Why I Make Some Training for Annual Members Only

byTDenise

5.7K followers

5 years ago

This post is going to be tough love. This is going to come from my military side, and not my sensitive side. If you can't handle tough love, click away now because this post may hurt your feelings, and that's not why I wrote it.

This morning I woke up to a complaint about my recent decision to make some training for monthly members and some training for annual members, and I want to address this issue for all those who might have the same questions.

I love this community. I love the people. I love the platform Kyle and Carson have built. I love the potential.

I'm also a business owner and a person whose been in family of entrepreneurs. I know there are requirements to start and grow a business. Sadly, some people won't be able to meet the requirements unless they level up.

Business Requires Sacrifice

I'm not exempt from the sacrifice required to make a business (or other life journey) work. In fact, I have many more sacrifices lined up in order to get where I want to be.

There are people who are not reachable to me at this point because I haven't sacrificed what it takes to reach them (whether that means I haven't reached the level of knowledge or paid for the products or services that would make us have something in common). That's not their issue--that's my issue.

Just to illustrate this a bit more...

This isn't something I want, but this should serve as a good example...

I'm ineligible to compete as a bodybuilder at this point because I haven't done what it takes. Most competitors have abs. In fact, they have six-packs and I have a one-pack. Should I complain that I can't compete? I haven't done what it takes. The standard is set and I don't meet it, so I'm not ready. It is what it is. Business is like many other journeys:

• Parenting
• Weight Loss
• Becoming Debt Free
• Climbing the corporate ladder
• or, Becoming the best in your trade

You have to change your priorities to make it work. When you decide you want to start a business, you have to make decisions about changing how you spend money, you have to change how you spend time, you have to change the boundaries in your relationships, and many other really difficult changes!

Business requires sacrifice.

You can't expect to run a business and spend money how you did prior or spend time how you did prior. Some people are misguided with their expectations of business. You can't go into weight loss saying I'm giving it one month and 4 hours per day and I want to lose 200lbs.

Your body may not even be ready to lose 10lbs in one month. Everyone is different. Weight loss requires sacrifice and you have to commit to making it work regardless (if you're serious).

Business is no different. It requires habit change, discipline, sacrifice, and prioritization. If you don't get those four ingredients right, you won't be successful--plain and simple.

The Entitlement Mentality

Business requires sacrifice. Many people are willing to go to Verizon, TMobile, or their local mobile phone service and buy an IPhone. They are also willing to drive in modern cars and live in middle class or higher neighborhoods, but when they want to start a business, they project an entitlement mentality on their vendors, and expect them to accomodate them by lowering their prices, so they can start a business.

This is wrong. I've seen people with this mentality complaining about a $359 annual membership at WA (a business investment), and I don't have pity for them. Every entrepreneur has to sacrifice. I have to sacrifice to pursue my dreams and you should too. If you want your business to work, you're going to have to feel a bit of pain and dicomfort--every successful person will tell you that.

Increase Your Pain Tolerance if You're Serious About Business

Oprah shot episodes of her show when she would've preferred spending the time on herself and Warren Buffet spent money on his business when he might have preferred doing something else for himself with it. It is what it is. Business requires sacrifice. You have to get a little uncomfortable at times.

Don't project your discomfort onto others.

That's a line I put in the sand. The price I put on my products or whether I segment my training to monthly or annual members is my choice. Whether annual or monthly is what you want to pay is your choice. We may or may not be a good fit. I sacrificed to take the time researching and filming it. I put a boundary (that I believe is for your good) in exchange for you to access it. You can choose to watch it by going annual or not to by staying where you are.

No one is forcing. I don't do any manipulation or unethical pitching. I'm clear. This is for annual and this is for monthly--that's the "price" I require.

Those Who Have an Income Problem

On the other hand, there are people who are living on social security, disability, food stamps, or in poverty, and they are taking their best step by joining here as monthly members. I applaud you. You're headed in the right direction. When I was at my lowest low, business was a priority to my husband and I also, so we hustled our way out.

You can do it, and as you progress in your journey, you'll be able to make more choices about how you'll continue to invest in your business. For me, as I progressed in business, my spending in business increased. I started spending hundreds, and as my business grew, I spent thousands, then tens of thousands--that's how it goes.

The more people you serve, the more supplies, equipment, and labor you need. The bigger the business, the bigger the cost. If you're at the tens level, you have to be content with what you can access, and be excited for the light at the end of the tunnel when you can afford to access more.

My money situation is my responsibility and your money situation is your responsibility. There will be some people who want to bless you along the way, but don't project that on anyone as if you're entitled.

There's still things I want and can't access yet, but guess what I do? I don't complain. I put it on my vision board and I hustle my way towards it.

I want to Inspire You Not Hurt You

As a general consensus of those that have complained about my decision to make some annual training and some monthly training, it seems that the people are taking my decision personally. I've heard people say things like:

• You know I don't have money, why are you making your training for annual members
• You know there are people here who live on disability or are financially disadvantaged and can't afford annual membership, so why do you make training for annual when you know people will be excluded
• It's childish to segment training between monthly members and annual members
• and the list of complaints surrounding my decision goes on...

I did not segment my training between monthly members and annual members to make anyone feel excluded. I would love to be able to help and serve everyone, but as a business owner, sitting down and calculating my business plan, I have to make decisions that will enable my business to thrive.

In Business, You Can't Make Everything Free or Low Cost, or You'll Go Out of Business

I can't make everything free. I love making things accessible at various price ranges, and I have. I also plan to continue making things accessible at different price ranges, but I can't make everything $8 or $23.50 per month, and I can't make everything $359/yr, and expect to fulfill the purpose I have here on this Earth. I have to make sound financial decisions in order to achieve everything I know I'm supposed to--this is one of those decisions.

Added to that, I know that my nudging people towards annual membership is a good thing for a specific target audience: the people who want to start ot grow a business (especially an affiliate business).

This situation reminds me of when my kids don't want to eat their vegetables. Sometimes, if I know it's best for them to grow up strong and achieve their goals, I have to push--that's what I'm doing here.

I believe annual membership is good for you because:

• You save 40%: from $49/mo to $29/mo
• You express commitment to your business
• It's a great value
• There are great case studies demonstrating the results of annual commitment here
• and this is a great community to support you along the way

As a result I push. Majority of the people here that make the decision to go annual will have no impact on my income--that's not why I recommend annual membership. I recommend it because you (people who join here) say you want to start or grow a business, and I believe going annual would be a move in the right direction.

The Monthly Mentality vs. The Annual Mentality

At the core of it, I've seen a large difference in the monthly mentality and the annual mentality. I love you regardless of which school of thought you fit into, but I make a distinction of how much I'll commit to your journey. Let me explain...

• There are people here who say to themselves, I want to try this out and see if it works for me
• I'll give this a month or two and if I'm not getting results, I'm out
• There are people whose finances are barely held together
• And,there are people that if you got the chance to look at their bank statements, you would see they're priorities aren't directed towards being a successful business owner

In many instances, these are the group I've observed are monthly members. While I love this group of people, I know they're not ready for some of the things I can offer at this point in their lives. I have a Youtube channel with lots of free content, a blog with hundreds of posts, and training here for you. I'm also very responsive to questions here and I respond to all of my PMs, but that's my limit.

On the other hand, there's a group of people who:

• Are willing to do what it takes
• Committed to doing--not trying
• Are willing to sacrifice because it's that important
• You can see on their bank statements and in their schedules that they're giving their all
• This isn't an experiment or a hobby for them, this is a reality and a lifestyle

I can't say all annual members are like this, but it's much more common to find people in this school of thought who are annual members. Those people have values in common with me, and I want to connect with like-minded people and talk about business on a serious level. This is my target audience and the people I'm committed to: inside and outside of Wealthy Affiliate.

I Don't Want to Convince People that Aren't Ready

If you're not ready, it's fine--that's your choice. Also, don't upgrade until your mindset is ready--that wouldn't help. There are people who are in kindergarten who would prefer to be in 5th grade. Who wouldn't want to be closer to graduation? There are people who get paid minimum wage who want to be paid as execs. Who wouldn't? There is a process and business takes sacrifice.

Don't complain about where you are or make people feel like they have to come to your level to meet you. I've been there and I worked my way out, and work to stay my way out everyday. You can too. If you're not ready, I want to be honest and draw a line. When you're ready, my training and services are available, and so am I.

Disclaimer: This was meant to be a dose of tough love--not meant to offend you. I know some people will be upset with this and that wasn't my goal. This was meant to draw the line, and I don't think this can be done perfectly or without any hurt feelings.

My Questions to You

• How do you want to be compensated for your content creation online?
• Would you be okay with someone telling you that you should charge less or request less (in my case) in exchange for your products or services (especially considering you know the cost of your production and your time)?
• How can content creators be empathetic of various income situations, but position themselves best for their business growth?