Recently I found myself mystified because I have seen quite a few people with limited experience and credentials becoming superstars on the internet. My curiosity got the best of me. I did a little snooping around and found one of the internet’s best kept secrets.
Before I get started, I would be remiss if I didn’t confess that I have thought, talked and day dreamed about having my own membership website. My friend Michelle Price, who I rely on for ideas and incredible resources said, �Let me introduce you to one of the leading membership site experts named Sheri McConnell. I said,�Cool!�
Right away I started researching and Sheri McConnell Companies is a membership-based company that helps writers and entrepreneurs profit from their intellectual knowledge.
Next step, the interview. Sheri is a dedicated mother and entrepreneur who is easy to talk to and her passion for seeing people succeed is contagious. On the other hand she is cool, calm and organized. Which made me feel relaxed and receptive to a new way of generating income. This is a woman who has been there and done that. She has overcome many personal challenges including divorce, a custody battle and bankruptcy.
It occurred to me that if she can do it we can too! Also, this could very well be the perfect vehicle to take your business or service to the next level.
What are the benefits of having a membership site?
SHERI: First, it positions the person who owns it as an expert almost immediately in their chosen niche and even industry.
Second, it automatically builds a list of loyal recurring customers by the nature of the model. They actually expect you to develop solutions to their problems—and they will tell you their problems often. That is why they join.
Third, members and other websites will naturally link to you and promote for free because people love to share when an association is helping them in some way. Companies will feature you just so you will turn around and promote them to your members. And even when members just say, I am a member of NAWW and link to it on their website—that really boosts the membership company in the search engines too. With most service-based businesses, these things just don’t happen without a lot more work.
Fourth, another unexpected benefit of the membership-based model is that when your members are successful, you leverage that too. When they do really well and we share their successes on our blog/website homepage—we get more traffic too. The Internet is fascinating in this way.
How does a person know if they should consider a membership website?
SHERI: I have some questions I ask people who are considering the model on the Create Your Group website. You must be passionate about the target market AND most of the time you really need to be one of them too—that is key. Here are the questions from my home page…
~ Do you like connecting with people who share your passions?
~ Do you enjoy helping others by sharing valuable information?
~ Would you like to be considered the go-to person in your niche or even industry?
~ Would you like to build a company that is structured in such a way that you serve your ideal customer over and over again?
~ Would you like to know how you can run your own organization/association/group from your home?
~ Would you like to build a business that positions you as the gatekeeper of a large database(s) making it easier for you to contact and partner with the top professionals in your industry?
~ Would you like to generate over six figures and even seven figure income from your home office while outsourcing crucial parts of the business to qualified companies and solo professionals?
You have several great testimonials on the Create Your Group website. Can you share a couple of success stories with us?
SHERI: Yes, I helped Dotsie Bregel start the National Assn of Baby Boomer Women at www.nabbw.com and I am coaching another entrepreneur with her website www.campuscalm.com.
They are both having lots of success in a short time. I have about 10 other clients right now that I have been coaching since Feb. that are at various stages of building and launching their groups too. Many of them are on the verge of launching. We have one that will be for weight loss coaches, one for hobby farmers, one for a group of Daring women and several other interesting clients.
On average what is the time-line and cost to launch a membership site?
SHERI: It is a business like anything else—so the amount of money and time it takes is proportional to the amount of time and money the owner spends on it. So every case is different. When I conducted interviews for the Create Your Group Blueprint and Tool Kit though I made sure that I selected a variety of membership-based businesses and also chose very successful ones because I wanted people to understand the potential of what they could create if they were willing to grow and step into this type of leadership. All but 1 out of the 7 had either reached 7 figures or was about to in less than 5 years, which is amazing. Their websites and pictures are on the home page at www.createyourgroup.com too. The power in this model is the leverage you create for yourself as the owner. It is just a fantastic job that gives you lots of rewards and allows you to help others and do something you love. I forgot to tell you that my Bachelors is in Social Work—so what is great about NAWW is that I felt like I could combine those skills with those of the Masters in Org. Management. I love the different people I get to meet each day. AND I do this all from home. It is really cool.
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
SHERI: I was inspired to start my first association, National Assn of Women Writers (www.naww.org) because I really wanted to connect with other women writers like myself. I later started a second Association for Web Entrepreneurs (www.aweconnect.com) and my third membership-based company will be launched in a couple months—this company will teach and provide millionaire mindsets so people can grow their companies to the next level. Last year, I launched www.createyourgroup.com because all my coaching clients wanted me to document all of the information I was teaching them as they were building and growing their own profitable membership-based businesses.
When did you start your business?
SHERI: I started NAWW in 2001 and have been connecting with women writers, creators, and entrepreneurs on and off the Internet.
What is unique or special about your business that gives it an edge over your competitors?
SHERI: I think my membership-based companies are unique in that I always make sure the members receive new tangible products each and every year when they renew. I think no matter who you are—most people still love to get “real stuff� in the mail that is of interest to them.
What if any personal challenges inspired you to launch your business?
SHERI: When I started NAWW (National Assn of Women Writers), I had just quit working in the corporate world to have my third child and I had also just finished getting my Masters in Organizational Management. I was at a crossroad and for the first time in my adult life I was faced with the decision to figure out what it was that I wanted to do. After about six months, I came up with the idea to start the NAWW.
How long did it take before your business became profitable?
SHERI: NAWW was profitable the first year—however, I did not pay myself for the first two years and put all the money back into the company in the form of advertising and product/service development and design. By year three, I was able to pay my salary and hire contractors. Today I have four virtual assistants that help me run all the companies.
Were there any challenges that you experienced along the way that you had to overcome?
SHERI: My challenges have always been around life balance. I am 37 and grew up in the generation of women that believe we can have it all and often do. I love running the types of companies I do because I get lots of freedom in how and when I work. My problem is because I love my work so much that I have to make myself turn it off to do other important things in life. Over the years, I have learned to delegate everything I can as much as I can to free up my time for those things I love (like hanging out with my family) or doing the business functions with a high return on investment that only I can do.
Did you need to have a certain mindset to achieve success?
SHERI: For me it wasn’t so much a positive mindset as it was a stubborn mindset. Quitting was not an option and I got better at communicating that to friends and family. I was really good about not letting negative energy into my world at all because I knew what that would do to my dreams.
Have you noticed certain advantages to being an entrepreneur versus a day job?
SHERI: Family—I know for a fact I would have never been able to have four children if I were still working in the corporate world. I remember that life and I would have never been able to see them. I wouldn’t have been able to take off and go to the movies and the theme parks and the beach and the bookstore (all things I was able to do with them repeatedly this summer).
Financially—There are no limits on my income as an entrepreneur. I am only limited by my own mindsets as an entrepreneur. If you surround yourself with millionaires and their mindsets—eventually you will have the knowledge you need to become a millionaire. That doesn’t happen at a JOB.
Has it been difficult to get financing for your company?
SHERI: Yes, it was in the beginning because of personal circumstances having to do with a previous divorce/custody battle, which led to a bankruptcy. What I learned from the difficulty in getting financing was that if you want something bad enough, you will find a way to make your dream come true.
Has the media picked up on your story? If so what have you done to attract the media?
SHERI: Since I run national membership organizations, my company receives lots of ongoing regional media attention that my Regional Representatives generate. We also get a lot of publicity on the Internet.
Did you have mentors to help you get started?
SHERI: Yes, I have had mentors from the beginning. I have always been an entrepreneur and drawn to other entrepreneurs. I seek them out. The Internet has been an amazing tool in this area. A couple of my favorite organizations that helped me grow as a business owner were the Women’s Leadership Exchange and the eWomen’s Network. I have also built an extensive and exclusive group of entrepreneurial millionaire friends over the years that I can call and get help from. The only reason I was able to build such a network was because I was a gatekeeper to these membership-based businesses. It is a powerful business model for many reasons.
Are you still working at your full-time job?
SHERI: I left the corporate world in 2000. Now, I work about 20 hours a week in the summers and about 30 during the school year. BUT, I am always “working� on the companies—I am constantly networking on the phone, listening to CDs from my mentors, reading books, and much more—I just don’t consider that real work. I delegate everything I can because as the visionary I must be able to spend time learning and networking to grow my companies.
What resources were most helpful to you when you were starting your business?
SHERI: Books were extremely valuable when I had really small children and then as they got older and I was able to travel more—networking with mentors is really what helped me to grow and change my mindsets. I had to be exposed to these millionaire women to learn from them.
What ways have you found to be most effective in marketing your product or service to get sales?
SHERI: The Internet has been an amazing marketing tool for my businesses. Ninety percent of my income is generated via the Internet through my web/blog sites, the e-mail newsletters, and the teleseminars.
What tips can you give others who don’t have a lot of confidence or feel they don’t have what it takes to succeed?
SHERI: Seek out mentors who have done it before you and be willing to invest in their expertise. You really do get what you pay for. Joining a mastermind program is a great way to jump-start and move forward quickly. Networking in associations is of course a great way to find the support you need also.
You must start with your passion. Anyone who is successful will tell you the same thing. Passion is the fuel that keeps the entrepreneurial spirit alive. Also, people don’t spend enough time comparing the profitable business models. Some businesses just aren’t that profitable and never will be—their model won’t allow it.
I am inspired by Sheri and hope you are too. Let me know how we can support your emerging goals and dreams. Just knowing you enjoy my blog is helpful feedback. I’m here for you.
Michelle
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Online Business, Work, Starting a Business, Work at Home Mom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.One Response to “The Road Less Traveled to Attain Internet Riches”
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August 22nd, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Thank you Michelle and Sheri!
I work with clients and Virtual Assistants daily who are looking for the guidance and inspiration you share. Knowing that other women have taken care of their families and built their dreams is one thing but the practical information to consider, such as a membership site business model and how she manages it (e.g. outsourcing as much as she can) is extremely helpful.
Keep up the wonderful work Michelle and Sheri!
~Sandra
PS. Sheri, I just checked out sm-freearticles.com - wow! What a gift, thanks!