Dear friend,
I’m doing something really scary and really exciting.
I’m shutting down one of the top ways I make money as a creative. I’ve been doing it for about 10 years, and from my best estimates, it’s brought me about $250,000 over the last few years alone.
Today, I’m going to tell you why this may actually make better financial sense for me in the long run — and what I’m doing with that energy instead.
One of My Biggest Money Makers as a Creative
Six years ago, I was working for Tony Robbins as his creative content producer — traveling around the world, writing content for him, creating content for large stages, managing large productions.
Before that, I had run an online company with courses on body image, sex and sexuality, retreats and programs all over the internet.
When I got tired of traveling and helping somebody else with their content, I decided to start my own business. The very first thing I did made me enough money to last for a year. And since then, it has been one of the ways I’ve made the most money. Half comes from VIP one-on-one work, and half comes from this.
Have you guessed what I’m walking away from yet?
If you guessed online courses, you would be right.
For over a decade — with the exception of the two years I worked for Tony Robbins — I’ve run online courses. And even during those two years, I helped with his online courses too.
I loved online education. I take courses, I believe in courses. After I graduated law school, online courses by people who knew what they were doing taught me the practical aspects of running a business, being a creative, and writing books.
I loved taking them. I loved running them. I loved all of it.
And then something shifted.
Something Has Shifted – In Me and My Community
If I had to guess, it started with post-COVID Zoom fatigue.
A couple years ago, I noticed people just weren’t showing up online anymore.
I’d have a Zoom coaching call and no one would come even though dozens of people were in the program.
Someone would pay me $3,000 and never attend a single call.
Someone would sign up for an asynchronous online class and not even watch the intro video.
I noticed it in myself too. I was buying courses and never taking them. Unless they had a live component where we went through it together, good luck getting me to actually implement anything.
And I had been a star student! When I took courses in the past, I did everything — showed up to every call, watched every video, took notes, implemented it all. But something has changed. Not just for me, but for my clients, my people.
We’re all at capacity.
Inspired to Be Brave and Reassess
About six months ago, Jenna Kutcher – an online entrepreneur that I admire and have had the pleasure of meeting IRL – shut down her extremely popular and financially successful podcast. What she’s written about how her life has evolved since letting go of the biggest, most time-consuming part of her business inspired me to look back at mine.
I took some time in coaching, in my journal, and in quiet moments of solitude to seriously ask myself:
What am I doing just because it makes money, that isn’t fulfilling the thing it was fulfilling before?
The answer kept coming back to sales funnels and online courses.
Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching. I always have.
But when I think about my life legacy, am I thinking about digital online courses? No.
I’m thinking about shelves full of books.
I’m thinking about travels and one-on-one adventures and time spent with people.
I’m thinking about clients who are actually getting their books out in the world. The legacy I love is the action they’re taking, the actual results.
So I realized: I’m done with online courses.
I don’t want to build something and then spend my life trying to get you to buy it over and over again in an ongoing sales funnel on tech.
I don’t want a bunch of online courses.
I want books.
Turning My Courses Into Books
So, I’m turning my online courses into books. And the ones that don’t fully fit in books, I’m putting on Substack and YouTube.
Because honestly, I want you to have the information more than I want you to pay me for the information.
Don’t get me wrong — every artist deserves to get paid and paid well for their work. But I also don’t want any gatekeeping.
I’ve been wondering what it could look like to take something that I used to charge $333 for, like my 33 Asks® program, and turn it into a $6 e-book or a $20 printed book. A physical thing you can print out and go through yourself, and then have supplemental videos on Substack and YouTube that you can go to for free as a part of working with the workbook.
With everything going on in the world politically, with AI, with tech, I’m finding myself more and more wanting tangible analog things.
Something I used to take an online class for, I’m getting a book on it instead. Instead of scrolling social media, I’m enjoying reading long Substacks — the nuance of it. Or more than that, I love it when they read it and I can listen to it.
That’s why I make mine video and written and audio — to meet you where you’re at that day. Do you wanna read it? Do you wanna watch it? Do you wanna listen to it? I love the options for taking it out with me in the world somewhere.
And I had that with my classes, for sure. But I didn’t have the books.
I want people to be able to work through it on their own time. I want it to be financially and life accessible. I want them as books.
I want you to have be a $20 book on your shelf that you actually use way more than I want you in a $3,000 course that you never show up for because you’re so tired of being on the internet.
It’s Scary. And It’s Exciting.
One of the reasons I used to do online courses is I could charge more when I gave you my personal attention. There’s a real chance I’m going to make significantly less money doing this.
But I kind of don’t care.
Which is a weird thing to say as somebody who really believes in making money as an artist.
I have to believe that something else will come in and fill that void that online courses left. My own creative projects. Group coaching programs. One-on-one clients. Retreats!
I am especially excited about retreats right now.
I want to get together in person with really good food and work through things together. Rent out a beautiful place, bring the book, turn off the Wi-Fi, take away the phones, and actually focus.
Humans being humans in person.
Feels kind of radical right now.
Feels kind of healing right now.
Making Time for More Aligned Projects
Just like when Jenna Kutcher shut down her podcast, suddenly she had time to start a Substack — and you can feel the love and energy in that transition. I’m making similar transitions behind the scenes.
I’m making movies now that I’m not spending so much time on sales funnels.
I’ve let go of chasing algorithms, and I’m writing more.
I have more time for one-on-one clients, actually talking with people through their stories and their books.
That’s what I love the most.
So I’m leaning into it.
I’m scared that I’m going to financially hurt myself by not having this major source of income anymore. I’m grateful that my past self was good about saving. I’m very grateful I don’t have kids, and Albee doesn’t cost me that much.
But mostly I’m grateful that I have the kind of audience — you, right there — that lets me pivot, that is going to be as excited as I am about these courses becoming accessible books you can have on your shelf and actually reference.
So, it’s scary to give up a major way I made money.
And, it’s so exciting to see what’s going to come instead.
I hope you’re as excited as I am about this change, and I will continue to be transparent about what is going on over here creatively, so you can go out there and thrive as a creative as well.
Because the world needs our stories now more than ever.
With love and excitement for what comes next,
Lauren
P.S. The courses aren’t disappearing — they’re becoming books. Follow along here on Substack and on YouTube so you don’t miss them when they come out.
