Hey Reader!

This week I am answering the most common question I get when talking to people about Lifestyle Businesses:

“How can I start a lifestyle business if I can’t quit my job?”

Which makes sense as most subject-matter experts I talk to are either the sole provider or the one contributing the most to their family income.

So today I’m going to share with you the Top 3 ways subject-matter experts can start leveraging their expertise and start making money fast. And without quitting their current job.

These 3 ways are:

• Digital Products
• Ghostwriting
• Consulting

Are these the only methods you can use to build a lifestyle business?

Heck no! A lifestyle business is bespoke. You get to choose what you do and how you do it based on the life you want it to afford you.

However, these 3 are the most common ways for subject-matter experts like you to start making money on the side, before quitting your job, while you work towards building your lifestyle business.

So if you’re ready to start putting down the foundation to make your lifestyle business a reality, keep reading.

Choose Your Own Adventure

Of the 3 methods we’re exploring today, I have a clear favorite.

Why? Because it’s what allowed me to finally turn my business into what I now consider a lifestyle business. (BTW, it’s not the one you think… 😉)

But the goal of this piece is to help you choose the one that’s best for you in order to start making money right now.

With that in mind, I’ve broken them down in their pros, cons, income potential, who it’s best for, who it’s not ideal for, and a brief summary.

Ready to get started?

Method 1: Digital Products

If you’ve been following me for any period of time, you knew this method had to be on this list.

I think digital products are a great way to build a lifestyle business as they can be distributed worldwide, are easy to scale, and don’t require you to provide any service live. However, I don’t recommend this be your first step if you want to quickly generate some cashflow.

I’ll explain further below, but first let’s go into the breakdown:

Pros

• Easily scalable
• Create once, sell several times
• You’re in control of what you want to produce and how to put it out.

Cons

• Creating the product is the easy part. Making money requires sales and marketing efforts.
• Harder to launch without an audience of your own or the resources to acquire one.

Examples

• Courses
• Workshops
• PDF

Income potential

• Very low at first –when you don’t yet have an audience.
• But it can become your entire lifestyle business once you build (or acquire) an audience.

Who is this method best for?

• Experts who already have an audience of their own.
• Experts who want to go at their own pace and don’t mind putting in the work for several months –or years– before it’ll pay off.
• Experts who can dedicate 10+ hours per week on marketing it.

Who is this method not ideal for?

• Experts looking to make a good income (5k+/month) in the next 30 days or so.
• Experts who don’t like or want to market and promote their products consistently.

TL;DR

Digital products are the best lifestyle business for most people.

But like most businesses, they require work, consistency, trial and error, money, and –frankly– a bit of luck before they’ll generate any worthwhile income. Especially if your goal is to build this on the side before quitting your job.

One important caveat though: if you already have one (or several) digital products created, there’s nothing stopping you from promoting them.

Method 2: Ghostwriting

As a subject-matter expert we often think we must be the ones educating people.

But as we discussed when talking about digital products, you first need an audience to sell your knowledge to. And if you’re anything like me, just thinking about becoming a “social media influencer” gives you hives.

So how can you leverage your deep knowledge and expertise to educate people if you don’t have an audience? Ghostwriting.

Let’s go into the details:

Pros

• You leverage your existing expertise.
• You don’t need an audience of your own.
• You only need 1-2 clients to make good money.
• If you’re reading this, you already have all you need to start.

Cons

• It’s a skill you will likely have to learn.
• Not everyone who could be your client understands what a ghostwriter is.

Examples

• Educational assets - email courses, short ebooks, infographics.
• Social content (posts, tweets, etc)
• Emails
  • Sequences (one-off)
  • Newsletter (recurring)
• Longer form
  • Articles (technical / thought leadership)
  • Books

Income potential

It will vary depending on the deliverable(s)

• $1k - $3k / month / client is not uncommon
• Specific one-off assets can go from $3-10k

Who is this method best for?

• Experts who don’t mind allowing others to take credit for their words.
• Experts with a solid understanding of their subject-matter who can communicate clearly in writing.
• Experts who want to start generating $5k+ per month in the next 30 days, without having to do it full-time.

Who is this method not ideal for?

• Experts who are more interested in the recognition than in building a lifestyle business.
• Experts who struggle communicating in simple terms.

TL;DR

Ghostwriting educational and thought-leadership assets has been the single best decision I’ve made in order to build my own lifestyle business.

But while the benefits are many, it’s definitely not for everyone. You’ll need to be able to check your ego at the door which is hard for many experts to do.

However, iff this sounds like something you’d like to try out, I recommend getting some baseline understanding of how the ghostwriting business actually works.

And for that, I can’t recommend this free resource enough: 5 Steps to Land Your First $5k Client (Even If You’ve Never Ghostwritten Anything Before) ​

Method 3: Consulting

Unlike ghostwriting, consulting is probably the most sought-after method of monetization for subject-matter experts.

Before we dive in, it’s important to differentiate Consulting from Coaching or Mentoring. Consulting is where you leverage your expertise to help people or businesses in fields different to yours so they can make their products better. Coaching and mentoring is where you help people grow in their own field.

For example, as a doctor I’ve consulted with biotech companies who wanted to understand how my peers and I were using their products. And I’ve also coached other doctors who want to improve their sales or marketing skills. See the difference?

With that out of the way, let’s dive in:

Pros

• Don’t need any extra skills. What clients value is your existing expertise.
• No deliverables to produce.

Cons

• Often reserved for the most experienced –and well connected– experts
• Not as easy to find clients willing to pay high ticket for consulting
• You need to pitch yourself more often than not
• Can’t be done asynchronously
• Travel is often required

Examples

• Consulting with companies who produce goods or services for you & your peers.
• Companies who want to reach the same clients you already have
• Expert reviews

Income potential

• Consulting has the highest income elasticity in this list.
• Depends on connections and perceived level of expertise.
• Not uncommon for deals to be in the 5-6 figure region.

Who is this method best for?

• Experts who are already recognized in their respective field.
• Experts with flexible schedules and availability to travel.

Who is this method not ideal for?

• Experts concerned with potential conflicts of interest with their employers or clients.
• Experts who don’t want to pitch themselves to potential clients.
• Experts who have rigid schedules.

TL;DR

Consulting can be a standalone business easily.

But here’s where the maxim “It’s not what you know but who you know” really comes into play. And so, if you’re not well-recognized in your field, and/or you don’t have the right connections, it will take you longer to start. So why is it on the list?

Because with a little elbow grease and some outreach on LinkedIn or similar, it is possible for you to start landing some consulting gigs right away.

That’s it!

As always, thanks for reading.

Hit reply and let me know what you found most helpful this week—I’d love to hear from you!

See you next Saturday,