Confession: De-“ME”-ifying my business assets

Are you running a business based around YOU?

Hi, me too!

In fact, I started this business, The Unconventional RD, purely as a hobby.

I wanted a space to connect with other digital entrepreneurs (15k+ members at this point?!) and keep myself accountable by sharing what was working (and not working) online.

I’ve spent a lot of time sharing my personal experiences, and many of you are here because, at some point, you connected with something I shared. Likely something personal.

And I don’t think this business would be what it is today without those personal connections.

Building an audience around YOU is a superpower.

People connect with people. Growing an engaged audience can be much easier when you show your face and connect with other humans directly.

But… if you’re not careful, it can also become a bit of a trap.

For example…

• All the videos on my YouTube channel feature yours truly.
• My reels on IG feature me.
• I write all of my own emails.
• I create all the content inside my membership.
• My podcast interviews and episodes are all conducted by, you guessed it, me.

I’ve effectively built a whole business with myself squarely in the center.

But since becoming a mom in 2021, my thoughts on business have changed A LOT.

I have (what feels like) 20% of the bandwidth I had before kids to focus on my work…

… so I have to be A LOT more intentional with my time and energy.

It’s prompted me to look inward and reflect on whether the business and marketing strategies I’m using are truly aligned with my personal values.

It’s brought my own mortality into focus as well…

… and left me thinking about things like,

• What would happen to my business if I was unavailable to work for an extended period of time?
• What legacy do I want to leave in this world?
• Am I building something with long-term value that I could perhaps sell or pass down as an asset for my family?

And at the root of it…

Does my business have any value without me?

As this business exists right now… I think the answer is…kind of?

It has some inherent value without me, but not as much as I’d like.

So in 2023, I started thinking about ways to “DE-ME-IFY” my business assets.

There are 3 main ways you could go about this…

#1) Add products or services that have inherent value without you.

For example, I could bring guest creators into my membership to teach on topics that don’t require me to be an expert on everything.

Or I could add a services arm of my business where I hire employees to provide 1:1 services.

#2) Build a team and diversify the “face” of your business.

For example, I could invite a co-host to my podcast or guest authors to my website to help share the content creation load.

I could also do a better job of creating documented processes and systems that keep my business running smoothly, regardless of who is performing the tasks.

#3) Start additional businesses that are less you-centric.

For example, I could decide to maintain The Unconventional RD as a “personal brand” and build an entirely separate business where I am not prominently featured as the founder/creator.

All of these are valid options.

In fact, years ago, I had an entirely separate business that was NOT reliant on me for all the content creation and value.

It was called The Functional Nutrition Library.

​A membership site with functional nutrition educational content, available at an extremely affordable price point (<$15/mo).

I ran that business from mid-2017 through 2019. During that time, I grew the membership to over 275 active paying members and earned over $80k from this low-ticket offer.

But by the end of 2019, I decided to sunset the product, and the site was shut down at the end of 2020.

(Truthfully, I was just extremely burnt out trying to run The Unconventional RD, freelance write for Healthline, and run the FNL… and something had to give.)

At the time, I wasn’t in the right headspace to grow a team and outsource to keep the membership business running.

BUT… I also wasn’t ready to let the business go entirely, so I didn’t sell it either.

I initially planned to make all the content publicly available on a blog…

…but with some of the Google algorithm changes that had happened, I felt that the site wasn’t niched enough to succeed with SEO alone.

So, for the last 3 years, the FNL has been sitting dormant…

… until now!

Behind the scenes, I’ve been working with a partner on relaunching The Functional Nutrition Library!

We’ve been deep in the trenches, reviewing and refining the content library, redoing the website, and getting the whole thing ready to relaunch!

I will be in charge of the tech and marketing, while my partner will create the incredible content inside the membership.

Yes, I’ve been simultaneously redoing my entire Unconventional RD offer suite and working on relaunching the FNL at the same time, behind the scenes. 😅 2024 has been a busy year!

The goals of this relaunch are:

1. Diversify my assets. By running another business in an entirely separate niche, I reduce the chances of things like algorithm or industry changes wiping out my income.
2. De-ME-ify my assets. This business will run without ME as the primary creator. That way money will still be coming in, even if I personally can’t create large volumes of content for any reason.
3. Build a sellable asset. Since the value of this business is NOT tied to any individual person, it is a lot more “sellable” if we ever decide to pursue that option.
4. Create a new marketing playground. Many of the people in my audience are running food or nutrition-related businesses. By relaunching this membership, I will have a new playground for conducting marketing experiments, specifically in the nutrition space!

(And of course, I will share everything I learn with you, here!)

And don’t worry, nothing is changing with The Unconventional RD brand or any of my offerings here. This is just an additional project I’ll be running with a partner 😊

Did any of this resonate with you??

Are you undergoing any business pivots at the moment? I’d love to hear about them!

Just shoot me a quick email back. I read every single one!

– Erica

And stay tuned… I’ll send more info about the official relaunch of the FNL soon 🙂