’re learning. And if you can be reflective and really try to figure out where am I going wrong here, what am I saying that’s awkward or not on point, then you can work to improve it. And I love that you have a business partner that could help you. Emily, what about you? Is there something that you feel like you really got the hang of along the way that maybe you didn’t when you started?

Emily Vogel: I would first like to piggyback Randi. I had six months more experience than she did. I kind of fit my toes in before, so I had a lot of practice before we even started working together to master it. It took me probably about a year to really pinpoint my sales pitch but also connecting with the person on the other side of the camera.

I think my biggest takeaway is, I put a lot of pressure on myself. My dad is a consultant too. We were talking about it a lot. Not a sleep consultant, but consulting in another way. He was like, “Emily, this is consulting. It ebbs and flows. Sometimes you have really great months, and sometimes it’s a little bit quieter. That’s just something you are going to have to release control over. The only thing you can do is continue to work as hard as you always do.”

For me, that was hard in the beginning to be like, okay, I did six clients last month. I had to do seven next month. And if that didn’t happen, I would be really hard on myself. And like you said, it doesn’t mean your business is not going to be successful. It just means that was the month, and you have to take what you did that month and learn and grow and try to make it better next month. And so that’s something I’m working on. It’s not being so hard on myself in terms of perfection all the time.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I can really relate to that. I feel like every single, you know, when it’s the new month, like July 1, August 1, September 1 and you see your Stripe account or wherever you’re keeping track of your money is like back at zero for the month, that is a psychological hurdle that you need to overcome each and every month. It gets easier, I think, with time and with practice. But yes, starting over fresh. Each month, that’s a very arbitrary time period, right? You could just be tracking the whole year. And I would imagine that if you’re tracking year over year, you’re going to see some growth, especially in the first few years.

But, yeah, that’s a mental hurdle that I think is something that we deal with. I mean, I’ve been in business for many years at this point, and I still deal with that. What about like a success story? Maybe, Randi, do you want to share a recent client that you worked with that just sort of made you feel really proud of the work that you’re doing?

Randi Robinson: Yeah, I actually recently finished up with a client. We found them through — actually, Emily’s neighbor referred us to them. And when I got on the call with the mom, they have a three year old who had previously been a great sleeper and was really struggling. The mom shared that the dad had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and they were traveling all over for these different treatments. She said, but that’s not related. Then by the end of the call, like after I asked some questions, we had kind of admitted that, well, maybe this is all related.

And so I agreed to work with them even though they would be traveling. Because there really wasn’t a chunk of time where they wouldn’t be, and they felt like they just needed to get it under control. After a week, they were back to sleeping through the night. I felt so much more proud of that one, just because I knew the parents were going through so many other things.

We’ve kind of figured out what the root of the problem was, and we’re able to address that. Then once the daughter was able to understand what was going on a little better, dad was going to be okay, you’re still safe, everyone in the family was able to start sleeping better. And knowing what they were going through, that just felt really good.

Jayne Havens: That’s really special, and it’s incredible that you were able to do that when they were outside of their comfort zone. Because I think we, as sleep consultants, we get in our heads that really this should be worked on when they’re at home, and they’re in their safe space, and their routine is in place. But this family didn’t have that. They weren’t going to have that for a while. You either work on this now, or who knows when you’re going to be able to resolve it.

So I love that you jumped in. And I bet you probably had to get a little creative. I bet this probably didn’t look like your standard sleep plan that you would share with any other child of the same age.

Randi Robinson: Exactly.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, I love that. Where do you guys see your business? You’ve been in business about a year together. Where do you see your business a year from now? Do you feel like you’re in a spot where you just sort of would love to coast and have things be about where they are now? Are you looking to grow? Emily, do you want to take this one?

Emily Vogel: I think growing is always at the top of our mind, continuing to expand not only in our local area but in other areas. We have the Google thing working pretty well for us for people outside of the Charlotte area. But I think our goal for the next year would be to make a bigger presence locally in our community. Like Randi said earlier, we partnered with a lot of mom groups that are kind of popping up. And it’s so nice to see all of these different organizations really honing in on taking care of moms in the first couple years of parenthood. It’s hard. And here’s your village. We’re going to provide you with a village of health.

And so we’ve connected with a couple different ones. We have these really awesome — I don’t know if it’s just the Charlotte thing or it’s a national thing. We have a lot of awesome organizations that are coming up with spaces where moms can go and take prenatal prep classes and how to take care of your baby, and even just like a little daycare where mom can hang out at the coffee shop in the place, and mom can get a 20-minute break. And so we’ve connected with a lot of those.

We’re starting, every six weeks, with a new series of moms, we’re going to do some in-person trainings and classes, hoping to not only help them but to widen our network locally and kind of become Charlotte’s sleep consulting go-to. I think that would be a long-term goal.

Jayne Havens: I love that. I think that kind of work, the foundation that you’re laying there, it’s like it will serve your business in the long term. But I also think it’s just really self-serving for your own soul. Whenever I do that kind of work, even if there’s no signs of immediate financial gain, I always walk out of those events feeling like, “That was fabulous. I served moms. I know that they had a better day because of the information or the support that I provided them with.”

And it reminds you why you got into this line of work, right? It really does. For me, at least it, I always leave those events feeling sort of rejuvenated and refreshed and replenished and excited to get out there and help the next family.

Emily Vogel: Absolutely. And I feel like, Randi and I were talking about this yesterday. Even sometimes these babies are little with a lot of the mom groups. They’re like under a month. They’re really little. Even just sitting down with them, and mom says they wake up every three hours at night. We’re like, yeah, that’s normal though. They’re like, “Is it really? On Instagram, it says my baby should be sleeping XYZ.” And even just to give them the validation, like, you’re not doing anything wrong. This is totally normal, and this is a phase. You will see the light eventually. We promise.

Jayne Havens: Yeah, especially coming from moms who are sort of out of that deep, dark hole, you guys are in a little bit more of a sweet spot with your own children right now where you’re not under water. You can manage your children and your business, and they see you as somebody who’s just a few years ahead and thriving. That probably feels really reassuring for them. And it probably also feels good for you. I mean, I like being in that situation. I love meeting with exhausted moms and showing them this isn’t forever. You’re going to be okay.

Before we wrap up, Randi, do you want to share your website, social media? Are you guys still active on social media, or has that sort of taken a back burner?

Randi Robinson: We are still active on social media. We have a TikTok and Instagram. We’re still working on getting business from there, but we still regularly post. We are Teaching Sweet Sleep. Our website is teachingsweetsleep.com, and that’s our Instagram and TikTok also.

Jayne Havens: Perfect. Ladies, it was really great to do this update with you. I think when we first chatted — I’m going to have to look back. I don’t know off the top of my head how long it was ago. But you were definitely in a much different place in your business. I would say that your business was a baby back then, and now you’re into full-fledged toddlerhood, at least, if not beyond, right? I love seeing that you guys have found your stride and your confidence, and that you’re still working really nicely together. Because I think having a business partner can sometimes be tricky. So congrats to both of you, and we’ll have to do another update soon. So thank you so much.

Emily Vogel: Thanks for having us.

Randi Robinson: Thank you.

Outro: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Becoming a Sleep Consultant Podcast. If you enjoyed today’s episode, it would mean so much to me if you would rate, review, and subscribe. When you rate, review, and subscribe, this helps the podcast reach a greater audience. I am so grateful for your support.

If you would like to learn more about how you can become a certified sleep consultant, head over to my Facebook Group, Becoming a Sleep Consultant or to my website thecpsm.com. Thanks so much, and I hope you will tune in for the next episode.