When thinking of starting a new business, is a digital based business the best way to go? How can you monetize a digital based business, and what do you need to know? Alex Caspero and Whitney English, co-founders of Plant-Based Juniors, have become experts in the space with their joint venture.
Both were already business owners before they met, and as dieticians and moms of young children, they noticed a gap in the market for parents who wanted to introduce more plant-based foods to their kids. There just wasn’t enough information out there.
Recognizing the need in the market they joined forces to build their brand Plant-Based Juniors.
Alex Caspero and Whitney English
Lani Ohye
Monetizing the new business quickly was a priority to them, and they knew they couldn’t rely solely on the traditional time it takes to create a blog, to create traction, and build an audience. They had to get creative in the online space and offer multiple avenues for success.
Additionally, the duo recently released their newest book, The Plant-Based Baby & Toddler, to help parents with optimizing their children’s nutrition right from the start.
The PBJ duo share insight on their journey of starting their business in the digital world:
1. Start a blog
Contrary to myths out there, blogging is not dead. But what you do need in order to separate yourself from the others is a niche market where you are offering a specific value to your readers. Because there wasn’t a lot of information on plant-based diets for young children, the PBJ community is a resource that parents can visit to learn more and get science-based resources.
2. Create digital products
The duo created digital products to sell to their readers such as recipe books to monetize the business in its early stages. These digital products were a low price introduction to the value that the ladies offer to their readers.
3. Build a community
While you are building your business, you need to also build the community for that specific business. Having a Facebook group where readers can mingle and talk about their struggles with introducing a plant-based diet to their toddlers and get support is a fantastic way to increase consumer loyalty. Then when you have products to sell, you likely already have the buy-in and trust from your community.
4. Getting a book deal
The ladies landed their book deal because there was a need in the market and they had already established an audience. Publishers aren’t only looking for a good book to sell, they want authors who are willing to do the work selling that book. Having a larger audience to sell to is an important component to getting a book deal.
5. Reinvesting into your business
It can be tempting to spend the profits that you have worked so hard to achieve, but especially in the first years of business, you need to reinvest those profits back into the business to achieve growth. Remember, you are reinvesting for more growth.
The bottom line is starting a business is hard work, and every business owner will have their own unique journey. These are tips to follow if you are starting a new business, but not mandatory. You will have your own journey and it will be just as rewarding.
