Build Your Empire is an online course on how to create and launch a service business. Stefanie offers her proven business engine to ensure a steady flow of clients from day one. The program includes:
- A 90-day launch checklist
- Weekly live Q&A calls with SJ and her team
- Lifetime access
Most Build Your Empire reviews are on the course site or Facebook page. Here, students highly praise SJ and her program. Abby Pollock, an online coach and course creator, made $10,000 in just 24 hours after launch day. She says the program made her more focused, organized, and no longer scatterbrained. Tyler Hurtado loves the suite of tools to automate lead generation.
I didn’t find any negative reviews for Build Your Empire. However, online career coaching courses often have a bad reputation. One Reddit user advises to run away from 99% of online coaches. They also suggest doing a careful vet process before you give your money to these people.
As someone who runs a service business and closes my own clients, I enjoy exploring other entrepreneurs' marketing strategies. I like to compare it to my methods and even learn a bit from them. While I'm at it, why not help you out by reviewing these courses, too? Here, I highlight Build Your Empire’s 4 missions on launching a membership site, the bonuses included, who SJ is, and more. I also tell a bit about how I close high-value clients without having to build an audience.
Build Your Empire Pros and Cons
Pros
Build Your Empire is for anyone, even if you have very little prior experience, money, time, or followers.
The program focuses on clear action steps instead of theories and unnecessary fluff.
SJ cares about each student, going the extra mile to give you the guidance you need.
Build Your Empire helps build and nurture your audience before launching your product.
Cons
Build Your Empire is expensive.
There are no reviews about the program outside of its official pages.
SJ’s promise of earning thousands of dollars in a few days sets unrealistic expectations.
You won’t get full access to the program as it’s released gradually.
Price
Build Your Empire offers two packages: Self Study for $1,247 (or $117.83 for 12 months) and VIP for $3,397.
Refund Policy
Build Your Empire has a 30-day money-back guarantee. You get a full refund if you show proof of following the systems but make no progress.
Reputation
Stephanie Joanne has a solid reputation, with 65.3K followers on Instagram, 42K on Facebook, and 16.9K on X. She even featured in Huffington Post and Forbes.
Came across this review and just wanted to comment that I have SJ and the team to thank. I would have overlooked so many details when creating my course if not for the program. The amount I’ve learned and the progress I’ve made is honestly amazing.
What Are the 4 Missions to Launch a Membership Website?
This module has 3 steps to prepare your online business engine. It clarifies your messaging, offer details, delivery method, and pricing. It also helps you determine your dream clients by defining the what, how, and who. This way, you can attract the right people to your membership site.
The next module has 3 steps for your lead magnet engine. SJ's approach is to grow your audience first, so you have ready clients when you launch your offer. You'll learn to create freebies, opt-in pages, thank you pages, and email sequences to attract people. Plus, you'll learn how to drive both free and paid traffic and build relationships on social media.
This mission covers 2 steps to get your offer ready for launch day. Here, you'll break down your offer - what it includes, the content members receive, and the post-purchase process. SJ also teaches how to set up order forms, create call booking links, and build an offer page. The module then turns to converting prospects into leads.
The last mission has 3 steps to announce your membership site is live. First, you'll set up your marketing calendar to plan your promotions. Then, you'll create live promotions, email, and social media campaigns. You can even copy-paste SJ's systems for faster setup. Finally, you'll get sales and enrollment training, plus learn how to follow up with clients and track everything.
What’s Included in Build Your Empire?
Build Your Empire Student Reviews
Build Your Empire has many successful students, with some big names in the mix.
Jay Wong, host of the popular podcast The Inner Changemaker, took the BYE course. With it, he closed several clients on his launch day, earning $5,000. Those clients then paid a recurring fee of $2,000. He says that SJ was the one who changed everything for him.
Lucas Rubix, CEO of CryptoLabs Research, loves how much SJ cares about each student. He found the weekly live calls especially helpful as he had a lot of questions. And they don't just give general answers. Rubix says he now runs his business more efficiently thanks to SJ and the team. He guarantees people won't regret getting the program.
Christina Chan has earned $7,241.91 from her launch so far. Oonagh Duncan made $10,000, while Toni Martin Clarke earned £1,000 in a week.
Is Build Your Empire the Same as Build Your Empire University?
Build Your Empire is not the same as Build Your Empire University. SJ's course isn't as popular, but she has a good reputation. Meanwhile, Brodie Salnitro’s Build Your Empire University has many negative reviews. The course is marketed as an entrepreneurship program. However, people say its focus is to funnel students into selling Enagic products, an MLM (multi-level marketing) promoted by Brodie. So don't confuse the two programs. Also, make sure you're reading about or purchasing the right course you have in mind.
Is The Build Your Empire Strategy Effective?
The Build Your Empire strategy is effective as it focuses on building an audience first. Too many courses emphasize creating a product and then finding an audience. This approach leads to high costs and slow earnings. But if you already have an audience that trusts you, expect immediate enrollments or clients. The Edelman Trust Barometer found that 53% of consumers buy a trusted brand's new product.
You also appear more authentic as you won't bombard people with salesy pitches right away. Instead, you address their needs with free, helpful content or advice. Then, build your membership site or service to support them further.
However, there are a few downsides to Build Your Empire's audience-first strategy. For one, you risk losing clients without a product as your audience may turn to other solutions. Your audience may also get used to free content and resist switching to paid offerings. You need to make the paid offerings really valuable. Finally, building a substantial audience is time-consuming and delays potential revenue.
Who Is Stephanie Joanne?
Stephanie Joanne is a reputable Canadian entrepreneur and personal branding and business coach. She's not just another wannabe 'guru' - she really knows her stuff. SJ owns several 6-figure agencies, including MyBrandInc and Stephanie Joanne Enterprises Inc. She worked in PR with brands like Nike and VitaCoco. She helped thousands of entrepreneurs in branding and online marketing. CityLife Magazine even listed her among the '10 People Who Will Change Your Life.' She's also featured in 200 media appearances. Stephanie is no joke.
However, she doesn't let success get in the way. After all, she started from the bottom up. She was a simple girl with no job, a laptop, wifi, and a strong will to succeed. This is why she created Build Your Empire - to help anyone who was in her position and to bring them to where she is now. SJ’s other courses are:
Stephanie Joanne’s Claims
Stephanie Joanne claims that Build Your Empire lets you launch your business in 90 days. It doesn't matter if you have zero ideas, experience, or following. Her step-by-step system and checklist keep you on track from start to finish. And with a warm audience, you attract clients and earn big when launching your program.
SJ trusts her system because it took her from $0 to $1M in one and a half years. Plus, most of her students earn between $1,000 to $10,000 in weeks.
Stephanie Joanne’s Claims Debunked
Stephanie Joanne's claims are debunked as it takes time to establish a business. One Peak Financial reports that service businesses need, at most, 5 months to launch. What's more, experience is important. According to Exploding Topics, startups with little experience only have an 18% success rate. Finally, building an audience is not easy. There's tough competition for attention, especially if you go for a common niche. Creating valuable content for your audience also requires specific knowledge and skills.
What Are the Best Subscription Business Model Ideas?
The best subscription business model ideas are:
What Are the Most Profitable Service-Based Businesses?
Conclusion: How I Land Clients Without Building an Audience
I land clients without building an audience using the local lead generation model. First, I create a simple home service website. Then, I write content and use local SEO to rank it. Once it ranks, it gets traffic from high-volume keywords, like "HVAC repair in LA". After that, I find a local home service company and offer to add their name, address, and phone number to my site. My website's traffic is quality leads, making the offer irresistible to these companies.
I don't have to build too much trust since I can prove that my offer will bring in more customers for them. Plus, since it's attractive to them, you can "rent out" your site for $500 to $3,000 a month. The best part is it's super easy to scale. You only need to build more websites, rank them, and rent them out.
With my 10+ websites, I now have a recurring salary of $52,000 a month! Sure, it took me 7 months to launch. However, with local lead generation, I don't have to rely on an audience to see success.
