Make Covid-19 quarantine period into #fortune-fortnight. How to earn counselling time-shifters?

Please add your questions as comments below and I'll keep answering them through this living-breathing document.

Here are three simple steps that can help pilot your efforts to earn money counselling time-shifters. While the quarantine period is probably the best time to do this, it is equally applicable at any time when you can devote 10 hrs. a week on gigs.

1. Find your niche

Not everyone wants to pay for counselling. A couple of reasons -

• Abundance of free content, abundance friend networks in the US
• Well established full-time counselling services with large marketing budgets
• Customers find US dollar prices exorbitant while earning in other currency

The best way to overcome these issues, is by identifying your niche. I find a group of students who have visited the US at least once, are applying to post-graduate programs and are looking for quality personalized coaching. Check my site caapidsimplified to see the niche I attract.

2. Find your hook

While at MBA, I learnt a 100 ways to market things. That's for big business. My startup days in That1Card, taught me that you don't really need many ways to broadcast or reach people. You need one 'hook' that works.

My strategy was to connect with a student who had a high probability of success, coach her for free and use her success as a hook to attract others. When you are in a niche, you just need to nail one success and craft a bait around that, anyone would aspire for. Read about my hook on this link.

3. Find your capabilities

Sometimes you can choose to serve the dessert menu first, if that's what will get your customer hungry. Among all models of customer acquisition - freemium, cross-selling, subscription etc. - I found one that works for me the best. I tell a prospective student to connect with me for only one service, at the end of which, I run a diagnostic to provide feedback on the other aspects on one's application.

This is different because its like letting the customer choose a desert only, and then handing them the buffet menu at the end of it. You let them trust you for what you do well and pay for services that must complete the meal.

My strength - I found was in coaching students for behavioral interviews. I charge $300 for around 3 hours of coaching and the basket size increases thereafter.

__________________________________________________________________

Keep posting your questions and I'll keep building my article out to answer them.