Latest / Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs / 90: How to create a new income stream in your business

Transcript

90: How to create a new income stream in your business · Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Digit Lee She Does It Show.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 90, and in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about how to create a brand new income stream in your business.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump right in and let's 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.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Back when I went to BBD Live in what November, December last year, I was working on an idea, and at the time I thought it would be an all-inclusive programme that I would walk people through over a set period of time.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: But then earlier this year, what I realized is because of everything that I have available, and because of how I like to teach, and because I like to be in that supportive role where I'm guiding people through and teaching people live, I decided that for me and my business, the best type of model that I could launch really was a membership model, and so that's what I set out to create.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: So over the sort of probably first half of the year, I've I've been very much building this out in the background with a launch at the beginning of July.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm so excited about this membership because what it gives me is the opportunity to really serve at a much deeper level so that anybody that is looking to create an online course and is serious about building that new income stream in their business, I get to support them through providing masterclasses and QA sessions and training and resources and templates and plug-and-play systems and so many different things that will make their lives easier, that cuts down the workload and helps them to just focus their energies on creating a really compelling online course that's going to sell, and what the membership has allowed me to do is be able to kind of pull everything together that I've been creating over the past what four or five years and be able to present it in one place.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: But what it allows for my members is that they get this extensive sort of toolbox, if you like, of everything that they need to be able to successfully create their online course.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: The membership is designed to remove any of the guesswork, any of the hurdles and the challenges and the overwhelm, so that they can just focus on what they need to do, and that is create really compelling and engaging learning material for their students, and I break it all down, I walk them through start to finish on exactly what they need to do in the most easiest and simplest way.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: The thing that I think is a bit of a game changer with this membership is that I'm providing, like I say, the plug-and-play system so they don't have to start from scratch, and I have the resources and I have the templates and all the beautifully designed stuff that is going to be needed for when they're creating their online course.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really excited about this because I get to share everything that I've been doing over the past, like say four or five years, and I get to put it in one place, and I get to holistically support my members in a way that it's going to provide them with this immense value so that they can do what they need to do, which is build that additional income stream.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: By doing so, I have created myself an income stream because not only am I now selling my online course or online courses separate, but now I have a membership, and because I have this membership, it is another way for me to add income into my business because I'm selling a slightly different model, so that's why I thought today I just want to jump on here and I just want to talk about building a brand new income stream in your business and and the five stages that are necessary to making that a success.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, I've spoken about obviously what I've been up to and also why I've decided a membership model is great for me and my business.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: But I think one of the things to maybe consider for yourself if this is something you're looking to do is to really ask yourself how you like to work.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: So before I share the five different stages, I want to just sort of put that question out there because I love online courses.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: I have purchased many online courses which have been phenomenal.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't have this podcast if it wasn't for an online course.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: I literally created my podcast off the back of an online course, and the success of me doing that was being able to launch this podcast and then be able to serve so many people as well through this podcast.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that's great.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: I like consuming online courses, I like to learn.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'm just somebody that I like, I enjoy that process of learning, but what I also enjoy is that process of taking action as well.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because I don't think you can have one without the other.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think you need to, if you if you're going to consume an online course and you're going to go through that process of learning whatever's in the online course, you need to equally want to take the action as well.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: But as an entrepreneur and a business owner, the thing that I really enjoy is connection.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: I love connecting with my clients and my students and my members and being able to help them through the challenges that they're facing, and I don't mean in an automated way.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: I get a lot of enjoyment by showing up live and delivering live trainings and answering questions and being there to really support on a much deeper level, and I realized that earlier in the year when I was trying to figure out what it was that I wanted my core offer of my business to be.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why for me I decided that I was going to create a membership because it allows me to serve at that level, but also for members coming in who just want to follow my system and get that result, they can do that.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: They don't even have to engage if they don't want to.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: But then for those that actually want to be a part of the community and want to get that support and actually want to come to live masterclasses and they want their questions answered and they want to have real-time response.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: I get to help them as well because everybody works differently, everyone works differently, not one person is going to consume something in the same way, and people take in things much differently.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like I've got members in my membership that come to every single masterclass because for them it's important that they get that live interaction.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas I've got others that I can see through the data that sits behind my members' portal that they're consuming the training and they're doing all the things, but they don't necessarily want that live experience.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: So it's trying to figure out for yourself what suits you.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is an online course like your ideal approach?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because maybe you want to just create something once and then sell it on repeat, and then you just want to be there to provide customer service as and when it's needed, or are you like me where you like to be involved in that process and you want to have touch points with your students and with your members?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: In which case a membership model might be better, or it might be that you like the idea of delivering a pathway over a set period of time that leads to that result, but maybe you want to contain that time frame by delivering it through a program.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I think whichever route you decide to take, you have to make that decision first and foremost because that will then influence what you then end up creating.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: I know for me for a long time, even though I've been selling my digital products and my online courses, it's important to create stuff that I can sell and repeat and I can scale, but also I was missing that connection.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, the membership model made sense because it kind of gives me that access to my members, so I get to help them.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: So think about what it is that is going to suit you.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want to have that connection, or or is it the fact that actually that that's not important to you?
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: You just want to teach your stuff, sell it on repeat, and be able to scale it, in which case online courses are the brilliant approach for you, or it might just be digital products.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you just you like the idea of having a shop and you like the idea of creating things that you can sell and repeat, but maybe they are at maybe a small price point, but you're okay with that because you just want to create and sell stuff to help people.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter, I think what matters is being able to kind of recognize what suits you.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So once you've done that, there are five key stages of the process in which you would then create and launch your offer, so to speak.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: So the first stage is about coming up with that idea, about understanding what it is that you want to deliver.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, understanding where your expertise lies, I think that's key to being able to deliver whatever you're going to deliver to your customers that's going to help them.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, if you are somebody that is absolutely brilliant in web design, for example, and what you want to create is something that really helps people with their websites, because maybe there's a lot that there's a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to websites, and I think there's a lot of business owners out there that just don't have the basic understanding of really what goes into creating and maintaining a website.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe that's where your expertise lies.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's what people come to you for because you're absolutely brilliant in that area.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: It may be that you are really good in terms of social media strategy, breaking it down for your customers so that they understand what they need to be thinking about in order to gain results using social media platforms.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I think first and foremost, it's about looking at your skills, looking at your knowledge and the resources that you have in your business and figuring out what can be leveraged, what can you use that is going to support your students?
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Or the second stage is about identifying the market needs.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, this is looking at your industry.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: What are other people doing?
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: What are they selling?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: What is there a need for?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: What are your customers wanting?
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And looking at the problems that your customers are facing as well, and how they're getting those solutions currently.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is a great time to be able to look at your competitors and see what your competitors are doing as well, because not everybody, not every business is creating scalable products.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing about scalable products, like online courses and digital products and memberships and all of that, is that it is that additional income that allows you to be able to scale your business, and so if you're finding that your competitors are providing one-to-one services or packaged services, then it might be that they're missing a trick, and that might be something that you can then focus on because that will differentiate you from your competition.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I would definitely carry out market research, have a look at what's out there, do a Google search, go on um Pinterest, have a look on YouTube, go and have a look at what is being offered in your space and figure out what is missing.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: It might be that there aren't many online courses being offered, like it could be that maybe you're a pension provider and a lot of your competitors are selling their services through having those one-to-one meetings, and maybe there is a part of what you do that needs that.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: But is there a part of what you do that could be automated into a small product?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Think about it, think broadly and think outside the box, don't just stick with what is currently the norm, be innovative and really look at your market and how you can serve your customers.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: And then the third stage is about brainstorming ideas.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: I love this stage.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you get to be creative, you get to uh future plan or look into the future of what could be if you could solve a problem because you know what a problem is, what could be a really effective way of doing that?
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: And and by solving that problem, how could it benefit you?
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: And how could it build your income so that you're not having to sacrifice your time?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: What if I could do this?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, what would that do for me and my business?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: How could it give me more time back whilst bringing in that income?
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: Could you create a digital product, an online course, a membership around what you do?
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: Think about the resources you have available in your business.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have templates?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Do you carry out the same thing with every client you work with?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: I.e., do you take them through the same process over and over and over again?
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you do, that could be something that you then build into something that is then automated that you could then sell on repeat.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: Spend time brainstorming ideas and seeing what you come up with, and then once you've got those ideas, validate them, go online, have a look at what is out there, carry out surveys to your customers, your existing client base.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: You could run a small pilot program where you create something very draft in draft format and ask a small group of people to come on board and test it out.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: So really think about what it is you can grow.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: You could even create a focus group where you bring people on board and ask their opinions, insights about your idea, and you could give them free access to whatever it is you're creating as a thank you.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: So now's the time to really kind of really think about what it is you can create and bring people on board in order to help you validate that idea, and then the final stage is the creation stage.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you get to roll your sleeves up and get into the nitty-gritty of what it is you're creating.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know this might seem a lot of work, but it doesn't have to be.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: There are ways to create something as you deliver it, so it could be in the creation stage that you just create a really simple framework that you ask a small group of people to come into and experience to give you insight and to also help you with validating your idea.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: So it might be that you, for example, are a social media strategist, and maybe you do have an idea for an online course, and maybe you have five areas that you want to sort of touch upon in your online course.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that could be a five-week live program that you deliver to a small group of people at a paid-for price, so they pay for it.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: Whilst you're delivering that content, you can be recording it, and that could be the base of your online course.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't have to be anything extensive.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: The key is to take action to get creative and to just give it a go.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Because once you start building in additional income streams in your business, then you get to experience that level of freedom that you can enjoy whilst you're selling your products on repeat.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: One of the great things about launching my membership is that I had everything already in existence because I've been creating it over the past sort of four or five years.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I've built this library of content that has been designed to help people.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now the membership was quite straightforward because actually the thing that differentiates an online course to a membership is the community side.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, it was just about finding a platform that could enable me to provide the community aspect to what it was I already had to share with everybody.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then once I'd set that up, I did a soft launch where I launched it through my masterclasses and I was able to build a wait list that then converted into paying members.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: My goal was to keep it simple.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to just focus on delivering high-quality content that would bring people on board because they could see the value of what it was that I could offer and how I could help them.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, what could you do in your business that can provide value and help people to give them a result that they are looking for?
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: And what can you do that can be automated?
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I encourage you to just take some time, brainstorm some ideas, and really think about what you can do in your business that is already there, you have the knowledge, you have the expertise, and what can you deliver that can be turned into a scalable product that you can sell on repeat when you're not at your desk.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, something just to bear in mind building a new income stream in your business doesn't mean that you need to abandon what's already working in your business, it's all about expanding what you offer and creating more value for your customers and for your business.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: My membership doesn't replace anything that I already have in my business, it just complements my existing services and allows me to serve my audience in a new and ongoing way, and for me, that works really well.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: For them, they get that support, that tailored support that they need to help them to achieve their goals.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Have you successfully added a new income stream in your business or are you considering it?
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't you reach out to me either at Instagram at Karen underscore digital coach or email me, send me your comments, and just share how you have approached building a new income stream in your business.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to today's episode.
• 23:01
  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 will also benefit from listening to today's episode.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you are feeling inspired and would like to know more about getting started with creating an online course, then please head over to my brand new website www.caren davies.com where you'll find lots of resources to help get you started.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a great week.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: New episodes drop every week on a Wednesday, so why not rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode?
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in today, and I will see you next time.