Transcription
This is me in 2017, starting my online education business with a laptop and a dream. And I went on to generate [Music] $457,900. Effective way to increase your income and impact by bringing it online for global reach. And it's why I've committed almost a decade of my life to helping thousands of people implement this strategy. And it's also why I wanted to share a very detailed breakdown and the core principles behind the scenes of how I've actually created an online business that consistently generates more than $5 million a year, year over year—which is mind-blowing to me to this day. So I wanted to remove the mystery, make it accessible, and allow you to really implement this for yourself.
So if you are tired of trading hours for dollars and you know you're ready to make a bigger impact, I promise you you are in the right place. So I really wanted to reflect on my own journey, and I recognize that there really are four core principles that create a successful online course. So we're going to start with principle number one: the offer. When I say offer, I mean online program or online course. But in a sea of digital products and online courses, the hardest part is making something that one, people actually want to buy, and two, can stand the test of time.
So how do you make a great online course? Well, first and foremost, a great online course, at the very, very core of it, it needs to solve a problem. And I had a very obvious problem staring straight at me, but it took hitting complete and utter burnout, ending up in the hospital at 39 years old with all the symptoms of a stroke, for me to realize just how painful this problem actually was and exactly how I could solve it. Prior to starting my online course business, I was working as a consultant, and I had a basically one-woman marketing agency. And the issue wasn't that I wasn't getting clients; the issue was that I was actually getting too many. So I was really good at what I did, but my business model was killing me. My calendar would fill up with meetings, consultations, strategy sessions, one-off questions with clients, and it got to a point where I didn't have enough time in the day to actually work with anybody else. So this created a very common trap, and it's really a vicious cycle. So I couldn't take on more clients because I didn't have enough time, and I couldn't make more money because I couldn't bring on more clients. Today, what I recognize and what we call this is the income and impact ceiling. So this is a massive pitfall that keeps so many people stuck, even if they're really great at what they do; they're getting clients, but they're completely capped, and they're becoming more and more burnt out trying to sustain the current model that they have. So their business becomes this time-sucking trap instead of a vehicle to freedom, which is why most people become entrepreneurs in the first place.
So this major problem, once I realized it and after I hit burnout, I was on a mission to solve it. I knew there had to be a better way to do business, and it was actually right under my nose, and ironically, it was something I was already doing and had been doing for a little while. So now it was time to just optimize my method to make it even stronger and even better. So the very first question I have for you is: What is a problem that you can solve or have solved? Now, the closer you are to the problem, the more experience you have with it, the more you can actually teach other people because you can't teach what you don't know, and you can't teach what you haven't experienced for yourself or at least helped other folks get over that same problem. So this may seem obvious, but the reason so many course creators fail is because they approach creating an online course from a place of, "Let's just provide a bunch of information," rather than from a place of actually solving a problem. So the most effective formula for creating an online course that actually is going to sell in perpetuity is your unique expertise and experience plus a problem that needs to be solved for more than just you and a structure that allows for what we call coaching at scale.
Before I created the program I'm referring to right now, I actually created other online courses, and they were pretty successful. One of them actually had over 10,000 members. But with time, I recognized that there were some serious infrastructure problems. So a great offer needs a very specific structure. So I needed to find an alternative to just a self-paced curriculum, which is what my other courses had. So anyone could buy it, and they had access to the curriculum, and they could study it at any time. And that sounds easy breezy, right? Well, as that program grew, because it was a course that anyone could buy and it was priced in a way that was extremely accessible, the community started to grow to a point where there were the same questions over and over and over again, and there were often questions that were answered inside of the actual curriculum, but the level of investment and the ability to buy it without any barriers created chaos eventually. And it came to a point where there was so much customer support that it was requiring a lot of resources for myself and my team at the time for people that weren't even really taking it that seriously. So I studied, researched, talked to peers, tested, and eventually changed the model, and we called this coaching at scale because I had done, you know, one-to-one consulting and coaching, but it left me in that same time trap because there's only so many hours in the day. So I had to figure out how to go from that one-to-one setting to working in a setting where anyone could access my program and implement my method on their own time.
In one-to-one work, you can customize a plan for each person you work with, and every person could be coming to you for completely different reasons. So in my case, people wanted to work with me in my consultancy for things like marketing, and another person would want to do a book launch, and another person would want a corporate social media strategy; those are all different clients. So when you have an online course, the biggest differentiator is that you have to take your client on what we call the ideal client journey, which I'll explain in detail in the next principle. But the structure of how you deliver it in a coaching at scale model looks like this: So you have the curriculum that is set; that is what the client can study on their own time; that answers 100% of any question they have. But you also have an exclusive community of the members of that program, your founder, and also any team members there that are there to support, guide, and provide accountability. And then you have two weekly coaching calls on top of that where you can actually speak directly to an expert to get past any hurdles because the curriculum is fine, but in reality, everybody learns differently, and some people just need more support, and if that's not there, it's not going to work super well in the long run. So the way that I structured the sales process was also much more intentional and required more than just clicking a buy button, which made a world of difference. And this brings me to my next principle of how you actually sell an online course and sell it in a way that is consistent and can generate predictable revenue year over year. But before I dig into those details, if you do have an expertise that you want to scale with an online course, you can actually apply to book a free course consultation with my team. So we're going to work with you on creating a road map to create your successful course, and just comment "online course" below, and we'll drop the link for you to book that free consultation. So no pressure; we do vet applications because we do want to make sure that you're in the right place and you're a right fit for us to be able to support you.
So bringing us to principle two: sustainable selling. I will not lie; this is not an easy process, and it's certainly not a quick fix. But if you approach the process of sustainable selling in the right way from the beginning, you will actually create an online program that people want to buy for years to come. I say this with my own experience of that. So I would say that this has been the biggest key to having an online course that is wildly predictable and consistent in terms of how much revenue we generate every month. So tactically, I knew lots of people in my network who were struggling with the same kind of time trap that I was struggling with: freelancers, consultants, coaches, etc., and they knew even more people that they could then refer me to who also were having the same problem. So it all started with a very simple text message and a DM, and I just sent it out to a few of the people that I actually knew in my network, and I said, "Do you know anyone who's struggling with [fill in the blank]?" And it's so powerful. So before I even created my online course, I listened to people who were struggling with the same thing that I was struggling with because I wanted to make sure that I wasn't having any blind spots and that I had full clarity on what was needed as a solution. So I set up Zoom interviews—I did over 50 of them—with a few people that I knew, but mostly I just wanted to talk to people that I didn't really have a relationship with because I wanted completely unbiased answers, and that was crucial. So I just asked really simple questions. I asked things like, "What's the most painful part of your current business model?" Or, "If you could wave a magic wand and have a solution to this problem, what would that look like for you? And describe it to me in detail." And, "What makes getting out of the trading time for money trap urgent for you? You know, what about this makes you need to actually change?"
This process did three very crucial things for building a successful foundation of my online course: Number one, it created a really small, like teeny tiny, but targeted email list of potential clients. Everyone I spoke to, I then added to what I would call an email list, but it was actually just an Excel spreadsheet, and that's how simple things were in the beginning. And I had all the information I needed to really create a curriculum that would truly impact them. Plus, I actually understood on a very real, very deep level how valuable this program would actually be for them. So instead of undervaluing my expertise, which I absolutely would have done, I chose a price point based on what we call value-based pricing. So it forces you to look at the cost to your ideal client of not having the solution you provide on a mental, emotional, financial level, and that creates a ton of clarity on a price point that's actually reflective of your expertise and of the value of the program. Plus, it really creates a lot of accountability for the ideal client to invest and take it seriously and do the work. So I combined my own experience with that feedback that I got through those interviews, and I created the most crucial piece to creating a successful online program, and that is what I mentioned earlier: the ideal client journey. So it starts with what we call the zero state. So this is where your client is in the most pain, challenge, frustrated. When I was in the hospital with that burnout, and essentially, it's what is the tipping point; it's where they have to make a change, and it takes them to their hero state, which is where they ultimately desire to be; it's really their end goal. So your curriculum is what bridges the gap between that zero and hero state. So identifying this allowed me to get really clear on what we now call our transformation statement, or it's also known as unique selling proposition, and it looks like this: So I help [ideal client] go from [zero state] to [hero state] so that they can achieve the feelings and desires associated with accomplishing that hero outcome.
From there, I went back to the folks that I spoke to originally in my interviews and told them I had created this solution that they were seeking, and most of them were like, "You have read my mind; this is exactly what I'm looking for." So I had eight people enroll in my first version of my online program even before it was created, and I told them this would be the only time I was delivering the curriculum to such a small group in a live setting, and I was offering a discount to them for being one of my first clients. So from there, I delivered and tested the curriculum live as I built it out each week to see what was working, what wasn't, what pieces of the curriculum weren't necessary, and if I needed to rearrange the order of it. So once I had delivered the curriculum, I asked my clients for feedback and testimonials, which I had also been collecting through the entire delivery of the curriculum, and I had my first pieces of proof and results that what I was teaching was actually working; it was the foundation of, "I have a great course here." So from there, my only job was to market and sell, and I was accumulating, you know, all of this data that I needed to hit these predictable income months, and I'm going to talk more about that in a second because you really need to focus on data to be able to create consistent revenue. And so from building other courses in the past, as I mentioned before, I knew that I wanted to vet people because I wanted to know before they came into the program they were a great fit because the health of the community was so crucial to the long-term success because of mistakes that I made in the past. So I used the same strategy I used to set up my research calls and found folks who were struggling with being great at what they did but being capped by a ceiling and got them onto free consultation calls, and on those calls I would truly actually listen to them so that by the end of the call I'd really be like the doctor, and I would go, "Okay, I now can diagnose this person and know if this is actually what they need or if it's not." So I knew if the person was going to be a good fit, if they're actually going to do the work and take it seriously, and if I felt they were, then I would actually invite them into the program. And with more calls and more data, you know, that allowed me to start to see patterns. So I knew that if I had a minimum of five consultation calls each month, I'd close at least two of them, and from there I was so clear on who I did want to work with and who I didn't. So I created an application process that people could go through in order to get onto a call with me, so I wasn't just speaking with anybody because that obviously takes up a lot of time. So this created much higher-quality leads and a much higher conversion rate and clients who are actually taking the work seriously.
Listen, as a little side note, there will always be people who seem like a perfect fit and then get in the program and decide to skip steps or do the bare minimum or complain about how hard it is; that's unavoidable in this kind of business. But the more you can vet people, the higher quality your community will be and the better the results will be. And it may sound bizarre because I could have sold a lot more people into the program, especially in the beginning, but if I got the wrong people in who weren't going to do the work, that would kill the business; truly, truly, truly, that kills the business. It's like short-term success but long-term pain. So that's what I want to get into detail in in the third principle.
So principle three is results. A golden rule of business that I have learned in the over a decade of doing this is that if you have a great offer that actually works, you don't need to put nearly as much effort into marketing or selling, which is really wonderful. So as I mentioned from the beginning, I focused on proof that the program actually worked by collecting feedback and testimonials and screenshots and videos, and that has remained my main focus—our main focus—ever since, to the point where a few years ago we actually created an entire YouTube channel as a test that only featured our client results, and it's been a massive success. So sharing that proof with prospective clients led to a higher level of trust to make the investment. I know you don't have that from day one, but the sooner you start collecting results, the better.
In terms of marketing our online course, the process started mostly with, like, the one-to-one conversations and interactions and referrals to build that base of our first clients and to start really generating more and more proof by having clients follow the ideal client journey we laid out and that I spoke about in principle two. So if you're thinking, "Well, where did you find your ideal clients?" It was actually really simple because I knew exactly how they thought and where they were hanging out and what their activities were based on my experience with the research calls that I did earlier in the process. And I'm telling you, without that process, I would have had a very, very hard time finding consistent clients. And because I focused on just having conversations, not every person was ready or even at the right place where they were a fit for the program at that time. But if they were a good lead, I continued to add them to my email list or my spreadsheet and nurture them. And this allowed me to have this pipeline of potential clients, which also allowed me to not have to market as hard because I didn't need to only focus on getting new, new, new, new, new leads. And when I had a whole pipeline of folks who would eventually invest, I was really in a secure spot. So it set me up for a pipeline of new leads and this security blanket of clients moving forward.
From there, I had even more confidence in our offer, and that's when I set up our evergreen marketing machine. And there's no way—not a chance—I could have done this and have it actually work if I wasn't clear on that transformation statement we talked about earlier; that is truly the basis of every marketing asset and piece of content you will ever create in the business; if it isn't clear, nothing will work. So the first machine looked like this; it was very simple: It was YouTube, call to action, free consultation, and they would either become a client or not based on the conversation that we had and me deciding if they were a fit or not. From there, as traffic started to build up, I then implemented what we call the content scaling funnel. So it looks like this: So we have the top of the funnel, which is really for more broad, beginner topics that would appeal to people who are more so at the very beginning stages of their journey of seeking out a solution; they're not in that urgent pain, and for them, you just want to focus on nurturing them. So we would offer them like a free guide or a free PDF. And then the middle of the funnel—that's for warmer leads. So once I had these assets built out, then I would offer them something like a webinar. And then the bottom of the funnel, for the hottest leads, I would just send them directly to book a call. And that was important because if they were in that pain and urgency and they're going on to YouTube seeking out a solution, and I'm saying, "Hey, I'm here to help," they would be so apt and ready to actually speak to somebody who could really help them. And my content on YouTube was warming them up and providing value to them to go, "Oh, I actually really can trust this person, and they seem like they know what they're talking about."
So the biggest thing to remember though is: If you don't have a webinar and you don't have a PDF or a guide or something that you can give to people at each level of the funnel, just focus on getting people to book a consultation call with you because that's going to generate leads. And even if they aren't, you know, the right fit now and they're more so in the colder bucket, they're still going to benefit from speaking to you, and they can then get added to that pipeline of potential clients, which again allows you to market less because then you have this security blanket of folks who are going to want to eventually become a client because you've actually taken the time to listen to them, nurture them, provide value to them. And the whole automated machine, when you bring this all together and you have everything you kind of need, it starts with YouTube because on YouTube it is search-based marketing; people are seeking out the solution that you can provide. So they land on your video; you give them a call to action to, let's say, it's a lead magnet of some kind, a webinar, or an eBook; then they get onto your email list; you use email marketing to nurture them, provide value to them, get them to book a call eventually; and then you can offer up that free consultation, and they then become a client or not based on your conversation with them. If you think they're a good fit, you can invite them in; if they're not, then you simply don't, or you invite them in at a later date. So by making content that I knew addressed my ideal clients' pain points, I was attracting new leads all day, every day, through YouTube. So not only was I attracting leads because I was providing valuable content that was helpful for them, but I was also attracting leads because I was featuring things like social proof and results and testimonials from the very beginning in every aspect of the machine, from my videos to my emails.
So if I haven't harped on this enough, results are a key part of building a successful marketing machine, which is obviously a more important part of creating this evergreen, successful online course business. But it isn't as easy as it might sound. So if you want to know exactly how to do this and create this for yourself, this is something that we teach in detail inside of our program. And so click the link, as I mentioned earlier in the description, for a free consultation call so we can provide the guidance that you need and really understand how we can best support you with your goals. So you can either comment "online course" below or you can just click the link in the description.
So let's dig into principle four: word of mouth. So even though you could have the fanciest marketing machine in the world, nothing beats the power of word of mouth. And word of mouth doesn't happen if you don't have a great offer, which is why when people skip over that first principle, their course might have this like teeny tiny short stint of success, but it really won't last long; results really are everything. So the clients who were happy with our program, they started to naturally refer strangers to the program, and this created this self-sustaining and completely organic marketing process, which was incredible for our growth. And with time, it became super clear, "Okay, we now know exactly how many leads we need per month to hit our targets and create this super predictable revenue to then scale from." And once we had an understanding of that, we could then invest back into the growth of the business. So with more clients came more capital, and after focusing entirely on organic marketing—and that's still our main focus—we started to invest into a little bit of paid advertising. So we still don't do a ton, like a ton, ton of paid ads, especially in comparison with most people in the industry, but it does allow us another layer of lead generation on top of those organic efforts. So as you scale the business, having that added layer of what I would call security makes a lot of sense. But I would never—not in a million years—invest in paid ads for an offer that I didn't have a ton of results or proof for because if you do that, it's like throwing money into a dumpster fire. You need to have clarity on your client, on your messaging, and of course, you need to have results to do this properly. So as the business grew and we continued to scale, I, of course, I'm not doing it alone; I'm investing back into the business, so I was able to grow a team so that I...
I could focus on what I was best at and what I wanted to do versus what I had to do. And that is the freedom that I was seeking—total freedom of choice and how I spend my time and where I put my energy and effort. I love what I do; I like to work, but it's really nice to have the choice on how I do it.
To this day, these four core principles are what keep our online course business running, and it's what actually is the engine behind all of our clients' course businesses as well. So we really call it the engine or the flywheel that runs an online education business. So it starts with the offer—the transformational program. Then you have enrollments, which is that sustainable selling. Then you have transformations once the client is inside the program and does the work, which is results. And then you have word of mouth and those referrals that bring in more people in a completely organic way.
And as I mentioned, this is for one online course. I truly treat our course as an entire business. And from my experience, trying to grow two, three, five, seven businesses at once is a losing battle. So we focus on one. Courses are living entities, and as much as people can study the curriculum on their own time, you will inevitably need to make changes and do updates over time. So having more than one, in addition to the support that you're providing, creates a lot of chaos and it eats up a lot of time, which completely defeats the whole purpose of creating an online education business in the first place and getting into entrepreneurship in the first place.
So if you have a great offer and a reliable way to get new leads, you have what I mentioned at the beginning of this video: number one, something people actually want to buy; and number two, a program that can stand the test of time, and that leads to longevity. And that is the purpose of this business model—it's to truly create what we call a legacy business that can create an income and an impact even if you're not around. It is this really fascinating ripple effect that happens. And this is how we've gone from those first few clients to thousands of clients in over 47 different countries all over the world, which is mind-blowing.
And I am not sitting here saying this has been easy, but it is simple. We have a very simple business model that works on repeat, but of course, it takes work, and it takes dedication; it takes focus. For me, though, the mission of what I'm creating fuels my excitement of continuing to do it. So above all else, I really do believe that your purpose has to outweigh getting paid, because this is a super profitable business model. You can run it in a very lean way, but you're—if you're only in it for the money, you're going to quit, I promise you.
So like I said earlier, if you have knowledge or expertise that you really want to scale with an online course, there is a link below this video, and you can apply to book a free consultation with my team, where we're going to work with you on creating a road map to creating your successful online course. And if you want to also just comment below with “online course,” we'll drop the link for you to book that consultation call. Uh, no pressure, uh, but we do vet the applications. So I think it's important that you know, as I mentioned earlier, we want to make sure that you're in the right place for us to really be able to support you. So we do vet those applications.
Here's the thing: you don't have to just take it from me, because sometimes that's not enough. So I want you to check out this video next to see how our strategy allowed this family to escape bankruptcy and travel the world while building their online course business. It's really, really incredible. So check that out next, and I'll see you in the next video. Thanks. Bye.