Liberty Road

written by Stacey Lindsay

Amy Porterfield has built an unbelievably successful online marketing business. Take these stats: Her company, which offers one digital course, has earned over $82 million in revenue, serving more than 50,000 students, and her podcast garners a monthly average of 1 million downloads. A self-described "ex-corporate girl turned accidental entrepreneur," Amy knows what she's doing to generate a customer base.

Here's where her story gets even more fascinating: Amy had a rocky beginning when—nearly 14 years ago—she jumped the corporate ship to go off on her own. She'd been working for the global phenomenon Tony Robbins, traveling the world and getting a PhD-style education in freedom, self-determination, and grit. "When I started to meet more entrepreneurs in [Tony's] world, I realized I want that, I want more freedom, I want to experience this," says Amy. So she drew up a plan, left her job with Robbins, and created an online business—that flopped. "And yep, I cried about it," she admits.

Instead of loathing, Amy persisted. She re-evaluated her business, clarified her offering, and grew from her learnings. In the past decade, she's reached business heights she didn't even know existed. A 2019 Forbes article headline about her business puts it well: "How one woman broke through the glass ceiling and built a multi-million dollar online course empire."

Amy says she's best known today for giving people the tools to grow a business online, "specifically how to build an email list and take your knowledge and know-how and turn that into a profitable digital course." We can attest her insight is, bar none, the best out there. Amy has a magic way of helping you bolster your spark and sell it "over and over."

But the most enticing aspect of learning from Amy is her accessibility. She is refreshingly generous and forthcoming. Her road to success was filled with rocks and bumps, which she candidly discusses in her book, Two Weeks Notice. Amy holds nothing back when it comes to helping people learn from her wins and losses—just as these three bits of her wisdom prove.

3 Tips for Successfully Building a Business Online

#1: Pay Attention to the Small Successes

Amy made some great strides in that rocky decade of building her business. So, she learned to pay attention to the reason behind those wins. "One of the things I learned from Tony Robbins is, he has this saying 'success leaves clues,'" she says. "Every time I did something small, like when I made $10,000. I figured out How did I make that $10,000? What could I do even better? The next time I launched, I made $30,000." She adds that those things build on each other, so it pays to take note.

#2: Know This: All You Need Is a “10 Percent Edge”

Amy's lost count of how often she's heard from people who want to create a course but need to find out what to offer or teach. Too often we think, Who am I to teach this? What do I know? How am I an expert in this? Enter her 10 percent edge approach: You only need to be 10 percent ahead of those you're going to teach or serve," she says. "That means you don't need more experience. You likely don't need more time. You don't need more certifications. You have gotten results in your life, and you can teach others how you have gotten those results."

#3: Follow What Comes Easy

Sometimes, the skills or vocations that genuinely feel like a breeze may not even come to mind as a possible vocation. "You're so close to it that you don't even see it," says Amy. "Or it's so easy to you that you think everybody else knows how to do it, and that is not the truth!" This happens often, so Amy suggests calling on your friends for their take, especially when you're anxious or lost. Ask What do they think you're good at? What did they think people would pay you to know? This practice of calling on friends is clarifying and encouraging.

We pulled these tips from our original chat with Amy and condensed them for clarity. Head to the Liberty Road Podcast to listen to the full conversation.