Angela Bryant: 0:08

Welcome, I'm Angela Bryant, and you're listening to The Angel Rated Show, where we have inspiring conversations with the people behind the products and services most often used by online business owners. On the show, you'll hear how their personal beliefs and values have influenced their businesses. If you're an online entrepreneur who wants to know about the integrity and impact of the businesses you're buying from, then this is the show for you. Hello, and welcome to The Angel Rated Show. I'm Angela Bryant, and today we're talking about Marie Forleo's B-School program. But rather than interview the founder of the course, instead, I've invited a group of B-School alumni to share their experiences. As a bit of background to this episode, it's worth noting that B-School runs annually and that Marie Forleo has previously offered a generous affiliate scheme, so many people signed up for B-School via an affiliate who was offering their own program or course as a bonus on top of B-School. I took B-School back in 2013. And coming straight from the corporate world, it had a massive impact on me. It really opened my eyes to a whole new world that I didn't know existed, and made me believe that I could build my own online business. It also allowed me to become part of the wonderful community of fellow online business owners, many of whom have become close friends. Back when I joined B-School, there was a community run Facebook group, which was then taken over by Team Forleo and used as the main alumni group for B-Schoolers. In 2020, Marie Forleo made a number of wrong turns in the group in response to Black Lives Matter, and eventually decided to exit the group completely leaving it to the community. At the time of recording, it's unclear whether B-School will have any Facebook community in 2021 and beyond, or whether there will be any affiliate program. So with no further ado, let's start by getting Astrid, Carla, Charelle and Darci to introduce themselves.

Astrid Ferguson: 2:02

Yeah, so I'm Astrid Ferguson. And I am a Certified Professional Coach, which means you know, I can help you with life coaching and career coaching. I'm a writer and I'm a poet.

Carla Diaz: 2:16

My name is Carla Diaz, I am a physical therapist by profession. But more recently, I've decided to move out of the health care arena to become a health and wellness coach. I took B-School earlier this year, and I'm really happy to share, you know, my experience the whole B-School experience.

Charelle Griffith: 2:39

Hi, my name is Charelle Griffith. I am a marketing strategist for coaches and consultants. I focus on taking the overwhelm out of marketing. And instead, creating marketing strategies are simple to follow, showcase my client's expertise, and most importantly, drive sales. And I first took B-School back in 2017.

Darci Ellenberger: 2:58

So my name is Darci Ellenberger. I'm a copywriter. I live in Pennsylvania in the United States.

Angela Bryant: 3:05

So let's start with what made you want to take the course in the first place? What were you expecting to get out of it?

Astrid Ferguson: 3:10

I guess I was trying to gain some sort of clarity of what I could be doing as an entrepreneur, like, I had my website, but I had, you know, like, I was writing blogs, and it was to like crickets. So I was like, what should I be focusing on? And then what was a lead magnet? Like what would that look like for someone like me? So I went in there going, you know, trying to see clarity, so to speak, and, and what it involved being an entrepreneur and how to scale my business.

Carla Diaz: 3:51

So I actually, it wasn't on my radar, believe it or not to take B-School, like I had heard of it. But it wasn't the big course of the year that I wanted to take. But I actually learned more about it and became interested through another business coach, Amy Porterfield, because she was actually promoting it. And so I started listening. And then I started realizing how B-School could help me with my business, to better promote myself online, because I didn't really have an education around that. So that was the reason why I started looking into B-School and it seemed like it was going to be pretty comprehensive. And I had known of Marie Forleo for maybe two years listening to her podcast, I loved her vibe, and I really felt like she would be the one to teach me how to be a better online marketer. And that's why I decided to just on a whim kind of join B-School and just go for it.

Charelle Griffith: 4:54

So I think I was following Marie on her YouTube channel for a while before and I I had a side hustle that I felt, if I did, the program would probably help me to turn it into a proper business. Obviously, I have a background in marketing, so it wasn't necessarily the marketing side of things, but I think it was more around getting clarity around everything it takes to run an online business. And it seemed to me to be a course that was going to help you to do that. Going into it, I definitely felt that it would give me the overall knowledge to be able to set up an online business successfully.

Darci Ellenberger: 5:30

I was aware of B-School, I've been in the online entrepreneurial space and learning space for a while, but I just never really been willing to invest that much. Then one of Marie's affiliates, she got me, she got me in like the last 12 hours of the school being open. And I was just like, alright, I'm just going to do it, I needed something to kind of hold me accountable, I needed to have more at stake so that I continued moving forward with what I was working on. And I trusted the Marie Forleo name because it was so established, and had so much history behind it.

Angela Bryant: 6:14

So tell us a bit more about what you really liked about it

Astrid Ferguson: 6:17

I did like that she has, you know, things that she has you working on and really sitting down and thinking about who your niche audience is. I did like that she has those type of activities going on in there, there's like a vault in there. And everything is video based. So you can go through it quickly. It's seamless, there's a lot of information shared, there's, it's interactive. And who doesn't love looking at Marie Forleo, right.

Carla Diaz: 6:56

What I really liked honestly, it was even not even just the core course itself, but she had these two prerequisite courses, and one of them was called Start the Right Business. And for me, that really made it clear, because I had heard had heard before about what your business idea is or what your business model is. But I really didn't have any real understanding of what that was. It was just kind of like a terminology that was thrown around. And so that prerequisite course actually helped me to solidify what it was that I wanted to attempt to achieve through B-School, I knew that I was going to get an education. And overall, it was so comprehensive. But I do feel like towards the end, because I was still kind of new in my business, the last two modules really didn't apply to me yet. So that's why I am looking forward to doing a school again. That's one of the things that I did like like, once you're you are join B-School, you're a member for life.

Charelle Griffith: 7:56

I particularly like the structure of the program. So whilst it's an eight week course, it's six modules. And I remember particularly the fact they were the implementation week in like week four and week eight, was really useful, because actually, it's quite a lot of information you're having to work through, there was a lot, it's a very thorough course, I remember thinking that was good for me to actually be able to work through it. And it felt like a very comprehensive program in terms of I was using it at the time to review another business and I but I also thought actually, I could use this to start a new business. And it is most of the things that you need to know in order to make an online business.

Darci Ellenberger: 8:36

One thing I loved about B-School was that like, it felt fun, and it's not dry. And it felt like I had kind of found my people because it was not so much about make X amount of money, as it was about doing what you love, and leading from your heart. And I really, really bought in on that part of it, because that really speaks to me. And you know, I, of course, like making money, but I want to be satisfied by more than the amount of money in my bank account. So I appreciated that, at the time, it seemed like our values were in alignment there.

Angela Bryant: 9:21

So what did you think wasn't so great about it or what could be improved about the course itself?

Astrid Ferguson: 9:27

Community. I think community is what it's lacking. I think many people took the course because they did like the Facebook community. And now that that's gone, it feels like a very lonely journey.

Carla Diaz: 9:46

Thinking back now, my experience is probably more favorable because of the fact that B-School in itself is kind of like a DIY, right? But it's it's such a big monster of a course that if you don't have accountability partners, like if you're trying to attempt to go it alone, you're going to get stuck. There's a lot of stuff there that you may not know, like, for example, there was the website module one that really threw a lot of people for a loop. And because I had came in through Amy Porterfield's affiliate offer, I was able to fill in that gap. Because her community and her team really worked hard to make the experience as enjoyable and give a real community around it. Whereas the B-School program itself, like they had Q and A's that you could, that you could sign up for, and they were, you know, filmed live. And of course, it was available on replay if you didn't have the opportunity, because it didn't fit your schedule to attend it live. And they also did have like, a section within the school where they could you could ask questions, and you would get answers. But if I could say that the one thing that was kind of lacking was the cohesiveness of the community, I just kind of feel like, I think entrepreneurs now they if it's not their first course, they're looking for that community feel. And in many respects, I feel like the B-School experience, they didn't have a strong community on its own.

Charelle Griffith: 11:17

So personally, I think the like social media aspect of it is one of the most lacking because Marie doesn't have a business that is focused on social, which I think she's quite honest about the fact she's not someone who loves it. And because she's has a business that was made, I don't know how many years ago, but it's obviously a long standing business, she can rely much more on like her YouTube channel and her email. And so I think that for someone who's newer, it's probably a bit lacking. And I think actually, after that course, it definitely, I have done some other courses that are the same thing of like, six, eight week long and they're meant to do everything. And they're more robust in terms of their social side of things. And I think that maybe in some ways, it's not as cohesive a program about what an online business, it could be I think they are you are left with some holes.

Angela Bryant: 12:11

So in the end, did you achieve what you were hoping to get out of the course?

Astrid Ferguson: 12:15

It was definitely a lot more than I thought it was going to be. A lot of it didn't apply to me, I think it applied to people who already had a business and already kind of knew what they were doing and already had a strategy. I think if you have a business that like you have a product, or you already know what the service is, then it would help you. But I basically took all of B-School and figured that, okay, what I need to focus on is increasing my list, my email list, that's pretty much what I got from it. Maybe if I went through it, as you know, a person as I am now where I'm more clear about what I'm doing and what I'm providing and that type of stuff, then it would be more useful. But a lot of the stuff that she shared was heavy, very heavy on marketing, you know, at least that's what I found, like she she focused a lot on pricing and a lot on, you know, different strategies that you can use if you're going to have workshops, and she did share a lot of useful information on business and scaling, like books and, and, and that type of stuff. But again, I think it was just where I was in my business. It wasn't, it didn't really end up being what I was looking for at the moment.

Carla Diaz: 13:46

Yes, it's one of those things. It's like you're excited. And you know, like I already have kind of like a sense that I'm an entrepreneur. So I have to kind of be coachable and just be open and just be willing to learn. So yeah, B-School was really a good general program. I still feel like there's work to be done. But I do feel overall that I do have the groundwork there. It's just a matter of me going back and applying and to keep with every next level that I get to to apply the teachings and I'm sure that I would find more value out of it. Overall, I would still recommend it because I don't know of any other course that provides that, that MBA without actually going to an institution. So I just kind of feel like B-School overall was a good decision for me.

Charelle Griffith: 14:41

I think if I'm really honest, no, I don't think I actually left that course feeling as confident about the business that I wanted to make as I had expected to. I think I did have very high expectations. I you know, I think I'd watched Marie for a long time and really thought all this is going to change everything and I would I got a fairly good input and like was really active during that period. But I also think it's a lot to get through in that amount of time. And I think that's one of the things I think if you're going to get do it, and you really want to get the most out of it, doing it in those eight weeks when it's live, is the key time to do it. But it is a lot of work.

Darci Ellenberger: 15:20

The course content did cover what I expected, what I found was when I would sit down and work through the different chapters, even if I didn't necessarily need what that module was about, because I already had that established, or it didn't really apply to my business, it's still always inspired the creativity in me, and got me over my block of I can't do this, it's too much, it's overwhelming, and got me into it, and then into more of a flow. So I always came out of it with work that I could use, even if it wasn't directly the answers to her questions. It was well that inspired this thought which gave me this idea which made me think of a new product, you know, so for that, absolutely, I think that if you just need to work through all the different angles and and you feel blocked doing it on your own. I think B-School is very good for that.

Angela Bryant: 16:20

So if I asked you whether you thought it was worth what you paid for it, what would you say for that?

Astrid Ferguson: 16:26

It depends on what value you put on it. So if you're looking at it from a, I want to say physical like monetization value, no. Because after investing that much in the course, I did not make that back by the end of the year. But if you're looking at it from a value of gaining insight, gaining some clarity, even gaining some resources, then yeah.

Carla Diaz: 16:54

I feel it was, I feel it was because I can only imagine like for me, like I look at it this way. Yes, it was a lot of money, but it is an investment in my business. And it's something that I can always go back to, I can always in every year, there's going to be more stuff added to it. So for me, I am someone that I need information. And I like to have to have it accessible at my own time and my own convenience. I know that other people might feel well, I feel like I could have gotten more working one on one with a business coach. Yes, that you could, but for the way that I like to learn, I'm kind of an independent kind of learner. So I do feel overall that it was it was worth the money. Because I feel that I have to see myself as you know that I'm I'm worthy of that investment. It allowed me to also come in contact with a lot of other entrepreneurs. And I developed a lot of accountability partners on my own, not through, you know, B-School initiative. But it was just something that the opportunity presented itself and I worked with other accountability partners. But again, that's something that I knew beforehand, that to get through like a big course like this, like you need to have, you need to have friends who are just as invested in growing and learning. So definitely, definitely worth my investment.

Charelle Griffith: 18:21

So I bought it through an affiliate. So not only did I get B-School, but I bought it through Denise Duffield Thomas. So I became a member of Money Bootcamp. And for that reason, for me financially, it was worth it. If I was just buying it. If I just bought it as a one course and I hadn't bought it for anyone else, I'm not as convinced that I thought it was good value for money.

Darci Ellenberger: 18:46

For me, the course was not worth what I paid for it.

Angela Bryant: 18:51

So who do you think it would be perfect for who would it be good for the course?

Astrid Ferguson: 18:56

I think course would be good for someone who has some skin in the game that has been doing their business for a little while they kind of already know what they're doing. And they're looking to scale their business. So if you already have a audience, you're already you know, you have products that you're selling, maybe you're already making, I don't know, $10,000 a year or something. But you're making you know, some kind of income, some steady income. And you're you're looking for what is the next thing to do, then, yeah, then take B-School, that would be B-School is for you. If you're new, you don't know what you're doing. I don't, I don't think it's for you. You're gonna spend a lot of money you may gain a lot of resources, but many of it you may not even end up applying.

Carla Diaz: 19:49

I feel that it's the perfect course for a beginner to maybe intermediate marketer or someone who has an idea of what they want to do. And someone who is is willing to put in the time and effort. Who understands that the price point alone is that's just the beginning of your business, you are going to have to look into purchasing other services or purchasing other platforms to grow your business. I feel someone that is coachable, would definitely and resourceful would definitely benefit from from joining this. And again, like I said, I don't know of any other courses that are similar to what what Marie teaches. So regardless, I mean, I don't feel like I need to, I don't feel like I need to look for another similar course, because I feel like she provided everything that I needed within B-School.

Charelle Griffith: 20:45

I think the course is good for someone who is really new to business and marketing. So if you are someone that currently has an idea, and you want to formulate that idea, and actually make it into something that might be profitable, like the first module is all around, I suppose forming your idea and making a real profit plan. I think that's really useful for someone who's new to business. And I would say if you have a current business that isn't reaching its full potential, I think there is definitely is value, I think you can have a business and be going back through all of that, and using the course as a sort of guide to give you the structure to work through it. So maybe if you're someone who had a side hustle that like blew up quite quickly, or you've definitely got holes in your structure, and you're like, basically like plastering things together and hoping everything stays up. But you're like, No, I want to try and go through something in a cohesive and comprehensive way and check the different elements. And I think you'll find it useful to.

Darci Ellenberger: 21:44

The courses good for people who want to go into business for themselves that don't place a high value on antiracism work, and inclusivity. I mean, if if those things aren't a priority to you, I think you'll enjoy it.

Angela Bryant: 22:06

And what impact is taking the course had on your life or your business?

Astrid Ferguson: 22:12

I want to say taking the course, I mean, it was good to sit with yourself, and understand that whatever business you build, you are the most unique thing that comes to your business. So it should be centered around who you are, what you enjoy, how you want people to view you, what's the main message. So that's what I want to say the course reaffirmed for me, because I think I was trying so hard to be what I thought people wanted me to be. And what I thought in my mind, author should look like or something like that. And the course pretty much just said, you know, you are the most unique thing that exists. So it should be authentically you. You know, I think that's what I gained most about the course. It helped me with, you know, my writing my copy too.

Carla Diaz: 23:15

I think I just gave me permission and just let me see what the possibilities were I just it just it's really like you go in saying okay, I want to do this. And then going through the actual journey. It's the process that kind of refines what your message is, it refines what your business is going to be. And so having those teachings and knowing that I can always go back and when I have a new business idea, I can go back and do B-School again for that business idea. Because it is it is applicable to whatever I want to do like whether if I want to work on a coaching business, or if I want to do online courses, or create a product related to you know, health and wellness, I mean, I can always go back to B-School and take the modules again, to perfect, what it is that I'm trying to bring to the world. So I think that that is I feel assurance that I have a good source of information to go to.

Charelle Griffith: 24:16

I think it's really hard to say because I have done a lot of other things. And I don't feel as if it has dramatically changed, like changed it in a way. I think it was useful to go through it and it definitely gave me a lot of learnings and it did help me to reflect on a lot of stuff and to change things but I don't have that sort of like bing you know, all of a sudden now I was writing emails that were 10 times better or like there was nothing that's a dramatic impact that I could tell you about.

Darci Ellenberger: 24:49

I would say that the total impact of the course for me is that I am several $1,000 less well off and really all I got for it was stress and upset. I got I got some inspiration there in the beginning. And I will say that I connected with some really amazing people in the group. And that's fantastic. But I cannot credit that to B-School. So what have I gotten from the school? A couple of ideas and a whole lot of stress.

Angela Bryant: 25:21

So would you take another course by Marie Forleo?

Astrid Ferguson: 25:26

As much as I love her, probably not. Yeah, probably probably not. Especially if it's that expensive again.

Carla Diaz: 25:37

I actually did. I signed up for her Copy Cure course, like right after, like, in May when it was released. So yeah, definitely, I would take another course of hers, because I do like her style. She's entertaining. She's very knowledgeable. And I've purchased her book, Everything is Figureoutable so yeah, I'm definitely a Marie Forleo fan.

Charelle Griffith: 26:02

So I have considered doing Copy Cure before. And part of me just feels like her marketing is so great that I'm probably gonna have got sucked in and will it? Will it deliver? Again, as I said, I, I would say I probably would do something else again. But Copy Cure hasn't got me across the line yet. So we'll have to wait and see.

Darci Ellenberger: 26:24

No, absolutely not. I won't put my money with someone who I know is not interested in being anti racist. So and in protecting marginalized communities? Because it goes much it goes deeper than racism, absolutely racism needs to be addressed. Now. It's long overdue. And I'm not gonna participate in spaces or or, you know, vote with my dollars with businesses that are willing to harm anyone.

Angela Bryant: 27:01

And would you recommend the course to someone who asked you about it?

Astrid Ferguson: 27:05

I would have to ask them where they're at. If they feel like you know, depending on what they're looking for, if they tell me, you know, they're already a established entrepreneur, and they're looking to scale then yeah. But if they would say that they were in my same boat, I would be like, you're gonna spend all that money just to find out that you already had an inkling of where you should have started. So just save yourself some money and start there.

Carla Diaz: 27:34

I would, I would definitely tell them that, but I would tell them to do it through Amy Porterfield's affiliation, because that to me, again, I know, this is not about Amy Porterfield but just the experience that she created for her students really made the B-School experience what it was for me, I think without it, I think I probably would have ranked it lower. That's how impressed I was by by Amy's way of bringing us into B-School.

Charelle Griffith: 28:04

So I have recommended B-School to people in the past. There's definitely some times because the type of people that approached me, I have recommended it. However, for me, one of the most valuable things has been the Facebook group. And because that now currently is under question about what's going to happen for next year, I wouldn't recommend it right now.

Darci Ellenberger: 28:22

No, I mean, and I'd probably say what I'm saying now, because I think if I'm just like, oh, Marie Forleo is racist, like people are gonna be like, wait, that can't be right. Like, there's got to be more context than that, which is why I try and stay neutral and say, it's not a bad course. It can help you work on the foundation of your business, and it can help you get over roadblocks and find inspiration. But it professes to be one thing. And that is heart led and it is not that. So if that is a deal breaker for you, I don't recommend it. And ideally, anyone I know that would be asking me for recommendation, hopefully is anti racist. And I'd be like, well, she doesn't protect her black members. And they'd be like, Oh, no, then I'm out.

Angela Bryant: 29:17

And just to finish up, can you summarize in a sentence or two just what you want people to know about the course?

Astrid Ferguson: 29:26

Sure. So B-School is what is stands for, you know, it's business school. So you're going to learn all about business, you're going to learn all about marketing. Marie is the queen of marketing. So if you want to learn about marketing and you're looking to scale your business up to the next biggest thing, then B-School is absolutely for you.

Carla Diaz: 29:51

I would say that it is a all around it is a solid introduction to what online business marketing can be And where it can take your business. And I guess what I would say is that since having taken B-School and since, you know, joining other communities around other business courses, for example, if I can speak to like, right now I'm in Amy Porterfield Digital Course Academy, I feel like going through the school first has really helped me to appreciate what Amy's doing in Digital Course Academy. And I have met other entrepreneurs who signed up for Digital Course Academy without taking B-School. And I always tell them, you need to take B-School, you know, because B-School gives you the clarity that you need to understand, what is your message? What is your product, like? Who are you serving? And like I said, that's, that's pretty much what I would say about it. So definitely it is it is a prerequisite, I would feel into whatever it is that you want to bring out into the world as an online entrepreneur. It's a it's a good starting point.

Charelle Griffith: 31:07

So I think Marie Forleo B-School is a comprehensive course, if you want to start a new online business. However, Marie is an online business that wasn't formed in the last couple of years. So I think that's important to think about it realistically, it's probably one of the older online businesses and therefore that is reflected on how the program is structured and what the content is. I think it is comprehensive. However, you would really need to think about what level of support you feel you need to be able to even launch your business or to make the changes that you need inside of it.

Darci Ellenberger: 31:42

Okay, my two sentence, B-School review. The business advice is great. She does not live up to her professed values. And that is a deal breaker for me. If all you want to take out of B-School is the lessons pertaining to the business and working through the steps to define your business. I think it's very good for that. I would not buy into B-School knowing what I know now I would not buy into B-School in any way for the community.

Angela Bryant: 32:16

And you want to just tell people where they can find you and your business.

Astrid Ferguson: 32:21

Yeah, you can find me at astridferguson.com. Everything is on there. My Instagram, which is A S T R I D underscore Ferg F E R G.

Carla Diaz: 32:35

So I my website is heycarladiaz.com. So you can find me there. I'm also on Instagram at HeyCarlaDiaz.

Charelle Griffith: 32:45

Yep, so you can find me at charellegriffith.com so that's C h A R E double L E. And then Griffith is G R I double F I T H and that is the same on Instagram. But yet that's the best place to find me.

Angela Bryant: 33:01

Thanks for joining us. To read the show notes from this episode, go to angelrated.com/podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love you to subscribe to the show. And leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to share this episode with anyone who might need it. The Angel Rated Show is brought to you by Angel Rated the independent directory and review site for all the products courses and services used by online business owners. It's the best place to find the perfect product for the next stage of your business or personal growth. Learn more and list your business free of charge at angelrated.com