Personal finance educator Dana Miranda's initial audience was not a good fit. However, after she made the move, she saw her audience grow. |

If Dana Miranda shifted her target audience to provide education and training for teachers and non-profits, she found greater satisfaction and alignment in her company.

Over the course of two years Dana Miranda worked as a personal finance journalist, she noticed the growing tendency. "Most of the content on personal finance there, most of the information and advice, comes from a singular viewpoint, that tends to be male, white heteronormative, or of a middle-class family background."

"I come from a working-class family background" Dana shares. "I'm a queer woman. and I was constantly seeing there was no knowledge and awareness of the nuanced nature of these diverse experience that people share when it comes to money."

Instead of repeating the same story that everyone else was sharing, Dana decided to change the narrative.

Presently, Dana Miranda is a personal finance instructor and creator of Healthy Rich , a platform for comprehensive, affordable financial education. This is how Dana created her business online and made sure that her mission could reach as many as she could regardless of using a route that wasn't traditional.

A monetization method that is popular doesn't mean it's the best choice for your company.

Healthy Rich was initially conceived as an extra-curricular activity which Dana operated while she was Writer-in-Residence.

"I began Healthy Rich as a project to share different personal financial experiences. The blog was a mere website and there was no money coming in. I wasn't quite sure what the process of monetizing would be, but I knew that eventually, I wanted to grow it into an enterprise."

"I didn't want to monetize by advertising or affiliates," Dana explains. "That's very commonplace within the realm of personal finance however I was not happy with the way I was seeing it on websites I had worked for. To make sure we were providing value for the end consumer, I wanted to take ads out of the calculation."

Dana was awed by the content she developed. Also, she enjoyed speaking to her students, hearing comments, and responding to questions. There was something that didn't feel right about selling to her fans.

"I disliked everything about the launch. I resented the whole selling process of convincing people that they have some pain point and that I can help. None was a good fit for me," Dana remembers.

Offering products only to specific users was not the way forward, which was a big issue. Although this was part of Healthy Rich's monetization plan, she wanted her followers to be able to access the details without cost. It was important for her to earn money but didn't want that money to come from the pockets of those she was trying to help.

If creating items for your target market feels wrong, try shifting your audience

To get more perspectives, Dana had conversations with educators and community organizers. Through these conversations she saw that there was a massive demand for a an individual finance course and that she might be the one to fill it.

"The necessity for financial education is on the rise," Dana explains.

"There are many states with mandates to must take a personal finance class in order to be able to finish high school, but the vast majority do not have funding and they don't provide any specific education path that can lead to the personal finance instructor. Educators coming into the space usually are instructed that they must teach a financial class, and they aren't prepared for it."

The same issue existed among non-profit workers and the people who work with vulnerable populations.

"People working for an non-profit organisation might be helping people in another aspect of their lives however, it's inextricably linked to money. They're fielding questions about people's finances that they don't feel comfortable answering. I'm trying to assist people to understand the subject so that they are able to answer those questions without hesitation."

Dana realized that she could avoid selling her products to users and instead provide educators and trainers with a much wider reach. The message she shared could be heard by greater numbers of people, her organization would earn money and she could feel good with her contribution.

"I like to give information to those who require it free of charge in any way that I can. Giving back to community groups and schools is a way for me to offer these classes available to those who are in need because the people who attend these courses and workshops for no cost," she shares.

"This created a whole new market for my company because I was able to enable instructors and facilitators. I have the ability to collaborate on both sides of the table without offering classes to every single user."

When Dana started to build out her brand new educational program , it clicked.

"My first course launch was an enjoyable test. I'm happy that I absorbed what I did, but I'm also pleased I was able to learn quickly and moved onto the next section."

" gives me the flexibility to create what I want. I love that it allows me to create what I want."

You have no limit to your ideas neither should your tech be either.

To meet potential clients, connect on LinkedIn by sharing work

"People like to talk about what they're working on. Follow the organizations that you'd want to partner with, and check out what they're doing," Dana notes.

"It's been really helpful for me to understand the market which I'd like to collaborate with. That's educators as well as non-profit organizations. I'm from Wisconsin which is why I'm beginning locally with organizations in the local community. I'm able to contact an acquaintance and say, 'I care about the good work you're doing in my community. We can discuss ways we can work together.'"

Reimagining the audience she wants to reach and the products they need, Dana transformed Healthy Rich to become beyond a site that provides personal finance advice. It's a chance to change the way we talk around money.

"The method we speak about money is a problem and I'd like to approach it in a different way. I'm looking to offer teachers with the resources they need, as well as ensure that it's being taught with the most inclusive and broad approach, not just the same old spending and paying down debt I've seen."

In shifting her audience away from individuals to teachers as well as non-profit employees, Dana stayed true to her beliefs and discovered a better way to share her expertise with people needing it the most.

Discover new paths and beware of the temptation of comparing your travels to other people's

Dana reminds creators that "there's no perfect path for what this career looks like. You have to just experiment and discover what's working your best."

The first step to finding your personal path means not comparing your work with other artists. Instead, Dana recommends looking to the past to see the extent to which you've gotten better.

"Everyone is at a point in their life, hoping to reach the next level. The most helpful thing for me is to look back at me in the past five or ten years," she says.

"When I began freelance work I was aspired to become an author. I started taking on some freelance gigs and blogging during my initial couple of years, I made only a small amount. If I'm feeling frustrated about the state of my career, I glance at my past and think about what I've accomplished."

"I managed to secure the full-time position as a writing staff member," she shares. "In the last couple of years, I've made six figures freelancing. This time, I'm moving into a new phase where, rather than my earnings primarily due to freelance writing I'd like it to come directly from my own business .

"It's difficult to figure out how to achieve this and yet if you'd said twelve years ago my future position in, I'd not imagine that this would ever be happening. I'd be really astonished."

At the conclusion of the day choosing to pursue your passion is a huge win, and you've probably come farther than you thought.

"I believe that following this kind of dream is something to be proud of no matter what level you're at."