How I made £18,246 in August while taking a full month off
August is my month off. Non-negotiable.
Since 2020, I’ve taken the entire month of August off from client delivery, group calls, and day-to-day business tasks.
It started as a bit of a hangover from my teaching days. I never quite lost the school holiday mindset. But it was also a conscious response to the burnout I hit in 2019 (you can read more about that in my 2019 annual review).
Over time, it’s become something I now help my own clients build into their businesses too.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking your business can’t survive a month break, but I’ve actually found it simpler than you might think.
But here’s the honest bit no one talks about…
Taking a month off sounds amazing, until your income disappears with it.
In previous years, my August income would dip dramatically, often to around £7–10k. Not zero, thanks to recurring payment plans, but definitely lower than usual. And while I was grateful to still be earning, I started wondering:
Could I still hit my income goal in August without doing any actual work?
No calls. No feedback in my programmes. No inbox. Just me, fully offline, while the business kept ticking.
So… in 2024, I tested it.
I came up with two ideas.
Idea 1: Sell a paid workshop which would take place when I was back at work in September.
Idea 2: Sell a time-limited, semi-passive version of my group programme, Amplify. I called it Amplify Lite.
Idea 1: Paid workshop
The first idea was simple: promote a paid workshop at the end of July/beginning of August that would take place early September.
I’ve loved running paid workshops the last couple of years. I love the energy of teaching live and creating an awesome experience for attendees. Each workshop typically brings in £3-5K, so it’s a nice income boost too.
The paid workshop was called: Strengthen Your Group Programme Niche, Promise & Message.
I tested a lower price point (£45) and sold 70. Total income for this workshop was £3150 + VAT - but not all of that fell in August.
This idea was pretty straightforward but there were some painful lessons:
I changed the price point from my usual £95 + VAT to £45 + VAT, and I wish I hadn’t. I made less money overall to my usual workshops, and the energy exchange didn’t feel quite right. I deliver so much value in these workshops and I felt I undersold the value of it.
I scheduled this workshop to take place the first week back in September, which meant I came back from a month off to a brand new workshop to plan. Stressful.
My dad got sick at the end of August and was in hospital. I had already left myself very little breathing space so with this on top, I crumbled. I had to move the workshop to the end of September. Everyone was nice about it, but I felt frustrated with myself. As usual, I took on too much which meant when life threw me a curveball, I didn’t have the bandwidth to handle it.
Idea 2: Amplify Lite
It’s a DIY-style version of my core programme, with a few intentional layers of light support.
Completion rates for self-paced courses are ridiculously low (often under 5%) and I didn’t want mine to be something people bought and never used.
So I designed this differently.
As well as the self-paced course, it included:
Monthly Accountability / Progress Check-in
Monthly Q&A - clients submitted up to three questions a month and I recorded a video back answering them
1x Loom video with my feedback on a key piece of work (their group programme summary)
Sales page feedback from my Copy Coach, Lauren
A 1:1 call which clients unlocked after a particular milestone
The idea was to create a strategic, lightweight way for people to access my work. No full delivery from me, but still support and momentum built in.
I umm-ed and arr-ed over the price. I didn’t want to completely butcher the value of the course which has 15 incredibly high-value modules which teach you how to design and fill a group programme on repeat.
You learn how to:
Figure out your profitable group programme niche, promise and messaging
Validate your programme with the market so you know it’s something people want and will pay for
Design your signature programme structure, pricing and content
Build your audience and authority ahead of launching using my 30 Day Authority Amplifier and 100 in 30 Audience Growth Challenge
Launch your programme in a low-key, gentle way
Sell your programme using sales calls, a google doc, sell by chat or 15 minute gameplans
Onboard new clients, start your programme powerfully and how to record your modules (including the tech and decisions on whether to run it live or pre-record your videos)
Create a lead magnet and automated email sequences to build trust, nurture and generate leads (templates for everything included)
Run a monthly sales ritual to add new clients to your programme, including designing your signature workshop
Collect powerful client case studies that sell your programme for you
In the end, I priced it at £1600 + VAT, with an option to add 3 x 1-1 calls for £750 + VAT.
I capped the number at 15 to ensure I had time to provide the support detailed above.
How I marketed it (with just 5 emails)
This is where things got a little messy.
I’d overcommitted myself. I was promoting the paid workshop for September, prepping my free signature workshop series which was also happening in September, and getting ready to fully unplug for August. There was no time for a proper warm-up.
So I decided to test something simple: five emails, sent to my most engaged list segment, over the course of one week.
Here’s what they looked like:
If you hate group programmes…
I’d asked in my Facebook group what people find hard about group programmes, and used their answers to shape the offer. This was such an interesting thread! You can read it here.
2. Real quick
A short, click-focused email with urgency. 15 spots only, 3 already gone.
3. Amplify Lite
A full breakdown of what the offer was and why I created it.
4. FAQs
Covered common concerns and clarified what support was included.
5. Amplify Lite closes tonight
Final call with deadline and reminder of the limited spots.
Everything was pre-scheduled and then I stepped away.
The results
Amplify Lite Sales: 12 in total. One person added 1-1. Two people who bought were clients who had previously bought half of Amplify, and upgraded to add the second half.
Total Amplify Lite revenue : £18,250
Cash received in August from Amplify Lite: £10,600
Paid workshop August sales: £1845
Additional revenue from my core programme Amplify: £5801
Total income for August: £18,246
Client delivery required in August: None (lite support started in September)
Why it worked, even without a big plan
I had a warm, engaged audience already in place. I’ve been running Amplify for 5 years.
The offer was designed in response to what people said they don’t like about group programmes
The scarcity and timing were real. I only opened the offer for one week, and everything was pre-scheduled while I took the month off
The emails were simple but clear, and grounded in my values
I trusted my systems and prep to do the work while I rested
Was it perfectly executed? Not at all.
Did I respond to comments or engage online? Nope.
Did I make sales anyway? Yes.
What I enjoyed vs what felt heavy
I had a few star clients who engaged consistently throughout and got great results. The interaction with these clients is definitely the thing I enjoyed the most.
What felt heavy - having no idea how those who didn’t engage were getting on.
I also loved the simplicity of the offer and the marketing of it. It felt like a fun experiment and I was genuinely curious to see if it met my audience’s needs (which based on feedback, I think it did).
Next time, I’d definitely give myself more breathing room between promotions. I was last minute with everything which felt stressful.
I also might actually test a fully self-paced version (with an option to add 1-1). I noticed half the people who signed up didn’t engage with the support at all, and half did. So I’m curious about offering the self-paced version for those who just want to get their heads down - or maybe are buying it to implement later, and offer more in-depth 1-1 support for the other half.
Nice client feedback
“The course was more in-depth than I realized and appreciated the many, many short videos and workbooks. The monthly questions were very valuable! Game-Changes was certainly Lauren's feedback and the 1:1 sessions with Gemma! I could not have done this program without the 1:1 support and gave me EXACTLY what I was looking for!” - Megan
“I've LOVED doing Amplify Lite! In the 6 months since starting, I'd never have imagined that I'd actually have launched!” - Loren
Want to create your own group programme?
If you’re curious about how to create and sell a group programme your clients actually complete, without overdelivering or burning out, a great next step would be to watch my workshop series.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
✔ High-ticket vs low-ticket, cohort vs evergreen, memberships vs courses vs group: the whole shabang
✔ How to design a group programme that works for your niche + lifestyle + bank balance
✔ How to fill your group programme sustainably every month without high pressure launches
