A reader wrote to me with a question I suspect a lot of people have.
“I’m thinking about building my side hustle.
I’m considering a newsletter, maybe on Substack, and using it to build an audience before offering coaching and classes.
What do you recommend?”
I mentioned that one of my clients is doing really well with Substack newsletter, selling workshops and courses. They also get some high paying client work from their efforts there as well.
Then I said, “If you like writing for an audience like this, it can work. It’s a lot of effort, no matter what you choose.”
I don’t think he liked that very much. 😝
He replied again with a question that gets to the heart of it:
“I understand it’ll take effort…but what’s the gotcha? What am I missing?”
We’re all hoping there isn’t a gotcha.
We’re hoping someone will give us a business model that’s secretly easier than the others.
Herein lies the rub:
There isn’t one.
Whether you build a newsletter, a YouTube channel, a podcast, a coaching business, or a bakery specializing in dragon-shaped cinnamon rolls…
…it’s going to require effort. Probably a lot of it. Especially if you want to make money with it.
Take the Substack example. You’ll have to:
- Find and test a concept that’s actually attractive to the community you want to attract. This likely means conversations, trying out some language and messaging on real people in real time and see what lands.
- Set up your Substack around what’s working: image, copy, offer, etc.
- Invite people to join your newsletter community. Usually that’s a mix of other platforms: email, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
- Write content designed to deliver value to that audience regularly.
- Figure out a path to get people from your newsletter to buying your stuff.
That’s a whole mess of testing, writing, creating new offers, testing again, etc.
Long story short, anyone who tells you it’s going to be fast and easy is lying.
Or they’re selling you the cliff notes version of what worked for them (with their ugly mistakes edited out) which won’t be a perfect fit for because you aren’t them.
You’ll still need to do your own testing of their method…after you’ve paid for it and waded through their training. (Not a bad idea necessarily, just the reality of the situation.)
The radical solution I propose:
#1 – Choose a starting point that sounds genuinely interesting and fun that requires actions you enjoy.
#2 – Commit to giving it your all for enough time (3 – 6 months) to actually learn something.
#3 – Reflect and iterate throughout (think DevOps cycle) to evolve and grow over time.
Following what draws you, what you know to do, and what just makes sense is the best guide because it’s enjoyable, practical and perfectly designed for you because it comes from you.
(Helping people do this is becoming a specialty of mine.)
‘Cuz if the journey sucks, you won’t do it long enough to get results.
Making sure it doesn’t suck is an inner game that’s assisted by following what you actually want to do, not what some Dumb Expert said you should do or what Johnny Competitor is doing.
So if you’re trying to choose a business model, here’s my suggestion.
Don’t ask:
“Which one is easiest?”
Ask:
“Which one would I still enjoy doing six months from now, even if it was growing more slowly than I’d hoped?”
That’s usually the one worth betting on.
*steps off soapbox*
Yours in love and play,
Steph 🐲❤️
