I always wondered what the secret ingredient was – what all these people who appeared wildly successful were doing, that clearly I wasn’t….yet….

There’s nothing quite like having a candid discussion with a fellow small business owner, about what’s really important when you’re running a business that helps people change their lives; when I did, it helped me work out exactly what it was for me that made it all come together.

I’ve come to realise over time, that there is no magic bullet, no fool proof, fail safe, secret recipe that can work for everyone. What I’ve found (through a lot of trial and error!) is that there are a myriad of different things you could be doing, but nailing a few very important components is what has helped it all fall into place for me.

This interview with Angela Raspass as part of her Your Next Chapter podcast series, sums up the two main things that nailed it for me:

1. Create your business around doing the things that light YOU up.

The first half of the discussion centres around the work you SHOULD be doing – if you’re a small business owner, consultant or entrepreneur, the learning experiences you should be creating that work not just for your clients, but also for YOU. Running a small educational business isn’t all about the money that you can make from it (although that’s a very important part of it for sure!); it’s about identifying your core drivers, developing products and services that achieve those aims, and most importantly about the life that you create for yourself in the process – this part of the podcast takes you through how I learnt about that the hard way!

2. Create a product that sells itself.

The second part of the discussion (around the -33 minute mark) is about how to create a quality learning experience that truly changes lives, and creates YOU a referrals based business that sells itself; even if you wouldn’t necessarily think of yourself as a ‘teacher’. Here’s a quote from the interview that helps summarise how to do that;

“There’s content, and then there’s action. Good content is nothing without action. You know you can go to a seminar… and you can think WOW that was great information… but you’ll probably walk away and never do anything with it.

If that learning experience makes you stand up, and DO something differently, BE something different, FEEL something differently, then that’s when you know you’ve been through a quality learning experience – because it’s helped you change something.

Most of my clients bring me… a bucket load of awesome information, but what is lacking is the knowledge of how to transform that information into content that inspires their clients to take action … it’s not just about understanding it, it’s about getting your clients to actually take action.’ 

Check out the full podcast here: http://www.angelaraspass.com/podcast/16/

Here’s what Angela had to say about the interview:

Maria Doyle is one of the most passionate women I have ever interviewed. Refreshingly candid, she is completely dedicated to facilitating “Quality Learning Experiences” that create real change in the world. Maria takes the guesswork out of how to create a powerful learning journey so you can deliver 5-star courses, workshops and presentations.

I have personally worked with Maria and experienced her laser focus in helping me to improve the quality of my flagship course for confidence and clarity in a Next Chapter Business, Aligned, and I am excited to be able to share a slice of her expertise with you in this weeks episode. 

The topics we discuss in this wholehearted conversation are both relevant and hugely valuable if you want to be a catalyst for change – to help your clients to improve in any area of business or life. These core learning principles can be used in online courses, live workshops, coaching, training and more.

Ready to learn how to create content that changes lives (yours and your clients)?