Latest / Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs / 4: How to monetise your expertise online

Transcript

4: How to monetise your expertise online · Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Digital Ishe Does It Show.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: In today's episode, I'm going to be talking about how to start monetising your expertise online and with integrity.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in and get started.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host Karen and I'm here to lift the lid on what it actually takes to create a successful business.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you are an ambitious creative ready to build a business on your own terms and without compromise, then this podcast is perfect for you.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: With my award-winning approach to marketing and expert knowledge in creating online courses, this show will leave you feeling inspired, energized, and ready to bring those big dreams to life.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Join me each week for a dose of motivation and marketing know-how, along with actionable step-by-step strategies to help you accelerate your business's growth.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in and don't forget to subscribe to all my upcoming episodes, which drop every Wednesday.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to episode four.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: In this episode, I'm going to be talking about how you can start monetizing your expertise online and most importantly, how you can start monetizing with integrity.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: So as entrepreneurs, it's easy to take our expertise and our skills for granted.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I bet, like most people, you have spent years and years and years accumulating the skills and the expertise that you have.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: But your expertise has a value and it's one where you can make money from it.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you may be currently running a business where you're selling your expertise through the services that you're providing, but the way I see it is that as a service-based provider, if you are looking to scale, there's always going to be a ceiling as to what you can charge for your expertise, unless you bring a team on board and you decide that the way you're going to scale is by growing your team.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a solo entrepreneur and maybe that is not something that you have an interest in, then there are other ways in which you can make money from your expertise.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't necessarily need to boil down to you selling services.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the thing about selling services is often that model is based on a time for money approach, which means that in order for you to deliver the service that you're offering, there needs to be an element of time attached to that in which that service is going to be provided.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: And often service-based businesses calculate the worth of what they're offering based on that time model.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: I know coming from the creative industry, the hourly rate approach is very common.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: So designers are often billed out based on an hourly rate.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So whether you're a junior in a design agency or you're mid-level or a senior designer, you will have different hourly rates, and that is what will be billed to the client.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it is a model that a lot of businesses and especially service providers do use in order to calculate the services that they're providing.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I completely understand that because how else are you going to pluck out that figure from the air, really?
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: You need to have something that you can base it on, and often it's based on what your time is worth, and then therefore that's what you then bill out to your clients.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the problem with that is you are very much reliant on being there, working day by day, hour by hour, in order to generate revenue for your business.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: So long term, it's not the best approach to build in a strong business because essentially the business is on your shoulders.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: So when you are looking at scaling, unless you can bring more people on board and build out a really great team that can support you, it's very difficult to scale when the onus is on you providing the services to your clients, which means that you're capped on the revenue that equally you can make.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you can, of course, increase your prices, and that's a great way to bring in further revenue, but also you do run the risk, of course, of losing clients, you don't want to pay those higher prices.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: So many entrepreneurs don't take that approach because they don't want to rock the boat.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: So then what could happen is that you end up delivering your services based around your time, but always being limited as to the amount of clients that you can take on.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you're never really going to be pushing the boundaries of what you can earn if you're only capped at what is feasible in terms of the time and the energy that you have.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I think as a business owner, it makes sense to look at other ways in which to generate revenue for your business.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: And this very much starts with the mindset and almost shaping the mindset to look beyond just providing services.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a service provider, I've been a service provider of an independent business for many years.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: And when I started into the world of digital entrepreneurship, it took me time to really get my head around how else I could make money because I was used to trading that time for money.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I would be providing a service in exchange for somebody paying me for it.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So it is a very different position to be in when you are looking at your business, looking at how you can make money, and then coming at it from a place of providing more product-based results as opposed to service-based offerings.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So it does very much start with a mindset and almost cultivating a mindset that is open to change.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you step into the role of a CEO that works in the digital space, it is a very different type of mindset because you're building to sell on repeat as opposed to just delivering services over and over again.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: So the mindset plays a huge importance when it comes to delivering a different approach to your business.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now, with that, there are many opportunities available to us, especially now that we do sort of sit in this digital age and we have more tools available to us, and we have more audiences available to us through social media and being online.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that's great because that does bring forward huge amounts of opportunity available to us in ways that we can generate revenue through different means.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't all have to be from us selling our time because we have limited time, there's only so much time in a day, there's only so much capacity that one person can take on board, and most importantly, there's only so much energy that you have to give to your clients, and then when you're finished with a project, and then you start on that treadmill of having to find new clients, you're just getting caught up on that hamster wheel of having to find new clients in order to keep the lights on in your business, but then having to be there to provide them the service so that you can pay the bills, and then once they're done, having to get back on that hamster wheel of finding new clients.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: The truth of it is it's exhausting, it's really tiring because you're always in this fight or flight mode.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: So when things are good, it's great, and you're soaring, and you know, business is doing well, and you have plenty of revenue coming in.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: But if you hit a time of the year, maybe where things slow down, or maybe something outside of our control happens that affects the business, then that can bring in problems and then challenges of having to overcome those problems.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think one thing about the pandemic, I don't believe anyone really saw that coming.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: So when it happened, I think it took a lot of business owners by surprise.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, it really did affect how the business then went on to trade because businesses stopped trading for a period of time, especially small business owners, experienced struggles because they didn't have the customers available to them.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I know during that period I spoke to many of my clients where their businesses had literally just fallen off a cliff because people were not spending.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if people are not spending, then it's really difficult to have people buying your products or buying your services and keeping the walls from the doors.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I know when things happen that sit outside of your control, it's almost as though, well, how am I going to cope with this?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's unusual and it's unexpected.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are a business owner that only really delivers a service-based offering, then that can lead to problems because it means that you only have one route to market.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if people are not buying that service because maybe they're holding back finances because of the uncertainty that they're sitting in, then that can prove to be really difficult when it comes to generating revenue for your business.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think taking the lessons from what we've all been through through the pandemic and applying those lessons to our business, I think lesson number one, it must be to build a business that doesn't solely rely on you.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't rely on you solely being there to deliver the service day in and day out.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because what happens if you go sick?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: And what happens if something happens in your life whereby you're not available to be there in your business because other things take priority?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: It becomes very challenging to keep a business going when your head is not in the game.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so, for those reasons, I think it's really important to look at other ways to bring revenue into your business.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, because we live in a very digital age now, trading online is becoming more and more common.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: And for those of you that run a bricks and mortar business, because maybe you sell a product, then the way you may approach the online space may be slightly different.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it might be that you open an online shop and start trading online that way.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're a service-based provider, then there are many ways that you can make money simply by sharing your expertise.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in this episode, I'm going to go through my top five ways to start monetizing your expertise.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that you find this really useful.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope also that it gets you thinking about your business and how you can strengthen your business model so that you can start looking at diversifying your revenue streams.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because the more ways in which you make money, the stronger your business is going to be because you're investing in an asset and your asset has a value, but it only has a value if it's making money.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: So these five ways will give you an idea on how you can make money online.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: So my tip number one is about affiliate marketing.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this has two approaches to it.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: The first approach is that you become an affiliate for a tool or a service that you are using.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I mean by that is if you are using a tool that your business heavily relies upon, then why not become an affiliate for that tool?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: And what that means is by simply referring that tool, you can then generate money, you can generate revenue of some kind.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now, some tools will provide it in credit, but some tools will actually give you cashback.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really worth looking at the tools that you're using to see if they have an affiliate scheme that you can join.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you're using a tool and you are finding it really useful to support your business, then why not share it?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Why not share it amongst your audience and let your audience know and recommend that they sign up to the tool?
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I wouldn't recommend doing this for just any old tool.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: The caveat with this is that you have to really believe in the tool that you're recommending.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's about having the integrity behind your actions and your motivations.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if you do decide to go down this road where you are becoming an affiliate for a tool of some kind, then you have to be using it in your business and you have to stand by the fact that this is an important tool for you.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I know some of the common tools on the market offer some really great affiliate schemes, so it's definitely worth checking it out.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I said this was a two-tongue approach.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: The other approach you could take is if you have a program or an online course that you currently sell, then why not create an affiliate scheme for your students?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you bring your students on board, then they can promote your course or your program on your behalf.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, affiliate schemes are a really great way to bring on ambassadors and who best to bring onto your affiliate program than the people that have taken your course or they've taken your program because they are going to be your cheerleaders, they have first-hand experience of what you have created and the benefits that it's made to their life.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: So why not reach out to them and ask them if they want to become an affiliate and then set up an affiliate scheme where perhaps you give them a small amount of money every time somebody signs up to your course or your program, or it could be in line with a credit of some kind, but it's definitely worth looking into because this is how you get more people viewing your products and services if you widen your audience space and you ask your own cheerleaders to market your course or your program for you.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a really great and effective way to grow your audience and to get more people into your course or programs and to offer other entrepreneurs the opportunity to make money, which I think personally is a win-win.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the second idea for making money online is by creating a membership site.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So membership sites are where people sign up for something and there's a recurring charge, but that recurring charge is because they're part of some kind of membership that provides them value of some kind.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: So what can you create in your business that can offer a membership?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, if you are a creative and you design a lot of templates, could you create a membership site based on templates that people may need in their business?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because not everybody can create really well-designed templates, so there might be a gap there for you to step into to create recurring revenue for your business.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: And there are so many membership sites online, so it's absolutely worth going online and doing some research and seeing what other people offer.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a fitness company, you could offer a membership for online coaching, perhaps, where they get fitness plans or nutrition plans, or they get something that your audience are going to want in exchange for being a part of your membership.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: So memberships are really great because they enable you to grow your audience, they bring in rear-covering revenue.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if somebody was to leave your membership, you're not really going to feel the effects because it's a volume-based model.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: You're looking at building up volume members to make it lucrative.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: So it could be a low-offer, high-value offer that you provide your audience, but it brings them into your funnel so that you can then nurture them further and give them some really great value as well.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, my third suggestion is about creating a video series online that you sell.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: So if you create a lot of how-to videos in your business, then why not create a video series that you can package up and sell online?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: These are great for again widening your audience, offering really high value, but of course helping you to make money in exchange for that.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, my fourth suggestion is about creating and selling templates.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now, marketplaces like Etsy and Creative Market, they've made it so easy to create shops where you can sell templates and workbooks and resources that are going to help other entrepreneurs.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: So if you find that you have a lot of templates that you use in your business and they would be of high value to other entrepreneurs, then why not consider setting up a shop on Etsy or on Creative Market and selling them that way?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: And you can do really well because they bring in a high volume traffic.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: So if you approach it in the right way, then it can be quite lucrative for your business.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, my fifth and final suggestion is of course digital online courses.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is a great way to really package up and leverage your knowledge and expertise by creating an online course that can help your audience achieve something.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: So that something could be a skill, it could be a way of thinking, it could be how to do something that really is going to be valuable to their life or their business.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, what could you create an online course on?
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you facilitate a transformation of any kind, then you can of course create an online course, and they are really powerful ways of building up that passive revenue in your business.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: They also help you to really strengthen your business model because they give you something to sell.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, God forbid anything was to happen again, such as the pandemic, and you're a service-based provider, you would be able to go about selling your online course online because you can then focus your energy online as opposed to selling your services, and that really helps you to diversify your offering.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, if you haven't considered it already, then I really do encourage you to think about how you can monetize your expertise and how you can package it up and provide value to your audience whilst diversifying your revenue streams.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening to today's episode.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you found this episode of value and, of course, please feel free to share it with others who you may think may benefit from listening to today's episode.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you are feeling inspired and would like to know more about getting started with creating online digital courses, then why not download my free ebook, 10 Steps to Digital Course Success, by visiting my website www.carinhyphendavies.com.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a great week.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: New episodes drop every week on a Wednesday, so why not rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in today, and I'll see you next time.