How TCommerce helped Tongue-Tied School to raise money for charity

Jun 28, 2024

In Birmingham, Alabama, pediatric dentist Richard Baxter, DMD, MS can help dental professionals to detect and treat tongue and lip tie.

The journey, triggered due to the birth of his twins in 2014, resulted into the establishment of Tongue-Tied Academy  A platform devoted to solving the issue of tongue-tied, which is a common but unacknowledged one.

Since the launch of the program in 2020, there have been more than 1500 students enroll. He's also made sure to donate all profits to charities both local and international.

Here's how he created his online course business--and how TCommerce contributed to his success.

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He found his niche

As his daughters were infants when they were babies, he noticed that they were wearing tongue ties, which was affecting their ability to nurse. When he found a dentist perform a laser treatment to the tongue tie which allowed them to nursing more effortlessly. "The dentist told me to be on the lookout for tongue ties among kids because it's more common than we think. About 4 out of 5 kids are wearing one," Baxter tells .

Then, people started asking him about tongue and lip ties. In search of more information and more, he delved into all the books and courses on the topic but realized there were not many resources to choose from. Then he learned to do the laser tongue tie procedure. After treating patients, and addressing the mom's concerns and concerns, he began writing blog posts about it. As time went on, more and more people reached out to Baxter to ask for his expertise which led him to write and publish the book Tongue Tied, in 2018. "People read the book and still wanted to learn more about the subject," Baxter says. Baxter.

He determined that his next move was to build his own online academy . When the dental clinic shut down due to the outbreak, the dentist had written the over 200-page course script. He was able to hire the film crew that would film the 25-hour flagship course during the time that his office was closed.

He signed up for

Central to Tongue-Tied Academy's success is its partnership with , providing a seamless platform for the delivery of courses.

"What's good about it is that I can organize the lessons into modules." Baxter shares.

Through this , he was able to offer his content in bite-sized pieces as well as add quizzes at the conclusion of each section. He also adds chapters of his book into the program. "I appreciate that it allows me to add different types of content in the lesson instead of only videos," he reveals.

He's an avid user of the feature that allows him to generate an automatic certificate for students. "I needn't do much for the course in a day, other than answer discussion questions because everything is automatized," he says.

He made checkout easier by using TCommerce

Transitioning to TCommerce instead of Stripe proved instrumental in optimizing the process of checking out for participants of the Tongue-Tied Academy. In fact, he believes using TCommerce is causing him to lose fewer sales; since switching to the Stripe integration, the checkout process has improved, according to Baxter.

It supports a range of payment methods, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, Baxter says that TCommerce makes transactions seamless, facilitating accessibility and convenience for all users.

"You can now literally hit a button, use your ID with your face, and buy a course" Says Baxter. "It's an a lot simpler than having to put all of your information in a ."

Moreover, 's automated calculations of sales taxes feature reduces the burden of administrative tasks, while ensuring the compliance of regulatory standards in different states. Baxter states that the funds earned from his classes gets deposited with more ease than his prior payment provider.

"I do not even consider the process because it's so simple," he says. " Payments handles all the details for me and money shows up in the account of the bank. ."

Baxter plans to release an upgraded version of his bestselling course in the spring of this year, Baxter plans on using the option of ordering bumps, which will enable purchasers to take another course for a reduced price, without ever slowing the process of purchasing.

He was able to make an impact with charitable causes.

After the money is deposited into his bank account He then donates 100% of the profits to charity.

From supporting clean water initiatives throughout Africa as well as Asia in support of rehabilitation efforts and anti-human trafficking efforts, Baxter's dedication to the welfare of communities is a perfect example of the Academy's larger purpose of providing social assistance. "I do not need any additional stuff," he says. "We own a house and an automobile, and we're good ."

"If I can aid a baby who couldn't nurse prior to or who's struggling with colic and is having a tough time, it's worthwhile," he continues.

He has launched various variations of his course

To meet the varied needs of the audience, Baxter launched a condensed version of the course tailored to professionals like speech therapists and lactation consultants. The LITE Version course, priced at $495, offers a succinct yet impactful study of the topic, offering a wider range of learners.

Every course he offers includes an evergreen structure, so people can sign up whenever they want. "Teaching this course online has made it accessible as possible," he says.

Additionally, these courses provide American Dental Association-approved continuing education credits. "We employ an accredited CE provider. This means that you can apply it toward their dental license," Baxter explains.

Although the course's flagship costs $2,600 The content, when paired with CE approval enables people to see its return on investment.

He created a simple customer experience

Despite the success of HTML0, Baxter says that he does not have a marketing plan.

In general, the journey of a customer begins when people read his book. Then, if they want to know more about the subject and more, the book directs users to the Tongue-Tied Academy.

At events where he gives talks and at conferences, generally those in the crowd will sign up. If they sign up to his email list, they're sent an email sequence from MailChimp which directs people on his website.

He was the one who defined success

Baxter defines success as being able to increase the knowledge he has. "It's not just me who is doing this." Baxter says.

"We have 1,500 people who've taken our course. If they each see at least one patient per day, that's more people that I've ever been able to treat on my own. ."

Further the definition of his success includes educating healthcare providers, helping parents, and ensuring more patients receive care, all while utilizing the money to support charities around the world.

If you are creating an online course, the creator should seek to discover their own passions. "It could be anything," the author declares. "And whatever it is, you can make the course you want to with it. ."

"Just take it on," Baxter encourages. "I'm not a online-course person. I'm a dentist. However, I've put it out there, and last year we had the honor to be among the top ten courses in ."

Prior to establishing Tongue-Tied Academy, he created two courses himself, each costing $99 and approximately 10 students attended. "I took my lessons from this," he says. I got higher-quality video and designed a flagship program through Tongue-Tied Academy ."

"You may fail a handful occasions," he adds, "but that's just an element of learning. You're only in danger of making a mistake if you don't learn from it ."

as Tongue-Tied Academy continues to evolve, fueled by a steadfast dedication to education and service and its long-standing tradition of empowerment and altruism serves as an inspiration source for students and educators alike.