Here's how The Unemployable Initiative is helping solo entrepreneurs build 7-figure businesses

Jerod Morris already knew that combining a course with a community could be a gamechanger for any membership.

And he was already pretty familiar with Mighty Networks, too.

Jerod had first found Mighty Networks when he was looking to expand his podcast about podcasting called The Showrunner. He had been trying to find a place to host a course and a thriving community together:

When other opportunities came up, Jerod shuttered The Showrunner community. But he wouldn’t be gone from Mighty Networks for long:

He spent the next couple of years creating other Mighty Networks that aligned with his passions, including Assembly Call, a community for Indiana University sports fans, and The THINKERS Workshop, an online training community for people who are committed to becoming better thinkers.

Then last year, Jerod and Brian Clark—his co-host on The Unemployable Podcast— started talking about creating a community for their listeners. They wanted a place they could host webinars, offer resources, and give their members access to peers that they might not have known otherwise.

They also knew they could make their membership really valuable by adding a course. Luckily, Mighty Networks had built a course feature—and Jerod was sold:

With that, Jerod and Brian started building.

Because Jerod and Brian already had a sizable audience in place, they first had to establish how this new membership was going to be different from what they were already offering. They started thinking about different ways to add value:

Jerod and Brian started developing an eight-week-long course, The 7-Figure Small Intensive, that focused on using a curation model to build an audience, learn about that audience, and then develop products and services for that audience.

At the same time, they launched The Unemployable Initiative’s Mighty Network and set it to private. Using their email list, they invited prospective members to apply for membership by filling out a questionnaire. That way, they could get on the same page as their members, and start to understand what they were looking for in a community. And they could also ensure that their initial members were committed to the community, not just passersby who wouldn’t return.

Jerod and Brian offered those initial members free lifetime access to the membership. They figured this approach would be beneficial in two ways: it would encourage more people to join the community, and Jerod and Brian could get more valuable feedback:

After two weeks, they closed the community and directed any additional prospective members to sign up for their waitlist, enabling them to beef up their email list and gauge continued interest in their community. For the members already inside The Unemployable Initiative, they offered access to the 7-Figure Small Intensive, for a one-time fee of $499. The conversion was huge: out of about 450 free members, over 100 signed up for the course.

Because they were dedicated to experimenting, and because they were relying on their members’ ideas and feedback, Jerod and Brian opted to run their course live. That way, they could tweak the intensive, as needed, alongside their growing community:

Today, it’s easy to see how that approach paid off.

The Unemployable Initiative now has a single-tier membership plan, priced at $49.99 per month or $499.99 per year. When a new member pays for access to the membership, Jerod emails them a link so they can access the 7-Figure Small Intensive course as part of their membership. (Existing members who did not initially purchase the course when it was offered can still purchase it as well).

With a paid subscription, members get exclusive access to:

• Weekly webinars. Jerod and Brian offer a variety of educational webinars, including Lunch & Learns, webinars where community members share their knowledge; and guest lectures, where an outside expert comes in to speak on a relevant topic.
• Weekly accountability groups. They also offer an organized accountability system with small groups that Jerod curates based on interest. Members outside of those groups can get in on the action, too: On Mondays, Jerod sends out an accountability thread, asking members what they want to get done during the week. And on Fridays, members are invited to post their wins and successes.
• Weekly Hot Seat. With the Hot Seat, members submit a problem or challenge they’re facing in their business via a Google Form. From there, Jerod posts it, and invites members to start a discussion and share their own experiences around the issue. The idea is that when the Host posts it, it will appear more “official” and get more visibility.
• Monthly Q&As with Brian Clark. These Q&As are a chance for community members to submit questions to Brian and pick his brain a bit. Sometimes, Brian is joined by a member of the community who shares insight into their specific industry.

In addition to the above, members also get access to The Unemployable Marketplace, where they can seek and barter products and services; access to a free course, Unemployable Tools for Freelancers; monthly virtual happy hours and community co-working opportunities; and access to all past Unemployable Initiative content, no matter when they join.

To keep the latter organized, Jerod has renamed his “Courses” section “Education.” There, he archives courses, past webinars, and older content into a sort of structured library that’s easily accessible for everyone in the community:

Jerod has also recently started putting together roundups every two to four weeks, and sending them out via email. He’s found it to be really valuable for members, especially those who are away from the group for a few weeks at a time:

When it comes to recruiting new members, Jerod and Brian invite prospects to complete a course delivered via email called The Curation Code. That course—which is available as a webinar to community members—covers some of the basics from the 7-Figure Small Intensive. The goal is to get prospects into a funnel, and encourage them to purchase membership in The Unemployable Initiative community. Once they’re in, they get access to the full 7-Figure Small Intensive course:

Jerod and Brian are already looking towards the future and brainstorming ways to expand their reach.

Last month, the pair put together a self-paced course called Email Marketing Essentials, where they touched on a variety of topics from understanding an audience to the fundamentals of ConvertKit email software. For now, it’s available for free inside of the community. But in the next few months, they’re planning on making it available for people outside of the community who aren’t ready to commit to a monthly or yearly subscription:

For now, the pair behind The Unemployable Initiative is committed to growing their community through experimentation and putting their members first:

1. Adapt, adapt, adapt. Jerod and Brian have relied heavily on feedback from their members, especially during their initial launch. When you’re open to tweaking your membership and adapting to your member’s wants and needs, you give yourself a greater chance for success.
2. Don’t be afraid to run a course live.When Jerod and Brian first started their flagship course, they didn’t have weeks of content planned out. Instead, they ran it live, which enabled them to put the community front and center.
3. Price at a premium. With The Unemployable Initiative, Jerod and Brian are offering their members results, transformation, and the opportunity to be a part of something bigger. If you can do the same, you can also charge a premium for access.