Growing up, I loved music and had my sights set>How I turned my passion into a business
I started the Recording Revolution as a blog and YouTube channel to share what I know about music and attract more clients for my production business.
Graham Cochrane works an average of five hours per week, and spends the rest of the time with his family.Photo: Graham Cochrane
At first, I posted three blogs>How I make $160,000 per month in passive income
In April 2010, I created and sold my first>My best tips for aspiring entrepreneurs
Starting my online side hustle — then committing to it full-time — changed my life. My original dream to be a musician has been replaced by what I'm doing now: Helping people live a more lucrative, flexible and meaningful life.
If you're an aspiring entrepreneur, here are my top three tips to help skyrocket your earnings:
1. Sell your skills to earn passive income.
When you're offering a service, there are two main dials you can turn to make more money: getting more clients and raising your rates. But this can be a problem because there are only so many hours in a day to take on clients, and there is always a limit to how much you can charge in your industry.
The turning point for me was when I got the idea to turn my knowledge of audio mixing and recording into an online course. Selling digital products provided a passive income stream and allowed me to make far more money in a day — while putting in less time — than I did working as a freelancer.
2. Give people a free sample of what you can offer.
A core belief of mine is that givers prosper. My entire business is built around giving the best free educational content, even when I could charge for it. That's why I have a blog, YouTube channel and podcast.
It seems counterintuitive, but here's why it works: Every piece of value-rich content I put out in the world acts as a magnet to draw people in, through the power of a Google or YouTube search. It's a way for people to discover and build trust with me.
Then, when I do sell a premium product, they are ready and willing to pay for it.
3. Build automatic systems.
Working only five hours per week helps me avoid burnout and allows me to spend more time with my family. This wouldn't be possible without having automatic systems in place.
For example, almost all of my marketing and follow-up communications with clients happen through automatic emails.
When people find my content, they have the option to sign up for more exclusive content via email. Once we're in contact, I have dozens of pre-written emails that automatically send. These emails offer business insights, tips and techniques, but also share which of my products they'll benefit from the most.
Focusing on email means that I don't spend hours on social media soliciting people in their DMs. I let content and email automation do the heavy lifting for me.
