My clients are ambitious and they dream big. Many of them aspire to create courses so they can share their knowledge. So, if you’re wondering, “Should I create a course?” here’s what I’d say to you…
Things To Know Before Creating a Course
Creating courses takes a lot of focused effort. There are quite a few pieces to manage and an extensive plan to think about. Because of this, making courses takes time. To be on the safe side, you’ll want to make sure you have other income to sustain you before the course takes off.
Another thing to think about is the course material itself. When creating a course, you have to have a system to guide people through. Ask yourself…
- Do you have a system? And is that system repeatable?
- Have you honed and developed this system until it’s air-tight?
- Can you break your system into simple steps?
- Will folks be able to do this themselves? In other words, will they be able to succeed without direct support from you?
- Do you have an interest in being one-to-many (versus one-on-one)?
If you answered “yes” to all of these, then it’s time to start thinking about your course content. But if you’re unsure about your answers or have noticed any gaps in your system, consider partnering with someone to help define and refine your process.
You’ll notice I didn’t say, “You don’t think you’re ready.” There’s a difference between having a solid skill set versus having a mindset of being sure that you can do it. In that case, you may want to read this post about perceived fears, then meet me back here!
Okay. You have the knowledge, ability to be patient while you build momentum, and teachable process you can guide your students through. Creating a course may be your next move!
The One Thing You Must Have Before Creating A Course
Some people think the biggest challenge when creating a course is having the right information. Sure, what you’re teaching has to be tailored for your audience. But information itself isn’t the block here. You’ve taught it before and know exactly how to present it so everyone can understand and take action on the knowledge you’re sharing.
Having an audience is the biggest challenge of creating a course. Without an audience to buy the course, you won’t sell the course.
Success Tip: Know that you have the audience to support your course. Then, be patient. It takes time to build an audience. This isn’t an overnight, Field-of-Dreams situation.
A course takes off when you have a large audience. If you’re 100% certain you can wait it out until the course hits the right people and gains popularity, you’re golden.
What To Do If You Don’t Have An Audience
What happens if you don’t have an audience? If you don’t have an audience and are not interested in building one, a course is not your next step.
If you are willing to generate an audience for your course, there are two ways to gather an engaged audience while you continue on with your usual business services. It just depends on why you want to build a course. Do you feel it’s the next thing you should do in your business (“Everyone says, ‘Make a course!’ It’s the next logical step!”) or are you motivated by the money it could attract (“It has to succeed so I can replace income!”)?
If You Think It’s The Next Logical Step (Because People Say So)…
Some folks think that if they build a course, students will flock to it. As the saying goes: If you build it, they will come.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. You have to be willing to gather a large group of engaged, dedicated followers. Do this by showing up consistently and using what you’re teaching in your course to draw people to you.
For example: if you’re selling a course about live streaming as a marketing method for businesses, do that yourself! Draw folks to you using your own material. Then, when you present them with the option to learn how to do it themselves, they’ll know they can trust you because it worked to get them into your circle.
You can also build up your audience by selling your high-ticket services. Through the process of reaching out and meeting folks, you’ll have conversations about what you do. Some folks will want to work with you. Some won’t and that’s okay. The main point here is to meet people and invite them into your world.
If You’re Interested In Making Significant Money With A Course…
Building a great course to the point that it generates sustainable income is a 6-9 month process. If you don’t have that income available to you while you build a course, you shouldn’t set your sights on that. You’ll be so stressed building the course and you’ll have so much pressure on it to work, you’ll make yourself crazy.
Instead, build up a client base. It’ll take the income pressure off of your course. Sell services so you can bring in the income you need. As a bonus, you’ll build up your audience, too.
When you get to the point where you can say, “I have consistent clients and savings to sustain me while I do this,” then you can go back and build a course because you can be patient while it grows without sweating the money situation.
Anyone can create a course, but doing so is not for the faint of heart. It takes time, patience in the process, and confidence that you have the knowledge and audience to support it. I have confidence that you’ve thought this through and you’re able to rise to the challenge!
