Hey there, wellness entrepreneur. Before we get into today’s blog, I want to let you know about two new offers I’m bringing in so you can sign more clients, help more people, create your dream revenue months, and manifest your dream wellness business this summer, and so then you go into the fall feeling motivated and excited and end this year, your best year yet. And both of these offers are below $30.
Okay, the first is an on-demand workshop, meaning you can just watch it at your own pace. It’s pre-recorded with some live touch points with me. It’s an Instagram Workshop. You’ll get the exact Instagram Content Framework that turns followers into paying wellness clients without having to be on social media all day. You’ll get the client attraction roadmap, the authority positioning formula, so how to transform all your certification and expertise into messaging that instantly differentiates you from other wellness practitioners, the bio template, the content conversion framework, and so much more. Check it out here <LINK> to know how to get all these!
And then also, I want to let you know, I’m very, very excited about this as well, especially if you’re feeling scattered, low energy, or disconnected from your intuition. On Monday, June 2nd, at 9am Pacific Standard Time, so noon Eastern Standard Time, I’m hosting a Live Yoga Manifestation Somatics Breathwork Meditation Class. I’m calling it the Embodied CEO Prosperity Practice.
So it’s manifest and move the yoga, be gentle, slow, mostly on the mat, more somatic, closing the eyes, feelings – you can even bring your journal and pen – because I hope you’ll get a lot of intuitions and downloads on how to manifest your dream wellness business.
It’s all designed to help you reset your nervous system, set a powerful intention for the month, for the week. That’s why I’m doing it on the first Monday of the month and step into the energetic frequency of leadership and prosperity. It’s just $20 to join, you’ll get the recording for a week. This is not your average yoga class. It is specific for you for entrepreneurs, for CEOs, this will be your CEO reset button. It’s also for practitioners that are tired, working with a lot of people to re-energize. Check out how to join here: <LINK>
I’m very excited because I’ve been feeling the nudge to teach a version of yoga. I’ve been having it for a while but teaching back in the studios haven’t felt right. And I just am so happy to land upon what I’m really excited to bring out into the world and do this live so you can join me. Just drop in $20 and leave feeling replenished, creative, confident and empowered CEO. I can’t wait to see you there!
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Hey there wellness entrepreneur, welcome back. Today’s episode, I’m honored to bring on my client, Rachel Redmond, who has just done amazing things in her business. You’re going to be so inspired by her story where she’s doubled, even tripled her revenue from when we started. And the best part is she’s doing it in a very sustainable way working three days a week.
She’s gone from about 5k revenue months to now consistent by figure months, 12k months, and even an 18k month as well. You’ll hear her story about how she brought in an online program to complement her in-person brick and mortar acupuncture work.
So I’ll let her tell her own story. Be prepared to take out a pen, paper and write down her golden nuggets and so much more.
Question to Rachel: Rachel, tell us who you help and where they can find you and all the things.
Rachel: Hello everyone. Thanks for having me. My name is Rachel Redmond. I’m a licensed acupuncturist and a functional medicine practitioner and I help mainly women with hormonal issues, whether it’s period problems, perimenopause menopause or fertility. And I also do a lot of gut health and healing. And you can find me on my website at www.rachel-redmond.com. I’m also on Instagram at @rachel.e.redmond.
Alison: I love this. Well, welcome. You have such an inspiring story to tell. I’m sure the audience is going to get so many gold nuggets. I’d love to start right in with speaking to the audience as to why you started an online program because you have a successful brick and mortar helping your acupuncture clients. You are very active in the community, teaching for yoga teacher trainings, doing a lot of presentations. You do a lot in your community and you could have kept going as an acupuncturist, I’m sure, and be successful.
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Question to Rachel: So tell us a little bit what prompted you or inspired you to bring in an online program as well.
Rachel: I mean, I’ve always, I think since I started my business, I have really valued that sense of freedom that you can have in running a business. And I was a little worried at the get-go of being tied down to one particular location or if I wanted to travel, what that would mean for my business and my income. And so from the beginning of building my business, I always just had this vision of having a partly online aspect to my business.
And also because as an acupuncturist, I could see the writing on the wall and that most acupuncturists, they’re very, very busy. And so I would have to spend a lot of time and I only see one patient an hour. That’s what’s comfortable for me and for my nervous system. And so there was a cap on what I could earn. And in order to earn more, I’d have to work more hours. But I began building my business when I was pregnant with my son. And I knew right away that I wanted a lot of time and freedom and flexibility in my schedule. And I knew that an online component could help me leverage that.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. And so people, I’m sure what you said is so relatable for other acupuncturists, physical therapists, massage therapists, even yoga teachers who are traveling from studio to studio and really desiring to help more people, continue helping people, but also have more freedom and flexibility.
Question to Rachel: How did you decide which direction to go in the online world if someone’s like, oh, you just planted a seed, where would they start? Where would you suggest?
Rachel: Yeah, well, I leaned into what I love and what I love is teaching about Vedic medicine and Chinese medicine and helping to break down the vastness of both of those schools of into really relatable aspects.
And in the beginning of my practice, I found myself repeating the same things a lot of time, whether it was lifestyle advice, stress management advice, little nuggets about your menstrual cycle or the different phases of your menstrual cycle. So I started mentally collecting, what are the things that I say all of the time? What are the things that could fit inside an online program? And it started to take this online women’s health and wellness program that’s really rooted in education, because I really believe that the more we know about our bodies and these other ways of thinking about our health, the more empowered people are, the more their people are willing to make changes if they really understand the why behind them.
So it really came from this love to teach and connect with people. And that’s blossomed into that online business. And I had been hearing about people like Amy Porterfield or Marie Forleo back in the day when I started, and they just kind of gave me this vision of creating an online program that could really leverage my time and my skills and I could reach more people earn more money with in less time.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. Being an Amy Porterfield and Marie Forleo, as they say, listener myself. It really did plant a seed in my mind as well. I love all this.
Question to Rachel: Let’s tell a little bit about your journey when you first came to me and you were really wanting to make this online vision a reality for yourself, for your business, for your family, and the lifestyle that you really wanted. Where were you when we first started out?
Rachel: So when we first started, I was doing acupuncture, and I had already built out an online program called the Yin Wei, which I had spent a lot of my time and attention on during the pandemic because my son was little and I closed my acupuncture business for two years. So I had spent a lot of time growing that and building out that program.
But then in 2022, I went back to acupuncture. So I had been doing acupuncture about two years, I had put the Yin Wei program on the back burner because I couldn’t figure out how to market it, I couldn’t figure out how to sell it. It was great program, really robust, but it just wasn’t making any money. And I was just feeling a little stuck in my income, like I had dreamed of earning 10k in a month and that just still that had been a dream for about eight years. And it had just still seemed like such a far off goal that I couldn’t hardly even imagine getting there.
And so when we started, I was just really busy with just kind of grinding and not knowing what to do next to get to that next level.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. I’m curious, well, let’s foreshadow them. Do you mind if we talk about numbers?
Rachel: Yeah, sure. That’s fine.
Alison: So where was your revenue approximately at that time?
Rachel: Yeah. I think I was around 5k a month, some months would be better and some months would be less. So it was about that 5k mark, which honestly was already a milestone for me because previous to that, I felt like I hung around at like 2k for like a really long time. So I had just bumped up to 5k. It hadn’t been that long in that 5k space.
Alison: Yeah. And then just tell them where you are now. So it’s just over six months and the huge revenue milestone, I’ll say that you just hit just so they can be inspired.
Rachel: Yes. So was it last month, I actually hit 18k for first time ever. It was basically a 20k month, but the invoice came through on the first of the next month. So it was agreed to be paid for. So it’s essentially a 20k month, which was wild. But previous to that, I had already had about two 12k months since we started working together, which just blows my mind that I thought maybe that first 12k month, like, OK, then I’m going to maybe have like a couple of 5k months or, I didn’t think I would actually be able to generate another 12k month and then an 8k month and then a 20k month. So that’s amazing.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. Huge, huge congrats! And it just goes to show you, and here’s the truth, too. Like your audience on Instagram has been growing, but you only post when you can. So it hasn’t been massive growth. It’s been sustainable growth on there. And you were able to achieve these without a big audience shift. I think some people think, I do think it’s still important to continue to grow in a sustainable way. But to achieve big revenue jumps, you don’t have to have a big community change either.
Rachel: Yeah. And I think in the beginning, we had started focusing on Instagram and I just decided at some point to just pull back because it was just, it felt too time consuming for me and too energy consuming. And I decided to just keep focusing on what was working for me.
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And actually now that I’m in this more sustainable place, I am starting to think, “Ok, maybe I’ll come back around to Instagram and start putting a little more time and attention on that.” But it definitely was not what grew my business. And I just say that because it’s so important to kind of get your hands on the ground and make those genuine organic connections, which then feed Instagram. And I’m just not an Instagram person and I don’t like it. And I don’t want to spend my time there. So for people who love it, it can be great. But I had to kind of be true to myself and go other ways. And I will come back around because it is a great way to connect with people and reach people. But it’s definitely not the main driver of my business.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. And I love that you said that because what you said is so true. You have to find your own way. And I have clients who love Instagram and have had massive community shifts and have gone viral multiple times. And then I have clients like yourself who are more community oriented, in-person oriented.
And truthfully, I think there is such power in that combination of but finding the right balance for you. So whether it’s 80 percent workshops and events in the community and collaborations in the community and 20 percent or even 85 percent, 15 percent Instagram, that ratio works for you. Or it could be flip like 85 percent Instagram and small portion in the community. But what you said is so true is that when you do both in whatever ratio works for you, they fuel each other.
Rachel: Yeah. Yeah. And I do have dreams of having like a bigger online presence and maybe a big group program or some online offering. And so I do want to nurture that channel. And I think in the next six months, I’ll start to put my focus on there so that when I’m ready, I’ll have this audience already there for me because right now I don’t actually have the capacity to take a huge influx of clients because I need to continue working on those structures.
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Alison: Yes, 100 percent. I love that. That is the next phase and totally possible for you in a sustainable way.
Question to Rachel: So I’m kind of curious because you mentioned something with the Yin Wei program. Prior to working together, you felt it was hard to market and sell. I think that’s a common struggle. A lot of people feel. What for you made it hard to market and sell. And then what shifted for you?
Rachel: Yeah, so it was hard to market and sell because I didn’t have much of an audience and I didn’t really know how to reach sort of more cold online traffic. The people who did the program that I launched maybe four or five times ended up being people I went to high school with. Like people came out of the woodwork, but all those people already knew me and trusted me in some more personal context. So it did help me to run the program, but that I couldn’t really continue it because I just hadn’t built the audience. I hadn’t built the e-mail list, hadn’t built the online presence. But it was such a good program and I hated to see it just sitting there in my platform.
So what I did was when I started offering functional medicine packages, I included it as the bonus for if you joined a six-month package, it was this like a thousand dollar bonus that you would get. And it works for me because I get to offer it as a bonus and incentivize people to join. And it works for my clients because they get a huge library of resources and information. And I love that I can refer them to the different modules.
And people are actually using the program, watching the videos, and then they’re bringing it to our one to ones. And we’re going into depth about it. And I’m just so glad to see that it’s getting its use and it’s supporting people. And it also just really supplements the work that I do, because even though I have one on one time with people, I still don’t have enough time to like give them this foundation, which is what the provide. So people are really loving that. I think it’s a really wonderful bonus and a great add on.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. That’s what for a lot of my clients, just this simple shift has changed so much. And the other thing is, too, it helps utilizing the Yin Wei program this way allows you to still work with people one to one. But you’re getting out of that, as they say, time for money trades. They have so much valuable information. You don’t have to meet with them every week.
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Question to Rachel: So tell the audience a little bit about your program, like how it’s structured.
Rachel: Yeah. So as a functional medicine practitioner, I do run labs for people. And so most people start with a six-month package, which includes my three foundational labs that I’ll run.
So the first month of working with someone is a little bit more intensive where we’ll do an initial consultation and then we’ll order some labs while we’re waiting for those labs to come in, which takes about three to four weeks.
We’ll do another session where we do a deep dive into nutrition, focus on lifestyle, stress management, whatever we want to start with one of those areas so that they’re really getting a lot of value and really starting to be able to incorporate certain lifestyle nutritional shifts off the get go.
And then when the labs come in, we’ll do a lab review session or sometimes a couple of lab review sessions based on when they come and I’ll design protocols for them, including supplements. But I’m very heavy on nutrition shifts, lifestyle, stress management and education and making slow changes over time so that they’re more sustainable.
And so after that first six weeks, then I’ll start checking in with people every two weeks, every three weeks, so a month. So then I don’t actually have a whole lot of one to one face time with people, but I make sure that they feel fully supported by me. So I say, “Contact me Monday through Friday through the portal, send me messages if you feel like you need an extra session, I’m here for you every step of the way.” But a lot of people are busy and they’re just kind of cruising through with their program. And so we just need to have a few touch points.
Sometimes we’ll need to do a retest of a lab. But in terms of my time and energy, it’s a little bit more heavy in the beginning because I’ll create guides for people and nutrition recommendations, very specific and personalized. But after that, it just kind of cruises and they’re doing the program and they’re getting benefits and it’s fewer touch points towards the end. So, yeah, it’s really nice that way.
Alison: I love that. I bet you just excited so many people with all of this.
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Question to Rachel: Okay, so also I want you to highlight because you’ve done this so successfully where a good percentage for the appropriate patient, acupuncture patient, has become the functional medicine client, online client. How tell us a little bit about that funnel.
Rachel: Yes. So I think that’s been a huge driver of my business because I think that once people come into my world, come into my office for acupuncture, people are searching for things like acupuncture or PT or a lot, massage, these other wellness modalities that are lower price, sometimes covered by insurance. People are really searching for that.
They might not know that they’re searching for functional medicine, but they know that they’re searching for something. So they’ll come in my door, we’ll establish a relationship. People get to know me, like me, trust me. I think that is huge. And that’s maybe where I struggle in the online world. But in person, I’m really good at that. And so and then I could get to know a person as well. And like, “Do I think that these functional labs would benefit them? Do I think they’d be compliant? Would they be a good fit for that?” And as I get to know them and as they see me for acupuncture, I might say, “Hey, I think that you would really benefit from these lab, doing this, adding on the functional medicine piece.” And a lot of them are interested. Yet the price point is still pretty. It’s a big jump from acupuncture to a six-month functional medicine package.
So what I’ve implemented in the last month, I played around with a three-month package that I didn’t really like the way it was working. And now I’ve tried a quick start package, which is five hundred dollars. It includes my foundational lab, which is the adrenal lab and includes an initial appointment, a lab review and one to two follow ups. And I tell them that, “This is a really great start. If you want to continue on with the package, we can apply this five hundred dollars towards the package. If you don’t want to continue on, you will still get massive benefits by starting with the adrenal program.” And I’ve just had two people last two days opt in for that.
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So it’s just been a really great lower offer, lower price point, lower commitment. It’s like I’m just holding people’s hands through the process. And a lot of them, I think, will say, “Oh, yeah, this was great. I want to go deeper with you. I see the benefit.” So I think breaking down that six month offer into a really small chunk that’s still going to be really useful and beneficial for them has been working so well for me.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. And again, I think you just probably just planted so many seeds for people. So thank you for sharing all of that. And also, let’s get into another area that we’ve been working on together.
Question to Rachel: And I think a lot of entrepreneurs, especially wellness entrepreneurs, face is making sure with having a brick and mortar and online clients, a son being, a mom with a partner and a family. How do you manage it all? Because even when you first started hitting those five figure months, I think one of your first five figure months was even during December where you took a few weeks off for a holiday. So how do you find balance and self-care is huge for you. I love that. You are big, you really practice what you preach and prioritize your self-care. So how are you making it work?
Rachel: I mean, it’s definitely trial and error. I want to say that in 2019 was when I created the Yin Wei program and my son was like not even two and I was working in my acupuncture office, I think, just two full days a week, but trying to run the program, feeling really frazzled. And then the pandemic started. So I was like, “Okay, I’m just going to do online” because that made sense at that time. And it did, but I wasn’t ready enough with my audience. So then going all in, I thought, “Oh, well, I need to just get rid of that, close the acupuncture and just do all in in the online space.” But that didn’t work for me either.
And so then I went back to acupuncture with the idea that I could do both like you talk about, like you can do a hybrid. Nobody had really talked about that. I felt like that was kind of a novel idea. I thought I had to do one or the other, and I didn’t really see how I could do both. And that was such a lightbulb moment. I think I was already doing that when I met you. But then you really gave me permission that, no, this could be a whole path in itself. And that actually was such a game changer for me.
And so now I have three office days. They’re very full, but I do that intentionally so that I can have two days off during the week. So I’m in my office all day Tuesday, all day Thursday, all day Friday. And I do both acupuncture and functional medicine visits those days, which means I have all day Monday and all day Wednesday to either do back end business, doctor’s appointments, go work out, go grocery shopping, make some good food. So that right now feels like a really good balance for me. I like to be in the office once I’m going. I have a lot of energy. I have back to back clients all day long those three days.
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But I love it. I really thrive on that. But I don’t think I could do that for five days a week. I don’t think my energy would be OK. I know I would burn out. I already feel like there’s still not enough time to do all the things for the family. But sometimes I have that moment. But on the other hand, I have two full days off that I can do for take care of myself.
Like this week, I went to Detroit, which is an hour and a half away. I had a doctor’s appointment there, but then I had lunch with my girlfriends and took a long leisurely day and just didn’t work at all. And it was great because I can do that. So I found balance in that way and that I can do both full days of work, two days off and then that hybrid practice, which has just worked so well for me.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. Big congratulations on achieving that.
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Question to Rachel: Well, I love all that you’ve shared for the entrepreneur that is maybe feeling stuck, maybe either in revenue or wanting to bring in an online program, but not seeing the traction that they want. What would you suggest to them? What would you tell them?
Rachel: Yeah, I would say, double down on what’s already working for you. If you’re really good at getting people in your door for acupuncture or physical therapy or whatever it is, keep doing that. But then spend some time in that vision, build out an offer, create a package, create an upsell for them. So keep doing what you’re doing, build relationships, make connection, grow that no like and trust factor. But then give them an option because a lot of people want to go deeper, especially when they have a relationship with you, when they feel comfortable.
They’re like, “Yes, I want all the things. Give me all the things. I want to go all the way with you.” So make it easy for them. And yeah, I think that would be my what’s really worked for me is like give them an option.
Alison: Yeah, so true. So true. Sometimes we just have this inner dialogue going on that like, “Oh, they’ve already spent so much. They already have done all so much time.” But you’re right. There’s people that just keep they’re hungry. They want more. They’re in it. They love you. They love the work. And what you said, you hit the nail on the head. Just like make it easy for them to do that. And that’s exactly what you’ve done.
Rachel: I think one of my strengths and the strength builder is like I’m a relationship person. I’m good at building connections, building rapport, making people feel safe and comfortable. That’s just one of my skill sets. And so I just lean on that really heavy. I just build relationships. I follow up with people. I meet people in the community. I talk everywhere. I go talk to my OBGYN, who now refers to me. I talk to the rheumatologist who now refers to me. I went to a bar class the other day. It’s like, you know, oh, by the way, like everywhere I go, I just kind of plant that seed for people. And it just it really has helped grow my business.
Alison: Yeah, I love that.
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Question to Rachel: One last topic. Tell us a little bit about your community, because I know part of the reason why you have the funnel structured the way it is, is because the size of your town and the mindset that your community has on, what they feel comfortable, I guess, is the word in spending for self-care. But I think when they do build the trust, as you’ve seen, they do spend money with you because a lot of people say, oh, I’m in a small town or people don’t spend money on these types of things. What would you say to that?
Rachel: Yeah! I would say it’s just all about mindset. And I really fell into that mindset trap because I live in Lansing and Mid Michigan, where real estate is much less expensive here than it is in a lot of other parts of the state and a lot of other places in the country. And I just thought, “Oh, people will never spend money here. Everything is cheaper here.” And I just kind of fell into that mindset. But once I really kind of built the confidence just by working with people and could see the value that I offer, I was able to shift that and just say, “This is what I offer. This is how I can help people.” I go all in.
If someone wants to meet me there, then they can. And people that come to see me, they’ve already been through the hoops of medical system and maybe haven’t gotten enough results or they’ve tried a lot of different things and they’re just really tired and frustrated. And they’re just ready to commit to one person who can really take them that next step.
Alison: Yeah, I love that. So huge. And again, I’m sure that sparked something in a lot of people. Well, you shared so much wisdom, so many golden nuggets here.
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Question to Rachel: Any parting words of wisdom for the audience?
Rachel: Yes. One thing I want to hone in on is that I think I started building my business eight years ago, seven, eight years ago. I felt stuck and stagnant in a bottleneck for like six and a half of those years. I felt like I didn’t always know I could get to like a 10K month, but I just, it was like so many years of struggle. And looking back, I see a few things.
One, it was just lack of confidence, lack of experience, self-doubt, just the whole mindset piece. But I just kept going. I was unwilling to give up on this dream. I knew I could do something really good in this world and support people. And I love the medicines that I bring to others. And so I just never gave up.
And I just want to talk about where I am now. You have to know about where I really was, which was dark and earning 10K in a year and all of that money going to reinvest in my business and feeling so far away from where I should be and just I had to deal with a lot of those demon, those inner shame and guilt and frustrations, that shadow work. I did a lot of that. But at the end of the day, I just needed to put my foot in front of the other and open my door for acupuncture and get people in the door and build my confidence as a practitioner, build my reputation in my town. And so it wasn’t all from zero to 10K months. It took me many years to get here. And it was a slog. But once I got everything together and then started working with you, that bottleneck just really opened up and it’s been such a wonderful feeling. And it’s just brought so much goodness to my life.
Alison: So I love that. And I’m so glad that you kept going not only for you and your family, but also there’s such a ripple effect to all the people that you help personally. And now even here, like you’re inspiring other practitioners. So we all thank you and applaud you for, for, working through the slog because it is hard. It’s really hard.
Rachel: Yeah. And there’s some days you’re like, “I’m just going to get up, give up and I’ll just get a different job.” And I’m so glad I didn’t give up and I’m so glad I met you and just stayed the course, stayed true to myself. And I know that others can do the same. And the thing is that so many people are suffering in this world and so many people need help and just someone to care for them and offer them some compassion. And that just goes such a long way. Listen to their story, open up to people. And we all can do that here. And it’s, there’s so much medicine and healing just in that alone.
Alison: Yes. I love that. Love it.
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Question to Rachel: Well tell us again, where they can find you, your website and Instagram.
Rachel: Sure. So I’m on Instagram at @rachel.e.redmond. And then my website is www.rachel-redmond.com. My practice is called Redmond Functional Health. And I’m in the East Lansing, Lansing area, mid-Michigan. But I do work virtually, not in every state, but I am navigating that dynamic of which states I can legally practice in. So, yeah.
Alison: Yes. I love that. Yeah. So reach out to her if you’re having trouble in any of her areas, if you’re a woman or struggling with GI, digestive health, adrenals, feeling burnt out, tired, exhausted. Go, go reach out to her. All the things. She will, for sure, take very, very good care of you.
Well, thank you so much for coming on today. It’s been lovely to hear your story. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Rachel: Yeah. Thanks for having me.
Important Links to Visit:
How to Confidently Sell Your Wellness Services Without Feeling Salesy
Learn How to Close Sales Calls Without Being Slimy – A Guide for Wellness Entrepreneurs
Five Ways To Manage Changes In Schedule To Feel Your Best
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Why Your Story Matters More Than Perfect Content on Instagram
