Creating a Time-Independent Business

There’s a lot of content around side hustles, and I’m glad about it. I think we all should have multiple ways to make money,

You might be at a job right now that you like or maybe not ready to leave because you’re comfortable and making a good amount of money, and starting a business is risky. Some people would say LEAVE THE JOB.

I get that thinking, but that’s not the answer for everybody.

I do think multiple streams of income are the answer for everyone.

You could invest in the stock market or crypto; I do both. But if you don’t have a ton of money to invest, you can still start a side hustle.

These include:

• Flipping
• Uber/Lyft/Doordash
• Gig Work — graphic design/web design, etc

But what I wanted to discuss is creating a less time-consuming business that you can scale and would make money regardless of whether you stay on the job or not.

The two best ways to do this are as a course creator and an affiliate.

The first is you creating the product; the second is someone else making the product.

I will do a separate blog on affiliate marketing but let’s discuss creating a course.

There is a lot of info on creating courses out there; George Pitts has some good stuff, so does Jack Butcher. I’ve bought material from them both, and they helped.

The best advice I can give is to create a course knowing what you know now.

Make a list of the top 10 things you’ve learned in the last five years.

For me its

1. Building websites

2. Time management

3. Counseling

4. Coaching

5. Click Up

Are there people that want to learn how to do those things? You have a course idea if the answer is yes (and it will almost always be). Google how to do whatever you learned and there is your answer.

That is enough demand to create a course.

How Do I Create a Course?

I would start by answering the question: what does someone need to know to be proficient in this field.

• Make the lessons short 5–7 minutes
• Offer guides that people can use to follow along
• Allow students to post questions to a Facebook group, Discord server, or another forum.

What Software Do I Use to House the Course?

Teachable, Kajabi, and Podia are all solid options, but you can use Google Slides to present and Quicktime Video to record, and those are both free.

How Do I Sell it?

You are going to use content marketing which is primarily teaching to sell.

Teach people through your content, one video or blog per day, and sharing it on social media will build your audience.

Common Objections

“I don’t have enough time”- I used to say this a lot, and then I listened to the Strangest Secret by Earl Nightengale; it was the first non-music audio to sell over a million copies. Nightingale said that most people have 72 hours per week in which they are neither working nor sleeping. Family commitments reduce these hours, but you can produce a quality course 40 hours from start to finish.

Putting in 10 hours a week towards your course would give you a finished product in a month.

What is my point?

You have the time.

“I don’t know enough” — I started to debunk this earlier, but let’s do the numbers. Most certifications take anywhere from 100 to 4000 hours. If you have spent over 100 hours doing anything, you can teach it. You do know enough.

“Many people are already doing it” — The best way to overcome this objection is to understand two things:

1) There is always room in the market for better — Better teachers, better content, better service. Richard Branson tells the story of deciding to get into the Airline business in America; he had terrible experiences on American-run airlines and said “I can do better” If there is room for improvement, there is room for you

2) The power of niching — sell a popular product to an underserved community. For instance, if you are selling graphic design, why not create a graphic design course for people with no graphic design talent whatsoever. You will get sales and not have a ton of competition.

“I can’t sell” — This is a big one; you don’t have to be the world’s most excellent salesperson to market your course.

You need to have a product, be authentic and communicate why your product can help someone else. You don’t need to be deceptive or use tricks to sell to people; most of the time, it doesn’t work anyway. Be truthful, authentic, consistent, and direct, and that is enough.

“How do I get people to watch or read my content” — Most of the marketing I do is content marketing, which is producing blogs and other content to talk about what I do and sell. Have an idea of who you are talking to and be the most upbeat version of yourself, don’t overdo it if that’s not your personality, but you can be positive and draw a crowd. The key is being consistent and delivering value every time you write or record. Do that, and you will get views, followers, and subscriptions.

I hope I’ve done enough to convince you to create a digital course to add to your current income.

It can be a life-changer, whether you stay at your job or not.