55 years ago, a timid, unassuming high school student changed the world forever.
After his uncle had been killed by a burglar, he took it upon himself to hunt down the perpetrator. Soon after starting his search, he found the burglar, and as they stood face-to-face, he realized something …
The criminal was someone he’d seen before. In fact, the teenager had the opportunity to stop the burglar before, but he had failed to act.
Now, if you’re wondering what this story has to do with starting an online course, here’s the tie in:
The moral of this story above is that with great power comes great responsibility. Similarly, if you want to create an online course, you can experience amazing benefits, as long as you’re willing to work for them.
Oh, and before I forget, the timid high school student mentioned earlier is Peter Parker (Spiderman). Who, as you probably know, is a fictional character.
Just as Peter Parker became a world-renowned superhero, you too can become a worldwide all-star.
Seriously, a skillfully crafted online course can make this happen for you.
Below, you’ll find seven signs that indicate you’re ready to start offering an online course. If you fit the following criteria, it’s time for you to take the plunge and begin working toward selling an online course of your own.
1. You’re ready to wear another hat
Life is multifaceted. At any given point, you have many things to do.
Image Source: World Bank
Successfully managing life’s range of duties is a full-time job. As such, many people find that they are not willing – or able – to take on additional tasks.
On the other side of things, some individuals love having more work to do. They are at their happiest carrying out a variety of jobs, and they’re always ready for more responsibility.
If the latter sounds like you, you might be ready to start on online course.
If you’re thriving with your current multidisciplinary lifestyle and you’re ready to add one more demanding task to your plate, you’re in a great position to start an online course.
2. You’re passionate about your message
If you want to start anything worthwhile, you have to be passionate about your message. Simply liking something is not enough. To run a successful online course, you’ll need to feel excited about offering and spreading your message.
Image Source: StartupLab
You’ll face a lot of hurdles as you try to create an online course, but if you have a tenacious belief in your message, you’ll be able to weather the storm.
The world’s greatest companies started with passion. If you feel this way about the information you have, it’s a sign that you’re prepared to start this journey.
2. You know your customers
You can’t sell something if it’s not valuable. So, do you know what your potential audience wants and needs? As soon as you understand what your future customers’ value and how you can provide it, you’ll be well on your way to launching your own offering.
Image Source: Autopilot
Here, it’s prudent to note that the ideal candidates for this opportunity are individuals that like to teach. People that thrive with these types of projects have a passion for helping others, and they’re happy to disseminate their information in a simple, step-by-step approach.
4. An audience is ready
As great as it would be to start a company without worrying if there’s a market for the product/service, for the vast majority of brands, this isn’t a possibility. Before you launch any venture, you need to make sure that a receptive audience is ready to support your company.
If you’re one of the lucky types of people – or companies – that already has an amazing following, you can safely assume that your audience will be interested in your online course.
For example, if you’re a successful, well-known real estate agent, chances are high that there’s an eager audience out there that’s ready to follow in your footsteps.
Ever seen HGTV’s, “Flip or Flop”?
In spite of big-time, on-air success, Tarek and Christina El Moussa, the show’s hosts, chose to launch a course of their own, targeted at teaching others how to flawlessly flip houses for profit.
Image Source: SuccessPath
If they can do it, so can you – even if you don’t have a hit TV series of your own.
Seriously, if you don’t have a great following in place, building an audience might be a bit more difficult, but it’s not impossible. In the face of this challenge, you’ll need to get very clear about exactly who your audience is and what they want. Then, you can cater your program to them.
While it’s true that established individuals and companies might have an easier time starting an online course, anyone that’s ready to create something that provides real value can earn money online.
5. You are ready for growth
Have you ever signed up for a new commitment, only to realize that it entails more than you originally thought? Unfortunately, this can be the case with offering a new online course.
As such, only people that have extra time to run and grow an online business should consider starting one.
Image Source: SingleGrain
Planning for growth is an essential part of starting anything new – especially if you’re selling online. At any given time, your project can scale significantly, and you need to be prepared to handle this growth if you want to succeed.
6. You’re ready to make a plan
When you’re excited about an idea, one of the last things you want to do is to sit down and write out a business plan. Still, if you want to start your own online course, you’ll need to complete this step.
With a plan in place, you’ll be able to start off in an organized way. You can also reference the plan as you grow to make sure you’re holding yourself accountable to your goals.
If you feel that you can complete a document that addresses your online class’ marketing, operational, financial and staffing needs, you are one step closer to starting a worthwhile online venture.
7. A new challenge sounds fun
There’s no denying the obvious – starting something and keeping it going are totally different things. Approximately 543,000 new businesses start each month, but more than this shutdown. Overall, 90% of businesses fail within 10 years.
Image Source: FundersandFounders
This statistic might scare you, and if it does, starting an online course might not be for you. Being afraid can hinder you from finding success, so if this risk seems like too much, you’re not ready to start a new online course.
However, if the fear of failure sounds more like a challenge than a threat to you, starting a new online offering will be right up your alley.
Ready, Set, Create!
Just as Peter Parker became an international superstar, you too can solidify your worldwide success – less the radioactive spider bite – if you are ready to take on the great responsibility of your own online course.
Although the list above is not exhaustive, if you meet this criteria, chances are you’re ready to start offering an online course.
Have you started a successful online course already? If not, what’s holding you back? Also, if you have any other good resources to share, please do so by commenting on this post!
Until next time, best of luck as you go forth and get ready to have your very own paid online course! (Just promise to remember me when you reach global stardom.)