Notes from Chris

Episode 1578

Ben Tanner attended podiatric medical school before deciding that he wanted to become a physician assistant instead. These years of schooling resulted in his entry to an in-demand profession, but also a heavy burden of student loan debt. That’s what prompted him to start some sort of side business to pay it down.

He brainstormed different ideas before it dawned on him: he works as a PA in an emergency room and speaks fluent Spanish – why not combine his two areas of expertise and create a Spanish course for medical professionals? It seemed like a logical match.

Ben ultimately decided that the course would teach Spanish phrases that medical providers would need to know to learn a patient’s medical history and conduct a physical on them in the emergency room. Setting up materials required him to create a combination of audio and video modules with accompanying text to go through each step of the lesson.

The course is called Essential Emergency Medicine Spanish. His startup costs of $5,000 included creating a mobile-friendly website, hiring a native Spanish speaker as the voice talent, and purchasing audio equipment like a high-quality microphone. There was also an application fee of about $1,800 for the accreditation, but instead of paying for it upfront, the accreditation company subtracted it from Ben’s earnings later on.

Speaking of which, Ben doesn’t sell his course directly, but through that accrediting organization, the Center for Emergency Medical Education. This is the result of a negotiation between the two since the company wanted to advertise the course on their own website, attracting attention to other courses as well.

The course debuted in 2018. Leading up to launch day, the employee Ben was working with at the accrediting company had low expectations of how well the course would sell. Then on the first day of being publicly available, the company sent a promotional email out to their listserv. Lo and behold, 41 people registered for the course that day – more than the employee had seen before with the company’s own home study courses.

Ben’s total earnings from Essential Emergency Medicine Spanish so far are around $150,000. After expenses, that’s a profit of about $55,000 per year.

For Ben, one of the best benefits is that the additional income has enabled him to switch to part-time at his hospital job. He sees himself becoming financially independent and free from student loan debt in the next couple years.

In the future, Ben plans to create more content on his own website, Learn Medical Spanish, and attract more followers to his email list. He also hopes to start a YouTube channel and update his course later this year when the initial accreditation expires.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Benjamin and his medical Spanish learning business at his website, LearnMedicalSpanish.org.

SEE ALSO:

• Spanish-Language Bible App Generates 1 Million Downloads: Opportunity knocks for a Utah accountant and leads to a fortuitous side hustle making $70,000 in one year with a $0.99 app.
• Spanish Language Learner Earns $350,000 Helping Fellow Students: After returning to Canada following a stint in Argentina, this eager student creates a language-learning platform that earns $350,000 in year one.
• Cuban Journalist Teaches Everyday Spanish Classes: After moving from Cuba to America with no English skills, this well-educated journalist learns the language and then helps others learn his.

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

Yours in the revolution,

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