Tina Tower [00:00:00]:
Welcome to her Empire builder show. At the moment, I am in Palm Springs— not like right at the moment, I'm actually recording this intro from my office— but at the moment that it goes live, I will be in Palm Springs, which I'm so excited about because it is launch week, launch week for Her Empire Builder. So I have had a couple of our members on the podcast, and today I have the incredible, fabulous Dr. Andrea Robertson. Uh, now Andrea is one of my— I mean, I shouldn't— I should probably— shouldn't say that— like, one of my favorite poster child members. Um, this is because Andrea runs really incredible programs. She's got both low-ticket evergreen funnel programs and higher-priced, low-volume, high-touchpoint programs. And so she has been incredible like well before she even met me. So before she came into her Empire Builder, she had already had an established online business.re slow and how to reignite the momentum and boost your revenue.

Main Episode

Tina Tower [00:01:07]:
She had worked really hard to be able to build that. And then she joined her Empire Builder a couple of years ago to kind of take it to that next level and get that engine behind the business really humming. And she's done so incredibly well, uh, and continues to pivot and change and adapt to these changing times that we're in, in the online world, um, and just continues to do well. And that is mainly because Andrea is awesome, really, really smart, knows her stuff really well, is really kind, cares greatly about the people that she's educating, um, and is just an all-around fabulous human. She spoke last year at our Her Empire Builder Conference, um, and shared so much. And in this episode, we're talking about her area of expertise, which is in women's health and menopause and avoiding burnout, but also with the online business that she's built and how she's built and how she's built her different funnels and how she stays constant and relevant in the changing times when she's ran online business for many, many years. Uh, and so if you are established, uh, you'll find this really, really helpful. Even if you're in startup mode, you'll find it helpful because it's like what's to come.

Tina Tower [00:02:19]:
So a little bit about Andrea, if you have not been exposed to her work, which I highly, highly recommend you click the links in the show notes below so you can check her out. Dr. Andrea Robertson is an osteopath. Naturopath, nutritionist, keynote speaker, and health educator, often called the Inflammation Queen. Right, what an intro. You know, like, she's also a dancer.

Tina Tower [00:02:44]:
Anyway, I'm gonna get to that.

Tina Tower [00:02:45]:
But with over 25 years in health and human performance and a background spanning in both clinical practice and professional dance, including performing at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, Andrea brings a unique lens to women's health. She's helped thousands of women worldwide improve their energy, their hormones, and confidence through her online programs, clinics, and keynote work, and especially known for supporting women through perimenopause and menopause with practical, science-backed strategies that work in real life. Which for me personally, last year I got frozen shoulder for the first time. My brain started going weird, my sleep started going a bit funky, my periods started going a bit funky. And yes, it does appear that we— well, I have officially entered that perimenopause stage. And so have been starting to explore, like, how can we get through this area in as much ease as we possibly can? And so today Andrea is sharing with us, yes, some health tips on how we can do that, how we can avoid burnout, and also while we're doing all of that, how we can build an absolutely kick-ass business. Now we are on launch week at the moment. So our doors to Her Empire Builder are open.

Tina Tower [00:04:05]:
We only do this twice a year and it's only for 10 days. And so doors are closing when this episode publishes in like 2 days' time. And so I want you to go to herempirebuilder.com. You will see all of the different details there. If you are looking to join us, if you are wanting to build your online business, now is the time to do that, um, because I am very passionate about helping more women to build wealth and to build freedom in their lives. The stats at the moment are only 12% of women-founded businesses are making over $100,000 a year, which there is no excuse for that. Like, we can do so much better. And so I think there's just a few little things that we can do in business to really get those greater results.

Tina Tower [00:04:51]:
And there are so many women that I know are working so hard and trying so hard and not getting the results that they deserve. And so I want to be able to help you with that. So head to herempirebuilder.com, jump on in. Um, we have no contracts in there, so you can do month to month. You— our like total ideal is that you get results in 60 days. So if you come in, you can implement all of the things, you get access to everything up front, and then you can get those results that you need and that you deserve so that we can have more women holding more wealth and helping you spread your IP as much as possible so that you can help the people you're serving. And as a really, really beautiful example of that, please welcome to the show the fabulous Andrea Robertson.

Tina Tower [00:05:36]:
The fabulous Andrea Robertson, welcome, welcome to her Empire Builder Show.

Andrea Robertson [00:05:43]:
Thank you, Tina. How exciting to be here.

Tina Tower [00:05:46]:
I'm excited to have you here. I have wanted to have you on the show for a while because you are like the, um, poster child of prime example of this is what happens when someone really, really smart gets their IP and puts it on the internet and cares about their clients and does really well and all of the things. So I am very excited to share your, your journey through courses with everyone, but then also the actual subject matter that you teach on, because I reckon, I reckon three-quarters of women listening to this podcast would be like, oh my gosh, yes, that is me. So can you tell me a little bit about the work that you do and the women that you work with and what led you into this space online? Because you work in clinic and online.

Andrea Robertson [00:06:32]:
Yes, absolutely. So my background is I'm an osteopath, naturopath, and nutritionist, and I've been working clinically for 26 years now. I started as an osteopath and then added naturopathy nutrition in about 10 years ago. Um, I added— I mean, osteopathy I got into because I was a dancer and I always had little niggly injuries. And so, um, my parents had said to me early on when I was still at school, yes, you can have a dance career, but you've got to have a backup plan. And so osteopathy was my backup plan. But I was very fortunate that I did that straight out of high school and was able to combine a dance, professional dance career for about 14 years with osteopathy, treating all my fellow dancers for many years. And then set up a big practice in Adelaide, which I haven't finished.

Tina Tower [00:07:17]:
Like, even that part itself is so cool to go, you know what, let's have this and that, let's do both.

Andrea Robertson [00:07:22]:
It was so good. It was so good. In Paris, I was dancing there, and I used to work in shows in the evening and then treat the dancers in the dressing room on my little portable table that I took over with me from Melbourne. And so that was my daytime job, treating the dancers. It was great. And everywhere I went, I was actually able to combine the both of them because there was always, you know, my colleagues in the dance shows that needed, um, treatment, especially when we did the French can-can twice a night every night. Lots of people needed treatment for that one.

Tina Tower [00:07:49]:
Yes, yes.

Andrea Robertson [00:07:51]:
So there was that piece, and then I added naturopathy nutrition in after suffering my own kind of burnout journey in my late 20s and early 30s from dancing too much, seeing too many patients, just working too hard. So I was sort of doing osteopathy all day and shows at night and just crashed and burned, and naturopathy really helped me.. And so it was something that I wanted to then be able to, rather than treat patients as an osteopath and say, what are you doing on the weekend? Or what's happening tonight? Like, I could actually talk about something that was more valuable with nutrition and naturopathy to them. And then I got into the online space in 2017. I know you know this story, Tina, we've talked about it before, but I had a really tough time in my clinic and I had, um, it was very big. I had team of up to 30 staff at one, at, you know, any given time. So I had 2 fitness studios and a clinic, and, um, I had a time where a lot of, a lot of moving pieces came together that I had 12 staff— sorry, 9 staff resignations over 12 days.

Tina Tower [00:08:50]:
And it nearly broke the alarm bell, isn't it? You're like, hang on, it might be me.

Andrea Robertson [00:08:57]:
Well, I have reflected on that many times over the years, and I actually, in being really kind to myself, it— I don't It wasn't me, but it was a series of events that led to that, including being in a franchise that I left, and then rumors and all sorts of stuff. And a staff member that I had promoted and then had to demote because she didn't want to do the training to be a practice manager, and then she started speaking poorly about me. So there was a lot of things, but also me trying to be a practitioner, whereas really my business was so big that it needed me to not be a practitioner. Like, I really should have only been running the business when it was outside. But it— I don't know, I'm just a— I'm a goal-driven kind of human, and I see something and I want to grow it. But I didn't actually want to not be a practitioner because I love that side of what I do. So I really had grown the business too big for what I wanted to do and be. And I just—

Tina Tower [00:09:48]:
the hard part about growing a business, like, I was the same when I had my tutoring centers. I remember the year that I stopped teaching kids to learn to read and ran the business. I hated it. And I ended up the next year, whenever a casual would call in sick, I'd go down and I'd go into the center and I'd take the lesson because I actually, I needed that connection. Yeah, yeah. And I loved what I did.

Andrea Robertson [00:10:12]:
Yeah, I'm the same. But I remember, like, you know, I had staff that needed my support and help, and often they'd be like, oh, Andrea, can I talk to you? And I'd be, you know, 10 minutes late for my next patient. And I'd say, oh, not right now, I'm running late for my patient. Can I email you after work. And like I said, they didn't feel supported and looked after, but I also had patients to look after. And just the way, um, I feel— actually, this is another tangent, but I feel that the profession of osteopathy isn't structured well in that, um, the payment schedule doesn't work really, I don't believe, for owners or for practitioners. And so I never quite had enough money, and I was always working hard to pay them. They probably never had enough money either.

Andrea Robertson [00:10:52]:
Like, it just, it just, there was a, there's a missing— yeah. And so I can see how it all kind of came about, but it was a terrible, terrible, terrible time. Yeah. And I, the only way I knew how to dig myself out of that was to work really hard because I had all these patients who needed treatment and, you know, 9 less practitioners to treat them. So I buckled in for, I think, about 4 months. I worked 16 patients a day, 7 days a week. Week just to pull myself out of the hole. And then I sold my beautiful—

Tina Tower [00:11:23]:
you did 16 patients a day, 7 days a week?

Andrea Robertson [00:11:27]:
Yeah, for 4 months, just to have enough money to pay the entitlements and leave and long service leave that they all needed to leave. And, um, and I had a really nice car that I sold and drove a $500 bomb for 2 years. Yeah. And I didn't go to the hairdresser for 2 years, and I go to the beauty therapist for tears. And in fact, my beauty therapist is beautiful. She gave me, um, my own little bottle of eyebrow dye because I'm very blonde. She gave me my own little bottle of eyebrow dye and for me to do it myself because she understood what I needed to do. And I just stopped spending money, managed to hold on to my house so I didn't have to lose that.

Andrea Robertson [00:12:05]:
And you can see my voice, it's hard to talk about at times. It was a really tricky time. But I remember going to a mindset coach that a girlfriend of mine had recommended, and And I said, I think I need that because I really don't love what I'm doing and I can't leave because I'm stuck here because it's mine. And it was on week 10 of this 10— sorry, week 8 of this 10-week block that I'd booked in with this lovely man Ben, who's an NLP practitioner and hypnotherapist. And I went, I need to go. I need to be bigger than my hourly rate and I need to go online. Like, I can't work this hard forever. And so that was the little kind of light bulb moment And I came across not long after that my very first online coach, who you and her, I love.

Andrea Robertson [00:12:49]:
There's been some other ones that not so good along the way, but Nicole, I still hold her on the highest pedestal. She was like the biggest, most wonderful positive influence on my life. And I came across her in a Kajabi, um, Kajabi Facebook group or something. And someone had said, oh, Nicole Spencer is very good with, um,, health practitioners and fitness kind of space. And she's— she always laughs about me because she said most people have questions, and all of a sudden I just saw you sending me an email saying, can I sign up now?

Tina Tower [00:13:23]:
Hello, I need you.

Andrea Robertson [00:13:25]:
Thank you. Return. And the tax return was exactly the same as her, her cost, you know, the cost of her course. I'm like, okay, meant to be. It was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. And, um, I had a hugely successful start to my program. Like I had, um, I remember starting with work with her in the June and by the, um, August of that year I'd launched and yeah, tens of thousands of dollars in just my first launch and changing lives has been amazing.

Tina Tower [00:13:56]:
So, and with that start too, cause you, if you started in June and launched in August, like that's a quick start. There's not many people I know from coaching hundreds and hundreds of women to do this. There's not many people that actually can start that fast. What do you think helped you to, to move that quickly? Was it motivated sheerly by the pain of getting away from the situation that you were currently in?

Andrea Robertson [00:14:18]:
There was a lot of pain to get away from for sure. And, um, I was still working at the clinic full-time when I was doing all of that, but I just I don't know, aren't you? And I just had a real— like, I knew I needed to do it. I guess Nicole's program worked. Like, I just stuck with what we did every week. Like, it was very much structured in that order to be able to launch after 3 weeks, but not— I'm sorry, 3 months. But not everyone did, of course. But I remember just following the process, and, um, and I had already had— and there's a bit of a time I've skipped in the story, whereas I'd actually launched an online fitness studio in between all of that and had developed my own barre teacher training online course for to teach people to become barre instructors, which I had launched and made over $150,000 without any online coach. Like, I just figured it out watching YouTube videos, and a barre fitness studio.

Andrea Robertson [00:15:10]:
So I sort of already had an understanding. I already had a Kajabi account. Like, I already had a lot of things going on, but just the structure to be able to throw it in, you know, into this format. And I'd written a nutrition recipe book beforehand, and in my head I already knew that I needed to turn that book into an online program. So the material was all there, I think, which made it easier. Yeah, though I did have to film all my lessons. Um, but I would get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and I would film for that 3 months, and that's how I got it done. I would do that from 4 to 7 in the mornings.

Andrea Robertson [00:15:44]:
I'd do lessons, I'd film, do a Facebook Live every Tuesday morning at 7 o'clock before I went to the clinic.. And that's how I launched. I had Mondays off, Mondays off the clinic, and Mondays would be the day where I would do all my discovery calls back to back all day Monday.

Tina Tower [00:16:01]:
And it just worked. So much dedication. So good. And then, so from that, were you able to use everything that you knew and not go into that state of burnout? Like, did you get yourself through it?

Andrea Robertson [00:16:15]:
Yeah. And it was an interesting time too, because I was just pre-COVID. And so, um, so it was when I launched was 2021 August, and then COVID came around early the next year. And so I kind of got ahead of the—

Tina Tower [00:16:31]:
no, that's not right dates, is it? 2019 you launched?

Andrea Robertson [00:16:36]:
COVID came March 2020. Well, now I'm getting all muddled up. No, no, no, I know, I know what happened. So it was It was still before COVID anyway. I can't remember the timeline, but I just remember I was still working at the clinic and then, um, I actually chose not to do the vaccine. And so I had the vaccine mandates came in in South Australia in the December, and I was still planning on working all the way through to the following year when I'd sold my practice already and my team that were going to take over were taking over from me the following June, and I was going to work all the way through till then. But I had, um, this bang kind of, you got 4 days to decide if you're going to keep practicing or not. Yeah.

Andrea Robertson [00:17:19]:
Wow. I'd already built my program and it was already running successfully. So just, I don't know, the universe or someone was looking after me that I had set that up.

Tina Tower [00:17:28]:
You're like, I'm out. I mean, it was such a good time to run and launch online programs too. Yes. Such a good time. I don't think, I think there was an anomaly. In that time that I think people that started in 2020, 2021, and then once it got to that, even 2022 was still good. And then we kind of normalized back to what it was pre-COVID in 2023. And people are like, what's happened? It's like, no, no, it's just, just going out of like the abnormal bubble.

Tina Tower [00:17:55]:
But yeah, it was, it was a great time with that. You specialize in women's health and menopause mainly. Did you start out doing that? Why do you think this life stage is so misunderstood or under-supported still?

Andrea Robertson [00:18:10]:
So one of the first things I did in— like, I didn't know I was going to work with this age group for this. Yeah. And I did a big survey of my database, which I had about 10,000 people in my database at that stage, and asked all my beautiful patients and people who'd come to the studio over the years if they could fill out this survey for me. And it came back overwhelmingly that the women aged between 35 to 60 60 were all saying everything I used to do doesn't work anymore. And they were all saying the goals that they had was to lose weight and have more energy. And it would have been like 60% of the survey responses that came back were like that. And I just went, okay, this is the group of ladies that need my help, and this is where I'm going to work. So it wasn't a conscious decision, it was really after listening to the needs of my audience about what they needed.

Andrea Robertson [00:18:58]:
And, um, It's been really wonderful because that age group, our age group, Tina, the women really need help. And it is true, like everything they used to do actually does not work anymore. And we have to turn everything upside down and relearn our body and learn how to listen to our body in a whole different way. And so I, um, was able to combine all the things I love and my background and everything. I'm working with mindset and movement and nutrition in the program.. And I know that inspired a lot of people to work with me because they said, you know, other people do just this or this, but you do the whole, whole lot together. But yeah, it's been amazing. I've had over 350 women through my 12-week program since I launched.

Andrea Robertson [00:19:43]:
And now, um, I'm sure you and I can talk about it, but I— the things— the landscape is changing in online courses, and I'm now doing little mini courses that kind of can lead into it, and been really good as well, but I haven't— I hadn't done that as consistently as I am now.

Tina Tower [00:19:58]:
That was more like a little— I will, I will ask you questions about your beautiful VSL funnel later on. That's coming. Um, but what are some of the common symptoms that women are coming to you with that, that they've been told is just part of getting older? And how do women know, like, what to accept as just part of getting older and what to go you know what, I think I need support with this, or it doesn't have to be this way. Because this is the conversation I've been having with my girlfriends going, gosh, like the energy is just different and our stamina is different and all the things. And like, what part is just getting older and what part is, you know, we can get support for this?

Andrea Robertson [00:20:36]:
I would say nothing is getting older. Yeah, right. I, I don't think getting older is a thing if you really look after your body. Like we, I mean, I'm sure it will catch up eventually, at some stage. Certainly in 40s and 50s and 60s, I think we can feel as good as we did in our 30s as long as we look after our body. Like, I really, really believe that, um, because I see it time and time again in the ladies that I work with, and I feel it in my own body. Like, I just have as much energy as I've ever had, and I'm just about on the edge of 50. I'm turning 50 this year.

Andrea Robertson [00:21:09]:
Wow.

Tina Tower [00:21:10]:
Um, I just—

Tina Tower [00:21:10]:
I'm like, in my 20s, I had I had toddlers, I had business, I was working 10 hours a day, and I still exercise. I still had time for everything. I'm like, no, I don't do that now. Now I'll finish work at like 4 o'clock and I'll go and have a sauna and I'll walk the dogs, and then I'll just sit down and read.

Tina Tower [00:21:30]:
That's it.

Tina Tower [00:21:30]:
I love it. I couldn't work to 10 o'clock now.

Andrea Robertson [00:21:34]:
No, under any circumstances. But this is the thing, we do have to change some stuff, but I think we need to change— we certainly need to change a lot of things in order to be able to feel as good We did. Yeah. So I'm a work in progress when it comes to rest. Yeah. I'm learning that I need a lot more rest than I had before, and I just need those 1 or 2 nights when I just do nothing. Um, whereas I would like to exercise most nights, but I know I can't anymore. And, um, you know, the biggest change I see with women where they— we'll talk about some of the symptoms, won't we? So some of the symptoms that people do come to me with is obviously fatigue.

Andrea Robertson [00:22:11]:
Like, that's a big one. And then brain fog is a big one, and weight gain, especially around the middle, is a big one. They're the 3 big common ones. But then there can be increased anxiety or a lack of motivation or just feeling like, um, underwhelmed with the world and unmotivated to do anything. But it's just— I see the ladies that I work with on week 5, their energy comes back and then they just start glowing after that and everything else falls into place. Brain fog disappears, weight falls off. When a body is healthy, weight is just a beautiful side effect, and we don't have to worry about dieting to lose weight. It's just a healthy body will find its natural healthy weight as long as it's supported.

Andrea Robertson [00:22:52]:
But some of the biggest things that we change is losing alcohol. And I know that you've gone on that journey yourself, but yeah, I am— women, it's very obvious, like when they, they work with me and they find out, you know, how, what, what good feels like for them. And if they have a glass of wine, they go, oh wow, I really sleep well that night. Okay, now I can see those hot flushes and that, that lack of sleep came because I drank that glass of wine. So I think all women in their 40s need to really restrict, um, alcohol or get rid of it altogether.

Tina Tower [00:23:26]:
If I had my wish, I can look at— I mean, I know, you know, we were laughing the other day where I said my goal is at the moment to raise my HRV. Yeah, like, it's what I'm fixated 'Cause it seems to be like an all-encompassing number that's just like a health measurement that it has influenced me to make better choices. And I can basically look at my chart every night and I can pick the nights where I had alcohol in the last year just by looking at the spike of it in going, you know, resting heart rate goes right up, HRV goes right down, only on those nights.

Andrea Robertson [00:24:00]:
[Speaker] Yeah, it's so interesting, isn't it? Our body just need— it needs more nurturing. The, the more we can reduce toxic load from things like alcohol and, um, toxins in foods, like, it just makes such a difference.

Tina Tower [00:24:14]:
Do we need— do we need to have— because the no alcohol I get, the no caffeine I get. I stopped caffeine 2023, 3 years ago now, and I still miss it most days. Most days I'm I'm still like, I miss it dearly. Like I'd love to start the day, I miss it every day, but I know what difference it has on my body and I like that. But do we also need like no wheat, no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol, no caffeine?

Andrea Robertson [00:24:43]:
Like do we have to eliminate all of it? Everyone's different. And even like I'm no alcohol, I sit firmly on that for everyone if they get to that place themselves. Coffee and caffeine I'm not so strong on because some, some bodies will tolerate that really well and will be able to, you know, process the caffeine in their livers really well, and some bodies don't. So I don't drink coffee. I never have because I just get— feel really weird in my head if I have it. And I have since, years later, after knowing that about myself, I did some DNA testing and I don't actually have the little— have a problem on the gene that detoxifies caffeine. I was like, ah, there you go, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah.

Andrea Robertson [00:25:22]:
But, um, I, in my program with the ladies, I do take them off the gluten and cow's dairy and processed sugars and alcohol straight up because that is some of the 4 most common pro-inflammatory substances in our body. But not everyone has to stay off them all the time. Only way you know is to do an elimination and a reintroduction and a very systematized reintroduction because otherwise you just don't know. Um, but they can be very pro-inflammatory and everyone feels really good when they cut those out, but it's not necessarily sustainable for the long run. So with the ladies I work with, we add the foods back in one at a time. I've got a really good systematized approach to work out, is gluten okay for you or not, or is wheat okay for you or not? And with dairy, is lactose okay but the A1 casein not, or other way around? So we can work out the elements of dairy. So you might be able to have some parts, but you know that you get triggered into an inflammatory response by other parts. And inflammation is my big my big thing that I work on, because if inflammation is in your body, it's sort of setting you up for not as many good health outcomes when you're older.

Andrea Robertson [00:26:28]:
And all chronic diseases have a link back to systemic inflammation, but having inflammation doesn't mean you'll develop those diseases. But if you can reduce systemic inflammation, it certainly sets you up for better long-term health outcomes.

Tina Tower [00:26:42]:
Yeah. Yeah. How does stress, which I think every woman holds, especially from busy lives and running businesses, affect hormonal health during perimenopause and menopause?

Andrea Robertson [00:26:54]:
Well, in some people a lot, not everyone. So I love talking about stress hormones and reproductive hormones in a little triangle that I talk about. And so we think about the 3 lots of hormones that us women have. In one corner is our reproductive hormones. In like estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. In another corner is our stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, and in the other corner is our thyroid hormones. So those three together all work equally with each other and they all influence each other, but usually someone will have a— the primary problem in one of those little corners of the triangle, and that will be the driver that influences the other two. So Someone has some underlying thyroid problems that may be making them feel really stressed and maybe giving them menopause or premenopause, or even in the reproductive years give them period hormonal kind of issues.

Andrea Robertson [00:27:47]:
But the driving force is the thyroid, so we need to get the thyroid sorted out, then the other two fall into place. Or if stress is really high, with history taking and asking lots of questions, I can work out that stress is probably the driver for that person.. And then if we can get that under control, then perimenopause, menopause, reproductive symptoms all settle down, as do thyroid symptoms. So, and vice versa on the other corner of the track.

Tina Tower [00:28:14]:
How do you get stress under control if you are a woman living life in these days? I was talking about the other day with a group of girlfriends, like mental load of different things and going the decisions that women make and the life admin and the mental load that they carry is so much higher than most men. And the stress and the dealing with children and looking after everything, like, it's just, it's very high. Even though we know that a lot of people— I reckon 9 out of 10 women, if you said, do you think your stress levels are higher than they should be, would say yes. But then how do you, like, how do you even change that?

Andrea Robertson [00:28:54]:
You can't change the stress because that's an outside thing. So, you know, kids, family life, that's an outside thing. I mean, you can make little changes sometimes, but usually not. But you can change how your body responds to the outside stresses. I love that. Where you can make yourself feel much, much better on the inside. And it's not one big magic thing. There never is.

Andrea Robertson [00:29:16]:
No, we want that. There's lots of little tiny things that can be done consistently constantly over time will have a positive impact. You know, like if someone is really stressed, some of the things I might say to them to do is just to walk outside with bare feet on grass once a day. And when you're having your morning coffee or cup of tea, look at— get— stand outside and get fresh light onto your eyeballs to start helping your circadian rhythms and your body clock. Um, ah gosh, there's so many little things. Some breath work, and even like having a deep breath before you eat each meal, it puts your body into the parasympathetic nervous system, which is that rest, relax, digest nervous system. So it helps your body then be able to digest your food better. And then that has such a positive impact.

Andrea Robertson [00:29:56]:
So, I mean, I have a page of things that my clients choose from for things that can support their nervous system. And we always start with these little tiny healthy habits. Just choose one or two, make them consistent. Over time, you might choose another one or two, make them consistent, and it just adds up over time.

Tina Tower [00:30:14]:
Yeah, I 100% agree with that. I do think that there's certain things that, that I have started doing that— the thing is, the things that work really well, they don't take a lot of time, but for some reason it did, especially for me. Like, it took me a long time to adopt them in my everyday life. Like, just after every call or interview, I will take like 4 box breaths going around, which takes me maybe 2 minutes to do that at most. Um, I've been working, so at the moment I'm, I'm under a lot of like time pressure with things. I'm trying to do a lot in a condensed amount of time, which is, you know, so many of us. But I try and not do that to myself all the time where I'm living day after day and going go, go, go because there's just so much. But at the moment I'm in a couple week season where there's a lot to do that I don't have any time for dicking around.

Tina Tower [00:31:04]:
And so When I'm in that stage, I'll use a Pomodoro timer of the 25 minutes and I race the clock. And so I know it's not good for my nervous system, which is why I don't do it long-term. But one thing I've started doing when I do that is in between each of those 25 minutes, I will play, at the moment it's on repeat, this K-pop dance on YouTube to that Golden song. You know, I woke up, up, up and it's a golden. And I get in and I'm just looking, throwing myself around my office and it changes my whole thing. Then I take a few deep breaths. I go out, I either go to the bathroom or I get a drink of water. I pat the dogs.

Tina Tower [00:31:40]:
I come back. Next timer goes on and I go for it. The amount of difference I have felt doing that in between. And I'm like, it only takes a few minutes in the scheme of the day, but it has changed the game. And then saunering at night is the other thing that's just changed my life.

Andrea Robertson [00:31:56]:
Yeah, it's so good. Yeah. Your breathwork, there's been studies that show the breathwork only needs to happen for 90 seconds and that 90 seconds of breathwork takes you out of sympathetic, the fight and flight, and drops you straight into your parasympathetic, your rest, relax, digest nervous system. So it's all it takes, 90 seconds.

Tina Tower [00:32:12]:
It's not a lot. I remember I went to like a Chinese medicine person years ago and they said like my head was disconnected from my body. They're like, it's like you have no energy. Passing through your all-thinking brain.

Tina Tower [00:32:25]:
No, no.

Tina Tower [00:32:25]:
And they're like, you need to breathe, like breathe around. And they were going, how often do you stop and just take deep breaths? Never.

Tina Tower [00:32:36]:
Never.

Tina Tower [00:32:36]:
Like never. But I did. I had adrenal fatigue back in 2013, and I had a really good meditation practice going for a long time after that. But just slowly it started dropping off to where I don't know exactly when, I stopped doing it and then didn't do it anymore. And it is— it's that discipline to do those little things that we know is going to make a difference, but we can fall out of the habit really easily, especially when people start to feel a little bit better.

Andrea Robertson [00:33:00]:
Then they don't realize the importance of maintaining that and keeping it.

Tina Tower [00:33:05]:
Yes.

Tina Tower [00:33:05]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. So if a woman who's listening now feels a little bit off in her body but can't quite name why, what's the first supportive step step that you recommend she take?

Andrea Robertson [00:33:14]:
Oh, it was a little bit off in her body. Call me, that would be a good step. Yes, a little bit off in her body. Gosh, there's so many ways to feel off in your body. Um, I mean, just breathwork is amazing. Like, if you wanted to do something that costs nothing and doesn't take much time, just to do exactly what we're talking about— the box breathing, which is breathing in for 4 counts or 5, or 5, holding at the top for 4 or 5 counts, breathing out for 4 or 5, And holding at the bottom for 4 or 5 times, that's 4 or 5. Um, as a, as we said, it takes you right into that parasympathetic nervous system.

Tina Tower [00:33:49]:
So that's a beautiful little gift you can give to yourself a couple of times a day. I think that's so important because it does change the, um, you know, one superpower that I think we have as women is we can push through a lot. And so I think like a lot of the times when women are feeling that bit off, like, you just ignore it and push through and push through. And taking a breath does actually make you dial up the sound of your intuition and listen to your body a bit more and really feel into your body, which then will allow you to make better choices for yourself.

Andrea Robertson [00:34:22]:
Because that's the thing, it really does come 100% down to listening to your body. And a lot of you don't know how to listen to the whispers, and it's not until the body yells at you— and it will, it will— But whispers are things like a little bit bloated after a meal, or tired at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, or waking up feeling really tired, or finding it hard to wind down to go to sleep at night. Like, these are some little whispers that you think are okay and not a problem. It's just like, I'm not someone who sleeps well, but it's actually your body trying to tell you something. And when you slow down and listen to these little messages and can get support or know how to change them, it just has such a profound kick on.

Tina Tower [00:35:00]:
Effect for the long term. Yeah, yeah. So you do work with a lot of, I would say, high-capacity women that have a lot of high capacity, high ambition. What patterns do you see in them when health isn't prioritized alongside that ambition?

Andrea Robertson [00:35:17]:
Yeah, the afternoon tiredness and then reaching for sugar or coffee in the afternoon is a big one. Needing coffee in the morning to get you going. It starts off with that needing coffee to wake me up. I need a sugar hit in the middle of the afternoon, and then I need wine to wind me down at night. It's a very common pattern because you become very tired but wired, and so you can't even settle your own nervous system down at night. So then the glass of wine, it's like a— relaxes you, but it's almost like a fake relax for your body. So that pattern, if you see any element of that where you need it or you need it or you need it, It's very different to like, I really love coffee and I want it, but I don't need it. It's very different to like, I need coffee to get me going in the morning.

Andrea Robertson [00:35:58]:
So I do see that pattern a lot. Um, and then the belly fat coming on is a really common thing when the body is not healthy. That will often in the perimenopause and menopause years start to come on. And it's not— I don't like— yes, our metabolism does slow down as estrogen starts to drop because we have more of a tendency towards insulin resistance and the way our body metabolizes sugars changes. However, it doesn't have to be like that. There's so much we can do about it. But if belly fat's going on, it's a little bit of a sign of, hang on, I need to do something for my body here. And it can be done, but you just got to start to really change things and look after yourself in a way that you may not have done before.

Tina Tower [00:36:42]:
So what does sustainable success look like to you right now? Because I know you're very ambitious, you're building this epic business, you're doing many different things, you still got a clinic day. So what does that look like to you as a practitioner and a woman who's nearly 50, which just defies all odds?

Andrea Robertson [00:36:57]:
If people are watching the YouTube version of this right now, they're looking at Andrea going, what sustainable success? Like, I, I worked so hard for 15 years when I had the clinic, and I just didn't have a day off. And I don't want that for myself myself anymore. That was success, but it wasn't sustainable. Yeah. And I, um, you know, I have a bit of sadness around that. I just, I wasn't not able to have children, and I wonder if that time and that working so hard was part of what made that really challenging for me, because I think my nervous system was just switched on all the time. And then that, as we talked about the triangle, that has a really negative impact on different parts of the hormones. And so my reproductive hormones may not have helped.

Andrea Robertson [00:37:35]:
So that was success in a way, but it's not sustainable and it wasn't enjoyable for me. So what is enjoyable now is being able to— I still work, you know, through the day, but I love switching off at 4 or 5 o'clock and I, um, go to play paddle. Yes, paddle tennis. And, um, just on weekends I don't really turn my computers on anymore, as I used to always be like 7 days a week, always on. And now I have really beautiful, clear boundaries with my clients. They know I don't switch on on the weekends. They know I switch off after 6 o'clock at night. So I love working and I will never stop, but it's nice to have that boundaries and that balance that I can do that stuff outside of that.

Tina Tower [00:38:17]:
Yeah, completely. So what does your business ecosystem look like at the moment?

Andrea Robertson [00:38:22]:
Um, like with programs that I have or with what I do? Yeah. So I run a 12-week program and I have at any given time anywhere between 12 to— well, more than that. I don't have 12, maybe 15 to 30 clients in that at any given time. And, um, so they work with me through a process of that, similar to what we were talking about before with an elimination and reintroduction and working any food intolerances, plus a whole life overhaul. Like, we work on so many beautiful things. And then I have a little 3-week program called the Inflammation Detox Diet, and that actually started, like it's an iteration of a program that I started even before online programs were a thing. And I ran it through Xtend Barre studios all over the world. And I had many, many clients through a Facebook group work through that program with me.

Andrea Robertson [00:39:08]:
Um, so it's a beautiful program that I've had for years, but it's just evolved and iterated around to this inflammation detox diet. So I run that once a month, but I'm going to turn that into a little evergreen program very soon. Steps for that have started happening. Yes. And, um, about that last week. Yes. So, um, that's a beautiful little program and a nice little stepping stone. Some people don't need any more than that.

Andrea Robertson [00:39:33]:
That's just a really nice kickstart. And I, I don't like giving meal plans and like spoon-feeding people because I don't think it teaches them anything, even though I do give a meal plan because everyone wants it. But I give this meal plan and I say like, here's the meal plan that you all want, but please don't follow it. It doesn't teach you anything. So, um, the girls do actually, even in 3 weeks, get some really beautiful practices that they can take on with them forever. Yeah, that's awesome. Um, but the 12-week program is a really, you know, if there's underlying health issues that we need to get on top of, or a deeper kind of cleanse and detox that we need to do to be able to eliminate some of those toxic elements out of foods or the environment, um, And that's pretty much it. Like, that's the— I do do one-on-one work in the clinic, so I work 2 half days in the clinic.

Andrea Robertson [00:40:22]:
That's doing my osteopathy. And I do a little bit of one-on-one work with clients who have been with me through the 12-week programs that just like to come back for a bit of a top-up here and there.

Tina Tower [00:40:30]:
So that's what— such a beautiful customer journey. Yeah. How have you found in the last few years since COVID that the online course landscape has changed?

Andrea Robertson [00:40:41]:
Yes, it has changed. It used to be very, very, very easy for me to get people into my 12-week program. And I see that that has dropped off a lot. And I wonder if it's two things. I wonder if the online course landscape has changed. And I also wonder if everyone who was in my world that knew me and trusted me well has— who was going to do my programs has already done it. Open up that net. And I've got to open up the net a bit wider.

Andrea Robertson [00:41:03]:
And because I only started doing some paid advertising through Facebook late last year, before that, I did first, first 4 years had been all organic.

Tina Tower [00:41:12]:
Yes, exactly the same. Did organic marketing only until last year, and now there's some Facebook ads in there because the organic marketing— we used to be able to have that visibility organically, whereas it's gotten a lot harder for that.

Andrea Robertson [00:41:24]:
Yeah, it has. Yeah. And there's a lot of, it's a lot of coaches out there. You'll see it in the business space, and I sit in the health space as well, saying, I'm a health coach, I'm a business coach, yeah, work with me. But there's actually no substance listens to what they do. Yeah, but it's hard to stand out amongst that in all the noise in the organic social media. So, um, there's just a lot more noise, so you get lost or don't even get shown at all. However, um, your Facebook ads is doing good.

Andrea Robertson [00:41:48]:
I'm having people come in through Facebook ads to my inflammation detox diet, getting a really good return on ad spend for that because it's a good program. So people see it and they can see that.

Tina Tower [00:41:58]:
And that is also because I did say I would ask you a question about your VSL funnel. So that is where people are coming in off Andrea's Facebook ads onto her landing page with a countdown timer for 72 hours. Beautiful video there. And then you've got your email nurture sequence happening after that. And so that's a relatively new thing that you've added in, isn't it?

Andrea Robertson [00:42:19]:
100%, because I hadn't done Facebook ads until late last year. So yeah, I had beautiful landing pages before, but I really kind of upped this with the VSL on there and lots of testimonials I was able to put onto there. Um, and I hadn't done it on a consistent basis. Like I had run little 3-week programs before, but it was usually just once a year or twice a year as a little conversion event into my 12-week program. And that was to my organic audience. Whereas this is the first time I'm bringing people in through kind of a cold audience into the 3-week thing. But it's lovely.

Tina Tower [00:42:49]:
They get to know me.

Andrea Robertson [00:42:50]:
They get to try— converting so well. Yeah.

Tina Tower [00:42:54]:
It's working really, really well.

Andrea Robertson [00:42:56]:
Yeah.

Tina Tower [00:42:56]:
Yeah. Um, so yes, I think that it is, it is different and we just need the different strategies coming in there. And then once you get those mastered, it's solidifying that, that trust that you have to show that you're, you're a credible, knowledgeable, wonderful person.

Andrea Robertson [00:43:11]:
And I'd love to give credit to you, Tina, because a lot of people probably listen to this and even think like, I've worked with a coach before, I don't need to continue working with someone, and a lot of the stuff that we go through in Hair Empire Builder, I'm like, yeah, I know that, I'm doing that. Like, I, I know a lot of it. I've done a lot for a long time. Yeah, I've been going a long time. But there's always little things that we talk about, and even if it's not that thing, it gives me, oh, an idea for something else, or it gives me a little like, oh yes, I could do that. So even the 3-week program, it wasn't something we spoke about last year. However, it was, I don't even know, but something someone said, or you said in our trainings, that made me get that idea and start running with that. And, um, yeah, so I just want to say a big thank you because it's been wonderful being in her Empire Builder, to have just the continued support and someone in your corner and other women who are doing the same things that you're doing, to feel like you're not alone.

Tina Tower [00:44:07]:
And, um, and just always see what's working now, what's not working well.

Andrea Robertson [00:44:10]:
Like, it's just changing so quickly.

Tina Tower [00:44:12]:
That's right, that's right. Yeah, it's so good. How has, like, solidifying yourself as a thought leader in the space, which is what I would classify you as, how's it changed the way that you see yourself as a leader or an expert?

Andrea Robertson [00:44:30]:
Oh, that's an interesting question. Um, I don't think it's changed anything. I've always really valued me and what I do, and I, I've always had good self-awareness and self-confidence. Like, I've never lacked in that without being—

Tina Tower [00:44:42]:
I've always found, because I know that when people go online they can find the visibility tricky, did you ever struggle with that? Or you were like, you're fine, you can, you can grab your phone, you can go live, it's no problem?

Andrea Robertson [00:44:54]:
I think because of my background as a professional dancer, I think I found it very easy to be in dance mode, in performance mode. Yeah. So I know, I, I'm pretty sure it's my background that's made it very easy for me in that department. Um, but yeah, I don't, I don't think I've had any changes or changed how I perceive myself. Like, I always, um, have believed in myself, really. Being online hasn't changed that.

Tina Tower [00:45:23]:
But, um, I don't know what I think the thing that I see as the repeatable characteristic that people have that do well is that they believe in themselves. They believe it's possible. They believe they're worthy of it. They believe they can. Like, that is what everybody has that has done well. Yeah, there you go. So I think that is, you know, that's something for a lot of people listening. Like, it really is.

Tina Tower [00:45:49]:
There's so many people that kind of work so hard and they're so close and so close and they're grinding, they're grinding, and it's not hitting. And it's when you actually embody and go, you you know what, I know enough, like I can do this, like I'm actually good at what I do, I care about the people I serve, like yes, I can see this happening, and you get that belief in your body, that's when you fly.

Andrea Robertson [00:46:10]:
Yeah, 100%.

Tina Tower [00:46:11]:
Yeah. Um, so for the woman who's listening and, you know, she's got all of that deep expertise but she's thinking like, I'm not ready yet, I don't know if I can do this, what would you say to her?

Andrea Robertson [00:46:20]:
What encouragement would you give? You're probably never going to feel ready, so just start now anyway. Like, none of us ever feel ready. And, and, you know, progress over perfection every time, because it's never going to be perfect. And even the very first landing pages I, I set up, like, I look at them now and I'm like, oh, that wasn't very good. And I've— last year my big project was to just upgrade all of those, and they're still all upgraded, but, you know, 90% are. But it's just, it's just a matter of getting started. And like I did, you can always upgrade and improve and change.

Tina Tower [00:46:52]:
But you're never going to be able to help people if you're not out there. I think you're constantly upgrading. I mean, there's not a year that goes by that I don't see like my branding from the year before and go, oh, oh, that needs a glow up. Like always, always how we do that. Yeah, always there. But I always think like all we can do is make the best decision with the information that we have at the time, and then we just level up and level up as we get more confident, as we more experience. Like, that's really all we can do.

Andrea Robertson [00:47:23]:
Exactly.

Tina Tower [00:47:23]:
Yeah. Um, okay, my final question for you is, what does success look like for you? What are you—

Andrea Robertson [00:47:29]:
what are you aiming to create? I would love every woman in the world who are in their midlife to know that symptoms don't have to be there. That symptoms of perimenopause and menopause can be changed if you have the right tools on how to change it. Like, I would love every woman to know that. So can I have that reach? Who knows? Yes, you can. Who knows? Who knows? But I'm having a massive crack at it, and I'm helping as many women as I possibly can.

Tina Tower [00:48:05]:
I love that. Thank you so much, Andrea. We love having you in Her Empire Builder. I know you inspire so many of the women. You talked on our stage at the retreat last year, and it was so incredibly informative and inspirational, both from a point of view of our health but also the business that you create. You've got, you know, such an embodiment of that, that soft open heart but that beautiful boundaries and kick-ass businesswoman-ness. Is that a word? Businesswoman-ness? I just made it that word.

Andrea Robertson [00:48:34]:
Thanks, Andrea. Thank you, Tina.