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Hello.
So I have been meaning to start this thread for a while but have avoided it.
The main reasons were:
1. I sponsor the forum with an offer that ties to this, so I didn't want any conflict of interest
2. Sometimes running a "course" business can be misunderstood, so I have not shared that much
3. I am a little embarrassed not to have grown this business more over the last few years
But things are at a stage where I could really do with help and feedback from the forum.
And hopefully, there is some value in this thread for others also.
So quick history:
- Have run a web design business school for a few years
- The combined total sales have been around 1.4-1.5m
- There are some running costs (quite low, though), and I usually have had a team of 2-3 people during this time (I try to pay well)
- Sales come from Youtube (28k), a free FB group (11k), an email list (13k), the sponsorship of the forum, and some YT ads. Plus, @MTF helped me publish a great free book that helped share the school.
Current situation:
- I would really like to expand this business into where I feel I can offer the most value: helping people start profitable freelance businesses, find clients, learn real business skills, and get going.
- If done right, I feel this could be a solid 2-3m a year business with good margins and a lot of happy customers
- It is estimated by 2028, 50% of the American workforce alone will be freelancers; many can't sell or find clients consistently
- (Link to some stats: Gig economy: number of freelancers in the U.S. 2017-2028 | Statista )
So it feels there is a solid need here, a large market that will be looking for help, and a specific way to offer a lot of value.
Current challenges:
- During Covid, I pulled back a little to focus on just helping my current students and spending time with my now wife
- I had burned out on Youtube content and just did not want to make any videos for quite a while
- This meant I dropped off massively on nee YT growth and my audience growth stalled
- Which, in turn, means I now have to restart making YT content and also get out there on new platforms
On top of this, I would like to remake my core program one more time and then also get into making new products and services. I see a lot of ways to add more value - the main limit right now is using the time and energy of our small team (including me) in the best way possible.
By kicking off this thread, I hope to hold myself accountable for making progress and also sharing the lessons I am learning. Plus to do big things and use the potential that is there to build a great business. While I am proud of the results within the school, I do feel the business could be run better and that I should have done a lot more so far to be way ahead of where I am at.
A side lesson here is to set bigger goals and not take your foot off the gas when you have some momentum.
So that is it for the background context (unless people have questions); from now on, I will focus on the action being taken.
Right now, I am working on getting back to Youtube and in growing on Twitter and Instagram, so I will share more on that soon. The goal between now and the end of the year is to get consistent with content, write a new book, and be in good shape business-wise for 2023.
So the next updates will be on those.
So I have been meaning to start this thread for a while but have avoided it.
The main reasons were:
1. I sponsor the forum with an offer that ties to this, so I didn't want any conflict of interest
2. Sometimes running a "course" business can be misunderstood, so I have not shared that much
3. I am a little embarrassed not to have grown this business more over the last few years
But things are at a stage where I could really do with help and feedback from the forum.
And hopefully, there is some value in this thread for others also.
So quick history:
- Have run a web design business school for a few years
- The combined total sales have been around 1.4-1.5m
- There are some running costs (quite low, though), and I usually have had a team of 2-3 people during this time (I try to pay well)
- Sales come from Youtube (28k), a free FB group (11k), an email list (13k), the sponsorship of the forum, and some YT ads. Plus, @MTF helped me publish a great free book that helped share the school.
Current situation:
- I would really like to expand this business into where I feel I can offer the most value: helping people start profitable freelance businesses, find clients, learn real business skills, and get going.
- If done right, I feel this could be a solid 2-3m a year business with good margins and a lot of happy customers
- It is estimated by 2028, 50% of the American workforce alone will be freelancers; many can't sell or find clients consistently
- (Link to some stats: Gig economy: number of freelancers in the U.S. 2017-2028 | Statista )
So it feels there is a solid need here, a large market that will be looking for help, and a specific way to offer a lot of value.
Current challenges:
- During Covid, I pulled back a little to focus on just helping my current students and spending time with my now wife
- I had burned out on Youtube content and just did not want to make any videos for quite a while
- This meant I dropped off massively on nee YT growth and my audience growth stalled
- Which, in turn, means I now have to restart making YT content and also get out there on new platforms
On top of this, I would like to remake my core program one more time and then also get into making new products and services. I see a lot of ways to add more value - the main limit right now is using the time and energy of our small team (including me) in the best way possible.
By kicking off this thread, I hope to hold myself accountable for making progress and also sharing the lessons I am learning. Plus to do big things and use the potential that is there to build a great business. While I am proud of the results within the school, I do feel the business could be run better and that I should have done a lot more so far to be way ahead of where I am at.
A side lesson here is to set bigger goals and not take your foot off the gas when you have some momentum.
So that is it for the background context (unless people have questions); from now on, I will focus on the action being taken.
Right now, I am working on getting back to Youtube and in growing on Twitter and Instagram, so I will share more on that soon. The goal between now and the end of the year is to get consistent with content, write a new book, and be in good shape business-wise for 2023.
So the next updates will be on those.
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