The One Person Business Model (Monetise Your Mind)

You weren’t born to spend 8 hours of your day, every day for the majority of your life doing something you hate.

This is something I firmly believe.

It doesn’t matter what you do, all that matters is that you enjoy doing it.

Whether you want to be an entrepreneur and have a one-person business or whether you want to work a job, it doesn’t matter - so long as that thing you choose to do fills you with fulfilment and meaning and you enjoy it.

Now I don’t think everybody on the planet should be an entrepreneur, I think everybody can be, but that doesn’t mean they should be, but for people who love taking on responsibility, who want to set and achieve big goals and who have an untamable ambition - entrepreneurship is the only logical path.

And that’s because of the concept of becoming all you could be.

You see in the way I view life, that is the meaning of life and if you want to live a fulfilled life on any scale, you need to adopt that as at least a part of the way you view the meaning of life.

Because as a human you’re always going to be setting goals - whether that’s subconsciously like right now where your goal is to watch this video or to stop feeling hungry or that’s consciously where your goal is to build a business or hit a certain pr on squats.

Humans are goal and progress orientated creatures.

And since goals are things that we do not have, the process of achieving a goal involves improving as a person in certain areas, which if you extrapolate that over a long enough time frame, where you’re setting a goal, improving, achieving, and then repeating that for the rest of your life, that constant pursuit of progress - whether you have made it conscious yet or not - is the pursuit of becoming all you could be.

But to maximise and optimise this pursuit, it requires 2 things:

Improvement and impact.

After a certain point of achieving enough goals, if you are ambitious enough, the only way you can set and achieve a bigger goal is to gain full control of your time and the ability to make an impact at scale.

Which very, very few jobs give you the opportunity to do, hence, entrepreneurship, for the ambitious person is the logical next step and if you’re ambitious enough, it’s only a matter of time before you come to this conclusion and tread down this path yourself.

Now you can choose whatever business model you want and build whatever business you want to build - but there is no better entrepreneurial route than the one-person creator business, for a few reasons;

• It lets you build other businesses off the back of it.

   

If you want to start a supplement company, it’s easier when you’ve got an audience and already have a creator business.

If you want to start a clothing company, it’s easier when you’ve got an audience and already have a creator business.

If you want to start an agency, it’s easier when you’ve got an audience and already have a creator business.

Because when you start with a 1 person creator business you’re building authority, social proof, respect, trust and traffic - 5 things essential for making any business work - so if you try to launch another business after building a creator business, it’s much, much easier to do.

• Forces improvement in all areas

Building a one-person creator business requires you to learn how to grab attention, hold attention, and deliver value to grow your audience and it requires you to learn how to build offers, market, sell, build systems and write copy.

You are forced to build all the skills necessary to get attention and then monetise that attention.

It also forces you to improve in whatever area of life you talk about - whether it’s fitness, business, self-improvement or whatever - if you want to succeed with a 1 person business, you have to know what you’re talking about and that forces you to then grow and improve so you can deliver more value in a better way.

You cannot succeed in building a creator business if you don’t improve as a person because your brand and business are just a reflection of you.

• It’s monetising your mind

A crucial thing to understand when building a one-person creator business is that your brand and business are just a reflection of you.

To grow, you build knowledge and experience, you share that knowledge and experience in your content and you share the exact, step-by-step solutions to the problems you’ve solved in the form of a course or coaching and voila - you’ve monetised your mind.

Now of course, there’s a lot more to it than that and the first thing to realise is that when you’re starting and you want to learn how to monetise your mind and build a creator business, you have 2 paths you can choose from:

Path 1: Share what you know

Path 2: Share what you learn.

So if you’ve already done something in life, maybe you’ve got jacked or you’ve built a business or you’ve overcome some problem in life or done well in your career or became financially free or you’ve done anything worth mentioning, you can follow route 1 and share what you know.

Because if you’ve consciously set a goal before, you can be guaranteed other people have set the same goal and so if you set the goal, say to become financially free, and you’ve achieved it, you’re more than capable of sharing what you learned on your journey in your content and helping other people who want to achieve that same goal.

But if you haven’t done anything in life worth mentioning, that’s fine, follow this second path.

Set a damn goal that you want to achieve, and remember, because you want to achieve it, you can be guaranteed other people want to achieve it as well, and then do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.

Do what you need to do, learn what you need to learn and as you make progress, as you fail, as you improve and eventually achieve your goal, share what you learn in your content, helping those who are 1 or 2 steps behind you.

With these 2 paths, you don’t need to specifically choose 1 and limit yourself to it, that’s not the point of these.

You can and honestly, should do a combination of these 2 paths.

If you’ve already achieved something in life, share what you know but also continue to share what you are learning as you chase your current goals and if you’re going down path 2 and sharing what you learn, if you know anything, you can still share it.

So you don’t need to limit yourself to 1 path and you should do both, but depending on where you are in life, one of these is going to be much more effective and relevant to you than the other so having that understanding of what you’re doing is going to help massively with creating clarity on what to do and what to create.

That’s step 1, understand the path you’re going down and what you’re going to try and do.

Step 2 is to choose a platform.

Yes, this is a step, because with your 1 person business, you need somewhere to start with creating content.

Do not overthink this step, it doesn’t really matter which so long as you choose 1.

But I would say to choose the platform that you enjoy consuming content on the most, that way you’re going to likely enjoy creating that content the most and be much more likely to stick to it.

If you don’t want to think about this or if you’re overthinking it and you want me to tell you which platform to start on, I’m going to say start on Twitter, that’s where I started creating content 4 years ago and I recommend it because it’s writing based.

Writing is the base of all content on all social media platforms - from Instagram reel scripts to Instagram posts to YouTube scripts.

If you get better writing - writing is thinking, there’s no difference there - you’ll get better at thinking and be able to make better content on all platforms.

So if you want me to tell you where to start, that’s where I would recommend because creating on Twitter will force you to improve at writing and it gives you the best opportunity to do so, since that’s all you’re doing.

Once you decide to start creating on another platform you’ll be at a massive advantage, since you already have the base of all content nailed.

And with that, I really wouldn’t recommend creating content on multiple platforms at the start - because the first 10,000 followers is the hardest and it will require a lot of effort and time.

If you’re on multiple platforms and you have 0 followers, you’re going to be diluting your efforts and slowing yourself down.

Essentially, unless you have multiple tens of 1000s of followers, you can post on multiple platforms at once, but you can only ever grow on 1 at a time.

You don’t have any leverage so the effort you need to put in to grow, until you have at least 10,000 followers, is huge and if you’re trying to do it on multiple platforms, you’re screwing yourself over.

I didn’t start on IG, my second platform until I had around 50,000 followers on Twitter, and within 6 months of creating on Instagram I grew to 100,000 followers - if I had tried to grow on both platforms at the same time when I started, I can promise you I wouldn’t have grown on either the way I have.

Step 3: optimise your profile

Now optimising your profile is important, because the better your profile, the more people will click follow, but don’t spend weeks worrying about what your bio says because it will change over time and you’ll change it more than you think - so don’t panic, just do it.

How this part of optimising your profile looks will differ depending on the platform that you’re on but in general you need 3 things;

• A good profile picture

• A good bio

• A good header

A good profile picture is simple, just take a headshot of yourself in good lighting.

Now a few things here to do this right;

• Use either a softbox and lighting set up if you have it, if not stand in front of a window

• Use a professional camera if you have it, if not use the back camera of your phone

• Get someone else to take the photo if you can, if not, set your phone or camera on a timer and take it yourself

Simple, okay? There’s no need to overcomplicate it.

Now of course, feel free to use some creativity depending on the vibe you want to give across on your social media to play about with the photos you take and take inspiration from creators with profile pictures that you like - the main thing is that you have a good photo of your face.

With your bio, you really want to focus on telling a potential follower, why they should follow you.

To do that, focus on 3 things;

• What you help them do

• What you’ve done in the path or

• What you’re trying to do now

So you could set up your bio to say something like;

I talk about x. I went from a to b. (a would be a starting point, such as broke and b would be where you are now, such as financially free) or

I talk about x. Sharing what I learn on my journey to become b (for example, financially free)

Again, I would recommend to go find creators who you admire and see what they’ve done in their bio and model it.

To be super clear, that does not mean copy, you don’t want to copy, but model and take inspiration.

And of course, don’t just go look at my Instagram bio and model it because my Instagram bio isn’t “optimised” because once you get to a certain size of a brand you have social proof and leverage - you can start bending the rules.

No matter what, don’t overthink this because you will change your bio.

You might change it next week or you might it in 6 months but you will change it, it’s only natural. I’ve changed my bio 100s of times.

So long as you give them a reason to follow you by showing them what value you can offer them and what sort of social proof you have, you’re good.

If you’re on the likes of Twitter and have a header, again, don’t stress it. There is no 1 way to do a header at all, just take inspiration from a header that you like and model it.

I’m a big fan of a photo that shows you living your brand, so for example, if you’re in the fitness space, have your header as a photo of you deadlifting or something like that.

You can, of course, use your header as a mini bio and use it to give someone further reason to follow you, but you don’t need to.

Step 4: Create Your Content Pillars

When you’re creating content and trying to grow, you need to know what you’re going to talk about.

Now I believe your brand should be a reflection of you, hence you can and should talk about whatever you like, but you should also know what you primarily want to talk about so that you have clarity, and cohesiveness and can attract the right sort of people to your brand.

With that, I’m not a fan of choosing a niche and instead what I would recommend is that you choose 3 content pillars.

These are 3 large areas of life that you’re interested in and are actively trying to improve your knowledge, experience and level of mastery in.

If you just choose 3 areas and you’re not interested in them, you’ll hate creating and you’ll eventually quit.

If you just choose 3 areas you’re not trying to improve in, your content will get stagnant and boring and you’ll not grow.

So you need to choose 3 areas you’re interested in and are trying to improve in.

Once you have these 3 areas, break them down into 3 subtopics, you now have 9 topics which should form the basis of 80% of your content, and the other 20% of your content can be about whatever you want.

So for example, one of your content pillars could be fitness, and your 3 subtopics for fitness could be training, nutrition and recovery.

Once you have these 9 topics, you can start creating content around them and have infinite content ideas.

Now this won’t happen mindlessly and it means you have to look for ideas.

A big mistake people make with idea generation is that they google “content ideas for fitness”, which in itself, isn’t wrong or bad but the problem is the ideas you then get are not raw, unique or authentic to you and hence you don’t stand out and you don’t grow.

Instead, start looking for ideas in everything you do in life.

In books you read, in podcasts you listen to, in conversations you have, in the content you consume, in everything.

Again, using fitness as an example, you might be watching a YouTube video and that video makes you think “Yeah the 3 main things to build muscle are training intensity, good nutrition and high quality sleep” - that my friend, is an idea.

Note that idea down somewhere, anywhere.

I personally use Apple notes since it’s easy to use, seamless between my phone and computer and there’s low friction to using it, hence I’m more likely to use it.

This will take some getting used to, but once you build this skill of looking for ideas in everything you do, you’ll never run out of raw, authentic ideas you can use for content because every idea you note down, can and should be turned into a piece of content.

So that idea of “yeah the 3 main things to build muscle are intensity, nutrition and sleep” can be turned into a piece of content that says;

“Building muscle is simple when you prioritise;

• Training ntensity

• Good nutrition

• High quality sleep

Nail these 3 areas and watch your gains skyrocket”

That’s a rough 1st draft piece of content for Twitter, but you get the idea.

You have an idea, you turn it into content.

Of course, your content for the first 6-12 months will likely be crap, because content creation is a skill - if you’re new to it, you’re not going to be good but you can get good.

To get good at creating content it requires 2 main things;

1. Practice

So create content daily. I don’t recommend batching, simply because of the infrequency of skill exposure when you batch create.

For example, if you create daily, you practice 365 times a year but if you only create once a week, you only practice 52 times a year.

So practice daily and focus on improving every time you create. Model the style of writers you like (again model, don’t copy) and take parts of the way they create and add your own twist onto it.

This way, over time, you’ll get better, but also find your own unique voice.

2. Education

Creating content revolves around grabbing attention, holding attention and delivering value.

This requires an understanding of numerous areas to do effectively; Psychology, human nature, persuasion, copywriting, marketing and sales.

If you spend time learning these areas over the next 6-12 months, combined with your daily practice, the quality of your content will skyrocket and your ability to make money when you monetise will skyrocket as well.

Step 5: Network and Distribute

On social media, the more people who consume more of your content, the more the platforms will push your content out to new audiences.

When you have a small or non-existent following this is a problem.

Nobody follows you to see your content and hence, nobody consumes it and the platform doesn’t push it out to new people, so you don’t grow (the exceptions to this rule are Youtube and Instagram reels).

So what you have to do to kickstart your growth is network with other creators around your size, build relationships with them and share each other’s content, this way, your content is shown to their following, increasing the chances of someone consuming your content and the platforms pushing it out to new people.

If you don’t do this, you will struggle to grow and you will hold yourself back.

Step 6: Monetise

Of course, you want to do this to make money.

To do that, you have to sell something.

With a creator business, the best part is that you’re building an audience around you and your life, hence if you solve a problem in your life, a select few people who follow you will be willing to pay you for your solution to that problem.

So once you’ve solved a problem in your life, or if you’re already done it (depending on the path you chose to follow), turn the exact steps you followed to solve that problem into a course or a coaching program to sell to your audience - this is you literally monetising your mind and the information you have inside.

I’ve done this with a number of courses, such as my new elite productivity course: FOCUSED - which if you want to build an elite productivity system and dial in your focus so you can make more progress in less time, click here to check it out.

The best part about this form of monetisation and this business model is that it’s a win-win for everyone.

Those who want to buy from you will do so and get a solution, those who don’t will still get free value from your content.

Now a big question people often have is “When do I monetise”.

The answer here is to monetise as soon as you have solved a problem in your life, whether that’s on day 1 or day 100, monetise as soon as you have a problem that you’ve solved.

Of course, you mightn’t make much money at the start because you likely have a small audience and therefore you don’t have many people to sell your product or service to, and this is likely the first business you’ve ever run and the first thing you’ve ever sold - so you won’t do it that effectively, but that’s okay

Throughout your whole entire journey of building your one-person business, and really, in life, you have to understand that the fool comes before the master.

With everything you do, you have to start somewhere, that somewhere will be at the beginning, at the bottom and you will be crap at that thing.

But the only way to get good at the thing is to be willing to be crap at the start, fail, make mistakes, learn and then try again.

You will never succeed in anything if you’re not willing to start out crap.

It took me about 2 years to start “popping off” on social media and get 100,000 followers and it took me 4 or 5 products and services before I made one that was good and sold effectively.

But I would never have gotten to where I am today with over 600,000 followers and a multi 6 figure business if I never tried, out of fear of looking like a fool or at some point gave up.

This is why the one-person creator business is the best business model.

You try, you fail, you’re forced to learn and improve, which improves your content, growing your brand, and improves your business, growing your income and most importantly, it improves you as a damn person.

Now there’s a lot more that goes into these steps so if you want more detail on any of these steps, reply to this email and let me know - if there’s enough demand I’ll make a dedicated video on each.

— Ross

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