Business and work, as we know, are changing.

More traditional jobs are implementing hybrid work environments.

And more people are realising the opportunities the internet gives them.

They are realising that they can build careers and businesses online and make a good income doing so.

They can make money without trading their time, and can make money doing what they love.

But to make money online, you need something people can buy, i.e. you need something to sell.

You can’t make money if you don’t have anything to sell.

So what do you sell?

How do you create an offer?

We’ll be answering these and more. As well as going over some things I wish I knew before creating my first offer.

The Hormozi Boom and Offer Noise

If you were in the online space before July 2021, you know there’s a world before and after Alex Hormozi dropped $100M Offers.

(By the time this letter goes out, he’s dropped his third book, $100M Money Models).

The world was never the same after.

Though Hormozi’s book became the go-to book for offer design, something else happened.

The space got messy, noisy and murky.

Everyone was saying the same thing over and over again, which led to them saying the wrong things.

It was a mess, and what Hormozi spent months simplifying got complicated.

But it happens, right?

Sure, there were the upsides:

• You could join the online digital economy.

• You either adapted, learned and got an unfair advantage.

• You had a simple framework for creating a great offer.

• You were forced to get better if you wanted to stand out.

But therein lies the problem…

By trying to stand out, many began to fit in or stand out for all the wrong reasons.

One of the reasons Hormozi’s book went so viral (apart from it being a great book) was his value equation:

It simplified and explained what value is. Something that was previously abstract.

We’ll look at what value is in a moment.

Though Hormozi’s book led to better offers, it also led to empty, sleazy offers.

And even worse, ‘banger’ offers.

'Banger' offers that were truly BS offers. Meaning they were completely unrealistic or making big promises that they couldn’t deliver on.

This isn’t to say Hormozi’s book is to blame. I think it’s just what happens with trends, and in business, the effect of trends tends to hit hard.

So if you want to join the digital economy, it’s worth avoiding the trends and focusing on what works and lasts long-term.

And one of those is understanding what a value is and what people are buying from you.

Value Creation: The Main Skill To Master

So I said we’d talk about value, so let’s talk about it.

What is value?

For the longest time, I didn’t really understand it myself.

What makes one thing more valuable than something else?

How is value determined in the market?

How can one person say they ‘create more value’ than another person?

The best way it was ever explained to me was by Charlie Morgan.

He said:

So, what you are fundamentally doing in the market is solving a problem for someone else. And by solving their problem, they give you money.

Money is the exchange of value.

The more value you can provide someone, the more money they will pay you.

And how do you know that you are providing value to someone?

You provide value by solving a problem for someone.

A problem is solved when you can take someone from their current situation to their desired situation.

• Current situation: high pain/ they have a problem

• Desired situation: low pain/ problem is solved

And the gap between the current and desired situation is where you position yourself and give value.

This value can be in the form of information, a service or a product.

Additionally, when you begin to understand value creation, you begin to understand human psychology.

If you want to make money and you learn money-making skills, you have to understand the patterns of human psychology.

Because if the skills you learn and the value you create are not directly linked to these patterns, people won't buy.

A key principle is understanding that everyone is moving towards a goal: the goal being to survive or thrive.

And any time there is an obstacle or a block to someone surviving or thriving, there is a problem.

(A problem you can solve.)

Think about it.

When have you ever made a change in your life?

When you became aware of a problem that got in the way of a goal and solved it.

When do you pay the most attention to a story?

When a problem is stated or implied by the character. Then you keep reading/ watching to see how they overcame that problem (the transformation).

So if you want to make money, you want to identify the problems people are facing.

Problem = the obstacle between someone's current situation and their desired situation.

Then you present them with a path/ process to overcome that problem.

Path/process = your product or service

Then they pay you to get the product or service that solved their problem.

And people pay more, the more painful a problem is.

The pain of the problem is determined by how important that problem is to them.

For example:

Problem = losing weight

Some won’t even care really care =$0

But it's getting closer to summertime, and they want to look good on the beach = $

Or they are getting married in a few months = $$

Or the weight is threatening their life = $$$$

So when you are creating your offer, you want to be aware of three things:

1. What is the problem you're solving

2. The specific person you are solving it for

3. How important is it for them to solve

So, going back to Hormozi’s Value Equation, you create value when:

• You target a high dream outcome

• You increase the perceived likelihood of achievement

• You reduce the perceived time to achieve the outcome

• You reduce the perceived effort and sacrifice to achieve the outcome.

Or simply:

Speak to increasing their desired outcome while reducing their pain.

A note on human nature:

We are more motivated to move away from pain than we are to move towards pleasure.

People pay more and take action faster to alleviate a pain than they do to achieve a desire.

So now that you understand what value is, let’s talk about the two paths of offer creation.

The Two Paths of Offer Creation

So there are two paths when it comes to offer creation:

Path 1: The Skills-Based Path

This is the path I followed when I created my first offer (and before Alex Hormozi dropped his book).

My first offer was for my SMMA.

I was helping gyms with lead generation through FB advertising.

Nothing new or innovative. (Your offer doesn't have to be either.)

It’s what my mentor, at the time, said worked. So I did what he told me, and it worked. It got the ball rolling for my entrepreneurship journey.

The skills-based offer is the path most people will take when getting into the digital economy.

You learn a skill, sell that skill to others, get case studies and keep improving from there. This is typically what freelancers do.

Or you learn a skill, sell it, get results and then teach others that skill.

This path works because you can either spend time learning the skill before you sell anything, or you can look back on skills you have and sell those.

The only reason most people typically follow the “learn the skill, then sell it” option is that they overlook the skills they already have.

Why?

Because they are so normal or ‘simple’.

The skills you have aren’t always obvious to you because you think everyone can do them.

Skills such as:

• Cooking perfect pork belly every time

• Meditating for an hour every day

• Getting symmetrical winged eyeliner

• Sticking to a diet and not binge eating at midnight

• Building a personal brand

Whether it’s an individual skill or a stack of skills, these are things you know how to do really well, and others don’t.

That’s your opportunity.

The best part is, you can make this as broad as you want to increase the perceived value.

Instead of saying “I know how to sell”, you can break it down and say:

• “I know how to handle objections.”

• “I know how to source leads.”

• “I know how to get prospects to show up to close.”

• “I know how to build rapport.”

• “I know how to frame the sales call.”

• “I know how to onboard the clients.”

And so on.

Not only did you take one skill and break it up into ‘5 sub-skills’, but if you chose to build a personal brand, these become great pieces of content to attract your ideal clients.

The skills-based path is a great starting point, but it can lead to you being one-dimensional.

You want to grow beyond that and build leverage so you can pivot when necessary, instead of getting stuck and left behind.

Another thing about the skill-based path is that it typically works well in one of the eternal markets: Wealth

In case you don't know what the Eternal Markets are, they are:

1. Wealth

2. Health

3. Realtionships

4. Happiness

Though there’s nothing wrong with one focusing on the wealth market, it is limited.

But this is where the second path thrives.

Path 2: Experience-Based Path

This path draws from and builds an offer around your personal experience, knowledge and interests.

This is the path where you see a lot of creators and influencers who have businesses that don’t neatly fit into a niche.

It's centred around your goals, interests, lifestyle and everything you did to get where you are and where you want to go.

This path asks you to look back on your life and your past experiences.

What have you done?

What have you achieved?

What lessons did you learn, and what do you wish you could tell your younger self?

What problems have you solved or skills you’ve acquired?

What’s something you know how to do better than most? (see how it's building on the first path).

Did you lose weight while eating all your favourite cultural foods?

Did you learn to speak 2 languages in less than a year?

Do you know carpentry and know how to create bowls from different types of wood?

Yes, there are creators who’ve done these.

What makes this path great is that you only have to be 1 step ahead to help someone else.

Sometimes, when someone is solving a problem in their life, it’s hard for them to understand how you got to step 50 when they’re on step 7.

You’ll likely overlook certain obstacles they are facing, and they’ll perceive more obstacles in their way. And instead of focusing on getting to step 8, they’re worried about steps 11, 15 and 27.

But when you’re on step 8, it’s a lot more relatable.

Seeing you one or two steps ahead of them builds confidence that they can get there too.

When you are helping someone to overcome a problem, you are also dealing with the worldviews and beliefs that stop that person from overcoming the problem on their own.

So if the gap is too big, the more separation they perceive in getting from step 7 to step 12, and the more work you have to do to shift their belief system and paradigm.

With path 2, you don’t have to follow the generic route.

Look at where you are and where you want to go and how you’re going to get there.

This is one reason personal brands are so powerful because by sharing your story, vision, goals and lessons, people will follow you.

With this path, you can be yourself, improve yourself and profit from yourself.

Your business becomes a vessel for your personal development. And money becomes a byproduct of living with purpose and curiosity.

Creating Your First Offer

So now that you know what value is and the two paths to offer creation, it's time to build your offer.

This is the roadmap I wish I had when I started.

Instead of waiting until ‘you’re ready’ — start taking action and build momentum.

Here’s how you can build and launch your first offer in 5 simple (and slightly uncomfortable) steps:

Step 1: Choose Your Niche & Pinpoint the Pain

Before you figure out what to sell, figure out who you want to serve and what problem they care most about solving.

A good niche (a group of people) has:

• Enough people (min. ~30,000)

• Clear buying power (they can afford to pay)

• Obvious pain points (urgent problems they want solved)

Then, obsess over their most urgent pain.

Think about:

• What keeps them up at night?

• What do they hate doing?

• What are they stuck trying to fix or figure out?

• What would they pay millions to make go away with a wave of a wand?

To avoid shooting in the dark, you can:

• Interview 10–30 people you think you can help

• Ask your audience directly (polls, DMs)

• Reflect on a pain you’ve solved for yourself

I’d recommend starting with pain, not passion.

Money tends to follow pain relief, not creative ideas.

Step 2: Define the Problem You Solve

Now, write your first offer sentence:

Examples:

• I help new creators go from content chaos to consistent growth with my Clarity Calendar system.

• I help tired 9-5ers go from unclear and lost to purpose-driven using the Reignite Method.

• I help coaches package and sell their expertise without doing sales calls and cold outreach.

If you’re still unclear, ask yourself:

• What problem have I solved for myself?

• What do people keep asking me for help with?

• What result am I confident I can help someone achieve?

This is your offer’s core.

Step 3: Build Your Solution & Framework

Anything can be a product or service.

Whether it’s your knowledge, experience, or skill.

You’re using that to solve the problem.

So you need a clear, structured way to deliver that solution.

Ask:

• What are 3–5 steps someone needs to take to go from pain → result?

• What’s the “aha” moment or outcome at each stage?

Even if it’s simple, structure it.

Examples:

• 3 x 1:1 coaching calls

• A custom workflow audit + implementation plan

• Weekly live sessions for 4 weeks

• Done-for-you templates + async voice notes

Step 4: Package, Price & Guarantee

Now it’s time to make it tangible.

💼 Delivery:

Pick a format that fits your energy, time, and goals:

• 1:1 coaching

• Done-for-you service

• 3–4 call coaching sprint

• Digital products

• Merchandise

• Course + async feedback

• Beta cohort

Pricing:

Start lean, then scale.

• New to selling? $27–$800

• Solving painful or time-sensitive problems? Charge more

• Need case studies? Consider working for free and getting testimonials in return.

Guarantee:

Yes, you need one.

Guarantees build trust and confidence by reducing perceived risk. People are naturally risk-averse, so it helps to have a guarantee.

Even if you don’t want to, it’s not really about you (I hate to break it to you). It’s about your client and what they need to feel safe enough to take the leap and work with you.

If you don’t have the confidence to guarantee results for a client, why should anyone have the confidence to buy it?

There needs to be assurance that if they don’t get the result you promised, they either don’t pay you or they get their money back.

You can come up with any guarantee (it doesn’t have to be a money-back).

If you play between the desired outcome and the appropriate risk reversal associated with that, you can have a good guarantee.

Guarantees build buyer confidence and force you to level up delivery.

They put pressure on you to deliver (which is a good thing) and to make it work, especially if you haven’t gotten results before.

So don’t be afraid to have a guarantee in your offer, just because you’re scared you can’t deliver results.

If you can’t, that’s why you give them a refund. And in the end, it will be a good learning opportunity.

Examples of guarantees:

• “If you don’t feel like you got value after 30 days, I’ll refund you.”

• “If you don’t get [result] in 90 days, I’ll refund 100% of your money, no questions asked.”

• “If you can show me that you did everything that was outlined and still didn’t get results, I will refund you the full amount.”

• “Partial refund” based on the effort shown by the client.

• “I’ll work with you until you get [result] or your money back.”

Step 5: Launch It Imperfectly (And Validate Fast)

I wish someone had told me that:

You don’t need a sales page.

You don’t need a website.

You don’t need a funnel.

You need one message that speaks to one person’s pain and makes one promise.

Try this:

Apply your offer and messaging through “The Power of One” lens:

• One Person

• One Problem

• One Promise

• One Process

If at any stage, it doesn’t pass the test, go back and refine it.

Once refined, share it:

• On your story

• In your content

• In relevant group chats

• In DMs to ideal clients

Then start conversations, validate interest, and close 1–3 sales.

This is powerful because you get feedback fast, and you learn what people say yes to.

From that, you can iterate and grow.

Friendly Reminder

Your first offer isn’t final. It’s the foundation.

You’re not going to build a business empire overnight.

It’s going to take time.

With anything that you are doing for the first time, you aren’t going to get it on the first try.

That shouldn’t stop you from trying.

The goal with your first offer isn’t to get it perfect.

It’s to get your foot in the door.

To build trust, feedback loops, and real-world experience.

You’re collecting data, gaining confidence, and stacking wins.

If you wait until you feel “ready,” who knows how long you’re going to wait?

But if you start building and putting something out there today — even if it feels simple or imperfect — you’ll be making progress.

You’ll be closer to her first (or next) $1k+.

🏁 Recap: The First Offer Framework

Here’s your playbook:

1. Pick a niche with clear pain and buying power

2. Isolate a problem they desperately want solved

3. Build a solution that takes them from pain → peace (i.e pain solved)

4. Package it with clear outcomes and delivery

5. Launch it lean and get real people to give you feedback, and start paying you

Your first offer won’t be your last.

But it will be the most important.

So don’t wait for perfection. Start messy. Start now.

Thank you for reading.

See you in the next one.

— Shana