Services
A clear path to action
Starting a business as an online service provider is not easy. Our Academy is designed to provide you with a structured roadmap of the steps you need to follow. Read on below to see our detailed curriculum and what you can expect from the three months.
Month One: Identifying Your WHY
Be different, stand out, find your gap in the market. Why should people work with YOU?
Topics covered:
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Defining Your Point of Differentiation as a Solopreneur
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Understanding Your White Space Opportunity
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Identifying Your Business Foundations, Mission and Purpose
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Building Your Personal Brand and Showing Up Online
Month Two: Defining your WHO
Get clear on your ideal customer. Understand them and identify your profitable niche.
Topics covered:
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B2B vs B2C Client Considerations
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Running Effective Customer Research
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Understanding Your Customer Maturity, Journey and Personas
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Defining Your Profitable Niche and Standing Out
Month Three: Building your WHAT
Build a compelling offer. Choose a business model. Find ways to market and sell.
Topics covered:
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Choosing The Right Business Model For Your Business
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Building Your Offer and Unique Framework
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Marketing Messaging and Content Creation
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Creating Your Lead Generation (Sales) Magnets
What You Get
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A distinct and compelling answer to "why you?" that can be used in both your marketing and sales
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A clear understanding of the competitor landscape and trends and where you are positioned within these
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A defined purpose and mission in your business beyond the practical service that will connect with clients
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An understanding of your own personal vision for your business, career and life and how they will fit together
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A view as to how to start building your own personal brand online and what you should be known for so that you can start attracting leads organically overtime through your own brand
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A target audience strategy based on B2B (selling to businesses), B2C (selling to customers) or a mixture of both, understanding the pros and cons of either and what would be most suitable for your own service
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A clear understanding of how to run customer or buyer interviews, including finding prospects, creating discussion guides and running the interviews
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A solid view of your target customer, analysing the information from the market research in the correct way and building your ICA (ideal customer avatar) considering the deeper needs and wants of your audience
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A specific, well-defined and articulated profitable niche that will allow you to stand out in the market
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A clear business model for how you will generate income, considering the best route for where you are now, as well as what models might work in the future
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A clear and compelling, well-defined and structured offer that has a unique framework and name
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An understanding and initial view as to what marketing channels will be best for you and your business and how to effectively use social media to create content
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An understanding of lead generation magnets and how to create one, especially live masterclasses, that can be used to convert leads and prospects into paying clients
Detailed Curriculum
Month One:
Identifying Your WHY
‘Start with why’ - Simon Sinek
Why you? Why Now? Why This?
As an online services business owner understanding your why is critical to everything else that follows in your business. Without this, you will not have a strong basis upon which to build your business on.
Topics covered:
1) Defining Your Point of Differentiation as a Solopreneur
Objective: Understand the stages of consideration when someone chooses you. Define why you are uniquely positioned to offer your service and start your business.
We will explore the essence of what makes you stand out in a crowded market. We'll begin with looking at the key stages someone goes through when deciding to work with you and the four pillars that will make you stand out. You will learn about the different methods to practically finding your point of differentiation and undergo a self-assessment to identify your unique strengths and skills, drawing from both your professional (functional) and personal (emotional) experiences. This understanding will be the foundation for crafting a compelling answer to 'why you?'. It is key to articulating why you are the best person to offer your service in the market.
2) Understanding Your White Space Opportunity
Objective: Learn how to conduct effective research into your market, including trends, competitors and identify the white space opportunity for your business.
We will look at the ways for you to thoroughly understand your market and industry. We will cover the fundamentals of market research and what factors you need to look out got. You will conduct research and analyse industry trends, as well as conduct a comprehensive competitive analysis to understand your rivals' strengths and weaknesses. We will discuss if there are any market gaps and unmet needs off the back of your research, helping you pinpoint the white space opportunities where your business can thrive.
3) Setting Out Your Business Foundations
Objective: Establish a strong mission, purpose, and vision for your business now and in the future.
We will lay the groundwork for a sustainable and successful business by defining your mission, purpose, and vision. You'll learn how to craft a mission statement that succinctly captures the essence of your business, reflecting your core values and guiding principles. We will look carefully at your deeper purpose, helping you identify the deeper meaning and motivation behind your business that will ultimately set the foundation for everything else that follows. We will also look at your own personal vision for how you want your business to look in the short, medium and long term and what success for you personally will look like. This will be a guiding north star when running your business.
4) Building Your Personal Brand and Gaining Visibility Online
Objective: Establish a strong personal brand and enhance your online visibility to attract and engage your target audience.
You will learn the importance of personal branding and how to create a compelling, authentic presence that differentiates you from competitors. We'll come back to your unique strengths, values, and professional story to craft a memorable personal brand. You will learn possible ways to elevate your online presence, including social media profiles, a professional website or blog, and other strategies, so that you can start attracting people to your business. We'll look at techniques for articulating your value in a way that resonates with potential clients and partners, and examine the importance of building credibility and trust in your industry. You will start to formulate a clear and compelling narrative that sets you apart as the best person to offer your service as well as the best platforms where you can start showing up online.
Month Two:
Defining Your Who
Your customer is king. Do you really know them?
Whether you aim to target businesses or consumers, having a clear understanding of who you are targeting is essential for attracting the right type of leads and ultimately making sales.
Topics covered:
1) B2B vs B2C Client Considerations
Objective: Understand the key differences between B2B and B2C clients and develop an understanding of which might be best suited for your business when starting out.
You will learn the distinct characteristics and requirements of B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) clients. We'll look at the different buying behaviours, decision-making processes, pros and cons of each client type and identify which area would work best for you to initially focus on, based on everything we have uncovered so far. We will look at the key marketing considerations of each, including the importance of relationship building and long-term engagement in B2B markets, the emphasis on direct emotional connection in B2C markets and the importance of email marketing for both types of client. By understanding these differences, you can confidently decide the type of client you want to prioritise to start with, effectively attracting, retaining, and satisfying these clients, whether they be businesses or individual consumers.
2) Running Effective Customer Research
Objective: Learn how to conduct thorough and impactful customer research to understand your clients' needs and preferences.
You will learn how to design and execute customer research that provides valuable insights into your target audience. We will cover the different methods of customer research, including surveys, interviews and focus groups, depending on the most appropriate techniques for your business. You'll gain skills in crafting effective research questions, running market research interviews, and analysing the data collected to uncover meaningful patterns and trends which we will look at together. Emphasis will be placed on translating these insights into the 'so what?' and starting to get a clearer (and deeper) understanding of who your business is actually for ensuring your business remains customer-centric and you start to make sales from your ideal customer.
3) Understanding Your Customer Maturity, Journey, and Personas
Objective: Develop a comprehensive understanding of your customers' maturity levels, journey stages, wants and needs to develop your Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA) and identify your customer personas.
This module focuses on using your research to map the customer journey and creating detailed customer personas. You'll learn how to identify and define the different stages of your customer's journey as well as their pain points and main challenges. We will cover the concept of customer maturity, helping you tailor your approach based on where each customer is in their journey. You will also gain skills in creating customer personas that represent the key segment(s) of your target audience. These personas will help you understand your customers' motivations, challenges, and preferences, bringing them to life and giving you something to refer back to when it comes to creating effective marketing campaigns and messaging.
4) Defining Your Profitable Niche and Standing Out
Objective: Identify and articulate your profitable niche and target market so you stand out.
"Appeal to everyone, appeal to no one". We will look at the absolute importance of having a niche when you have an online services business. We will take all the work we have done so far (including your market research, personal brand differentiation and any customer research conducted) to define a powerful and well articulated niche. You should have an understanding of your specific target market and have a specific service that will meet their needs. It will lead us nicely onto being able to build, shape and formulate your offer in Month 3.
Month Three:
Building Your What
What is it that you will sell? And how do you do that in a way that will generate regular income? It is essential to create a compelling offering that clients will want to buy, as well as implement the right business model for long term growth.
Topics covered:
1) Choosing the Right Business Model for Your Business
Objective: Identify and implement the most suitable business model to get started.
We will look at the various business models available so you can select the one that best aligns with your goals, resources and target customer. You will learn about the different business models service providers typically choose, such as subscription, cohort based models, direct sales, offline/offline support, charging via hourly/day rates and other options. We will discuss the pros and cons of each model, considering factors like revenue potential, cost structure, scalability, and customer relationship management. It will be important to pick a model that fits your unique value proposition and target market best and also understand how this model could potentially change as you start to grow your business.
2) Building Your Offer and Unique Framework
Objective: Develop a compelling offer and a unique framework that clearly communicates the value of your products or services.
It's key to create an irresistible offer that stands out in the marketplace. We will cover the components of a compelling offer, including the importance of client transformation, key mistakes to avoid, choosing your offer name, pricing and more. Additionally, you will develop a unique framework or methodology that differentiates your approach and that meets the specific needs of your target audience. We will look at how you will package, shape and market this offer with the goal being to have a well-defined offer and unique framework that effectively communicates what you do to (and the impact) to potential clients.
3) Marketing Messaging and Content Creation
Objective: Learn the fundamentals of marketing messaging, choosing the right channels and showing up on social media.
This module provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of marketing messaging, selecting the appropriate channels, and effectively using social media. You will learn how to craft compelling marketing messages that resonate with your target audience and your specific niche. We will explore various marketing channels you can use so you can consider what might be best for your target audience. Additionally, you will gain insights into best practices for engaging with audiences on social media platforms, creating content that drives interaction and starts a conversation. We will look at the difference between cold, warm and hot content and what makes good content great. By the end of the module, you will have the beginnings of a marketing strategy that uses the power of messaging, channels, and social media to start attracting leads.
4) Creating Your Lead Generation (Sales) Magnets
Objective: Develop effective lead generation magnets, especially masterclasses, that attract and convert high-quality prospects.
You will learn about what lead generation is and why having conversion magnets are so important for sales. We will explore various types of lead magnets, such as eBooks, white-papers and free training (masterclasses) and discuss what makes an effective lead magnet. You will learn how to design these materials to address the pain points and interests of your target audience, ensuring they provide real value. We will look at how to create free lead-generation training or masterclasses that will attract leads, ultimately leading to sales. We will cover best practices for writing compelling titles, structuring the masterclass and incorporating strong calls-to-action. Having a suite of lead magnets will be essential for being able to attract, engage, and convert high-quality leads and drive business revenue.