Latest / Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs / 194: Why is creating an online course so difficult?

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194: Why is creating an online course so difficult? · Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 194, and in today's episode, we're going to be exploring why, even though you're brilliant at what you do, it doesn't necessarily mean that turning your knowledge and expertise into an online course is going to be easy.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to be looking at why so many experienced business owners struggle to package what they know, what might be holding them back, and how you can start turning your expertise into something that people will actually want to buy.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump right in and let's get started.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Online Business Uncovered, the show that lifts the lid on what it really takes to turn your brilliance into digital products, passive income, and time freedom.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host Karen, an online business strategist, course creation expert, and your go-to for building a business that works for you and not the other way around.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you are an ambitious entrepreneur feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or maybe you're just ready for a smarter, more sustainable way to grow, then you're in the right place.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because each week I'll be bringing you inspiring conversations, practical strategies, and step-by-step guidance to help you create scalable, repeatable digital products that sell even while you sleep.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're ready to stop trading your time for money, reclaim your time, and finally build a business that gives you the freedom that you deserve, hit subscribe and tune in every Thursday.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Let's uncover what's truly possible for you starting now.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to another episode of Online Business Uncovered.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host Karen and I really do appreciate you hitting the play button to listen to today's episode.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Before we dive into today's episode, I want to quickly talk to you about my new online community, the Sell Your Brilliance Hub.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you are a business owner who's ready to explore how you can turn your knowledge, your skills, your expertise into scalable offers that you can sell on repeat.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: So things like digital products, online courses, memberships, communities, things like that, then I'd love you to come and join us.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Inside the community, you will find monthly masterclasses, practical tools and resources, challenges, and opportunities to connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs who are looking for smarter ways to grow their business as well.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a place where you can come, you can get inspired, learn new skills, and most importantly, take action on those ideas that maybe you've been sitting on for far too long.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're ready to start making your expertise work harder for you, then come and join me in this new community over at school.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Go to www.school.com forward slash sell hyphen, your hyphen brilliance, hyphen hub, hyphen 2808, and head on in there.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I will also put the link in the show notes as well because I'd love to see you in there helping you make the next year in business your best year yet.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to start by saying that you are probably really brilliant at what you do.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: You've spent years building your knowledge, developing your skills, working with clients, and probably getting really good at something.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: People come to you because they value your expertise, they trust you, they appreciate your experience, and they're happy to pay for what you know.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, why is it that when you sit down and try and turn all of that knowledge into an online course, suddenly you don't know where to start with?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I've come across this in so many occasions where I've had conversations with business owners that want to create something, and this is exactly the problem they're struggling with.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost like they're overwhelmed at the prospect of getting started with something because they just don't know where to start.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, the questions start: What should I include in the course?
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: What should I leave out?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: How do I know what people actually need?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: What if I forget something really important?
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe the biggest question of all is why would somebody pay me to learn something that they could probably find on Google, YouTube, chat, all of those other platforms.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you've ever found yourself in this position, I want you to know that there's a very good reason why turning what you know into an online course can be can feel very difficult.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because being brilliant at what you do and knowing how to package that brilliance into something that people will buy are two very different things.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: I want to start by taking you back to 2019.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, at the time, I was running my branding and web design business, and I'd already spent years working with clients, helping them build their brands and establish that online presence.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I really knew my subject.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: I understood branding, design, websites, and all of the different elements that go into creating a professional online presence because that's the work that I was doing, that's what I was doing for myself.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: I was working on projects for clients, so I was very much integrated into that space.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And first off, I decided to create my first ever planner because I wanted to take a process and package it up in a way where people could go through it at their own time.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, at the time I was delivering a branding um discovery session where people would pay me for a session that would take about three to four hours, and we did do a deep dive into their business, really pulling it apart.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why had they started their business?
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: What was their business?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: What was their mission, their vision, their goals?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: How did they want to be positioned?
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: What did they want to be known for?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: All of this really important stuff, even before we've talked about the identity and the brand aesthetics and all of those other things that people associate with branding.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: You can't do any of that work until you have a really deep understanding about what you're creating.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I created a digital planner.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Initially, it was a physical planner that people could buy, and then I turned it into a digital planner, and it was simply just the process.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: So all of the questions that I asked in the session, I created a workbook and I packaged it up and I sold that.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Every time I met somebody or jumped on a call, I would use the same questions.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then when I wrote the report up to give them something, at the end of it, I would use these questions.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: So they they were very probing questions.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: They kind of were designed to extract the relevant information out of the person that I was working with.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: And it was really interesting because out of all my services that I offered, that was the piece that I think people really appreciated the most.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because it gave them clarity.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: And up until that point, they didn't have clarity.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: They hadn't taken the time to sit down and really think about the business they were creating.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: They were being reactive and doing things that they thought they needed to do at that point because they felt like it was right.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Rather than creating the plan, following the plan, building the plan out, and then creating something very meaningful and purposeful that represented their business.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: So this planner that I created was designed to support them with our process.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, once I sold the planner, I then went on to create my first online course, which was Crafting Your Brand.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And again, this course was designed to take them through the process of looking at their business, creating the brand so that they had all the design aesthetics, but everything they created was strategic.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Everything they created was off the back of the deep dive that they were doing for themselves.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that worked really well.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I also remember sitting there and having all of these questions when it came to create my course.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: How do I know somebody's gonna buy it?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: What do I even include in my course?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: How do I even pull it together?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: What is a funnel?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: What are all of these bits that I need in order to be able to sell it?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: And the questions at the time just felt endless.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember going through the course and building it, and I didn't feel confident that I knew what I was doing.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like the expert in my subject area because alongside the course, I was delivering the work and I was creating these brands and helping clients to market themselves and position themselves.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: But I didn't feel confident when it came to putting my educator's hat on and calling myself the expert.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was a very different place to be, and I think looking back, it was it was to do with the identity as well of not really seeing myself as the educator or the teacher because I was the person that just did the work.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: I was the person that people came to to get the work done.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: So stepping into a new position of teaching people and educating people felt really uncomfortable.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember feeling that I had a lot of imposter syndrome about it, which when I look back now seems really funny to me because of course I was the expert.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: I am the expert, you know, I was helping people and they were getting results and it was doing the thing.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: But when it came to breaking it down and sharing my process and talking people through stuff and creating things and all of that, I felt like it was a new area.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: I I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing, and I just kept questioning everything.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: How long should my videos be?
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: What should my videos be?
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: How do I decide the order of lessons?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: How do I decide how to get them to the place that I want to get them to?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: And how am I going to do this in a way that's really engaging and that's going to keep them focused so they actually get the result at the end of the course?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really interesting when I speak to people now at the start of that journey, where of course they're going to have questions, of course, they're going to feel uncomfortable, of course, they're not going to necessarily feel like the expert.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: But I think part of the journey that we're on is recognizing how we feel, but also pushing past those fears so that we can take action and then become the expert.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think what is also important is recognizing that knowing how to do something and knowing how to teach somebody else to do it are in fact two completely different skill sets.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is where a lot of business owners get stuck.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: They assume that because they're good at what they do, creating an online course should, of course, come naturally.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And when it doesn't, they start questioning themselves, thinking that maybe they're not cut out for it, or their knowledge isn't valuable enough, or maybe they should just stick with working with clients because that's what they know.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: But actually, none of those are true.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can be a really exceptional coach, consultant, designer, marketer, whatever your area of expertise is, and still need to learn how to create an effective online course because course creation is a skill.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Just like marketing is a skill, just like selling is a skill.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're not born with these skills.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: We don't go to school and you know, we're taught how to create a course or sell a course or market ourselves.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like none of those things are taught to us at school level.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Often when we start a business, the skills we possess are in the jobs that we do.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to learn additional skills to be able to do the things that we need to do.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to instinctively know how to do it, and you certainly don't have to get it right first time first time.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Again, when I was working on my first online course, oh my god, I felt like such an imposter, and I felt really uncomfortable about talking about my course, and I procrastinated, and I second guessed myself, and I sat on it what seemed like for ages.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's fear, it's fear of doing something new for the very first time, not necessarily having the skills to do it, recognizing that we have to do it in order to learn the skills, and then taking action.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a lot of fear that sits around that.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to become a different person to create a successful course, you just need to learn how to approach your existing expertise in a different way.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: The way you talk about what you do just needs to be approached in a different way, and I think sometimes the people who find it the hardest to create an online course are the people who probably know the most about their subject.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that sounds completely backwards, but actually having a huge amount of knowledge can create its own challenges because when you are an expert, you can see the whole picture, you understand the complexities, the exceptions, the different approaches, and all of those things that potentially could go wrong.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: You know that somebody needs to learn all of these things, but you also know all those other things may be useful as well.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, where do you draw the line and where do you make the decision that enough's enough and that anything else is going to be extra in the course?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I see this so often.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody comes to me with an idea for an online course, and when I ask them what they want to teach, they start telling me about all the different things that they could include, and it's a lot.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Usually, it's probably about four or five courses in one sitting because they've got loads of ideas of the things they can include, and I can see how this can be exciting because they're passionate about all of these things, but then I have to ask a question to get them thinking slightly differently.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: What do you actually want somebody to be able to do by the end of the course?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: And suddenly it becomes less clear because they've been thinking about everything that they know rather than what their students actually need, and those two things are really very different.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine you're a marketing consultant who spent the past 10 years helping businesses develop their marketing strategies.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: You understand branding, messaging, content, email marketing, social media, lead generation, advertising, customer journeys, and probably a million other things as well.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if I asked you to create a course about marketing, where would you start?
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: You could probably create 20 modules without even thinking about it because you know all of this stuff.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: But would your student need all of that information?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Or would they be better served by a much smaller course that helps them achieve one specific result?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps it's creating their first email marketing strategy or developing a really simple content plan that they can actually stick to.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's about teaching them how to get the first 10 leads.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: The value that you're offering isn't necessarily in how much information you are providing, the value is in helping somebody achieve something that they couldn't achieve before.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's one of the biggest mindset shifts that people need to make when they're creating an online course because you're not there to prove how much you know, you're there helping somebody get a result, and sometimes it does mean leaving things out, and I know this can be really challenging when you're really passionate about your subject because you know so much and you know what they may need to know, but more information doesn't automatically create a better learning experience.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes so much information just leaves your students overwhelmed, feeling like they just want to kind of give up, walk away from the course because it's just too much.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: So thinking about the result that you want to deliver, and then mapping out how they're gonna get there is going to be far more effective than trying to pack in so much information, most of which your student probably doesn't need.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you're sitting there thinking, okay, Karen, this makes sense, I get it, but how do I start?
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Then I want to share three things that I believe you need to get clear on before you start creating modules, recording videos, or choosing your online course platform.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I would really encourage you to resist the temptation to just to start creating content.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, the amount of people that I have spoken to that say to me that they've started an online course and they've created a ton of content, but they're not sure if it's right.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I just want to jump in and just say, stop you before you do anything, and I know it can be a really exciting process to be a part of, it's why I love doing this because it is exciting, it is impactful, and you get to share what you know at a meaningful level.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's really important that before you even start creating content and spending an enormous amount of time kind of going down rabbit holes trying to create things, then what I would encourage you to do first and foremost is start thinking about the outcome.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: What is the specific result somebody is going to achieve by completing your course?
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to be really clear on this.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Not what they'll learn, not how many modules they'll complete, but what they'll actually be able to do at the end of this.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, instead of saying I'm going to teach people about social media marketing, you might say instead, I'm going to have small business owners create a simple 30-day content plan.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: The first one is really broad, the second one is a specific result.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's something tangible that people can look at and be like, okay, I know what I'm going to get at the end of this.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then they can understand the value of it.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because when somebody is considering buying your course, they're not necessarily interested in how much content you've created, they're interested in what the content is going to help them do.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: So always start with the outcome.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: The second thing that I think is equally important is understanding who you are creating the course for, who is your audience.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: I know you've probably heard people talking about identifying your ideal customer a thousand times, but it really does matter because the same subject can be taught can be taught in completely different ways depending on who's learning it.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: The third thing to really take into account, and I would encourage you to take the time to do this, is the structure.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Once you know who you're helping and what result you're helping them achieve, you can start working backwards.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: What needs to happen for somebody to get from where they are now to where they want to be?
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: What are those key stages?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: What do they need to understand first?
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And what do they need to do next?
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And also understanding what might stop them from making progress.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is where you get to start creating a roadmap for your course.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to think about this as a journey.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: Your student is starting at point A, they want to get to point B.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: So your job is to help them get there in the clearest, simplest, and most effective way possible.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't need a lot of modules to make that happen.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: You do not need hours and hours of video content, and you don't need to create something massive for this to work.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes a short, focused course that helps somebody achieve one meaningful result can be so much more effective than a really huge program that tries to teach everything.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because people don't just want information, they want progress, they want to feel like they're moving forward, and ultimately they want to achieve the result that they came for.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're creating your structure, I want you to keep asking yourself does this lesson help my student move closer to the outcome?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: If it doesn't, do they really need it?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not sure, perhaps it is something you can leave out.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can always develop more resources later, and maybe that piece becomes a bonus piece.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Your first priority is to create a clear, achievable learning experience for your students.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna leave it there for now, but next week I'm going to be talking about selling your knowledge.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: People think that they're not very good at selling, and often it's not the case, especially if you're in business, you're a business owner, and you're selling services.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: You probably are brilliant at selling, you just don't realise it.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: So next week, I'm going to answer this question, which is all about selling and how to do it in a way that feels very authentic and natural to you.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before I finish today's episode, I want to give you something really simple to do, and I really do encourage you to just take a few minutes to do this, especially if you are creating an online course or a digital product.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to grab a notebook, open or open a document, or use whatever you use for your ideas.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I just want you to answer one question: what's the one result you would most like to help somebody achieve using your expertise?
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: Just one.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Not everything you can teach, not all the things you know, one result.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: Think about the people you currently work with.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: What do they come to you for?
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: What do you help them with?
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: And what questions do they keep asking?
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: And what problems do you find yourself solving over and over again?
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: What transformation would make a meaningful difference to them?
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps you're a business coach and you help somebody create the first business plan, or maybe you're a designer and you want to help somebody create a consistent visual identity for their business.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: Or perhaps you're a wellness practitioner and you want to help somebody develop a simple daily routine that supports their well-being.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever your expertise happens to be, I want you to start by identifying one result.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then I want you to complete the sentence.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: I help who so list a specific person, achieve a specific result, so put in what that result is so they can and write down the benefit it creates.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: That one sentence will influence the outcome of your online course, and it will also help you to create a course that is effective, that's meaningful, and that delivers the result that ultimately the student is paying you to get.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of Online Business Uncovered.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: I really hope it's given you some fresh ideas, maybe a little bit of inspiration, but most importantly, something practical that you can take away and use in your business.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you've enjoyed today's episode, I'd love you to share with a friend or a fellow entrepreneur who might also find this helpful.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if listening to today's got you thinking about how you can turn your own knowledge, skills, and experience into something that generates income beyond the hours you work, then I'd love to invite you to join my free online community, the Sell Your Brilliance Hub.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's a supportive space for business owners who want to explore creating digital products, online courses and memberships with access to practical trainings, resources, and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who are all working towards building businesses that give them more freedom.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Head on over to school www.school.com forward slash sell hyphen your brilliance hub.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: I will put the link in the show notes as well.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: But head on over because you do not have to keep working more hours just to simply grow your business.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it just is about finding smarter ways to make what you already know work for you.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a wonderful week.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for tuning in to today's episode of Online Business Uncovered.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: If today's conversation has sparked an idea or gave you a dose of clarity, then please make sure to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: New episodes land every Thursday, so hit follow or subscribe to stay in the loop.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're loving the show, a quick rating or review goes a long way in helping more brilliant entrepreneurs like you find this show.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep showing up, keep sharing your brilliance, and remember freedom in business is possible, and it starts with taking the next right step.