Greg Smith

CEO & Co-Founder @thinkific, Entrepreneur, Lawyer, Kiteboarder, LSAT instructor @alphascore - with a passion for helping entrepreneurs and businesses teach

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

We’ve been seeing an exciting shift that warranted a deeper dive: the rise of the expert economy. Here are the results of that exploration, @thinkific's Expert Economy Insider Report!

These are the entrepreneurs who build a business around their specialized knowledge, skill or experience.

Consultants, trainers, coaches and subject matter experts have been monetizing their knowledge through educational products like courses and training.

Our team has had the privilege of working closely with successful experts and in this report, we dive into the strategies driving their growth and share some surprising insights.

Download it here: https://t.co/93x2qsaxQP

[Thinkific @thinkific]

Social media is undoubtedly a key part of most small businesses’ marketing strategies — but “going viral” or having millions of followers might not be as important as you’d think.

We're spilling the secrets on how you can best optimize your audience to see real business growth in our Expert Economy Insider Report:

➡️ Learn what are the best ways to leverage a smaller (but mighty) audience
➡️ Find out how your customers can be your best marketing tools
➡️ Discover how to draw an audience in and keep them engaged

Get it free: https://t.co/EgCsokVTbK

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

So, you’ve successfully turned your passion into a viable business… But what happens when that passion starts to fade — which happens so often when hobbies become work.

Here are 4 “happiness hacks” that helped me stay engaged and inspired: https://t.co/U6ZNkI3peG

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

At age 13, @JustinTse started his YouTube channel as “just a hobby.” His first viral video, a Samsung vs. Apple comparison video, got 3.5M views — and it was made and uploaded from his school library.

Today, he’s the founder of a thriving media company and a content creator with over 150 million views on YouTube.

Check out our conversation on how Justin turned his passion for tech into a business empire: https://t.co/y9d6nJNvXO

[Janis Ozolins @OzolinsJanis]

Success is rare because it starts with what most want to avoid: failure.

[Thinkific @thinkific]

We have some exciting news to share: Thinkific has been named a @G2dotcom Best Software Award Winner 🎊

Thinkific is placed among the world’s top software companies (less than 1% of software companies make this list!) and we ranked in the Top 50 for:

🏆 Best Customer Service Software Products
🏆 Best Education Software Products
🏆 Best Software Companies in Canada

Thank you to our incredible customers and community — we couldn’t do it without you!

We’re so excited to continue making an impact and we have some big things planned for this year. Check out more about our win and how we got here: https://t.co/ioZsg6hdUa

[Thinkific @thinkific]

People aren't just buying what you teach, they're also buying *how* you teach. Your personal touch matters.

[Thinkific @thinkific]

You got questions, we got answers.

This is your chance to get your questions answered, in addition to a presentation of key Thinkific product features!

Drop your questions below and we'll see you there 👋

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

Taylor Loren is a seasoned brand marketer and creator who has led social media strategy at Later and worked with brands like Hootsuite, Shopify and Girlboss. I had a great conversation with her about her journey moving from corporate roles to starting her own consultancy!

Some tidbits from our chat:

- Why she doubled down on her niche:

Taylor decided that instead of being the marketing and social expert for everything — which was burning her out — she would focus on the aspect of marketing that she loved the most: content strategy.

- Setting realistic goals:

There’s a pressure on creators to keep churning out content and it can feel like you’re on a hamster wheel. Taylor talked about setting realistic goals based on the resources you have which she found to be a more sustainable approach.

- Her key to a long-lasting career as an entrepreneur:

Taylor keeps her north star focused on what she loves to do. She asks herself: What do I need to do to ensure that I can spend more time doing what I love? All business decisions (for example: hiring) go back to this north star.

Thanks Taylor for this conversion! Full episode below: https://t.co/GA0FyhbnYN

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

I’ve worked with hundreds of small business owners to launch and scale their businesses and one of the biggest mistakes I see them make is to delay growing a team.

I know it’s a tricky decision but here are four tips on knowing when/how to make your first hire: https://t.co/ldje60nA9f

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

Have you licked your toads today? Whenever I get asked about time management tips, I think about an analogy that puts into perspective the power of freeing up your time and energy — and it all starts with ‘licking your toads’.

This is a concept from my coach Kevin Lawrence who wrote the book “Your Oxygen Mask First.”

He would tell you to imagine that you have a great, big, smelly, toad and that you’re going to have to lick it by the end of the year.

Most people won’t and will wait until the last moment. But they’ll be constantly thinking about it, and likely the toad will gather more toad friends, and one toad turns into 20, turns into 50.

When you finally get to the end of year, you lick the toad, get the task complete and realize: “That wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected.”

But you still wasted a year of your life dragging this thing around.

That’s what toads are about. They’re the seemingly little things that we dread doing and avoid at all costs.

But they end up weighing us down and preventing us from doing the things that actually matter.

It’s a vivid analogy that stuck with me since and I think it applies to every day, not just every year. Nowadays, I do my best to lick my toads first thing in the morning and it frees up my time and energy to focus on the important things.

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

Every entrepreneur wants to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But for creators, who are often the face of their businesses, taking a break can be challenging.

These strategies, shared in my latest article, will give you back the time and funds you need for your next move (even if it’s just a vacation): https://t.co/8ZFhYWUuf2

[Thinkific @thinkific]

Curious how we've implemented AI across our platform?
Here's a wrap up of all the AI features we've implemented this past year and how it's used: https://t.co/HrrrxPX6Xr

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

One of the most important things you have to do as a leader is to “give away your legos.” (Credit for the phrase goes to my co-founder and former COO of @thinkific, @mirandal who often talked about this.)

As your business grows, you need to hire people and delegate to them. This isn’t a secret.

But what most people don’t realize is that eventually, you have to delegate the tasks that you *enjoy* doing to people who are better at it than you — essentially, you have to give away your favourite toys.

This is what I’ve learned to keep in mind:

- The challenge for CEOs or leaders is letting go of responsibilities you enjoy — that might also be a big part of your role at the moment— and hiring someone who’s better than you.

I think people sometimes get in the mindset of: “If I hire someone better than me, they’re going to take my job.” Realistically, hiring people who are smarter than you will only push you (and the entire company) up.

- It might be tough to “give away your legos” but doing so gives you the opportunity to pick up new toys.

I used to love doing Thinkific’s accounting but eventually, it didn’t make sense for me to continue doing it when there were more efficient places to apply my time and better people to take on this responsibility.

At the time, it was a lego that I loved playing with and I didn’t want to give up but I’m so glad I did.

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

Looking to build or grow your digital learning business? Want to launch a community or a course? The next few months are probably the best time to do it because @thinkific has put together another incredible Black Friday deal!

It’s too good not to share and it has everything you need to launch a thriving digital learning business.

Learn more here: https://t.co/iIbWjcu6z0

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

15 years ago, this creator was looking for a change in his life and looked to fitness for motivation. What started as a way to boost his self-esteem eventually set him on the path to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Today, he generates $100K annually, has over 1 million followers on social media and teaches over 3000 students. Here’s how trainer and @thinkific creator Phil Hynes did it: https://t.co/lWplRR7hAl

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

There are 3 things many top creators are doing to grow and scale their business:

1) They start with a niche.

Successful creators start by focusing on what they’re good at. They often narrow the focus to a particular niche vs a really broad offering — and it’s okay if that means a smaller customer base. In fact, it’s often a much better place to start and grow. I think it’s better to be impactful to few than mediocre to many.

2) They have a recurring revenue component to their business.

For example: this approach might take the form of a monthly subscription or tiered access to resources or consulting.

And beyond financial stability, there are also benefits to building a long-term relationship with an audience. Creators can get a deeper understanding of their customers’ pain points and create accountability for learning and growing together.

From my experience, there are other strategies creators can embrace to scale but recurring revenue is one method that is very effective.

3) They focus on building an authentic connection.

Creators aren’t necessarily successful because they’re experts at a topic. While that’s a part of it, another key is the kind of connection they can form with an audience — their individual way in which they teach a subject in order to create change in their customer’s lives.

Successful creators know that it’s not just about delivering information, it’s about impact and that often involves creating a sense of community.

What am I missing? What are the ingredients for a successful creator business?

[Tim Chipperfield @timchipperfield]

At @thinkific, our AI microservice is a big part future of learning. From quizzes to auto-captions, AI is transforming how creators work! Dive into our journey with my latest Medium post: https://t.co/Yypg4jSUQM #AI #EdTech #Innovation #SoftwareEngineering

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

“The next media empire won’t be built in a Hollywood studio or a New York skyscraper. It’ll be crafted in living rooms, home offices and coffee shops worldwide.”

This prediction comes from @thinkific’s General Manager of High Growth Creators, who was interviewed by @Net_Influencer: https://t.co/A01HfUBnsZ

[Greg Smith @GregThinkific]

Thanks to @BradWeimert for having me on your Beyond a Millionaire podcast!

We chatted about:

>> Shiny object syndrome and creating new features

>> The future of course creation

>> What’s *not* going to change for content creators

>> How leadership roles change as a company grows and more

https://t.co/Zd2h55PUdH.