It’s not often that you hear of successful entrepreneurs who never actually planned to be an entrepreneur. And that’s just one of the reasons why I’m so excited to share with you my conversation with YouTube star and “accidental entrepreneur,” Amanda Bucci.

It all began as Amanda was finishing up her nursing degree in college. With an ongoing interest and passion for fitness, she decided to track her fitness progress by creating an Instagram account. Without any expectations of a following, out of nowhere she had 15,000 followers. So how did she attract these people? Through GIVING!

As many of you know, when you post progress pictures, your workout routine, your thoughts etc., you’re going to get questions about how you were able to achieve your results. And with her spirit of generosity, Amanda felt called to respond back (paragraphs at a time) because she genuinely wanted to help. There was no money being made at this point, but that soon changed.

Building a reputation as a coach, Amanda soon started taking one-on-one clients in addition to waitressing. Add studying for nursing exams and Amanda was maxed out. To free up time, Amanda decided to ditch the waitressing and create and sell an ebook. There wasn’t a plan, just a vision and the desire to help others (and help herself as well if she could). Her first ebook, The Ins and Outs of Tracking Your Macros was a huge success and she found in addition to her coaching clients, she was making enough money to cover her living expenses with a little extra.

With a nursing career still in sight, Amanda struggled. She didn’t have the desire or extra time to study. Her passion for nursing had transitioned to fitness. Nonetheless, Amanda followed through, took the registered nurse exams and…didn’t pass. A common occurrence, Amanda scheduled to take the test again, but when the time came take it again, she decided against it. It was time to take her fitness career to the next level (at this point she had already made $50,000 in just six short months!).

Amanda took on more clients, started providing more content and kept sharing on Instagram and YouTube. So how did she do it in a world FULL of social media fitness stars?

Amanda advises to not get discouraged by the amount of people who are doing something similar. There are so many people who need YOUR special message and guidance.

Amanda feels that people buy things because they like the person they’re buying a particular product/program from.

If someone else is doing something similar…great! But know that you have the power to make it better, different and MORE valuable. A game-changer for Amanda has been her practice of being transparent in so many areas of her life. It’s about giving people a first-hand look into your life… Share your struggles, what you’re feeling and what you’re doing. The more you share, the more successful your community/following will be.

Being so new to entrepreneurship, throughout her recent experiences, Amanda had never really thought about her long-term financial and impact goals.

Realizing she needed to seek outside help for her business, she joined Lewis Howes’ Mastermind group (where we actually first met). Amanda has learned so much from him and other fellow entrepreneurs about what she wants the future of her business to look like. And one thing that was inevitable, she needed to offer more products and unapologetically charge for them.

While this was difficult at first, Amanda realized that charging someone often guarantees more success, because people are held more accountable. She also reflects that it’s refreshing to know the value of what you’re offering. For example, her new high-ticket coaching services are offered at a higher price point than she’s ever done before. And while fear and doubt creep, in she had the a-ha moment of:

And guess what, the coaching services were a success! This doesn’t mean you’re not going to have nay-sayers who accuse you of manipulating or “scamming” people, but at the heart of your business, you know what you’re providing. And don’t forget, there’s always the block and delete buttons, which Amanda has become more comfortable using. ;)

As long as you’re providing (aka giving!) value to your audience (and some free content, too), you have just as good of a chance as anyone to build a successful business.