Suzanne Chadwick 0:00
Welcome back to the brand builders lab podcast. As always amazing to have you here. I am excited because I'm going to be doing a mini series here on the podcast, all about scaling with group and digital programs. This is something I get asked about all the time, it's conversations that I have with clients all the time about the fact that they really want to do it, but they're not doing it and all the questions that come up. So I wanted to do a series of short form podcast episodes that address specific questions. So that is what we are talking about today. Now I think one of the really interesting things is that, obviously digital programs and online courses have been around for a long time. I mean, I built mine, back in 2017, I think was the first one it could have been a little bit earlier. And I did my first online program, which was basical. Back in 2014, when I first started my business that was like the one online course that everybody seemed to know about. And if you were getting into the online space, then that was the cause that you did as well. So they've been around for a long time, it's nothing new. But the one thing I find really interesting is that there are a lot of people that still are waiting. Now when I take a look at online business, it's not about putting all your eggs in one basket. And I'm not a big believer that that's the only type of products you should have. If you decide that that's the kind of business you want to run, then that's all good. But it's about having it in the mix. It's about having it as one of your products and one of your revenue streams too. So for me, I've got speaking as a revenue stream, I've got my online programs, which is brand builders Academy, amplify accelerator mastermind, bold speakers collective, they're like my three top programs. And then I've got a range of other smaller DIY programs that I've created in the past, like the podcast brand plan, or courageously, u or simple sales. So they are smaller programs that people can just go buy at any time and go through themselves. My bigger programs have poaching elements to them. And so it's really about taking a look at how can you create things that mean, people can just go buy from you. Like if I find you and I love what you talk about. But I have to wait to work with you. Maybe I can't afford to work with you one on one, maybe the time frame of working with you one on one is not there for me like I need somebody now. And you're booked out until whenever. So I know that sometimes when I speak with clients, they're like, I'm really wanting to work with this copywriter, or I'm wanting to work with this particular person, but they're not available for like three or four months. So now I'm going to have to go find somebody else. And I think that that's okay too. Because obviously, having one on one, I've also got one on one coaching, having that booked out is not a problem. But then it just means that your clients have to go somewhere else if they want to work with you. And a lot of people or some people might still do that, because they want to work with you one on one. But there will be a percentage of those people that are kind of like, you're my person, like even if I can't work with you one on one, is there another way I can work with you. And so having digital programs or group coaching programs, is another great way to allow people to work with you. I've also got memberships. So for example, I've got club done, which is a membership that offers coaching within a group format. And so once again, it's allowing people to work with you at different levels to solve different problems. So I really want you to think about it like that. It's been really interesting. I've been asking in a number of groups, like if you've been wanting to create your group program, what has been stopping you. And the feedback is usually pretty similar. So for example, you know, I've been wanting to do this for over two or three years now. But I find it hard to find the time to build it because I'm doing billable or one on one work. And then I always feel overwhelmed with what platform what structure what research do I need to do? How do I know exactly what people will want? And so then it becomes a real challenge, but it's like any other project in your business. For example, if you were creating a new product or service that might be one on one, it could be a training program, it could be a one on one coaching program, it could be like something that you deliver to a client, you would still need to sit down and work it all out, you'd sit need to sit down and write the sales page, work out how it's gonna work, work out what the pricing is going to be. So I don't feel like digital courses or group programs are that different. Obviously, there's going to be a bulk of work that comes with recording. But I also think that sometimes people over engineer that to which we're going to be talking about within this series. So I just really want to encourage you that if time has been something that has stopped you from doing it, this is a time saver, this is what is going to give you back time, which means that more people can work with you, maybe at a price point that works for more people, and therefore giving you time back in your day, so that you're not having to worry always about billable work and billable hours. Like that is such a, I'm not gonna say an old way of working because I still think it's an important way of working. But it shouldn't be your only way of working, it shouldn't be the only way that you generate revenue. So I think that when people say that I think that there are other things that come up as well, which are things like fear. So do I have the audience will this sell? Is this going to be a lot of work that then doesn't pay off. And so all of those negative thoughts, and fears come up limiting beliefs about what's possible. So today, I really want to talk about why you know why this is so important. And I feel like we've touched on it already. But in 2020, the online education space was estimated to be worth around about $107 billion. And by 2030, which is not that far away. It is estimated to be an $840 billion industry, just going to say that again. 2020 $107 billion industry in the next five, six years, because we're in 2024. As I'm recording this $140 billion industry, this is not going anywhere. You know, when people like our online courses, they're so dumb, they're not done. This is going to be a growing space. We'd love to Learn on Demand, we'd love to learn specific things that we really want to know right now. And so, me being able to find somebody who I love Hello, personal brand, you're my person, I love the way you talk about this. I love your energy around it. I'm really interested to learn from you. Now, let

me just go find out how I can work with you. Yes, I can pay to be part of your membership. Yes, I can pay to go through your online course, there might be like one or two or more coaching calls every month, which I can then ask my specific questions on and get answers to, this is not going anywhere. This is now how we learn. And this is going to allow you to access more people globally, then you have the ability to do right now. So right now even though I do one on one, there is timeframe or time zone limits to who I can work with and when. So the whole of Europe for me is a hard one because I don't want to be working at night. So then me creating one on one programs or one on one services doesn't work for the timezone. But I do have European clients in my courses. And in my programs, because then they get access to me they get access to the content that I've created. I do have, say, a half an hour or 45 minute call once every fortnight for my European clients. And that works well. It's scalable. It's something that allows me to work with them in a way that works for me, and in a way that works for them. And so really understanding that you are not late to the party. This is not something that is you know, it's done. That ship has sailed. The ship is just getting bigger. Right now, it's maybe a bit of a yacht size, but it's about to be Titanic size. Yeah, in the next five to six years. So really thinking about do I want to create scalable products and services in my business? And is it worth the time? You know, one of the best things is when you wake up or you're on holidays or you're doing something that is not work and you get the notification that somebody has just joined your program, that you've got money coming in from stripe or Paypal or whatever else because people can just go and buy from you and access what it is Is that you've created, there are so many benefits to this. And I think that we a lot of times overthink it, overcomplicate it and just make it seem a lot bigger. But the other thing I want to say with that is that it is worth it. It is worth the time and the effort. I love creating content for my clients, I love teaching them specific things. My first course, which was brand builders Academy, which is still around, I created in 2017, it was called play big brand bold at the time. And then I rebranded it. And we had like six people in the first round, we had, you know, maybe 10, in the next we then had 30, we then had 50, like as the brand of the program grows, then you've got clients that are coming into it on a regular basis and having evergreen, which means people can join at any time strategies. So really understanding that it will grow with your business, and I am updating it every kind of two years, making sure that it is up to date with what's happening in the market, making sure that the look and feel and the branding is still on point for me. Like even with VBA, we updated it about I want to say two years ago, and even now I'm thinking about what the next iteration of it is. So it's not about then creating new things all the time, it's about really investing and making your group program an asset in your business, where you build the brand of the program, obviously your brand grows, your personal brand grows as well as you grow your audience. And so then the clients that come through that program grow too. And your ability to make it better and better and better as time goes on is there and available to you. So once you've done that foundational work of designing, mapping it out, etc, then creating it means that it's something that will eventually continue to grow in your business too. So I think that this is such an important thing to be thinking about, and creating in your business, not just for now. But for the long term. If you're like I don't have time, because I'm so busy, this is going to help you get more time back in your business. This is going to help you create potentially affordable things for more clients to work with you, for clients to access your brain your thinking, when you're not around. For more clients to access you live in one go so that instead of you know having to answer 30 different questions and 30 different clients in different times of the week or the month, in an hour, you can see and you can work through all of their questions, coach them, help them, give them the support that they need in a time efficient way that allows you to earn more as well. So if time is the issue, then I'm just really going to call you on it and say you are robbing yourself of time, if you want to build a group program, and you haven't done that already. Yeah, so that is our first series episode for building a group program your why this is the why this is the reason that you want to be doing this. Yeah, in our next couple of episodes, we are going to talk about the how to. But I also want to remind you that if you want to get support with this, and obviously you can come and join me and amplify. And we will work through this together. Because it's not just about building the program. But it's also about you building the personal brand, where people are like you're the person that I want to work with, which obviously we will be covering as well. If you've got any questions, let me know we're going to be doing quite a few in this series. So I can't wait to share it with you. And hopefully if you're kind of like, well, I didn't really think about doing it for my business. But soon as all the reasons that you've given are actually really good ones, then maybe I'm sparking your curiosity, and maybe getting you thinking about the future product suite that you have in your business. Like I said, I get paid for speaking I get paid for one on one, get paid consulting as well. And then courses. So it's just one of the revenue streams in my business. It's not about that being the only thing like I said, it can be if you want, but it's about how do I work smarter, not harder. And how do I build a business that allows for me to work with more people earn more money, but also get more time back in my day. I'll see you in the next episode.