Log: Finding My Fastlane On-Ramp

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">Hello Fastlaners <br /> <br /> I&#039;m Dan, 35, living in Bristol, UK. I&#039;m starting this log to document my journey as I finally take care of what, historically, has been my lowest priority in life: money.<br /> <br /> I&#039;m posting to clarify thoughts, add a little accountability, and connect with other folks here.<br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 22px"><b>THE PIECES</b></span><br /> <br /> 1. I have an existing sole trader business as a drum kit teacher, which takes care of living expenses + saving a little here &amp; there.<br /> <br /> 2. I teach mindfulness in a secular Buddhist lineage, but I&#039;m looking to step away from this for now as it&#039;s effectively impossible to monetise. (I can, however, include it as a freebie in any service I offer.)<br /> <br /> 3. I took a 4-year course in Alexander Technique, which included a tonne of educational theory &amp; personal development.<br /> <br /> 4. I&#039;m married to a great woman, who&#039;s trained in neuropsychology and currently works in a mental health unit at our local hospital.<br /> <br /> 5. I started to educate myself on the final piece of the life puzzle—money—around a year ago, first with Russell Brunson and more recently with Naval, MJ, Alex Hormozi &amp; a few others.<br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 22px"><b>THE CURRENT PLAN</b></span><br /> <br /> The best bet I&#039;ve found as yet for a Fastlane business is to target a perennial pain point for parents of young musicians, which is getting them to practice. Every music tutor struggles with this and, while I could go B2B instead and target the tutors, very few of them are well-off financially.<br /> <br /> I imagine this taking the form of a one-to-many online course, but I don&#039;t want to jump the gun. I&#039;ve been talking to parents I know who have the problem, and I&#039;d say enthusiasm is trending toward good. Of course, the test is whether or not any of them would put down cash.<br /> <br /> I understand the problem well, but I&#039;ve yet to figure out how to have the kind of conversation with parents in which they&#039;ll tell me what solution to build for them. This seems to be the next step.<br /> <br /> As I write now, however, I feel a bit of a chicken/egg thing going on: I need the market to tell me what product/service to make so that I can see if it fits with them?! Or perhaps I just go with my best idea right now—an online course—and pivot as/when required.<br /> <br /> QUESTIONS:<br /> - Do I take one parent to the solution for free to confirm that I can do it?<br /> - Otherwise, how do I sell something to them if I don&#039;t know what it is yet? (Ask them to pay me on delivery of result? Or try to take a fee with a money-back guarantee?)<br /> <br /> I have more parents I already know who I can speak with. Maybe one of them will be desperate enough for the solution. I&#039;m developing how to have the kind of conversation I want as I go. Currently, that looks like this—<br /> - what does problem look like for you?<br /> - what does dream solution look like?<br /> - I’m gonna spend some time with my team figuring out how to get you from a to b and then I’ll come back to you<br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 22px"><b>THE ALTERNATIVES</b></span><br /> <br /> 1. I can apply TONNES of what I&#039;ve been learning to my local business to increase my income, though I have doubts about degree of opportunity within the traditional private music tuition niche.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 15px">2. I&#039;ve built around a dozen websites for my own business and, though I know no code, I&#039;ve a beginning grasp of design. I think i could learn Webflow pretty quickly. So, I could just pivot hard and try to serve the coach/consultant niche as a web designer to get income up and then think again.</span><br /> <br /> I&#039;m pretty brain-dead after 40 days without a break, so just gonna leave this here and get back at it tomorrow.</div>

 

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[Yogi_Fastlane]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 108270" data-quote="DanGoldfield" data-source="post: 1004272" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1004272" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1004272">DanGoldfield said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Hello Fastlaners<br /> <br /> I&#039;m Dan, 35, living in Bristol, UK. I&#039;m starting this log to document my journey as I finally take care of what, historically, has been my lowest priority in life: money.<br /> <br /> I&#039;m posting to clarify thoughts, add a little accountability, and connect with other folks here.<br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 22px"><b>THE PIECES</b></span><br /> <br /> 1. I have an existing sole trader business as a drum kit teacher, which takes care of living expenses + saving a little here &amp; there.<br /> <br /> 2. I teach mindfulness in a secular Buddhist lineage, but I&#039;m looking to step away from this for now as it&#039;s effectively impossible to monetise. (I can, however, include it as a freebie in any service I offer.)<br /> <br /> 3. I took a 4-year course in Alexander Technique, which included a tonne of educational theory &amp; personal development.<br /> <br /> 4. I&#039;m married to a great woman, who&#039;s trained in neuropsychology and currently works in a mental health unit at our local hospital.<br /> <br /> 5. I started to educate myself on the final piece of the life puzzle—money—around a year ago, first with Russell Brunson and more recently with Naval, MJ, Alex Hormozi &amp; a few others.<br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 22px"><b>THE CURRENT PLAN</b></span><br /> <br /> The best bet I&#039;ve found as yet for a Fastlane business is to target a perennial pain point for parents of young musicians, which is getting them to practice. Every music tutor struggles with this and, while I could go B2B instead and target the tutors, very few of them are well-off financially.<br /> <br /> I imagine this taking the form of a one-to-many online course, but I don&#039;t want to jump the gun. I&#039;ve been talking to parents I know who have the problem, and I&#039;d say enthusiasm is trending toward good. Of course, the test is whether or not any of them would put down cash.<br /> <br /> I understand the problem well, but I&#039;ve yet to figure out how to have the kind of conversation with parents in which they&#039;ll tell me what solution to build for them. This seems to be the next step.<br /> <br /> As I write now, however, I feel a bit of a chicken/egg thing going on: I need the market to tell me what product/service to make so that I can see if it fits with them?! Or perhaps I just go with my best idea right now—an online course—and pivot as/when required.<br /> <br /> QUESTIONS:<br /> - Do I take one parent to the solution for free to confirm that I can do it?<br /> - Otherwise, how do I sell something to them if I don&#039;t know what it is yet? (Ask them to pay me on delivery of result? Or try to take a fee with a money-back guarantee?)<br /> <br /> I have more parents I already know who I can speak with. Maybe one of them will be desperate enough for the solution. I&#039;m developing how to have the kind of conversation I want as I go. Currently, that looks like this—<br /> - what does problem look like for you?<br /> - what does dream solution look like?<br /> - I’m gonna spend some time with my team figuring out how to get you from a to b and then I’ll come back to you<br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 22px"><b>THE ALTERNATIVES</b></span><br /> <br /> 1. I can apply TONNES of what I&#039;ve been learning to my local business to increase my income, though I have doubts about degree of opportunity within the traditional private music tuition niche.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 15px">2. I&#039;ve built around a dozen websites for my own business and, though I know no code, I&#039;ve a beginning grasp of design. I think i could learn Webflow pretty quickly. So, I could just pivot hard and try to serve the coach/consultant niche as a web designer to get income up and then think again.</span><br /> <br /> I&#039;m pretty brain-dead after 40 days without a break, so just gonna leave this here and get back at it tomorrow. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Didn&#039;t understand your premise, you are solving the problem of Students not able (motivated) to do practice or Parents not being able to get them to practice sessions?<br /> <br /> Depending on either narrative, it could be a discipline problem or a transportation (reach) problem.<br /> <br /> You can maybe find a platform, which brings the students/parents into a &quot;tribe&quot; (take joining fees) with certain rewards for &quot;producing&quot; something (find a sponsor) and then lead them to be accountable for their actions of not showing up, by cutting down rewards.<br /> <br /> Alternatively, you can find an online platform for people to learn music, it is not yet there, most people love music and few want to learn as well, some want to look cool some want to appease their girlfriends.<br /> <br /> Opportunities are abundant in this area, Good luck !!!</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 108528" data-quote="Yogi_Fastlane" data-source="post: 1004393" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1004393" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1004393">Yogi_Fastlane said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> ...you are solving the problem of Students not able (motivated) to do practice or Parents not being able to get them to practice sessions? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Solving the problem of students being unmotivated to practice—by educating their parents on how to understand and guide them—using psychology &amp; mindfulness.<br /> <br /> i.e. x-week webinar course on subjects like &#039;how to break your child&#039;s screen-time addiction &amp; win back their natural motivation&#039; (with Q&amp;A afterward).<br /> <br /> Thanks for sharing your thoughts</div>

 

[Move the chains]

<div class="bbWrapper">I<br /> <blockquote data-attributes="member: 108270" data-quote="DanGoldfield" data-source="post: 1004409" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1004409" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1004409">DanGoldfield said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Solving the problem of students being unmotivated to practice—by educating their parents on how to understand and guide them—using psychology &amp; mindfulness.<br /> <br /> i.e. x-week webinar course on subjects like &#039;how to break your child&#039;s screen-time addiction &amp; win back their natural motivation&#039; (with Q&amp;A afterward).<br /> <br /> Thanks for sharing your thoughts </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Interesting idea. Could you create something that gamifies it?<br /> <br /> I&#039;m no expert with kids/parents but from years of youth coaching, kids rarely excel when they&#039;re being pushed to do something by a parent. Now, if you teach parents to back off and let the kid focus on fun and learning, that would be great. However, I&#039;ve learned that most parents struggle with how they are judged raising their kid rather than the quality of the relationship they have. <br /> <br /> Can you create something to teach the kids and reduce the parental involvement?</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 74977" data-quote="Move the chains" data-source="post: 1004558" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1004558" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1004558">Move the chains said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Interesting idea. Could you create something that gamifies it?<br /> <br /> I&#039;m no expert with kids/parents but from years of youth coaching, kids rarely excel when they&#039;re being pushed to do something by a parent. Now, if you teach parents to back off and let the kid focus on fun and learning, that would be great. However, I&#039;ve learned that most parents struggle with how they are judged raising their kid rather than the quality of the relationship they have.<br /> <br /> Can you create something to teach the kids and reduce the parental involvement? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Glad you find it interesting—I&#039;ll take any vote of confidence I can get right now!<br /> <br /> Gamification is woven into the strategies I&#039;m intending to package. Planning to provide PDF&#039;s for goal-setting &amp; tracking. An app would be way better for the task, but I&#039;ve nowhere near the capital for that.<br /> <br /> Backing off and bringing the fun is a huge piece, yes. Parents being judged by other parents (in-laws, anyone?!) came up in my brainstorming, but is a little outside the scope of the product. My thinking is that if I can help them improve the relationship at home then the judgments from outside will improve (status).<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve plenty up my sleeve for objections in the sales stage (&#039;won&#039;t the other mums think I&#039;m weird etc...)<br /> <br /> Thanks for sharing your thoughts!</div>

 

[Move the chains]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 108270" data-quote="DanGoldfield" data-source="post: 1004770" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1004770" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1004770">DanGoldfield said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Glad you find it interesting—I&#039;ll take any vote of confidence I can get right now!<br /> <br /> Gamification is woven into the strategies I&#039;m intending to package. Planning to provide PDF&#039;s for goal-setting &amp; tracking. An app would be way better for the task, but I&#039;ve nowhere near the capital for that.<br /> <br /> Backing off and bringing the fun is a huge piece, yes. Parents being judged by other parents (in-laws, anyone?!) came up in my brainstorming, but is a little outside the scope of the product. My thinking is that if I can help them improve the relationship at home then the judgments from outside will improve (status).<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve plenty up my sleeve for objections in the sales stage (&#039;won&#039;t the other mums think I&#039;m weird etc...)<br /> <br /> Thanks for sharing your thoughts! </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>I&#039;m in the early stages of a course geared toward 12-22 year olds. Thinkific is free to use for course creation. From looking at the features, it&#039;s enough to get started and generating more than enough revenue.</div>

 

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[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 74977" data-quote="Move the chains" data-source="post: 1004860" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1004860" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1004860">Move the chains said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> I&#039;m in the early stages of a course geared toward 12-22 year olds. Thinkific is free to use for course creation. From looking at the features, it&#039;s enough to get started and generating more than enough revenue. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Oh excellent—I was just beginning to think about platform. Thanks for the tip</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">Put a quick landing page together at <a href="https://nomorenagging.net" target="_blank" class="link link--external" rel="noopener">https://nomorenagging.net.</a><br /> <br /> If anything, this is probably too fancy—I&#039;m just going to try to sign up some parents I already know. But there were some periods of waiting for various web mechanics (DNS, SSL) so I had some fun tinkering.<br /> <br /> My number 1 goal with this is for it to be what Alex Hormozi describes as a &#039;grand slam offer&#039; (an offer so good people would feel stupid saying &#039;no&#039;). I&#039;ve stopped short, though, of including any 1-to-1 services. I&#039;m already doing that in my local business—this is about ascending to 1-to-many.<br /> <br /> Would love to hear any &amp; all feedback.</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">The big question now is how to find and connect with potential early adopters face-to-face.<br /> <br /> My intuition is to go to private music schools, but there&#039;s a problem—a big part of my current messaging is basically &#039;stop spending on music lessons that don&#039;t work and buy my program instead&#039;. Music schools aren&#039;t going to be happy for me to come in and disrupt them.<br /> <br /> Do I alter (weaken?) my offer and make it something supplementary to music lessons?</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/808bb07d-5479-4fca-bc59-0a0f3ce640b8-webp.43676/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/40/40293-f2fb330f5c562a9d316951b107091864.jpg?hash=T3cOFobqJv" class="bbImage " style="" alt="808BB07D-5479-4FCA-BC59-0A0F3CE640B8.webp" title="808BB07D-5479-4FCA-BC59-0A0F3CE640B8.webp" width="200" height="346" loading="lazy" /></a>1st signup!</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">Canva flyer design. Quick &amp; easy.<br /> <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Template</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Image from pexels.com</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Colour palette for target audience (mums) generated at coolors.com</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Copy lifted from existing landing page.</li> </ol>Tweaked it longer than necessary using bits of spare time that were no good for anything else. Reached something functional at ~4 hours.<br /> <br /> Decided to funnel people straight to my cellphone. Emails can be filtered. Website is included for the curious, but ideally I want to get rapport going immediately.<br /> <br /> Now to find places to hang the prints. Think I&#039;ll get a run of 50 in case I want to change anything following feedback. First call is to parents I know to see if they can stick them up where other parents go (schools being a potential goldmine).<br /> <br /> Next I think I&#039;ll just turn up at private music schools and ask if they&#039;d like their students to practice consistently. They don&#039;t need to know I&#039;m disrupting their business. By the time they find out, I&#039;ll have my testimonials and be building my online funnel</div>

 

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[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">Got prints of above flyer design yesterday. Came out well, but immediately feeling like I need another design featuring an older child for high schools. Am I being pedantic? Will parents assume (or ask if) the course is a fit for families with older kids too?</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">Designed a second flyer for parents of older kids.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/nmn-flyer-05-210-%C3%97-297-mm-1-webp.43850/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/40/40467-6609bdcc733d429b31110c6b87a13854.jpg?hash=WzMIqdAiE9" class="bbImage " style="" alt="NMN Flyer 05 (210 × 297 mm) (1).webp" title="NMN Flyer 05 (210 × 297 mm) (1).webp" width="200" height="283" loading="lazy" /></a><br /> <br /> And started thinking about where to put them.<br /> <br /> First of all looked up a few local music schools and quickly prepped a little script—<br /> <blockquote data-attributes="" data-quote="" data-source="" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> <div style="margin-left: 20px">Hi, this is Danny from nomorenagging.net.&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">(rapport)&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">...&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">I&#039;m working to get kids practicing music in-between lessons. Is this a problem your teachers deal with?&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">Tell me more about that.&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">...&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">Repeat back pain points.&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">...&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">I&#039;m teaming up with a neuropsychologist and a former monk to teach parents how to get their kids practicing between lessons. Do you think this would help you retain more students?&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">...&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">Great, so I have some exciting ideas on exactly how I&#039;m going to help these parents. I could give you the details but how about the quick version?&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">...&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">So I&#039;m gonna run 3 online sessions per week—all recorded—and do lots of interaction. If the kids aren&#039;t practicing at least four times a week after 7 weeks, I&#039;ll give parents their money back. How does that sound to you?&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">...&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">I&#039;m looking for 9 more keen parents right now, and I&#039;d be pleased to offer yours a discount—sound good?&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">...&#8203;</div><div style="margin-left: 20px">£189 for the 7-week course.&#8203;</div> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Then I saw one music school&#039;s webpage, and realised something very important—<i>I know a guy who teaches there.</i><br /> <br /> Cut to, I&#039;ve just had a nice catchup with an old friend and I&#039;m sending him 20 flyers which will go up on notice boards in all the schools he teaches, and on coffee tables in staff rooms <br /> <br /> Gonna go through my phone book tomorrow and repeat till I&#039;ve exhausted every teacher I know.</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><b><span style="font-size: 26px"><u>1/5/10 PLANASY</u></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 18px">LIFE IN 10 YEARS</span></b><br /> - £10,000,000 net worth<br /> - C.E.N.T.S. business/es, time investment optional<br /> - pack of well-trained dogs<br /> - house in woods owned outright<br /> - running mindfulness/psychology retreats for small groups of committed students<br /> - various other mindfulness outreach for free<br /> - funding home for stray dogs in Kolkata<br /> - 2 top-end gaming PC&#039;s<br /> - home gym<br /> - 2 teslas<br /> - mum taken care of<br /> - independent of dad; ready to donate inheritance to a charity of his choosing<br /> - many bonsai (jap red maple!)<br /> - able to visit india/thailand biz class whenever<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 18px"><b>LIFE IN 5 YEARS</b></span><br /> - £1,000,000 net worth<br /> - C.E.N.T.S. business beginning to divorce from time<br /> - collie<br /> - mortgaged 2-bed quiet, comfortable, functional home<br /> - 1 tesla<br /> - able to visit india/thailand biz class once per year<br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: 18px"><b>LIFE IN 1 YEAR</b></span><br /> - £100,000 net worth<br /> - C.E.N.T.S. business replaced drum tuition; still requiring time<br /> - able to rent any 2-bed home comfortably<br /> - able to visit india/thailand economy class once per year</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">Spoke with around 30 friends &amp; acquaintances today regarding my new project. It felt strange to be &#039;on the ask&#039;, but as I went along I managed to improve my language from &#039;this is my new thing, help me promote it&#039; to more &#039;this can help you.&#039; And I wasn&#039;t lying—my offer <i>can</i> help other music teachers by transforming their students into regular practitioners, who&#039;ll stick around with them longer (plus they&#039;ll be MUCH easier to teach).<br /> <br /> More and more, I see what everyone&#039;s talking about here when they say that business is all about helping people—and that this is first and foremost a shift in mindset. I&#039;ve been all up for helping people, but held the assumption—due to Buddhist background—that this was incompatible with money. Well, I&#039;m done with that. Yes, plenty of evil has been done for money, but money is just a store of value, and there&#039;s plenty to go around in 2022.<br /> <br /> So, I&#039;ll soon place an order for ~600 flyers and have a small mob of other music teachers distribute them. I only need 2% of that number in signups, then I&#039;m ready to pilot the course.</div>

 

[Hong_Kong]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 108270" data-quote="Danny_Cox" data-source="post: 1007337" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1007337" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1007337">Danny_Cox said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Canva flyer design. Quick &amp; easy.<br /> <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Template</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Image from pexels.com</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Colour palette for target audience (mums) generated at coolors.com</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Copy lifted from existing landing page.</li> </ol>Tweaked it longer than necessary using bits of spare time that were no good for anything else. Reached something functional at ~4 hours.<br /> <br /> Decided to funnel people straight to my cellphone. Emails can be filtered. Website is included for the curious, but ideally I want to get rapport going immediately.<br /> <br /> Now to find places to hang the prints. Think I&#039;ll get a run of 50 in case I want to change anything following feedback. First call is to parents I know to see if they can stick them up where other parents go (schools being a potential goldmine).<br /> <br /> Next I think I&#039;ll just turn up at private music schools and ask if they&#039;d like their students to practice consistently. They don&#039;t need to know I&#039;m disrupting their business. By the time they find out, I&#039;ll have my testimonials and be building my online funnel </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>I love your website theme. Very simple, communicates the problem / solution. I think the flyer is a bit cluttered compared to the site, and not as clear communication.</div>

 

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[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 107520" data-quote="Hong_Kong" data-source="post: 1009811" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1009811" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1009811">Hong_Kong said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> I love your website theme. Very simple, communicates the problem / solution. I think the flyer is a bit cluttered compared to the site, and not as clear communication. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Thanks for the feedback friend. You’re absolutely right. I’m trying to go fast to get it out there, but after a few drafts the design has gotten away from me.</div>

 

[StrikingViper69]

<div class="bbWrapper">How has this been going?</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 62811" data-quote="SamRussell" data-source="post: 1012635" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1012635" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1012635">SamRussell said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> How has this been going? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Thanks for asking brother.<br /> <br /> Flyer distribution has taken a few weeks all told, but today the last of 1200 will leave my hands. Final design attached. Been working on my local drum tuition offering alongside (did a customer feedback survey and sent out a targeted ask for Google reviews).<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve continued to receive mixed feedback on the new project. Parents I&#039;ve spoken with love the idea, but none have put money down yet. Some teachers love the idea and are helping me with flyers, others came back with their own conflicting philosophies on kids&#039; practice. I&#039;m embracing this on the basis that if I&#039;m not encountering friction I&#039;m probably not sharing with enough people.<br /> <br /> Motivation has definitely waned since I started thinking about this project. It&#039;s teaching that excites me, not putting flyers in envelopes. But if I want that puppy for my wife then it&#039;s what&#039;s necessary. So I&#039;ve been using two strategies to keep going—<br /> 1. JUST DO. I write out the tasks I need to complete in a day and I just F*cking do them, even if I don&#039;t feel like it.<br /> 2. Go back to MJ&#039;s material for a) motivation and b) clarity. Working my way slowly through &#039;Rat Race Escape&#039; right now.<br /> <br /> Beyond that I&#039;ve just been fairly easy on myself. I&#039;ve tended to sprint and then rest as a pattern in my working life (7 days a week for a couple months, then stop &amp; rest) but I&#039;m experimenting with a more balanced approach—if I can just do those important tasks in a day then I&#039;m okay with chilling in the PM.</div>

 

[StrikingViper69]

<div class="bbWrapper">Have you tested the course on anyone? You could give away a few logins to get feedback and testimonials that you can use on the site. <br /> <br /> You could also create some lower tier offers to &quot;ease&quot; people in. A low priced eBook that has some good ideas and advice that parents can use, or a free 5 day email course that gives them some quick wins with helping their kid practice more. <br /> <br /> With your local teaching with your drum students, are there any group classes you can create that could give you a quick boost in income? A class on music theory, world / ethnic percussion, songwriting, a drum ensemble (is that a thing?) or something like that?</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 62811" data-quote="SamRussell" data-source="post: 1012818" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1012818" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1012818">SamRussell said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Have you tested the course on anyone? You could give away a few logins to get feedback and testimonials that you can use on the site.<br /> <br /> You could also create some lower tier offers to &quot;ease&quot; people in. A low priced eBook that has some good ideas and advice that parents can use, or a free 5 day email course that gives them some quick wins with helping their kid practice more.<br /> <br /> With your local teaching with your drum students, are there any group classes you can create that could give you a quick boost in income? A class on music theory, world / ethnic percussion, songwriting, a drum ensemble (is that a thing?) or something like that? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>So the advice I found on this forum was &#039;sell before you build&#039; (which was a difficult mindset to grasp, I&#039;ll admit!) In case you&#039;re not familiar, the basic premise is to put out marketing material that promises to solve the problem and get cash out of people&#039;s hands with a money-back guarantee, THEN build out the product once you know there&#039;s a real demand.<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve got one signup so far, but it&#039;s not from my target demographic (parents). It&#039;s from a fellow music teacher. Once I have a handful of genuine signups I&#039;m totally up for handing out free logins to folks who aren&#039;t interested enough to pay, because at that point I just want as many testimonials as I can get.<br /> <br /> I&#039;ve considered an eBook. Not a bad idea at all, but time-consuming, and if the product turns out to not have a market then that&#039;s time down the drain. (Except for the fact that a &#039;parents handbook&#039; on the subject of practice will always help my local students, of course. Still, I don&#039;t want to be teaching locally any longer than I have to.)<br /> <br /> I probably could advertise some group stuff now that COVID restrictions are off. Drum ensemble is a thing yeah—like marching band or whatever. Would have to hire the drums though. Could do a junk percussion thing following a trip to the scrapyard maybe!<br /> <br /> I&#039;m trying to maintain focus on going one-to-many online. A friend just put me forward for a day of secondary school teaching he&#039;s leaving behind, which is great—that&#039;ll really take care of my bread &amp; butter if it comes off. I could keep improving my local time-for-money stuff forever but it&#039;s not gonna move me up to that next level of business.<br /> <br /> It&#039;s a fine balance—on the one hand, a bit more social media presence of me working as a drum teacher locally would absolutely support any wider offering. On the other hand, there&#039;s a big thread here talking about how social media is a waste of time if we can just find product/market fit and get something people need out to them at scale (at the right price).<br /> <br /> So many possibilities!</div>

 

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[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">So, taking the advice to flyer locally as my first marketing attempt, I distributed ~1200, targeted at existing music students and households in affluent areas.<br /> <br /> I stuck with the advice that the flyer should offer to solve a problem but not include anything about the &#039;how&#039;.<br /> <br /> This was the design—<br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/nmn-flyer-july-b-a4-webp.44529/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/data/attachments/41/41146-c84fdb12183941e5a6247daac2797a07.jpg?hash=NJyO68N14v" class="bbImage " style="" alt="NMN Flyer July B (A4).webp" title="NMN Flyer July B (A4).webp" width="200" height="283" loading="lazy" /></a><br /> <br /> I passed the flyers out a month ago. I&#039;ve received one phone call.<br /> <br /> The caller was keen and definitely my target audience. I spoke with her for 30 minutes and learned tonnes. At the end of the call, she asked me about cost, which definitely seems to be the way I want it.<br /> <br /> Sadly, she&#039;s taking her family away for the summer, but we plan to reconnect in September.<br /> <br /> The big question for me is &#039;what does this enquiry-to-flyer ratio tell me about my proposition?&#039; Instinct says I&#039;d want to be receiving more calls to show me it&#039;s worth pursuing my idea, but this is my first swing at this kind of business, so I&#039;m hoping others can offer 2 cents</div>

 

[StrikingViper69]

<div class="bbWrapper">1 per thousand is about the response I had for distributing flyers when I was advertising guitar lessons. I&#039;d say that&#039;s about right, flyers really are a numbers game. <br /> <br /> What&#039;s your sales process for the call? Are you asking them to sign up to an online course, having them come in for a demonstration.. ?</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 62811" data-quote="SamRussell" data-source="post: 1016262" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1016262" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1016262">SamRussell said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> 1 per thousand is about the response I had for distributing flyers when I was advertising guitar lessons. I&#039;d say that&#039;s about right, flyers really are a numbers game.<br /> <br /> What&#039;s your sales process for the call? Are you asking them to sign up to an online course, having them come in for a demonstration.. ? </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Well damn. I heard 1% was the target, so was hoping for 10 calls. 10,000 flyers would be a heck of a cost…<br /> <br /> Sales process:<br /> 1. Fact find, answer questions, offer some quick value, pre-sell online course/bespoke solution,<br /> 2. Study notes from call,<br /> 3. Go back with solutions and see which option customer wants.<br /> <br /> My original plan was to get 10 clients into the online course, but with so little interest I’m thinking I need to just help them personally and get testimonials that way.</div>

 

[StrikingViper69]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 108270" data-quote="Danny_Cox" data-source="post: 1016282" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1016282" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1016282">Danny_Cox said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Well damn. I heard 1% was the target, so was hoping for 10 calls. 10,000 flyers would be a heck of a cost…<br /> <br /> Sales process:<br /> 1. Fact find, answer questions, offer some quick value, pre-sell online course/bespoke solution,<br /> 2. Study notes from call,<br /> 3. Go back with solutions and see which option customer wants.<br /> <br /> My original plan was to get 10 clients into the online course, but with so little interest I’m thinking I need to just help them personally and get testimonials that way. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote><br /> You want to sell them on something on the phone. Offer them some sort of something for signing up on the spot over the phone, get them to give you their card info and put into stripe or something like that. If you really want to call them back, make a firm appointment to do so. <br /> <br /> Wrt to your ad spend... with a one off product, that could be difficult, without spending money to test. <br /> <br /> With the flyer, it doesn&#039;t say what it is you&#039;re offering - is it an online course? A weekly meeting? Phone consultation? That unknown could be putting people off. <br /> <br /> You could also offer something concrete - &quot;Call Danny to get a free online mini course&quot;, give them an incentive to pick up the phone.</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 62811" data-quote="SamRussell" data-source="post: 1016291" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1016291" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1016291">SamRussell said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> With the flyer, it doesn&#039;t say what it is you&#039;re offering - is it an online course? A weekly meeting? Phone consultation? That unknown could be putting people off.<br /> <br /> You could also offer something concrete - &quot;Call Danny to get a free online mini course&quot;, give them an incentive to pick up the phone. </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>This is beginning to get confusing.<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/members/47734/" class="username" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" data-user-id="47734" data-username="@Black_Dragon43">@Black_Dragon43</a> and others explicitly advised to NOT include any kind of &quot;how&quot; on the flyer—just the promise to solve a problem.</div>

 

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[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">&#039;You can&#039;t sell something without knowing what it is&#039; was my instinctive objection to the whole &#039;sell before you build&#039; principle that I was trying to get my head around before designing my flyer. It seems I took it too far and included too little detail.<br /> <br /> I think I need to stop relying on free advice and put down some cash: I remember you giving me a thumbs-up on the flyer, but I&#039;d never expect anyone to take more than a glance for free. Now I&#039;ve lost money on flyers &amp; distribution that I&#039;d have been better off spending on educating myself. Lesson learned.<br /> <br /> Will have a good look at the training you linked. Thanks again friend.</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper">I&#039;m just gonna log my thoughts on the video here. Not expecting any more free advice.<br /> <br /> 1) GENERALIST VS. SPECIALIST<br /> This is what I&#039;m trying to achieve with the &#039;No More Nagging&#039; project. Instead of selling drum lessons, I&#039;m the leader of a team that specialises in training parents to get their kids practising music between lessons. Current issue: I need to spend another £200 to distribute an edited flyer that includes some detail on what I&#039;m selling (just so I can find out if there&#039;s actually a market here or not).<br /> <br /> 2) TABLES (&#039;PROBLEMS I SOLVE, HOW CAN I SOLVE, WHO HAS PROBLEMS, HOW ARE CLIENTS DIFFERENT AFTER)<br /> I went through this kind of process in Alex Hormozi&#039;s &#039;$100 Million Offers&#039; book and the No More Nagging project was what came out as my best shot. I could spend more time here nonetheless.<br /> <br /> 3) PRICING<br /> Minimum price for main offer $3000? I know it was recommended this video even though it was aimed at B2B... Can I really expect parents to give me $3000 to get their kids practising music? Maybe if I can target high-income families, but seems less and less available with new privacy tech restricting ad targeting. (I&#039;ve definitely been unable to target by income for drum lessons on Google ads).<br /> <br /> 4) EDUCATION<br /> It&#039;s clear to me that I&#039;m woefully uneducated at this point in regards to business, marketing, economics. It seems prudent to consider investing, yet I&#039;m right now in the position of struggling to hold onto the meagre savings I have to try to get out of the rental trap. Speculation in every direction.<br /> <br /> -<br /> <br /> There&#039;s a lot of uncertainty at this point. Do I continue with the current plan on a trial &amp; error basis? Invest time &amp; money in education?<br /> <br /> I admit I feel fatigued, yet rest doesn&#039;t seem to bring any clarity. I&#039;m not attacking this like I was a couple months back. Optimism has taken a hit. Maybe time to go back to TMF and regroup.</div>

 

[Danny_Cox]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 47734" data-quote="Black_Dragon43" data-source="post: 1018041" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1018041" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1018041">Black_Dragon43 said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> Good thoughts. I don’t think you should be spending any money at this point. Why don’t you just go and talk with parents? Find music groups on Facebook, or just knock on people’s doors and start conversations. If a flyer can do the job, so can you, as a flesh and blood human being.<br /> <br /> If you can’t sell anyone on your own, then a flyer is even less likely to help, will just waste your money. You don’t need to spend money now, you need to make it first.<br /> <br /> <div class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--unfurl js-unfurl fauxBlockLink" data-unfurl="true" data-result-id="358169" data-url="https://okdork.com/resources/how-to-sell-anything/" data-host="okdork.com" data-pending="false"> <div class="contentRow"> <div class="contentRow-figure contentRow-figure--fixedSmall js-unfurl-figure"> <img src="/community/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fnoahkagan.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fnoah.jpg&amp;hash=e312be2cfc463ad5725346a9a47c05d1&amp;return_error=1" loading="lazy" alt="okdork.com" class="bbCodeBlockUnfurl-image" data-onerror="hide-parent"/> </div> <div class="contentRow-main"> <h3 class="contentRow-header js-unfurl-title"> <a href="https://okdork.com/resources/how-to-sell-anything/" class="link link--external fauxBlockLink-blockLink" target="_blank" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" data-proxy-href=""> How to Sell Anything - Noah Kagan </a> </h3> <div class="contentRow-snippet js-unfurl-desc">Recently my good friend Adam from MyBodyTutor.com was in town and I was blown away by how bad he is at sales. To give him credit, his service is outstanding (I’m a customer) and it’s extremely impressive how he’s created a profitable business. Okay, back to bashing him. So I spent the weekend...</div> <div class="contentRow-minor contentRow-minor--hideLinks"> <span class="js-unfurl-favicon"> <img src="/community/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fnoahkagan.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F02%2Fcropped-okdork-2017-favicon-128x128-32x32.png&amp;hash=0d2ed38144eaad4647a08d18a96841fc&amp;return_error=1" loading="lazy" alt="okdork.com" class="bbCodeBlockUnfurl-icon" data-onerror="hide-parent"/> </span> okdork.com </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>Perhaps it is just about conversations at this stage; perhaps I&#039;m being impatient. I&#039;ve interacted with hundreds of these parents over my years in the niche, but never with a view to solving this specific problem and how they might want to be helped with it.<br /> <br /> Great link. The learning curve is steep right now. Super grateful for yourself and other folks here helping us newbies step up.</div>

 

[James007Hill]

<div class="bbWrapper"><blockquote data-attributes="member: 108270" data-quote="Danny_Cox" data-source="post: 1016241" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-title"> <a href="/community/goto/post?id=1016241" class="bbCodeBlock-sourceJump" rel="nofollow" data-xf-click="attribution" data-content-selector="#post-1016241">Danny_Cox said:</a> </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-content"> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandContent js-expandContent "> So, taking the advice to flyer locally as my first marketing attempt, I distributed ~1200, targeted at existing music students and households in affluent areas.<br /> <br /> I stuck with the advice that the flyer should offer to solve a problem but not include anything about the &#039;how&#039;.<br /> <br /> This was the design—<br /> <a href="https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/attachments/44529/" target="_blank">View attachment 44529</a><br /> <br /> I passed the flyers out a month ago. I&#039;ve received one phone call.<br /> <br /> The caller was keen and definitely my target audience. I spoke with her for 30 minutes and learned tonnes. At the end of the call, she asked me about cost, which definitely seems to be the way I want it.<br /> <br /> Sadly, she&#039;s taking her family away for the summer, but we plan to reconnect in September.<br /> <br /> The big question for me is &#039;what does this enquiry-to-flyer ratio tell me about my proposition?&#039; Instinct says I&#039;d want to be receiving more calls to show me it&#039;s worth pursuing my idea, but this is my first swing at this kind of business, so I&#039;m hoping others can offer 2 cents </div> <div class="bbCodeBlock-expandLink js-expandLink"><a role="button" tabindex="0">Click to expand...</a></div> </div> </blockquote>I can see the conversation has moved on now but for the record I have been doing some flyers and found the enquiry rate (most of which have converted to sales) to be around the 1 in 100 mark, however my proposition and niche is totally different so hard to compare. I do agree with what others have said though about the need to make it clearer what is being sold/some idea of what the solution will involve. As well as using website name I also included on the flyer a QR code to take them straight to the booking page too, maybe this is worth trying on any future flyers too? People are getting more and more used to and comfortable with the whole QR code thing!</div>