Notes from Chris

Episode 664

Katie Flashner needed a creative outlet. Something that helped her escape from the drudgery of her corporate day job of writing and reviewing indoor air quality testing reports. She first tried starting a homemade pastry business called “Katie’s Scones.” She soon discovered, however, that even though she loved baking for others, she didn’t love the exhausting, constant cleanup.

Then she found a new activity and passion. You could say it made her feel like dancing again. These days, after Katie leaves the office, instead of heading home, she goes to the dance studio where she spends her free time as a competitive ballroom dancer. And she doesn’t “hang up those dance shoes” after leaving the studio. She also writes about ballroom dancing, earning a side income from the sale of books and guides.

She first began blogging as a way to process all of her new experiences with dance. Her blog grew into a place where other amateur ballroom dancers could get an honest perspective from someone relatable.

She had the blog, but wasn’t sure what kind of paid product she would offer. As she discussed her options with her fellow entrepreneurs and that mentor, they kept suggesting that she teach a course or offer some kind of coaching program. She started getting swept up in the others’ enthusiasm. But Katie never had a strong urge to teach. For her, writing a guidebook was her obvious choice, because she’s a writer. Looking back, she realizes that the biggest challenge came from trying to do what she thought she was supposed to do—instead of staying true to herself.

Katie learned from her coach the concept of creating a free offer to collect an email list of potential customers and then using that list to market paid offers. She followed this model for The Solo Practice Guide for Ballroom Dancing. The guide is more than just a book to read. Katie created worksheets for dancers to record and track their practice. She also created a few videos to better demonstrate the ideas she describes in the book.

She promoted it on her blog, The Girl With The Tree Tattoo, and social media pages, and after a while, she started marketing her beta offer to that list. The beta offer was the next step—and she hadn't even written the book yet!

To move forward, she’ll need to increase the number of prospects—people who are interested in learning about ballroom dancing, and who might be persuaded to purchase the guide. But so far, she's been able to triple her income.

So what is in this Dancing Queen’s future? Katie is reaching out to dance shops and dance studios to partner with her so she can get her guide into as many ballroom students’ hands as possible. At this step in time, her dance card is full.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Girl With The Tree Tattoo: If today's episode put a little dance in your step, head on over to Katie's website to learn more!

SEE ALSO:

• Tango Adventures in Buenos Aires: After traveling to South America, an American woman falls in love with tango and creates a group experience to teach others
• Fitness Pole Dance Studio Grows to 4 Locations: How a graphic designer started a pole dancing fitness studio, expanded it to multiple locations, and grew it to a six-figure income before quitting her job
• Acrobatic Mom Jumps Through Hoops to Become High-flying Entertainer: It’s a bird, it’s a plane… or actually, it’s an acrobatic performance troupe that started as one mom’s side hustle, and now employs 14 people

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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