The entire planet is in the midst of one of the most globally destabilizing times in history, where the foundations of how we function and interact on every level of our lives have been shaken.
We've all been pushed out of our comfort zone. That’s a situation that serves as the impetus for tremendous learning and growth.
As systems grow and change, there is a push and pull between stability and growth. We need stability in order to function effectively, and we need growth in order to keep moving forward.
New systems and structures are starting to emerge from the chaos wreaked by the pandemic… new ways of learning, connecting, and finding meaning in our lives. While many of us are still struggling to establish a stable foothold in this new reality, the ongoing human need for growth is present as well.
A friend and fellow entrepreneur shared an interesting experience the other day. She mentioned that she had been feeling stuck about how to move forward in her business, until someone asked her the right question.
Once the right question was asked, the answers to what she needed to do to grow her business, became clear.
Answers that had been eluding her suddenly came to her easily. Processes started unfolding organically and naturally. The barriers to growth in her online business had been removed.
What was this magical question that released such profound and positive change?
It was:
“How are your customers feeling?
How can you reassure them that what they want to achieve is do-able?”
Which reminds me: how are YOU feeling?
How can I reassure you that what you want to achieve in building your online course, is do-able?
I’ll share how that plays out for my business, and would love to hear how it works for yours.
My students, clients, colleagues, and customers are mission-driven innovators who are passionate about sharing their unique expertise online.
They want to create an online course (or courses) as a way of reaching more people than they could in person.
They want to share the solutions they’ve created to important issues, in transformative ways and with a global audience.
Many experts who fit the above profile feel overwhelmed by their own expertise when it comes time to turn it into an effective and engaging online course.
Having 360 degree vision on your topic is both a blessing and a curse.
It’s a blessing because you have such profound awareness in your area of expertise, but that makes it challenging to figure out where to start and how to share what you know with learners who don’t share your level of expertise.
IF everything you know is connected to everything else you know, where do you start explaining it all to someone who does not yet know anything about the subject?
Most people who are creating online courses start by trying to include everything they know, in one course.
That soon starts to feel overwhelming to themselves, and also to their future course participants.
Trying to TEACH ALL THE THINGS in one course is what I call “serving a whole cow” (when all people want and can digest is a single, well-seasoned and marinated steak).The next mistake people make is not having a clear target audience in mind for their course.
We can’t teach all the things (in one course) and we also can’t reach ALL THE PEOPLE.
If you’re struggling to figure out how to structure your course, you first need to determine who the ideal learner that you’d love to have more of, in your class, would be.
Go out and talk to some real life examples of that ideal learner, to find out what they want and need to learn from you, and what their starting point is with respect to what you want to teach. (I’ve got a mini course that can help you do all that).
Make sure you have a clear starting point that resonates with the people you want to serve.
The next challenge is to figure out where those ideal learners of yours want to end up with respect to the subject you want to teach.
What’s the problem THEY (not you) are trying to solve?
You’ve already solved the problem... that’s what your expertise is about.
Now, how can you APPLY that solution in ways that make life better for others?
Our purpose in teaching online is not just to put everything we know out there in digital form.
That’s not teaching, it’s just exposing people to information.
In order to teach effectively we need to tune in to the challenges and pain points that others are facing,
and provide actionable solutions that help them make those real life issues better.
The Course Design Formula® Master Course is designed to take away the stress and overwhelm that experts feel when creating an online course.
But it’s much more than that.
The Master Course is designed to turn the computer screen that stands between online teachers and their course participants, transparent... so that you are looking at your learners (and they are looking at you) as if the screen were not even there.
It’s designed to make you as comfortable teaching online as in a physical classroom, so that you can be a powerfully transformational teacher in any setting.
I’ve had my online students tell me that they learned things in my course that made their classroom and workshop based teaching better, too.
Join the January 2021 cohort
of the Course Design Formula® Master Course.
Space is limited.
Enrollment is via private interview only.
I’m not here to tell you how to create a digital information product so you can make money.
Once you know how to do that, your own business will unfold organically as well.
Making money is something we all want and need to do.
If a business is solving a real problem that people urgently need help with, they will be happy to pay for the solution you provide.
But what they will really remember you for is that you made a profound and positive difference in their lives.
You are here to make a difference in the world, and I am here to help you make that happen.
My students and clients are out there doing that every day, and I am so honored and thankful to be able to work with them.
So...instead of focusing on our own challenges as online educators and entrepreneurs, if we turn our focus to the challenges faced by those we are here to serve, it becomes easier to see what next steps we need to take to achieve that.
Business is about building relationships that help us serve others by solving specific problems.
What problems do your online course and online business solve for the people you are here to serve?
I’d love to hear about it… you are welcome to write to me at Rebecca@learnandgetsmarter.com, share in the Facebook group, or join us on Saturdays for the Learn and Get Smarter community meeting to discuss these critical ideas in person.
Meanwhile, how are YOU feeling?
Are you struggling to find an even footing in these challenging times, looking for ways to grow, or some combination of the two?
As my colleague so eloquently put it, each of us in our own sphere as online educators, is here to help others know that what they want to achieve is do-able.
How will you make that happen for your clients and customers?
Let's talk about it!
Come to the community meeting
Saturday, November 21st, 2020
9 AM Pacific/ 12 Noon Eastern
