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Tag: Ghostwriting

  • 5 Critical Lessons I Learned Turning My Side Hustle Into a Million-Dollar Business | Entrepreneur

    5 Critical Lessons I Learned Turning My Side Hustle Into a Million-Dollar Business | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In 2016, I followed every marketer’s advice and created a funnel that led to an online course. I spent thousands of dollars and worked long hours to make a few hundred dollars.

    Around the same time, an entrepreneur asked me to ghostwrite his book, and I convinced him to let me hire a writer and publish it myself. I made $25,000 doing a quarter of the work I’d done creating those online courses.

    From that day on, I put my energy into a side hustle that publishes authority-building books for entrepreneurs. Today, Legacy Launch Pad employs a team of writers, designers, and project managers, has published over 50 books, and has brought in seven figures.

    But finding the right business was only the first step. Below are five of the greatest lessons I learned.

    Photo by Legacy Launch Pad

    Do every job yourself before delegating

    While it’s intimidating to do everything yourself initially, and delegation is crucial once the business is established, giving the wrong person too much power early on means you don’t have enough. A few years into starting my business, the first team member I hired tried to sabotage the company and sue me. Even though her plan backfired, it made me realize that I’d given her too much control without understanding enough of the details about what she was doing.

    Help the right person (or people) for free

    Giving your product to an influential person can be a game-changer. Over 70% of our clients have been referrals from a friend who runs a big mastermind because, early on, I surprised him with a book we’d made out of hundreds of newsletters he’d written. He was so excited that he ordered hundreds of copies to give to everyone in his group and began recommending us to all the members.

    Don’t post or promote until you know your customer

    Social media and podcasts can seem like a waste of time—and it is if you don’t figure out what you want it to do for you. When we got clear about who we serve and what they want, we could make everything we put out there about that. I’d advise any entrepreneur to fill in the sentence, “We serve [types of people] so that they can [whatever it is they’re hiring you for or buying from you].” If you remind yourself of that sentence before you do anything promotional, you and your company will consistently be building authority. After a while, you won’t need to remind yourself of your message because following it will be organic.

    Be more exclusive

    While not every business can control who uses or hires them, the higher you set your standards for clients, the better those clients will be. When we started, we worked with almost anyone who wanted to hire us. Then we learned that non-entrepreneur clients were the most demanding while our uber-successful entrepreneur clients were the most grateful and easiest to work with. So we started setting qualifications for anyone who wanted to work with us: they either had to be a direct referral from a previous client or go through an application process.

    Support the passions of your team members

    In this age of side hustles, assuming that your team members are as devoted to your company as you are is unrealistic. Encouraging them to pursue what they’re excited about will make them more enthusiastic about working for you because they won’t feel like their passions are being stifled. If you don’t know what they’re interested in, offer to pay for a class they want to take and see if they want to share whatever they gleaned with you and the rest of the team; it will reinforce whatever they’ve discovered and probably help you learn something new, too.

    Anna David

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  • Why You Need A Ghostwriter For Your Next Book

    Why You Need A Ghostwriter For Your Next Book

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Would you believe me if I told you I just attended New York Fashion Week? If you are someone who celebrates fashion, you might know that Fashion Week is one of the biggest events in the industry. I was honored to be personally invited to participate in one of the shows.

    But you’re probably thinking, how did this happen to someone like me who is decidedly not in the fashion industry? It happened because of a book. My company wrote a book for one of the designers, and she was generous enough to let me see her collection launch during the infamous event.

    In the current age, more and more entrepreneurs are jumping into the literary space to gain authority in their field. I have heard it said that entrepreneurs having their own books is like having a really good business card. But is everyone good at making business cards?

    Not everyone is a writer. Some might not enjoy the act, don’t feel they have the skills or don’t have the time needed to create a book. Plus, writing is hard. But it can be much more manageable if you have someone who knows what they’re doing. They can guide you along the process, working with you to create your book while saving you time. Enter the “ghostwriter.”

    Related: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Writing a Book

    A common misconception

    People hear the word ‘ghostwriter’ and get weary that the book is untrue. But just because something is “ghostwritten” doesn’t mean the ideas aren’t from the author (in this case, the client or the person whose name is on the book).

    Authors play a huge role in writing the book! They’ll discuss their ideas with the writer, provide feedback on drafts and even edit the ideas in the book. With ghostwriting, someone else puts those ideas into coherent, eloquent words, but the author gets the credit because they brought the book to life. It becomes a helpful tool devised through an equitable partnership. This is why working with a trusted professional will give you the best results.

    Related: How One Man Made $200,000 Last Year Ghostwriting Tweets

    Save time

    As I mentioned, another benefit of hiring a ghostwriter is saving time in the writing process. Writing a book is nothing if not time-consuming and having a ghostwriter by your side makes life much easier. If you are an entrepreneur, you’re most likely busy balancing your personal and professional life while trying to earn the best results for your clients. This is no easy task, but the best leaders know that they cannot do everything themselves.

    Did somebody say delegation? Having someone who helps you out is okay, especially if that individual understands your goals. Reaching out to someone like a ghostwriter doesn’t make you fraudulent or a bad business person; it just makes you a person who is willing to ask for help, which is an admirable quality if you ask me.

    How do ghostwriting services work?

    While every ghostwriter may have a slightly different process, typically, it starts with a discovery interview where they ask what you want to write about. Here the writer will gauge if you have any topics that you want to be implemented. This is a great time to lay out those ideas that have been brewing inside your head. This way, the writer can already start piecing together what the actual text of your book might look like.

    Usually, ghostwriters will then take your input and put it into words that foster connection and empathy from your audience. Ghostwriting is an intimate process so expect the call to get personal at points, especially if it is a nonfiction book and even more so if it’s biographical. You must feel comfortable with your ghostwriter so that you and your work don’t suffer in creating your book.

    Related: The Entrepreneur’s Complete Guide to Ghostwriting

    After the preliminary call is done, the ghostwriters get to work. Once they have the first draft done, they will typically send it to you, encouraging you to make any edits you deem appropriate. Remember, this is your book! So this is an excellent time to clear up any misunderstandings or bumps in the manuscript.

    Even if you are not a linguist at heart, you can create your own book with a good ghostwriter by your side. When you start to promote your books (especially if it centers around you and your field of business), others will see you as an authority. Books are a great way to prove your knowledge in your field, allow your customers to get to know you better, and allow you to flex those creative muscles.

    Morissa Schwartz

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