A Pathway To Success - Part III "Business Model"
Remember your friend from yesterday’s blog? The one who was way more talented than the person on TV? If that’s the case, why isn’t your friend making money with their talent?
It’s because they don’t have a business model.
Business Model
A business model is simply a way to make money.
The only sustainable way to make money is to bring real value to real people. To do something they don’t have the time, energy, or expertise to do themselves. Something that makes their life easier and better.
Tony Robbins once said something like, “those who win in business have found a way to do more for others than anyone else.” When we consider Google and Apple, this becomes very clear. Google made sense of the internet with their search bar. Apple made computers that ordinary people could use. They brought real value to real people and literally changed the world.
I’ve met a lot of fantastic content creators who make amazing things, and are connected to great brands. But they haven’t developed a sustainable business model. They either don’t pitch or they undercharge, pricing themselves out of business.
I helped build Jeremiah Davis’ business over the past 2.5 years, so let me give you a little insight on his business model. 100% of what you see him post about is only about 50% of what he does. He posts brand collaborations, music tours, travel videos. Classic content creator stuff. The other half is classic production company stuff. Professional edits, corporate videos, consulting, photo shoots. So his business model is 50% influencer, 50% production company.
And it works! He keeps the lights on and has money and time to do what he really loves.
So how do you build a business model?
You could work with someone who understands business. A good agent or manager has the connections and the business model already figured out. All you have to do is bring the content and boom! You’ve got a sustainable content creation business. Chances are you’re still on your way to getting noticed by an agent or a manager, though.
The second option is to do your homework. The crazy part about this is that being really good and having connections still isn’t enough. You need to have a good business model to turn your content into checks.
The book Business Model Generation teaches you how to generate a business model. If this is something that doesn’t come naturally to you (it didn’t to me) then you should pick up this book from the library. It’ll help you answer questions like where is your income coming from? What actions keep your service top notch? Who do you need to be in touch with? What do you need to spend money on? These are all the nitty gritty questions that we rarely consider when we decide to start selling our content.
A business model is the final piece on this pathway to creating a sustainable, successful life as a content creator. With consistent, quality content, connections who are connected to money, and a business model that brings real value to real people, you can turn this passion into your life.
