Climbing the career ladder isn’t what it used to be. Now, more than ever, professionals are turning to digital side projects and fresh marketing opportunities to unlock career development.
Business consultant Luna Vega grew her network, landed new clients, and expanded her business thanks to her digital side project: teaching on Skillshare.
After earning her Masters from NYU, Luna began her career in digital advertising. While working at an agency, she gained experience as a digital project manager. This sparked an interest in digital marketing and she started her own marketing blog in 2008. “At the time, I continued to freelance for various digital advertising agencies but slowly started to take on my own consulting clients. By April 2014, I published a book, The Global Influence: Ecommerce Marketing Tips for Small Businesses. I wanted to help more small businesses reach their dreams while understanding the possibilities of social media and the digital space.” Luna continued to expand her freelance work, leading her to build a full-time consulting business for Fashion start-ups & retailers.
But Luna didn’t stop there. She looked for more outlets to share her expertise in the digital marketing field. “When I launched my book, I decided to start a weekly Youtube Channel and a podcast. I wanted to share my knowledge on a more consistent basis. I taught quick 1 to 3 minutes lessons on various digital marketing topics. The following evolved to live workshops and soon after Skillshare.”
Teaching on Skillshare has become a crucial side project for Luna, allowing her to grow professionally. “Skillshare has helped my business tremendously. I found a platform where people are avid learners. It helped me grow my reach – in some ways quicker than Youtube.” As she began to teach more classes on Skillshare, she further positioned herself as an expert in her field, causing others to notice. “Skillshare has made it easier for me to connect with peers in the industry. Now, when I connect with peers, I often get – oh yes I saw your class on Skillshare. It has also helped me forge new collaborations. As a matter of fact, I recently contributed to StartUp Toolkit because the founder had taken my Influencer Marketing Class.”
The income she receives from teaching directly supports her business. “My Skillshare earnings have helped me cover some of my recurring business bills. It’s crazy how quickly it adds up between B2B features and assistants. I am working in these next few months to create more classes to double my earnings.”
Luna’s advice for becoming a consultant: “Focus on building a community first. Skillshare is a great launchpad for any freelance and consulting business owner – not only because you can continue learning from other entrepreneurs but also because it provides you an opportunity to grow your audience.”
“As someone who dabbled in it all, having my own iTunes Podcast, a Youtube channel, etc… I found that Skillshare provided me the best ROI – meaning it took less time and effort to grow my audience through Skillshare than other social media platforms.”
Her tips for new teachers on Skillshare? “Just get started. 🙂 I hear too often aspiring teachers who feel self conscious about their public speaking skills. Practice makes perfect. Start by taking classes within the platform and reviewing what makes them successful. Brainstorm a list of topics which you feel might be missing from the platform – or find a way for you to speak about that topic in a different way.”
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