By Dr Tracy Thorns | Clinical Psychologist | Founder of The FearHacker Program | Host of the BBD VIP Studio

If you're a coach, therapist, counsellor or psychologist who has found yourself wondering whether James Wedmore's Business By Design could work for someone like you, this blog is written for you.

Not for the general online entrepreneur. Not for the YouTuber or content creator. For the helping professional who has spent years training, qualifying, and genuinely caring about the people they serve and who is quietly asking:

"Is there another way?"

I know that question well. Because I asked it myself.

First: A Little Honesty

I am a BBD affiliate. That means if you join through my link, I receive a commission. I'm telling you this upfront because that's exactly what any good therapist, psychologist or coach would do.

I've been inside BBD for years and later in James' Next Level Mastermind. I've invested well over £40,000 in my business education overall, including programmes that were a complete waste of money and time. BBD was not one of them.

Over the past few years, I've supported more than 800 helping professionals to explore and begin building digital practices. I've seen what works, what doesn't, and what the specific blocks are for people in our professions. I'm not writing this to sell you something you don't need. I'm writing it because helping professionals are massively underrepresented in the online business world, and the ones who do make the leap often do it alone, without support from someone who understands both worlds.

That's the gap I'm here to fill 😊

Why Helping Professionals Struggle With Digital Business

There's something nobody tells you when you enter the helping professions.

You'll spend years developing expertise that genuinely transforms lives. You'll accumulate knowledge, frameworks, and skills that most business coaches could only dream of. And then you'll spend most of your career delivering that expertise one person at a time, capped by your diary, your energy, and a model that hasn't fundamentally changed in decades.

I remember the moment it hit me most clearly. I had to tell a client with complex PTSD, someone I had worked with for years, someone who had finally begun to trust the process, that our sessions were ending due to a service reorganisation. I watched her face change. I felt completely powerless. I drove home with tears on my face. And when I got there, I'd missed my daughter's school fayre. My other children were already in bed.

I was giving everything to help other people rebuild their lives. And I was missing my own.

For a long time, I thought that was just what it meant to care deeply about this work. I now know it doesn't have to be.

The truth is, most helping professionals carry beliefs that quietly block them from building something different:

• Selling feels uncomfortable
• Marketing feels manipulative
• Charging more feels unethical
• Business feels like it conflicts with vocation
• Technology feels overwhelming

And the painful irony? The people who feel this way are often the most skilled, the most ethical, and the most genuinely helpful practitioners out there. The ones the world needs most online, who aren't there yet. And the world really needs you right now more than ever!

What Is Business By Design? (BBD)

Business By Design is James Wedmore's flagship programme for building a digital business. At its core, it teaches you how to package your expertise into digital offers: courses, programmes, memberships, group coaching, and sell them in a way that creates leverage.

Leverage meaning: you help more people, without giving more hours. And still being able to have a wonderful life, knowing your legacy is bigger than it ever would have been behind the therapy door.

For a helping professional, that reframing is everything. This is not about abandoning your clinical work or becoming an "internet marketer." It's about asking a different question:

Instead of helping one person at a time, how might you help many?

Inside BBD, you'll learn:

• How to develop a digital offer your audience actually wants and will pay for
• How to build simple, repeatable sales systems that don't rely on sleazy tactics
• How to launch your programme using proven frameworks for webinars, challenges, email sequences, and more
• How to build a team and scale without working yourself into the ground
• The mindset work required to actually believe you deserve to build something like this

The programme is structured across six core modules, from foundations through to scaling, and includes live coaching, a members-only community, launch templates, and now AI tools integrated throughout.

Is BBD Ethical for Therapists and Psychologists?

This is the question I'm asked most often. And my honest answer is: it depends entirely on what you create and how you apply it.

Digital education is ethical. Workshops are ethical. Courses, online communities, psychoeducational programmes, skills training, parent education, translating therapy into online coaching, professional CPD: all ethical.

The key is staying within your professional competencies, your ethical guidelines, and your scope of practice. BBD teaches business principles. What you build with those principles is your professional responsibility. To remain true to your registration, guiding ethical principles. To remain focussed on the clients transformation in the decisions you make. 

What I would say is this: the helping professions have something the wider online business world desperately needs right now. Qualified, ethical, properly trained practitioners creating digital content. The alternative is the gap being filled by the unqualified, the unregulated, and the downright unhelpful (yes 'Rachel1996-no face' with your ring light telling people to breath into paper bags we see you! 👀)

Your expertise online is not just commercially valuable to you. It is a genuine public good.

What BBD Actually Gave Me

I started exploring digital business six years ago. It took years, a significant financial investment, a lot of wrong turns, and eventually finding the right mentor and the right room to figure out what actually works.

Here's what changed for me inside BBD specifically:

Permission. The biggest thing BBD gave me wasn't a business model. It was permission. Permission to imagine a different future. Permission to believe that wanting more didn't make me less of a professional. It is okay to want more. It is okay to build wealth. It is okay to help more people and to earn well from doing so.

A framework that actually works. Not a generic "build a funnel" approach, but a complete system for understanding your audience, creating an offer they want, launching it repeatedly, and growing a business that compounds over time.

A room full of people doing it. One of the most important shifts in my journey happened not in a training video, but in conversations. When I started seeing what was possible, psychologists, coaches, therapists building six-figure digital practices, my thinking expanded. Same skills. Different structure. Completely different life.

Today I run a six-figure business working one clinical day a week. I haven't left my profession. I've expanded it. My FearHacker Program reaches people I could never have reached through one-to-one sessions. And my family has the life I could only imagine seven years ago standing in an NHS corridor feeling powerless and comforting myself with Haribo. 

What Other Helping Professionals Say

I've now supported over 800 coaches, therapists, psychologists and helping professionals on this path. You can hear directly from some of them at drthorns.com/bbd, where I've shared what they've said about the support, the process, and what's become possible for them.

Their experiences are varied, their backgrounds are different, but one thing is consistent: having someone alongside them who understood both the professional world they were coming from and the digital business world they were moving into made the difference.

The Honest Pros and Cons

Pros:

✅ Lifetime access with free updates: you own it forever and the content evolves every year as the world of online practice does too

✅ A genuinely complete system: not one piece of the puzzle, but the whole picture from offer creation through to scaling

✅ Mindset and business combined: rare in the online business world, essential for helping professionals who carry a lot of beliefs about money and selling

✅ Live coaching and a real community: not a Facebook group that goes quiet after launch month

✅ New AI tools integrated throughout: making implementation significantly faster

✅ Works for coaches, therapists, psychologists, counsellors, counsellors, life coaches, social workers, OTs, nurses and any professional with expertise worth sharing

Cons:

❌ It is a serious investment: the price sits around $2,997. This is not an impulse purchase, nor should it be.

❌ It opens once a year: miss the window and you wait another twelve months

❌ It requires action: the framework is exceptional but it won't implement itself. Many helping professionals struggle with the "therapist's curse": understanding everything deeply but staying in analysis rather than moving forward

❌ The community is large: which is mostly a pro, but can feel overwhelming if you're not used to navigating big groups. Find the coaches, tag them, they respond. Or get a bonus package that offers you an extra smaller container to bring your ideas to. 

❌ James and the BBD coaching team are not therapists, psychologists or counsellors. They are world-class experts in online business — and that's exactly what BBD is. But they won't be able to guide you on how to apply these principles within your specific professional context, ethical framework or scope of practice. That's why choosing a bonus provider who is actually from your profession matters. You can run a brilliant digital business and stay fully within your professional guidelines — but you need someone who understands both worlds to help you do that.

Is BBD Right for You?

BBD is likely a strong fit if you:

✓ Are a coach, therapist, counsellor, psychologist or helping professional who feels limited by one-to-one work

✓ Have expertise you'd like to share more widely through courses, group programmes, memberships, or digital resources but don't know where to begin or how to scale what you already have

✓ Want greater flexibility and income without leaving the work you love and were born to do

✓ Are open to building something: not looking for overnight passive income 

✓ Are willing to invest in a proper system rather than piecing things together from free content forever

✓ Want to be in a room with people already doing this, not doing it alone

BBD is probably not right for you if:

❌ You want a quick win or passive income without significant effort

❌ You're looking for a social media growth strategy or follower-building programme: that's not what this is

❌ You're not ready to examine your own beliefs about money, selling, and what you deserve

❌ You want to stay in one-to-one work forever and have no interest in scaling your impact beyond the consulting room

🌵One More Thing: The Cactus Moment

A few years ago I was in Arizona with a group of course creators from around the world. We went on a road trip to Sedona to hang out with James. One afternoon I sat looking at a magnificent cactus in the desert.

And I thought: Oh s***. I've been like a cactus for years.

Yes Strong. Resilient. Still standing (just!). Still doing the job. But surviving on what was left over after everything else was done. Believing that was just what this career looked like.

The helping professions tell us implicitly, and sometimes explicitly, that this is what dedication looks like. That wanting more is somehow incompatible with caring deeply.

It isn't.

It is okay to want more rest, more money, more time, more freedom. It is okay to build a life you actually enjoy alongside work that matters. You don't have to choose between them.

🚫 Don't be a cactus! 

How to Join BBD and What You Get When You Join Through Me

Business By Design opens once a year, in June. The way in is through James Wedmore's free training series, the Business Breakthrough Experience: a multi-day live event where James actually teaches real business strategy. It's genuinely worth attending whether or not you join BBD.

At the end of the Experience, cart opens for BBD.

When you join through my link, you get access to my BBD VIP Bonus Package, available exclusively during this launch window:

• Six months of live group support calls with me, a Clinical Psychologist who has built a six-figure business using exactly this programme
• Implementation support specifically designed for helping professionals
• Additional resources to help you apply BBD within your professional context
• Access to my Momentum community

This is not a PDF bundle. This is six months of real, ongoing support from someone who has walked this exact path as a qualified clinician. You can read what others have said about this support at drthorns.com/bbd.

Cart opens 22nd June. Cart closes 25th June.

Claim Your Bonuses Here: drthorns.com/bbd

Final Verdict

Business By Design is the most complete business programme I've encountered for helping professionals who want to build a digital income stream alongside, not instead of, their clinical or coaching work.

It is not magic. It requires effort, belief, and a willingness to do something different. But if you are a coach, therapist, counsellor, psychologist or helping professional who has quietly wondered whether there is another way, the answer is yes.

BBD was the right room for me. It might be the right room for you.

Whatever you decide, I hope you keep asking the question. Because sometimes that question is the beginning of everything 🌍

Dr Tracy Thorns is a Clinical Psychologist, Founder of The FearHacker Program and Host of the BBD VIP Studio. She runs a six-figure digital business working one clinical day a week and has supported over 800 coaches, therapists and psychologists to build digital practices of their own.

Dr Tracy Thorns

Clinical Psychologist & Digital Creator

No longer a cactus 🌵

How to Choose the Right Business By Design Bonus Package

By Dr Tracy Thorns | Clinical Psychologist | Digital Creator | Host of The BBD VIP Launch Studio

Partner disclosure: I am a proud affiliate for Business By Design. If you join through my link, I may earn a commission from James Wedmore - and you get access to my exclusive bonus package. As a registered, certified and ethical clinician I can only recommend programmes I have personally experienced and genuinely believe in.

Wait - What Even IS a BBD Bonus Package?

Before we get into the details of the free gifts you can get, I want to name & shame myself!

When I first joined Business By Design, I had absolutely no idea that bonus packages were even a thing.

I found BBD. I loved what I saw. I was ready to join. And it was only afterwards that someone mentioned - almost in passing - that I could have joined through an affiliate link and received thousands of pounds worth of additional support, completely free.

I remember thinking: "Why did nobody tell me this?!" 😅

So let me make sure that does not happen to you.

Here is how it works.

James Wedmore has a small group of trusted partners - people who are inside his world, who have used BBD themselves, who have built their own successful businesses using what it teaches, and who are part of his inner affiliate community. James personally encourages people joining BBD to do so through one of his partners - because he genuinely wants you to have as many resources and as much support as possible to succeed.

When you join BBD through a partner's link, you get:

• Everything inside BBD - exactly as James designed it, not a single thing different
• The partner's bonus package - completely free, on top of everything BBD already includes
• The same price - joining through a partner's link does not cost a cent/ penny more!

The partner may earn a commission from James - that is how the affiliate relationship works - but that cost is borne by James, not by you. Your investment in BBD is identical regardless of whose link you use.

The only way to access a partner's bonuses is through their specific link. You cannot claim them after the fact. So if you are considering joining BBD, it genuinely makes sense to choose your affiliate partner thoughtfully - because their bonuses are yours to keep, completely free, simply for joining through their link.

James's inner affiliate group is a warm, collaborative space. We support each other through the launch, share excitement, help each other out and genuinely care that every person who joins BBD gets the gifts that are the right fit for them.

Which brings me to the most important question.

Which bonus package is the right fit for you?

You have probably already noticed - there a small group of selected partners offering bonuses.

Thousands of $£ of bonuses!

Stacks of bonuses!

Bonus packages bigger than the programme itself 😂🤔

Which naturally raises the important question:

Which Business By Design bonus package is actually worth choosing?

As someone who has been through Business By Design myself - and who has supported hundreds of coaches, therapists, psychologists and professionals through it - I believe most people are still asking the wrong question.

🚫The question is not: "What bonus package has the highest stated value?"

✅The question is: "What support will actually help me get the best result?"

Because those are two very different things. 💜

First - Let's Talk About What BBD Already Includes

Before you evaluate any bonus package, it is worth being clear about something important.

Business By Design is not a course. It is a complete ecosystem.

Inside BBD you already get:

• 7+ comprehensive modules covering every dimension of your business
• 16 +complete Launch Execution Guides - step by step, every single thing
• Live coaching calls with James Wedmore
• Mindset and money blocks
• Office hours with certified BBD coaches
• An active, supportive community
• BBD-trained AI tools - like having James in your pocket 24/7
• Lifetime access with annual updates

This matters when evaluating bonuses - because the last thing you need is a bonus package that duplicates what is already inside BBD.

More of what you already have is not a bonus. It is just noise. 🤯

The best bonus package fills the gaps BBD does not cover - and helps you implement everything it does.

🙈The Biggest Mistake People Make When Choosing Bonuses

Many people choose bonuses based on the stated value.

£5,000 in bonuses.

£10,000 in bonuses.

£20,000 in bonuses.

But let me ask you something.

How many online courses have you purchased and never fully completed?

How many PDFs are sitting unopened on your laptop right now?

How many templates have you downloaded, felt briefly excited about, and completely forgotten?

Exactly.

The problem is almost never access to information.

The problem is implementation.

And Business By Design already contains more information than most people will ever fully implement in one round.

🤔So ask yourself honestly - does adding more information actually help you? Or do you need something else entirely?

The Three Types of BBD Bonuses

Not all bonuses are created equal. They fall into three distinct categories - and understanding the difference will completely change how you evaluate what is on offer.

🎁Type 1 - Information Bonuses

PDFs. Swipe files. Templates. Checklists. Mini-courses.

There is nothing wrong with these - some are genuinely useful. But remember: BBD already contains an extraordinary amount of information. Before choosing a bonus package heavy on information, ask yourself whether more information is truly what you need right now - or whether it will just add to the pile of things you mean to get to one day.

🎁Type 2 - Implementation Bonuses

Coaching sessions. Workshops. Accountability calls. Support sessions.

These help bridge the real gap - the one between knowing what to do and then actually doing it.

This is where bonuses start to become genuinely valuable, because knowing and doing are two completely different things. Especially when you are building something new, uncertain, and occasionally terrifying!

🎁Type 3 - Transformation Bonuses

These are the rarest - and in my experience, the most valuable.

Ongoing community. Mentoring. Continued access to support. Access to people walking a similar path who genuinely understand your situation.

These bonuses help you keep moving forward long after the initial excitement has worn off. Long after the BBD live calls have ended. Long after you are deep in implementation wondering if you are doing it right.

If I were joining Business By Design for the first time today, I would not be looking for more information. I would be looking for this.

What to Look For - [And What to Watch Out For!]

✅Look for bonuses that fill genuine gaps in BBD

BBD is comprehensive - but two things consistently come up as gaps for members:

Facebook Ads - BBD focuses on the launch systems. Powerful - but if paid traffic is part of your plan, you will need specific support for this that is not inside BBD.

Tech implementation - BBD shows you exactly what to build. It does not sit with you while you build it. Many members lose days - sometimes weeks - in tech rabbit holes that could be solved in an afternoon with the right support.

A strong bonus package addresses these specific gaps rather than adding more of what BBD already covers beautifully.

1. Watch out for bonuses that duplicate BBD content

If a bonus is teaching you something James already covers inside the programme - launch strategy, money mindset, offer creation, messaging frameworks - it is not really a bonus. It is a distraction from doing the actual work. And a repeat of what BBD already has waiting for you inside

2. Watch out for volume without substance

A bonus package of twenty items sounds impressive. But twenty PDFs you will never open is worth considerably less than one ongoing support call with someone who genuinely knows what they are talking about.

3. Look for a real human being - not just a folder of downloads

Not an AI-generated template. Not a resource with your name mail-merged at the top. A real person who will show up consistently, over time, and help you keep moving forward when it feels hard.

Because it will feel hard sometimes. That is not a flaw in you. That is just what building something real looks like. 💜

🎁What I Have Created Instead of a Bonus Stack

Rather than assembling a giant stack of additional information, I have designed my bonus package around one principle: helping you implement what BBD teaches, and keeping you moving forward long after the live phase ends.

Everything in my BBD VIP Studio package is something BBD does not already include.

There is no duplication - only addition.

Bonus 1 - Six Months in My VIP Launch Studio

This is the centrepiece - and it is a Type 3 Transformation bonus.

My VIP Launch Studio is a monthly live implementation container for people applying BBD strategy to their businesses. Every month we meet live. You bring your current challenge - your launch, your offer, your messaging, your mindset, your tech - and we work through it together in a small, personal group.

This directly addresses the single most common challenge BBD members face: keeping momentum after the live calls with James end.

Six months. Monthly live calls. A Clinical Psychologist and others in BBD who have done exactly what you are trying to do, walking alongside you every step of the way.

No PDF replaces this. No template replaces this. A real human being in your corner, consistently, over time - that is what actually moves the needle. 🎯

Bonus 2 - Facebook Ads Mini Course

The piece BBD does not teach.

A practical, step-by-step guide to getting started with Facebook Ads from a guest expert - a BBD member who specialises in paid traffic and knows exactly how to make it work alongside your BBD launch strategy. No fluff, no theory - just exactly what you need to get started.

Bonus 3 - Done-With-You Kajabi Setup Workshop

BBD shows you what to build. This workshop helps you actually build it – together in real time

We walk through building your Kajabi website and your first (or next!) funnel as a group. Your landing page, your opt-in, your email sequence, your offer page. Done WITH you, not just explained TO you.

No more disappearing down tech rabbit holes at 11pm! 🙌 And as a Kajabi partner, if Kajabi is the platform you choose, you can access a discounted or free trial through my link.

Bonus 4 - Automate Your Business With Playbooks Workshop

For the time-poor professional (all of us once!)

It's important you can find the time to get stuck into BBD- how can you do that when your business demands so much time form you? The answer is creating work flows that free up your time- So I walk you through how to build the systems and automations that let your business run without requiring your constant presence. In real time- we build these together.

Because the goal is not just to build a business - it is to build a business that gives you your life back. Something I feel very strongly about as a parent of three young children who works one clinical day per week. 💜

Your Bonus Package Checklist

Before you decide whose link to join through, use this checklist. Be honest with yourself about what you actually need.

If most of your ticks are in the top section - my package was designed for you.

If you ticked the bottom section - there are other excellent partners whose packages will serve you better, and I genuinely encourage you to find them. What matters most is that you choose the support that will actually help you move forward 💜

The Question Worth Asking

"What support will help me take action and have space in my life to use BBD?"

Not: "What support looks most impressive on a sales page?"

Because implementation creates results.

Not information.

Ready to Claim Your Free Bonuses?

If you join Business By Design through my link, you will receive all of my bonuses - the VIP Launch Studio calls, the Facebook Ads mini course, the Kajabi setup workshop and the Playbooks automation workshop - completely free, simply for joining through my link. And all of these are contained within a separate Facebook group where you will be alongside others in BBD

The cost of BBD is exactly the same. The bonuses are yours to keep. And I will be there walking alongside you every step of the way. 💜

👉 Join BBD through my link and claim your free bonuses at drthorns.com/bbd (Bonuses revealed in full (da daaaa!)  19th June 2026 - cart opens 22nd June - closes Thursday 25th June)

And if you want to chat it through or ask questions simply email me;

[email protected]

The advantage of a real person already!

Dr T 😊

Dr Tracy Thorns

About Dr Tracy Thorns

Dr Tracy Thorns is a Clinical Psychologist, digital course creator and host of The BBD VIP Launch Studio. She runs a six-figure digital business alongside one clinical day per week, and has spent six years supporting coaches, therapists, psychologists, counsellors and professionals to build online businesses around their expertise. She is a proud member of James Wedmore's affiliate community with personal experience of both Business By Design and his Next Level programme.

Is Business By Design Worth It in 2026? My Honest Answer After £20,000 of Mistakes

By Dr Tracy Thorns | Clinical Psychologist | Digital Creator | Host of The BBD VIP Launch Studio

Partner disclosure: I am a proud affiliate for Business By Design. If you join through my link and free bonuses, I may earn a commission. As a registered, certified and ethical clinician I only review or recommend programmes I have personally experienced & genuinely believe in.

The Short Answer

Yes. Unequivocally.

But you deserve more than a one-word answer. So here is the honest, considered version - from someone who spent £20,000 on other programmes before finding this one.

Why I Am Qualified to Answer This Question

I am a Clinical Psychologist. I have been building an online business since 2020. I have invested in more courses, programmes and coaches than I care to admit - and for a long time, I had very little to show for it.

By the time I found James Wedmore in 2022, I was frustrated, financially stretched and seriously questioning whether online business was actually possible for someone like me.

I now run a six-figure digital business alongside one clinical day per week.

I did that using what BBD taught me.

So when say Business By Design is worth it – I’m saying it because I have lived and breathed it  💜

What "Worth It" Actually Means

Before I answer, it is worth being clear about what we’re talking about. As a Clinical Psychologist I like the detail!

"Worth it" does not mean "cheap." At $2,997, BBD is a significant investment for most of us.

"Worth it" also does not mean "easy." BBD requires real work, real implementation and real commitment.

"Worth it" means: does the investment - in money, time and energy - return more than it costs?

For me, the answer is yes by a very wide margin.

Here is how I think about it:

The cost of NOT having a system: Before BBD I spent £20,000 and years of my life on programmes that gave me information without implementation. The cost of that - in money, time, stress and lost opportunity - was enormous.

The cost of BBD: $2,997 - once. With lifetime access and annual updates. And payment plans if that suits.

What I got: A six-figure business. One clinical day per week. A community of over 800 professionals I have been able to support. A way of working that fits around my life as a parent of three young children rather than consuming it.

What James Wedmore Actually Teaches

This is the question that comes up constantly - "what does James Wedmore actually teach?" – I know that was my question before I joined, especially as I had been burned by other investments that taught me the what but not the HOW.

James teaches you how to build and run a digital business like a CEO rather than a solopreneur.

Specifically, BBD covers:

How to think about your business - the three phases of growth, where you are now, what to focus on at each stage, and how to stop doing everything and start doing only the 5% of activities that actually drive results.

How to create an offer people want to buy - not just "make a course" but how to design an offer around a specific transformation, nail the promise, price it properly and present it compellingly.

How to sell without feeling sleazy - this was the one that changed everything for me. BBD reframes selling as an act of service rather than manipulation. For helping professionals who carry complicated feelings about selling - this is genuinely transformative.

How to launch – 16+ complete step-by-step Launch Execution Guides covering every type of launch from webinars to challenges to membership launches to coaching packages. Every step laid out. Every template provided.

How to build a team - who to hire, when, how to write the job ad, how to interview. I followed James's exact process and had 200 applicants for my first VA role. I found someone who has been instrumental in growing my business to six figures.

How to scale - post-launch analysis, what to do when a launch doesn't go as planned, automation, and how to grow your results without growing your hours.

And woven throughout all of it - the mindset work. Because as a Clinical Psychologist who thought she had her own mindset nailed, I was genuinely surprised by how much my beliefs about money, selling and success were holding me back! (humble pie anyone!)

Is BBD Still Worth It in 2026?

Some people ask whether BBD is still relevant - whether James's methods are outdated in an AI-driven world.

The answer is that BBD has evolved with the times. New for 2026, James has added BBD-trained AI tools to the programme - think of it as having James in your pocket 24 hours a day. The fundamentals of great offers, great messaging and great launches have not changed - but the tools available to implement them have, and BBD reflects that.

The other thing worth noting is that BBD is not a static purchase. You get lifetime access and James updates the programme every year. It is an evolving ecosystem, not a course that sits on a digital shelf gathering dust. He loves adding new gifts and updates and waiting for you to find them!

When BBD Is NOT Worth It

In the interests of genuine honesty - because that is what a Clinical Psychologist who takes professional ethics seriously actually does - here is when I would say BBD is not worth it:

If you are not clear on whether you want an online business. BBD will show you how to package and launch your expertise online. It cannot give you the expertise itself. If you are still figuring out what ‘floats your boat’ as my granny would say, spend time on that first.

If you are looking for fast money. BBD is for building a real, sustainable business. It is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is not bro-marketing rubbish promising you will sell twenty PDFs a day from a beach. It is a serious programme for serious people who want to build something that lasts.

If you are not ready to implement. The most beautifully designed system in the world is worthless if you do not use it. BBD requires action, however slow that is.. just keep moving towards your vision alongside others who want the same. If you are in a season of your life where you genuinely cannot commit to that - wait until you can.

If you want someone to do it all for you. BBD is comprehensive but it is not done-for-you. You will need to show up, do the work, and implement.

The Question I Get Asked Most

"Is it worth it for someone like me - a therapist / psychologist / coach / helping professional?"

Yes. Possibly more than for anyone else.

Here is why.

Most of us entered our professions because we wanted to help people. Not because we wanted to become marketers or entrepreneurs. Which means we often carry beliefs that hold us back - that selling is uncomfortable, that charging well sometimes feel ‘wrong’, that building a business is somehow at odds with our professional values.

BBD addresses all of this. The ethics are built in. The approach to selling is grounded in genuine service. The mindset work is more thorough than anything I encountered in my own clinical training when it comes to beliefs about money and business.

And the practical systems - the launch guides, the offer frameworks, the messaging tools - are just as applicable to a therapist launching a group programme as they are to a business coach launching an online course.

I have supported over 800 coaches, therapists, psychologists and helping professionals who want to build a digital product to support or replace their 1 to 1 work. The ones who do the work get results. Consistently.

What About the Cost?

$2,997 is a meaningful investment. I’ll not pretend otherwise.

Here is how I would encourage you to think about it:

One client. One course sale. One discovery call that converts. In most helping professional businesses, a single client relationship covers the cost of BBD within a few months.

The question is not whether you can afford BBD. The question is whether you can afford to keep trying to build your business without it.

I spent £20,000 finding that out the hard way. I am telling you this so you do not have to.

My Honest Verdict

Business By Design is the only business programme I return to every time I am making a change in my business. It is the only portal I open when I am planning a new launch, designing a new offer, or figuring out my next step.

That is not something I say about any other programme I have invested in.

Is it worth it in 2026?

Yes. For the right person - someone with expertise to share, people to help, and the commitment to do the work - it is absolutely worth it- I believe it is a decision you will look back on as a turning point in your business and life. 

👉 Read my full detailed BBD review: drthorns.com/blog/business-by-design-review-2026

👉 See my full BBD 2026 bonus package: drthorns.com/bbd (Bonuses revealed 19th June 2026 - cart closes Thursday 25th June 2026)

About Dr Tracy Thorns

Dr Tracy Thorns is a Clinical Psychologist, digital course creator and host of The BBD VIP Launch Studio. She runs a six-figure digital business alongside one clinical day per week, and has spent six years supporting coaches, psychologists, therapists, counsellors and helping professionals to build online businesses around their expertise.  

Business By Design Review 2026 - A Clinical Psychologist's Honest Take After Years Inside BBD

By Dr Tracy Thorns | Clinical Psychologist | Digital Creator | Host of The BBD VIP Launch Studio

Partner disclosure: I am a proud affiliate for Business By Design. If you join through my link and free bonuses, I may earn a commission. As a registered, certified and ethical clinician I only review or recommend programmes I have personally experienced & genuinely believe in.

I Didn't Go Looking for a Business Programme. I Went Looking for Motivation.

In 2022, I was already exploring online business. Things were going ‘okay’ but not great!

I'd done other programmes. Quite a few of them, actually. I had ideas. I had expertise - nearly two decades of it as a Clinical Psychologist. What I didn't have was a clear path forward.

Every course I'd taken told me what to do. None of them showed me how to do it. Each step led to another wormhole of things to learn, platforms to figure out, and decisions to make with no real guidance. I kept moving forward but wasn't getting anywhere fast.

And those programmes weren't cheap either.

By the time I found James Wedmore, I had invested over £20,000 in online business education. I had knowledge coming out of my ears but results that didn't match. So when I heard about James's free three-day live event – (the Business Breakthrough Experience) - I signed up with one eyebrow raised and my expectations firmly managed!

I needed motivation to keep going.

What I found was something entirely different.

I found the map I needed.

What Is Business By Design? (And What It Is NOT)

Let me be clear about something from the outset: Business By Design is not a course.

It is an ecosystem. A complete, interconnected system of everything you need to build a sustainable online business around your expertise - from your very first idea all the way through to scaling a business that runs without you working around the clock.

James Wedmore created BBD after building his own business from scratch to over $9 million per year. He has spent nearly two decades figuring out what works, refining every process, and packaging those systems so that you don't have to spend years piecing it together yourself.

Or £20,000 on programmes that show you what to do but leave you staring at a blank screen wondering how 🤯

At its core, BBD is built on a simple idea: that nearly every step of building an online business can be designed - with tested, proven methods - rather than figured out through exhausting trial and error.

How Much Does Business By Design Cost?

BBD is priced at $2,997. Payment plans are available.

This is not a cheap investment - and it is not designed to be. It is a complete business ecosystem, not a single-topic course. When you compare the depth of what is included with what you would pay for individual coaching, multiple courses and business consulting, the investment looks very different.

I spent over £20,000 before I found BBD. I say that so you understand the full weight of what I mean when I tell you this is the only programme I would spend that money on again without hesitation.

The Moment That Changed Everything For Me

I remember the exact moment I knew BBD was different from everything else I had tried.

I was inside the portal for the first time. I clicked on the launch type that matched where I was in my business. And there, in front of me, was every single step I needed to take - laid out in sequence, with clear instructions for how to complete each one. 🪜

Not "build your email list." But here is exactly how to build your email list, step by step, with the template, the sequence and the process.

The relief I felt in that moment was difficult to describe.

After months of feeling like I was trying to assemble flat-pack furniture without the instructions, I finally had the manual.

James describes BBD as a Lego instruction manual. That is exactly what it is. And if you’ve ever sat in front of a pile of Lego pieces with no idea where to start - you will understand exactly why that matters.

What's Inside Business By Design? The Full Breakdown

BBD is built around seven modules (including a foundations module), each covering a distinct dimension of your online business. What follows is the most detailed breakdown you will find anywhere - because I’ve been inside this programme and used these modules in all sorts of launches of my own course.

Module 0 - Getting Started: BBD Foundations

Before anything else, James sets the foundation. This includes the BBD Strategy overview, understanding The 3 Phases to YOUR Business By Design, building your Digital CEO Dashboard, and orienting yourself within the BBD community. This module alone reframes how you think about your business before you have written a single piece of content.

Module 1 - Building Your Business By Design

This is where James helps you think like a Digital CEO rather than an exhausted solopreneur. The Three Levers of Growth, the 5% Activities (the handful of things that actually drive results), the 90-Day Roadmap for hitting specific revenue goals, and the three pillars of business structure - Projects, Processes and Workflows. For helping professionals who have spent their careers doing everything themselves, this module is quietly revolutionary.

Module 2 - Working By Design

How to actually get things done sustainably without burning out. James covers improving workability and performance, the Mount Everest Exercise for 90-Day planning cycles, the Ascension Model (answering the question every person eventually asks: "what do I offer next?"), Direct Response principles, and his seven timeless Principles of Marketing. As someone who now runs a six-figure business alongside one clinical day per week, this module was foundational for me.

Module 3 - Offer By Design

How to craft an offer people actually want to buy. This goes far deeper than "here is my course, click add to cart." James covers the Core Ingredients of an Irresistible Offer, Nailing the Promise, the Pricing Framework (how to set a price that reflects your value AND sells), Risk Reversal, and – critically Scarcity and Urgency done ethically, and a module called A Conversation Around Money that addresses the complicated relationship many of us have with charging for our expertise.

That last one surprised me more than I expected. More on that shortly!

Module 4 - Sales By Design

The complete sales and messaging system. Messaging Framework, Your Ideal Customer, The Transformation, handling Objections, your Origin Story, Content That Sells, and how to identify the right launch type for your specific situation. For helping professionals like me, who feel genuinely uncomfortable with selling, this module is quietly life-changing - because it reframes selling not as something you do TO people, but something you do FOR them.

Module 5 - Team By Design

How to build and lead a team even when you are just starting out. Most business programmes never mention hiring. BBD does - and it includes exactly who to hire, when, how to hire a VA, and how to run a local hiring process. It changes how you think about your business from the very beginning.

I followed the process exactly as laid out (including his wording for the job ad) and boom, 200 people applied for my small VA role. His process showed me exactly how to identify the top 5% and interview 3. I found the most amazing VA who has helped me grow my business to 6 figures. A complete unicorn I have no doubt I would have missed without the walk-through process James gave us.

James calls this the most overlooked but most essential module in the entire programme. Having worked through it, I understand why.

Module 6 - Scale By Design

How to grow your results without working harder. The Post-Launch Process (where James emphasises that the real magic happens after the launch ends - something most entrepreneurs completely miss), When a Launch ‘Fails’ (one of the most emotionally honest modules in the programme), Increasing Promotion Performance, growing your Launch List, and Automation. This is where the business becomes something that works for your life rather than consuming it. As a parent of 3 young children this is more important to me than ever.

The Launch Execution Guides - The Part Nobody Talks About

This is where BBD genuinely separates itself from every other business programme I have encountered.

BBD includes 16+ complete Launch Execution Guides - step-by-step processes for every type of launch imaginable. Each one walks you through every single step from beginning to end. When I clicked into my first guide, the relief I felt was physical.

The 16 guides include:

• Monetize Before You Make It
• Ninja Survey Pre-Release
• The BetaMAXX
• Quick Cart-Close Promo
• Webinar Launch
• Video Series Launch
• Live Launch Process
• Two-Day Profit Formula
• Membership Launch - directly relevant for those building communities
• Challenge Launch 2.0
• Sell It With Email Mini Training
• Get Coaching Clients - specifically for professionals offering 1:1 work
• Fill Your Mastermind - for those building group programmes
• Paid Masterclass Process
• 29 Advanced Launch Enhancements
• Absolute Automation- taking it evergreen!

For me, the Live Launch Process, Get Coaching Clients and Fill Your Mastermind guides alone are worth the investment and enabled me to recover my BBD investment.  

The Live Coaching Calls - James's Stamina Is Unrivalled

The live coaching calls with James Wedmore are genuinely live. Not pre-recorded, not templated.

James shows up with a stamina that is, frankly, unrivalled. No stone is left unturned. No question goes unanswered. Every call continues until every hand has been seen and every question addressed. I would argue that anyone who can genuinely outlast James on a coaching call deserves some kind of award. Possibly a trophy. Certainly, a lie-down to absorb all the gold fizzing in your brain 🧠

Beyond the live calls, BBD also includes office hours with certified BBD coaches, an active community, and - new for 2026 - BBD-trained AI tools to support your implementation. Like having James in your pocket 24/7!

What I Didn't Expect - Even as a Psychologist

Here is something I want to be honest about, because I think it will resonate with many helping professionals reading this. Or if you are someone, like me who thought “I’m good already on the mindset thanks, just show me the funnels”!

I’m a Clinical Psychologist. I have spent my career studying the human mind - cognitive patterns, limiting beliefs, psychological barriers and the stories we tell ourselves that keep us stuck.

And yet.

When I started working through BBD - particularly the mindset content woven through the early modules and the deeply personal ‘A Conversation Around Money’ module - I was genuinely surprised by how much my own psychology was holding me back.

Beliefs I had not even consciously recognised:

• That charging well for my expertise felt uncomfortable
• That selling felt ‘manipulative’ and a bit icky
• That marketing myself felt at odds with my professional identity
• That building a business was somehow in conflict with being a caring practitioner
• That an introvert had ‘no business being in business’

These are not unusual beliefs for helping professionals. In fact, they are almost universal in our sector.

But here is the thing - they were costing me. Not just financially. They were quietly limiting the number of people I could reach and help.

The fact that I - someone whose entire career is built on understanding the human mind - was still surprised by my own blocks? That tells you something important about how deeply these beliefs are embedded in us and the pure freedom of working past them.

BBD gave me a framework for examining and shifting those beliefs in a way that felt entirely consistent with my clinical understanding of psychology. Not toxic positivity. Not "just believe in yourself." A genuine, structured approach to the psychology of building a business.

Staying Grounded and Calm Throughout - Why That Matters

One of the things that concerned me most before joining BBD was whether the business-building process would feel at odds with who I am professionally.

I did not want to become someone who used high-pressure tactics or manufactured urgency. I did not want to feel like I was compromising my professional integrity to make sales.

What I found was the opposite.

BBD's approach to selling, launching and marketing is fundamentally ethical. James himself is transparent about what he does and why. The programme specifically addresses ethical scarcity and urgency. The messaging framework is built around genuinely serving your ideal customer rather than sleezy sales tactics.

For helping professionals who carry the weight of professional ethics codes – these matter enormously. And that applies to anyone who comes into online business with a good heart and deep values.

You can build a thriving digital business and remain completely grounded, calm and true to your professional values throughout. BBD showed me how.

My Journey - From BBD to a Six-Figure Business

After discovering BBD in 2022, I built what is now a six-figure business - combining digital products with one clinical day per week doing the direct client work I love.

That model - one day in the consulting room, and an online business - was something I had to deliberately design. BBD gave me the framework to build it.

My results through BBD eventually led me to James Wedmore's Next Level programme - his advanced mastermind for established BBD members who are growing and scaling their businesses. Being part of Next Level deepened both my business strategy and my understanding of what sustainable, ethical growth looks like for helping professionals.

With my newfound passion, and over the past six years, I have built a community of over 800 psychologists, therapists, counsellor, helping professions and coaches - all exploring how to take their expertise online. Many have gone from having no idea where to start, to successfully launching their first digital programmes.

Is Business By Design Worth It in 2026? Honest Pros and Cons

What I Love About BBD

✅ The most complete business ecosystem I have found - not just in terms of what is covered, but the depth of implementation support. The 16+ launch execution guides alone are worth the investment.

✅ It works particularly well- the principles James teaches translate directly to the challenges psychologists, helping professions, therapists and coaches face.

✅ The mindset work is genuinely transformative - particularly for those of us who have complicated feelings about selling, charging and marketing ourselves.

✅ The community is exceptional - you are surrounded by serious, but big-hearted, committed people who are actually building things.

✅ Lifetime access with regular updates - James updates BBD every year. New for 2026: BBD-trained AI tools have been added. You are not buying a static course but an evolving eco system. James also loves to add new gifts without a big announcement- like a scavenger hunt where a new gift has been left for you to discover!

✅ The live coaching calls are genuinely live - James shows up with extraordinary stamina and keeps going until every question has been answered.

✅ If you have spent money on programmes that told you WHAT to do but never showed you HOW - BBD is the one that finally hands you the instruction manual. Every step. Every template. Every process.

✅ Ethical sales and marketing approach - you will never feel like you are compromising your professional integrity.

The Honest Considerations...

✨The investment is significant - at $2,997, this is a meaningful financial commitment. It is not an impulse purchase. But having spent £20,000 on other programmes before finding BBD, I can tell you with complete confidence that this is worth more than all of them combined. It is the only portal I return to every time I am making a change in my business.

✨It can feel overwhelming at first - there is a lot inside BBD. The key is to start at the beginning or go directly to the launch execution guide that matches your current situation, rather than trying to consume everything before taking action.

✨It is not for quick cash - BBD is for building a real, sustainable business. If you are looking for a shortcut to fast money, this is not that. It is not a bro-marketing “sell 20 PDF’s a day” internet rubbish. This is about creating a sustainable life you love.

✨BBD does not cover Facebook Ads - If paid traffic is part of your plan, you will a little additional support. This is specifically why I include a Facebook Ads bonus for those who join through my link.

✨All Good Things Come to an End - The Honest Bit

There is a moment every year in BBD that deserves a mention - because nobody talks about it, and I think it matters.

The live calls with James end.

And honestly? There is a quiet sadness to that. You have been inside this incredible, energising container with James and your cohort, building momentum, asking questions, getting breakthroughs - and then the live calls conclude. (Well eventually, but he keeps adding extra’s, because he is that kind of guy!)

The good news is that it does not all disappear. The BBD Facebook community continues, and James's certified coaches remain available through ongoing support. The ecosystem does not vanish - the intensive live phase simply transitions into something more self-directed.

But here is what I noticed - in my own experience and from the hundreds of helping professionals I have spoken with since: the work does not stop when the calls end. You are still implementing. Still processing. Still launching. Still hitting challenges that need a thoughtful, knowledgeable human in your corner.

That is precisely why my bonus package includes six months of continued monthly support through my VIP Launch Studio - because I want to be there with you, walking alongside you, long after the live phase ends.

Who Is BBD For?

BBD is an excellent fit for you if:

✅ You are a coach, therapist, counsellor, psychologist, or helping professional with expertise that could help more people if packaged into a digital programme

✅ You have tried other programmes and walked away frustrated because they told you what to do but never showed you how - and you are not willing to keep spending money on that experience

✅ You want to build a sustainable, ethical business without burning out or compromising your professional values

✅ You are ready to invest in something comprehensive, rather than cobbling together pieces from multiple sources

✅ You want to work fewer hours with greater impact and income

✅ You are serious about building a real business, not just experimenting

✅ You want to stay grounded, calm and true to your values throughout the process

BBD May Not Be Right For You If:

❌ You are looking for a quick income fix

❌ You are not yet clear on whether you want an online business  

❌ You want someone to do everything for you

❌ You are not ready to invest meaningfully in your business or yourself

🎁What You Get FREE When You Join Through Me

When you join Business By Design through my link at drthorns.com/bbd, you get access to my exclusive bonus package - designed by a Clinical Psychologist who has been inside BBD, inside Next Level, and has spent six years supporting hundreds of coaches, therapists, psychologists and helping professionals through this exact process.

These are not AI-generated templates or impersonal digital downloads. They are a deliberately designed, personalised set of additions that plug the specific gaps I know you will wish were filled - because I wished they were filled too.

Bonus 1 - Six Months in VIP Launch Studio- A smaller, personal container where I walk alongside you monthly as you implement BBD strategy. These calls are specifically for people applying what BBD teaches to their unique professional context. This directly addresses the biggest challenge most BBD members face - keeping momentum after the live calls end. My results speak for themselves: a six-figure business, one clinical day per week, and a community of over 800 professionals built using exactly what BBD teaches.

Bonus 2 - Facebook Ads Mini Course The piece BBD does not cover. A complete, practical guide to getting started with Facebook Ads - from a guest expert BBD member who specialises in paid traffic and knows how it integrates with everything you are building inside BBD.

Bonus 3 - Done-With-You Kajabi Setup Workshop A walkthrough workshop where we set up your Kajabi website and first funnel together from scratch. No more disappearing down tech rabbit holes alone- As a Kajabi partner, you also have access to a discounted or free trial of Kajabi if this is the platform you would like to try.

Bonus 4 – ‘Automate Your Business With Playbooks’ Workshop For the time-poor professional - how to build the systems and automations that let your business run without requiring your constant presence. Because your time is your most precious resource.

Full bonus details, including testimonials from professionals I have supported through BBD, revealed at drthorns.com/bbd from 19th June 2026.

Final Thoughts - Is Business By Design Worth It?

I invested over £20,000 in online business education before I found James Wedmore.

I say that not to make you wince - though I appreciate you might! - but because I want you to understand the weight of what I am saying when I tell you that BBD has been genuinely transformative. I shudder to think where my business would be if I had walked away from that three-day event in 2022.

For coaches, therapists, counsellors, psychologists and helping professionals with expertise to share and people to reach - BBD is, in my honest clinical and professional opinion, the most comprehensive, ethical and genuinely supportive business programme available.

You can build a thriving digital business. You can do it calmly, grounded in your professional values. You can reach more people than you ever could before. And you can do it without burning out, compromising your ethics, or losing yourself or your life in the process.

BBD shows you exactly how.

The question is not really whether BBD works.

The question is whether you are ready to finally have the instruction manual 💜

👉 See my full BBD 2026 bonus package at drthorns.com/bbd (Bonuses revealed 19^th June 2026 - cart closes 25^th June 2026)

About Dr Tracy Thorns

Dr Tracy Thorns is a Clinical Psychologist, digital course creator and host of The BBD VIP Launch Studio. She runs a six-figure digital business alongside one clinical day per week, and has spent six years supporting coaches, psychologists, therapists, counsellors and helping professionals to build online businesses around their expertise. She is a member of the BBD affiliate community and has personal experience of both Business By Design and James Wedmore's Next Level programme. www.drthorns.com/bbd