Tiny Course Empire Podcast

I’m a huge believer in having more than one revenue source. Multiple streams of income means when one is down, another is up, and your cash flow is smoother as a result. It’s what protects you from the inevitable downturns every business will face, whether it’s a global pandemic or a seasonal sales slump. One of my favorite income streams comes from affiliate marketing. I get to...

Maybe the most appealing thing about launching an online business is the low start-up costs. There’s no inventory to buy or warehouse space to rent, no shipping fees or even staffing to worry about. All you need is a handful of software applications, and you can be up and running in less than a day, and for very little upfront investment. One thing that keeps costs low is the availability of...

In July 2021, our website server crashed. What started as an inconvenience quickly turned into a catastrophic failure, as we discovered that the recovery systems we had in place simply weren’t good enough. Four days later, all sites were still offline, as we were still putting the pieces back together. Better systems would have saved us so much time, money, and frustration. In this episode,...

So much of the outsourcing advice I hear is… well, it might be doing you more harm than good, if I’m being honest. Don’t like to do something? Just outsource it. Don’t understand how that software works? Just outsource it. Don’t have the time or skills to write that sales page? Just outsource it. Now, I’m not saying you should never do those things. Of course yo...

What if I told you that you don’t have to spend months (years!) creating your next course? That with nothing more than a pen and paper and an hour or so of focus time, you could develop a rock-solid course outline to take you all the way through to the finish line? What’s more, what if I said this process is actually the key to creating real transformation for your students? That&#8217...

“Which day is best for sending email?” Sooner or later, every business owner asks that question about email marketing, as if there is some window of time during which your subscribers are impatiently clicking the refresh button and waiting for your email to arrive. Maybe that’s true if your name is James Clear. For the rest of us though, that sweet spot doesn’t exist. In fa...

Build brand awareness. Develop stronger relationships with your customers. Stand out in a crowded marketplace. Earn a better return on your investment. Those are just a few of the reasons small businesses (especially the bootstrapping kind like you and I run) prioritize content marketing over other strategies. Even if you have the cash flow to invest in ads, you’ll likely find that organic t...

As a small business owner, you probably know that content creation is a powerful way to grow your audience, but which style is right for you? Should you start a podcast? Launch a YouTube channel? Publish a blog? It seems like an easy decision, but the truth is, there’s more to consider than just your personal taste (although that does play a role). In this episode, I’m sharing a four-step process...

How many items are on you to-do list right now? You probably have products to create, affiliates to meet with, blog posts to write, Facebook groups to moderate, clients to serve, taxes to file… The list is endless, and we haven’t even touched on personal projects yet. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed with it all, that’s to be expected. But what if I told you I have a...

I get asked that question a lot, so in this episode of the podcast, I’m breaking down most of the systems we use to run this tiny empire. When I sat down to make the list, I realized I could talk for days about this stuff. There are a lot of pieces that all work together to create what you see on the blog, as a customer, or in the member site. I can’t possibly cover them all in a singl...

Growing your email list continues to hold the top spot on most business owners’ project lists. We know it’s important. We recognize the value in it. We work on it every single day. And sometimes, it still feels like slow going. One strategy I’ve used (and that continues to work) to grow my list quickly is participating in bundle and giveaway events. The idea is simple: Donate a d...

Early this year we passed a huge milestone in our business: We welcomed our 500th member to Six-Figure Systems. Several people reached out to ask how we did it. My answer to that will probably disappoint some listeners, but what’s really fascinating is what I learned along the way. Have a listen. I hope you’ll come away with some insights into your own business as well. Prefer a transc...

“What got you here won’t get you there.” A lot of things will happen on the way from no income to six figures (and beyond). Not all of them are good or beneficial (or even necessary), and learning to navigate those changes is a critical skill all business owners need. In this week’s podcast, we’re talking about what it really takes to go from a fledgeling business to...

You’re off to a great start in your business. You’re building up an audience, serving them well with products and courses they want and need, and you have a vision for future growth. The next natural step? More income, of course. If your mind automatically turns to driving more traffic or creating more products, you’re not alone. That’s what most of us think it takes to inc...

Email list with a great lead magnet? Check. Content that shows off your style and expertise? Check. Product set up and ready to sell? Check. Money rolling in from a flood of eager visitors? Well… Don’t worry if you’re not quite on track with that last one. The truth is, generating traffic is a struggle every oneline entrepreneur faces. We want there to be an easy button.  For som...

I’ve watched students, clients, friends, and colleagues struggle with digital product creation—sometimes taking months or even years to create a single product. When you’re just getting started and not earning much (or anything) yet, that’s a bad spot to be in. It might be keeping you stuck in a day job you hate. It might erode your excitement about being in business at all. It d...

This is part two of a six-part series on starting and growing an online business. Part one was How to Build an Email List , and in this episode, we’re going to tackle content creation. Content is what we go looking for whenever we’re online, whether it’s a video about how to prune a rose bush or a breaking news piece covering the latest iPhone release. Content is how business own...

When it comes to running a profitable online business, there is no more important asset than your email list. The funny thing is, it’s the one of the first things new business owners put off “until later.” In fact, if you ask established business owners what they wish they’d done differently, most of them will tell you they wish they’d started building their email lis...

“I don’t feel like doing this right now. I’ll do it tomorrow.” How many times have you said that? Turns out, you’re not alone. As many as 25% of adults (and 90% of college students!) consider themselves to be procrastinators. Even high-powered CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies sometimes put things off for later. But if procrastination is getting in the way of ach...

Oh, the irony. It’s Monday morning. I need to get this podcast out for a Thursday release, and here I sit, struggling to write the show notes. Why? Because I want them to be perfect. I want to nail the intro to make it more compelling. I want to create an excerpt that will attract some love from Google. Most of all, I want you to be informed, inspired, and (hopefully) entertained. It’s...

Interesting marketing strategies. Must-have software. Fun business ideas. Limited-time course offers. Intriguing new social platforms. There’s no shortage of potential opportunities for small business owners. Every day our inboxes and social feeds are filled with exciting new tools and can’t-miss tactics. Frustratingly though, the things we think are going to change our lives (or at le...

Owning an online business means you get to wear a lot of hats. Bookkeeper, project manager, website developer, and perhaps most important hat of all, that of content creator. In fact, I can’t think of a single business that doesn’t require writing of some kind. You have emails to send, products to develop, sales pages to create… The list goes on. Even YouTubers or podcasters will...

Marketing Without Social Media: 21 Ways to Grow Your Audience It’s not a secret that organic reach on Facebook, Instagram and others is at an all time low. What’s worse, even if you’ve mastered a platform or two, it seems as if every week or so, there’s yet another algorithm update that threatens to destroy all the work you’ve put into it. Pinterest users are even fee...

This is the final episode before we kick off a brand new year. And since this is episode 22, I thought it was only fitting that we celebrate with 22 ways we can all have a more successful 2022. Whether you’re a course creator, a coach, or a digital product seller, and even if you’re just starting out on your business journey, you’ll find something here to kick off the new year wi...

I know, I know. You didn’t quit that soul-sucking day job just so you could punch a time clock every day in your own home office. Believe me, I get it. I’ve said many times over the years that the best part of quitting my job was that I got to turn the alarm clock off* on a (more or less) permanent basis. But here’s what else I know about you. You want to be more efficient and pr...