Whenever I have to drive for longer than ten minutes, I want to spend that time learning something.
That’s exactly what I did during this week’s trip to Northampton. As I trundled down the M45 (which is, incidentally, the least used and most pointless motorway in the UK), I listened to Ali Abdaal being interviewed on The Colin and Samir Show.
It was one of the most enjoyable, insightful, and inspiring things I’ve listened to in a long time. And it has encouraged me to make two massive decisions about my own business.
One of them could be an opportunity for you, too.
If you’ve never heard of Ali Abdaal, he’s a UK-based doctor-turned-YouTuber. His content focuses on productivity, health, and helping people “build a life that we love”. He currently has over 4.6 million subscribers on his main YouTube channel and a business that turns over more than $5 million a year.
I first discovered Ali in early 2020 when I was considering starting a YouTube business. In fact, I’d credit him as the main inspiration for actually biting the bullet and doing just that. His presence on camera and what was clearly a business-driven mindset to make content creation profitable really hit a nerve with me.
If this guy can do it, I can too, I thought.
As it turns out, that’s what a lot of Ali’s financial success is predicated on. Most of the colossal earnings accrued by his business relate to the Part-Time YouTuber Academy (PTYA) which grosses millions every year by helping people realise their content creator ambitions. His success as a YouTuber is inspiring a great many people to follow in his footsteps, and it has made him an unsuspecting millionaire.
Ali’s chat with Colin and Samir is fascinating. He’s never been shy about revealing the inner workings of his business, but there is an even greater openness on display during this interview. He sounds far more relaxed than I’ve heard in previous interviews and behind-the-scenes snippets. It’s no secret (because he’s told us) that his business has encountered some significant challenges over the last twelve months. Ballooning overheads and a withering thirst for cohort-based courses prompted Ali to abandon an expensive central London studio, reduce the staff headcount, and call an end to the current version of PTYA.
He sounds much happier as a result. He also discussed two strategies which encouraged me to make two decisions during that relatively short drive yesterday.
The first relates to my own Academy. What started off as the Medium Academy earlier this year is now the Mark Ellis Academy. It’ll cover everything from how to get started as a content creator to how I’ve built a six-figure business from the craft.
The Medium Academy was delivered weekly by yours truly to a group of lovely students via Zoom. It wasn’t designed to be super profitable - it was my first crack at a cohort-based online course, after all. However, I’ve realised that for it to become as profitable as it needs to be, I’d need a big team and more time than I have personally in which to invest in the Academy.
So, I’m making a change, inspired partly by Ali’s own change of direction with the PTYA. The Mark Ellis Academy will still be cohort-based, but it will combine self-paced learning with live monthly Q&A sessions, held by me, for those who want additional access to my time and experience (p.s. if you’re an Alumni member of the Medium Academy, don’t worry - you’re guaranteed access to this, as promised!). This means that the course modules will be pre-recorded and delivered every two weeks to students.
This is scalable. It’s easier on my time. It’s fairer for students because they can learn at their own pace and don’t have to worry about turning up on time for lessons. The addition of the monthly Q&A retains the direct interactivity between students and myself for those who want it. I’ll also be able to run more cohorts than I thought possible each year and iterate the course far more easily. It is super exciting - and I can confirm the next cohort will kick off in December (you can register your interest here).
That’s the first Ali-inspired change. The second one excites me even more.
I’m looking for a right-hand person. This, once again, is inspired by Ali’s experience with his General Manager, Angus, who began life at Ali’s company as a part-time writer. He now looks after the entire team and ensures his boss can focus on the stuff ‘above the clouds’. That might sound pretentious, but for any business to grow, the person at the helm needs to get their head out of the weeds.
My head is far too much in the weeds right now. My inconsistent views on YouTube are a testament to the fact that I’m failing to inject a meaningful strategy into my content. Equally, my inability to maintain any form of cadence with Solo Club videos (apart from the weekly live streams) reveals that I really do need help. I need someone to oversee production, sponsor relationships, and my external team. I cannot do all of this myself for much longer if I want the business to grow and serve my audience in the best way possible.
I don’t want to turn this post into a job advert, but if you think you can help me, I’m all ears! Shoot an email to mark@markellisreviews.com, and we’ll take it from there.
Oh, and did I mention that the holding company for all of this has been renamed from Business Fiction Ltd to Mark Ellis Media Limited?
Exciting times ahead, folks. And, thank you, Ali! Again.