From Judith:

In the first of a new series of interviews with Money Gym clients past and present, the super, sassy and a little bit cosmic Karen Knowler, the Raw Food Coach, was brave enough to go first.

Read what Karen has to say about her experience of working with us, and hear her interview on the Money Gym podcast coming soon!

Tell us a little about you first of all.

My name is Karen Knowler, I live just outside Ely in Cambridgeshire, I’m co-director of The Fresh Network, the UK’s raw and living foods organisation, director of TheRawFoodCoach.com, a web site for people who are new to raw foods and want to know how to get started, and creator of all the associated products and services that are a part of that site. I’m 33 years old, just 2 weeks off 34 in fact, I’m single and I have one son, Luke, who’s just turned 4 years old.
www.therawfoodcoach.com

What was your attitude to money before you discovered the Money Gym?

It was really quite mixed, but I knew I had a deep longing to finally master the subject and sort out a mess of old habits, debilitating beliefs, fear of never actually quite getting it, all underpinned very effectively by good ol’ lack of organisation.

So why did you sign up?   

I liked the idea of a programme which is structured over a year, of fully immersing myself in the material, and meeting like-minded people who would share the journey with me.   

What have been the main benefits for you so far?

I love being surrounded by other people who are just getting on with it too, normal people just like me!   I had a belief that somehow money and wealth creation was for other people, not for me, so this is refreshing and empowering.   

Reality has kicked in however, and I see in myself (and others) that it’s a slow burn process and not a quick fix.  That said, I have definitely made a lot of progress over the 8 months I’ve been involved so far, and I have made a lot of shifts at a deep level too. These deeper changes are further reaching of course, and are just starting to blossom and bear fruit now, and no doubt will continue to for the rest of my life, especially over the next few years as I implement everything I have learned with fervour!

Can you quantify how much difference that has made to your financial situation?   

My early win has mainly been on the internet lane of the wealth highway.   The workshop on the internet showed me how jaw-droppingly easy it was to create a website, and although I don’t create my own, this was very helpful and removed a lot of the fear and mystery.   Passive revenue for me is my ticket to financial freedom and it’s actually a lot easier than I thought! I like to focus on thing at a time, so I have chosen to master one of the lanes of the wealth highway first and it’s the internet one as that really does it for me!   

I am passionate about writing, the internet and educating people, so this work is really a JOY.   In less than a month I have created a sizeable income having written just one small eBook and when I launch my second eBook later this week (written in just one weekend!), I expect (based on real figures) to be generating at least £400 a week – just from 2 eBooks each selling at £9.99 – that’s an incredible £20,000 per annum, a fourfold return on my investment in the Money Gym fees, and I am only three quarters of the way through the programme!

And based on what you have learned during your time with the MG, how much will that information make you in future?

I definitely want to expand my internet activities – it’s such great fun and feels more like play. I also want to sharpen up my two businesses so they are more efficient and profitable.   Next I will go into property and again am really interested in the passive route.   I was really scared of this at first, as in “could it really work?”, but am now prepared to go beyond the fear and eventually I could even do it myself if I want to.

Within six months I can see that I will be financially free just from e-books alone and the beauty of this is that I am doing what I love to do and it’s making me rich too.   I’ve had such fun doing it and, now knowing just how easy it is to do, in time I would like to move on and teach others how to do this – the whole web marketing thing, thus adding another string to my bow.

Which part of the Money Gym has been most useful to you and why?

The workshops without a doubt - two days is just right, one would be too short and three would be too long.   Actually meeting people and seeing all the coaches together is great because they are so interesting and diverse.   It’s a great vibe at the workshops, not at all cliquey or anywhere near snobbish (well, you never quite know!) – more assumptions on my part which have been busted wide open! The workshops are great fun.

Why do you think the Money Gym worked for you?

Because I have been excited by it, the time was right and of course I have gone home and actually taken action based on what I have learned!

What has been the surprise extra benefit for you which you value but were not necessarily expecting?

A new group of friends. I have made some really great friends. That’s been worth the money alone!

Have we delivered what we promised?

Yes, pretty much, and over-delivered in some areas. Always a bonus!

How could we improve the Money Gym?

Perhaps a buddy system?   Oh and a prize!   I love an incentive – how about a long weekend away for those of us who achieve what we set out to, and could prove it?   Since we are all aspiring to a better lifestyle, this could be very motivating and would provide some great press and buzz for the Money Gym.