[00:00:00] Have you ever found yourself pouring your heart into sharing your expertise, but struggling to translate that passion into a sustainable living? Or maybe you've tried business models that seem to work for others, but they left you feeling drained and uninspired. Most experts create first and only later wonder how to monetize their expertise. [00:00:21] This is the classic trap. You're passionate about your ideas, so you pour everything into sharing them. You write articles, you record podcasts, you speak at events, you build a following, you gain some recognition, and then reality sets in the bills need to be paid, but you still haven't figured out how to translate all of that visibility into sustainable income. Without intentional commercialization, even the most brilliant thought leadership eventually fades as financial reality sets in. Your business model should feel as authentic as your content. When you align commercialization with your natural strengths, you create sustainable revenue streams that energize rather than exhaust you. Today we're diving [00:01:00] into the final component of my resonant thought leadership system commercialization, creating intentional business models that generate sustainable revenue while delivering maximum value. [00:01:10] By the end of this episode, you'll understand why commercialization is so crucial for thought leaders, how to align your business model with your natural strengths and practical steps to start creating sustainable revenue streams that feel authentic and sustainable. Sustainable is the key. We don't want you to build something that doesn't feel like you. [00:01:30] Let's return to our singer analogy again. Core resonance is the singer transformational IP is the song central platform, microphone and stage connection. [00:01:38] Strategy is the amplifier, and commercialization is the business model that allows you to keep singing sustainably. You look at singers and yes, they put out records, but records. Look how old I am. Yes, they put out songs, but. Especially with the way streaming has changed things over the past few years, right? [00:01:55] Like they, you have to tour, you have to do private concerts. There's lots of things you've [00:02:00] gotta bring in to that business model to make sure you can keep singing and keep generating revenue. And it's the same when it comes to thought leadership, when this is really the area where I see two big mistakes that happen again and again. [00:02:15] The first is not to think about commercialization at all. Like I said earlier, most experts create first and later wonder how to monetize their expertise. This leads to financial stress when your thought leadership should be taking off. The second mistake actually compounds the first without a plan to monetize. [00:02:34] Thought leaders look at other experts and the business and revenue models they have built, and they set out to copy their success, but they don't consider whether that model aligns with the product or service they actually want to deliver, or if it's the size of team they want to run, or any number of issues that pop up when you look at someone's results without understanding what's happening behind the scenes. [00:02:55] 'cause as that platform grows or they wanna scale or they need additional revenue, they can [00:03:00] find themselves in a business that isn't growing the way they envisioned. Or worse, instead of a playground feels like a prison of their own making. Most burnout in this line of work is a direct result of not having an aligned commercialization strategy. [00:03:14] Let me share a real example. I've walked through this over the past several years with my client, Luvvie Ajai Jones. If you're not familiar with Luvvie, she's a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and podcast host who's known as being a truth teller. She has a viral Ted Talk, , on being a professional troublemaker. [00:03:31] She's amazing. She also has a podcast called Professional Troublemaker. , and she spoke about some of the things I'm gonna talk about in this last season of professional troublemaker, as well as on her social media. Luvvie has been a hugely successful author and speaker for years. I started working with her about seven years ago, helped her launch her podcast, which at the time was called Rants & Randomness. [00:03:52] That was going well. We were looking at other ways to monetize to take her off the road. She was doing a lot of [00:04:00] speaking and a lot of traveling, and she wanted to dial that back a little bit. So as she was looking at other strategies, a lot of which were suggested by well-meaning friends who were implementing these commercialization strategy, they worked, but they never took off like we really hoped. [00:04:16] She had a lot of success in books speaking. The podcast was going well. It was growing, but man, there was just so much potential for further growth. So with a coach she was working with, took on more team members to scale passive revenue models that didn't work as well as we wanted it to. And with all these full-time employees in 2023, in the middle of launching her fourth book, which was her first children's book, she was told by her accountant that they only had enough cashflow runway for a couple more months. [00:04:47] She was on the edge of closing her doors. Had to make the difficult decision to fire the entire full-time team except for one person and essentially start over. That's when I stepped back in as a consultant [00:05:00] to help her bring the Book Academy to Life. I'd helped her create some of the online courses we'd tried as passive income before, but this was different. It was more aligned. Luvvie is a four time New York Times bestselling author in four different categories. I don't know anyone else who can say that. Luvvie knows how to write and she more critically knows how to market books. It is her gift. People had been asking her for help in this area, so we started there. She started doing some one-on-one coaching with really high profile clients while we created this group program to help people write. And create and market their books. This program was totally aligned with her core resonance as a writer and with her natural way of speaking and teaching others. [00:05:47] We created transformational IP that was very specific to her way of writing books, marketing books, and it completely built on her authentic strengths rather than forcing her into a business model that wasn't a natural fit. [00:06:00] The results have been remarkable. We really just beta tested the first two cohorts and they were a huge success, and she kept working with some of those top tier private clients, had some massive book launches, got people on the New York Times bestseller list, and at that point we were able to bring in some expert additional help to further refine the offer for the group program for the book academy, as well as her course. [00:06:23] She has an amazing chief strategy Officer now. So just two years after almost going bankrupt in this business, Luvvie posted on social media about a month ago that not only did we have our most successful book Academy cohort launch ever, but the company's reached a financial growth milestone that she had not achieved before. [00:06:42] It's amazing. And in my mind, what made the difference was that we pulled all five of these components together in this resonant thought leadership system, her core resonance as a writer, her transformational IP about book creation, that's so unique to her and [00:07:00] marketing her central platform shifted to showcase her expertise as a book coach. She has tons of strategic connections through her existing network of friends who wanna be authors, aspiring writers, editors she's worked with over the years, agents, and a commercialization approach that felt authentic and energizing rather than draining. [00:07:20] And that commercialization approach was the key to it all. She has been able to work with people in a way that feels authentic and energizing to her instead of draining, leading a huge team. [00:07:33] While it's preferable to design this kind of commercialization strategy from the beginning, just like with Luvvie, that strategy can always be adjusted as your business and platform grow and scale. One of the most simple ways I think to get started is to use my resonant business model matrix to help identify which business models and offers naturally align with your core resonance. [00:07:53] It considers the delivery or expression that is most unique to you and most preferred by you, as well as your preferred [00:08:00] level of involvement as a creator. So let's break this down. Delivery mode refers to how many people you're serving at once. This could be one to many. Courses, books, speaking, digital products, anything where you're reaching a large audience simultaneously. [00:08:16] One to few. This is group programs, workshops, mastermind groups, settings where you're working with a limited number of people in a more intimate environment. [00:08:26] And finally one-to-one. This is coaching, consulting, custom solutions, approaches where you're working with individuals to create highly personalized transformation. [00:08:36] As I'm talking through this, just know I'm gonna put in the show notes on my website a visual of this matrix so you can take a look at it, either when you're done listening to the episode or if you're looking at a computer, and you can safely hook that up. So, delivery mode one to many, one to few, one to one. [00:08:54] Creator involvement is the other side of the matrix. How directly involved do you want to be in [00:09:00] delivery of what you're selling, what you're providing? Direct involvement. This is where you personally deliver all transformation. You are hands on for everything. You're the one who wants to show up. Teach coach, facilitate. [00:09:12] If you are wondering what kind of involvement you want to have, I usually tell people to think about, do you like to be there every step of the way for the entire transformation? Do you like to see the light in their eyes change? Do you like to see them make the changes that they need to make and then see the results at the end? [00:09:28] I was a school teacher for so long. I really love direct involvement with my high profile clients. I want to be there to facilitate and help and be part of that pitch and catch, give and take as they are transforming. [00:09:42] The second type of creator involvement is hybrid involvement. This is where you design systems that other people help implement. You might lead key components of things and team members handle other aspects of delivery. This is where we landed with the Book Academy for Luvvie, this most recent cohort. She led the key components, the [00:10:00] live teaching, and the director of the book academy. Mandi and I have been coaching. And members of our team have been helping with other aspects of delivery so that people can continue to transform in becoming book authors. [00:10:14] Then the last type of involvement is leveraged involvement. This is where you design IP that other people primarily deliver. Your wisdom is captured in systems, but other people are the face of the implementation. So this is really like a certification or if you're leading an agency or something like that. [00:10:32] When you combine these dimensions, you get nine potential business model types, and each of them have different implications for your day-to-day experience and your scalability. So for example, if we combine one to many delivery mode with direct involvement, we get models like live author led courses, or keynote speaking. You personally deliver content to large audience. [00:10:56] If we combine one to few with hybrid involvement, we get [00:11:00] a model, like a facilitated mastermind group or a co-led workshop. You design the experience and you might lead part of it, but other people support the implementation. And if we combine one-to-one with leveraged involvement, we might get models like done for you services that are delivered by a trained team. You design the methodology, but team members handle the direct work with clients. [00:11:23] So I think about someone like Pat Lencioni at Table Group. He designed all of the models that his facilitators go out and use, but they're the ones that go out and work with companies to deliver his methodology. You can have him too, but it costs a lot more. So if you want to have someone come and do organizational development with your team, you would maybe hire one of their facilitators to do, you know, five dysfunctions of a team or working genius, or something like that. [00:11:51] So a writer who loves creating detailed guides might thrive with one to many leverage models like a comprehensive online course or subscription content [00:12:00] libraries. A facilitator who loves being in a small group might excel with one to few direct models like Mastermind grooves or intensive workshops. I. And a coach who loves that deep individual work like I was talking about, they might focus on one-to-one or direct models like high-end consulting or VIP experiences. [00:12:17] The key here is this, your business model should feel as authentic to you as your content that you teach. If your monetization approach fights against your natural working style or your expression mode, you will burn out even if you're making money. Core resonance, finding your natural expression mode that matters at the beginning, but it really applies here at the end and circles back around in terms of how you monetize your expertise. [00:12:43] Let's take a look at some examples. How successful thought leaders have aligned their business models with their core resonance. Amy Porterfield is what I call a digital learning architect. She has a systematic teaching approach. She does not create random products. She [00:13:00] designed her digital course academy, it grew out of some old products that she had. She put them together, made this comprehensive digital course academy, and has built her entire business model around her exceptional ability to structure comprehensive educational journeys. She has a methodical communication style. She's very patient at explaining things. She has done step-by-step what she teaches, and she, because of that, has the ability to anticipate learning obstacles and builds them into the course structure, builds them into stage learning paths and creates implementation support that you didn't even know you needed until you get to that point in her course. [00:13:37] It's really like watching someone perform who's just in their element. There is a natural flow that comes through. I've had the chance to work with Amy's team in a couple of different capacities over the years, and it is so cool to see her thriving in her element. I. And the way that she's commercialized her business isn't just aligned with what she teaches, [00:14:00] but how she naturally leads her connection strategy. She has free educational content. She does strategic guest teaching on other people's platforms, leads people back to her central platform. She has a very sophisticated email system that guides you through the thing you need next, and everything flows together. [00:14:17] In fact, she updated her website recently and it's really cool to see her services page to see how you can go from being in a nine to five job and putting in your two weeks notice, which is her book, which then leads to building an email list with her first course, which then leads to digital Course Academy, which now leads to some of the masterminds that she has developed for her students in Digital Course Academy that have built multiple six figure and seven figure businesses. So she's added some new things that have scaled, but it's still very much in alignment with how she wants to show up. [00:14:50] Let's look at Seth Godin. He has evolved his business model over time, but he always stays true to his core beliefs about leading and teaching and making change. [00:15:00] altMBA was all about what does the change we seek to make as it relates to business marketing seminar. I took his podcasting workshop, which is about what are we gonna create? We're gonna create an episode. We're not just gonna tell you about podcasting. We're gonna create the change we seek to make Every one of his offerings aligns with his philosophy. And it still creates sustainable revenue. It is really aligned with his core resonance. His programs emphasize peer-to-peer learning, consistently shipping work, real world application, and those are all values that permeate his writing and his teaching. There is no disconnect at all between who Seth is, what he teaches, and how he monetizes his expertise. [00:15:39] Your business model determines not just your income, but your daily experience, your energy levels, and your long-term impact and potential. When this fifth component of commercialization works in harmony with the first four, you create something extraordinary, a full thought leadership system that is not just impactful, but sustainable, not just influential, but [00:16:00] profitable, and not just meaningful, but completely manageable. [00:16:03] So let's revisit how all five of them work together. Core resonance determines the authentic foundation on everything and how it's built. Your natural expression mode influences what type of IP you develop, which platform elements you emphasize, which connection strategies you employ, and which business models and which business models feel sustainable to you. [00:16:24] Your content, your transformational IP provides the structure that gives your central platform depth and substance. It gives your connection, activities, meaningful value to share, and it creates the basis for your commercialization offerings. Your central platform creates the foundation that houses your content. [00:16:42] It serves as the destination for your connection activities, and it provides infrastructure for your commercialization models. Those strategic connections you make, amplify your core residents to new audiences. Extend the reach of your content and your transformational ip. Bring traffic to your central platform and create [00:17:00] opportunities for expanded commercialization. [00:17:02] And finally, that commercialization when it's done intentionally, it provides financial sustainability that allows ongoing development of your intellectual property investment in your central platform. Resources for abilities to connect to people and the freedom to express your core resonance. This integration, this spiral, it creates compounding returns, improvements in any one component, strengthen all others just like a flywheel, and it creates this upward spiral of increasing effectiveness and impact. [00:17:31] How so? How do you do this? How do you start developing your own intentional commercialization strategy so we can complete this cycle, this system here are some practical first steps. First, I would assess your working genius. I am certified in Working Genius, and I love it. I think it's such a great assessment in terms of uncovering where your natural talents and your energies lie. Where do you thrive? Where do you struggle? Not just what you're good at, what actually gives you [00:18:00] energy and joy and satisfaction? For me, this reveals which business models feel energizing versus draining. Everyone I work with, every one of my clients, we always start with working genius assessment and a couple of other assessments because I want to understand and I want my clients to understand how they're wired. [00:18:17] So we can take that into consideration when we're looking at different types of business models. When we're looking at how do they wanna go connect with people, it is the core of everything that self-awareness. [00:18:29] The next thing I think you wanna do is identify your preferred delivery mode. Do you like working with large audiences or small groups or individuals? Do you know you might need to do some testing? Your natural preference here is a key indicator of which business models are gonna feel sustainable to you. [00:18:44] If it would be frustrating to have a whole bunch of people ask you questions or one person who comes back again and again and again, and answer questions, you want to pay attention to how those types of interactions energize you and which settings bring out your best teaching or coaching ability when it comes to presenting what [00:19:00] you want to teach and how you want to help people transform. [00:19:02] The third thing you wanna do is determine your ideal creator involvement. How directly do you wanna be involved in delivery? Some leaders really thrive on direct implementation. They want to be there. They want to see the lights come on in people's eyes. [00:19:15] Other people prefer to create systems that others can execute for them. There's really no right answer here. It's about you. It's about your decision and what you want to do , and only doing what aligns with your natural strengths and your lifestyle goals. The fourth thing you wanna do is look at your transformational IP and consider how it can be packaged into different offerings that align with your delivery mode and your ideal creator involvement. [00:19:39] What is a transformation you could deliver at different price points and through different delivery modes? Your principles, your practice, your processes, your frameworks, all of those things become the foundation for different monetization approaches. And then you wanna start testing. Before building some complex business model, test simple versions of your offering to see if there's demand for [00:20:00] them and to refine your approach based on real market feedback. [00:20:03] You don't have to get it perfect the first time. You just have to start small and learn and adjust as you go. I've been doing this, I've been testing minimum viable offerings for the past six months or so. Even though I've worked with thought leaders for the past 10 years, I've had a lot of these ideas rattling around in my brain, and it wasn't until I started testing them with clients that all of it started to come together and I'm able to start having some minimum viable offerings. We've got, I've got some one-on-one coaching that I've been doing, but in the next year or so, there are gonna be more structured offerings that align with my preferred delivery mode and my ideal creative involvement. [00:20:41] So hopefully you'll be watching out for those. [00:20:45] Like everything, your commercialization strategy can evolve over time, but it's important to start with offerings that feel the most aligned with your current capacity and expertise, and then expand as your platform and team grow. [00:20:56] Finally, once you've gone through this process of looking [00:21:00] at how you are wired, identifying your preferred delivery mode, deciding how involved you wanna be as the creator, translating your IP into offerings and testing those offerings, just remember that this could evolve over time. [00:21:12] Start with the offerings that feel most aligned with your current capacity and your current expertise, and then you can expand your platform. You can expand your team if you need to as you grow. [00:21:23] Without intentional commercialization. Even the most brilliant thought leadership eventually fades as financial reality sets in your business model determines not just your income, but your daily experience, your energy levels, and your long-term impact potential. [00:21:37] When you develop a commercialization strategy that aligns with your core resonance, showcases your transformational IP leverages your central platform and integrates with your connection activities. You create a sustainable system for turning your expertise into lasting influence and impact you can own. [00:21:53] So this completes our exploration of the resonant thought leadership system over the last six episodes. We've, we've [00:22:00] introduced them and, and taking a deep dive into these five integrated components that help transform your isolated experience into influence. Together these components create a self-reinforcing ecosystem that amplify your impact without burning you out. It's not about being everywhere, talking about everything. [00:22:16] It's about being strategically visible, consistently sharing the intellectual property that makes your voice worth hearing, and creating business models that support your long-term vision. Your ideas don't need more luck and they don't need more volume. Your ideas need a system, and now you have the blueprint to build yours. [00:22:37] Thank you for completing this journey through the Resident Thought Leadership System with me as we talked about intentional business models today, I hope this brought up a question in your mind of how can you create revenue streams that energize rather than drain you? [00:22:49] Well inside the resident thought leader kit is the business model alignment tool that we talked a little bit about today. There's a full matrix and some questions that can help you uncover what [00:23:00] delivery mode, what involvement you find the most energizing, so you can start to think about the business models that make the most sense for you. [00:23:08] As you work through this tool, you might discover some surprising insights about the business models that could naturally energize you, and I would love to hear what you uncover. So connect with me on social media at Macy Robison and let me know what you find out. And I hope you've already subscribed to the podcast because next week we're shifting gears a bit. [00:23:26] We're going to lean into the 10 thought leader archetypes that come from the components of my resident thought leadership system. [00:23:35] Starting with these archetypes can really help jumpstart you in figuring out what is going to be the most aligned, most impactful way to build your thought leadership business. So I hope you'll join me next week. Thanks for being here.