Inspiration & Motivation | The Content Hacker

Zero to Hero: How to Start a Business with No Money

Julia McCoy — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 23:31:58 +0000

Ever looked at a mountain and wondered how to climb it without any gear? Starting a business with no money can seem just as challenging.

You’ve got big ideas, but you have no money to execute them.

You might think, “Can I start small?” Yes, you can!

With determination and clever thinking, you can turn your skills into a successful business.

Like many, I started with big dreams and a small budget. I turned my last $75 into a content writing powerhouse, even after escaping a cult.

Think about using every free online tool available, making plans that are as cost-effective as possible. You’ll learn to network effectively.

In this article, you’ll learn how to start a business with no money. You’ll discover how to bootstrap your way to success and attract customers without spending a dime on ads.

Do you want to use AI for blogging? Our AIO Blogger course can help you build a profitable blog 10x faster.

Finding a Low-Cost Business Idea
Creating a Business Plan
Building a Strong Online Presence
Networking for Your Business Without Money
- Starting with Networking
- Creating Beneficial Partnerships
Adopting a Bootstrap Marketing Approach
Using Crowdfunding and Pre-Sales
Continuous Learning and Adaptation
How to Start a Business With No Money FAQs
Conclusion

Finding a Low-Cost Business Idea

Looking for low-cost business ideas can be like searching for a diamond in the rough.

You need an idea that’s brilliant but affordable. Also, consider the business model — how your idea will make money without a big upfront investment.

How about starting with what you love doing?

Using Your Skills and Passions

Turning your passion into a profitable venture is the first step in your journey as a business owner.

Consider your hobbies or things you’re really good at. Could they turn into income streams?

For example, if you are an artist, how about starting a graphic design service? Love fitness? Consider online training sessions.

Love writing? Maybe freelance writing may be for you. Also, consider how the skills you’ve honed in your day job could fuel your entrepreneurial aspirations.

Your skills are priceless, especially when money is tight.

Look at What People Want

Sure, follow your passion—but also keep an eye on market trends.

If people crave organic home goods, and you’re all about being eco-friendly, there’s your sweet spot.

A bit of research, like using Google Trends, can show you profitable areas to explore.

Balancing Costs and Potential Earnings

Ideas that don’t cost much to start often have great earning potential. Think digital products over physical ones—they save on business expenses (i.e., manufacturing costs).

Creating digital courses or e-books can turn your expertise into sellable products without ongoing costs cutting into profits.

While doing this, always monitor your cash flow to ensure your business stays financially healthy in the short term as you build for the future.

Using Existing Online Platforms

Instead of spending a lot on creating something new, try platforms where customers already are.

Etsy is great for crafters, Udemy for instructors, or TaskRabbit if hands-on service is more up your alley. These sites make it easy to start without much cost.

Besides, leveraging existing audiences can be smarter than trying to build one from zero.

Creating a Business Plan

A small business plan is your road map to startup stardom on a shoestring budget.

Think of it as drawing the shortest line from Point A (your current no-cash status) to Point B (profit without splurging).

Include different ways to get money in your plan, like alternative funding options, which can offer financial support without the strict rules of traditional loans.

A good plan is really valuable. It helps you see clearly and stay focused, even when money is tight.

Focusing on Core Components

Firstly, you want to simplify the business plan. It doesn’t need to be long or complicated.

Just clear enough to guide you.

Focus on the most important parts:

Define your value proposition or what makes your business special.
Who your customers are.
How you’ll make money without needing a lot of upfront capital.

Setting Realistic Money Goals

Dream big, but be realistic with your financial goals. Don’t pull numbers from thin air—base them on solid market research so investors know you’re playing for keeps.

Your projections should scream “achievable.” Overpromising leads straight to Underdelivering Town—and nobody wants to visit there.

Using Bootstrapping Techniques

Bootstrapping means using what you’ve got in smart ways.

You could start selling before your product is ready or offer services related to your product. This not only gets people excited but also shows you believe in what you’re about to launch.

One more thing: it builds trust with potential customers when they see you’re confident in your business.

Free Project Management Tools

For managing projects, you don’t need pricey software. Trello lets you arrange tasks on customizable boards, making everything neat and tidy.

Think of it as a digital board with notes that don’t get lost.

Asana is another great tool. It helps with assigning tasks and tracking progress, all for free.

Free Communication Tools

Eventually, talking with your team shouldn’t be expensive when you’re learning how to start a business with no money. Slack allows real-time chat, almost like being in an office together.

For video calls, Zoom’s free plan is perfect for meetings where emails won’t cut it.

Boost Productivity Without Spending

You don’t need to spend to increase productivity. Google Workspace offers documents, spreadsheets, and presentations at no cost. It helps you share ideas easily with your team.

LastPass keeps passwords safe, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting them.

DIY Design & Marketing

Your brand needs pizzazz but also practicality. Canva makes design easy, even if you are not a pro. It has a lot of templates to make you look like a design expert.

For SEO, Ubersuggest offers keyword ideas for free. SEO helps more people find your business online.

Building a Strong Online Presence

When learning how to start a business with no money, think of the internet as a busy city. Your online presence is like owning real estate in this city. You want to be seen and easy to find.

Social media platforms are like community centers. They’re free to join and full of people who might be interested in your business.

Use X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, or Instagram—wherever your audience hangs out. Be authentic and engaging, like showing up at a networking event in your best outfit ready to impress.

A website is like your online storefront—a place you own outright on the digital landscape. With WordPress.com or Wix, you can build a website for next to nothing.

Social Media Strategy

Choose your platforms carefully. It’s better to focus on two or three than to try to be everywhere.

Use Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your posts. This keeps your social media active without needing your constant attention.

Building a Website on a Budget

You don’t need to hire expensive developers. Use website builders that are easy and offer many customization options, at zero cost upfront.

Improving Your Website with SEO

Just building a website isn’t enough. You need to make sure search engines find it. Learn the basics of SEO through free resources you can find online. This can help you get more visitors over time.

Creating Content and Blogging

Here’s a free business advice: Blogs are a great way to attract visitors.

They’re not just for personal stories but can show your expertise. Write blogs with important keywords and answers to questions people are searching for. This can help more people find your business online.

Networking for Your Business Without Money

Think of networking as the roots of your business tree.

The deeper they grow, the more support you’ll have when storms hit.

You need connections with people who can offer resources, advice, and opportunities. This is especially important when you’re learning how to start a business with no money. Click To Tweet

Starting with Networking

A great place to begin is LinkedIn. It’s like a digital way to shake hands with the world.

Make your profile impressive—it’s your first chance to make a good impression.

Join groups where you might find business partners. Be active and helpful in these groups. Offer help before you ask for anything in return.

Creating Beneficial Partnerships

Partnerships should be good for both sides.

Look for partners who have strengths that complement yours. For example:

A web designer could pair up with a copywriter to offer full-package deals to clients.
A tech expert might team up with a marketing professional to create and sell apps.
An event planner could join forces with caterers.

Adopting a Bootstrap Marketing Approach

You don’t need a lot of money to make your business stand out anymore.

Today, with a bootstrap marketing approach, being creative and working hard can be more effective than having a big budget.

Leveraging Social Media’s Viral Potential

Social media is great for reaching people organically without spending money.

Create content that people want to share, like funny or relatable posts. Sometimes, these can become very popular without costing anything. Think about how viral memes get a lot of attention.

Create Great Content for Free Traffic

SEO is important for getting people to your website without paying for ads.

Make your content so good that other websites want to link to it. This helps more people find your site and can improve your Google ranking.

You could become known as an expert just by sharing useful guides or insights on your site.

Joining Communities Online

You don’t need expensive ads when you can use online forums.

Join places like Reddit or Quora where your potential customers are. Answer questions about your business area. This helps build trust and gets people interested in your business.

Starting Email Marketing

Emails are a great way to talk to people who are interested in what you do. And it’s almost free.

Make your emails personal. Everyone who gets your email should feel special.

Tools like MailChimp have free plans to help you get started.

All these methods use creativity and effort more than money. And that’s what makes bootstrapping so smart.

Using Crowdfunding and Pre-Sales

Crowdfunding is a good choice if you have big ideas but not a lot of money. It helps you find your first customers before you even start selling.

Think of it as an online event where people can support your idea. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are popular platforms for this. They help bring projects to life that might not have happened otherwise.

When you use crowdfunding, tell a story that people want to be part of. People like to support stories, not just products.

Making a Good Crowdfunding Pitch

You are not just asking for money in a crowdfunding campaign. You are inviting people to be a part of your project.

Remember this.

You need a pitch that sticks like glue in their minds long after they’ve scrolled past.

A solid video introduction can really help here. Show your face, share your passion, and let them see the fire in your eyes.

This personal touch can help turn curiosity into support.

Setting Goals and Rewards

Picking your funding goal is like setting pins at a bowling alley—you don’t want them too far apart or too close together if you aim to strike big.

Aim for what will cover costs without scaring off modest contributors who believe every dollar counts.

Rewards should echo this balance: irresistible enough to attract support but feasible so you won’t end up promising the moon with no spaceship in sight.

Using Pre-Sales Effectively

If crowdfunding is like getting ready for a big event, pre-sales are like the event itself. You’re selling your product before it’s fully ready. This can be a great way to start your business.

Continuous Learning and Adaptation

To stay successful, keep learning and growing, just like a plant needs care to grow. This is especially true when you’re figuring out how to start a business with no money.

Stay curious about your market. Read industry blogs and take online courses to stay up-to-date. Websites like Coursera offer courses that can help you change your strategy if you need to.

The Importance of Pivoting

What worked before might not work now. If customer feedback or sales show a problem, it’s time to change, or pivot.

Pivoting means making small changes, not starting over. For example, if your audience is using a new social media platform, start using that platform more.

Analyzing Your Performance

To improve, you need to know how your business is doing. Use tools like Google Analytics to track your performance.

Look at your data regularly. See which products are popular and which aren’t. Spotting trends early can help you avoid problems or take advantage of new opportunities.

Being Flexible with Your Plan

Your first plan is just the beginning. Be ready to change it. Being flexible can lead to new ideas. This is important for businesses starting with no money.

If something isn’t working, try something else. Being able to adapt is good for both now and in the future. It helps you grow without needing a lot of money from outside.

How to Start a Business With No Money FAQs

Is it possible to start a business with no money?

Yes, you can. It requires hard work and creativity, but many people have started successful businesses this way. They use their skills and networks to get going.

What’s the best business to start without money?

The best business to start without any money is one that uses your own skills or focuses on online services that are in high demand.

What is the easiest business to start?

The easiest business to start is one where you use what you know. This could be consulting or freelancing, where your knowledge is your main resource.

What business can you start with 0 dollars?

You can start a service-based business, like being a virtual assistant, using your organizational and administrative skills, with no money. Use free online tools to reach people and run your business.

Conclusion

You’ve learned how to start a business with no money. It’s all about hard work and finding the right idea that combines your passion with what people need, without spending a lot.

Planning is important. A simple business plan keeps you focused. Don’t forget about free online tools. They help keep costs down while keeping your work efficient.

Networking is more than just talking. It’s about making connections that help you succeed. Your online presence is your constant advertisement, so make it good.

Bootstrap marketing turns creativity into customers. Crowdfunding can give you a boost before you even start. And always keep learning. Being able to change and adapt might be what makes you succeed.

Starting a business with little money is hard but exciting. When you have to be careful with money, you get more creative. Now it’s time to make your ideas work and earn money!

It’s time to build your blog empire.

Want to be a real Content Hacker along with us, but not sure where to start?

We’ve got custom-created resources just for you, friend.

Get inside the Content Hacker Community – at just $20/month. You get expert help, live calls, and much more.

Want to go deeper? Check out our AIO Blogger course – an immersive one-week course teaching you everything you need to know to build a money-making online blog.

Can’t WAIT to welcome you inside.

with gratitude,

Julia

The post Zero to Hero: How to Start a Business with No Money appeared first on Content Hacker.

Content Hacker v2 is here. Here’s the story.

Julia McCoy — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Today, on Halloween, the beautiful evolution of Content Hacker is alive.

It’s allllliiiive!

We tied our launch to Halloween (10.31.23) for a spooky good reveal.

Let me share the story with you.

For the past eleven years, I’ve believed, practiced, and seen for myself that the best marketing is inbound marketing.

100% automated streams of traffic; people that love the experience on a beautiful site you own and manage.

Where you’ve removed yourself, and have 100,000s of visitors AND revenue, MONTHLY & recurring, COMING to find and buy from you – on autopilot.

This is possible.

This is freedom.

This is lasting marketing.

This is business sustainability.

This is marketing I love to run.

You’ve heard me say this “sustainability” message for a LONG time, from Content Hacker.

Today, my vision at Content Hacker evolves a TON.

Thanks to Content at Scale acquiring my brand, and the expanded vision I’ve now been given full liberty to run with , we go from one (me) to many, inviting you in to my all-new tribe of Content Hackers.

(I put all my cards on the Content at Scale table because that’s how much I believe in AI as the future of content. Story of that transition here.)

Along with the relaunch of our new site, a whole host of new offerings just went live.

I’m thrilled to share our new offerings at Content Hacker with you.

But first, storytime. Let me tell you what it means to me that we are here. Apologies for the semi-book. It’s the writer in me… can’t help it, won’t stop it.

The Revolution Behind Today’s Evolution

Content Hacker 2.0’s offerings (incredible community, live events; all new signature, simplified 1-week course) was always in my heart…

On my vision board…

And in my plans.

But here’s the crazy part.

I wasn’t ready to do it.

Till Content at Scale + my brand merged.

This was the kick in the pants I needed, without knowing it, to take everything I’m doing to a whole ‘nother level.

Because…

I wasn’t ready to launch my own Content Hacker event where I would need to show up, host, speak, and the spotlight was on me all day long.

But I wanted to.

I wasn’t ready to launch a mass-appeal community with a full-time Director that could handle hundreds and hundreds of folks (one day, thousands, and tens of thousands) learning how to be Content Hackers together.

But I wanted to.

I wasn’t ready to launch an AI-focused course. Heck, last year, I was anti-AI.

But I LOVE being a part of innovation, especially when it means more freedom and better solutions for all of us.

It was only when I found Content at Scale that all of these big dreams became possible.

Not only did I have the how, what, when, where and why for my all-new AI-driven blogging course that just launched today, which I believe will absolutely bring massive revenue and clarity for thousands of online business builders (this would have never been possible without Content at Scale) –

I had the means, and the push (which was ultimately what I was lacking)…

To go 10x bigger.

You know what’s weird?

That little thing called imposter syndrome.

I have a couple of firm beliefs about imposter syndrome.

First; that only the best, most integrity-based people have imposter syndrome.

Yes.

It’s actually a sign you care. Hear me out…

I’ve seen so many flashy gurus that truly do not care that they don’t even have the skills they’re shilling.

They’re just selling, selling, selling –

And oftentimes, it’s an empty shell.

No expertise backs up what they’re selling. They’re not stopped by imposter syndrome. That’s because they don’t have the integrity that stops them and say – hey! make sure you truly help your people – like we true practitioners do. They’re just in it for the payday. They truly don’t care about their people.

On the other hand, I do. So much so, I wonder if I’m expert enough.

And that’s where my second belief about imposter syndrome comes in:

It takes the right person (or groups of people) to believe in you to really help you kick imposter syndrome to the curb.

If you are listening to negative voices, you won’t kick imposter syndrome to the curb.

But if you align with people that believe in you, and push you (cough kick-your-butt when you need it)…

You will absolutely be able to overcome it.

Today, my imposter syndrome dies.

I’m declaring it.

Content Hacker 2.0 isn’t just for you – it’s for me.

My declaration to the world of my next evolution.

Personally, one of my number one motivators that keeps me innovating, creating and executing on insane ideas, is belief from others.

If incredible people believe in me, and what I can bring to their table, look out world.

This is akin to fire and the wood that it burns. Or, humans and the oxygen they breathe.

It’s truly incredible when you find a tribe that BELIEVES in you.

That sees your potential.

Not only gets out of your way, but empowers you do the things you do best.

And that is the team at Content at Scale.

That is the people I work with, every day.

Justin McGill, the creator of Content at Scale, is the founder of this team. He’s leading our battalion much like King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) led the Spartans in 300. *insert cheesy meme*

No outside funding. A bunch of scrappy, motivated people. Led by someone that just won’t give up, terrifies us all with a slew of insane ideas (just me? okay), and then shocks us all, and earns massive respect, when ALL of those ideas turn out to be gold.

When I first met him in January of 2023, he was wearing all the hats.

Taking sales calls. Setting up the affiliate program from scratch. Recruiting partners and big clients. Working on the barebones of early product marketing for the blog. Working hard with Josh Slone and Jeff Joyce, two of the early OGs at Content at Scale.

I knew he was the real deal.

Not some AI founder just chasing a quick vein of gold – but a real founder, the type I identified with and was, creating real solutions for true market needs. (Except – even more logical and sensible than me. I’ve learned a lot this year working with him.)

A few days after I met Justin, I took his job offer as VP of Marketing for Content at Scale.

It was incredible to say yes and get on the ground floor of Content at Scale, in those early days.

One of the first things I did was to interview users and see it all for myself. And, introduce the tech in my circles.

A story like an agency experiencing 25x savings and better output by switching to Content at Scale wasn’t unreal. Or a freelancer getting half of her time back in a day. I loved everything I saw, and I built early models, like the AIO model – to prove to the world that AI was here to stay. And I was going to align with the “good side” of AI – the functional, real solution that Justin had the vision to build.

In March, I went to President of the company. I pitched Justin on the role; it made sense. We didn’t look back.

In August, I relinquished my personal ownership of Content Hacker and sold it to Content at Scale. It made way more sense than fighting between two brands – Content Hacker being a place where I was still hired to consult, teach, and coach; with Content at Scale as my full-time job.

Now…

I’m putting all my cards on the AI content table.

And I have huge dreams and goals for the reach I want us at Content Hacker to have.

Heck, I’ve never embodied anything as much as I believe in and get behind what we’re building at Content at Scale.

So much so, I dressed as Content at Scale this Halloween. People that had never heard of our brand before, rallied behind the vision I shared of Content at Scale; got in line to meet me; I was uplifted, supported, filmed, given an award – it was a truly incredible evening.

I even delivered a panel talk dressed as our AI.

Would I have stepped up this much for any other brand I’ve ever ran in the past?

I honestly don’t know if I can say yes to that.

I have never believed in anything I’ve built as much as I believe in what we’re doing with Content at Scale + Content Hacker 2.0 – I believe what we’re doing matters HUGELY to the success of others in the real world.

I believe, so much, in our incredible founder Justin. In the fact that I can trust his logic and vision to be even more sound than my own. (Sometimes. I’m just kidding.)

I believe, so much, in the team. Josh. Ben. Jeff. Diego. Simon. Farnaz. Simon x 2. Chris. David. Alyssa. Diana.

It’s incredible to work with leaders like Josh – leading the Content at Scale internal team organization and growth in his COO role with a patient, level approach. And killers like Ben – who orchestrated an entire action plan around new revenue and built a sales team almost overnight, when we saw a need.

And so many other amazing people at Content at Scale.

I know we are going to build something that will touch millions, if not billions, of lives.

And that’s wild to simply think about.

You, reading this, are a PART of that.

Watch me talk about Content Hacker 2.0 here:

How It All Started

Let’s go back to the beginning of today’s journey to Content Hacker 2.0.

In 2011, I was 19.

I’d just started freelance writing.

And I decided then and there that I should be the proof of my own pudding.

What better sales message for my skills as a writer IF all my leads came through my own writing?

And that’s when my love affair with SEO content, a.k.a. blogging as the key to all my traffic, officially began.

I launched a website. And I started blogging.

I still remember when my first lead found me from Google through a keyword I’d targeted, and emailed me.

I was OVER THE MOON.

Someone I didn’t know… had never talked to before… read my content, and was ready to pay me.

WHAT.

Over the next ten years, I turned that same website into a business providing 100 jobs and earning $250,000 per month in revenue.

Would I have had any of that if I didn’t focus on my website?

NOPE.

And that’s why…

Content Hacker 2.0 is (Still) All About Content Published on YOUR Platform, Building Real Online Empires

A website is like a snowball.

It feels very small at first.

It’s frustrating. Your hands freeze.

It might not even work at first (for example, the snow was too wet = a.k.a., your website was built by someone who didn’t know what they were doing…)

And you have to try again.

But when you have a great website, and you continue to build and build your content library… from 10 blogs to 20, to 50, then 100…

By the time you get to 200, 300 blogs… all highly targeted for the RIGHT search terms…

You’re looking at what could be a six-figure monthly traffic stream.

On autopilot.

That is, if you’ve done the things Google cares about. You’ve built a topically relevant domain. You’ve created hundreds of pieces of content generated to answer EVERY *relevant* question your user has on your topical area of authority. You’ve invested in a well-built, well-functioning website (not some cheap or bad website on an equally low-quality, heavy platform).

This will bring you success.

Massively. I’m talking a 13,000x ROI.

Content Hacker 2.0 is all about this – building real online wealth, on a platform YOU OWN. Where no one can take away your traffic, or shadow-ban your right to speak.

That’s your website. A site is your rocket ship, your launchpad for building a future with content.

Content Hacker 2.0 Offerings Are Built To Immediately Help You Hit the (AI) Ground Running

Today, the new Content Hacker launches.

And we’ve got four amazing new offerings for you, custom-built for immediate tangibility and help in this brave new world of AI content.

Here’s the rundown.

(Free) Content Hacker Resources

Did you see? On the new Content Hacker home page are 10 brand new, free guides that go in-depth into topics that, well, Content Hackers (growth-focused content writers) care about. Check them out – scroll to the end to see them.

(Paid) Content Hacker Community

This is a $20/month community, structured like a real mentorship/mastermind with me. It’s free if you’re a paying Content at Scale user, btw.

When we started building this, I wanted to make sure we took the BEST parts from my old mentorship program, the Content Transformation System, and infused them into this fresh platform.

The result is a robust networking and educational platform where you can not only learn how to blog with the best of the best, but also use AI to do it BETTER.

There are courses (our AIO Writer, AIO Agency, Publish a Blog a Day) all loaded up for you to dive into, threads chock-full of resources and great posts (all new content!) that you can dive into, plus incredible opportunities to connect with Content at Scale experts (including me!) for 1:1 mentorship and support in your blogging journey. Join us here.

(Paid) Julia’s ALL-NEW AIO Blogger Course

Along with the community launch, we’re also unveiling a NEW course for under $200 that teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know to build a real empire out of your blog, with our AI (Content at Scale).

Naturally, this course is led by me, but it also features guest experts like Jill Caren, our Director of SEO at Content at Scale; Joe Crivello-Sorenson, a power user of Content at Scale nearing $100,000/month reselling Content at Scale; and Marcus Campbell, a HUGE affiliate marketing expert that uses Content at Scale to help drive traffic to hundreds of websites he owns.

Check out the full rundown of the course here. It’s an amazing course with all of my secrets, fresh off the filming pipeline as of this August; and you’ll want to get into it ASAP if you want to learn how to build revenue-driving online sites with AI as your core blog “writer.”

Big Event Happening Next March: Content Hacker LIVE

To top it all off, we’re opening up RSVPs to an incredible live event we’re launching next March: Content Hacker Live.

Meet us in person in Austin, TX, at this incredible event that will be both educational and inspirational.

Featuring:

Highly-followed AI futurists.
A billionaire.
Creators of top AI platforms.
Entrepreneurs with incredible stories of using AI to make way more money.

Our opening headline speaker is Elena Cardone , who loves and supports our mission.

PLUS pros like Matt Wolfe, Jeff J Hunter, Mark de Grasse, Alicia Lyttle, Stephanie Nivinskus, Desiree Chinn, Jordache Johnson and so many more amazing folks to be announced.

Content at Scale 3.0

In the second week of November…

Our incredible NEW version of Content at Scale (one of the world’s most humanlike AI writers) launches.

This version takes our entry-level price point from $250/mo, down to $49/mo for individual user plans that will include…

25k AI words
Personalized AI (trains on your website/content to nail YOUR style)
Undetectable AI writing
Built-in AI agents + blueprints to help you build out your marketing
AIMEE, a powerful chatbot for personalized content creation, prompting, and so much more

And CAS never shares any of your data (including your training data) with ANYONE else, so you never have to worry about it.

Of course, all of the features for long-form blog writing will still be on offer, but we’re adding a TON of new, useful features that will help you win with SEO, research and brainstorm, generate all kinds of content, and more — with various pricing packages tailored to your needs.

It’s Time to Build Your Blog Empire

Crazy stuff. And it’s all happening NOW.

We’re about to take this vision I’ve had for 11 years to the MOON… and help a HECK of a lot more people.

I would love for you to be one of those folks.

Want to be in our Content Hacker crew?

Learn from the best, and network with the rest.

Wondering where to start?

I’ll make it simple:

Git your tush inside the Content Hacker Community – it’s a no-brainer.

Can’t WAIT to welcome you inside.

with gratitude,

Julia

The post Content Hacker v2 is here. Here’s the story. appeared first on Content Hacker.

Dream, Hack, Scale: The Content Hacker – Content at Scale Merger Story

Julia McCoy — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 13:23:48 +0000

created in midjourney with prompt: recreate this person [Julia’s image] as human and half robot, red neon, sitting in a chair

On January 16, I shocked 100% of you by telling you that I’d gone and taken a job working for the Dark Side.

Okay, I exaggerate…

But that’s what it felt like. I’d taken a job as the VP of Marketing at Content at Scale, and pushed my full-time work at Content Hacker over to the side.

To write is life… or so goes the version of a botched-up quote originally penned as something else entirely by Ernest Hemingway. (I blame Pinterest and memes.)

Writing was my life.

It was my self-built career, the foundations of my 100-person empire, and eventually – I’d written so much content (over 1,000 blogs, emails, and 8 books), it was my life.

So why would someone like me suddenly take a role working at a leading SEO AI writer?

Leonard Ravenhill, a famous UK evangelist, wrote in the early 1900s: “The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity.”

When I see the ship of golden opportunity landing at the shores of my life, I know I have to jump on it before it leaves.

And I’ve learned never to hesitate on my instincts.

I’ll think it through – but I do not hesitate.

When Ravenhill wrote that quote, he knew that opportunity can leave as quickly as it comes. You have to be ready to jump at the right one. Otherwise, you could completely miss out on the life you were meant to live.

It’s now August.

As I look back at January, I take a moment of silence and gratitude as I bring back to memory the best move I’ve probably ever made in the past 11 years in my career.

And now today, I’m announcing another shocking move. Content Hacker has officially merged with and been acquired by Content at Scale. Here’s the story.

The ship of opportunity

IBM did a study this year pulling data from a survey of 3,000 C-level executives across 28 countries and another of 21,000 workers in 22 nations.

Their conclusion: 40% of the workforce will have to reskill in the next three years – because of AI.

Specifically, a whopping 1.4 billion of the 3.4 billion people in the global workforce will need to reskill for AI.

According to the IBM research, adopters who successfully reskill to adapt “technology-driven job changes report a revenue growth rate premium of 15% on average” and those who focus on AI “see a 36% higher revenue growth rate than their peers.” And 87% of the executives surveyed expect generative AI to augment roles rather than replace them.

And the World Economic Forum, in the same study, predicts that workers’ skills will be disrupted between 2023 and 2028 – now and in the future.

Did I know this walking into the role in January? I could not have predicted the growth of AI this year. However, I do believe that when we walk in self-made paths, follow our instinct, and give our paths to God, He looks out for us in amazing and mysterious ways.

2021 to 2022 – the AI skeptic

When I sold my writing agency in 2021, I knew that GPT would change everything. The technology possibilities with it were simply huge.

However, I wasn’t a firm believer in AI or GPT. Why? It wasn’t that great.

Even when ChatGPT came out and was widely adopted by over 100 million users in just a few short weeks, I didn’t find it capable of augmenting or improving my own writing process.

I live in the real world. Clients pay you – or they don’t, depending on the quality and the actual value you bring.

If something works – actually saves you time or money – you use it. You introduce it into your business, your team, your clients.

But you don’t introduce it, if it will ruin or degrade quality, efficiency, or output.

And I couldn’t introduce AI because it just wasn’t there yet.

In 2022 AI would have degraded my workload, not enhanced it.

And that’s why I was on DigitalMarketer’s stage in December of 2022 saying, “don’t use AI – it won’t replace a human.”

Across 2022, I worked my tail off to launch some pretty impactful services at Content Hacker:

My one-year mentorship, now surpassing a whopping $100,000 in sales and 80 enrollments – where I taught and coached students to grow their own online businesses with content marketing.
Content Engine, a high ticket, $10,000 service where I headhunted and hired the perfect writer for B2Bs and elevated brands.

If we’re being real, though…

Selling coaching and high-ticket services was a struggle.

This was the truth of the inside that I rarely to never shared on the outside.

I’d been used to the agency life, where sales rolled in almost on autopilot day after day – the agency I sold in 2021. I missed it a ton.

I was lucky to get five mentorship enrollees per month, and I had to fight for each one. Convince and spend weeks to get people in the door.

And I enrolled ONE Content Engine client for all of 2022. (It was a hard sell, although people loved the idea.)

That said, I shone at coaching – and even helped 10x one of my student’s businesses. I grew in my empathy and care for other people, and shed my agency owner mindset.

Along the way, I’d been testing out AI tools, talking to founders, even consulting for some.

That was a disappointing experience in 2022.

From buggy products built overnight by college kids that got their hands on unhealthy amounts of funding… to AI founders that didn’t actually believe AI tools didn’t need to have built-in fact-checking features. Or other founders that didn’t believe in content marketing. (I can’t help them.)

But I was determined that AI would absolutely shape the future of content, and I knew it was just a matter of time till the right tool came along.

And so – when 2023 rolled around, I decided to do something wild.

I stopped everything I was doing and studied AI that January.

2023 – the great AI embracer

On January 4th, I was watching another AI content writing video (by Adam Enfroy).

And as soon as I saw Content at Scale, I knew I was looking at the Holy Grail of solutions for long-form content.

I paused the video – zoomed in on the dashboard Enfroy screenshared – and saw everything. The SEO content itself. All the formatting with H2s, H3s, and a full table of contents. Hours and hours of human work, done in minutes.

I began to research Content at Scale. Even though the brand logo identity was poor at best – it looked thrown together – I knew I was looking at something genius.

The content writing Content at Scale on their site to sell their own tool was good.

Josh’s guides, like this one on a simple but mind-blowingly good keyword research strategy, demonstrated real experience.

And Jeff’s TikToks, like this one, showed that Content at Scale was serious about getting video content out.

All the things I loved seeing in a brand’s marketing plan.

I was pleasantly surprised–I hadn’t till now seen great inbound content on any AI content tool’s website.

However, a total skeptic, I emailed Justin and asked, “What are you doing for factual accuracy in AI content? This is the main problem I haven’t seen any AI solve.”

Not expecting much, I hit send on the email.

Justin’s response blew me away –

Not only was Justin transparent and told me, “you’d better check the content in a plagiarism tool” – but he said they actually had a plan linking to credible sources automatically.

That alone made me incredibly excited. (Come to find out, Content at Scale directly ties into the tool I used daily in my agency – Copyscape! You simply hit the button and it’ll run a plagiarism check for you.)

I was instantly intrigued and excited. I booked a call with Justin for Monday, January 9th, and that weekend, emailed him a quick gameplan on how to grow Content at Scale with an inbound plan.

I wanted to jump on board this opportunity ship immediately.

Because I’d finally found the AI writer that would augment or replace all the human work I did as a service.

January 9th, Monday, Justin and I hop on a call. We instantly identified with each other, and knew we saw things similarly. He had the technical skills and vision, with a strong background of SEO and content marketing – I had the creative and market trailblazing capabilities, with a history of content, writing and speaking skills, and thought leadership.

I was offered the role of VP of Marketing on the spot.

Not one to make the rare boat of golden opportunity wait around, I said yes and signed the offer by Friday.

On January 16, Monday, I announced to the world that I was joining Content at Scale.

People were shocked.

I saw LinkedIners create posts just to talk about my post.

All in all, 13,000 people saw my work announcement post in the next few days.

Some context:

The week before I accepted the offer to work at Content at Scale, I decided to learn how to use Content at Scale and create a free tutorial for my Content Hacker peeps.

I worked my knuckles off to film, write, and publish to build up Content at Scale on my own site before I took the role, to show people how much I believed in it.

And – something crazy happened.

I teased my list to see if there was any interest in Julia’s AI adaption. 5,000+ people got an email that said “I finally found an AI writer for long-form content.”

And I had the most responses I’ve ever had to ANY email ever.

It confirmed the direction I was going in, in a huge way.

Sharing Content at Scale started a fire. (And that fire has only grown bigger.)

In fact, longtime friend and Content Hacker alumni Jacki Alcorn told me – “I was getting ready to buy Content Engine. Thank the Lord you found Content at Scale when you did, Julia. Pivoting and adapting saved us over $10,000.”

January to March was a wild season as I came in like a whirlwind and started doing a lot.

From building out new concepts like AIO writer and the AIO model, to starting a weekly newsletter (3,500 subscribers on LI, and a 50k email list), to filming an innovative video at my lake that earned me an invitation to give my first keynote, to rewriting my 8th book to include AI 30 days before it launched – it was a crazy wild ride. I loved every minute of it.

By the end of March, I was President of the company. It’s just my style – in fact Steve, our Partner Manager, recently called me Overlord and President.

But the truth is I would never have gotten there without a team that supports me, and a founder that really gets out of the way of good people and simply lets them get to it. That’s Justin – and when he handed me the President role, I was excited and completely honored that he saw the potential in what I could do both in AI and for this company.

Another 6,500+ people saw that career move on LinkedIn – I received hundreds of messages that day congratulating me.

But there was one thing plaguing me all along.

And it was the fact that I couldn’t be an entrepreneur.

I was a full-fledged, super proud, incredibly hard-working business builder. I was, and am, an entrepreneur.

I’d worked for myself for 10 years.

Working for someone else was hard.

Harder than hard. In fact, I’d leave meetings in tears because my subconscious was nagging at me about working for someone else. I tried to translate it in a million different ways, tried to make sense of it, tried to hush it – but in the end, my brain was sabotaging me because I didn’t have full freedom. I wasn’t a partner. I was just an employee. Building an empire of my own that I had a real share in was something I sorely missed.

2024 – the great AI merge

In mid-August of this year, Justin and I had a talk about the Great Mind Struggle I was going through.

I’d complained about not feeling like a President, not getting to do bigger things. He said – “You need to go bigger. You need to be on bigger stages. We can get you everything you need to achieve all of this. But you’re going to have to be all in.”

So then, I said something crazy.

“Alright, make me a partner.”

Like a pro, Justin didn’t flinch. Batting that ball right back, his answer was – “Alright, I’ll do it if Content Hacker and Content at Scale can merge.”

That thought shocked me.

In fact, I paused for four days to think, pray, ask mentors, and really get serious about it. That’s how long it took me to wrap my mind around literally merging all my IP into the Content at Scale brand.

The more I thought about it, the more the sky opened up.

I get unlimited resources.

I get to do all the things I love. (Some crazy backstory: Justin tried to buy ContentHacker.com a couple of years ago. But I’d already beat him to the punch. Of course, we didn’t know each other back then, but the trajectory of our paths was so uncannily lined up in the same direction even then… that he thought the Content Hacker brand was perfect for what he wanted to do. So did I. )

And as we’ve mapped out a plan of action for Content Hacker, I see with incredible humility and honor that it becomes infinitely bigger than myself.

As big as the stars, in fact.

Because the plan is to start our own event. Book out Content Hacker Live in 2024 with 500+ people. We’ll have the budget, resources, and brains to do it all.

Create incredible impact through community, resources, and training. My new AIO Blogger course will be included – all my best trainings under one roof as free, or nearly-free, Content Hacker resources.

And we’ll kill it.

My goal, which I say out loud with hands shaking, because that’s my style – to do it even in the face of my fear – is to become what Russell Brunson is to Funnel Hacking/ClickFunnels, here at Content Hacker merged with Content at Scale.

I want us to be the AI writing brand with 100,000+ users. And I have no doubt that once all the things in the pipeline launch – by the end of this year, we’ll have a new app, a new website, and so much more – the markets will notice.

And we will climb, climb, climb.

Dream, Hack, Scale – We’re Going to the Moon

This is a story of two original Content Hackers finding each other and pooling all their resources together – so people like you get a tenfold benefit.

The world truly works in mysterious ways.

Stars aligned for this to happen.

I cannot wait to help you navigate the new realm of AI with the incredible resources we’re going to build for you.

From Content Hacker Live 2024 in the heart of downtown Austin, to the world’s best AI writing platform and SO much more, we’ll have a ton to offer you in the days ahead. I hope you stay tuned and follow this incredible journey, so we can make an impact on your workplace efficiency, skills, and education – and help you achieve incredible things, too.

Content Hacker will be changing soon into a community-focused resource featuring free training and courses, a full AIO writer directory, live events, and more. Stay tuned! Watch this video for some insights on this big change from Julia:

The post Dream, Hack, Scale: The Content Hacker – Content at Scale Merger Story appeared first on Content Hacker.

Delivering My First Keynote: AI Talk at #TBEX 2023

Julia McCoy — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 18:08:31 +0000

In April of this year, I received an email from someone named Rick Calvert.

(A “someone” I’ve grown very fond of now, since being on his stage and getting to know him.)

It was an invitation to deliver my first keynote.

He’d watched my anti-AI to pro-AI video, featured in my newsletter over at Content at Scale:

This was Rick’s email to me after watching my story:

And thus commenced an amazing conversation – all about AI, how Rick was one of the very first to launch an event for content creators and social influencers, Blog World, in 2007. Talk about OG! Rick literally defines original gangsta when it comes to getting people together around content.

I won’t forget the look on his face when we met over Google Meet.

“Julia, I need someone to come KNOCK SOME SENSE into these bloggers about AI. It’s going to take jobs. It’s going to take everything. Can you do that?”

He believed in me, and gave me the Thursday opening keynote.

It was amazing.

A full replay of my 45-minute keynote, on How You Can Win in the Future of Content with AI, is coming to my YouTube channel!

Till then, here are some highlights.

Highlights from My First Keynote – TBEX 2023

Content at Scale was a platinum sponsor of the event. I attended with our COO Josh Slone, and our Creative Director Adrian Boysel.

I must pause and give a well-deserved HUGE shoutout to Rick Calvert, creator and CEO of TBEX.

He told his people that they needed to see AI as an opportunity and adapt… “or get hit by a freight train.” (His words. Not mine.) “And go hear Julia.”

Rick was the first in the world to create an event for bloggers.

And he gets the implications of AI in blogging and content as a whole.

The keynote was so much FUN.

I’m craving the next one already, because I absolutely loved walking off that stage and knowing (SEEING) the impact my ideas, models and frameworks had – we’re talking real clarity for people. Listeners went from completely mystified to knowing exactly how to approach AI and take it into their jobs and life.

If you have an event… if you are reaching people and want to add a female voice on AI in the mix… let’s talk. There’s not a lot of us out there. Drop me a note.

I don’t show up and give just any old talk.

I show you how to use AI with integrity.

I show you how YOU are needed more than ever, but only if you adapt, before AI takes your job.

And I teach you what these new skills will look like.

All based on real data from hundreds of use cases inside Content at Scale’s user base.

I’m updating my evergreen deck at least once a week.

It’s incredible, the sheer unbelievable new era we’re in.

Now let’s move to…

THE QUESTIONS at TBEX.

Dang, they were great.

These people.

Let’s get into ’em.

Want me to speak at your event?

I’m taking these gigs through both Content Hacker and Content at Scale.

If you want me there with the team at Content at Scale (full power ), check out this resource on Content at Scale and drop me a note there. You can also reach just me through this form.

Cheers to this new age of AI!

The post Delivering My First Keynote: AI Talk at #TBEX 2023 appeared first on Content Hacker.

Why we’re adding AI sections into our signature mentorship.

Julia McCoy — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 18:01:03 +0000

This week, we introduced four new AI lessons in The Content Transformation© System, my signature program teaching entrepreneurs how to build a lasting business out of their skillsets.

These are stackable lessons now accessible to everyone inside of the curriculum. All new users that enroll will also get immediate access.

Inside the Skillset phase, we added:

2.9c Creative Skill: AIO Writing Step-by-Step (Optimize Artificial Intelligence Content)

And inside the Growth phase, we added:

3.2a AI + HUMAN: Why You Need Both for an Efficient Marketing/Company Team
3.2b AI TRAINING: WHY & HOW AI Will Fit In to Help You Produce Content 5x Faster (Theory/Knowledge)
3.2c AI TRAINING: Step-by-Step Keyword Research to Generating Inbound Content with AI (Practical/How-To)

We debated launching a new course, vs. adding to the curriculum. In the end, adding to the existing mentorship program curriculum felt like the best fit for the values I uphold at Content Hacker and the experience we want to give our students and clients.

CTS is the only program I offer with live coaching, making it a powerful hybrid course-and-coaching accelerator. You have a real writing coach (my writer, Alyssa) and a real strategy coach (my long-time student, Sarah) available inside the program to review your work and critique at important junctures.

And interestingly enough, AI itself fit into the “revolving wheel” approach we teach in my signature program, The Content Transformation© System, quite well. Here’s the wheel:

And a screenshot of the full at-a-glance skills you learn inside Content Transformation© System, our business-building mentorship:

Download the full skills map here.

The Story Behind the New AI Lessons

I’m never interested in a quick win – a quick launch, a quick hustle for $, or a move just to hop on a trend.

And that’s why, even though I took a huge career jump into the fastest-growing AI writer in SEO marketing, I waited a few months before recording and creating the new lesson content on how to approach, incorporate, and add AI into your content marketing… now in our CTS curriculum and featured in the updated free class on our site.

Getting my hands dirty before teaching it also gave me the chance to host some private coaching sessions with users of the AI tool I’ve now joined, and really get into what they were doing with Content at Scale.

And what I saw blew my mind.

Jacki Alcorn – an incredible 50+ year-old mom, grandmother, and 20+ year small business owner, used the AI tool I recommend and love to substantially cut back on her SEO content writing process. She was able to hire her daughter for just four hours a week, and between both of them with AI in the mix, they are producing long-form (we’re talking 5,000+ word guides on quilts!) content like bosses.

Seriously impressive!

You can see her story in my free training.

Then, I met Justin at JourneyEngine – a student of a community I guest teach in (Ryan’s Blueprint Pros), and helped him adapt his whole agency to AIO, the concept I’ve defined at Content at Scale for how to use AI to produce your baseline content. He was able to gain his time and money back on content by 25x. He’d been in the middle of a very frustrating relationship with a costly, one-sided writing agency that only cared about making money off of him. Switching to AI didn’t just save time, it saved him incredible headache.

Again – HUGE transformation.

These weren’t just small wins. They were big-scale wins.

We’re talking freedom, peace of mind, more time to spend with family and more money made for the right people.

I also began to host AI training sessions with 70, 100, 150+ in attendance.

CTS trainings in our own Content Transformation© System monthly meets.

Guest session classes by request in communities.

Expert training classes for big brands, like Teachable and DigitalMarketer.

What I saw simply floored me.

Entrepreneurs and marketers that used to hate the idea of trying to chase down a dedicated writer and blog consistently – were now scrambling, sometimes late at night, to sign up to Content at Scale and get their hands on this technology.

Why? It made blog writing 10x easier.

And when I taught the use of Content at Scale and AI in content at DigitalMarketer’s Training Day, live on stage in Austin in March of 2023, I was again amazed by what happened.

See the actual footage for yourself (all the way to the end to see Content at Scale write difficult niche content inside four minutes):

After my stage talk, an agency owner walked away empowered to launch a whole new arm in his company that he’d call AI-driven content marketing. Because it’s now so much easier to produce great long-form content.

The playing field for long-form content creation has been leveled.

And it’s unbelievable.

Truly.

Since I’ve spent more than six hours here (three months, to be exact) , I don’t feel like an overnight ChatGPT-influencer-guru-expert-bro-marketer approaching you with “HERE’S A COURSE TO SELL!”

No, thanks.

That’s why I’m fully confident in launching this AI content training suite inside of CTS.

Keeping it inside The Content Transformation© System mentorship means that you will need to be serious about growing your business.

But it also means that the people inside of my Content Transformation© System will also have the opportunity to quickly adapt and pivot.

Because it’s time.

Want inside The Content Transformation© System?

If you want access to these lessons and more importantly, the real blueprint, path, and diagram to a successful, lasting online business –

One where you could have a 13,000x ROI, like I did –

Then you should apply now.

Watch the training class first, and then apply directly on that page if it speaks to you.

I built this for people like you.

The dreamers…

that want to become doers, but lack the path.

I’m both…

But it took me a TON of stumbling around in the dark to actually do the right things that equaled building the dream.

Guess what?

I build CTS as your shortcut – your direct map, both the thinking (theory) and practical next steps – to get you to the dream.

This is your path.

And I want you to have everything in life you dream of, too.

Come join us?

Cheers,

Julia

The post Why we’re adding AI sections into our signature mentorship. appeared first on Content Hacker.

On Abuse, Escape, and Fighting for My Right to Thrive

Julia McCoy — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 20:38:45 +0000

It was nearing 11:45 p.m.

15 minutes to midnight.

I remember looking up, briefly, in one split second because that was all I had. I saw the twilight sky full of stars.

The neighbors were watching — odd, they were never out at night.

And they had a phone in their hands.

But my sister and I had to make it out. I was frantic. I’d masterminded the whole escape, down to this very minute. That morning, I took the car I’d bought with cash out of the garage and hid it one street away. Now, it was parked and running by the side door — my chariot to the freedom of a new life.

My sister was walking out behind me with more stuff ready to shove into my overloaded sedan; I told her she had to leave one of her buckets of clothes behind. I had no room left.

I was twenty-one; she was twenty-three years old.

Twenty-one years of my life till that point in time had been spent walking in one direction.

The direction of panic and fear. Wondering daily if he would treat me with kindness and love instead of coldness and disdain. The direction of utter slavery. My time was not my own. It could be claimed as his at a second’s notice. Church work, nannying, cooking, cleaning, marketing for his church — it never ended, morning till night. Silence. I dare not speak in front of him. My voice was always muted. Panic in my heart. Panic at the memories of being stripped and beaten in the basement, with no one even aware of it much less coming to our aid.

Because inside a Fundamentalist puritanical cult, women do not have autonomy and freedom for themselves. They are abused, forced, and bred for the “cause” led by the man.

(And many times, these slavery recruitment operations look a lot like “good wholesome churches” run by “good wholesome Christians.”)

This was my life, for two decades and one year. And I’d had enough. I was getting out that night. I was ready to find a new norm for myself, no matter how hard it would be.

The Miracle of a Non-Toxic Environment

Over the next 10 years, I built my life.

And it was my new environment, and the person in my new environment, that made all the difference.

(Getting OUT of toxicity is key. You cannot heal until you do so.)

I escaped to someone. Someone that I’d quickly fallen in love with, after he hired me online to write for him. My husband of ten years now. We were married three months after escaping the cult.

He was… kind. Unassuming. Honest. Blunt. Goofy. Didn’t give a darn about “looking good” in front of others. The complete opposite of the father I had.

With him in my corner, I wholeheartedly followed my passion for writing. I got good at it. I turned it into a business. Then I turned it into an industry position. I was asked to teach it, so I wrote books about what I knew.

Seven years after escaping, I chased my personal demons of fear and panic, caught my monster by the tail, and faced it head-on. I took my knowledge to stages, which was something I thought I’d rather die than do. I ended up that year on the biggest stage in my industry — Content Marketing World, with 4,000 attendees — and I didn’t die. Instead, when I received my post-event speaker rating, I was rated better than the average speaker.

I kept growing my business. It turned into a stream of income north of a million a year. I added more income streams when writers that couldn’t find work wanted to pay me to teach what I knew – beyond just the business owners needing work. I loved helping them grow and get skill-proof. Things ballooned a bit.

Eight years after escaping, in 2020, I published a memoir called Woman Rising. Even though I was only twenty-nine, I’d read countless memoirs that didn’t have hope and healing attached on the other side of the trauma story. I’d lived through eight years of hope and healing. I wanted to share this with the world.

But none of this would have been possible if I didn’t escape from the toxicity. Finding a safe place was the reason I was able to build a new norm. It was the reason I could chase my dreams. Before I escaped, my father was taking upwards of 80% of my monthly income. There was no way I could have survived, much less thrived, if I’d stayed there.

Fighting for the Right to Thrive

The toughest part of life inside the cult was trying to feel, act, and be normal.

I wanted, so badly, to fit in — but then I’d go home, and I’d be reminded all over again that I was “nothing like them.”

I had to fight just to survive. And it was only when I got out that I began to go from survivor to thriving.

When you’re just surviving, you’re often still living inside the toxicity, and barely not succumbing to the manipulation of the environment you’re in. You haven’t made an active choice to get out. To make a clean break. Because you’re not thriving till you get out of the toxic norm you might find yourself in. It could be anyone, anything. Your home, your spouse, your parents, a workplace, a church you’re in.

But when you’re fighting for the right to thrive, you’re part of the resistance. You’re getting out of the toxicity. You’re choosing YOU.

Choosing me and getting out of there was incredibly hard (I think it would have been easier just to stay inside the cult). I had panic attacks walking into public places. I often had to go into a public bathroom, hide in a stall, and double down over a toilet just to catch my breath again. At 21 years old, my face didn’t know how to naturally smile because of the fear I’d lived in for that long. I watched YouTube videos to practice how to smile.

When I started reluctantly podcasting and getting on livestreams after turning down the invitations for years, my hands shook with fright. I sat on my hands during my calls to keep them from shaking on-screen. I coughed to jolt my voice out of shaking and breaking down. Nobody realized what I was taking on just by showing up.

Fear of my father etched from two decades of mental abuse and control, backed up by terrible beatings in his dark basement (inside a house I helped him pay for), had crippled my ability to be myself.

I had to fight for my right to thrive.

And it was hard. But it was completely worth it. Because here I am today — ten years later. And I’ve overcome 99% of the fear I left with.

I never, ever thought that I’d heal this much.

Healing Is Harder Than Not Healing

Healing is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s also the best journey I’ve ever been on. Because at each landmark destination, I realize I’ve grown to be the best version of myself.

The Julia you met last year is not the Julia of this year. And she also won’t be the same if you meet her 12 months from now.

With every year, every journey, every destination, there comes a new version of myself that I thoroughly enjoy meeting.

When they say “The best is yet to come,” I truly believe that. But only if you fight for the right to thrive. I’m ten years out. My skill with words paved my way to a new life. It turned into multiple income streams for my family. It made me known in my industry (to a degree, still with shaking hands on the regular). It turned into a million-dollar dream home, my “writing retreat.” It turned into freedom, creativity, and an outlet that gives hope and healing to others. (With shocking viral peaks: 600,000 people read my story one weekend.)

Here’s to another decade on the other side.

If you want to heal and thrive, you can’t wait around for the world to give you the right kind of environment if you’re not in it. It doesn’t happen to you. It happens for you when you choose to be a warrior. You have to choose YOU. You have to fight for your right to thrive.

Your right to thrive is your destiny. It is your legacy. Don’t let your life ebb on by without you having fully lived. Know that you are the “secret sauce” of your own life. You are your own rescuer.

So, go big, baby.

Your life is waiting around for you to start LIVING. And that doesn’t come by surviving. It comes from fighting for your right to thrive.

The post On Abuse, Escape, and Fighting for My Right to Thrive appeared first on Content Hacker.

How to Start a Coaching Business: 11 Steps to Success

Julia McCoy — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 12:55:17 +0000

Coaching is a rapidly growing field worth $2.85 billion worldwide, and is continuing to scale.

Starting your own coaching business can be a great experience.

However, 82% of coaches fail within the first two years – yikes.

That means there’s only an 18% chance your business will be successful.

To defy those odds, you need to know precisely what you’re up against and how to climb the ladder to success.

I spent the last decade polishing my craft before jumping into the realm of coaching.

I hired, crafted training for, and led entire teams of writers, and served over 5,000 clients in those ten years.

Sure enough, my clients noticed my expertise and success and started to request personal consulting.

After earning $400,000 on the side from coaching and teaching, I decided to sell my successful seven-figure agency to lead Content Hacker.

Today, I help creative entrepreneurs get their online content strategy, skills, and systems down for massive revenue.

In this guide, I will walk you through exactly how to start a coaching business that will lead to a long and prosperous career.

Ready? Let’s jump in!

How to Start a Coaching Business: What’s Inside

Benefits of Starting an Online Coaching Business

Are You Ready to Start a Coaching Business?

How to Start Your Coaching Business

Cultivate an Attitude That Creates Success
Establish Your Niche and Audience
Find Your Product-Market Fit
Define Your ICA (Ideal Client Avatar)
Build Your Core Business Drivers
Get Clear on Branding
Build a Brand Book
Launch Your Website
Create a Content Strategy
Price Your Services
Find and Pitch Clients

You Don’t Have to Start a Coaching Business on Your Own

Benefits of Starting an Online Coaching Business

Well, you wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t beneficial. As we continue to step into the age of technology, digital businesses have continued to grow — and coaching is one of them.

From fitness to life coaching, you can conduct hands-on education without leaving the comfort of your home. In fact, all my coaching is 100% online.

The advantages of working in an online industry don’t end with an at-home office. You can now reach a global audience with your message. When serving a client and marketing your business, you’re no longer limited by geographical boundaries. The sky is the limit!

It gets better. An online coaching business is often more affordable to start and maintain than a traditional brick-and-mortar. In fact, 68% of professionals say online businesses are less likely to fail.

Are You Ready to Start a Coaching Business?

There’s no doubt about the growing opportunity within the coaching industry, but are you ready to commit to the challenge?

While coaching is appealing, you’ll have big shoes to fill. Your clients will rely on you to be a thought leader in the industry and have expertise in your field. Do you have what it takes? Do you have the expertise?

Maybe you just need a self-confidence boost, but if you answered no to the last question, chances are coaching is not the next career move for you.

To be successful, you need to be a practitioner first. You need proof that backs up what you say and gives your clients a reason to trust and believe in your processes.

If your experience is lacking, don’t get discouraged! Just because you’re not currently ready doesn’t mean you won’t be in the future. This is a great career to work towards.

In the meantime, just focus on creating a successful business and leave the coaching for when you’ve truly developed your expertise.

If you have the experience, however, coaching is the perfect next step. Read on for a complete guide on how to make this dream a reality.

How to Start Your Coaching Business

This is not a get-rich-quick scheme — it takes time, dedication, and a lot of hard work to build a thriving coaching practice. You need extensive knowledge in your field and the ability to provide your clients with actionable steps to follow.

Are you ready to share your expertise with the world? Follow my 11 steps below, and you will surely climb the ladder.

1. Cultivate an Attitude That Creates Success

If you want to become an entrepreneur (if you’re not already), you need to cultivate an attitude that will lead you to victory. Jumping from following orders to giving them isn’t going to cut it.

You need to rewire your brain at the thought level.

How you think will transform the opportunities ahead of you, and how you approach them.

Mindset is everything for starting a coaching business. If you want to be part of the 18% that have succeeded in the coaching field, you need to be prepared for any obstacles along the way and have the mindset to face them.

I am a huge believer in playing offense in your business. I live by this rule and preach this in my Content Transformation System program.

So, what do I mean by this? Playing offense means you’re out there making things happen. You have control of the game, and you’re doing your best to hurdle obstacles before they become an issue.

When you’re on the defense, you’re waiting for the problem to come your way, then stop it. You’re constantly in fix-it mode and can’t take a step back and prepare for the issues ahead.

Life will pass you by if you’re sitting around waiting for things to happen. You want to be always two to three steps ahead of the game. You want a clear view of all the obstacles ahead and a plan of how to solve them.

In fact, we want to take the word “problem” out of our vocabulary. You aren’t solving problems. You’re simply overcoming obstacles that come your way.

2. Establish Your Niche and Audience

We’ve come to one of the fun and exciting parts — picking what your (hopefully long) career in coaching will be based on.

First and foremost, you must make sure that you have the proper skill set within this niche. We are not fans of becoming a coach first and building skills later. Your clients rely on you to be an educator in your industry, so you must know what you’re talking about.

You should take your years, if not decades, of experience and create a coaching service that ignites your passion while serving a large group of people.

What I Did to Grow Several Six and Seven-figure Businesses

I’m not new to the game. I’ve been in the content marketing industry for over ten years.

Now I’m taking my decade’s worth of knowledge on running a successful online business and teaching it to the world. But I didn’t become a coach overnight.

I started at 19 with nothing but $75 and a dream. I invested the last of my money into an online website.

I wanted to build a passionate team that created and wrote excellent content for our clients, so I did that. It wasn’t a quick process. It was a game of trial and error. We stuck to what worked and let go of things holding us back as a company.

But, once we had the skills, process, and strategies down, the sky was the limit. In 2021 I sold this business for over $1 million in profit. While this writing agency was my baby, I was ready for the next step in my career.

Before my exit, I made $400,000 on the side from coaching and teaching, and I loved it!

Coaching was something I stumbled upon unintentionally. While owning my agency, multiple people asked me to consult them on my expertise. Content marketing is a beast of its own, and many individuals in the marketing industry are unable to navigate it.

My methods were proven successful, and my clients saw that. I didn’t have to push my offer because my skills spoke (and speak!) for themselves.

Today I’ve sold over $400,000 worth of courses and private consulting, started multiple digital businesses of my own, written five books and have served over 5,000 clients.

I saw an unmet need in the industry, so I created a service that solved that. My side hustle turned into a passion, and that’s when the Content Hacker was born.

I have the experience to back up what I’m saying. I am living proof that what I teach and coach my clients works.

Pick Your Passion

I grew this far because I’m passionate about what I do. I have always loved to write, which is at my career’s core. However, I took this passion and tapped into a market lacking what I provide.

I found a large industry that could significantly benefit from my skills. This is the route to growth.

Today my coaching and consulting business averages $18-20k months at 75-80% profit margins. But wait, it gets better: My workdays are no more than two-three hours unless I want to work more.

I have created sustainability in my business, where I can now take a step back when needed. This is precisely how I was able to juggle life with a newborn baby.

While you are 100% capable of achieving this, it comes from having the proper skills, strategies, and systems in place. While it is a lucrative and enjoyable career, starting a coaching business is not easy, hence the 18% success rate.

It can be confusing, especially if you have never started a business.

That’s why I decided it was time to flip the script. I developed a hybrid coaching and course model with a proven framework to build a successful digital business.

From picking the perfect niche to landing clients, the Content Transformation System walks you through how to build a digital business from your passion that will last for years to come.

Want to get the lowdown on that framework I just mentioned? Get in my free class, which shows you the exact path I use and teach to my students.

3. Find Your Product-Market Fit

Once you have decided what your coaching service will be and who your audience is, it’s time to find your product-market fit. This is how your product or service satisfies a strong market demand.

First, you need to discover what that demand is. While diving into the available data and scoping out your competition is helpful, it is not enough. You need to go out and conduct live market research.

How, might you ask? Through surveying your audience. No, I don’t mean a measly five-question survey you post online for people to complete. You need to get your potential clients on the phone.

The idea is to pick their brains and find their pain points so you can provide a service/product that gives a solution to their problem — a problem your competitors may not even be aware of.

How to Survey Your Market

I’ve been in the industry for over ten years and still conduct annual surveys. This is a crucial part of owning a coaching business as it truly opens your eyes to your clients’ needs.

Pro tip: Do not outsource this! This information is critical to your business, so it’s essential that YOU, the leader, are involved in the process.

The first step is framing a simple market research message for your potential client.

You’ll want to describe what type of person you’re looking for, the service you offer, and what you need from them.

This message should be simple. Here’s exactly what you should do:

Name your audience, then tell them what you’re doing and what you’re looking for
Describe their current frustrations
Tell them what their following action should be if they want to be a part of the process

Example: “I’m looking for FIVE creative entrepreneurs who want the framework to create a self-sustaining business they love so they can finally live free and build personal success. Get a free 30-minute session with me (absolutely ZERO pressure to buy anything). Drop a if that’s YOU!”

Offering a free service such as a 30-minute consultation or giving away a small product you have already created in exchange for their time is a great way to gain their attention and express gratitude.

After you have this beautifully crafted message, you want to post this on several social media platforms such as:

LinkedIn
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

Once your post is live, make sure you monitor your social platforms closely for the next 24 hours.

You don’t want to miss an opportunity due to a delayed response.

Your aim is to get the attention of at least three to four people in your target audience. If you’re already established, you may receive a decent response. If you’re feeling ambitious, I encourage you to talk to as many people as possible.

When I went through this process while creating Content Hacker, I interviewed 30 people. Yes, 30; while it was intense, I received invaluable information I wouldn’t have found anywhere else.

Once you have found three to four respondents, it’s time to arrange a phone call. I highly recommend video chat, such as a Zoom call, if possible.

This gives that extra bit of insight as you can get a clear vision of what your potential clients look like and how they react to their issues.

Remember, you are here to listen. This is not a back-and-forth conversation. You are there to guide the discussion and pull the information out of them, nothing else.

Don’t be discouraged if you get to this part and feel stuck. I find many people struggle with conducting this survey.

That’s why I put together a step by a script that walks you through the entire process. This can only be found in my Content Transformation System program.

Need help developing a proven business offer that doesn’t flop? You can access everything I’ve learned in launching seven brands that have generated millions, along with live coaching feedback, 30+ plug-n-play business templates, and more. Apply for your spot in the Content Transformation System Today.

4. Define Your ICA (Ideal Client Avatar)

Simply put, your ICA is the person who needs the transformation you are selling to relieve their current issues.

Once you have conducted your market research, you should clearly understand who your ideal client will be. After all, you’ll have a first-hand look at your ICA in your calls. This should make describing/defining them simple.

When writing this description, it is essential to be as clear and detailed as possible.

Here are some great questions to ask yourself when defining your ICA:

What is their age?
What is their gender?
What do they do for a living?
What is their annual income?
What is the marital status?
What are their interests?

According to ICF, the typical coaching client is between 35 and 44 years old (37%). Less than one in three clients (30%) are in the 45–54 age range, and around one in four (24%) are under 35 years old.

5. Build Your Core Business Drivers

This is where the magic starts to happen.

Your core business drivers are monumental to your success and the bells and whistles of your business. You must follow a few essential steps to build your core business drivers correctly.

5.1. Develop Your One-Sentence ICA Magnet

This will be one of the most considerable revenue-driving sentences you probably will ever write, so don’t rush this process. Spend some time perfecting it, and don’t be afraid to come back and improve upon the sentence as time passes.

Remember, you speak directly to your ICA in everything you post online. So have your market research handy here because it will help immensely in framing this sentence.

When developing your ICA magnet, you want to be clear and direct. Make sure to include the following:

Who you help (ICA)
What you coach them on
The transformation they will receive

Example: “We help creative entrepreneurs get their strategy, skills & systems down for massive revenue.”

5.2. Develop Your Content Differentiation Factor

This is your time to shine. What sets you apart from your competition? What quality do you bring to the table that you feel your competitors lack?

While you shouldn’t be afraid to dig deep here, your best qualities are usually right in front of your face; you just may be a little blind to them.

Have you been in the field for decades? Well, that gives you a leg up.

Are you an expert in more than one field? This will most certainly set you apart from the competition.

Do you have an out-of-the-box approach when it comes to your process? Yup, another content differentiation factor.

Once you decide what makes your business special, you’ll want to craft this into a detailed paragraph.

Example: “We stop at nothing to empower and enable our marketers and entrepreneurs to create amazing content without the burnout. Our secret factor is TEN years, a full decade, of working in the content field with over 40,000 projects and 5,000 clients; our passion is in what we do. We believe and practice in constant growth and adapting to trends and best practices in our industry (content marketing) and teaching these practices and trends to each creator in our team. Not only are we amazing at our ‘day job’ – content – but we also care about the mental health and greater purpose of those we serve, enabling them to get out of the burnout with smarter content creation practices.”

Don’t be afraid to think deeply and profoundly here.

5.3. Develop Your Brand BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)

You want to aim for the moon here. Be ambitious. If your company could reach any goal, what would it be?

Once you have that defined, that is what you will work towards every day.

During my time owning a writing agency, our BHAG was to be the BEST writing service marketplace in existence.

That’s right — the best writing service marketplace in existence. When creating something for our clients, we did whatever it took to give them the absolute best content out there. Not the best in the state. Not the best in the country. The best in existence.

It took us ten years, and our business income graph looked like this…

…But we did it. Our BHAG maintained our momentum.

If you want to truly succeed, don’t play small. Push yourself to be the best of the best.

5.4. Develop Your Brand Mission

Your brand’s mission statement is its reason for existence. It’s not about what you do or how you do it, but why. Your business will likely suffer if you don’t have a clear sense of purpose.

So how do you develop a brand mission statement that will guide your business and ensure its long-term success?

The best mission statements are clear, concise, and inspiring. They should be easy to understand and remember. And they should be based on a deep understanding of your customers and your competitive landscape.

A great mission statement can be a powerful tool for aligning your team, focusing your efforts, and inspiring your customers. So, if you’re serious about building a solid and successful brand, take the time to craft a great mission statement.

Example: “We help heart-led, authentic online experts and founders get the content marketing skills and strategy and presence they need to exponentially grow online.”

For even more inspiration, check out our brand motto here.

6. Get Clear on Branding

Your branding sets you apart from your competitors and gives your customers a sense of what you’re all about. Therefore, it’s essential that your brand name reflects your values and speaks to your target market.

If you have already developed a brand name, it’s time to do a gut check with two key questions:

Is there instant clarity on the market you serve?
Is there instant clarity on the value you provide?

Don’t spend too much time thinking about it. Give yourself five seconds and go with the initial response. If you answered “no” to either of these questions, then it’s time to do some tweaking.

An excellent tool for inspiration is to check out your established competitors. Don’t be afraid to aim high – if your market is in a specific city, try looking at established companies in your niche throughout the state or even the industry leader in the country.

Examine their brand. What type of words and terms are they using? Write down your favorites, and don’t be afraid to put them to use. But remember, you are not copying their content, only taking inspiration.

Check out my landing page here for inspiration. You can also find a sneak peek below.

7. Build a Brand Book

Are you clear on your brand? Great!

Now it’s time to make a clean and beautiful document to limit any confusion.

Remember, you’re not just building any coaching business here. You’re building a business that will scale to six and seven figures.

This means you will be hiring contractors and growing a team along the way.

Therefore, you want clear and concise guidelines to ensure everyone you’re working with is on the same page — literally and figuratively.

The best way to do this is through either a brand book or a brand style guideline.

What Is a Brand Book?

A brand book is a document with all your branding neatly organized in one place so designers have a clear idea of what visual aspects should be included in future creations.

Simply put, it’s a guiding document to get designers on the same page.

This includes things such as your color palette, logo, and typography.

What Is a Brand Style Guide?

Brand style guidelines are a bit more detailed. Unlike the brand book, these are created to guide an entire content team.

From designers to writers to social media managers, this document will be a clear and concise guide that allows your content to remain consistent no matter who creates it.

This is going to be an extremely detailed document that will include things such as:

Your mission statement
Your target audience (ICA)
Description of your visual identity
Editorial guidelines

You’ll want to elaborate further within each section. For example, we developed an entire movie character description for ourselves in the description of our identity.

Don’t be afraid to get down to the nitty-gritty here. If you think it’s going to make a difference to your brand, include it!

Use of brand name example: “Our brand name is Content Hacker. Do not lowercase our brand name when typing it out. Do not remove the space between the two words. Shortening the brand name: ‘CH’ is fine when mentioning the company
internally to other staff or talking to seasoned, old clients (1+ year of history
with us). Do not use ‘CH’ when talking to new clients, and refrain from ever
using it in written content for branded blog and site content.”

If you will be producing digital content (which you should be if you are going to be a coach), it’s essential that you don’t miss this step.

Companies with consistent brand activities experience a 33% increase in revenue and a 20% increase in the value of content produced. That means not having a brand style guide could be costing you revenue.

Get your hands on a real-life example by downloading our very own brand style guide here.

8. Launch Your Website

Now it’s time to put your brand style guidelines into action. Hand this over to a web designer and begin crafting the storefront of your business.

Your website is the central hub for all your marketing efforts, so it needs to be well-designed and easy to navigate. Once your target audience is here, you want to keep them coming back.

A poorly functioning website will reflect badly on your business and may drive potential customers away. In contrast, a well-functioning website can help to build trust and confidence.

I highly recommend skipping free website platforms like Wix, Weebly, or a Facebook business page. While the promises they offer may seem intriguing, this is not the path to success.

If you’re serious about your content strategy and business growth, you must build your website through WordPress. Here are a few great reasons why:

WordPress is an open software meaning anyone can build on this platform
WordPress is the industry standard
You own your data

Many people don’t realize most website platforms collect and own your data, but not WordPress. When you create a WordPress website, you are the content owner and can move or sell this at a later time.

Think of this as real estate. Would you remodel an entire house if you’re only renting? Of course not. So, if you’re going to put your time and effort into scaling your business, you need a website that’s actually yours.

This is YOUR business we are talking about, after all. You don’t want to give visitors away – you want to send that hard-earned traffic to something that’s truly yours forever.

Are you ready to create a one-of-a-kind website that will be your digital base for years to come? Then you need a team of developers that understand this importance.

At Content Hacker, we bring you next-level CUSTOM websites made from scratch.

Don’t just settle for any website. Get a user-focused, brand-first website built for speed, rankings and beauty that will take your coaching business to the next level.

9. Create a Content Strategy

Content will be critical in your digital coaching business. If you haven’t already decided what kind of content you will be producing to market your business and services, now is the time.

However, even the greatest content can fall flat without a strategy.

A content marketing strategy is more than creating blog posts, website landing pages, and email newsletters. A strong content strategy encompasses an entire plan and is rooted in the why behind the content being created.

Once again, your market research will have a significant impact here. You’ll want to look at your audience’s pain points and link them to terms and topics you can write about that will solve their issues.

You’ll also want to go the extra step and conduct SEO (search engine optimization) research.

If you’re unfamiliar with SEO, I strongly urge you to learn about it.

Why use SEO? Because 70% of online experiences now start with a search. Not taking advantage of this is like throwing money down the drain.

I have made over $5 million in the last ten years through my WordPress website, entirely without ads, and SEO significantly influenced this.

While discovering what you’ll write about is critical, it’s only a small step in the content strategy process.

The following steps will pave the way to developing an effective content strategy. These include:

Setting up content workflows: Creating a HEALTHY content strategy involves finding and sticking to proven and replicable processes.
Identifying your audience and goals: A content marketing strategy will involve learning about whom your content should be written for, as well as setting trackable goals and KPIs.
Attract, engage, delight: The core of any content marketing strategy should include the goals of bringing in leads from search results, engaging people to become customers, and then turning them into your brand’s BIGGEST fans.
Creating content: As you might have guessed, a significant piece of any content strategy is researching, outlining, writing, publishing, and promoting your content.

10. Price Your Services

An essential yet tricky step. While watching your client’s transformation and developing your passion is rewarding, we all have bills to pay.

It’s crucial to develop a price that serves you and your customers. So how do you do this?

If you don’t know where to start, Google will be your best friend. Type your keyword into Google and study the prices of freelancers or coaching agencies in your market on the first page of the results.

Remember to avoid ads and stick to organic search results.

Once you know what your competition is charging, it’s time to set a minimum rate. This is the lowest you’re willing to go for your services.

Try to set a price in the same ballpark as your competition unless you have a good reason not to. Your experience and knowledge level should be the guiding factor to what this is. Once this rate is developed, stay firm to this price.

If your expertise goes beyond one industry, creating a package that offers your different levels of experience is an excellent way to diversify your service and receive the proper payment for your knowledge. Almost all coach practitioners (94%) offer services in addition to coaching.

If you are still testing the waters, it’s okay to start with lower prices in exchange for client feedback. Just don’t stay there. As your knowledge increases, so should your prices.

This no longer means staying in the industry for years and slowly climbing the ladder.

Go out and seek education to develop your skills.

The world is truly your oyster. Thousands of online resources can help you scale your expertise in a matter of months. Once these skills are obtained, increase your prices.

I suggest evaluating and raising prices twice a year. Typically, in the fall and spring.

11. Find and Pitch Clients

After all, there’s no coaching business without clients. So, how do you find your ideal clients?

As a coach, your ultimate goal is to help your clients reach their full potential. To do this, you need to be able to connect with them on a personal level and understand their specific needs.

Fortunately, you can take a few simple steps to attract the right clients and build a strong coaching business.

One of your main goals should be to achieve clients through great content. You want to build a foundation as a thought leader so clients come to you.

Social media platforms are a great way to get your services in front of your ICA and lead them to your website.

However, you don’t want to oversell here. You want to give insight into your business and the value you provide as a coach. Writing clear stories around your expertise can absolutely net you clients.

You should form these stories from lessons you’ve learned that directly relate to the transformation you offer. Don’t be afraid to get personal — be willing to give insight into your life so your ICA can get to know you and learn to value and trust what you say.

Clear communication with your audience will pave the road to success. 54% of entrepreneurs cite communication as the most important skill to have.

While we want our clients to gravitate toward us in the long run, this might not be an option initially. You may have to hustle a bit to get your business off the ground, and that’s okay.

Don’t be afraid to get out there and pitch your services. A great way to do this is to scan Craigslist and Google Jobs. Look for companies that are currently in need of your services and pitch your offer. How will your coaching transform their company? What can you do for them that others can’t?

While you want to be specific here, you need to be careful not to oversell.

Helpfulness beats sales every time.

Still a bit lost? No need to worry

Follow my four ways to get ideal clients. With this proven methodology, you have the ability to go from nothing to $1k in sales!

Once you land your first client, it’s official. You are now a coach — pat yourself on the back!

You Don’t Have to Start a Coaching Business on Your Own

Starting a coaching business is no walk in the park. You must put in the time and dedication to set yourself up for success.

While I’m confident that after reading this article, you will have the tools to launch your digital empire, putting them into action successfully is another story.

You, more than anyone, know how helpful it can be to have an expert coach you along the way.

My Content Transformation System is designed with LIVE coaching, so you never get stuck in the process of building your business.

What’s better? You’ll get a first-hand, behind-the-scenes look at a successful coaching business.

Surpass the 82% of coaches that fail by year two.

Get a supportive team, tools, and systems you need to get off the ground running with my Content Transformation System.

However, not just anyone can join. We want to ensure you’re serious about success and willing to invest time and effort to scale your business.

Does this sound like you? Watch my free training to get started today!

The post How to Start a Coaching Business: 11 Steps to Success appeared first on Content Hacker.

Create Your Own Powerful Daily Affirmations Based on Your Identity (With Free Template)

Julia McCoy — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 17:44:24 +0000

Our brain processes approximately 70,000 thoughts per day, and while it might seem automatic, we have the choice to decide how we perceive these ideas.

It’s no secret that our thoughts significantly impact our emotional well-being. But did you know they also affect our physical health?

An optimistic frame of mind can be linked to an 11% to 15% increase in lifespan.

Yup, you read that right. Positive thinking can literally extend your life.

Are you starting to feel like you need a personal cheerleader to motivate you through your day?

Well, lucky for you, daily affirmations can serve as that personal pep talk!

By creating affirmations based on your identity and values, you can program your subconscious mind with positive messages that will help keep you on track to reach your goals and live a fulfilling life.

This has been a HUGE gamechanger for me in my own life (and a secret to my rapid success).

Ready to create your own?

Before we start, download my free template that guides you through developing powerful affirmations unique to you. Download your motivational compass here.

Create Your Own Powerful Daily Affirmations: Table of Contents

Why Building Your Own Personal Daily Affirmations Is Important

How to Create Powerful Daily Affirmations

How to Build Your Own Personal Powerful Daily Affirmations: A Step-by-Step Guide

Imagine Yourself Ten Years from Now
Create Your Life Synopsis
Get Clear on Strategic Activities
Create Affirmations Built from Your Values

30 Affirmations for Inspiration

Happiness and Self-Acceptance
Motivation and Inspiration
Family and Relationships
Growth and Success

Put Your Affirmations to Work

Why Building Your Own Personal Daily Affirmations Is Important

By taking the time each day to state positive affirmations, you’re training your mind to focus on the good.

This doesn’t mean you’ll avoid obstacles altogether, but it does mean you’ll be better equipped to handle challenges when they arise.

A 2022 study conducted by psychologist Barbara Fredrickson found that people with a positive attitude are deemed more resilient and able to overcome difficulties faster than those with a negative attitude.

She also discovered a direct link between positive team conversations in the workplace and their performance.

Simply put, the way you think and process challenges is directly linked to your personal well-being and professional success.

How to Create Powerful Daily Affirmations

In my ten-year journey as an entrepreneur, a client once called me up and asked if I could teach their office what I knew about content. That launched a journey into teaching, books, consulting — and eventually, the launch of Content Hacker.

Building my own daily affirmations was a huge tool that contributed to my achievements along with my many systems, strategies, and skills.

But here’s the thing. Not just any old affirmations will do. No — you need to build and create your own personally powerful daily affirmations. That’s what we’re going to talk about.

(In fact, I created a whole section on mindset mastery in my Content Transformation System because that’s how critical our thoughts are in creating success in our business.)

With the step-by-step affirmation template that I personally developed, I was able to design a belief system that helped me take quantum leaps from working 90-hour weeks, to working 30-minute days! I’m not kidding you (I had a newborn, so I’ve had to have a sustainable business and truly walk my talk. More on this in my podcast episode, E17, How I’m Juggling Life with a Newborn.)

Along with working less, I am also shortcutting my next journey to earning $1 million (the first journey took me seven years), and my personal affirmations are a considerable contributor to this success.

Again, these aren’t just any affirmations. They are specific to me, my journey and what I believe in. Sure, saying something positive for the sake of it might make you feel better, but reciting statements that are true to you and your path to success is so much more powerful.

That’s why I’m sharing my step-by-step template for creating meaningful, personal affirmations that will help you achieve success on your own terms.

How to Build Your Own Personal, Powerful Daily Affirmations: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you ready? Let’s dive in.

1. Imagine Yourself Ten Years from Now

How often do you sit and think about your future strategically? Do you dream of the possibilities and think of your desires as out of reach, or do you define these as goals you will someday achieve?

Often, we doubt our ability to achieve our dreams or write them off as far-fetched. However, if we take the time to sit and think about our ideal future, we can begin to turn our dreams into an achievable reality.

GO BIG when you’re doing this! There is no room for small beliefs here.

The first step to achieving this reality is defining it.

I want you to imagine we are ten years into the future.

What year did you travel to?
What is your life like?
What is your career like?

Now, with my free template handy, I want you to write out nine to ten bullet points describing your future.

Example of mine:

June 25, 2032
I am 41
Net worth: $100M
I earn an annual income of $600k
I have two kids (one boy and one girl)
I work 10-hour weeks overseeing my team and client results
I produce books that are loved and voraciously read by hundreds of thousands of people
I have a client waiting list that spans into the next year
I spend my surplus resources on my nonprofit and directly help women and children in cults

2. Create Your Life Synopsis

Now that you better understand yourself and what you want to achieve, it’s time to put those bullet points to use and develop your life synopsis.

In short, this is the storyline of your life.

It’s how you show up day in and day out — the reasons behind why you do what you do.

If you’re unsure where to start, ask yourself these questions to fuel inspiration.

What strategic activities do you LOVE to do?
Which strategic activities will you focus on?
How important is family and belonging over just doing?
What are your daily habits?
How do you treat others and yourself?
What does your dream house currently (or future) look like?

Don’t be afraid to get as detailed as possible.

Here is a first-hand look at the synopsis I created for myself:

See the whole example in the full template available here.

3. Get Clear on Strategic Activities

Now that we’ve discovered how you want to live your life, it’s time to see if you’re taking the right actions to get there. Sometimes we become so used to our routines that we lose sight of our constant efforts to achieve success.

Write down three to five activities you want to complete on a regular basis that will create impact and income in your life.

Example: Speaking and writing are some of mine. See all in our free template.

Take a close look at your current activities and ask yourself if they are helping or hindering your efforts to achieve success. By making minor tweaks to your schedule, you can make sure you’re making the necessary effort to reach your goals.

4. Create Affirmations Built from Your Values

You’ve set the intention; now it’s time for the magic to happen. Create your own affirmations that align with your values, how you want to react to situations, and the goals you will achieve.

With a little bit of creativity, your self-reflection and these five tips, you’ll be on your way to building a bright and prosperous future.

1. Keep It Positive

Negativity breeds negative results. When creating your affirmations, be sure to frame them in a positive light. For example, rather than affirming “I will not fail,” say “I will succeed.”

2. Be Specific

Vague affirmations are ineffective because they lack the power of specificity. The more specific you can be about what you want to achieve, the better. For example, rather than affirming “I will be wealthy,” say “I will make $1M in 2032.”

3. Use Present Tense

When you use present tense affirmations, you trick your mind into believing that what you’re affirming is already true. This creates powerful confidence and certainty that will help you attract what you desire. For example, rather than saying, “I want to manage money well,” say, “I manage money well.”

4. Make It Personal

Personalize your affirmations by using first-person pronouns such as “I,” “me,” and “my.” This helps to make the affirmation feel more natural and believable to you. For example, rather than saying, “People will like me more when I’m happy,” say, “I like myself more when I’m happy.”

5. Keep It Short

Long affirmations are difficult to remember and can be overwhelming to keep straight in your mind. It’s best to keep them short, sweet, and simple. For example, rather than affirming “I am worthy of love and respect no matter the amount of money I make,” say “I am worthy of love and respect.”

Once you have developed these affirmations, write them down in my motivational compass template. You are 42% more likely to achieve something if you write it down, so make sure you don’t skip this step.

30 Affirmations for Inspiration

While I can’t stress enough how important it is for your affirmations to be unique to you, I understand that it may be challenging to string these together if you’re unsure where to start.

Below you will find 30 affirmations I developed and regularly recite to myself.

Happiness and Self-Acceptance:

I do not seek approval from man; I seek to live by a higher purpose, to live worthy and close to God
I surround myself with positivity and lifters, not negativity and drainers; I remove drags when I see them
People’s opinions of me do not matter
I am confident in my ability to make progress
I take pride in what I do (I don’t “have to,” I “get to”)
I evolve into the best version of myself every single day
I conform situations and people to my standards and refuse to be brought low for theirs
I am proud of my resilience and strength to overcome obstacles, that lead me to where I am today

Motivation and Inspiration:

God is in control; nothing takes him by surprise, so I will have faith in the process
I motivate people to act and create big wins
I communicate to my team and my clients to motivate and encourage them
I help entrepreneurs transform their lives and businesses
I create content that encourages and educates on a grand scale
My work has true meaning, and I change lives every day

Family and Relationships:

My family and children come first, and always get my best
I feel blessed to have the encouragement and support from my loved ones
I communicate openly and effectively to maintain healthy relationships
I have a positive and inspiring impact on the people in my life

Growth and Success:

I focus on what I can control and ignore the things I can’t
Consistency and an end goal met over a length of the time beats fast money won over a short time
I take setbacks well and am quick to bounce back
I can learn and gain new skills in any area, at any time
Failure will pass and is simply a learning lesson to take & grow from
Accurate thinking is at the forefront of my decisions (what’s real is real, what’s not is not)
I CAN and do say NO consistently to distractions (shiny objects, new opportunities)
I have a genuine interest in the success of my clients
I can manage money well
Challenges make me stronger and wiser – I welcome them
I am happy to take the sure, consistent path, not the fastest path; shortcuts lead to shortcomings
Money flows naturally to me; I don’t serve or need it; there’s more of it than I need or could ever spend

Build your own affirmations. Download our template today.

Want a quick way to start showing up strategically for your business? Commit to building (or improving/updating) your website for speed, rankings, and beauty. If you’re ready to make it happen, check out our service for WordPress Custom Sites.

Put Your Affirmations to Work

After reading this step-by-step guide and downloading my motivational compass, I am confident you, too, will develop life-changing affirmations.

While it is a great stepping stone and a proven method to success, the work doesn’t end here.

Along with your affirmations, you need clear systems, skills, and strategies to take your business to the next level, and that’s precisely what I teach and help with.

Are you ready to further the growth of your mindset and build the digital empire you’ve been dreaming of?

Learn more by watching my free class, How to Build and Scale Your Online Business, So that You Can Step Away & Do MORE of What You Love.

The post Create Your Own Powerful Daily Affirmations Based on Your Identity (With Free Template) appeared first on Content Hacker.

9 Ways to Keep Your Motivation for Making Money Alive (For New Entrepreneurs)

Julia McCoy — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 12:55:08 +0000

If you need an extra dose of making money motivation today, I’ve got you.

Very often… this struggle is real for budding entrepreneurs at the beginning of their journey.

Especially when you learn 50% of businesses fail by year five.

But the payoff to maintaining that motivation is life-changing:

…A brand that lasts.

…Building legacy for you and your family.

…Generational wealth for years to come.

I did this — starting from nothing (many of you know I literally escaped a cult in the middle of the night at 19).

It’s true:

I had $75 to my name and turned that into a 13,000x ROI — I successfully exited my agency in the fall of 2021 in a $1M+ sale.

This is possible for you as well.

I won’t lie to you and tell you it’s easy.

But this is what I believe:

If you follow a proven path, seek guidance from those who have been there, and invest in yourself, you can make it simple.

And I also wholeheartedly believe that success in making money comes from focusing on the long-term.

I know how long-term investment strategies can seem daunting — it can be hard for so many people to stay motivated (especially in a world of bad advice and flashy Instagram coaches selling get-rich-quick schemes).

They look appealing — but they’re not sustainable (and when it’s sustainable, it makes starting an online business worth it).

So, here’s how to stay motivated to make money, even when it feels difficult.

Making Money Motivation: Table of Contents

How Can I Motivate Myself to Make Money?

Step 1: Think Long-Term (Sustainability)
Step 2: Start a Business From Your Passion
Step 3: Establish a Healthy Morning Routine
Step 4: Avoid the Normalized Bad Advice Out There
Step 5: Stay Inspired Through Others
Step 6: Set Clear Goals (Short-Term & Long-Term)
Step 7: Remind Yourself How Far You’ve Come
Step 8: Avoid Burnout Through Delegation
Step 9: Have a Strategy at All Times

Start Your Journey to a Sustainable Online Business Today

How Can I Motivate Myself to Make Money?

It’s so easy to feel down and lose motivation when your business isn’t making money yet.

The key is to stick with it, and these are the best ways to do it:

Step 1: Think Long-Term (Sustainability)

Whenever you’re just a tad bit into starting something new, excitement and confidence are at their peak.

But once you keep working at it — and realize it’s going to require serious effort — excuses can pop up. Motivation wanes. Many people quit here.

This is even more difficult to combat when your income isn’t where you want it to be yet.

The real monumental shift you’re waiting for isn’t instantaneous. Sustainable success and wealth come after years of repeated and growing income, not just a few weeks or months.

So, you need to start thinking long-term as opposed to only short-term. A sustainable business you can grow successfully over three, five, or ten years.

Because if you’re expecting explosive results in a short period, you’re going to be disappointed when it doesn’t happen.

And you’ll lose motivation over and over again.

This is why content marketing is exploding. Not only is it investment-minded for the long-term, but it’s an industry slated to be worth $6B by 2024.

This is and will continue to be the key to growing a business organically.

So, think long-term — even if it scares you. In fact, I coach my students to have a clear brand vision that’s so big, it scares them.

Step 2: Start a Business From Your Passion

If you launch your business only to make money — with no inspiring flame underneath to keep you motivated — you will end up throwing in the towel way sooner than if you have a passion-based business.

Because if you truly love doing it (and you go all-in), the money and the success will come.

Just starting your digital business owner journey and want to know if your deepest passion can be turned into a lucrative brand? I’ll show you exactly how it’s done in my free guide. Download The Serious Business Owner Map here.

Step 3: Establish a Healthy Morning Routine

Want to be part of the only 20% of businesses that make it 20 years?

One of the easiest ways to stay motivated (and my favorite) is to create and stick to a morning routine you love.

Yes, it can seem a little difficult to take on at first.

But I promise you, after a few solid days of practicing this, you’ll wonder how you got anything done previously.

I’m not the only entrepreneur who will tell you a healthy morning routine is a part of building a high-achiever’s mindset. You’ve probably heard it before.

But you have to actually do it — and intentionally build that motivation into your day.

This can look different for everyone. But for me, it’s 40% movement and 60% meditation/prayer (AND 100% committing to doing it every day that it’s practical — no excuses).

Step 4: Avoid the Normalized Bad Advice Out There

If you want to learn how to become more money motivated, it’s time to throw on your horse blinders.

There’s a lot of noise out there in this million-dollar online coaching industry.

Opinions flying at you from every single direction.

And some of them are objectively terrible.

I recently stumbled upon someone who had read a book from an investor/entrepreneur who advises people to do what they HATE doing.

What the what?

Not surprisingly, they also teach how to make money quickly.

That ideology alone proves how unsustainable a business you don’t love running can be.

Building businesses out of what I love is the ONLY reason I’ve kept going for 10+ years, even when I was faced with difficult times.

Can you imagine a world where I made $5M+ from my agency but I hated writing? The motivation for making money and frankly, getting up every day, would’ve dried up fast.

If you want to make money quickly, pursue money; if you want to make money with longevity, pursue what you love doing.

And remember to always pursue business-building skills, too. The reason most people fail at passion-based businesses is they never go get the business skills they desperately need to succeed.

The way you run your business and the skills you need for that are completely different than what you do (your passion). Don’t take crappy advice that offers solely quick wins if you’re really serious about a long-term business.

Step 5: Stay Inspired Through Others

Whether you’re streaming audio on your commute, reading a chapter of a book before bed, or pasting your wall with motivational quotes, you should always be learning from others.

Even the most successful entrepreneurs in the world admit they still seek advice from the pros, so keep your mind sharp and your motivation high by doing the same.

Here are some great motivational resources in the digital business owner and content marketing world:

A library of my own books
The best content marketing books
A list of the top content marketers to follow and be inspired by
My podcast

We live in a beautiful era where access to wisdom is abundant and right at our fingertips, so take advantage of that to help keep your money-making motivation up.

Need a good motivation quote? Check out my list of powerful inspirational quotes to motivate entrepreneurs who want to make money online.

Need a mentor to help keep your motivation strong? I’ve created multiple six and seven-figure digital brands and will give you the creative and business skills you need to do it, too. The strategies and systems to grow a business to incredible heights are inside my exclusive coaching program The Content Transformation System.

Step 6: Set Clear Goals (Short-Term & Long-Term)

To keep up motivation for making money, one thing you’ll for sure need to do is learn how to set long-term goals — but 92% of people who set New Year’s goals don’t even reach them, so it’s not easy.

Here’s how to stick with it:

Make sure to keep these goals within your control. It’s OK to dream big, but you’ve got to have a way to get there. For content marketers, this can include measuring and tracking your content ROI.
Be specific. Instead of writing the goal “make tons of money”, put it down in numbers and dates. Then, hold yourself accountable.
Set reasonable financial goals if your motivation to make money isn’t high. This can help you focus on increasing profits and revenue to hit said goals.

When there’s a meaningful reward behind the tasks you’re doing, you’ll be much more likely to not only stick with your work and let it compound over time, but to actually enjoy it. That’s the key to motivation.

Setting goals is a great way to help you celebrate the small wins — achievements that add up big over time.

And if you’re wondering, “Is money the best motivation?” For the curious goal-setter, I’ve studied what the Bible has to say about money (and you might be surprised).

You can also watch me talk about the five things you’ll need for a long-term profitable business below:

Step 7: Remind Yourself How Far You’ve Come

How do billionaires stay motivated?

They never forget to celebrate their successes.

New and aspiring entrepreneurs should take note — you’ve likely still done something to get yourself to the place you’re at today, even if it’s not where you want to be.

You’re getting there. You’re doing this. You’re creating an online business that pays you for years to come.

You just have to keep reminding yourself of how proud your past self would be to be where you are today.

Step 8: Avoid Burnout Through Delegation

To stay motivated while you grow your business online massively, you’ll need a team.

You simply can’t do it alone, or you’ll face the wrath of burnout — fast.

You probably know a fellow business creator trying to be that lone wolf and spinning into chaos like the above image shows.

Avoid this trap at all costs!

Instead, build a team from scratch, so you have people to delegate tasks to. That way, you can watch your business run and have the clarity to seek new growth opportunities.

This is key to maintaining motivation and avoiding burnout.

Your long-term motivation requires you to have a clear head to properly scale and grow your business.

Step 9: Have a Strategy at All Times

If you’re losing motivation by getting in your head with everything you need to do, you can relax.

This can be done by developing a solid strategy. Something you can depend on over and over again to give you the focus you need to grow your business without getting lost in the weeds and feeling your motivation spiral.

This can look as simple as:

Establishing a solid niche based on your passion
Finding your ideal business persona so you know exactly who to market to
Identifying which tasks you need help with and finding, then delegating to, an expert contractor
Launching your website and getting clear on your branding and mission
Landing yourself a professional content writer who you trust and love to help you produce high-quality content consistently
Building out your powerful content marketing calendar to bring in an avalanche of organic leads and revenue over time

Your motivation for making money is going to be important to protect — and if you can work within a proven strategy that gives you confidence and clarity in your day-to-day, you’ll not only stay motivated — you’ll have fun while you’re at it.

Start Your Journey to a Sustainable Online Business Today

Experts – if you’re ready to think of your business in the long-term, and are tired of running out of motivation to get to the top, I can help you get the clarity you need.

(Steadily and with massive results.)

My coaching program for passion-fueled entrepreneurs is a proven roadmap to the skills, systems, and strategy you’ll need to take your business from a simple idea all the way to six- and seven-figures.

You’ll find the motivation you need inside my five-phase program, alongside 30+ plug-n-play templates, live Q&As with me, and feedback from my expert coaches.

This is the first-ever program that teaches digital business creators how to grow and scale their business from scratch. Check out my free 30-minute class to get started now.

The post 9 Ways to Keep Your Motivation for Making Money Alive (For New Entrepreneurs) appeared first on Content Hacker.

Figure Out How to Find Your Passion & Turn It Into a Living (Step-by-Step Guide)

Julia McCoy — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 12:00:23 +0000

Many careers can be life-draining.

Nearly 85% of people hate their jobs.

But work you love can also be a source for finding purpose.

…A supply of great joy, fulfillment, AND wealth.

And that’s why I’m a huge proponent of telling anyone searching for their purpose through work this:

If you CAN make money on your true passion, do that for your career.

Not only is that a major key to fulfillment, but it’s vital in keeping your interest long-term.

So if you’re asking yourself, “What is my passion?”…

…I’m so excited you’re here.

Because we’re ALL FOR “loving what you do.”

But I want to show you how to actually make money doing it.

And yes, you CAN do it.

You see people all around you doing it… don’t you?

Even if you think your passion isn’t lucrative (somebody made millions on a farting app, my friend).

This is your life, and you get to decide what to do with it.

And if you want to make money doing what you love, you have every right to pursue that.

Let’s just make sure you’re strategic about it, so you don’t waste your time, money, or energy.

I’ve put together this ultimate guide to show you how to find your passion step by step, as well as the truth about building a business and making a profit doing what you love.

Let’s not wait another moment. Here’s exactly how to find your passion and tap into it.

What’s Inside How to Find Your Passion (Ultimate Guide): Table of Contents

Asking Yourself ‘How to Find My Passion & Make Money From It?’ Here’s the Truth

What Being Passionate About Your Work Really Looks Like

12 Steps to Find Your Passion and Make Money Doing It

Step 1: Start Your Search with the Right Mindset
Step 2: Uncover Your Work Interests & Passion
Step 3: Establish the Niche You’ll Serve & Offer You’ll Create
Step 4: Survey the Market (& Find Your Audience)
Step 5: Build Your Foundational Business Blocks
Step 6: Launch Your Name & Website
Step 7: Learn the (Right) Way to Market Your Biz
Step 8: Learn How to Write for the Web
Step 9: Track The (Right) KPIs
Step 10: Develop a Social Media Strategy
Step 11: Trademark Your Method
Step 12: Find & Pitch Clients

Start Building a Business From Your Passion Today

Asking Yourself ‘How to Find My Passion & Make Money From It?’ Here’s the Truth

Many, many people I meet who learn I work with heart-felt entrepreneurs open up to me and tell me, “Julia, I’m struggling to find my passion.”

And I get it.

Once we close those motivating books and snap back to reality, there’s so much normalized fear in our society.

We’re taught to feel it’s indulgent to pursue the “life of your dreams.”

It breaks my heart.

There are so many programs and coaches out there pushing profits over passion.

For example, a YouTube commenter asked me if I ever heard of someone teaching people to do what they hate doing.

“He trashes the very idea of starting a business out of your passion.”

That is off-the-charts bad advice.

Because to sustain a business — you really do need to love it. As intangible as that feels, it’s the root of success.

It can be done.

But to do this, and to make money from whatever niche you love, you need to get the skills.

Period.

Not just the creative skills, your Ikagi, but the business skills that will help you monetize your dream.

If you can accept that… you’ll be one step closer to figuring out your passion and turning it into a living.

So regardless of how “not marketable” your passion feels, even the most bizarre, niche thing can be turned into a real business.

Take these examples:

An animal lover/entrepreneur wrote a highly rated book dedicated to building a million-dollar pet brand
Completely wacky, off-the-wall, and fun ideas that have made millions like Wish Bones, the Pet Rock, and even the comical iFart app
The highest selling supplements are NOT big brands, they’re actually privately owned

Source: Statista

So, no matter how wild you think your true interests are…

There IS a real pathway to do this if you’re wanting to learn how to find your passion and make money from it.

But it’s more than just believing in yourself.

You have to teach yourself the skills you need to make it happen.

The way you run your business and the skills you need for it are completely different than what you do (your passion).

That pet brand author had to learn not only about animals, but also how to publish AND promote a book.

And I’m a writer at heart, but if I didn’t learn how to:

Hire
Delegate
Market
Manage my finances
Implement a tax savings business structure
Invest

…and more, I ALSO would’ve failed long, long ago.

It takes money and an investment mindset to invest in yourself, which a lot of people miss out on because they want the quick win.

If you want to learn how to find your passion and turn it into a living, knowing this is key to starting a brand that lasts and not being part of the 70% of businesses that fail before ten years.

What Being Passionate About Your Work Really Looks Like

There are a lot of things to unpack when you’re figuring out how to find your passion and make money on it — like if the work you want to do is truly what you’re passionate about.

There are too many people getting burnt out in careers they thought they would love, and feeling extremely confused.

How can you tell if you’re actually passionate about the work you’re doing?

Look for these signs:

You can engage in your work for hours without getting distracted
You sometimes have to pull yourself away from what you’re doing
You look forward to tasks that you haven’t even started
You’re proud of your finished product, even though you know you’re working and learning every day to get better
You’d keep doing it even if you didn’t know if you’d “succeed” or not
When you’re deep in work mode, it feels thrilling and like you’re “in the zone”

You know the saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun?” The truth behind that statement can be the fuel that sustains your business and motivation for the long-term.

And I’m not telling you that you can make a living off your passion just because I think it’s what you want to hear.

The reason I believe in doing what you love is because it’s the only reason I kept going for 10 years.

If I hated writing, there’s no way I could’ve built and successfully exited a multi-million-dollar content agency that thrived and grossed over $5 million.

It was because I loved to create. Because I loved to provide amazing content.

Those passions were the legs that kept me moving forward — even when I hit roadblocks, like when people screwed me over or major Covid income slumps happened and we had to scramble to recover. That passion was the one piece that kept me from throwing in the towel on my business’ most difficult days.

If you want to make money fast, pursue money; if you want to make money with longevity, pursue what you love doing.

Because truly, the reason most people fail at a passion-based business is because they never get the skills to run a business, NOT because they picked a business idea that was based on their passion.

No matter what anyone tells you — your family, your friends, your upbringing, you have a right to find and pursue your passion, as well as to make money from sharing those skills.

You have a right to want to work around other people who love the same things you do.

You have a right to make your dreams your reality. If no one else has yet, I give you full permission and you have my unrelenting support of this pursuit.

12 Steps to Find Your Passion and Make Money Doing It

Once you discover how to find your passion and make money from it, you’ll be living and working like very few people do.

In today’s world, these are the steps you’ll need to follow to help you find your passion and turn it into profit.

Step 1: Start Your Search with the Right Mindset

It’s 100% OK to not be an expert at your passion.

(And on the flip side, just because you’re really good at something, doesn’t make it your passion, either.)

So, at the very beginning of this passion-finding journey (and frankly, every step along the way), you need to ditch the overconfidence.

Over the course of 10 years and 100,000 hires and fires at my writing agency, I saw overconfidence in a degree or in an impractical “skill” that doesn’t translate to real-life holding the majority of people back.

This is part of why I started realizing a modern marketing degree may not be worth it for many.

I wrote a book about skipping the degree & saving the tuition in favor of building your own brand. Buy now on Amazon (available on Audible, too!).

It held them back from even being WILLING to invest in themselves, including buying a straightforward course and learning the real skills they needed to push forward with their passions and success.

Sure, no one wants to spend $50,000 on college just to turn around and still have to spend $1,000 on a writing course. But hey, that $1,000 will be worth 5x the college bill if you just spend one week studying a practical skill and emerge with REAL writing chops!

I cover exactly what traditional habits to ditch to succeed in the online writing world in my Unlearn Essay Writing workshop.

Step 2: Uncover Your Work Interests & Passion

I consider myself blessed that I knew my passion at a very young age.

But even if you’re just now learning how to find your passion in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or beyond, that pursuit demands the utmost respect — many people lead their lives never knowing.

It was bubbling just below the surface, but I still had to uncover how to find my career passion.

And not only do I love it, but writing’s a viable skill I was able to harness into a lucrative business. Here are the questions to ask yourself that can help you discover your passion:

What do you love doing?
What do you tab away from your day job to read about?
What are you good at doing?
What could you spend your time on every single day?
What do other people do for work that you think looks amazing? (I.e., what’s your dream job?)

Some people will have one solid answer after running through these questions and exercises. Others may have several, but a general theme could start to emerge. That’s wonderful news, because you’ll want to go broad here — which we’ll cover next.

Love putting pen to paper? Download your free copy of the How to Find Your Passion worksheet.

Step 3: Establish the Niche You’ll Serve & the Offer You’ll Create

I’ve got fantastic news about this little passion test you just put yourself through.

You don’t have to go too narrow.

Nope, you do NOT have to speak to only one group for the rest of your life.

I’ve used this same technique after building separate successful offers for multiple markets, so I know this works.

But if you’ve ever heard the phrase, “The riches are in the niches,” you might be questioning keeping your passion-based business idea too broad.

Here’s the thing:

Yes, you want to establish a niche that’s specific, but you can also expand into serving several groups. If you don’t, you risk chasing the “quick and easy,” which doesn’t translate into a long-term, sustainable brand — no matter your passion.

For example, you’ve done the exercise above and discovered your career passion is proofreading.

You can then target up to three groups that you want to work with/are familiar with to help with your skill:

Course creators + consultants
Entrepreneurs + agencies
Female entrepreneurs

The importance of this can’t be overstated. You have to protect yourself.

The world is constantly in flux — and markets are volatile.

Focus on just one, and you risk your entire audience disappearing or simply losing their budget (helloooo 2020 and hospitality, retail, and education sectors, etc.).

But go too wide, or you’ll end up losing who you’re speaking to — and speaking to no one.

Finding that middle ground is essential.

Make sure to take this opportunity, before you’ve decided on your offer, to expand on your passion.

For instance, if your passion is writing short stories, you can build a passion-based business around writing. Keep the specific service you’re offering broad enough and you’ll easily be able to serve three groups (and keep your idea market safe).

If you’re really moving forward with your passion (seriously picturing yourself charging money for doing something you love) you’ll probably be surprised how easy these three groups come to you — because you’ll love offering them this service.

Step 4: Survey the Market (& Find Your Audience)

Before you launch your business… ask yourself this:

Who’s going to benefit the most from my service/offer?

This step is an incredibly exciting part of your passion-seeking and business-building journey. Here, you’ll be taking the idea you have, and molding it to create a product that fits a market need.

Before you launch your brand and website, you need to target a clear audience which your service/offer will transform (AND fits in the market).

Here’s how to do it:

Do live market research
Narrow down your perfect audience and business persona

Your live market research will help you uncover your ideal audience because you’ll start uncovering commonalities — pain points — that you can help solve with your offer.

When you start discovering the repeated issues people are having — this can open up your business opportunities. You can use this vital information to craft an offer from your passion — one you KNOW is needed.

What’s really fun here is you get to gather tons of feedback from people who think exactly like your future customers. You can then mine all the data you’ve collected for finding common language among them — which can help you craft the building blocks of your passion-based brand (like a one-sentence magnet that draws people to you like crazy).

HOT TIP: Most brands are created WRONG because it’s the entrepreneur’s language — not the market’s.

Step 5: Build Your Foundational Business Blocks

Here’s where you’ll really start understanding how to find your passion and turn it into a business.

You’ll take the information you gathered from your live market research (that you absolutely, 100%, did not skip!) and start crafting your foundational business pillars out of your ideal audience’s own words.

This should look like:

A powerful public-facing sentence that magnetizes clients toward you. Get your ideal customer thinking, “This is exactly who I am and just what I need.” This is likely to evolve along with your business, but you’ll want to make sure it’s front and center on your homepage, your LinkedIn profile, etc.

Example (Content Hacker): “We help passion-fueled entrepreneurs learn the strategy, systems, and skills to grow a sustainable, lasting online business.”

A description of what makes your brand completely unique. Your story and your distinctive point of view are important in both your passion and business. You’ll use this to blend it into everything you publish, so you’ll always stand out and never sound like the masses.

Example (Tesla)z: “Our products are innovative, sustainable, high-end, electric, and battery-operated.”

Note your biggest, wildest goals for this passionate brand. Research shows companies that last the longest and are the most successful established a few massive goals and values. Ask yourself what you’ll do better than anyone else in your market, and don’t be afraid to go big here.

Example (Microsoft): “A computer on every desk in every home.”

Craft a forward-facing mission statement. Use inspiration from your big goals, and what it will look like once you get there/are headed in that direction.

Example (My writing agency): “To create the best content on the web, by assembling the most passionate writers together.”

Because these pillars you’ve written will help drive your business forward for decades, or into six and seven figures, this step may be one of the most intensive parts of your journey in learning how to find your passion (but well worth it).

Step 6: Launch Your Name & Website

After you’ve completed the all-important above steps (and only after!), you’ll be ready to launch your brand name and website — it’s getting real, baby!

And because you did the right legwork, your brand WILL make money.

Picking your name is fun, but don’t forget to be strategic here.

So when it comes to your name and branding, make sure:

You have complete clarity when presenting to your ideal audience
You state the value you provide (an adjective/a fun word reflecting what you offer)

For example, if you have a bookkeeping business, bookkeeping needs to be in your brand name.

Make sure to research brands that exist in your space for inspiration. Look for words you see repeated, and don’t forget to check testimonials and reviews for even more inspiration directly from relevant customers.

For your site:

Just because you’ve found your passion, just because your business is based on something you love, this does not mean you can have a “hobbyist” website.

It needs to look good.

To build a professional website, you’ll want to hire a web developer to do this for you. Don’t let yourself get lost in the weeds and burnout by trying to do this yourself — unless this is 100% your passion. The same goes for your logo (get a graphic designer).

Step 7: Learn the (Right) Way to Market Your Biz

If you’re still asking yourself, “How to find my passion and make money?” then I want you to know this:

Sustainability is what keeps you in the game long-term.

And the $400 billion content marketing industry will be what gets you there. In fact, it’s so powerful that it’s set to increase to a worth of $600 billion by 2024.

So, before you start paying for ads that put your website in front of an audience, invest heavily in a blog.

This is a long-term play — one that will pay off in dividends over time.

But the ROI for content marketing can’t be ignored, and it’s the future of advertising. So regardless of the passion you’re building a business from, you need to learn how to market on your own platform — through your own blog.

This is going to be the foundation to everything as you learn the right marketing skills to get clients.

So start building your content marketing strategy today, before you worry one iota about social media.

Step 8: Learn How to Write for the Web

Even if you’re a great writer, you might not know the ins and outs of writing for an online audience.

It matters, and it’s a skill that can be learned.

Because these wild content marketing ROI statistics don’t lie:

Nearly 80% of all internet users regularly interact with blogs
Content marketing campaigns cost 62% less to launch and maintain vs. other types of campaigns
The top three results on a Google search page get 75% of all clicks
There will be 6 billion daily email users by 2025

Something incredibly important for online writing is mastering small business SEO blogging. (This can also be something you delegate to others once you build a remote team from scratch.)

But even if you’re not the one writing every day, don’t expect a passion-based business to last long-term without knowing how SEO and web writing works. They’re too important to success.

Step 9: Track the (Right) KPIs

Once your passionate biz is up and running, you’ll want to learn about reporting on the right KPIs. Don’t overdo it here and cause burnout for yourself by reporting on everything under the sun.

Just track the ones that matter. Mostly, that’s going to be the impact from your content.

If you’re not measuring the effectiveness of your content marketing, it’ll be much harder to:

Know if you’re doing this right
Stay the course and keep going

Simply put, you’re going to want to look at what you’ve made, spent, and what you’re getting back.

Luckily, if executed correctly and consistently, your content’s ROI is going to be staggering. This number alone will inspire you to keep giving it everything.

Truth be told, some social media platforms are better for your business than others.

Sometimes it will depend on the niche and where your audience is. But I usually coach my students to pick just one or two to focus on (and to ALWAYS have an established blog presence and website first… never rely solely on third-party platforms for your business).

For me, these are Instagram and YouTube. I get really personal with my Instagram, and I also enjoy it, so I focus on that platform. And besides blogging, I’ve seen YouTube deliver the best long-term results due to its impressive lifespan of content.

So within your social media strategy, a huge piece should be establishing a YouTube presence.

Step 11: Trademark Your Method

If you’ve got a truly original concept or method (and you’re passionate about wanting to protect it) go ahead and trademark or copyright your idea.

Especially if you want to prevent your business name from being taken.

It’s also a great way to be taken seriously. It’s got clout.

Here are two solid resources for this:

You can check existing trademarks through the US Patent and Trademark Office site here
You can go ahead and register your copyright for your work here

You can do this yourself or use an attorney or legal platform to help you for additional fees.

Step 12: Find & Pitch Clients

To use your passion to build your business, you’re going to need customers and clients! This is a very exhilarating stage.

You’re going to have two main ways you attract clients.

Long-term: Consistently tap into the content strategy and marketing skills you’ve taught yourself. As your blog grows, so will your reach, and you’ll organically attract clients TO you vs. needing to pitch them.
Short-term: A powerful outbound pitch will likely be the way you’ll land your first clients. If you’re doing fantastic work, you can expect referrals from both these clients AND your organic customers that came through your website.

Pitches can feel uncomfortable at first, but if you stay authentic to yourself and your passion, plus reach out to people who genuinely need your help, you’ll be finding passion-based work — and get on your way to the business (and life) of your dreams.

Start Building a Business From Your Passion Today

I mean this with every ounce of my being when I say this:

You should go follow your dreams.

I want you to.

And I’d be honored to help you do it.

At Content Hacker, I’ve literally built the pathway to turning a passion into an income stream with The Content Transformation System. We work directly with people who want to turn their dreams into a REAL business that scales to six and seven figures.

If you’re ready to learn how to find your passion and make money from it, then I’ll show you exactly how to do it — you just need to decide to invest in your future, and we’ve got the “how” inside.

All of the steps above are taken directly from our 12-month mentorship where we personally guide you in creating a passion-led business. You’ll get every detail on how to complete each stage, plus 30+ business templates to use, 1:1 coaching, and beyond. It’s everything you’ll need to start a sustainable online business out of your passion. Apply now.

Ready to get started today? Watch my free 30-minute training and get instant access!

The post Figure Out How to Find Your Passion & Turn It Into a Living (Step-by-Step Guide) appeared first on Content Hacker.

Why & How to Find Your Purpose: Unpacking the Concept of Ikigai

Julia McCoy — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 05:00:19 +0000

Why do you wake up in the morning?

Some will say for their family. Some will say to earn a living. Some will say to pursue their passion.

What makes it all worth it for you?

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, about 69% of Americans say their families give meaning to their lives. Others point to their career (34%), finances and money (23%), and faith and spirituality (20%) when asked what provides fulfillment to their daily existence.

But, let’s be honest. It’s not an easy question to answer for anyone.

For professionals like you, what comes first? Is it purpose over profits… or the other way around? Let’s discuss.

Ikigai: Your Reason for Being

I’ve come across this concept several times, but, it was in Mark Schaefer’s Cumulative Advantage that I was struck by it. Particularly, I love how he ended his book by referring to ikigai. In Mark Schaefer’s life plan, he could have been the Tim Ferriss of his industry. He could have shared the stage with Oprah. But, he didn’t chase success like that. As he says, “I chose not to. It didn’t fit with my life plan.”

Like Mark, many of us spend years or our entire lives trying to grow and learn. We long for fulfillment. But unlike Mark, some sacrifice everything in search of wealth or fame – and lose sight of ikigai in the process.

So what is ikigai?

In Japan, the concept for ikigai came to be. It roughly translates to “reason for being.” It’s essentially the reason you wake up in the morning. It’s that driving force that pushes you to do things. It’s the one that makes you smile. In short, it’s knowing what your purpose is in life.

This Japanese ideology has been linked to the secret for a long and happy life. Akihiro Hasegawa, who published a research paper on ikigai, explains that the small joys of the Japanese in their everyday life result in a more fulfilling life as a whole.

Hector Garcia, the co-author of the book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, illustrates ikigai as the intersection of four things:

That which you love: your passion and mission
That which you are good at: your passion and profession
That which you can be paid for: your passion and vocation
That which the world needs: your vocation and mission

Note: Finding your ikigai does not have a manual. Some might have discovered their ikigai when they were young, while others need to dig deeper to find out what makes life worthwhile.

How to Find Your Ikigai

The meeting point of your passion, mission, profession, and vocation is your ikigai.

For the centenarians in Okinawa, Japan, who attribute their life expectancy to finding their ikigai, finding your purpose entails having a healthy body, healthy mind, and healthy relationships.

As a professional or a business owner, the same applies. You need to look at yourself in the mirror and ask why you’re in business. What impact can you make to the people you are catering to and the people you are working with? What can you give back so the world will be a better place?

Knowing the purpose of your business, just like in real life, can be linked to your brand’s potential overall well-being and longer life.

Here are some tips on how you can find your ikigai for your business:

1. Keep Brainstorming and Take Action

To find that sweet spot and define your purpose, you need to do some introspection. You need to find out if you can do what you love doing while making money and making a difference. When you find that answer, remember it doesn’t end there.

Ikigai is a balancing act. It is not static, and you have to make adjustments along the way. Don’t force yourself to do something you’re not happy doing anymore. If a big project comes along, but it doesn’t trigger your passion, then you have the freedom to say “Pass.”

Your purpose during the early days of your brand will be different from your purpose after a few years.

Your struggles will keep evolving, including everyone and everything around you. For that, you need to keep brainstorming to find your focus. Along the way, learn from the mistakes you might commit but don’t forget to celebrate your small wins.

2. Listen to What Your Customers Are Saying

What your customers say about your products or services is the true state of your brand. Everything is about customer experience, and if they’re not happy, you’ll see your following and your sales go down the drain.

If your business gets positive reviews online, 92% of consumers will likely purchase after reading them. According to a survey, customers are also willing to spend 31% more when a business has excellent reviews.

Conversely, four of five consumers change their minds about a recommended purchase upon reading negative reviews.

Listening to your customers doesn’t only help you discover what truly matters for your business, but also what truly matters to the market you’re serving. It helps you improve and even innovate. When you listen, you convince people to keep doing business with you. Moreover, happy customers will buy more of your products or services.

3. Think Smaller to Make a Difference

We often hear experts say to think of the bigger picture, but when discovering your ikigai, you need to think smaller.

You need to find your motivation, and most of the time, you’ll find it when you understand how your work improves other people’s lives. You need to put yourself in their shoes and ask how you’ll matter to them. Consider how paying attention to details can make them happy.

When you think smaller, you’ll understand the pain points of the market you’re serving. Knowing their pain points will help you do business differently than your competitors. And that will make you stand out from the rest.

Knowing your purpose can help define your path toward success.

Your Personal Ikigai: The Pursuit of Purpose vs. the Pursuit of More

If you lead an organization or work as an employee for a business, your personal ikigai should be in tune with the purpose of the brand. Everything should be connected so you can find genuine happiness while following your passion and positively impacting others.

Going after profits will surely grow your bank account, but money doesn’t buy happiness. The pursuit of profit is not enough these days. Instead, businesses should pursue purpose.

1. Purpose Draws Customers and Promotes Brand Loyalty

According to a recent study, consumers tend to do business with brands that take care of their employees, treat the environment well, and support the community they operate in. When businesses align themselves with doing good, they build a strong connection with their customers.

To further amplify the importance of knowing your purpose, when it comes to brand loyalty, almost 8 in 10 Americans are more loyal to purpose-driven businesses. About 67% of consumers feel purpose-driven brands care more about them compared to traditional brands.

These findings put the spotlight on reflecting your brand’s identity and making significant changes to serve your true purpose.

2. Purpose Leads to Innovation and Profits

Profit is the icing on the cake for businesses that have purpose as their core.

When executives around the world were surveyed, a study by Harvard Business Review found that 84% of businesses with shared purpose were more successful in their innovation and transformation efforts.

The said study categorized companies as prioritizers or those with clearly articulated and understood purpose, developers or those who understood their purpose better than others, and laggards or those who does not have a well understood or communicated purpose.

Among these groups, the prioritizers performed better than the developers and laggards. Almost 60 percent of the prioritizers experienced growth by 10% or more in the last three years. Meanwhile, 42% of laggards reported a flat or diving revenue compared to 19% of developers and just 15% of prioritizers.

Purpose should be your driving force when making decisions that can help create gains for your customers. It will be your ikigai to craft strategies that will eventually lead to innovation and growth.

3. Purpose Fuels True Impact

Your entrepreneurial ikigai will determine your true impact on your customers’ experience and to society.

When you find your purpose, you discover that you’re just a small part of the equation to make a difference. To help your customers or the people around you, to give what you can to society, and to serve a bigger purpose – you lose yourself for this bigger mission in life.

When you serve your purpose, you will start a ripple effect. From within, you can influence your customers, suppliers, and business partners to do good and shape a better future for everyone. The value it creates is far more significant than whatever amount in your bank account.

Find Your Ikigai, Find Your Purpose and Grow Your Own Brand

As for me, my #1 passion is writing. It’s also my vocation, calling, and purpose.

I used my ikigai to build a million-dollar content writing agency from nothing. It has been an incredible journey so far, and I’d love for you to join me.

If you’re ready to use your passion, purpose, and skills to build your online business to great heights…

Apply today for my mentorship program, The Content Transformation System, where I help you discover your purpose and teach you how to build and scale your brand.

The post Why & How to Find Your Purpose: Unpacking the Concept of Ikigai appeared first on Content Hacker.

How to Have Lasting Impact: Who We Serve at Content Hacker

Julia McCoy — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 05:56:47 +0000

I’m no unicorn.

I’ve simply created the strategies, skills, and systems that allow me to have REPEATABLE success day in, day out.

And you can, too. No matter who you are, what age you are, or how much you know right now.

In September of 2021 I sold my agency, Express Writers, for over a million dollars.

This was after 10 years of using content marketing to grow online businesses, including overseeing 40,000 content projects used to fuel businesses in every industry.

It took me four years to learn how to build a repeatable, practical, high-ROI content strategy.

I wrote the (400-page) book on it when I realized this didn’t exist… after clients began to call me asking if I would teach it.

Failing first, learning the hard way, spending four years stuck (I talk about this in my free training), was all a part of my journey.

After an in-depth market research phase in the fall of 2021, listening to a large group of creatives share with me their deepest growth concerns:

I’m now teaching ONE PROVEN methodology that I’ve built from the ground up, the evolution of ten years of creating lasting content and brands from scratch. We call it The Content Transformation© System (aka CTS).

Through the years, I’ve had a lot of success training over 1,000 marketers and big teams alike (I’ll never forget the honor of teaching Airbnb’s team SEO writing!).

CTS is the final evolution of everything ever created in my training approach to help over 1,000 people grow through content. It is an entire methodology-driven program that will teach new and plateaued entrepreneurs the skills, systems, and strategy to build in their business for lasting online growth.

The truth is, content alone is not the answer.

Blogging will actually set you back if you don’t have your strategy, offer, marketplace positioning, set up correctly.

But if you do have the other parts? Hello legacy, wealth-building, and a brand you’re proud of.

Today, my Big Hairy Audacious Goal is to be part of the online wealth shift and help 1M creative, smart, brilliant people do what I did – create a sustainable business that runs by itself, so they can step back and create real impact and freedom for themselves and their family. I’m helping the big dreamers and doers of the world grow BIG, with tangible, real strategy, skills, and systems.

I’m sharing my new methodology in my free class.

How to Have Lasting Impact & Why We Serve In This Area

What is impact?

Im·pact, noun. To have a strong effect on someone or something. Synonyms: influence.

Content that brings impact is what I build, what I believe in, and what I’ve done for more than a decade.

When it’s created with a clear strategy for impact, content WORKS to build trust, traffic, and revenue for your business.

We created a stream of 100,000 visitors/month and $100k/month in revenue, in an agency I built with my last $75 at 19 years old. We reached 1,000,000 lives with my memoir, Woman Rising.

I know what impact through content is – I’ve lived it. But having this impact and carrying it somewhere (into profits, a legacy, income stream you can share with your family for generations to come), is not just found in creating content.

Before you create content, you need to have a sustainable business structure mapped out.

Because you need real business PROFITS to fund your passion endeavors and the impact you create through content.

Otherwise… you’ll be bankrupt. Or, set back and doing the same old thing for YEARS.

This is the divide, friends.

Content is NOTHING without strategy, skills, and systems. Content is EVERYTHING backed up by strategy, skills, and systems.

In order to serve you best, here is our new mission statement for Content Hacker. To tangibly deliver that statement, we developed an incredible new training program.

Content Hacker by Julia McCoy: We believe crafting profitable content that builds a sustainable business, bringing you freedom and joy, is fully achievable in the 2020s. We’re on a mission to teach 1M creative entrepreneurs how to do just that.

What YOU Need to Have Lasting Impact

I want to help you realize what you must do to be massively successful.

First, it’s mindset.

You must step into the mindset of a leader. Stop the self-doubt. Stop the indecision.

Then, you need the skills (both business and creative).

You’ve got to learn those, get them down. And I’m not talking about the skills you’re already good at. (The people I serve are typically insanely good or insanely passionate around their practitioner skillset. You might be able to teach me a thing or two about what it is you do on a regular basis. However, if you’re not sure what your area of serving is, we have data-backed ways to uncover that inside Phase 2 of my program.)

Quick check. Getting leads and sales daily from all those Instagram Reels and Facebook posts? …Sometimes? None at all? You need less of the transient, fluff business and marketing skills, and you need to replace them with the business skills that really work.

I’ll teach you the skills that lead to real leads, real inquiries, and real sustainability.

These skills take roughly 30 days, once you have the step-by-step guidance on everything that’s involved. You need to buckle in.

Thirdly, from there, to grow, we teach you EXACTLY how and what to delegate.

We show you why you must be willing to delegate (mindset). Then, we show you how and where to hire to build and grow your team, for your client (sales) side, and your own marketing side (your content).

It’s powerful stuff. Growing through hiring and assembling your small core team, as well as the systems for them, takes a minimum of 30 days, on average.

Once you put these pieces into place, you will be able to move away from your business, into impact.

You’ll be able to build MASSIVE impact and the “known” factor (like writing a book).

When you get there – you’re in your 3-5 year blueprint. This is what we’re doing in my five-phase Content Transformation System. And it’s powerful.

Our founding members have shared this feedback with us so far.

The truth is, at Content Hacker, I want to go so much bigger than just teaching you one skill.

I want to give you the keys to your own kingdom. The kind of kingdom I’ve been able to build for myself and my family.

I don’t want to hold this back anymore.

I want to teach you how to master your skill, build true delegation/automation around your business idea, and craft a five-year plan to lasting impact and legacy.

I want to change and impact my creative entrepreneurs’ lives unlike any other business mentor has ever done.

It’s a tall order.

But given all I’ve survived, built, and maintained; I know I can do it. And we’re doing it.

Why I Started This Journey With a $10K Coaching Investment

Even though I’ve been doing the thing for 10 years (growing successful businesses out of content, overseeing 40,000 content projects)…

I didn’t want to rely on a ten-year track record alone, as I head into this exciting new path of teaching transformation in life, business, and long-term legacy.

So, my first move fall of 2021 was to make a serious investment in my own knowledge before developing my new program. This investment I made with a high-level coach transformed what I knew about marketing.

Then, I spent countless hours on the phone researching, researching, researching, and listening. More than a dozen creative entrepreneurs (coaches, consultants, business owners) hopped on the phone with me when I put out one LinkedIn post and Insta story offering free time on my calendar.

And as they shared their heart, I saw a glaring fact…

Their frustrations all revolved around the same BIG things.

One of them was afraid to hire ever again, because she was so burned by the first person she hired and delegated to. (As in, they stole her client!)
One of them was stuck in the mire of client work, and never feels freed up enough to get to her own marketing ever.
One of them would LOVE to consider a five-year game plan and get started writing her book, but can’t get out of the day-to-day.
One of them needs to solidify her brand foundations and GROW. Her foundations aren’t clear yet.

And all of them told me “if only I had the next steps to take.”

I talk about this inside this video. ↓

Let me tell you…

I truly HAVE solved each and every one of the pain points I heard on these calls. I’ve done it, not just said or hoped to.

But it’s taken me ten years. And a ton of trial-and-error.

I’ve created…

An agency out of my creative services, promoted through strategic content; scaled, sold for $1M.
Implemented repeatable processes that I have now taken into The Content Hacker, for myself and my 1:1 client base (books/blogs), with a dedicated team in a workspace that takes me a few hours a month to manage.
A known factor strong enough to have leads come knocking on my door, every day, every week.
A plan for this year, and next year’s growth, happening in the background.

What if I could give you this as a system?

What is that worth to you?

Here’s another question.

What are you wasting time and money on that you could re-focus into a system like this?

Be real and honest with yourself.

I can pinpoint my success down to a year when I got clear on my strategy, skills and systems – which took me four years and approximately $80,000+ in trial-and-error to figure out.

Those three things, strategy, skills, and systems, are what you need to hit next level in your business.

The Content Transformation© System is a methodology (a five-phase pathway, taught via a video course + combined live help) built to help you grow a self-sustaining business in 90 days, along with a plan for massive impact in the next 3-5 years.

Your time spent here will be 100% be worth it. Are you ready?

We’re taking applications now.

This program is NOT for the non-ambitious. You MUST have big dreams!

It IS for the people that desperately need the systems, the strategy, and the REAL gameplan of a self-sustaining creative business.

Ready to Build Lasting Impact?

I built a brand with my last $75 at 19, Express Writers; and saw a 13,000% ROI on that investment when I exited it for seven-figures by the time I was 30.

Alongside building my agency, I was able to create my own personal brand presence successfully; with six bestselling books, a podcast, multiple stage appearances (yes, I’m a massive introvert!), over 300 guest appearances, and a little bit of faith and perseverance and craziness along the way.

At The Content Hacker, I want YOU to avoid the headaches, hardships, and ten-year journey I had to go through.

I want YOU to have the keys to your own castle online.

But you must take the first step forward.

Ready?

Let’s do this.

The post How to Have Lasting Impact: Who We Serve at Content Hacker appeared first on Content Hacker.

Inspiration & Motivation | The Content Hacker

Zero to Hero: How to Start a Business with No Money

Table Of Contents:

Finding a Low-Cost Business Idea

Using Your Skills and Passions

Look at What People Want

Balancing Costs and Potential Earnings

Using Existing Online Platforms

Creating a Business Plan

Focusing on Core Components

Setting Realistic Money Goals

Using Bootstrapping Techniques

Free Project Management Tools

Free Communication Tools

Boost Productivity Without Spending

DIY Design & Marketing

Building a Strong Online Presence

Social Media Strategy

Building a Website on a Budget

Improving Your Website with SEO

Creating Content and Blogging

Networking for Your Business Without Money

Starting with Networking

Creating Beneficial Partnerships

Adopting a Bootstrap Marketing Approach

Leveraging Social Media’s Viral Potential

Create Great Content for Free Traffic

Joining Communities Online

Starting Email Marketing

Using Crowdfunding and Pre-Sales

Making a Good Crowdfunding Pitch

Setting Goals and Rewards

Using Pre-Sales Effectively

Continuous Learning and Adaptation

The Importance of Pivoting

Analyzing Your Performance

Being Flexible with Your Plan

How to Start a Business With No Money FAQs

Is it possible to start a business with no money?

What’s the best business to start without money?

What is the easiest business to start?

What business can you start with 0 dollars?

Conclusion

Content Hacker v2 is here. Here’s the story.

The Revolution Behind Today’s Evolution

I have a couple of firm beliefs about imposter syndrome.

Today, my imposter syndrome dies.

I’m putting all my cards on the AI content table.

How It All Started

Content Hacker 2.0 is (Still) All About Content Published on YOUR Platform, Building Real Online Empires

Content Hacker 2.0 Offerings Are Built To Immediately Help You Hit the (AI) Ground Running

(Free) Content Hacker Resources

(Paid) Content Hacker Community

(Paid) Julia’s ALL-NEW AIO Blogger Course

Big Event Happening Next March: Content Hacker LIVE

Content at Scale 3.0

It’s Time to Build Your Blog Empire

Dream, Hack, Scale: The Content Hacker – Content at Scale Merger Story

The ship of opportunity

2021 to 2022 – the AI skeptic

2023 – the great AI embracer

2024 – the great AI merge

Dream, Hack, Scale – We’re Going to the Moon

Delivering My First Keynote: AI Talk at #TBEX 2023

Highlights from My First Keynote – TBEX 2023

Top AI Questions From TBEX Attendees

Want me to speak at your event?

Why we’re adding AI sections into our signature mentorship.

The Story Behind the New AI Lessons

Want inside The Content Transformation© System?

On Abuse, Escape, and Fighting for My Right to Thrive

The Miracle of a Non-Toxic Environment

Fighting for the Right to Thrive

Healing Is Harder Than Not Healing

How to Start a Coaching Business: 11 Steps to Success

How to Start a Coaching Business: What’s Inside

Benefits of Starting an Online Coaching Business

Are You Ready to Start a Coaching Business?

How to Start Your Coaching Business

1. Cultivate an Attitude That Creates Success