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The Way Brian Gordon Built a Six-Figure Company - and did it without advertising

Nov 3, 2022

Prior to his success as a 6-figure online course earner, Brian Gordon worked as a Bay Street banker in downtown Toronto.

In the workplace, colleagues would often ask him for help with the difficult exam in the financial industry such as the CFA, CFP and CSC. He started teaching classes after work to help students pass their tests.

It was a surprise to him that this act of service led him to discover the passion of his life. " I found out that I loved the teaching profession more than working in the field," he laughs.

He left the finance industry and landed a full-time tenured professor's position in Centennial College, where he taught for fourteen years. In this period, he was still being approached by banks as well as other brokerage firms to teach internally. "I began to think, this would make a good business," he says.

In 1999, Exam Success was born In the course of his own instruction at the college He also taught exam preparation courses and ran seminars across Canada across Toronto, Montreal, Calgary as well as Vancouver. "I started with six students," Gordon continues. "And I built my company solely on referrals from friends and family. I did not do any marketing ."

Then, he decided to quit his position as a teacher at the university to focus on the business fully-time. As the epidemic erupted, he transitioned from in-person classes to onlineones, thanks to finding .

This is how he accomplished it.

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The man didn't let the any imperfections hold him back.

Gordon realized it was just a matter of time before the course was moved online, as numerous of his peers were doing. The pandemic catalyzed this pivot.

When all of his classes sessions were canceled He rushed to put his material into the format of an internet-based website. He was fortunate to have an extensive library of materials since his early teaching days. There were study notes, practice questions such as learning activities, examples of learning, and videos of him teaching concepts in real-time in classrooms available. "A mentor once told me that content is key,'" he says. "I've always made the effort to make sure I consistently produce content ."

At the beginning of the business, Gordon used the Moodle platform.

"It was just a basic platform and I was searching for quite a while for an interface that was easy to use, looked good, was simple to use and gave the impression that the user wasn't on his own," he says. "I realized that this was possible with ."

At first, his move to teaching online was rocky. "I did not know what I was doing," he says.

He didn't let perfectionism stop his from pursuing his online business with full gusto, though; soon he was able to find his own online teaching rhythm and gained positive feedback from his students. To date, he claims that his greatest achievement comes when he receives notes from students saying they wouldn't have been able to pass the exam without his help. "People have to pay money for your courses, so they have to be professional and precise," he continues. "But you can make mistakes throughout the course; students are aware and appreciate that human beings are human. ."

His content was short, concise, and direct

Gordon describes his courses as an all-in-one-shop where students get all the information they require to prepare for their exam in the field of finance.

When it was time to develop his curriculums, the first method he used was to remove the technical terminology He wanted to present the concepts in simple terms. In this way it is said that the students think the way he teaches is an easy-to-understand format.

In contrast to his competition His goal isn't to transform his students expert; Instead, he strives to present his information in the most concise straight and concise manner that is possible. Because the students are preparing for exams that are four to six months away, Gordon believes that the conciseness of his information assists in retention. "Someone who is studying to take one of these exams will be thrown a lot at them within such a short period of period of time" he says. "My strategy teaches students what they must be able to do in order to be successful, obtain the appropriate credentials and then go on. I let them build their knowledge for them to build upon as their professional grows. ."

Apart from keeping his content clear and simple, he wants to make it as engaging as possible. It's done by employing a mix of teaching methods and videos. He also provides instructional videos of himself, whiteboard lessons, tests, practice questions and packs that include instructions as well as reading materials -- all done packed with humour. "People have informed that they feel as if they're sitting in the same classroom as my class," he says.

His courses have high completion rates

When students buy the course, they have access to everything he has to offer in one go.

Gordon says that the completion of the course is extremely high as those taking his course prepare for an examination and have to read every part of the curriculum to do so. "I'm not offering the subject of soft skills, where people often drop off or lose interest," he says.

But, for those individuals who drop out from the program, he's dabbling with automation; he will send them encouragement messages that help to motivate the participants to continue their journey.

He gave a pleasant learning experience

Over the years, his small audience grew to over 100 people in each classroom, thanks to referrals from friends and family.

He thinks that the reason that he's received so many referrals is due to the excellent experiences he gives his students.

"You will always be able to get information at a cheaper price or free of charge," he says. "But your unique approach to provide to your customers is something that you cannot find elsewhere. If you provide your students with a an enjoyable experience, it will lead to your achievement."

As a plus, he prides himself on being available to his students that many of his competitors don't do. The personal relationship between him and his students allows them feel a sense of security and support throughout their learning journey. It also helps to encourage a positive view of his business, which turns into more and more referral marketing. "Many students tell me that they're overwhelmed, don't know where to start, and have no one to turn to" the instructor says. "These programs make students feel an integral part of the program and have an individual who can assist them throughout the ."

In connecting with his students, Gordon encourages them to seek out questions and to stay to know each other. This way the content he creates is driven by students' needs. "If someone is having trouble with something, I'll create videos and make it available to everyone who needs it," he says. "If one person is having that issue, I'm confident that many people are having similar issues. ."

Currently, he doesn't have any Facebook communities to connect with his students. As of the moment, they only are able to connect with him.

He used YouTube to direct organic traffic to his site

Alongside the referrals that fuel course sales, Gordon also has a YouTube channel which he launched in the year 2020. Today, the channel has more than 800 users. "My videos are low-tech and merely involve me providing advice to the camera," the man explains. "I'm an instructor; I'm here to teach people. However, not in the way of excitement and flash that people ."

(Speaking of YouTube listen to his tale direct from Brian himself in the YouTube video above!)

He's also created an online sales funnel using ConvertKit. Potential students can connect with him via YouTube and can view his video and then are invited to sign up for a free glimpse of one of his classes. "I'm not an overly aggressive salesperson," the comedian says.

When they've been placed in the funnel, they're sent a series of emails that encourage them to purchase the course.

He specifically targeted an audience

Gordon's target audience includes financial professional and people who are looking to develop into finance professionals. His students tend to be in their late twenties to early forties, and many have jobs in banks, mutual funds, investment firms and hedge funds.

The majority of his audience are Canadian However, a small percentage of his students are in Dubai, Hong Kong, as well as Norway. This is because he offers information for a variety of financial terms, the majority of which are Canadian.

He positioned himself as a mid-level cost provider

The prices of his classes range from $69 to $800. He currently has about 1600 students. Since the last few years, he's had around 800 students join per year.

Price-wise, he's positioned himself as a mid-range cost service. "I'm not the most expensive service, as I offer more of a personalized service for my students," he states. "But I'm not the most expensive cost provider, neither. It seems that this is the case for me ."

He connected with his passion for the art of teaching.

While he now has his own team of nine, as he reflects on his journey to entrepreneurship He says that he would have preferred had collaborated with a team before. "I didn't allow that to happen since I'm a person who is a control freak," he says, exclaiming. "If I was able to return and do it again, I'd try to establish my business with a group of people and grow the business from there. ."

In addition to connecting with students in a personal way and developing engaging, succinct content, Gordon believes that his success came from finding his passion for what he does: teach.

In fact, he believes that if individuals approach creating online courses in order to make money, it's the wrong attitude.

"If you're a person with a passion for teaching and passion in teaching, I believe that passion is going to come through. Your passion will propel your career."

If you're looking to discover the passion you have in online courses Sign up today.