Case Study: Solopreneur #1 - Latasha James

In this post we will cover Latasha James. She is a solo entrepreneur that recently downsized her multi-person team so that now she is the only person on the pay role.

Reports online have her total annual income at $500,000.

How does her business work?

Latasha runs a freelance podcast and also offers online courses. Her marketing mainly comes from speaking and her social media profiles: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

Her YouTube channel has just shy of 199,000 subscribers at the time of this post. Her twitter on the other hand is around 4,000.

Latasha actually has seven different income streams that makeup her total revenue.

Speaking Engagements: 1% of Revenue 

Despite doing more speaking engagements this year than in the past two to three years, speaking accounted for only 1% of LaTasha’s revenue. The primary reason is the low pay for speaking gigs compared to other revenue streams. However, she emphasizes the importance of assessing the return on investment (ROI) before accepting speaking engagements. Sometimes, speaking for free can lead to paid opportunities, as seen when her engagement at Social Media Marketing World led to additional gigs.

Memberships and Coaching: 5% of Revenue 

Latasha combined memberships and coaching, which made up 5% of her revenue. She attributes the low percentage to shutting down new memberships for six months due to dissatisfaction with the platform. After moving to Uscreen, she experienced a renewed excitement and plans to scale this revenue stream. Uscreen offers a Netflix-style viewing experience and a mobile app, making it a great choice for video creators.

YouTube AdSense: 6% of Revenue

YouTube AdSense contributed 6% of Latasha’s revenue. However, fluctuating ad revenue has motivated her to become less dependent on YouTube ads. She plans to focus more on memberships and other revenue streams to avoid the unpredictability of YouTube earnings.

Affiliate Marketing: 9% of Revenue 

Surprisingly, affiliate marketing made up 9% of Latasha’s revenue. Affiliate income, being mostly passive, shows significant potential for scaling. By sharing links to products or services she genuinely uses, she can earn commissions without additional effort.

Client Work: 10% of Revenue 

Done-for-you client work, such as video editing, course production, and social media strategy, accounted for 10% of Latasha’s revenue. She prefers working selectively with clients on long-term strategic projects, allowing her to bring her full self to each project without feeling overwhelmed.

Brand Deals: 30% of Revenue 

Brand deals and sponsorships made up 30% of Latasha’s revenue. She values long-term partnerships with brands that align with her business, enabling her to recommend products and services authentically. Negotiating deals herself has boosted her confidence and allowed her to secure significant contracts.

Courses: 40% of Revenue 

Courses were the largest revenue stream, contributing 40% of Latasha’s income. Although slightly down from the previous year, she plans to continue creating new courses, especially within her Freelance Friday Club. Her biggest course, the Social Media Management Accelerator, will open again in January, and she’s considering offering it more frequently to increase revenue.