Triathlete's knowledge commerce journey starts with coaching, courses to a membership-based community

A doctorate degree in exercise physiology, conducting studies that are peer reviewed, and coaching Olympians and professional Ironman athletes was not enough for Dr. Dan Plews. Also, he's an avid triathlete and the 2018 Ironman Age Group World Championship Course Winner record holder with an 8:24:36 time.
As a result of his win, and his education and expertise on the subject He was able to answer a lot of inquiries, particularly about his diet that is low in carbs and its application to long-distance triathlons.

Then that's why Dr. Plews decided to monetize his skills by launching Endure IQ by adding the title of 'knowledge maker as one of his avocations. Let's explore his journey.

This interview has been slightly edited to improve clarity.

The coaching quickly led to courses

In the beginning in the beginning, Dr. Plews started out with direct coaching. He acknowledged that there was so much he could do with one-on-one sessions.

In the year 2019, Endure IQ got its launch. "I had so many [questionsand I decided to create the form of a course. At first, I thought, 'Oh, I'll just build a simple white course that can be uploaded to PowerPoint'. Then, I talked to a close friend and he said, "Well If you're planning to do it and you're going to do it, why not take it seriously.'"

Today, we have four core courses, as well as mini-courses. Dr. Plews says, "Our core courses are 10-modules long, and they take ten to fifteen hours of learning. Students have access to the course for a time period of 10 to 12 weeks as well as access to the instructors." The classes are accredited with affiliations including those of the American College of Sports Medicine, National Strength and Conditioning Association as well as USA Triathlon.

Courses begin

EndureIQ had a launch event that was a test of their program, LDT One-on-One. "We declared that we would to restrict to just 50 people at first, and it sold out in three minutes." Dr. Plews recalls.

The classes were extremely popular! But, the response was massive. Dr. Plews quickly learned his class students would be interested in having access to the course materials and instructor-led webinars after they had completed the course.

He was faced with the challenge of needing to provide ongoing assistance. He shares his thought process about this dilemma:

"I wanted to avoid having the course open indefinitely as it would give people the opportunity to ask questions forever and ever that you're at the at your fingertips, and that's not how educational processes work. When you're an undergraduate student and you take a course that you are enrolled in, you have access to your instructors, the experts throughout the course, but you won't have the privilege to inquire about them all the time throughout your existence."

Meeting customer demand and generating revenues

Then, Dr. Plews discovered a way to meet customer demand and generate recurring income using the same course material. His solution: a $5 per week subscription for access to the course materials and webinars once students have completed their course.

"I joined this program quickly. This is a good choice because we've got a large number of customers who have returned," he shares.

The price is $5 per week for each course the student ever took to earn loyalty points for students who have taken multiple classes. Dan has reported that he had 175 members within the education community during our conversation. Therefore, he could generate a considerable amount of revenue every week just by providing access to course material and being willing to respond to questions.

Subscription revenue opens doors

Now, the subscription brings in revenue, and the income in turn opens up other potential opportunities for the company.

Dr. Plews says, "The most significant benefit of a subscription-based business is that it permits you to do better business planning. If you are assured of a higher revenue stream and you're able to become a bit savvy with who you're employing and the places you're placing your money since there's a lot less risk. Whereas when you're one hundred 100% dependent on revenue, you're never sure the month that is likely to deliver."

He also noted that being a member of a community that is active also has a benefit in that it provides a pool of active members who could survey to find out about the creation of new courses, or any other comments.

However, Dan is realistic about how to build a successful membership community. "The disadvantages of it is that it's never off," he says, "There is a significant amount of customer support that comes with a subscription model because people are always asking questions."

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