Illumi: The beginner photography class you've been waiting for

I think it's a great example of a first product, and I wanted to talk about why. The maker, Ryan Kelly, is a photographer from Alberta, Canada. Here's some reasons I really like his first product offering: 1. He's been building expertise for years: Ryan started shooting professionally 10 years ago. He's been in the trenches. There's really no substitute for years and years of grinding it out, and learning a skill. 2. He's teaching a specific technical skill: In my experience, teaching a technical (or "hard") skill will almost always outperform a "soft" skill. Examples of soft skills: branding, life coaching, motivation. Examples of hard skills: programming, audio recording, design. 3. He started with workshops: Before jumping to product, Ryan started small and local with workshops. He did these local events over and over again. He perfected his material. He perfected his presentation. Eventually, these workshops began to sell out. He could see there was demand. 4. His first product is small: At it's core, Ryan's course is 13 videos; each is about 6 minutes long. He's charging $39 (sale price) for it. I know there is this "charge more" meme going on around the internet, and generally I agree with it... However: one of the things you're trying to do with a first product is build trust. Someone who already has a following has earned people's trust; and therefore can charge more. When you're just starting out, you need to earn that trust. Starting with a smaller pricepoint can help you do that. 5. His promo video looks damn good: you can see it here. It's well lit, sounds great, and professionally filmed At it's core, building products is about finding a need, and having the expertise to meet that need. I think Ryan's nailed it.