How To Build A Profitable Course And Community In Today's Competitive Landscape | Greg Smith

In this episode of the Millionaire Mindcast, we have Greg Smith who speaks about creating an ideal community and culture in your customers and within the organization, gives tips on what’s the best way to create great content, how to be a top content creator, how to do marketing for courses, and tips to monetize your expertise with online courses! Greg Smith is a lawyer, an instructor, entrepreneur and the CEO and Founder of Thinkific, an all-in-one platform that allows you to create, market, and sell your own online courses. It offers the best tools, training, and support to kick start your own online education business. Greg is passionate about education and has taught thousands of students online and delivers amazing E-Learning experiences. For Greg, it started from tutoring students in law school, and turning it into a blog. He noticed that more people were getting interested in it. People were looking for options to acquire education outside the colleges. Fortunately, there is an explosion of acceptance of online education as the first place to go to learn. It created a poll from the learners. People prefer to go online first as their first point of contact for learning for a frequent career change, career opportunity and promotion, personal improvement like fitness and health, and the desire to learn more crafts and hobbies. Greg sees the potential of educating and reaching more people by making online courses. Together with his brother, they’ve created the first mini online course and later started their own company. Now, Greg’s company offers a variety of courses for people who want to create their own courses and memberships, to educate potential customers on their brand and website with full control over the content, pricing, and the business.  Accordingly, Greg emphasizes the importance of marketing in any business in order to be successful. Thus, the top content creators must be really good in marketing, if not hiring someone else to do it. Greg really invested in his employees, his business and company and made sure that he’s building an ideal culture within the organization. It is a culture that’s concerned for everyone, united, and supporting each other to achieve their individual and company goals. Currently, Greg continuously helps entrepreneurs grow their business by getting their passion and message and knowledge out to the world. Helping them start their businesses while enjoying more time and freedom to spend with his family. Some Questions I Ask: You’re basically looking for 50% growth on your team over this next year, what does that look like? (03:17) When did you see this online business and courses becoming a trend? What led you to the formation of Thinkific as we see and know it today? (03:55) Where do you see this whole space going over the next 5, 10, and 15 years moving into the future? (06:09) What do you say to people who are thinking earlier that this space is too noisy, oversaturated, and people should not create courses and content to educate? (08:07) Give us a little synopsis of what are the varieties of solutions and options that you are offering for entrepreneurs who are looking to create their own course and community to get familiar with your platform. (11:00) For those who are thinking of creating a course, membership sites or community, what’s your take on maybe the right or the wrong path or just input around those two different channels in your platform? (12:38) Who has been some of the best people that created communities and why do you think they’ve created such momentum using your platform and why they’re so successful? (14:10) What do you see some of the big brands or successful brands on your platform doing the way with that some people might want to get in front of them or detach themselves from? (16:52) What are some of the trends that you’re paying attention to on your side of the offense in order to serve your customers, the content creators, the course builders, the community platforms that you think are going to continue to help them move forward to do what they do best and stay on your platform? (20:15) How much weight do you tell people to put on their content and the quality of the product versus how much of it is just being a great marketer and driving traffic to your conversion funnel? (22:46) What were some of the core pillars of your course and things that they’re going to have in order to deliver that quality product to a potential customer? (27:10) Do you need to keep it very narrow or do you see a lot of people who have just cracked the code on creating courses and content, scaling their skill, & creating great passive income? (30:30) How important is it for a content creator to become a marketer & understand marketing or do they need to in order to be successful?  (32:11) What are some cultural tips that you would leave with for those who are building their own brand, community, and company? (34:44) What are you as a leader holding yourself accountable to upgrade yourself? (38:42) What do you see as one of the biggest things that are so simple that people let go of or moved beyond than their business would go to the next level? (40:57) What is your vision for Thinkific? Does it have a finish line or another milestone that you’re aiming for? (42:58) If you got a $500 million offer tomorrow, what would you do? (44:28) Was there anything that was offered to you that got you thinking? (44:41) What is investing and building wealth for you look like outside of work and what is your money philosophy? (45:53) How did you still keep the family and wife at home a priority while grinding and hustling? (48:12) If you get to the end of the road and you’re looking in your rearview mirror, what do you want to see in order for you to say that “it was successful”?  (52:05) In This Episode, You Will Learn: Tips to become the top course creator. (12:57) Lessons that you can apply to any business or if you’re creating courses. (20:35) The breakdown of quality content. (23:24) Tips to create quality content for startups. (26:03) How to do marketing for courses. (33:22) How and when to fire somebody. (35:02) Quotes: “Having some competition is a really great indication that there’s a great market to go after there.” “I made sure that the learning was quality enough that I was going to get people results.” “Get something out that you think can deliver value to people & get them the change that you’re promising them and then get it in front of people and take feedback from them.” “For me, it’s a constant reinvention.” “If I don’t keep up then I’m obsolete.” “It’s not about the number it’s about the future.” Resources Mentioned: Infinite Game book by Simon Sinek Shoe Dog book by Phil Knight Connect with Greg Smith on: Website Instagram LinkedIn