Q&A with Lisa Parmley
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Lisa Parmley is the founder of coursemethod.com where she helps entrepreneurs start and scale their online course business. Lisa started her online course business back in the early days of 2001 in the test prep industry. BusinessBolts.com is a mixture of her expertise as well as the expertise of other course creators interviewed in her weekly course creator series.
Can you tell our readers about your background?
I have degrees in biochemistry and worked as a research scientist after graduating from school. At some point, I realized I could start a new career in the legal field just by passing an exam. I started looking for study materials to help prepare for the exam and only found expensive, live seminars. That’s when I realized there was an opportunity to create better at-home study materials.
So I passed the test and as I prepared, I created my own course. At the time no one was doing online courses, the technology just wasn’t there so I sold it as a box of materials that were shipped out to clients. Eventually, around 2004 I put together the first part of the course in an online format so my clients could access it immediately after enrolling. From there as the technology got better and better, I transitioned it over to a full, online course.
I’ve been running that course business for 18 years and have started a couple of other businesses during that time. The main one that I’d like to ultimately grow and focus on is businessbolts.com. It’s geared toward helping other online course creators start and scale their online training businesses.
What inspired you to start your business?
When I still worked for someone else I was always looking for the next, better thing.
Whether that was going back to school to get a better job or what, I didn’t know, but I was always looking. After my 3rd research position in a year and a half since graduation, I decided maybe the job part just wasn’t for me.
I came up with all kinds of ideas for businesses and even started some of them, but the test prep course was the one I finally settled on. It seemed like a win-win since I would have something to add to my resume afterward and possibly get another job for and/or start a business. So I went for that one and I’m glad I did!
Where is your business based?
I live and work in Denver, Colorado. I work from home most of the time and have a home office, but I’ve also tried working in co-working spaces too. I have a punch-card at one and sometimes go downtown to work that space for a change of scenery, but I usually work from my home.
How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?
I had to prepare for and pass the test and while I did that I put my study materials together. Once I passed, I had a decent first version of my product.
I created a website with an easy to use web builder from Yahoo web hosting (I think they’ve sold that part of their company since then).
Then I started a sole proprietorship and got a new checking account in my business name.
At the time, PayPal didn’t even exist (or if it did no one knew about it) so I did this weird process where people had to email me first if they wanted the study materials. Then I’d email the package to them through USPS (United States Postal Service) and when they went to pick it up, they could only claim it by writing me a check. The USPS would then send me the check.
I can’t even remember what that was called it was so long ago!
After I made a few sales I invested in AuthorizeNet so I could start taking credit cards over the internet. I remember feeling like I was definitely “in business” after I got that. It was a big deal and an awesome feeling.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?
I focus mostly on SEO for traffic. In fact, I’ve offered an SEO training course.
I’ve also used paid advertising which was mostly Google Adwords and done really well with it from time to time. However, I’m not currently running Adwords. Paid ads can be hard to stay on top of as the rules change and you need to track everything so meticulously I sometimes need a break from it.
With my test prep course, the market is small enough that it’s pretty easy to get enough exposure to make a profit. I found with paid advertising lately I was getting a lot of refunds over time (and I generally get none or very few). This made it not profitable to run so I’ve cut them out for now.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
I’ve noticed there’s always a new biggest challenge!
Starting my businessbolts.com site I ran into the challenge of not having any visitors at first and having to go through all that all over again. It can take a while to get very many visitors through SEO so I thought I should learn a little more about social media marketing for some faster traffic.
I noticed sometimes I don’t feel like learning new things and other times I love it! I guess it just depends on what the new thing is.
I was resistant to learning much about social media marketing since you don’t control the platform, but I’ve slowly started building a strategy for using it. It was definitely a challenge I had to work up to though, mostly by just taking baby steps. They eventually add up.
How do you stay focused?
I wish I could be even better at staying focused. When I get into a project I really like then there’s no turning me away from it, so I try to get myself in that mindset.
I work on creating a vision (one that I like enough to get in the mindset above) and then breaking it down into projects and finally, smaller tasks.
From there I just try to convince myself that it will work and to keep going after it. It can be a struggle when things don’t move as quickly as you want. At that point, I might reevaluate the plan and even change it.
It’s one of those things where you’ll end up wondering ‘if I just tried a little longer maybe it will work’ or give up on it. I think most of us entrepreneurs have a good instinct for this and believing that (whether it’s true or not) usually helps keep me focused.
How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
This is one of my favorite parts of being a business owner. I love researching my competition and then creating a list of what they have to offer.
From there I try to find gaps in the market and fill those gaps if I think they are valuable to others. It’s a strategy that’s always worked well for me because I’m always offering something different from everyone else.
For instance, with the test prep course, competitors were selling live training seminars so I offered an at-home version. Now everyone’s offering online training which I offer too, but I also have an upgrade option to send out a print version for people who don’t want to only study from their computer.
There are different levels of differentiation too. With pricing, sales copy, just the angle you’re going after. I try to look at all the different levels and really research what’s out there and what at least a segment of the market wants that isn’t available.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
Definitely SEO and then focusing on building a list. I’m not afraid to have multiple lead magnets on the same site. I think that’s the best plan because not all prospects are at the same place in their journey.
With coursemethod.com/, I have visitors who don’t have an online course business set-up, they don’t know if they want to get into this industry, and they have no idea how to go about it if they decide it’s right for them. Then I also have visitors who are earning 6-figures plus a year who want to learn new strategies and gain new perspectives. So ultimately, I’ll have lead magnets for each segment and even those in between.
In addition, it’s also kind of a guessing game as to what your ideal visitor even wants. So you can guess and create what you think is that perfect lead magnet, but it’s not always right. Instead of ditching it all together you can just keep it and add in another one to see how it pulls.
What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
I think we all hesitate. I know I still do but I wish I didn’t.
I think the best advice is to not be so afraid of trying something new. It’s hard to put yourself out there, but it can be well worth it.
If what you’re offering could help someone else then you owe it to the world as well as yourself to just put it out there.
What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?
I would be lost without OneDrive so I can sync everything across all my devices.
For someone who has their own blog can I admit I don’t really have any blog favorites? That sounds so bad, but it’s true. When I’m not working, I don’t really want to read on my computer or phone, I just want to look away from a screen!
If I’m going to read anything online then it’s usually a lighter blog or article based on actual success stories and good tips.
There are so many good books out there. I’ve been starting to read more lately since it’s such a good habit to get into. This month I read the 12 Week Year and then I had re-read Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition right before that.
What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?
I have a love/hate relationship with Infusionsoft. I’ve been using it for a very long time and for a lot of that time it was so complicated that I could almost not stand it. Anymore whether it’s because I’ve gotten used to it or due to their upgrades it’s actually something I love.
This may sound ridiculous, but I’m also somewhat addicted to my Alexa score. I know that it’s a mostly worthless app and score, but it moves quickly and it does move in the right direction pretty accurately.
By that I mean if I start gaining more traffic then my number goes down (lower is better) and I love to feel like I’m making progress.
Since coursemethod.com is a newer venture my traffic numbers and subscribers don’t move very impressively, but my Alexa number sure does! I know I’m not going to get 50K new subscribers over the next week, but I’ll likely move down that much on Alexa over the next week.
So I check that more often than I should because it moves and I’m at the stage where it moves more than anything else.
Who is your business role model? Why?
I like Brendon Burchard. He has a great message. I also admire Michael Stelzner of socialmediaexaminer.com due to how quickly he was able to grow his blog and brand.
What is your beauty routine? What are some of your favorite products?
Not a question I was expecting, but I love it! I definitely try to take care of my hair and skin. I do get my hair highlighted every 3 months or so which is probably one of the things I started treating myself to when my business took off. You’ve got to have your priorities, right?
I use Clinique products for my skin for cleansing and foundation. Anymore I do use black eyeliner and go for the smoky eye look. It’s dry where I live so lip therapy is a must. That’s kind of my daily look which is pretty casual, but a step up from rolling out of bed and working in my pj’s.
How do you balance work and life?
Having a home office and a business makes a work/life really challenging because it’s blurred. You don’t leave your job and come him, your office is just right in the house. After doing this for so long, I honestly don’t know if the perfect work/life balance is really possible, at least for me. I just do the best I can.
My top priority is my family. I have my husband and my two children who are both at school. Before they went to school it was even more challenging, but even now that they’re both old enough for a full day of school there’s always random days off, long breaks, and days off due to illness.
It can be frustrating to throw work plans out the window, but that’s how I choose to operate. During scheduled times off I just don’t plan to get as much done and that’s OK. It’s my choice and one I make willingly so I can be there for my children.
When they’re at school I make sure I try to get as much work done as possible and try to stay focused and organized as best I can. Sometimes I work at night and on weekends, especially when I feel I need to or am really focused on a project.
I just do the best I can to make it all work, but even after all the years of doing this, I’m not perfect at it, but that’s OK. I think you need to set boundaries and pick your top focus. Just try to keep that your top focus. Accept that you can’t control everything and it’ll all work out beyond that.
What’s your favorite way to decompress?
Lately it’s been watching Netflix with my husband. I also really like going for walks and relaxing with my kids; just being involved in their lives at home and at school.
What do you have planned for the next six months?
I’m really focused on growing businessbolts.com. I’d like to publish an interview with a new course creator at least twice a week and put out some other great content to help people start and scale their online course businesses.
How can our readers connect with you?
Please join me at businessbolts.com and on the following social media platforms:
https://twitter.com/course_method
https://www.instagram.com/coursemethod/
https://www.pinterest.com/course_method/
https://www.facebook.com/coursemethod/