Dana Miranda is a financial educator who teaches personal finance. Her first target audience wasn't one she felt. When she decided to make this change, she began to increase her audience. |

If Dana Miranda shifted her target clients to offer education and training for teachers as well as non-profits, she discovered greater satisfaction and alignment in her work.

In the two years Dana Miranda worked as a personal finance journalist, she noticed an underlying pattern. "Most of the financial content that is available there, most of the information and advice, comes only viewed from one viewpoint, that tends to be male, white heteronormative, or from a middle-class background."

"I came from a working class background," Dana shares. "I'm a queer woman. It was clear to me that there was a lack of awareness and representation of the nuanced nature of these different kinds of experiences that people have in relation to money."

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

Today, Dana Miranda is a personal finance educator and the creator of Healthy Rich , a platform for inclusive, budget-free financial education. Here's how Dana built her online business and ensured that her work could reach as many as is possible, even if that meant going a nontraditional route.

Just because a monetization strategy is popular, doesn't mean that it's the best choice for your company.

Healthy Rich started as an extra-curricular activity that Dana ran while working as Writer-in-Residence.

"I started Healthy Rich as a project to share different personal financial experiences. The blog was a mere website but there wasn't any money flowing in. I wasn't sure of how it would take to make money, but I knew that eventually, I wanted to grow it into an actual business."

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

Dana was awed by the content she developed. Also, she enjoyed speaking to students, listening to feedback, and answering questions. However, something was off with selling to her customers.

"I was a bit naive about the whole launch. I was apprehensive about the entire sales process of convincing people that they're suffering and that I can help. None of it felt right for me," Dana remembers.

The idea of selling products directly to viewers is not the right way forward, which was a big issue. While this was Healthy Rich's plan for monetization, she wanted her fans to have access to the information at no cost. It was important for her to earn funds, but she didn't want the money to come from the pockets of those she wanted to aid.

If the idea of creating products that appeal to your intended market, it feels unnatural Try shifting the audience

For a better understanding, Dana had conversations with the community's organizers and educators. From those talks, she realized that there was an enormous demand for a financial education for individuals -and she could be the one to fill it.

"The need for personal finance education is increasing," Dana explains.

"There are many states passing mandates that you have to have a personal finance class in order to be able to finish high school, however, the majority of them are unfunded and there's not a specific educational track that can lead to a personal finance teacher. Educators coming into the space usually are instructed to teach a personal finance class and don't feel prepared for it."

Similar issues were encountered by the non-profit sector and among those who serve vulnerable populations.

"People who work in an non-profit organisation might assist people in a different aspect of their lives however, it's inextricably linked to financial matters. There are questions they have about finances that they don't feel at ease to answer. I'm trying to assist people understand this subject so they are able to answer those questions with confidence."

Dana recognized that she was able to avoid selling her products to customers and instead help teachers and trainers by reaching a much wider market. The message she shared could be heard by more people, her business could make money, and she could feel good with her contribution.

"I prefer to provide content to the people who require it free of charge whenever I can. Serving community organizations and educational institutions is a means for me to provide accessible this knowledge to individuals who require it since people are taking part in these courses and workshops for no cost," she shares.

"This opened up a potential new customer base for my company because I was able to help instructors and facilitators. I have the ability to collaborate on both sides of the table without advertising classes for each user."

When Dana began to develop her own curriculum for teachers  It clicked.

"My first course launch was an enjoyable trial. I'm happy that I absorbed what I did, but I'm also pleased that I learned quickly before moving onto the next section."

" gives me the flexibility to design what I like. I am in love with it this way."

The possibilities are endless, and your technology shouldn't be either.

To meet potential clients Connect with LinkedIn via shared work

"People are keen to share their thoughts on their work. Keep track of the companies you would want to work with and find out what they're doing," Dana notes.

"It's extremely helpful to me to know the niche which I'd like to collaborate with. That's educators as well as non-profit organizations. I live in Wisconsin and am aiming to start locally with organizations in the community. I'm able to reach out to a fellow community member and tell them that I am concerned about what you're doing for my community. Let's talk about how we can work together.'"

Through reimagining her audience and the products they need, Dana transformed Healthy Rich into so much beyond a site that provides personal finance advice. Now, the blog has a chance to completely change societal conversations regarding money.

"The method we speak about money can be a challenge, and I want to do it differently. I want to provide education with resources needed by educators as well as ensure that it's being taught with a more inclusive and nuanced lens, instead of just traditional spending and paying down debt that I was seeing."

With her focus shifting beyond individuals, to educators as well as non-profit employees, Dana stayed true to her ideals and came up with an easier way of sharing her expertise with people who needed it most.

Blaze new trails and avoid 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 for you."

Part of finding your own way is not to compare you to others who have created. Instead, Dana recommends looking to the past to see how much you've grown.

"Everyone has been at some point in their life, hoping to reach the next stage. For me, the most beneficial thing is to think about myself in the past five or ten years," she says.

"When I started freelancing I was aspired to become an author. I began taking on writing and other freelance projects, and for my first few years, I was earning very low pay. When I am frustrated by where I am in my work, I think back on my career and think about what I've accomplished."

"I was able to get an employment as a full-time staff writer," she shares. "In the past couple of years, I earned six figures freelance. This time, I'm moving into a new phase where, rather than my earnings primarily being from writing freelance, I'd like to earn it from my company .

"It's challenging to work out the best way to make it work, but if you said twelve years ago that this was my future position in, I wouldn't imagine that this would ever happen. I'd be amazed."

In the end of the day, taking the leap in the direction of your own creativity is a huge win, and you've probably come farther than you thought.

"I consider that having such a dream is a huge thing to be celebrated no matter the stage you're in."