I love a lot of things about Skillshare. But today I’d like to highlight what it’s done for my finances and purchasing decisions.
Most people’s income is static with the exception of a year-end bonus. This yearly income determines their monthly budget. I.E. If I made $48,000 I’d have a little over $2500 a month after taxes to spend on rent, groceries, entertainment, bills, etc.
In this situation, purchasing decisions are a zero sum game because our income is capped. If I’m moving and want to spend an extra $200 on rent, that means I’ll have $200 less to spend on entertainment, tank tops, Dos Toros etc. The bottom line is we’re forced to make sacrifices.
Let me explain:
I recently moved to an apartment that costs a few hundred dollars more each month. Assuming a fixed income, most young people would have to adjust their lifestyle to afford this upgrade. Not me! I’m just teaching another class every month to supplement the difference. I don’t have to change my lifestyle; I just need to do something I already love doing an additional 2 more hours a month.
You can apply this same type of decision making framework to any purchase. Saving up to go to OktoberFest? Instead of cutting back consumption, increase income-generating output.
What’s incredible about Skillshare is that the additional labor (if you want to call it that) needed to generate significant income really isn’t time-consuming, especially if you’re teaching a class where you’ve already created the assets. Granted you need to teach a class where the demand is high enough that you can sell it out with frequency, but if you can the rewards are tremendous.
I can go to OktoberFest for 5 days by teaching 4 classes ( < 8 hours!). That’s a Saturday.
Here are some other cool ways people have taken advantage of this dynamic income.
Alex Taub teaches Business Development classes and gives a piece of the additional income to his wife to buy something nice. What a sweetheart!
Derek Flanzraich teaches a class on organic growth and has used the income to help finance some indulgences for his company Greatist. He used the earnings from his last class to buy a laptop stand, keyboard, and mouse for each member of his team.
Steven Yang, a member of the Skillshare team, teaches about how to break into the startup scene and has actually documented all the things he’s bought on a blog call “I Taught I Bought“.
Helping people learn and meeting new people are definitely the best parts about teaching a Skillshare class. But removing the zero sum mindset when purchasing indulgences here and there ain’t so bad either : ) So yeah…if you’re aren’t teaching a class, you should probably get on that.
Some other posts I’ve written on Skillshare in case you’re new to the platform:
Guerilla Tactics: A Skillshare Case Study
Thoughts on the Knowledge Economy
