Have you moved online?

We are certainly living in the strangest of times.  If you had told me 6 months ago that come Spring the whole country – well practically the world – would be in lock down as a result of a global pandemic I would not believe it could happen like it has…but it has. 

Coronovirus is sweeping the nation, and indeed, the world.  There is so much uncertainty right now.  Unable to spend time with extended family and friends.  Homeschooling has become the new normal.  The weekly shop is a military operation.

But what can we be sure of?

We know our customers.  We know our business.  And we know that right now, the best place to be is online. 

If you don’t have a product you can sell online, then you may think there’s no point reading any further…but bear with me.

This post is intended to help you and your business grow.  That might seem strange at a time when many businesses are struggling financially, and so many small businesses are closing their doors through lack of business.

But it is those companies that face this crisis head on that will hopefully come out the other side more resilient, more enriched and more in tune with what their customers want.

How?!

By using this time to really get to grips with what the core offering of your business is, and getting that packaged up into an online course to sell to your customers.

Again, you might think that you don’t even know where to start…but neither did I when I set out to create an online course a few years ago.

I bet most of you reading this DO actually have something you can offer online, even if you don’t think you do.

Regardless of whether we will be staying at home for the next few weeks, or the next 6 months, if you don’t have an online offering, you will forever be selling your time for money.  And right now it is Coronavirus.  Next year it might be another virus.  Or you simply might want to take a long holiday.

In ‘normal’ circumstances, a holiday for the self employed means not getting paid. How nice would it be to still be making money while you were taking a well earned break.  A REAL break – not checking emails, or sneaking off for an hour here and there to check in on work..?  For some, this isn’t even possible. 

Think about that passive income stream you could be making.

And this can be ANYTHING that you offer. 

If you normally have 1-2-1 coaching, record some videos of you speaking to the most common questions you hear and offer those as a self study package.

If you are a web designer, screen record yourself designing a website, and sell that as a DIY program.

If you are a photographer, record online tutorials of how to use photo editing software.  Sell that.

If you are a consultant that goes into companies to train teams, offer an online webinar.  If you are delivering a similar message to those teams, package that up into an online course and deliver it online.

Don’t get hung up on the how-tos and the techy side.

Use what you have right now in your business.  Whether that’s recording videos on your phone, or using a camera and tripod.  It doesn’t matter.  Just make a start.

You can deliver the content via an autoresponder like Mailchimp to start with, and they have a free tier.  You can progress to a content delivery platform as and when you have the funds to do so.

My first online course was made up of a mixture of live content that I recorded and arranged it all in an online tutorial on how to kickstart your own business.  As time went on, I replaced some of the videos as I learned how to do things differently, and updated the modules as I went along.

I actually sold the course before I had completed it. I had my first couple of modules set to deliver content, then once it had sold, I knew I had a timeframe in which to add the rest of the content.  It’s a great motivator to get it done!

A brilliant lady called Nicola once taught me, sell your content first, then build it.  That’s always stuck with me.

I think if now is teaching us anything about business, it’s to use this time to make sure we have an option that means our businesses do not solely rely on our 1-2-1 time. 

I hope that helps, and that you are all staying safe in these strange times, and very importantly, staying home.

With love

Sam