A Note From Colleen

Hi, friend.

My original plan was to touch on two themes this week (business models and digital immigrants), but I decided to dig a bit deeper into each one. 

This week let’s chat about business models for beginners. There are a few I don’t recommend (that may surprise you). 

We’ll chat about what it means to be a digital immigrant for us over-50 entrepreneurs next week. I have lots to say on that topic, too.

Thanks for being here.

Cheers,

Colleen Kochannek, Publisher

PS: I chose this week’s quote in honor of one of my best friends, Judy. We buried her this week. It wasn’t unexpected, but heartbreaking nonetheless. Wowsa, she was a trailblazer. She was the first officer of a publicly traded company in the State of Missouri, a fiercely loyal friend, and an incredibly generous human who touched so many in our community. I’ll miss her forever.

*This publication may include affiliate links and links to products I sell. If you click and buy, I may earn revenue and/or commission. 

BUSINESS BASICS

Best Business Model For Beginners

When starting an online business you have TWO primary hills to climb:  

1. Learn HOW to build and manage an online business 

2. Actually BUILD the online business 

It’s also worth noting, right upfront, that no matter which model you choose for your business, you need the same TWO things for success: a product to sell and an audience to buy it (keep this in mind for this discussion).

If you’ve done any research or surfing around the topic of starting an online business you’ve certainly come across many different models:

• Digital products

• Virtual coaching/education

• Memberships and subscriptions

• Affiliate marketing

• Digital services

• Dropshipping

• Print on Demand

• eCommerce (Esty shops and such)

The chicken vs egg scenario that makes it all a bit tricky is we can’t learn HOW to build an online business any other way than actually building one. It can feel overwhelming and risky and scary as hell. What if it doesn’t work? What if I don’t like it? What if I fail? What if? What if? What if?

But, if you choose the right starting point (aka model) it can be easy, peasy and sunshine breezy (mostly). 

What’s the right starting point? A digital product or service - no matter what your ultimate vision for your business is. No matter which model you ultimately want, a digital product or service is your best bet when starting.

What is a digital product or service? A product or service that can be promoted, sold and delivered virtually (aka no physical products or in-person contact).

A few digital product types:

• Downloadable products such as resource lists, mini-guides, cheatsheets

• Downloadable Printables (Trackers, Checklists, Calendars, Worksheets)

• Templates and swipe Files (you create a generic template of an asset and sell it for people to customize and use as their own)

• eCourse

• Virtual coaching or workshops (teach a workshop via Zoom!) 

Digital service:

• Virtual consultations:  virtual dog training, virtual interior design consultation… the sky’s the limit))

An example of a digital product is my Go-Getter’s Guide ($6). A Simple Quick-Start Online Business System For Women Over 50

This simple, downloadable PDF resource walks you through a 6-step system to quickly get your business up and running. It provides an overview of the whole digital business starting process. People can print the document out or access it on their laptop.

Once I had the idea and a basic outline, The Go-Getter’s Guide took me approximately two days (approximately 10 hours total) to create. This includes writing the guide in Google docs, creating a cover in Canva, creating the pdf file, setting up a simple sales funnel in Stan.Store and creating a few promotional assets.

An example of a digital service: In the past I’ve offered virtual 1:1 consultations offered via Zoom. The session is customized to the customer’s specific needs. We can use this 1:1 time to refine a business idea, outline an actual product,; or, set up a tech funnel.   This type of high touch, personalized service (usually priced at a premium) is a great way to quick cash injections for your business.

Simple digital products and services are low risk, low effort, and high impact. By creating and selling a digital product or service you have a tangible asset you can put into play to:  

1. Learn how an online business works with an actual product

2. Learn how to set up and manage a funnel (the tech mechanism to promote, sell, receive payment and deliver for your product)

3. Learn how to create a tangible product

4. Learn how to market and talk about your product

5. Get a product out there and start learning from your customers 

A simple digital product can be created and set up and ready for sale in a weekend.

Business Models I Don’t Recommend For Beginners

Membership programs - An incredibly popular model.  

Members get access to exclusive content, assets and activities in exchange for a monthly fee (like a subscription). Membership programs span genres from business memberships for entrepreneurs to people who follow a specific diet to those who want to learn how to watercolor.

• Allure: The ability to generate recurring monthly revenue. 

• Challenges:

  • The time required to create, launch and build a membership (it took me about 6 months)

  • The technology needed to host and run a membership has a lot of moving parts. There are many softwares suitable for membership programs (Kajabi, Teachable, Kartra and more) complex and come with a pretty steep learning curve.

  •  Memberships typically require new content on a regular basis. This requires time and effort. 

  • Memberships may include a ‘community feature’, which requires management and content creation (separate from that of the actual membership). 

  • Churn (people canceling their monthly membership) is your biggest challenge. 

  • Launching a new membership can be tricky. You may only have a few members in the beginning. The amount of work vs the revenue is way out of whack. 

Dropshipping 

Dropshipping is an e-commerce model where you market and sell products that are shipped directly to the customer from the manufacturer. You don’t make the product. You hold no inventory. You don’t manage the shipping. 

Allure:  Dropshipping is often marketed as a beginner-friendly, easy-button business. Those who market dropshipping tend to cite things like:

• Minimum investment to get started

• Flexibility and freedom - run your business from anywhere 

• Choice - So many products to choose from so you can sell stuff you love

• Easy to scale: You have no inventory and your business is run from your computer. You won’t need a big team or physical space.

What they often don’t mention:

• Margins are incredibly tight

• Competition is high (trending products get a lot of attention, everyone wants to sell the same thing)

• You don’t make the product so you have zero control over:  

  • Product quality 

  • Shipping errors and delays

  • Supplier mistakes 

  • Quality issues

  • Out of stock issues

• Customer Service  - Will likely be the largest part of what you do. Keep in mind, it’s not your product, but you’re marketing it so you’re the face and contact point for any issues that arise. 

• Complicated:

  • Finding trending products and acting on them fast

  • Beating the competition, when you all want to sell the same thing

  • Research heavy: finding trending products, researching the manufacturers and suppliers, understanding the whole scope of each product.

  • Shipping issues can be complex

  • Legal and taxes will require professional guidance. 

• Effort and audience: You are building an audience and brand around products that are NOT yours. So, should you decide to sell a different product or the manufacturer stops making the product and poof…all that effort (and expense) for nothing.

• Branding - You’re selling the same products and many others. How do you stand out? How do you get visible? It’s a tough, tough road. 

Affiliate marketing. Basically, everything I’ve mentioned for dropshipping is the same for affiliate marketing. You’re building a business around a product that is not yours. The risk is high. Your emotional investment and enthusiasm will not be the same as if you create a product you love and sell that. You spend all your time and effort building an audience and brand for someone else.

Remember what I said earlier: All businesses require the same two things for success: a product to sell and an audience to buy it. So, whether you create your own digital product and sell it or get into dropshipping or affiliate marketing it’s the SAME effort.

If all things are equal, why would you put in this effort for a product that you have zero control over? That doesn’t come from your heart? That you aren’t fully invested in? That you don’t love?

[NEW PROGRAM ALERT] 

If you’re interested in working with me to create a digital product, set up a funnel, build a simple marketing plan and get your first sale - join the waitlist for my Pilot To Profit Startup School. It’s launching in the next week and will be offered at a 50% discount for this first go-round).

LIFE REIMAGINED

A note on loss…

I buried one of my best friends this week. It wasn’t unexpected, but broke my heart nonetheless. 

I think one of the hardest things about getting older is we start losing more of the people we love. People we’ve known for decades.

It’s not just about the person no longer being here. It’s the fun times that will never be again. It’s the not being able to call them to relay a funny story or vent about some annoyance. 

It’s the loss of ‘friend longevity’ when you’ve been friends with someone for decades and you just know each other.  The likelihood of that happening again is slim. 

That makes me sad.

It also pushes me to be sure I am living the best life I can right now, taking risks, going after my dreams and not letting anything stop me.

I hope you live this way, too.

QUICK WINS

Many of us over-50’s are not excited about ‘getting on video’, but video is one of the best mediums when promoting our products on social media. 

Let me help you get comfy in front of the camera.

1. Head to your Facebook profile

2. Start a private Facebook group for yourself. You are the ONLY member (You may need to invite one person to join - Facebook used to make you do this). I call mine Colleen’s Training Studio. Nobody, but you, will see it.

Use your Private Facebook Group to Practice:

• Recording video and uploading  videos 

• Not looking like a deer in headlights

• Emoting enough to look energetic and animated.

• Voice tone and level and speed. 

• Pretending you’re simply talking to a good friend

And, dare I say, practice, Going Live! 

• Get comfortable with hitting the ‘Go Live’ button and waiting for the countdown timer to clock you in.

• Understand where the buttons are. 

• Verify:

  • Is your mic working?

  • Is your light decent?

  • How do you see comments, etc…

Practice makes progress. Record and upload a few videos and just see how you’re doing. I promise you’ll get better.

ASK-ME-ANYTHING

You don’t and no!

Using a personal PayPal account to accept payment for products is unprofessional, against PayPal’s terms and most likely illegal (not 100% sure on this one). 

Would you send payment for a product to a personal account? No.

Payment processors, like PayPal and Stripe, charge processing and per transaction fees. It’s a cost of doing business. They enable you a secure way to accept payment for products. You know these costs up front, so build it into your plan.

Hit REPLY to this email. Send me your questions!

WTHWW - WHATEVER THE HECK WE WANT

I’ve just joined a book club in my apartment building. We’re reading Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

I’ve never been in a book club, which has me thinking…

If so, what would we read? Business books or just great books about women getting older and becoming incredibly badass.

Hit REPLY and let me know your thoughts?

BEHIND THE SCENES (Bonus Content)

I didn’t tackle new learning this week as I was out of pocket for a few days. 

I am holding steady and getting comfortable with Beehiiv , the software I am using to create The Gumption Gazette. 

My ‘To Learn’ list is long, but I’m pacing myself. 

I have created a template I can use each week. This is a huge time saver. 

On my ‘To Learn’ list for this coming week is tackling Beehiiv’s referral feature. I can offer incentives to readers for referring The Gumption Gazette to others. I can also have Beehiiv refer The Gumption Gazette to readers when they subscribe to related newsletters. A win in both scenarios.

COMING NEXT WEEK

• We’re digital immigrants! What does that mean for us over-50 entrepreneurs?

The SUGGESTION BOX

Questions and suggestions for admin or the Ask-Me-Anything section. Simple Hit REPLY to this email or email us at: [email protected]

COMING SOON - AN ALL NEW PROGRAM

My all new Pilot to Profit Startup School is coming next week!

What if you could learn how to make money online while making money online?

The Pilot to Profit Startup School is the program I wish I’d had when I started.

Together we'll move you from finding your idea to creating your first digital product to setting up a simple funnel (the tech stuff) to getting your first sale - while you're learning the ins and outs of marketing and selling your digital product.

Launching at the end of February. Waitlisters will have a special price (50% off!)

Get on the WAITLIST here.