Small Business,
Big Mindset Podcast
Episode #24
Online Memberships and Selling Digital Courses
I first heard of Genia Stephen when she had landed a 5-figure contract with an organization that wanted to not only purchase her digital course, but roll it out across their org. When I dug further to see what she was up to, I learned that her business 'Good Things in Life' was completely centered on supporting parents with kids that have disabilities. Some of you may be aware, but this tugged on my heartstrings as my parents (after having 8 of us biologically) adopted 12 children from varying backgrounds and hardships.
Genia is a prime example of someone that had knowledge in a certain area, saw a hole that needed to be filled, and figured out a way to build a service that filled that need. Growing up, Genia was surrounded with leaders in the disability world as her mom became a powerful advocate alongside her younger sister's diagnosis. Cut to 14 years ago, Genia's own son was born with disabilities and medical complexities.
Conversation Highlights:
Identifying a Business Need
- Midwife background highlighted a gaping hole
- Parents with kids of disabilities start their journey online
- Created ongoing instruction and support for this community
- Launched Good Things in Life: podcast, free monthly webinars, digital courses and a membership
The Power of Digital Courses
- Started from scratch with no entrepreneurial experience
- Began with Marie Forleo's B-School online course
- Then took Amy Porterfield's Digital Course Academy
Leveraging Collaborations & Personal Knowledge
- Co-created the course, 'Belonging in School: The What, Why, and How of Inclusive Education'
- Moved on to launch 'Inclusion Academy' as a membership for parents with ongoing support and community
- Accelerates progress by making high quality information, resources, ideas, and support more available to parents across the board
Top Tools & Processes for Success
- Digital Course Academy - created by Amy Porterfield as a comprehensive program to create, launch, and sell digital courses
- Tribe - created by Stu McLaren as a course that teaches how to launch a successful and profitable membership site
- Full Focus Planner - created by Michael Hyatt, this planner helps to cut down on overwhelm by helping you focus on what matters and ditching the never-ending-to-do-list
- Digital courses speed up your progress by delivering the info you need in an accelerated pace
Selling Your Digital Course to Other Organizations
- Building relationships, credibility, and authority
- The power of the 'ask'
- Getting over the money mindset of making money = burning yourself out
- Re-using one digital course for multiple income streams
Moving Forward - Goals and Visions
- Improving her membership, growing that audience
- Continuing to build her email list
- Build and scale her podcast
- Reassess late 2020/early 2021 - re-evaluate, tweak, set goals, move forward
Muscle Creative Wrap-Up
If you could listen to only one music artist for the rest of your life, who would it be? Bob Marley, The Dixie Chicks depending upon her mood
Where can people find you online?
