Bucketlist Bombshells Review: How I Launched My Online Business

 
 

In June 2017, I came across a Facebook ad for the Bucketlist Bombshells.

Little did I know that it would change my life forever…

Might sound dramatic but stick with me here.

In this post, I’m sharing my honest review of the Bucketlist Bombshells and their 3 courses.

I always thought freelancing was something you did after 10 years of experience in the real world.

In college, I had served as a virtual assistant for a public relations consultant. So I had a taste of what working remotely was like, and I really enjoyed it.

But she had more than a decade of experience before she started consulting, and that’s all I saw.

Cue Cassie and Shay Bucketlist Bombshells.

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Their webinar, 3 Steps to Learn the Skills You Need to Make An Income Online, broke down the most sought after online skills for millennial women to start freelancing and create a service based business.

I was FLOORED, no joke.

At the time, I was working minimum wage at the YMCA, busting my ass to get this second paycheck to cushion my 9-5 income, which at the time was $32,000 a year.

Pretty depressing for someone who graduated with a bachelor's degree, with 9 internships under her belt, and working as an SEO strategist helping billion dollar global brands, activists, celebrities and lawyers clean up their online search presence.

When I saw the courses that the Bucketlist Bombshells were offering, it felt like my ticket to freedom.

I was intrigued by their tech skills course, which teaches you to be a VA/social media manager, but I felt drawn to the design skills course.

I had always enjoyed graphic design, but never thought I was creative enough. Low and behold, it was the creative outlet that was missing from my 9-5.

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Design Skills Course

First, I joined the Bucketlist Bombshells’ Design Skills Course.

I had a feeling that brand design and website design were going to be part of my business, so I went for it.

The girls walk through how to use Adobe programs and how to design a brand from start to finish. There’s also modules on creating ebooks, mockups, social media graphics, and more.

I took this course in the fall of 2017, and I still use everything I learned from this course whenever I’m designing brands for my clients, who are typically coaches, creatives, and other service based business owners.

So I can say it’s the real deal! Of course, there’s some more advanced Adobe Illustrator techniques I’ve had to look up on my own through Google as I’ve taken on more clients.

Since then, I’ve designed more than 22 visual brand identities for clients. Everything I learned in this course made it so easy to not only gain the skills and knowledge, but also confidence.

 
 

Here’s a breakdown of the modules:

  • Module 1 - Foundations Of Graphic Design: Color, Typography & Layout

  • Module 2 - The Ins & Outs Of The Adobe Creative Suite Design Programs

  • Module 3 - Using Creative Briefs & Designing Eye-Catching Moodboards

  • Module 4 - How To Design Swoon-Worthy Logos: From Basic To Advanced

  • Module 5 - Designing Effective Branding Style Boards & Style Guides For Brands

  • Module 6 - Designing Valuable Marketing Materials For Clients

  • Module 7 - Designing Social Media Graphics For Maximum Exposure

Click here to see the full module breakdown and bonuses that are included.



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Tech Skills Course

Next I enrolled in the Bucketlist Bombshells’ Tech Skills Course a few months later.

I wanted to become a website designer and gain those sills after learning graphic design, and this felt like the best next step.

This course teaches you all the different types of tasks you would need to know as a VA, or virtual assistant.

Here’s a breakdown of the modules:

  • Module 1 - Social Media Bootcamp: How To Be A Pro Social Media Manager

  • Module 2 - Become A Web Designer: How To Build Stunning Websites That Convert

  • Module 3 - Blog Management: How To Effectively Manage A WordPress Blog

  • Module 4 - Email Marketing Bootcamp: How To Manage Email Marketing Campaigns

  • Module 5 - Sales Page Secrets: How To Create Sales Pages That Convert

  • Module 6 - Webinar Bootcamp: How To Setup & Schedule Online Webinars

  • Module 7 - How To Setup & Manage Online Booking Calendars

Click here to see the full module breakdown and bonuses that are included.

I definitely found the tech skills course valuable as I was building my own business and wanting to understand the tech side of different platforms.

The only thing I will note is that these modules walk through the basics of various different skills. In the online business world, it’s better to become concentrated on a 1-3 different sets of skills than to be a jack-of-all trades.

Although I felt like I learned quite a bit, it would have been helpful to see a bonus module on copywriting for projects like website design, social media posts, emails, sales, pages, etc. Having that knowledge is super valuable.

Overall, this course is best suited to learn these beginner skills. Once you figure out the projects you love doing and what you’re passionate about, then I’d suggest you hone in on 1-2 skills that you want to become an expert in. Then find a course just dedicated to those skills.

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Work Online + Travel the World

The Work Online + Travel the World course is the Bucketlist Bombshells’ business foundations course, geared towards millennial women who want to work online and become digital nomads.

The goals of this course are to teach you how to:

  • Create your online business idea using skills you already have (or skills you’ve learned from their design skills/tech skills courses)

  • How to find clients online

  • How to create a seamless onboarding and offboarding experience for clients

  • Legal, finance, and branding basics for running your own business

  • Resources for identifying where you want to live as a digital nomad and tips for how to manage that kind of lifestyle

Here’s a breakdown of the modules:

  • Module 1 - Getting Started: Choosing Your Online Business & Pricing Your Services

  • Module 2 - Getting Streamlined: Setting Up Your Client Workflow Process

  • Module 3 - Getting Noticed: Building & Launching Your Business Website

  • Module 4 - Getting Legit: Legally Setting Up Your Business & Managing Your Finances

  • Module 5 - Getting Paid: Finding, Networking & Landing Quality Clients Online

  • Module 6 - Goin' Global: Starting Your Remote Lifestyle & Managing Your Business While Traveling!

  • Module 7 - Designing Social Media Graphics For Maximum Exposure

Click here to see the full module breakdown and bonuses that are included.

I learned a lot from this course, and definitely found it worth the investment.

The one thing I will say is that I think the marketing around this course is a little too ambitious. This is not your one-stop-shop for building an online business.

In terms of teaching you how to use freelancing platforms, it walks step by step through that process. But when it comes to taking on clients privately, their training on finding clients falls short.

Unfortunately, many people on freelancing sites like Upwork and People Per Hour want a lot of work for very little money. I’ve had a few people take me for granted and I ended up doing more work than we originally agreed upon.

With taking on private clients, those people respect my timelines, pay me my worth, and are just all around amazing people.

Have I met incredible people on freelancing platforms who I continued a relationship with almost 2 years later? Yes.

So this is not to say everyone is out to get you lol. 

What I’m saying is that this is a really great starter course to get your feet wet in freelancing and starting an online business if you’re still at your 9-5.

The reason I say that is because personally, I feel that there’s a big distinction between freelancing and building a profitable business, and I didn’t feel that it was communicated accurately.

Freelancing (income potential - $):

  • 1 hour/day - submitting proposals on Upwork

  • 6-7 hours/day - completing work for Upwork clients

Running a profitable business (income potential - $$$):

  • 2-4 hours/day - client work

  • All other hours...

  • Learning how to hone in on your messaging/positioning

  • Learning how to structure a sales call and overcome objections

  • Learning how to set boundaries in business

  • Creating passive income products

  • Creating an effective social media strategy 

  • Email marketing

  • Copywriting

  • Outsourcing and hiring a team

  • Mindset around raising your pricing

The list goes on and on, but I think you see the point. The Work Online and Travel the World course only touches the surface on building an online business.

I spent over $15K on group and 1:1 coaching last year (not including additional courses) because I felt lost when trying to find high quality private clients.

I started working with clients in November 2017, and I just had my first $5K month 2 years later in December 2019.

I say this to provide a realistic expectation that the learning does not stop here.

Do people have different experiences than me? For sure!

Do I recommend this course? Yes.

Just be aware of the other investments you’ll have to make along the way.

Overall thoughts on the Bucketlist Bombshells Courses

Pros:

  • Very organized course platform between how the modules are laid out

  • The girls do a good job of explaining best practices and then diving into tutorials.

  • They provide projects for you to apply the skills you’ve learned before working with clients so you have items to add to your portfolio

  • You walk away with new skills you can develop over time and start working with clients immediately after taking the courses

  • The pricing is extremely affordable

Cons:

  • They’re more beginner in nature, so you’ll have to keep investing in yourself to become an expert and charge premium pricing

  • It’s very difficult to land high quality clients and projects through Upwork that will allow you to live as a nomad (unless you’re paying $300/month to live in Bali)

  • WTC doesn’t go in depth enough about how to build a profitable online business outside of freelancing platforms

Like I mentioned above, I am incredibly grateful that I found these girls through a Facebook ad. They came into my life when I felt like I was lost and wasn’t sure what the future held.

I am incredibly passionate about design now, and I love combining my 9-5 experience in SEO with my website design skills.

I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if I didn’t see their free webinar pop onto my Facebook feed.

All of this started as a dream. In June 2017 when I first found out about the online business world, I NEVER imagined I’d be where I am today.

So much doubt, uncertainty and fear. But I took a bet on myself. And here I am.

You can read more of my story here.

If you’ve been wanting to start freelancing, gain new skills, and get a taste of what it’s like to work for yourself, I highly recommend you start with the Bucketlist Bombshells.

I wasn’t lying when I said in the beginning of this post that they changed my life.

Have questions? Drop them below :)


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