The Journey to a Multimillion-Dollar One-Person Business: Lessons from Justin Welsh

Discover the lessons learned from Justin Welsh, who built a successful business as a knowledge entrepreneur. Learn how to monetize your knowledge and expertise, prioritize spending, and streamline your business processes.

The Journey to a Multimillion-Dollar One-Person Business: Lessons from Justin Welsh

 
Original video is here :
 
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Justin's journey to success began with identifying his passions and consistently writing about them on social media platforms. He encourages entrepreneurs to seek advice from friends and family and share their interests online. Justin emphasizes the importance of starting and learning through experience, as personal journeys differ and contextual advice should not be the only guide.
He highlights the importance of trying new things and gaining experience. In order to generate new ideas and stay on top of trends, Justin subscribes to aggregator newsletters, looks at popular YouTube videos, and takes on challenging concepts for his ideal customer. Additionally, Justin takes ideas from multiple sources such as podcasts or things that come to mind during a walk, making sure to use his phone to jot down ideas as they happen to avoid forgetting them.
Justin's knowledge entrepreneur approach involves building a portfolio of products to sell. He primarily sells online courses or information products. Specifically, he sells two courses, one on how to use LinkedIn effectively to build a business, and the other on how to build your own content system. Additionally, Justin has a newsletter with approaching 100,000 subscribers, and sells sponsorships to companies who want to reach that audience. The third way Justin makes money is through a subscription email where he shares copywriting techniques for social media.
One of the key takeaways from Justin's approach is using tools to aid in running a business. Justin spends on software tools that make creating content easier, as his business is content-driven. He uses Kajabi, a marketing and website solution for solopreneurs, creators, coaches, etc., which costs $399/month. Justin's total cost of business is $620/month. Justin does not spend money on paid ads and has no employees, and rarely works with freelancers/contractors. Justin prioritizes spending on things that make creating content easier.
Justin's background includes working in a small tech firm called Zocdoc in New York for five years, eventually becoming a VP of Sales at the age of 33. The company had no revenue and only one salesperson at the time. However, it grew to about $50 million in recurring revenue within four and a half years. Working in such a high-pressure environment for 10 consecutive years took a toll on Justin, culminating in a massive panic attack in December 2018.
The panic attack led to the end of his tech career and inspired him to start his own venture on social media. Justin's days are regimented and start with social media engagement at 8:15 AM Eastern Time on LinkedIn and Twitter. He spends 45 minutes to an hour engaging with his audience every morning. Justin's creative work typically starts around noon or 1:00 PM each day for three to four intense hours. He spends his week writing his newsletter on Monday, creating content on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and working on strategic projects on Friday. Fridays are spent building new products, standing up new services, and meeting interesting people.
Justin's social media strategy is content-driven and involves showing up on LinkedIn and Twitter 2-3 times a day. The strategy revolves around moving people from social media to his website and involves a simple funnel of discovery, trust, expertise, authority, and an offer. The first step is to get discovered by new people through "discovery" on social media platforms. The second step is to build trust by showing how Justin's brain works through longer form content like newsletters and website articles. The final step is to present an offer in a non-aggressive manner to those who have enjoyed the content and believe Justin can help with their social media or online business problems.
Justin encourages people to try different things and experiment as the easiest path to improving their business. He has become a hypothesis-driven creator, which means testing hypotheses and either doing it more or completely eliminating it. Justin refers to himself as a knowledge entrepreneur.
This approach of building a business as a knowledge entrepreneur is particularly effective for those who are experts in their field and want to monetize their knowledge.
 

Key takeaways


Here are some of the key takeaways from Justin's approach:
1. Start with your passion and expertise
When starting a business, it's important to start with your passion and expertise. Justin emphasizes the importance of doing something that you love and are competent at. This will help you stay motivated and engaged in your work, and it will also ensure that you're providing value to your audience.
2. Consistently share your ideas and interests on social media
Consistently sharing ideas and interests on social media platforms can help build an audience. Justin suggests starting by seeking advice from friends and family and sharing your interests online. Over time, you can grow and engage with your audience using different social media platforms.
3. Focus on creating great content
Justin's social media strategy is content-driven and involves showing up on LinkedIn and Twitter 2-3 times a day. The focus is on creating great content that resonates with your audience and provides value. This content can include blog posts, podcasts, videos, or any other format that aligns with your expertise and interests.
4. Use tools to make running your business more efficient
Justin emphasizes investing in tools that make running your business more efficient. This can include tools for scheduling social media posts, organizing your tasks, managing your projects, and more. The goal is to streamline your processes and reduce the amount of time and effort required to run your business.
5. Build a portfolio of products and services
Building a portfolio of products and services can help you monetize your knowledge and expertise. Justin primarily sells online courses and information products, but he also has a newsletter and subscription email that he monetizes. The key is to find the right mix of products and services that align with your audience's needs and preferences.
6. Prioritize spending on things that make creating content easier
Finally, Justin emphasizes the importance of prioritizing spending on things that make creating content easier. This can include software tools, hardware, or anything else that helps you create and share your ideas more efficiently. By investing in the right resources, you can maximize your productivity and ultimately grow your business more quickly.
 

Conclusion


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Justin's approach to building a multimillion-dollar one-person business as a knowledge entrepreneur offers valuable insights for those looking to monetize their knowledge and expertise. By starting with your passion and consistently sharing your ideas on social media, focusing on creating great content, using tools to make running your business more efficient, building a portfolio of products and services, and prioritizing spending on things that make creating content easier, you too can build a successful business as a knowledge entrepreneur.