• Who: Leah Remillét
• Website: theceokid.com
• Course Topic: Entrepreneurship for kids
• Interesting Stats: Turned The Thriving Photographer™ into a 7-figure business

Who are you and what course have you created?

I’m Leah Remillét and I’ve been a business strategist for 10 years. I created my first course in 2012 before courses were even a thing. That course reached thousands and had incredible success, leading to speaking and teaching opportunities on stages all over the US and in the UK. It also allowed me to help women all over the world in over 30 countries.

It was amazing, but in 2016 I knew I was ready for a new project and a new industry, even though I honestly didn’t know what that was yet. While my thoughts developed, my husband and I decided to travel the world with our three kids. We wanted to experience an incredible time as a family before our kids got too entwined with friends to agree to a year-long adventure. I hoped this would help me define my new path. It did – but not in the way I expected.

Traveling full-time means you have to home school. After all, it’s pretty hard to get them to drop off when you’re not on the same continent. So that’s what we did. What I never anticipated was that it was the decision that would lead me to my next big idea. After returning to the US, we bought a cabin in the mountains of Washington state. Our plan was to fix it up, turn it into an Airbnb and then make our next move. That meant another year of homeschooling.

I knew there was one subject I definitely wanted to teach: Business. This is the very topic I taught adults my entire career and what I’d been informally teaching my kids their whole lives.

I was excited to create something fun that would allow them to start a business and make money while I taught them the most fundamental success principles. Once finished, I immediately realized this was not just for my kids. I wanted to get this into the hands of as many kids as possible, the current goal being 1,000,001 children. And so, The CEO Kid was born!

What market does your online course serve?

This is a completely new industry for me, and honestly a new product in the marketplace. My goal is to equip kids with the skills to truly succeed in life. I’m talking about self-reliance, tenacity, ingenuity, creativity, and a foundational understanding of business and how it works.

While kids learn to earn, they also learn success principles that will benefit them always. My students are kids and teens; however, my market is their parents and grandparents. In addition to the individual CEO Kid course, we will be rolling out The CEO Kid Club in 2020, a new after school option for schools and amazing educators who want to ensure kids are prepared for bright futures.

What’s the biggest benefit of taking your course?

85% of jobs in 2030 have not been invented yet. How do we prepare our kids for a future we haven’t even imagined? Well, we can absolutely look at trends to begin to understand what the future will need.

For example, the number one attribute CEOs believe they will be looking for in executive and leadership positions is creative problem-solving. The second area we can examine is the past. What attributes are timeless indicators of success?

We’ve taken those success principles and woven them into The CEO Kid, so that as kids learn how to earn with their awesome business idea, they are also beginning to understand how to influence, problem solve, understand the customer, explain their ideas, stand up for their vision, and more.

Why did you decide to create an online course in the first place?

I love the power of online courses! I created my first course, The Thriving Photographer™, when I realized I was a lot better at business then I was with my camera. My business reached six-figures in my first year in business. But the truth was, there were so many who were so much more talented than I was, and I wanted to teach them how to achieve their own success.

In the beginning, I started with a one-on-one approach, but there are only so many hours in a day. Then I did paid webinars, but the material covered was always limited to a portion of the entire model, such as only sales or only marketing.

Once I created the business lessons for my kids as part of our homeschooling, it was a no-brainer for me to create another course. It has been so exciting as I begin to wrap my head around all that is possible with The CEO Kid.

For example, I had never even considered schools, but then a teacher reached out to us and all of a sudden The CEO Kid was being taught in a public school classroom in L.A.  Then another teacher reached out wondering if I’d speak at an assembly. I started realizing the opportunity for impact might be a whole lot bigger than I was first imagining. And that is crazy exciting and terrifying… but mostly exciting!

Did you have any moments of doubt before you created/launched it?

Oh my gosh, yes! Anyone who says no is either not human or not truthful. I think we all have our own areas where we feel insecure, whatever it was when you were 14 is probably still close to what it is today, and that’s where the doubt is going to creep in for you.

My doubts have come in many forms. One of my biggest was in the technical aspects: I worried a lot that the video and audio quality weren’t good enough.

I launched The CEO Kid even though I thought the video and audio quality could be better. Within six months, I redid all of the videos. And honestly, I’ll probably do them again in another six months. For me, it’s important to always look for ways I can evolve, improve, and enhance my customers’ experience. The CEO Kid isn’t a build it and walk away thing, just as with my other courses; these live and breathe, grow and change for me.

What made you turn it around and do it anyway?

Just think of how often you update your phone, or laptop, or mobile app. They don’t hold themselves to getting it perfect the first time. They make room for “updates.” As course creators, I believe we should do the same!

What’s your online course like?

One thing I think is really important is to build your course entirely for your ideal customer. NOT because anyone is saying, “This is the best way.”

My first course had no videos. It was all audio because my ideal customer was a busy mom plus a creative entrepreneur. It seemed unfair to ask her to spend hours watching videos, on top of everything else in her life. But I knew she was driving the kids around or cleaning the kitchen and during those moments it would be easier to pop in earbuds and listen.

That turned out to be the best decision. Not just because that course reached seven figures plus, but more so because of all the emails, messages and stories of members sharing how they would listen and re-listen and how easy the audio tracks made it for them. Online courses are notorious for not being completed, but the vast majority of our members completed their course, and I believe that had a lot to do with us choosing the right medium for our ideal member.

This time, my course is for kids who are already used to watching YouTube for entertainment. Videos and worksheets are the best choices for my customers. Each worksheet matches a corresponding video where CEO Kids can watch me complete a blown-up version of the worksheet they have in their business plan workbook with an example business. When they finish all the videos, they have their own active business plan!

In addition to the online portion, we’ve also created a physical CEO Kid Box that goes out to our students. This is a new enhancement and another example of always evolving and making everything about our target customer. As I thought about my target student, a kid or teen, and my target client, their parent or grandparent, I immediately realized that getting something in the mail would have so much more meaning and impact. In addition, it would make things easier for the parent because now they won’t have to print off all the worksheets, although we do have online, fillable worksheets as a digital option as well.

How long did it take you to create your course?

I think it took about six months to create this course. My first step when I develop a new course is always to brain dump the content. I try to think of everything and anything I believe my students will need for success.

In this case, I used my first course as a base model, as it also dealt with business principles. Then I started making notes for everything additional I wanted to add. Once I had a rough idea of the outline and style of the course (for The CEO Kid, this included modules, lessons, and the concept of videos + worksheets), I jumped into the pretty stuff! I love the visuals. I get so excited when I can start to feel the brand; it energizes me! So, I started designing the brand and visual esthetic. I had my color pallet, logo, and brand vibe designed before I think I’d ever officially created a lesson.

From there it was time to fill in all the pieces. I created all the worksheets and lessons and then my final step was recording the videos.

In between all of this I was also building the website and the free resources. We have a budget game, goal tracker, chore chart, and 55 kid-approved business ideas to get kids dreaming.

Tell us a little about the process of launching your course and getting your first sale(s).

I am a HUGE believer in email lists! Huge, huge, huge! In first launching my course, I wanted to do a soft-launch. The goal was to get some students in the course and to really watch their progress, tinkering with anything that I felt warranted improvement. I launched the program to a segment of my list. It was awesome to instantly recover all that I’d invested into creating the course, but still, be able to manage changes without too many people watching yet.

I also love that by just launching to my list, I know these are my people. They know me and trust me and would give me grace if anything wasn’t quite perfect – which it never is.

Do you have a lead magnet?

Yes, I’m a huge believer in email lists. To build an email list, you pretty much have to have a lead magnet! We actually have several on The CEO Kid site. They say that the average consumer values their email address at $10, so if they’re going to give you their email, they want a return of at least $10 or the equivalent in their mind of personal value.

So, we have 3 primary lead magnets. The first is a pop-up that offers a coupon code. The second is a sneak-peek, but it’s a little hidden so you have to be really interested to find it. The third is a free resources page with four different downloads, each attached to an opt-in: a chore chart, a downloadable budgeting game, a goal-setting printable, and a list of 55 kid-approved business ideas.

What’s the traffic strategy that works best for you?

I believe your traffic strategy should again go back to your target client and where they are! For us, this means moms and their kids. We believe that moms are on Pinterest, social media, and YouTube. Kids can be found on YouTube and Pinterest. I’m personally not a big fan of kids on social media so that’s why we currently don’t use social media to reach kids, but that may change in time.

What online course platform are you using?

The CEO Kid runs on Kajabi.

I like it, but I feel like anytime you really get into something, you learn its limits. While there are things I wish I could do within the learning platform, for the most part, it’s been pretty great. The fact that it integrates with my CRM (ConvertKit) is wonderful and it’s been easy enough to learn and use, and I’m sure there are more benefits to it that I haven’t even found yet.

Kajabi is the All-In-One Course Platform

Kajabi is one of the top online course platforms used by successful course creators interviewed on coursemethod.com. Kajabi includes email marketing and other tools that make it easy to run your entire business from their platform.

• Price Range: $149 to $399/month
• Most Popular Plan: Growth Plan at $199/month
• Annual Discount: Yes, take 20% off!
• Free Trial: Get a 14-day free trial (credit card required)

Try Kajabi!

Are there any features you wish it had?

My big requests would be around keeping members coming back and finishing the course. It’s no secret that courses are much like New Year’s resolutions. Many start them, but few finish. I would love the opportunity to have offerings that include badges and the ability to unlock bonus content once certain tasks are met – essentially “gamifying” the course.

What made you decide to use your chosen platform over others?

I have a tendency to start my research by looking at what those I admire are using and then go from there. After looking into a few course software options, Kajabi seemed to give me the most features and options for my members.

What other tools do you use to run your online course business?

I use ConvertKit for email, Shopify for sales, Showit for my website, Zapier to connect it all, with Kajabi as my course platform and an affiliate platform.

What books or training programs have you found useful on your journey to a successful business owner that others might find valuable too?

Oh, gosh! Okay, so I’d say my entire business “MBA” comes from a combo of YouTube and Audible. ☺ I consume about a book and half a week, making the list long! But my all-time favorite book that I believe every human should be required to read is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. This book has done more for me within the realm of marketing and customer relations than any other book. I also require my kids to read it once a year from the time they turn 12 to when they leave for college.

Do you have any big mistakes you’ve made along the way that you’d be willing to share?

I’m dyslexic, so I’ve had huge typos and errors that went out to the world and left me feeling a lot of shame. That’s why my first hire for The CEO Kid was an editor. I actually share about that experience on my personal blog here.

Please share an idea of revenue.

My first course, The Thriving Photographer, brought in over 7-figures, with our best single week bringing in $100,000.00. Along with the course, I offered Mastermind retreats, open only to Thriving course members. There were eight retreats in all, from Louisiana to London, which created an additional revenue stream.

With this course, I’m dreaming even bigger. As mentioned, I really wanted to take the launch of The CEO Kid slowly. That means using a soft launch to test the site, our message, the content, and honestly – everything! I’m really glad I did it this way because we learned a lot!

Almost nine months after I put out the first soft launch to a segmented list, I realized I wanted a physical component. This addition is just going live now! With all the testing, modifications and enhancements through the early months, I’m finally feeling like I have everything ready to truly go full steam ahead. My goal is one million and one students! That’s crazy to admit, but there it is!

I think the key is simply believing wholeheartedly in what you’re sharing! I truly believe I can help the rising generation have a brighter and better future. In my heart of hearts, I know that kids who go through The CEO Kid will be better equipped in their careers. If they go the entrepreneurial route, awesome! But even if they don’t, understanding how the CEO thinks is an absolute advantage. And besides all of that, there’s just power in knowing you can take care of yourself and you know how to land on your feet. Kids are losing that ability in today’s world and I believe it one of the reasons we see an increase in depression.

True confidence doesn’t come from people giving you a gold star; it comes from realizing that you can do hard things! That’s the recipe for resilience and tenacity and business absolutely teaches both. Anyone reading this interview is undoubtedly an entrepreneur or thinking about becoming one, so I know you get that. There is nothing so hard and so rewarding as starting a business and getting that first customer!

Please tell us a little about what the money you’ve earned from your course has done for you.

I never could have imagined the possibilities when I decided to create that first course. I don’t even remember my original goal, but I am sure I was thinking small, even though at the time, I felt like I was thinking huge!

Someone told me that I better marry rich because I had expensive tastes and I wasn’t ever going to be smart enough to take care of myself. I don’t have the words to describe what it felt like when I bought a 20-acre Christmas tree farm on my own because I’d set my heart on it and it sounded magical for our kids. Or when we took a year off to travel the world and I knew my income could sustain us, plus I’d still be able to work from my laptop when I felt like it. Or when we bought our cabin in the woods.

The list goes on and I won’t keep going because my goal is not to impress anyone, but only to inspire you. It is possible! It is so freaking possible! Does it take hard work? Yes! Does it take overcoming your fears and doubts and insecurities? Absolutely. And here’s the biggest secret: it doesn’t show up until after you’ve proven you deserve it.

I don’t know how to explain that other than sharing just how hard making that first course was. As a child, I started having seizures. The seizures are trauma-induced, but as an adult, they are almost all but gone, except when I get really stressed. Then nervous ticks can show back up. When I was recording the audio for my first course, those ticks came back in the form of a stutter. I would only be able to record a few words at a time, pause, then start where I left off because of the stuttering. Even though no one could ever tell, there were tracks where tears streamed down my face the entire time because a few minutes of finished audio were actually taking me hours to record.

So yep, it was crazy hard. There are so many moments where you’re going to realize you have no idea how to do the next step, and you have to go figure it out. Often that is when the doubt and the fear creep in. It’s all part of the process. In the end, though, it has all been worth it for me!

What has creating your course done for you personally?

Before starting a business, I didn’t think I had any gifts or talents. I had a moment when my kiddos were still really small and my husband was in graduate school and I thought, “This is it. I’m never going to have a single accomplishment of my own. It’s always going to be their accomplishments.” Me watching my husband finishing another final, the girls talking, the babysitting up. But nothing was ever going to be my own. And then I started a business. It was hard and it challenged every part of me, but it has also been so fulfilling and rewarding.

I now know that my first calling is as a homemaker and a mother and my second is empowering others to live their best life. Right now, that has me focused on teaching kids entrepreneurship. Had I never started this journey, I never would have learned how much was truly in me to give.

Do you have a story of a transformation from any of your clients?

There are so many from my first course, but I’d love to share one I recently had from one of my CEO Kid students …

His mom wrote to me to share that her son had changed business ideas. I love that because I believe the more we try and experiment, the more we learn. He started with the idea to build a gaming YouTube channel. After completing the course, he decided he really wanted to inspire and motivate other teens to believe in themselves. I love that! I can’t even describe how much I love that!

What advice do you have for people just starting out?

You know what you want, but you won’t know all the steps to get you there. You are going to run into situation after situation where you don’t know the answer. But the good news is someone out there does have the answer. Go find them. Whether that’s through YouTube, a blog post, buying a course, reading a book – go find the answers.

I’m serious; it’s the people who are willing to sit in all that long enough who succeed. The problem for most is that they mistake discomfort with a sign they should stop. Nothing of value ever comes without an initial period of getting incredibly uncomfortable and vulnerable.

Learn more about Leah Remillét and The CEO Kid:

• Website: theceokid.com
• The CEO Kid Facebook
• The CEO Kid Instagram
• Leah Remillet Facebook
• Leah Remillet Instagram
• YouTube