#597: Real Estate Investing Or Art Journaling: How A Digital Course Creates Profit, No Matter Your Industry [Interview with Jaren Sustar & Teresa Merriman]

What 2 of my students have done to create profitable, sustainable businesses by creating a digital course

If you’re anything like me, you like to have all of your facts straight before making any big business decisions. 

In fact, a big part of my decision-making process is learning about other business owners who’ve done something similar, and what their experience was like. 

I always find that hearing stories from those who’ve gone before me helps ease my mind about doing something new.

So if you’ve been considering creating a digital course, but aren’t 100% sure whether it’s the right decision-- or if your business will translate well into this type of model -- then pay close attention to what you hear in this episode. 

I sit down with two of my DCA graduates who started their digital course journeys with very different backgrounds. My student Jaren was a real estate investor, while my student Teresa sold art journals at festivals. Apples and oranges, I tell ya! 

We dive into the reasons they decided to create a digital course in the first place, the nuts and bolts of their course launches, the challenges they faced along the way -- and here’s the fun part -- how a digital course has changed their lives and businesses for the better. 

I hope that if you’re struggling with the decision of whether to create a digital course, then these interviews will give you an honest look at what life could be like for you. 

Happy listening! 

Here’s a glance at this episode...

• [03:50] Jaren Sustar is a real estate investor and founder of Finance Cowboy. His digital course helps people find and manage rental properties or flips.
• [05:02] Teresa Merriman created a course about travel art journaling. She even filmed her course in Croatia. 
• [07:09] Jaren began his career as a truck driver. He transitioned into sales and also started buying real estate. Finance Cowboy was born in 2021. 
• [12:21] Jaren joined List Builders Society and grew his list from 700 to 14,000 people.
• [13:02] After taking DCA, Jaron added a course to his business. The course allowed him to go really deep and take his students to the next level.
• [16:14] Jaren’s course is called The Rental Academy. He charged $3,000 and built a waiting list of 1200 people for his first launch. He made over $200,000.
• [23:56] Having a course has allowed Jaren to hire four full-time employees and coaches. 
• [29:56] Teresa has been an exhibiting artist since 2005. She makes beautiful ornate leather-bound journals.
• [31:03] During the pandemic, Teresa began offering a limited series online. She had an audience.
• [33:45] Teresa heard about digital courses and decided to niche down by focusing on travel journaling. 
• [38:28] Teresa's course launch consisted of social media and emails. It was $497 and she sold 32 in her first launch. 
• [42:42] She's now prepared to better describe and talk about her course when she does her second launch.
• [47:10] Teresa created a membership and has an in-person art retreat coming up this fall. Today she has more freedom with her time and makes a greater impact.

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