In 2021, the e-learning market surpassed $315 billion and is expected to increase by 20% in the next five years. If it feels like there are more people educating online, it’s because there are!
However, that doesn’t mean the market is too oversaturated for you to position yourself as an educator. Too many service providers stay small because they’re afraid everything has already been done before.
While it’s understandable that social media and the rest of the online world feel a bit noisy, there’s still room for your voice!
No matter if you’re a wedding professional, interior designer, nutritionist, or any other kind of creative entrepreneur, now is the time to add education to your service-based business.
6 ways to become an educator as a service provider
Are you ready to teach what you know? The best way to get started is to determine what type of education you’d like to explore.
Let’s discuss some of the most common routes to becoming an educator and how you can seamlessly add them to your service-based website.
Mentor others through 1:1 coaching calls
One of the most common places to start educating others is through 1:1 coaching calls. This allows you to give one person all of your time and attention.
With you as their mentor, they’ll have the unique opportunity to have an expert’s eyes on their work. You only need to be a few steps ahead of the people you mentor, so don’t worry about knowing everything to get started.
What’s the main difference between a mentor and a coach? A mentor will tell you what has worked for them while a coach will guide you to your own answers. Coaches create safe spaces for others to explore their pain points while asking questions that inspire self-reflection.
Whether you choose to mentor or coach others—or do a little of both—it’s easy to add this offer to your website.
Like Emily of Anna Delores Photography, you can include an opportunity for others to work with you as a coach in multiple ways. Depending on a person’s needs, Emily makes herself available for one-hour, three-hour, and full-day coaching sessions.
You can use her example as inspiration in creating your own 1:1 coaching or mentorship offers.
Create a group coaching program
If you’re a service provider who’s struggling to find the time for one-on-one work, you may want to move into a one-to-many offering. This often takes the form of a group coaching program.
Instead of focusing on one person’s life or business, you’ll be able to teach multiple people at a time and guide them through a similar curriculum. For group coaching programs to be successful, every student needs to have similar goals or be in a similar position.
As an example, let’s learn from Laylee Emadi who teaches entrepreneurs how to become—that’s right—educators! To run a successful program, she ensures every participant is ready for the commitment by outlining all of the modules and explaining what they’ll learn.
If someone wants to become an educator but they don’t have a business yet or they lack the motivation to learn about every teaching method, they can look elsewhere or work with Laylee on a 1:1 basis.
Many entrepreneurs, like Laylee, create group coaching programs after receiving the same questions over and over again. It’s a simplified way to get people from where they are to where they want to go in a supportive group setting.
Start a membership community
Maybe you want to be more hands-off than 1:1 coaching and group coaching programs allow you to be. If you want to still build a sense of community within your brand, a membership program might be the perfect fit.
Inside a membership community, you can include helpful resources, content, masterclass presentations, and video trainings that will help your students learn at their own pace.
To enroll in a membership, students must pay a monthly or annual membership fee to join. If you’re looking for more recurring revenue as a service provider, a membership community could help you reach your income goals.
After hosting a podcast for years, Maria from Bloom & Grow Radio decided to take her growing podcast community to a membership platform! Here, she has more time and space to teach members about plant growth and care tips.
Using the podcast as a promotion tool for the membership, Maria has been able to include an additional source of income with a relatively low output of energy and time. You can do the same with your own membership community!
Host a live workshop
Do you love the transformative magic of learning something new while being surrounded by other creative people? If you like gathering with people in the same room, teaching a live workshop might be a good fit.
You can teach virtually anything in a live workshop format. Workshops consist of time for teaching new skills, answering audience questions, and actively working on projects. They make ample space for live feedback in a more intimate setting.
If you want to gather like-minded people together for a live workshop, take note of Jeanne Oliver’s example. In addition to hosting online courses, Jeanne teaches a live workshop in Colorado for those who want to learn in person about growing their creative business.
In Jeanne’s studio and out in nature, her students are able to develop relationships while getting real-time feedback on their ideas. While it takes far more event planning and coordination to teach live workshops, they can be well worth hosting.
Lead a retreat
If event planning, design, and execution energize you, you may want to create an irresistible retreat experience. Much like live workshops, these retreats are held in person with a small group of people.
With a retreat, you may wish to have an application process. That way, you can curate the group of attendees to those who are really ready to commit and invest in the experience. You can also include a note about how there are limited spots available.
Retreats are typically more intimate than conferences or other private events. They also focus on the balance between work and rest, giving ample time for relaxation and relationship building.
Workshops are more about skill building, whereas retreats are more about self-reflection, goal planning, and connection with others.
There are many entrepreneurs who host retreats in all corners of the world. You may choose a retreat held in an exotic destination (hello, vacation!) or find one that’s close to home.
I’ve always admired the Workations that are hosted by Amber of Refine for Wedding Planners. While I’m not a wedding planner, I can see why so many women flock to her retreats. We all need moments of rest amidst the chaos, especially seasonal business owners like wedding pros.
If you want to host a retreat, choose a beautiful location, invite a few friends in the industry, put up a landing page on your website, and assemble your crew!
Plan a conference
If you’d prefer to create a live event with a larger group, hosting a conference is the clear winner. At a conference, you’ll give attendees a chance to network with other like-minded people while learning from top experts in your field.
There’s more planning that goes into a conference because there are more moving pieces. You’ll need to determine a speaker lineup, location, venue selection, food options, and more.
If you decide to host a conference, think about hiring some additional help as you get closer to the day. That way, you’ll be able to share the workload with others who are just excited about the event as you are.
The Society for Creative Founders’ conference is their signature in-person event, filled with a variety of keynote presentations and breakout sessions to help creatives feel more confident in their business.
Hosted in Pensacola, Florida, this annual conference attracts attendees from all stages of business to gather and learn together. You can create a similar experience while adding your own personal touch by planning a conference in your area.
Start with an Educator page template on Showit!
Are you ready to launch into creating educational content? Do you want to be seen as an educator and a service provider? Make sure you’re positioning yourself well with my Educator page template.
You can customize the template to fit your visual brand and edit the content so it turns more passive visitors into brand advocates and buyers.
You’ll also get access to:
- Built-in copywriting prompts to inspire strategic website messaging
- Bite-sized video tutorials for fast and easy customization and support
- Complimentary access to the Simple Showit SEO Course
- 1:1 support from me and live chat support via Showit customer service
- And so much more!
Click here to buy the Educator page template for just $47!
