Celine Charlotte (35) is an award-winning 7-figure entrepreneur and online educator. After her first business in real estate took off with clients like Disney, Apple and Booking.com, she’s been named ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’.
Now she runs the company C.Academy, which she took from zero to 7-figures in under two years, teaching over 18.000 entrepreneurs to build an online business. The most popular courses include how to create an online course, productivity, and money & investing.
She hosts her own podcast and is often hired as a speaker. As a business expert, Celine has been featured in Business Insider, 30+ other media, and appeared in tv shows in the Netherlands.
FWM: Tell us how you went from no money in the bank to making $3.5M in a year.
The story began in 2017, when I wanted to live in a beautiful canal-side apartment in Amsterdam, but I couldn’t afford it. So, I thought of renting out my living room and kitchen as meeting spaces for 800 euros a day. My credit card was maxed out to decorate my new house absolutely gorgeously.
And.. it worked! Big companies like Apple, Google, Disney, Booking.com and eBay all wanted to rent my unique meeting space. That was the start of my first business, SPOT.
One year later, I had four meeting locations and a team of 15 people. It was an incredible journey, and it was almost like taking a crash course in entrepreneurship. I received a lot of media attention for this very innovative idea at the time, especially since the company grew so rapidly.
I kept getting asked how I did it, which inspired me to start my second business in June 2018, called C.Academy. The idea was to share my business experiences and lessons with other (starting) entrepreneurs in an unconventional way. I came up with the world’s first Instagram course where all the lessons are available on Instagram stories. I came up with the idea on a Monday, built a website where you could buy a ticket that same evening, and launched it the next morning. And two days later, 500 people started the course. While running SPOT, I began vlogging on my Instagram account, so this didn’t come out of nowhere. I shared a lot of my tips & tricks, struggles and daily life and my Instagram grew within two years to 20,000 followers. Of course, that helped to sell my very first online Instagram-course.
Now, four years later, over 18,000 students have taken one of my courses. And I’ve taken the courses to the next level too – I created new and more premium courses and it’s not just on Instagram now, you can also take them on video platforms, with podcasts, transcripts, and live sessions. For my premium courses, however, I still host a community week on Instagram, where I give extra live sessions and entrepreneurs can connect with one another. It’s really fun 🙂
Teaching online courses is one of the most fun ways to help people and have a scalable business model, if you ask me. When I started with my first online course 4 years ago, I didn’t have a clue about “online stuff”. I didn’t even have an Instagram account. I know all the options and software can be overwhelming, but I think it’s a shame that it often prevents people from starting their own online business. And yes: all of these skills I had to learn myself, but with Google and YouTube everyone could do it.
FWM: What’s the hardest thing that you have overcome?
I have suffered from sexual abuse as a child, an eating disorder, and low self-confidence as a shy teenager. But from there, I grew into someone who vlogs on camera daily, gets hired as a public speaker and became a self-made millionaire.
I’m obsessed with personal development – so therapy, self-help books, plant medicine and listening to a ton of podcasts and books have played a huge role in my journey to who I am now.
FWM: Your company C.Academy has taught over 18,000 entrepreneurs to build an online business. How are your courses transforming lives?
I believe video is one of the most important tools you can use within your marketing. And that’s what my online course about Instagram stories – but honestly about vlogging and putting yourself out there in general – is about. Overcoming your fear of appearing in front of the camera, incorporate storytelling (so important!) in your video’s, increase your engagement, and make your followers feel connected to your personal brand. Some people don’t think it’s important or necessary to feel comfortable in front of the camera, but I think it’s almost mandatory when you have an online business or want to create (and sell) an online course. Your marketing starts with your online visibility. Therefore, my first suggestion to anyone who wants to launch an online course but has no idea where to begin: start presenting yourself online. Give tips & tricks online, grow your following, increase your engagement: you will see that this will help you a lot with creating and selling the online course itself.
Another thing that I hear a lot from creatives – and they often want to offer an online course or have an online business – is that they don’t have enough time. When I was a journalist (before I started my business SPOT), I realized I was working way too hard for the money I was earning. Simply, because I didn’t have more time in a day, which meant that my revenue was limited. Until I found different ways to work more efficiently. I spent hours and hours on reading books about productivity and tried almost everything myself. In my course ‘Beat perfectionism and procrastination in just 2 hours’ I spill out everything you need to know about productivity. My perfectionism disappeared, and I was able to stop procrastinating my important tasks. I get so much more work done in less time by using focus hours and theme days for example. In my opinion, this is the foundation of my success. And that’s what I hear back from all participants as well: if you stop being a perfectionist and work more efficiently, your income will increase tremendously. It works!
I’ve always promised a full refund if you don’t like a course 14 days after you buy it. Only a small percentage of participants (less than 1%) requested a refund. I think that says a lot. Besides, we get so many DM’s on Instagram, tags in stories and e-mails with happy participants. The reason my business is doing well is because people tell each other about the courses they’ve taken. Even without me doing marketing, I sell a lot of courses: it’s because of the happy customers. It’s because the courses really change their lives. Our team received an email yesterday from one of the participants about creating and selling an online course. She started with: “I think I have an exciting success story for your next promotion round of the course.” She went on to describe all the things she has accomplished as a result of taking the course. Things she was trying for years already, but now finally worked out.
She explains how she had no idea for years what subject to choose, what to offer, and how her mindset (‘I cannot do it’) held her back from taking action. She writes: ‘I have conquered myself so many times’. She developed a website and understood all the software needed to create an online course; she wasn’t afraid of all the technical stuff anymore. And she now does the marketing for fun! It wasn’t even her goal to sell tickets for the first round, but simply to create the online course. But guess what: she already sold 20 tickets. Even more importantly, she can’t wait until the next round to tweak the process to sell even more tickets. The fact that she emailed all this shows how happy she is. I didn’t ask her to. When my participants achieve their goals because of what I’ve taught them, it’s heartwarming to me.
FWM: One of your most loved courses is to Create & Sell an online course in 7 days. Take us through a few key areas.
“Create & Sell an Online Course in 7 Days” helps you turn your expertise into an awesome online course. There is no procrastination ‘because you are not sure where to begin’, as the course is designed to push you to overcome your fears and get started. It covers three main parts to help you get there:
Creating the content of your course: This part is all about making your course interesting and easy to understand. You’ll learn how to figure out who your ideal students are, what they want to learn, and how to make your lessons super engaging. You’ll also pick up tips for creating videos and challenges that make your course even more fun.
Setting up your course: This part is about the techy stuff, like choosing the right platform for your course and putting all your lessons and materials online. You’ll learn how to record your videos, create your online learning platform and I will walk you through all of the software and systems so your students can get the full experience.
Selling your course: This part is about getting your course in front of the right people. You’ll learn how to promote your course on social media and email, create a sales page that gets people excited, and set up a payment system so you can start making money, plus tips for offering discounts and bonuses when you’re selling your course.
By the end of the course, you’ll be ready to create, launch, and sell your own amazing online course!
FWM: Share your advice on how to sell on Instagram through storytelling.
The key to selling on Instagram through storytelling is to capture the attention of your audience and make them feel like they’re a part of the story. So be creative, experiment with different techniques and share your daily life – Share what you’re doing, what keeps you busy, show them the real you: the more exciting and unique the better. Make them attached to the person behind the product you’re selling.
People swipe away from content very easily, so they need a reason to continue watching yours. Therefore, every story should contain one key message (not more). There must be information, inspiration, and/or emotion in every story. And try to keep it short: 15 seconds (or even shorter).
There are a million ways to do this, but it can be done (for example) by using “Before & After” stories – This is a great way to build anticipation and show the process. Show what it looked like before and then the end result. Or tell a story through anecdotes – Share a personal experience that relates to your products or services. Share struggles and challenges – People love to see how others overcome obstacles, so don’t be afraid to share the struggles and challenges you faced.
Storytelling is all about making a connection with your audience, so be yourself and have fun with it. The more personal and authentic your stories are, the more likely people will be to engage with your content and ultimately make a purchase.
FWM: What are you most proud of?
To be brave enough to let go of and give up things that seemed crazy or risky to the “outside world” – again and again.
I quit my career as a journalist.
I gave up my membership with 50,000 euro monthly revenue after only six months.
I left everything behind in the Netherlands to start a new life in the US.
It takes some serious guts to do something out of the box. Something totally different than what everyone else is doing and expecting from you. People love it when you play it small – because it makes them feel safe.
But you know what? Doing the damn thing, that’s where all the growth happens.
FWM: our podcast has been downloaded more than half a million times. What can we find on your popular podcast?
In my podcast, I take you along with me on my journey of personal development and entrepreneurship. From my spiritual adventures like sipping psychedelic tea in the jungle to my hikes in the beautiful desert of Sedona with my dog, to how I overcame an eating disorder, to earning my first million and everything in between, I share it all with you. You’ll hear about my ups and downs, about insecurities and feelings of ‘blah’, as well as practical advice on buying a house or maximizing your Instagram presence and behind the scenes of how I run my business. I’ll talk about the lessons I’ve learned as an entrepreneur, including personal business tips, tricks, and my failures. I believe in being open and honest, and that’s exactly what you’ll get in this podcast – we explore everything from personal growth to achieving your business goals.
FWM: Tell us about your speaking engagements.
The 3 topics I talk about most are productivity and goals, money mindset, and community building.
‘How to end guilt and perfectionism and make work fun again’ is a workshop where I share my framework to get your productivity on point. It’s for the creative (online) entrepreneur who tends to get a little chaotic and distracted. We’ll cover everything from focus hours to saying “no” and finally breaking free from perfectionism and procrastination.
Second, I often talk about ‘Date Your Money: Build a healthy relationship with Money & Un-learn the mindsets holding you back’
I’ll share my story of becoming a self-made millionaire (spoiler alert: I didn’t grow up rich nor did I come from an entrepreneurial family). How money doesn’t need to be such a stressful topic in life, but how it can be something light and fun.
I explain all about how the mindsets passed on from both our parents and upbringing keep us from making money. About my financial failures and going into debt to becoming a financially independent woman. And about how to succeed despite it all.
Last, one of my topics is ‘How to sell on Instagram through storytelling’
Most people know me from my Instagram stories, where over 51k people tune in daily to get a glimpse into my life. I share all about the power of documenting your life while being authentic, building a community on Instagram and how I earn 3.5 million a year with just 51k followers.
