I've been running my business since 2010, but the first few years I treated it as a side hustle. I took it full-time in 2013 and was doing consulting in social media marketing, content marketing, and digital marketing for the influencer community in Stockholm, Sweden. I even wrote and published a book in 2018 called Profession: Influencer.
But the fact is, I was doing a lot, yet earning very little, which was leading to bouts of burnout. My business was still pretty dependent on my location and I desperately wanted to buy a farm in the countryside. I wanted to create a business where I could work from anywhere, have fewer appointments, and make more money.
I had been listening to Amy’s podcast for a few years and I finally decided to stop wasting time trying to piece everything together by myself. I took the last money I had in the bank and invested in Amy’s Digital Course Academy. That was a pivotal moment for me because I really had no idea what I was going to do if it didn’t work.
I took the book I had written, and following Amy’s exact framework, I turned it into a digital course called Social Brand Lab, which teaches Swedish entrepreneurs how to build their personal brand using social media.
I launched it in January 2019 to an email list of 2,000 people. My only goal for that launch was to pay my rent and have enough left over for food and to pay my virtual assistant. I made $41,000 (USD), which exceeded everything I ever wanted!
The one lesson I’ve gone back to time and time again is the webinar framework. I have ADHD and those lessons really helped me distill everything down and not put “everything but the kitchen sink” into my course.
The other thing I struggled with is, in Swedish culture, you’re not supposed to be “extra” or stand out, or brag about your accomplishments. So when it came time to send all of those sales emails, it was very uncomfortable for me. I was worried that people were going to hate me and throw rotten tomatoes at me in the street! But the fact was, I had spent years building a community and they were lined up and ready to buy what I was offering.
Since creating my course, I have launched it 12 times and made $507,000. If this hadn't come my way, I think I would've burnt out pretty fast. The freedom I have now is priceless. I can't really put into words how DCA has changed my life because it's basically changed everything.
