Do you have what it takes to empower and inspire people? Have you considered a career in the self-improvement industry? With the rise of the internet, it is easier than ever before to help people turn their lives around and become stronger individuals. People are willing to invest in learning how to enhance their lives. If you have changed your life, why not change the lives of others? Perhaps you are in a position to share your success story with the world. I’m encouraging you to think seriously about how you could empower and inspire people around the world.
The Growth of the Self-improvement Industry
I’m currently training people to enter the self-improvement industry – an industry that is expanding rapidly. In the United States it generates $11 billion in sales every year. I found it hard to track down figures on how much the self-improvement industry is worth in Australia, but I did discover that one segment of that industry – weight loss – is worth $600 million annually. Meanwhile in Britain the self-improvement industry is valued at more than £500 million, including £60 million in self-help book sales. So if you have life expertise consider selling it online! With the internet, it is easier than ever before to tap into the US and British markets and even publish your own book.
The Growth of the Self-improvement Book Market
The US self-improvement book market is worth $650 million. Hundreds of thousands of people are buying these books, listening to tapes and attending seminars. It’s true that reading books and attending seminars alone won’t change your life – you need to work at it! Do you have what it takes to motivate others to take action? I’m sure you know that action is the key to success. Hard work is at the start of every great project.
The Multiple Ways to Market Yourself
What have you learned in your life and how could your wisdom improve other people’s lives? Could you share your joy, wisdom, philosophies and outlook? If the answer is yes, it’s time to get to work! There are multiple ways to market your knowledge – subscriber blogs, books, CDs, seminars, workshops and personal coaching. The digital delivery of content is playing a bigger role than ever before for self-improvement programs and services. In the United States, more than 24 million people listen to audiobooks. Of this, self-improvement titles account for 14% of sales, that’s $590 million. Many of the baby boomers working as mentors, self-help authors and life coaches are coming up to retirement age. There is a need for more people to enter the self-improvement industry.
The Growth of the Life Coaching Industry
If you have listened to my CDs or read my books, then you know there are ways of changing thinking patterns for the better. But in order to change thought patterns you need to understand how the mind works and have some insight into people’s unhealthy thinking patterns. Again, is that you and is it time for you to help others? Could you be a life coach? There are around 1,500 in Australia but demand is growing. A life coach helps you take action to make positive changes. The coach motivates you and also holds you to account by monitoring your progress. A life coach does not have all the answers. Like a good psychologist, the life coach will ask you the right questions and your answers will ultimately determine your direction. But a life coach is not a psychologist or counsellor. They tend to focus on the past. They help their patients identify where they went wrong so they don’t repeat the same mistake. That might mean the patient spends a lot of time analysing their past. A life coach focuses on now and what practical action you can take to change today. There are around 16,000 life coaches in America, but the strongest demand in the US is for corporate coaches. This is a $760 million market. The average business coach in the US earns about $60,000 a year and many work part-time!
The Need for Good Motivational Speakers
There is always a demand for good motivational speakers. In the US the top nine speakers earn $200 million a year! The top 5,000 earn more than a billion dollars per annum! In Australia the top motivational speakers earn $10,000 to $50,000 for a 90 minute talk.
Your Income Potential
If you were to monetise your expertise what sort of income could you make? I’ll give you an idea. If you wrote a book and self-published it online you could set a modest fee of $20. Sell 1,000 copies and that is a sum of $20,000. To re-enforce the lessons you teach, you might create a webinar or weekly email newsletter or an online course that continues for a year. A fee of $40 would earn you $4,000 if you had 100 subscribers. If your e-book sells brilliantly you could consider running a seminar. My first book, Wake up and Dream, sold 400,000 copies. If you run a two-day seminar and charge $200, you will earn $30,000 if 150 people attend. If you can genuinely help people turn their lives around, then you deserve to be rewarded for your efforts!
Case Studies
The self-improvement industry is not a new industry. It is very established and reputable. In 1848 Benjamin Franklin released the booklet The Way to Wealth. Ten years later the Scottish social reformer, Samuel Smiles published the book Self-Help¸ and told readers that “heaven helps those who help themselves”. Self-Help was a smash hit and outsold Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. It sold 250,000 copies, but the first mega best-seller and still one of the greats was Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, published in 1936. This book, which combines old-fashioned wisdom and psychology, has sold more than 30 million copies.
For decades the self-improvement industry has been assisting people get their lives on track. It has helped people become happier, healthier, richer, wiser, more productive and more balanced individuals. If you have benefited from the industry, are you now in a position to give back?
ABOUT PAT MESITI
Pat Mesiti is a best-selling author, coach and educator in the area of personal development. Having built some of Australia’s largest people-driven organisations, Pat understands the power of harnessing human potential. He has shared the stage with some of the world’s great business minds and has sold over millions of copies of his books and materials.