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When Amigos Ingleses first burst onto the podcast scene in 2012, few people even knew what a podcast was. Fast forward nine years and lively creators Isabel and Phillip have gathered together more than a million Spanish speakers, all wanting to speak English fluently and confidently.
What you’ll learn in this interview:
- The importance of shifting from a teaching to a business mindset
- How to beat the overwhelm with planning and organisation.
- Overcome your reluctance to sell products by understanding their value to your audience.
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Isabel and Phillip’s story
When Phillip decided to take a gap year in Madrid after finishing a performing arts degree, he had no idea that he’d learn to teach English, meet and marry a beautiful Spaniard and start a language business.
With a business and marketing background, Isabel had always wanted to live in London, so they moved back to England and settled into teaching and hotel front-of-house jobs.
But Isabel soon realised that her textbook English was almost useless in London. Realising that she couldn’t be the only Spanish speaker with that predicament, Phillip and Isabel started the Amigos Ingleses (English Friends) podcast to help others speak and understand fluent, modern English too.
Through trial and error, they built up a creative, funny brand of podcasts and YouTube videos. Then one day, Isabel bought large glasses and telephones to use in a lesson. Suddenly, their roles gelled, and their audience loved it. The duo built the props into their colourful brand and have never looked back.
Five years later, with course sales exceeding Isabel’s monthly pay packet, their website was awarded “Best Blog of the Year” from a Spanish newspaper. The time was right to go full-time into the English Language business.
Shift to a business mindset
It’s always a challenge for a creator and teacher to become a business owner because you have to see yourself in a different light. “You never stop learning,” says Phillip. “Anything you need to know, you can find a way to learn it online.” Hire a business coach or connect with others in similar situations to learn and grow.
Sure, teaching and creating content is an integral part of your business, but they won’t earn you a living on their own. Marketing, customer service, editing, accounting and more are all essential facets too.
Phillip and Isabel have dealt with that by dividing their business into departments. Instead of making every decision together, he is in charge of content and teaching while she takes care of the marketing side.
Beat the overwhelm by being organised
When you’re an entrepreneur, it’s easy to go overboard and work all the time. You think about your business constantly and leave little time for private life. Although it’s exciting to take on new challenges and projects, you need to plan for time out, too. If you don’t, eventually, you’ll be overwhelmed by the work and pressure.
Isabel and Phillip have been there! From their struggles, they’ve learned that organisation is the key to beating the overwhelm and creating a work-life balance.
Overcome your marketing and selling fears by understanding the value of your products
Many teachers feel uncomfortable with selling products. They’ve given their content away for so long that they’re scared of “spamming” their audience with marketing offers.
Creators need to realise that their products are valuable, and people who need them are willing to pay for the solution and convenience. That allows you to invest more time and energy into your audience and business to give them even better content in the future. It’s a win for everyone.
A key step is to warm up your audience and get them excited about the product before launching it. If you have that relationship with your audience, and you know they’ve been asking for something, then you don’t need hard-sell tactics. You can tell them about it, and those who are ready will buy.
Phillip and Isabel’s tips for Langpreneurs
You don’t need to have a huge audience to make things work.
Offer real value in an original way, and people who resonate with that will come.
Be focused, and you’ll start seeing results.
Be patient, put in the work, and don’t expect success to happen overnight.
Love your business and enjoy the freedom of being your own boss.
The power of the internet is fantastic – remember, you’re doing a great job!
Contact
YouTube
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