I don't want this post to turn into a gossip. I like Sarah, but this situation has been handled badly. I was in the SI 'course' and the issues I'm having are:
- Sarah dealing with people as if we were mates rather than paying customers who subscribed to a 6 months programme (some to 12 months), not to a programme that might last up to 6 months.
- Therefore taking 'personal development' lightly and with a very superficial approach.
- Focusing on making a million rather than delivering value.
- The value of a programme is delivered through consistency and care, while monitoring changes over a period of time. This did not happen, and so offering refunds only to those who ask isn't the way. Sarah is well aware that she didn't deliver quality, so in my opinion she should refund everyone on this premise and retain some integrity.
- I started questioning the course when they announced that 25 people would be chosen to attend a private session in person. It soon became clear that the criteria for choosing people was based on how much noise they made on social, tagging Sarah and Llewy. That didn't sit well with me, as it had nothing to do with personal development. Instead it was free promotion for Llewy and Sarah.
- Misconception about 'having made a million': As Sarah later said, the million was a forecast based on booked business, not even revenue. That means she had not made it yet, she would have made it after delivering her courses/1 to 1 sessions etc, maybe by January. The issue I have with sharing this big news ahead of time is that it was purely a marketing strategy to get people excited and to make them want to work with them. Which means using people's weakness to get them to sign ups. Having said that, I don't think she did it in a consciously manipulative way, after all she did think she was offering a service, but again, she didn't think about the quality of this service.
- Llewy: a charismatic character who started showing major flaws after the first month and even more so as the course came to a premature end. He told people off for questioning what was going on when they cancelled the session without notice, and labelled them as unsupportive 'moaners'. And when the course came to a halt, he panicked and started promising things he could never maintain. Like, doing group coaching in person for two weeks in a row for free, posting a video everyday to keep us on track etc, none of which ever happened. What happened instead was him showing up once to sell a new made up course, and then running away from the group, leaving people puzzled and with unanswered questions.
- Personally I don't even care about why Sarah and Llewy fell out, it's none of my business. She said in a video that they are in relatively good terms, that they split everything 50/50, but then also said refunds are coming out of her pocket. That to me doesn't make sense, as if you share a gain 50/50 you'd normally also split your losses in the same way. Which makes me question - why did she say that? Does she want people to feel sorry for her in the hope that they won't ask for a refund? Or if that's true, why would she say that they're in good terms?
- Again, we are not her mates. She admitted she made a mistake and I think she would show how much she respects her followers if she decided to give everyone a refund. People who don't want it can then re-invest the cash in one of her other courses.
We all make mistakes and I believe her when she says she is owning her duck ups. However I don't think she is fully owning her duck ups (though she thinks she is). Personally I won't be buying or recommending any of her courses, not because of their duck up with SI, but because of how she has dealt with it. This shows to me that she is not ready/prepared/qualified to coach people. Coaching is not a game, it's a commitment, and as such it requires time, dedication and energy. The goal of a coach shouldn't be 'making a million', it should be delivering the best for people. And if that gets you to a million that's great. To me, money always comes as a consequence of something that we do well.
Amen.
- Sarah dealing with people as if we were mates rather than paying customers who subscribed to a 6 months programme (some to 12 months), not to a programme that might last up to 6 months.
- Therefore taking 'personal development' lightly and with a very superficial approach.
- Focusing on making a million rather than delivering value.
- The value of a programme is delivered through consistency and care, while monitoring changes over a period of time. This did not happen, and so offering refunds only to those who ask isn't the way. Sarah is well aware that she didn't deliver quality, so in my opinion she should refund everyone on this premise and retain some integrity.
- I started questioning the course when they announced that 25 people would be chosen to attend a private session in person. It soon became clear that the criteria for choosing people was based on how much noise they made on social, tagging Sarah and Llewy. That didn't sit well with me, as it had nothing to do with personal development. Instead it was free promotion for Llewy and Sarah.
- Misconception about 'having made a million': As Sarah later said, the million was a forecast based on booked business, not even revenue. That means she had not made it yet, she would have made it after delivering her courses/1 to 1 sessions etc, maybe by January. The issue I have with sharing this big news ahead of time is that it was purely a marketing strategy to get people excited and to make them want to work with them. Which means using people's weakness to get them to sign ups. Having said that, I don't think she did it in a consciously manipulative way, after all she did think she was offering a service, but again, she didn't think about the quality of this service.
- Llewy: a charismatic character who started showing major flaws after the first month and even more so as the course came to a premature end. He told people off for questioning what was going on when they cancelled the session without notice, and labelled them as unsupportive 'moaners'. And when the course came to a halt, he panicked and started promising things he could never maintain. Like, doing group coaching in person for two weeks in a row for free, posting a video everyday to keep us on track etc, none of which ever happened. What happened instead was him showing up once to sell a new made up course, and then running away from the group, leaving people puzzled and with unanswered questions.
- Personally I don't even care about why Sarah and Llewy fell out, it's none of my business. She said in a video that they are in relatively good terms, that they split everything 50/50, but then also said refunds are coming out of her pocket. That to me doesn't make sense, as if you share a gain 50/50 you'd normally also split your losses in the same way. Which makes me question - why did she say that? Does she want people to feel sorry for her in the hope that they won't ask for a refund? Or if that's true, why would she say that they're in good terms?
- Again, we are not her mates. She admitted she made a mistake and I think she would show how much she respects her followers if she decided to give everyone a refund. People who don't want it can then re-invest the cash in one of her other courses.
We all make mistakes and I believe her when she says she is owning her duck ups. However I don't think she is fully owning her duck ups (though she thinks she is). Personally I won't be buying or recommending any of her courses, not because of their duck up with SI, but because of how she has dealt with it. This shows to me that she is not ready/prepared/qualified to coach people. Coaching is not a game, it's a commitment, and as such it requires time, dedication and energy. The goal of a coach shouldn't be 'making a million', it should be delivering the best for people. And if that gets you to a million that's great. To me, money always comes as a consequence of something that we do well.
Amen.
This is excellent and I completely agree with you!
to lift others up, as Jen says the money comes when you are aligned to your purpose 
Wonder if she knows the value of her 
