Tentmaking Tips

Neil is an amateur running coach who wanted to turn his expertise into income.

He had done all the research.

Watched the YouTube videos. Studied the gurus. Promised himself that one day he'd start building something.

But he was still stuck. And he couldn't quite figure out why.

Then he got some direction. Not a course. Not another video. Just a conversation that gave him clarity on exactly what to do next by helping him work out who he could help and how he could help them.

Within two weeks he had posted about his niche on Instagram. That's it. Just talking about what he did and who he helped using the clarity he'd just gained.

What happened next shocked him!

A running club he'd never heard of messaged him asking him to come and give a talk. Offering to pay him 250 dollars.

Then a complete stranger messaged asking if they could pay him to teach them what he does.

Then another person got his number from a friend and called him. Same question. Same request to pay.

Three people....

I got a message this week that made me smile.

Erin is a Bible teacher. A few months ago she was struggling to find a way to turn her knowledge into a tentmaking income. Good knowledge, genuine expertise, real desire to help people. But nothing was converting.

She wanted to use her coaching gift mixed with her Biblical knowledge to make an offer that people would genuinely be happy to pay for but without her feeling like she'd 'sold out' or was 'peddling the word of God for profit.' A tough call! 

We talked and mapped out a way to do so a few months back.

This week she messaged me to say she'd just closed her fifth high ticket client at $3,000 each.

"I'm doing well... just closed my 5th high ticket client today!!!"

What changed?

Not her knowledge. She already had that. Not her passion. She had plenty of that too.

What changed was the way she structured what she offered. The systems around her expertise. The clarity of her offer.

This is something I see again and again with past...

A few years ago, this was the question that nearly stopped me before I started.

I remember sitting with this idea, that pastors and Christian leaders had genuinely valuable knowledge, hard-won wisdom, real expertise, and thinking: even if I build something, how on earth do I find the people who need it?

Like Matt - a pastor I've been working with who's just launched his first paid online course helping people overcome conflict.

A few months ago Matt and I had never even met - but he signed up for my program and followed the steps and now has his first offer out in the world, coaching his first clients with skills he's gained over 30 years.

But how did Matt find me? It came through having a very clear offer that fit what Matt needed and talking about it in the right spaces.

Here's what I've learned since then: traction is usually the last problem, not the first.

When you're clear on who you help and what problem you solve, and then start talking about it in the right places, peopl...

I want to tell you about Abi.

She and her husband planted a church in the North of England.

At the same time, she was:

Raising kids

Working multiple jobs

Leading and serving people week in, week out

So like a lot of tentmaking leaders…

She was giving out a lot… but not building anything that could sustain her.

She had experience.

She had calling.

But no clear pathway to turn that into something scalable.

No structured offer.

No consistent income.

Just a quiet sense of:

“I feel like I should be doing something with what I know…”

Maybe you’ve felt that too.

Here’s what changed.

Abi didn’t try to build a big business.

She didn’t quit anything.

She just focused on three simple things:

• Turn her experience into something teachable
• Get her first paying clients
• Prove this could actually work

That’s it.

So we kept it simple.

She built a small pilot coaching programme for women leading in Christian ministry.

Launched it.

And signed 10 people at $300.

From zero to ...

AI is everywhere right now. Course creation in minutes. Business plans generated instantly. Marketing copy that sounds like you hired a pro.

It seems like the perfect solution for busy pastors and leaders wanting to build their tentmaking income.

But here's what nobody's telling you: AI is both your biggest asset and your most dangerous trap.

Let me explain why - and how to use it without getting burned.

How AI Helps Your Tentmaking Journey

Speed and Efficiency
I help people turn their knowledge into scalable online programs working just 4-5 hours per week. AI has made this so much easier.

What used to take 20 hours of course planning now takes 20 minutes. Need marketing copy? Done. Content outlines? Instant. Research? Lightning fast.

Idea Generation and Research
Stuck on what tentmaking path to pursue? Try this prompt:

"I'm a [your role] with expertise in [your skills/experience]. I have [X hours] per week available and want to build $[income goal] in additional income within ...

I want to share something with you that might sound crazy - I once shut down a profitable $25K annual revenue business. On purpose.

Let me explain why, and what it taught me about building real freedom through online courses.

The Business That Almost Worked

A few years back, I was running a hobby eBay store that was doing pretty well. I was only spending 1-2 hours a week on it (sometimes less), and it was consistently profitable with a $25-30k per year turnover. Sounds perfect, right?

But here's the problem - the only way to grow it was to hire staff. And having managed teams in my charity work, I knew I didn't want to go down that path again. I also needed that time to pursue other ventures. So I shut it down.

That experience taught me something crucial: if you want true freedom, you've got to start with scale in mind.

The Three-Part Formula I Discovered

Through multiple business attempts - a software platform, the eBay store, self-published books - I learned that sustainable o...