Dana Miranda, a personal finance instructor's first target audience wasn't one she felt. However, after she made the change, she began to expand. |

When Dana Miranda shifted her target clients to offer training and resources for educators and non-profits, she found more alignment and fulfillment in her business.

In the two years Dana Miranda worked as a personal reporter for the financial industry, she noted an underlying tendency. "Most of the personal finance content out is, and the majority of information and advice, comes only viewed from one perspective, and that typically is male, white heteronormative and coming with a middle-class upbringing."

"I have a middle-class family background" Dana shares. "I'm a queer woman. It was clear to me that there was a deficiency of knowledge and awareness of the subtleties of these different kinds of experiences that people have with money."

Instead of re-creating the same information which everyone else had shared, Dana decided to change the story.

Today, Dana Miranda is a personal finance educator and the creator of Healthy Rich , a platform for affordable, cost-free financial education. The following is the way Dana developed her own online venture and made sure that her mission reached as many people as possible, even if that meant using a route that wasn't traditional.

A monetization method that is popular doesn't mean it's appropriate for your business.

Healthy Rich started as an extra-curricular activity which Dana ran while working as a freelance writer.

"I began Healthy Rich as a project to tell different personal finance stories. It was just a blog but there wasn't any money being made. I wasn't sure of how it would take to make money, but I knew that eventually, I wanted to turn it into an enterprise."

"I did not want to make money through advertising and affiliates," Dana explains. "That's quite commonplace within the realm of personal finance but I wasn't happy with what I had seen in the websites that I'd been working for. In order to ensure that we were offering value to the consumer, I wanted eliminate ads from the factor."

Dana loved the course content she developed. Dana also loved talking with students, getting feedback, and answering questions. However, something was off with selling to her customers.

"I hated the entire launch. I was apprehensive about the entire sales process of convincing people that they're suffering and I have the solution-none was a good fit for me." Dana remembers.

The idea of selling products directly to users is not the right way forward and this was a major issue. While this was Healthy Rich's monetization plan, she wanted her readers to have access to the details at no cost. She needed to bring in funds, but she didn't want the money to come from the pockets of those she was trying to help.

If the idea of creating products that appeal to the market you are targeting feels off Try shifting the audience

To get more perspectives, Dana had conversations with the community's organizers and educators. After these discussions she saw that there was a massive need for an individual finance course -and she could be the right person to help provide it.

"The demand for personal finance education is on the rise," Dana explains.

"There are several states with mandates to need to take the class in personal finance to graduate high school, however, the majority of them are not funded and don't have an educational path specifically designed for someone to become an instructor in personal finance. The educators who enter the field usually are instructed to teach a personal finance course, but they don't have the confidence for it."

This same problem was also present among non-profit workers and the people who work with vulnerable populations.

"People who work in a non-profit organization may assist people in a different part of their lives, however it's always tied to financial matters. They're fielding questions about people's finances that they don't feel comfortable answering. I'm trying to assist people understand this subject so they can deliver that information with confidence."

Dana recognized that she was able to bypass selling products to end consumers and instead serve teachers and trainers by reaching an even larger reach. Her message could reach more people, her business could earn money, and she could feel good with her contribution.

"I prefer to provide material to people who need it for free in any way that I can. Helping community-based organizations as well as schools is an opportunity for me to provide accessible this knowledge to people who need it because individuals are participating in those classes and programs for free," she shares.

"This has opened up a brand new audience for my business as I was able enable instructors and facilitators. I am able to work on both sides of the table without offering classes to every single customer."

When Dana began to design her brand new program for educators  It clicked.

"My initial course launch was an enjoyable trial. I'm pleased that I learned the lessons I learned, however I'm also pleased that I got it right before moving onto the next section."

" allows me to be able to design what I like. I love that it allows me to create what I want."

Your ideas aren't limited, and your technology shouldn't be.

For clients to find new customers to connect with potential clients, join LinkedIn by sharing work

"People are keen to share their thoughts on what they're working on. Keep track of the companies you'd like to collaborate with, and check out what they're up to," Dana notes.

"It's helped me to know the niche which I'd like to collaborate with. That's educators and non-profit organisations. I live in Wisconsin, so I'm starting local with groups in the community. I'm able to reach out to a fellow community member and say, 'I care about what you're doing within my neighborhood. Let's talk about how we could work together.'"

By reenvisioning her target audience and the goods they'll need, Dana transformed Healthy Rich to become more than a blog about tips for personal finances. It's a chance to change the way we talk about money.

"The manner in which we discuss about money is a problem, and I want to change the way we talk about money. I'm hoping to supply the education with resources needed by educators as well as ensure that it's being taught with the most inclusive and broad approach, not just the same old financial planning and debt repayment I've been seeing."

In shifting her audience beyond individuals, to educators and other non-profit professionals, Dana stayed true to her ideals and came up with the best way to impart her knowledge with those that needed it most.

Explore new routes and stay clear of the temptation of comparing your travels to other people's

Dana informs the creators that "there's no one perfect way to go about the way to make this career. The only way to find out is to try and discover what's working your best."

The first step to finding your personal route is to not compare your work with other artists. However, Dana recommends looking to the past to determine the progress you've made.

"Everyone has been at some moment, aspiring to get to the next level. The most helpful thing for me is to think about myself 10 or five years ago," she says.

"When I began freelance work, I wanted to be a writer. I began taking on writing and other freelance projects during my initial few years, I made extremely low wages. If I'm feeling frustrated about where I am in my career, I glance at my past and think about what I've accomplished."

"I managed to secure an employment as a full-time staff writer," she shares. "In the past couple of years, I've made six figures freelance. In the present, I'm transitioning to the next phase of my career where instead of the majority of my income being from writing freelance, I'd like it to come through my own business .

"It's challenging to work out the best way to achieve this and yet if you'd said twelve years ago that this is the position I would be in, I wouldn't believe that it could be happening. I'd be really astonished."

In the end of the day making the decision to pursue your passion can be a major win and chances are you've made more progress than you realize.

"I consider that having this type of goal is a huge thing to be celebrated no matter the phase you're at."