Should I invest in free or paid education for my natural beauty brand? It’s a question that I get asked ALL the time.
Do you remember back in the day when if you wanted to learn something, your only option was to go to college, or night school and pay to learn the specific thing you needed help with?
That wasn’t actually that long ago and since then, the online education world has exploded, with everyone now being an ‘expert’ in different areas, providing snippets of helpful information for you to learn.
This is amazing in one sense, because you can get some really useful hacks, tips and tricks for your natural beauty brand, and who doesn’t want them right?! But the problem is, that it isn’t the full picture of how to succeed in the long term. And it makes you constantly think, should I invest in free or paid education for my natural beauty brand.
We are seduced by these tips and hacks, thinking that will be the thing that helps us win, and we ignore the ‘unsexy’ work, of going back to basics, ensuring they are covered, doing the behind the scenes work to make sure things are clear for our customers. So…
Join + 270 Natural Beauty Brands learning Marketing & Social Media in the FREE Facebook Group > https://bit.ly/319kuf4
What is this free education really costing you?
Time.
When you pay for education, it’s a financial cost. You have to choose to go all in on that investment for yourself, to learn, to part with your hard earned pennies and see them leave your bank account.
But when we decide to educate ourselves for free, then we spend our time. We spend it looking at instagram accounts, youtube videos, signing up for free PDF’s, workbooks and getting snippets of the overall picture. If you have time on your side, then this can be a brilliant way to learn, and slowly build up an idea of what you need to do.
But the main problem here is, time is our most precious resource. We can’t get it back. We can get money back, it flows in and out of our lives constantly, but time? We can never get that back. Which is why we have to remember that it’s our most precious resource and we have to use it wisely.
So, ask yourself now, is it better to invest the money into yourself to learn a framework and strategy or to use your time to try lots of different snippets which may or may not work, to succeed?
Paid education is always going to trump free education.
If you were giving out free products constantly to customers compared to paid customers, who would you put more effort into? It would be the paid right? Because you want to put your everything into those paid customers to ensure they keep coming back.
It’s the same with free and paid education. With free, you get bits and bobs of inspiration but with paid, you get the best strategy to help you move forward quicker.
So, how do you know if the expert you’re looking at is worth investing in?
First things first…
Do you resonate with them?
Do you believe that they can help you and is their free education they are providing helping you?
If all you’re seeing from them is pretty pictures with them posing in front of a posh car saying they can ‘change your life’ and their free education is non existent, then that’s not something you should be investing in. Because they are not providing value from the outset.
You need to be looking for someone who is giving amazing free education which makes you think, ‘I wonder what their paid education would be like?’ because that’s a great sign you’ll get bang for your buck.
Ask other people’s opinions.
Do they have testimonials on their websites? Are they a leader in their industry? Are they trusted and well respected? Have they worked with other reputable brands that you know about?
If it’s a ghost town then you could end up spending money on something that isn’t worth it, but if you have seen that person around and they are being invited to speak at events, collaborate with other brands that you know and are actively in the community, it’s a good sign.
Get clear about what education you need.
If you’re clear on what you need help with then this will stop with the disappointment when you pay for the education in the first place. Because when you invest in the education, it’s still YOU that has to do the work. It’s no good investing in something and then not doing what they say and going ‘all in’, because the beauty business is yours.
A strategy has been provided for you and it has been proven. So follow it, show up and do the work.
Can you do it by yourself through classes or do you want the 1-2-1 accountability each month if it’s provided?
Sometimes people just want to crack on with the education and other times people want the accountability and the ability to bounce ideas and problems off someone else.
Think about the long term.
If you’re in business to make a few extra pennies as a side hustle compared to someone that wants to build a business that they can live off comfortably and more, then this will guide you on if you want to stick with the free education or paid.
If you’re wanting to have a long term business, then think about the support you’ll need to make that happen.
If you want to stay on the free education path.
Choose one or two people that really resonate with you. Watch, read and listen to everything they do and become a superfan. That way you’ll be able to get the most out of their free education. But remember, it will be amazing inspiration, but not all of the strategy, so will take you longer to figure out.
But if you have the time then that’s A-OK.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the free education path, you’re just choosing to spend time rather than money on your business and yourself.
And when you’re ready to invest, figure out if it’s worth the investment, go for it, put your all into everything you get taught and implement everything.
Want to be the next Breakthrough Natural Beauty Brand?
Take the free quiz to find out how
