1177. When It Pays to Work for Free: The Hidden ROI Most Entrepreneurs Miss

In a world where “charge what you’re worth” and “raise your prices” dominate the entrepreneurial conversation, Kelly is flipping the script with a reality check: In this episode, she reveals why some of her biggest business wins — from stage appearances to multi-million-dollar brand growth — came not from getting paid upfront, but from playing the long game. You’ll learn when it actually pays to work for free, how to evaluate opportunities strategically, and how to turn short-term sacrifice into long-term expansion. If you’ve been wondering whether to charge or say “yes” for exposure, relationships, or visibility — this is your playbook for discerning which “free” is actually profitable. Timestamps:  [00:40] – Why “charge what you’re worth” isn’t always great advice — and how nuance creates better business decisions. [02:00] – The problem with instant gratification and how long-term strategy builds wealth  [04:15] – Free vs. paid speaking engagements — the $20K talk vs. the thousand-person audience. [05:45] – The free, local speaking events that led to new paying clients within 48 hours. [07:00] – The asset advantage: why visibility and brand content are often worth more than upfront payment. [08:30] – Kelly’s 4-part checklist for evaluating an unpaid opportunity [10:15] – The truth about big stages: how most speakers land them — and why most aren’t getting paid. [13:30] – Why Kelly doesn’t take podcast sponsors (yet) and how the show makes millions without a single paid ad slot (and why long-term audience trust is more profitable). [18:00] – The currency of integrity: why doing the right thing compounds in value over time. [19:00] – Final encouragement: trust your discernment, play the long game, and remember — nothing is impossible with God.   Resources: Join The Virtual Business School now for just $87/month, no contract: https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/joinvbs  Learn more about our Legacy Leaders Mastermind: The premier mastermind for established 7- and 8-figure CEOs: https://programs.thebusinessadvisory.com/legacy-leaders  Join us in person this March for our annual Legacy retreat ($2M+ business owners): https://advancesociety.org/2026rsvp  Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/                Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/w     Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/  

Even the most successful leaders can feel isolated, especially when they’re always running the room instead of being a part of it. In this episode, Kelly Roach dives into the hidden epidemic of loneliness among entrepreneurs and shares four tangible ways to reconnect, reignite joy, and create real human connection while leading at the highest levels. Learn how to rediscover your passions, build local community, find rooms where you get to grow, and collaborate from a place of fun and authenticity. If you’ve been feeling disconnected in your leadership journey, this episode will show you how to refill your cup and reawaken the fulfillment that fuels your business and your life. Timestamps: [02:00] – Kelly’s personal goal this year: to invest in relationships — and what she’s learned through that process. [03:00] – Rediscover the hobbies you loved most in your younger years and bring them back into your life. [06:00] – The difference between running the room and being in the room — and why it matters for fulfillment. [07:00] – Build connection locally — and why local community is becoming more valuable in the age of AI. [10:00] – Seek out rooms where you get to be the student, not the coach. [12:00] – The Legacy Leaders Mastermind: a curated space for established 7- and 8-figure CEOs who want to be challenged and expanded. [13:55] – Collaborate for fun — the key to rekindling joy and creativity in business. Resources:  Join our Legacy Leaders Mastermind – an intimate retreat for 7- and 8-figure CEOs: https://advancesociety.org/2026rsvp  Learn more about Selena Soo's Rich Relationships Club – A private, curated community for high-level leaders focused on relationship-building and collaboration: https://rich-relationships.com/  Called to Lead 2026: the premier women's networking event in South Florida: https://www.sandiglandt.com/called-to-lead  Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/               Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/w    Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/      

This special episode is a repaly from Kelly's latest Trust Building Offer LIVE masterclass.  In this episode, Kelly walks you through a crash course on creating daily sales in your business using a Trust Building Offer. She reveals the exact systems and frameworks that Fortune 500 companies have mastered for decades—and shows you how to adapt them into simple, repeatable strategies that produce consistent, predictable revenue without requiring massive followings or endless launches. If you’ve been stuck on the hamster wheel of sporadic sales or depending on “online influencer” tactics that just aren’t working anymore, this episode will help you install the habits, systems, and offers you need to sell daily, profitably, and with freedom. You'll learn: Kelly’s Miracle Hour™: 7 core daily activities to consistently generate and close sales How the Dream 1000™ relationship rolodex can help you scale without chasing endless leads Why reactivations, renewals, referrals, and upsells are your fastest, easiest path to profit Timestamps 5:01 – 9:30 | Lessons from Fortune 500 sales teams: followers ≠ revenue 9:31 – 15:00 | The Miracle Hour™: 7 daily sales activities explained 21:01 – 27:00 | The Dream 1000™: your $100M relationship rolodex (and where 90% of sales come from) 27:01 – 33:00 | Why reactivations, referrals, renewals, upsells, and trust-building offers matter more than cold leads 38:01 – 45:00 | Bonuses, resources, and how to join VBS for less than $1,000/year Resources: Listen to the FULL half-day intensive on how to craft your 'easy yes' Trust Building Offer: app.helloaudio.fm/feed/2d57d7d8-27ff-443b-a4f6-39ead6d22821/signup   Join The Virtual Business School now for just $87/month, no contract: https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/joinvbs  Grab our FREE Trust Building Offer Guide: https://kellyroachinternational.kit.com/tbo  Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/              Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/w   Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/     

In this episode of The Kelly Roach Show, Kelly challenges you to think about what “muscles” you’re building in your business and life, and which ones you’re allowing to atrophy. Kelly shares personal stories that highlight how habits form by either default or design, and why intentionality is key if you want to build the life, business, and relationships you truly desire. You’ll learn how to identify which areas of your life need investment, which ones may need to be intentionally let go, and which skills and resources you should start building now for the future you want to create. Timestamps. 3:11 – 6:00 The concept of “muscle building” in business, relationships, and life. 6:01 – 7:45 Recognizing what’s atrophying by default versus by design. 7:46 – 9:45 Kelly’s return to dance after letting it go extinct for years. 9:46 – 11:50 Future-facing preparation: skills, tools, and mindsets you’ll need in your back pocket. Resources:  Join The Virtual Business School membership for real-time, hands-on business growth support- all for just $59/month, no contract! https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtualbusinessschool-page-3054    Grab your early bird ticket to Called to Lead (October 2026): https://www.sandiglandt.com/called-to-lead   Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/             Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/w  Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/    

So many entrepreneurs hit a point where the business they built for freedom begins to feel more like a burden than anything else. In this episode of The Kelly Roach Show, Kelly shares how to identify and break through the hidden bottlenecks keeping your company heavy, hard, and slow. Instead of chasing external fixes, Kelly reveals why INTERNAL reinvention is the true path to sustainable growth and freedom. This episode is all about how to simplify your systems, strip your business down to essentials, and stop tolerating the things holding you back so you can move with speed, agility, and clarity. Timestamps: 2:30 – The cumulative effect of years of layering systems, policies, and infrastructure that create bottlenecks. 4:45 – The #1 natural advantage of entrepreneurs: agility and speed. 6:15 – How bottlenecks kill momentum and why reinvention must start from the inside out. 8:20 – An exercise you can follow 10:30 – Why hustling works when building to $1M but not when you're growing from $2.5M to $10M. 12:15 – Cutting expenses, offers, systems, and staff down to essentials. Resources Download Kelly's FREE Reinvention Playbook: https://thekellyroach.com/reinvention Join The Virtual Business School membership for real-time, hands-on business growth support- all for just $59/month, no contract! https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtualbusinessschool-page-3054    Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/           Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/      Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/  

In this episode of The Kelly Roach Show, Kelly shares the key mindset and leadership shifts she made coming into the year that set her and her businesses up for success. From preparing for market contraction, to pacing with speed of change, to making tough team calls, Kelly walks through the exact adjustments that freed her as a leader and positioned her companies for explosive growth.  If you’ve been feeling weighed down by your team, slowed by your systems, or uncertain about how to lead into the next cycle—this episode will give you both clarity and courage. Timestamps 0:45 – 2:15 — Why September/Q1 planning determines next-year results 2:15 – 4:00 — Market outlook (contraction) & why expectation → preparation → execution 4:00 – 6:00 — Mindset shift: stop slowing down for people who can’t pace with you 6:00 – 8:00 — The “no-rehire” decision and why Kelly implemented it this year 8:00 – 10:00 — Pruning layers: moving market-facing, regaining creativity and bandwidth 12:00 – 14:00 — How to build/keep high-performance teams   Resources Mentioned Download The Reinvention Playbook (free guide) →  https://thekellyroach.com/reinvention  Join The Virtual Business School membership for real-time, hands-on business growth support- all for just $59/month, no contract! https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtualbusinessschool-page-3054  Join The Virtual Business School GOLD to learn advanced sales systems for rapid scale: https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/gold    Grab Bigger Than You: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Building an Unstoppable Dream Team (The Audiobook) → https://www.audible.com/pd/Bigger-Than-You-Audiobook/B0DMR2FB2P?srsltid=AfmBOopsIwU82GAjvrXC3fO92kjWEE_pY99UFZSjuEDRi_cVCyodZ_zs  Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/             Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/        Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/   

If you’re struggling to sell high-ticket directly, it’s because the fastest path isn’t going direct-to-market anymore - it’s bringing people in with trust-building offers and then building an upsell machine to move them into high-ticket programs. In this episode, Kelly shares the 3 strategies that are producing sales every day for her companies and clients - without heavy outbound sales teams, unpredictable launches, or relying solely on cold leads. You’ll learn: Why trust-building offers actually make it easier to sell high-ticket. How to turn your newsletter + email list into your #1 salesperson. Why shortened, lighter live launches & masterclasses are outperforming long, heavy launches. How to use social media and one-word marketing to generate daily sales. Timestamps 1:21 – 3:15 Eliminating the need for big sales teams and outbound calls. 3:16 – 5:50 The friction of selling direct-to-market high-ticket in today’s trust recession. 5:51 – 8:45 Why trust builders don’t cannibalize high-ticket sales.  8:46 – 10:30 Kelly’s 2026 plan 12:56 – 16:40 Why newsletters + email deliverability are now crucial for sales. 16:41 – 19:20 How Kelly saved $100K/month by shifting from external sales to internal trust-building sales. 19:21 – 22:15 The new LIGHT launch model Resources: Listen to Episode 1167 of The Kelly Roach Show: Using Feedback Loops to Create Instant Offers that SELL! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1167-using-feedback-loops-to-create-instant-offers/id1052353755?i=1000726197198 Grab your ticket and us on September 25th in Miami for Called to Lead: The Premier Business and Leadership Event for Female Entrepreneurs: https://www.sandiglandt.com/called-to-lead   Join The Virtual Business School membership for real-time, hands-on business growth support- all for just $59/month, no contract! https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtualbusinessschool-page-3054   Join The Virtual Business School GOLD to learn advanced sales systems for rapid scale: https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/gold    Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/            Follow Kelly on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/        Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/       

In today’s episode of The Kelly Roach Show, Kelly digs into one of the biggest traps entrepreneurs are falling into right now: overthinking. With rapid market changes, even seasoned CEOs are second-guessing themselves.  Kelly breaks down how to stop overthinking, start trusting yourself again, and rebuild confidence through action. Because confidence doesn’t come before action—it comes from action. Timestamps 0:06 – Why even successful entrepreneurs lose confidence 0:20 – Action > evidence > confidence: the unshakable formula for growth 1:30 – Why confidence disappears when certainty does 3:00 – Lessons from advertising: why you can’t predict outcomes before testing 4:00 – Confidence isn’t knowing the answer; it’s committing to iterate until you win 5:30 – How shifting markets have shaken entrepreneurs’ belief in themselves 6:20 – Leadership in uncertainty: staying in integrity while building confidence 7:30 – Overthinking is costing you thousands (or millions) 8:45 – How entrepreneurs abdicate their power by seeking validation elsewhere 9:50 – Build confidence by acting without all the answers 10:15 – Challenge: identify where you’re treading water 11:30 – The difference between winners and losers in uncertain market Resources:  Grab your ticket and us on September 25th in Miami for Called to Lead: The Premier Business and Leadership Event for Female Entrepreneurs: https://www.sandiglandt.com/called-to-lead  Join The Virtual Business School membership for real-time, hands-on business growth support- all for just $59/month, no contract! https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtualbusinessschool-page-3054  Join The Virtual Business School GOLD to learn advanced sales systems for rapid scale: https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/gold   Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/            Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/       Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/      

One of the most overlooked growth strategies in today’s market is hiding in plain sight: your existing clients. In this episode of The Kelly Roach Show, Kelly shares how to leverage an “Inner Circle" client partnership strategy to double, triple, or even quadruple your growth without adding more complexity to your business. You’ll learn how to transform your happiest clients into your biggest growth engine by creating exclusive partnership opportunities that drive referrals, deepen relationships, and expand your reach. Whether you run a membership, coaching program, or consulting practice, this episode will show you how to make your client base your #1 asset for scale. Timestamps:  1:00 – Why your existing members are your #1 growth engine. 3:00 – Affiliate marketing vs. referral marketing vs. the Inner Circle strategy. 4:20 – What the Inner Circle Client Partner strategy is and why it works. 5:45 – How to motivate referrals 8:30 – Tools and tracking: how to make it simple 9:50 – One-to-one sales vs. one-to-many collaborations. 11:00 – Why repeated exposure to the same audience beats “drive-by” marketing. 12:30 – How just one client can double your business. 15:00 –  Where toconnect with high-caliber collaboration partners in person. Resources: Grab your ticket and us on September 25th in Miami for Called to Lead: The Premier Business and Leadership Event for Female Entrepreneurs: https://www.sandiglandt.com/called-to-lead  Join The Virtual Business School membership for real-time, hands-on business growth support- all for just $59/month, no contract! https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtualbusinessschool-page-3054  Join The Virtual Business School GOLD to learn advanced sales systems for rapid scale: https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/gold   Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/            Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/      Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/      

The fastest path to sales doesn’t always require launches, campaigns, or sales pages. In fact, your biggest growth lever may be hiding in plain sight: feedback loops. In this episode of The Kelly Roach Show, Kelly shares how to create simple yet powerful feedback loops with your clients, team, prospects, and market so you can turn insights into instant offers that sell right away. From monetizing event sponsorships to closing gaps in your daily sales system, this episode will show you how to leverage real-time feedback to increase conversions, grow revenue, and futureproof your business. You’ll learn: How to use objections as fuel for instant offers Real-world examples of feedback loops leading to 5-figure sales in just 24 hours The four key sources of feedback you should be tapping into every day Whether you’re scaling to six, seven, or eight figures, this framework will help you simplify, speed up results, and sell with more ease. Timestamps: 2:33 — The four layers of feedback 2:34 – 3:42 — How to align with the market zeitgeist for instant conversions 5:17 – 6:30 — Trust-building offers and the role of feedback in acquisition 6:31 – 10:19 — Case study: turning sponsor objections into $10K+ in 24 hours 10:20 – 13:39 — How to flip objections into proactive marketing and sales tools 13:40 – 16:07 — Building systems to capture and act on feedback instantly 16:08 – 18:04 — Real-time team example: solving an offer gap  18:05 – 19:20 — How rapid execution + feedback loops fuel visionary leadership Resources: Grab your ticket and us on September 25th in Miami for Called to Lead: The Premier Business and Leadership Event for Female Entrepreneurs: https://www.sandiglandt.com/called-to-lead  Join The Virtual Business School membership for real-time, hands-on business growth support- all for just $59/month, no contract! https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/virtualbusinessschool-page-3054  Join The Virtual Business School GOLD to learn advanced sales systems for rapid scale: https://go.virtualbusinessschool.com/gold   Follow Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyroachofficial/            Follow Kelly on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelly.roach.520/       Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroachint/