4 Lessons from Running A Content Business
ArmaniTalks is a media company that creates short stories to help engineers and entrepreneurs improve their communication skills.
It took me 5 years to write the sentence above.
Once I was able to write the sentence, I had a moment of clarity.
Now I knew what my business was about.
A content business is one of the most fulfilling business models out there.
You turn your stories into money.
Running a content business is different than running a Shopify store, Amazon white label store, and doing global affiliate marketing.
If you pick your brand around the perfect theme, then you can literally change people’s lives.
You’re not just doing it for the money.
I get messages all the time from people about how my talks helped them overcome speech anxiety.
Or at least it pushed them in the right direction.
I started ArmaniTalks in June 2018.
At the time of writing this post, I’m about to hit my 6-year anniversary.
Here are some lessons I learned…
Lesson #1: There Are Different Business Paths
There is no certified blueprint for running a content business.
Everyone is experimenting.
The traditional path is the influencer path.
Where you create content that goes viral, you put ads in your content, and make money.
In my opinion, there are a few things wrong with the traditional path:
- I don’t want to be hyper-famous. I enjoy my private time.
- Relying on ad revenue is a volatile strategy.
For the ArmaniTalks brand, I focus on the long tail.
These are the low-volume topics at the end of a distribution curve.
- Example of a mainstream topic: how to create a speech.
- Example of a long tail topic: why does my throat hurt when I sit speaking down?
I want the ArmaniTalks brand to cover the mainstream & long-tail keywords for communication skills.
Then I want to use my own content to promote my own products.
By owning my own products, I’m not dependent on ad revenue & sponsorships.
This strategy is different from other brands.
All good, we all run our businesses differently.
Lesson #2: You Have No Clue What Solutions Lie Ahead
When I first started ArmaniTalks, I wanted it to be a consultation practice.
I was going to create content, generate leads, and provide services.
I was successful in doing that.
There was barely any overhead with running a consultation practice.
I just sent my client a Zoom link and we talked.
The only problem was that I didn’t like consulting.
I dreaded the days when I had a consulting session.
Eventually, I didn’t want my content to attract leads.
I wanted my content to be the final product!
I wrote paperback books, eBooks, and created classes.
Slowly, I started to generate passive income.
I used to hate audiobooks then.
I never got how anyone would listen to their books.
Tons of business owners told me to convert my books into audiobooks because they listened to them on their drives.
I was stubborn.
It took me roughly 4 years to finally pull the trigger and turn Speak Easy & Level Up Mentality into audiobooks.
At the time of writing this, audiobooks are the cash cow for the ArmaniTalks brand.
If you told me in 2018 that I would have been creating audiobooks, I would have laughed at you.
But that was a solution that I was completely unaware of.
Lesson #3: Motivation Fades, Have a Rainy-Day Fund
It doesn’t matter if you are talking about a topic that you LOVE.
There will be days where you don’t want to talk about that topic.
When you are inconsistent for one day, it’s easier to be inconsistent in the future.
To be disciplined, have a rainy-day fund.
This is the content you will tap into if you are sick, have a family emergency, have technical issues, etc.
As a creative, you will have days when you are more motivated on some days vs other days.
On the days when you have more energy, put in more work!
Go the extra mile.
- Write an extra rough draft.
- Record one more video.
- Record one more podcast episode.
Build up your rainy-day fund.
Lesson #4: Treat your Business like a Job
This will be the most controversial lesson yet.
Hear me out though…
A lot of people want to start a business so they don’t have to answer to anyone.
They outsource all of their work.
This is a mistake.
When you outsource all of your work, you have no clue when people are taking advantage of you.
You lose sight of the pulse.
You are unable to spot the changes that your business will face in the future.
I recommend you work on your business for at least 8 hours a day.
- Research, create content, mind map, network, and organize your workflow.
Treat it like a job.
Despite me owning the ArmaniTalks business…
Despite me being able to clock in whenever I want to.
I still work from 6 am to 4 pm on it every day.
What else am I going to do?
There is so much time in the day.
Why not take care of my business?
Sure, you can outsource and automate a lot of things.
But I urge you not to outsource so many things that you begin to build blind spots.
More Lessons to Come
One day, you will get clear on what your business is about.
When you have that clarity, creating content feels like fun.
It’s transformative when people hit you up and say how your work has changed their psychology for the better.
You can’t just be an artist and that’s it.
Eventually, you need to look for unique ways to make money.
It takes time though.
For the first few years, you’re going to be eating dirt.
Barely making pennies.
Slowly, the income streams begin adding up.
When you finally see your bank account has returned to what it was when you quit your job, you will feel grateful.
For more insights into content creation, check out the ArmaniTalks Free Daily Newsletter
– ArmaniTalks 
