As an entrepreneur and business owner, do you ever run into challenges like:
- Only being able to take on a small client base.
- Limited time because of an intense schedule.
- Restricting your business based on where you can be at a certain time.
- Not having a laid-out process, because it’s stuck in your head.
The secret to monetizing your talent without overworking yourself and limiting your business is to stop selling your time. Instead, productize your expertise by creating a custom digital experience that your audience can enjoy even when you’re not physically present. Whether you provide education, specialized coaching, or have a unique process you walk customers through, you could build a digital platform that will allow you to deliver your expertise in new and exciting ways.
Identify your thought leadership potential.
Whatever your expertise is, you can translate your valuable ideas into valuable products. You’re not limited to the speaking engagements and classes you offer in-person or through videoconferencing. Today’s video technology, combined with online learning platforms and the ease of digital information access, enable you to monetize your expertise anytime, anywhere.
With automated systems, smart content libraries, and on-demand experiences, your customers can benefit from your thought leadership even if you’re not giving a live talk or class. If you’re already fully booked but want to scale up your business and be able to deliver to a larger customer base productizing your expertise is a great solution.
Rethink your mindset.
Many of us have been trained to trade our time for money. As the saying goes, “time is money,” and in traditional jobs, you’re typically paid a certain amount for a certain number of hours. Truly productizing your expertise, though, requires you to break out of the 40-hour workweek and adopt a scalable model. You need to translate the true value of your thought leadership into a tool that can support many paying customers.
Determine how you’ll expand.
Productizing your expertise involves going digital if you haven’t yet. This opens your offerings up to a much broader pool. You’re no longer confined by time and geography as you connect with your ideal customers. It might also allow you to offer your services at different rates. For example, a full-service class with you physically present may cost more than some customers can afford. Creating a digital experience to educate or guide people through a process may allow some customers to purchase your service.
Choose your platform.
The possibilities are endless. You can go relatively low-tech with an automated email course, or sell access to a private Trello board, YouTube videos, or Facebook group. You can use an e-learning platform to teach courses through pre-recorded videos. And there is always the potential to release an e-book or other valuable content that people pay to access.
However, these methods will have basic offerings that might not give you the ability to deliver your content in the way you want. You could find yourself fighting with platforms that aren’t designed specifically for your unique service. Depending on the complexities of your offering, it may be better for you to develop a custom digital experience in which you can provide your services in a personalized, convenient environment — even if you are not always available to take calls or give talks.
Productize Your Expertise
You’re worth more than the hours you can give. Productizing your expertise is crucial to expanding your market beyond the typical confines of space and time. Instead, you can create and cultivate a special, highly targeted experience for your ideal customers. With automation and video technology, you can build those relationships even if you are not currently online. It’s the dream of making money while you sleep.
For help crafting your custom platform for your audience, schedule a free consultation anytime or click here to learn more.
