Is Teaching The New Gold For Small Businesses?

Courses and other educational components can provide a new revenue stream. By packaging your expertise into a structured format, you can charge for access, offering a scalable product that doesn't require ongoing time investment once it's created. This is an appealing way to bring in money without clocking time in the seat.

Offering a course can position you as an expert in your industry (if you know how to market it). This can enhance your credibility and attract more customers who trust your knowledge and skills. In fact, many people see one-on-one coaching time with an internet teacher as very appealing. There's a VIP, velvet rope exclusivity built when you're showing people how to do something and then offering a few hand-selected followers the opportunity to work with you.

Educational resources can deepen your relationship with existing customers by providing them with additional value. Engaged customers are more likely to become repeat buyers and brand advocates. Plus, if your customers see you teaching others as an expert in your industry, they will feel like they are working with the best. Again, creating exclusive opportunities.

Free or low-cost courses, eBooks, and checklists make ideal lead magnets, attracting potential customers who are interested in your expertise. With them, you can expand your audience and increase your customer base.

But creating educational components isn't something everyone is suited to doing.

The obvious one of course...developing educational materials of any kind requires a significant upfront investment of time and resources. You'll need to plan the curriculum, create content, and possibly invest in platforms or tools for hosting the course, webinar, eBook, etc.

Simply creating a course isn't enough; you need to market it effectively. This requires a strategy to reach your target audience and convince them of the course's value.

Industries change, as does information. You'll need to keep your course content up to date to ensure it remains relevant and valuable to learners.

This con doesn't apply to every industry but if you sell on eBay or somewhere that uses an algorithm, you need to be aware of what you're opening yourself up to. For example, An eBay seller recently branched out into creating video content on YouTube to show others how he was able to create a business that brings in over $80,000 a year selling clothes he purchase form thrift stores.

He quickly built a following (who doesn't want to shop and sell things for a profit?), monetized his YouTube Channel (bringing in another $2,000 a month in revenue), and thought life was amazing. Until he realized that by offering training videos, people were visiting his eBay shop to see which brands he specialized in. When they visited without purchasing, it negatively impacted his standing and suddenly he wasn't being featured as high in product searches. This hurt his sales so badly he ended up having to shut that store front down and start a new one that he did not tell his students about.

The moral is if you're going to market yourself as a guru or coach, you may end up phasing out your day job. People will look to you for coaching and advice, your days of "doing" may be over.

Ensure you have enough expertise and unique insights to offer a course that stands out in the market. Consider whether your knowledge can fill a gap or meet a specific demand.

Identify your target audience and their needs. Know what topics they are interested in and what format they prefer.

Clarify what you hope to achieve with this new business offering. Whether it's revenue generation, brand building, or lead generation, having clear goals will guide your development and marketing strategy. How will you incorporate it into your existing business?

Research different platforms for hosting your course or videos. Decide on the media you'll use. Consider factors such as ease of use, cost and features like eBooks, webinars, videos, quizzes, certificates, and community forums.