Do you have expertise you can turn into a business or additional income, but you just don’t know how to package it or what path to go down?
Ann Levine is our gracious guest today and she will shed light on this question.
Once you’ve identified what you are really skilled at and what you would consider yourself an “expert” in, the next logical step is to figure out how to market and sell that expertise. But how? There are many paths to go down.
You could consult, you could put together information products, you could put together courses, you could write articles/books/blogs and the list goes on.
So, I wanted to talk to Ann to help us all better understand how we can think through this process and learn how she personally made the choices she made.
Ann is a firecracker and a true professional and I know you will learn something from her no matter what stage your business is in. I had a blast chatting with her.
A breakdown by the minute so you can find what is most interesting to you.
- 1:30 – Ann talks about getting fired and moving forward.
- 7:21 – The #1 way she was able to reach her audience and other strategies she used.
- 8:34 – How she found her first clients and what she spends her marketing budget on.
- 9:37 – Talks about how a consultant gave her some of the best advice that completely changed her business.
- 12:00 – Using testimonials in the beginning and the evolution of her pricing.
- 13:00 – Describes her very first clients. Funny story here. And when she realized “I can do this.”
- 14:13 – The impact of self-publishing her books and why she waited five years to write them.
- 17:40 – Puzzles and challenges she had to solve early on.
- 19:00 – Honest and open about why she waited two years before she hired help.
- 22:00 – What her expenses are and the most important expense you should consider.
- 27:00 – The evolution of her revenue.
- 30:00 – Her view on “haters” and criticism and what she did about it.
- 35:48 – Three action steps you can take to turn your expertise into revenue.
A Little Background
Ann Levine is the passionate owner and founder of lawschoolexpert.com and former Director of Admissions for two ABA-approved law schools. She is the author of two best-selling books and the mother of two children.
Fired to Successful Business Owner
Shortly after coming back from maternity leave in 2004, Ann was hit with a huge event in her life.
She was kicked to the curb by her employer.
After three months of trying to find work, she decided she wasn’t going to wait around. She knew she had skills and expertise and decided to take her unemployment check of $1400 and start her first business.
She had no online business experience and a small budget to start with, but she had an idea, her knowledge and a desire to help others.
She was able to replace the six-figure income she was making in three years. She is a no-excuse kind of gal.
Ann has been running and growing lawschoolexpert.com since 2004 and has been able to grow her business year after year.
Not only that, but Ann has stayed true to her mission and her values and makes sure that she is always meeting the needs of her clients.
She has accomplished what many of us aspire to:
To do what we love doing, help others and be able to do this on our own terms, whether that is from home or at the gym or from an island in Hawaii.
You will find Ann to be caring, focused and very open and honest.
Connect with Ann Levine
Books
The Law School Admission Game: Play Like an Expert
The Law School Decision Game: A Playbook for Prospective Lawyers.
Social Media
Want more insight on how experts make money? This article by Jason Gracia has some great ideas when it comes to turning your expertise into revenue. The conversations in the comments section has some of the best gems.
I’m sure you have some insights on what you learned from Ann.
What skill or expertise could you turn into another stream of income?
