Achieving Success through Mentorship and Massive Action with ‘Speak English with Vanessa’

The story begins

Vanessa has always had a deep love of books and words, so perhaps it was natural that she became a teacher. She started on the usual route, teaching English to middle and high school students in the US. 

But it wasn’t long before she and her husband decided to go adventuring and landed jobs teaching English in South Korea. 

It was during the next three years that Vanessa branched out of the school system to tutor adults.

Immediately, she knew she’d found her niche. She loved the challenge of teaching people who chose to be in her class — and who could leave whenever they wanted. 

Vanessa finds a mentor

Vanessa began to research ways she could continue to teach adults when they moved back to the States. She soon found the perfect website: “Teach English Online.” Of course, Vanessa did a deep dive into the content and when she came up for air, knew that she’d found her solution.

Back in the States, she was fortunate to meet up with Jack Askew, the creator of Teach English Online and found him a tremendous help.

With Jack as a mentor, Vanessa discovered that being able to teach wasn’t enough. She would need to learn about running a business, marketing, tech skills, and how to find people who wanted to learn from her and no-one else.

Jack gave Vanessa information and the confidence to succeed. As she says, it meant a great deal to know somebody real who was successful online.

Why you need to be consistent

“Videos… are a really good medium for people seeing you; realising you are a real person and trusting you. Because they see you and they can judge if you’re going to … make them feel great and actually learn something. Video is a good way to convey who you are.”

To find clients, Vanessa needed to grow her YouTube channel. “To do that,” said Jack, “you must be consistent.” How right he was.

Vanessa set herself a goal of putting out two videos every week for a year. Her videos brought in a few clients, and more came from an agency. She taught them all one-on-one by Skype. 

Consistency gave Vanessa a substantial body of work on YouTube and created habits so that making videos became a regular part of her life. 

When they brought out YouTube Live, Vanessa was so used to making videos that it was easy to jump on board. Consequently, the channel’s growth skyrocketed.

How ‘Speak English With Vanessa’ has changed over the years

Vanessa says that when she first began her business, she and her husband had only to themselves to think of. So, it was easy for Vanessa to spend hours every day creating videos and teaching on Skype. But when they decided to start a family, their business model had to change.

The live videos were fun and provided instant engagement with her audience. But when Vanessa did some analysis, she found that her polished pre-recorded videos were getting just as many views. So, she began making one, longer more polished weekly video. That also allowed her to build up a bank of videos before her first child was born. It meant that the business continued that consistency but allowed Vanessa a break to concentrate on the baby. 

Business is a family affair

Vanessa and her husband were both working fulltime and trying to look after a child at the same time. If you think that sounds stressful, you’d be right. It seemed sensible to join forces, so Vanessa’s husband joined the business.

You have to be careful when you work together, Vanessa cautions. They got around potential clashes by having clearly defined roles. Vanessa is the face of ‘Speak English, ‘ creating all the videos and some of the teaching programmes. Her husband takes care of The Fearless Fluency Club, their wildly successful course.

The Fearless Fluency Club Structure 

Having a successful YouTube channel isn’t a business in itself; there has to be a way to make money from it. In Vanessa’s case, that comes from a monthly subscription course.

Every month she and her husband create a new set of lessons based around a theme. The structure is the same each month.

• Vanessa records a 30-minute interview with someone about their work, hobby or passion.
• They analyse the interview and identify 20 expressions or words which become the basis of a vocabulary lesson.
• Video the vocabulary lesson as a conversation.
• Create a grammar lesson based on their exchange.
• Make a pronunciation lesson.
• And finally, teach a Facebook live lesson every Sunday. 

Members of the club can join monthly and have access to the lessons each month of their subscription. Or, they can choose the Unlimited Option and pay one lump sum to see every class.

Why Speak English With Vanessa continues to succeed

Vanessa says that hard work, consistency and good communication are the keys to her thriving language business.

 “Making two videos a week for five years is not easy. It takes a lot. There are endless ideas for what you could talk about but actually doing it, that takes a lot of motivation. It’s a lifestyle. You have to be doing this despite what’s going on in your life.”

It’s essential to communicate with your audience, and also with your partner. Vanessa says you have to balance your work and life, especially when your husband is also your business partner and you’re both working from home. 

It’s great to get positive feedback on your videos. Still, Vanessa also cautions that many people give up too soon if their videos aren’t immediately noticed.

“A lot of people give up. Maybe they didn’t see the feedback that they wanted right away, or maybe they weren’t able to commit but… it might even be three years before you see any kind of significant growth. Sticking with it has been my forte.”

Vanessa’s tips for Langpreneurs

• Develop your skill in writing 

Vanessa estimates 80% of her time is spent in writing course videos, lesson plans and emails.

• In the language business, your personality is what makes you stand out.

Don’t be afraid to be the face of your business. People want to see you, hear your voice and enjoy your unique style of teaching.

• Don’t get hung up on trying to find your niche. 

Put a few videos out and see what works. Over time, you’ll find the right audience and the right niche for you. Your channel will continuously evolve, so just do it.

• Be disciplined with your time.
• Don’t be afraid to make a course and sell it.

“When people started to buy things whether it was Skype lessons or courses and I got that positive feedback… I knew that it was helpful and I shouldn’t be concerned about sending a sales email. Because there is a relatively high purchase rate from that email I’m realising that this is what people want and I’ve attracted the right people who want this and enjoy it.”

• On finding a mentor

Consider these points when you ask: Be specific about what you admire about them and their way of working because that will motivate them to help you. Be respectful of their time and have specific questions ready. Don’t take it personally if they say no; they may be too busy to commit at that time. 

And above all, Vanessa says, 

“Don’t overthink it, just get started.”

Connect with Vanessa

Links:

Vanessa’s website

Vanessa on YouTube