5 Reasons Right Now Is The Perfect Time To Create Your Own Online Course
Reason #1 Everything is Changing. Learning is Constant. 3.5 Billion Searches Per Day Proves It.
With Coronavirus limiting our ability to get out and go to work and the economy fluctuating, it’s enough to give us the heebie-jeebies. We watch nervously as oil and gas take a hit, leaving thousands feeling anxious about their job security. But it’s not just that market. With the current health crisis, the travel and hospitality industries are likely to take hits as well. But don’t worry, this post isn’t about doom and gloom; it’s about possibility. No matter what’s going on in the world, there’s one thing that’s constant: curiosity. In fact, when the economy is uncertain, people’s curiosity increases. They wonder if they are in the right job. They wonder about other ways to make money. With the extra time on their hands, they wonder how to fix this or bake that. This is in addition to all of the regular wonderings: How do I get my kid to enjoy reading? How do I prepare for the LSAT? How can I balance being a working dad and a great father? Tips for meditating? Best way to sanitize my house? The list goes on and on. With all of those questions floating around, I bet you can answer at least one of them, and if you can, you can create a little more financial stability with an online course.
Reason #2 You Know More Than Enough To Share
How do I know? Someone pays you for it already. If you are employed, someone thinks what you know and can do is valuable enough to pay you for it. And I’d bet you $5 that you think they don’t pay you enough. That’s because they have to mind their profit or their cut of what you produce with your knowledge and skills. But when you create your own online course using that same knowledge and those same skills, there’s no one else to cut into the profit. It’s all yours. Save what you have to set aside for Uncle Sam–can’t have y’all going to jail for failing to pay your taxes.
And if that isn’t enough of a reason, consider this: you know and are able to do far more than what you do at work. Even if you are the MVP at your job, you are likely sitting on some other talent that just didn’t fit in the job description or something you had to learn along the way to being great at your job. Let’s say you are a wildly successful executive woman. You lead several teams at work and get mind-blowing results. You probably had to learn how to prioritize really well or learn how to delegate home tasks in order to become Mrs. Corner Office Badass. Or maybe you have a hidden love for choosing great wines. You are more than one thing, and creating a course that teaches others how to do what you know adds pluses in the fulfillment column in ways your job could never.
Reason #3 Math
Let’s say you aren’t Mrs. Corner Office Badass, and money is a real thing. Let’s do the math. If you create an online course and price it for say $100–yes, that’s low, but stick with me. If 5 people buy your course every week, that’s $500 a week. Multiply that by 4, and you’d make an extra $2,000 monthly.
Do the math.
How much is that per year?
Now up the number of people who buy your course to 10 people per week. That turns into $4,000 per month.
Do that math.
Sometimes we think courses have to be priced high to warrant the effort. What could $4k/month do for you? All with one $100 course. And let’s be honest, what you know is probably worth quite a bit more than that.
Want to make more? Get your friends, family, coworkers, kids, neighbors–basically any credible contact–in on it. Price your course at $100. Give your peeps a referral code; for every person they refer who purchases your course, they get a referral bonus of 30%. If they refer 30 people to you, that’s an extra $900. Sure, that’s a high percentage, but you’re still getting $70/sale.
Like Jay-Z said…
“Over here we measure success by how many people successful next to you/Here we say you broke if everybody is broke except for you/Boss.”
Reason #4 Automation. It Works While You’re At Work.
Once you create your course, you can sell it on autopilot. If you know me personally, you know that I have a full time gig, as a nonprofit executive no less. I also have two kids, my #crumbsoflove, two sisters who think I’m a cool enough big sister to kick it with, and a husband I actually like spending time with (go figure). If I take on anything, it damn sure has to be worth it and somewhat easy. What you say ‘no’ to is what you say ‘yes’ to, right?
With just a website and an email system like ConvertKit, you can completely automate your course delivery. If someone comes across your course and want to purchase it at 10am while you’re in a staff meeting, guess what? Your employees, Ms. Website and Mr. Email System, will get it done. Your new student will be enrolled and have access to your course within minutes, all without you having lifted a finger (except to quiet the cha-ching notification on your phone because someone just purchased your course).
And finally…
Reason #5 Why Not?
No, really? Why not?
Okay, if you have a job that meets all of your work/fulfillment needs, all the vacations you can stand, a savings account that’s maxed out, a fully paid mortgage and zero credit card or student loan debt–okay fine. You can skip the online course thing. But for the rest of us, those who are ready to live our whole best lives…an online course might just be the way to make it happen.
Want to know the steps to create an online course? Click the button below to watch a short (free) video where I talk you through the Unleashed Educator® process.
