Streams of Income Series #1: Teaching

While School Teachers are Grossly Underpaid, Internet Teachers Rake in Millions — Get Your Piece of the Revenue Pie via Teaching What You Already Know

“Teaching is one of the highest-paid professions in the world.”

And no, I haven’t lost my mind. 😵‍💫

It sounds like I have because when you hear the words teacher or teaching, at least in the US, Canada, and the UK, you think of the public education system, which traditionally doesn’t pay teachers very well.

But the Internet changed that forever, especially for one-person businesses that position themselves as experts in their field.

To be considered an expert, you don't need a doctorate or to be the CEO of a $100M company.

“All you need is offer a solution to a particularly painful problem that a lot of people experience.”

And what do experts do?

They teach.

Turn on NPR, BBC, Reuters, or any other journalistic news station, and you will see and hear from experts paid to appear as guest panels to offer their perspectives on everything from current events to baking cookies.

Experts inform, inspire, and educate, just as writers do. Online courses aren’t very different from Substack posts; if you think about it, online and email courses are just more extended versions of blog posts in a series, and they’re the future of online business.

Forget drop-shipping mugs and T-shirts, and start marketing your inherent knowledge and experience to those who are hungry and willing to pay top dollar for it.

Most writers don’t see themselves as teachers

One of the most common responses I hear from writers is:

“I could never be a teacher, I’m an introverted writer.”

From my perspective, if you’re a writer, you’re already a teacher.

And, by the way, I’m an introvert’s introvert —an INFJ on the Myers Brigs indicator, and I love teaching.

True experts teach what they know best — their authority topics— and yours are already within you.

We all have them.

“You, me, and every other high-functioning human being inherently possesses at least 2-3 ‘authority topics (ATs)’—the topics we know frontward and backward; they’re derived from our life experience, education, or specialized training, and they can make us a million dollars.

I don’t say that lightly, and the best part isn’t the money; it’s the privilege of passing on the experience and lessons from a life well-lived and how far we want to go on this journey of self-determination.” ~Baz

Think about it.

As we learn and grow into functioning adults, we accumulate life experiences, educational expertise, and, in some cases, specialized vocational training.

Yet, when we look in the mirror, we overlook the obvious.

For example:

• You could view your experience of becoming a single parent overnight and the 10 years that followed navigating the ever-shifting landscapes of family, economic, and vocational realities as just something you went through…

  • Or you could view it as years of hard-earned lessons that someone suddenly faced with the same reality could use to ease their journey as a single parent—perhaps coaching others facing this exact situation could make a real impact.

• You could view your experience of taking a break from your career for two years to care for your dying father as a family duty…

  • Or you could view it as the foundation for a course that others facing this decision could benefit from. Maybe you went into the situation a bit blind and came through the other side thinking, “If I knew going in what I know now, I’d do many things differently.” It would’ve been a gift to have had access to a digital course chronicling someone else’s experience.

• You could view the medical training you earned while in medical school or the online business expertise you learned from the hands-on experience of 20 years as a waste of time now that you’re retired…

  • You could also view it as a springboard to writing courses and workshops for those considering taking a similar training course or using it as the basis for a consulting or training business via your Substack to fund your retirement and teach those who aspire to the same path.

How do I know this?

I know because all of the experiences above I just cited as examples…came from my life.

I’ve drawn from my authority topics to write blogs, host workshops, create and teach online courses, and consult with clients facing similar life issues.

I also know that you can do the same.

Where do you start?

I think the best place to start is my 9-week intensive training program, ‘Beyond the Subscription.’ (Now, with a special September Promotion in effect!)