Personal Anecdote

This past weekend (but really this entire month), I’ve been working like a maniac to do a massive overhaul of everything and to finally create digital products that have been on the back burner for literal years.

It’s not easy to figure out what to sell, and it’s even harder to figure out how to take that knowledge and put it into something tangible like a downloadable or course (you’re not alone).

Last week I asked y’all in my Instagram stories to give me some insight into what you’re currently struggling with, and in what ways you would like to learn to overcome those struggles 👇

Regardless of whether you’re a Quitter or not yet, ALL of you voiced you needed help with how to make money.

I then asked all of you to share HOW you wanted to learn to do this, and this is what y’all told me 👇

So now that I know WHAT you want to learn and HOW you want to learn it, I spent this past weekend working through this and how to do it in the most efficient and user-friendly way.

And I’m going to simplify it for you in this newsletter (and of course through a bunch of new products I’m working on).

Niche or Not?

“RiChEs aRe iN tHe NiChEs”

We’ve all heard this phrase before and it’s f*cking annoying, but it’s true… kind of.

When you first start your digital business it’s going to be impossible to niche down.

Not because you can’t, but because you haven’t tested enough ideas yet to validate something worth niching down to (which then leads to creating an actual offer, which means actual $$$).

Or, maybe you’ve come up with the “right” idea, but you’re not targeting the “right” audience for your brand specifically.

It took me 6 months of really sh*tty experimentation (Sep 2020 - Mar 2021) until I finally landed on Corporate Quitter (see below):

Even though I firmly believe in niching down, I also think you need to abandon the idea of it too.

There’s a difference between niching down your offers and niching down your interests and personality.

I know some people who’ve niched down so much that they’re now stuck in their angle and their audience won’t let them out of it.

Or, they’re trapped in what I call the loop of likes.

If too early on your creation journey you’re placing virality and likes as a means for validation, you’ll forever be in a loop of creating what others want, not what you want.

This is NOT easy to do (I fell for it and still battle with it).

You DO have to listen to your audience (duh), but not at the expense of your expression (IMO).

So ask yourself - am I niching down because I feel like I HAVE TO, or am I niching down because I want to?

You can bounce between casting a wide net and niching down as often as you need and like based on your interests, news/trends, seasonal changes in buying behavior, and overall what you feel good about.

Even though my brand is Corporate Quitter, I still talk about things like spirituality, press-on nails, gluten-free food, art, and general rants lol (and people know and like me more for adding those human touches to my content).

Since I know that money is top of mind for all of you, let’s talk about how you can still niche down your offers without niching down your personality ⏬

The Everything List

A really helpful activity I do at least every 6 months is to create an ‘Everything List’ - it’s a word-dumping exercise that helps me get clarity on what excites me (currently).

It might sound dumb, but we’re so caught up in our own day-to-day sh*t that we forget that excitement in what we do is what creates those HOLY SH*T moments in business.

Plus, energy never lies.

You can TELL when someone is excited, and you’re also more drawn to them because of it (it’s infectious AF).

Why is this helpful for business?

Because you’re a human being, not a machine, and you’re not always going to be motivated to talk about only ONE thing (not to mention, it’s expected to have periods of stagnation when you’re naturally niching down).

Our brains work best when we operate in a Goldilocks zone — not too broad, not too narrow, but just right.

If you're always broad:

• You're dabbling in too many things

• You lack depth

• You can't leverage strengths

• And it's hard to get the best clients

If you're always going narrow:

• You risk being a one-trick pony

• You're limited

• You limit others' worldviews

• And you risk getting stuck (I had this issue too)

So, we want to find balance by creating an Everything List.

CREATE YOUR EVERYTHING LIST

Put on calming music (I really like this YouTube channel) and take inventory.

Don’t think of this as “What are all the ways I can make money from” - it’s about “What am I the most curious about?”

Examples: Your new favorite iced coffee recipe, unpopular opinions, new craft ideas you found on TikTok, theories/conspiracies, the new pizza place down the block, the leader of your run club, your favorite pop artist’s new album - It doesn’t really matter.

From that list, you can start playing with your content and sharing.

When the idea of ‘I want to share this with a friend’ hits home - that’s when you fim the video, write the LinkedIn post, or record the podcast episode.

Now that you have both a broad and narrow content list, let’s talk about how you can sell your best-kept secrets ⏬

PS! If you want to learn more about niching down, check out this post I wrote on LinkedIn about niching down vs. not.

TL;DR

To find your niche, identify where your passions and skills intersect with market demand.

Focus on a specific problem you can solve for a dedicated audience, and test it out for a few weeks.

Not making progress in followers, money, fun, etc? Try another niche or change your marketing strategy.

If you're stuck, use ChatGPT to help with niche research or marketing.

Selling Your Secrets

Okok so you might not be selling your actual secrets… but to those who don’t have the knowledge that comes to you naturally, it WILL feel like a secret.

And you’re selling yourself short by thinking you can't sell your knowledge👇

Start by identifying what you know better than anyone else: Is it technical skills? Problem-solving? Relationship building? Creative expression?

Then, think of the challenges people face that your expertise can help with + craft a course/guide/video around that knowledge, and charge for it (templates below).

It's not as hard as it sounds… we just often create SO MUCH DRAMA around it being perfect or looking good that we don’t do it for fear of NOT being helpful, looking like an idiot, or letting someone down.

If you're offering value, people will pay.

If it's solving their problem, they'll pay even more.

Don't sell yourself short.

Here are some suggestions & templates to help you get started:

STEPS TO CREATE YOUR CONTENT

Identify Your Audience:

• Determine who your target audience is and what their needs, pain points, and goals are.

Define Your Objective:

• Clearly outline what you want to achieve with your content. What should your audience gain from it?

Outline Your Content:

• Break down your knowledge into main topics and subtopics.

• Create a logical flow for your content, ensuring it progresses in a way that makes sense for your audience.

• Stuck? Ask ChatGPT to ‘create an outline on X topic for X person’

Choose a Format:

• Decide if your content is best suited for a course, guide, e-book, checklist, template, or another format.

• Unsure? Ask ChatGPT to review your content and make suggestions.

Develop the Content:

• Write detailed content for each section.

• Stuck at the writing stage? Talk through the process and use Otter.ai to record and transcribe the steps.

• Still stuck? Do the above, but ask a friend to ask you detailed questions about the topic so it’s more like a conversation.

• Use clear, concise language and provide examples, case studies, and practical tips.

Create Supporting Materials:

• Develop worksheets, templates, checklists, or quizzes to enhance the learning experience.

• Stuck? Use Canva templates as the base and make them your own

• You can also use ChatGPT to help you brainstorm ideas

Design Your Content:

• Use visually appealing designs to make your content engaging.

• Incorporate images, infographics, and other visual aids.

• Use Canva or Pexels for free images

Test Your Content:

• Share your content with a small group of people for feedback

• Make necessary adjustments based on their input.

Launch and Promote:

• Publish your content and promote it through your channels, such as social media, email newsletters, and your website.

Want more specific content guides? See the steps + suggestions below:

How To Create Your First Paid Course

How To Create Your First Checklist

How To Create Your First Template

How To Create Your First 10-Page Guide

Corporate Conditioning

In this episode of Corporate Quitter, I dive into two crucial topics for aspiring entrepreneurs: breaking the patterns ingrained in corporate life and understanding what to expect when you finally find clarity in your business. 

We'll discuss how deeply rooted habits from corporate settings (and even our childhood) influence our entrepreneurial journey, and explore the four phases of creativity.

We'll also cover essential strategies to avoid burnout and how to disrupt and replace unproductive patterns.

Ep 154 - Ask Gabby: Breaking Corporate Patterns & Finding Clarity as an Entrepreneur