Episode 18: 5 Reasons Why You Should Create Your Own Course & Stop Leaving Money On the Table

Ready for big cash infusions and recurring profit? Tired of trading hours for dollars and only getting paid for the hours you are working? Ready to reclaim your time and have more control over your business? Learn how and why creating an online course can transform your life and bank account in this episode of The Ashly Locklin Show.

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Get my free Course Creation Starter Guide & Checklist here: ashlylocklin.com/course-creation-starter-guide

Here’s a preview of what you’ll learn in this episode: 

• How to determine what is most beneficial to your business and what you need to keep, start, or stop doing.

• How creating your own course can lead to 3 different monetary gains. 

• How creating your own course will allow you to be more choosy in who you work 1:1 with and allow you to charge higher prices. 

• How an online course will enable you to scale your income and impact. 

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Show Notes:

Hey hey hey! Welcome to the episode! Today we’re chatting course creation and if it’s for you! Spoiler alert: it probably is, so hear me out and listen as I break down all the benefits of having your own course! 

As we head into a new year, now is the time to start thinking about what you want to continue doing in the new year, what you want to start in the new year, and what you want to leave behind. And with the way 2020 has gone, I’m sure there’s lots you want to leave behind! 

But this a great first activity for you to do. Either pause this episode or do this activity after listening. 

Make 3 columns on a piece of paper or in the notes app on your phone. 

In the first column, write “continue doing” and list all the things you want to bring into the new year.

In the 2nd column, write “stop doing” and list all the things you want to leave behind.

In the 3rd column, write “ start doing” and list all the new things you want to begin.

For example, I want to continue creating courses and adding to my program suite (that’s my first column)

I want to stop doing evening calls. In 2021, I will only do trainings and coaching calls in the daytime (on certain days of the week). (that’s my second column)

And for my 3rd column, start doing, I will start outsourcing more. 

So those are just 3 things I’ve written down on my chart! Now it’s your turn to go into the new year being intentional about your time, priorities, and business. 

With that being said, let me tell you why you might want to put creating a course on your start doing list! Here are 5 reasons why you should create an online course and stop leaving money on the table!

First, an online course can be added to ANY business. Personal stylist, health coach, realtor, baker, preacher, teacher, anyone can start an online course and monetize it. 

So if you’re thinking this doesn’t apply to you, I challenge you to think outside the box. 

Let’s go through some examples:

If you are personal stylist, you can create a course on how to put pieces together for a styled look, how to dress for each body type, how to build a new wardrobe on a budget. 

If you are a health coach, you could create a course on meal planning, intermittent fasting, macros, intuitive eating, keto, paleo, gosh, the options are endless. 

If you are a realtor, you could create a course on staging your home before selling it, the things you should do before putting it up for sale, how to sell your house without a realtor, how to buy the best house within your budget. 

If you’re a baker, you could create a course on how to make a tiered cake and frost it, how to use fondant, how to bake like a contestant on the Great British Baking show (which by the way is one of my favorite shows, so if someone made that course, I’d buy it)!

If you are a preacher, you could create a course on your theology, on a certain part of the bible, on how to teach your children about faith at home. 

If you are a teacher, you could create a course for other teachers or parents. If you are a dance teacher, you could create a course for other dance teachers focusing on how to teach tap, or ballet, or choreograph recital performances. If you are a school teacher, you could create a course on how to teach handwriting, or Shakespeare, or common core math. One of my mastermind students just created and launched two courses for parents - one is Maximizing BedTime Stories and teaches parents how to help children improve their literacy skills, and her other course is on how to teach the ABCs. She (shout out to Becca!) noticed that all courses were geared towards teachers, so she filled the hole and began creating courses for parents. 

If you are a beautician, I’d pay you for a course on braiding hair or hairstyles for little girls! 

If you are a blogger, you could create a course on blogging, teaching aspiring bloggers how to blog and monetize their blog, how to set it up, how to get guest bloggers, etc. 

So the options are endless. Think about how you can package your knowledge into a way to serve many people! 

Second, online courses allow you to scale your business and go from serving 1:1 to 1:many. 

If you are only getting paid per client or per appointment, you are going to cap your income at some point because there are so many hours in a day and you can only handle so many clients. 

For example, I did a strategy call with a therapist who said COVID really hit her business hard because she couldn’t meet with her patients, had to get them on virtual calls (which didn’t work as well), and was just so burnt out from working with patients all day every day, that she wanted a way to serve more people while reclaiming her own sanity and time. An online course was the perfect solution for her. 

I have another woman in my mastermind who is a social media manager, but she can only take on so many clients at once. Therefore, her income was capped. She created her first course, launched it, and had an amazing launch! She was able to reach and help so many more people by teaching them her methods rather than doing it for them. 

When you package your knowledge and expertise into an online course, you are no longer trading hours for dollars and you can reach and impact so many more people. 

Third, online courses provide three different monetary gains: 

• First, cash infusions when you live launch. When you create the course and then do a big launch, boom! A burst of income! And the best part is that course can be sold over and over again. If you decide to live launch it then close the cart for a period of time then re-open it a few months later, you’re continuing to make money off something you created once. 

• The second monetary gain is passive, recurring profits! If you offer payment plans, you’re then stacking revenue over several months. This is how you can guarantee 10K or 20K months for the next 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. When I launched my first course, I created consistent 10K guaranteed monthly income from payment plans. Then I expanded my product suite and it grew to 20K guaranteed income per month...and continues to grow. 

• And third, if you put the course on evergreen (which is when you create a funnel that sells the course every day without you “live launching”),  you’ll get consistent sales. So hello, profits! 

This is why I say you’re leaving money on the table by not having your own course. 

Additionally, you get all the profits. When you are in Network Marketing, you only get a certain percentage of what you actually sell. Yes, I know there are bonus structures and such, but you are hustling for a small commission.

Whereas, with your own course, you get 100% of the profits. Not to mention the low overhead in online course creation. The profit margins are insane. So if you want to make more money, honey, ummm you’ll want to create your own course! 

***Before we move on, this episode is brought to you by Kajabi, the platform I use to host my courses, collect payments, host my sales pages, opt-in pages, and do all of my email marketing. It literally does EVERYTHING for my business! And it’s what I hands-down recommend to anyone who wants to create courses or funnels that bring in consistent leads or just uplevel their business - because it’s a one-stop shop! I’ve included a link in the show notes for you to get a two-week free trial to test it out! So if you want to give it a trial run and fall in love with it, click that link to set your business up for success.*** https://app.kajabi.com/r/rMzp5EPv/t/ebabzkhf

Fourth, online courses allow you to be more selective in who you work with 1:1 and allow you to charge more for your 1:1 services. Let’s go back to my girl Jackie, who is in my mastermind. She owns a social media management business and created her own course. Instead of saying “yes” to working 1:1 with non-ideal clients, she is now able to direct those people to her course so they can learn her system. 

If you are someone who wants more freedom of time, creating a course is the best thing you can do. It frees up your calendar. You’re no longer bound to calls, meetings, or messages from clients. You can funnel everyone through your course then only work with the ones you really want to work with. 

This also helps you make more money because a course is always more affordable than 1:1 services, so it’s more accessible to more people. 

Some people can’t afford the price to work with you 1:1 or get your services, but they will be able to pay for an affordable course - which as a result, brings you more income. 

So take your method, system, or process and turn it into a course. 

You could even require students to go through the course before working 1:1 with you, so they come to the table knowing the foundational things and you can spend your time working on the higher-level things. 

This allows you to work with the clients who are go-getters, the ones who are your ideal clients, instead of the ones who drain you and drive you bonkers. Charge a premium price to work 1:1 with you and direct everyone else to the course! 

Fifth, with your own course, you are in complete control. Control of what you create, what you name it, when you launch it, when it’s available, how it’s delivered, and more. If you are selling someone else’s products or services, you are bound to their business plan. If you are in network marketing, you have no say in what is released, when it’s released, the price, the shipping, etc. 

But when you have your own offer, you get to make all of the decisions and map out a plan that will benefit your bank account and life best. 

And again, you get 100% of the profits. 

I am someone who likes to be in control. I want to launch things on my schedule and terms, but that wasn’t always possible in network marketing. So creating my own product suite has given me so much more control of my income, my time, and my sanity. 

If you are like me and want more control, creating your own course needs to be in your near future! 

And I have something to help you get started! I created a completely free 15-page guide to help you create your own course! You can find the link to download the Create Your Course Starter Guide & Checklist in the show notes! https://www.ashlylocklin.com/course-creation-starter-guide

So to recap, the 5 reasons you should create your own course are: 

1. An online course can be added to ANY business.

2. Online courses allow you to scale your business and go from serving 1:1 to 1:many. 

3. Online courses provide three different monetary gains (from live launches, recurring profits from payment plans, and continual sales from evergreen funnels)

4. Online courses allow you to be more selective in who you work with 1:1 and allow you to charge more for your 1:1 services. 

5. With your own course, you are in complete control.

So I hope you see the possibilities ahead of you and jump on the opportunity to create your own course and make more money! 

Thank you for tuning in! Please take a screenshot and tag me @ashly_locklin, tell me what you thought of the episode, let me know if you are thinking of creating your own course and what topic you choose! 

And most importantly, get out there and make those money moves!

LINKS: 

Get a free 2-week trial of Kajabi here: https://app.kajabi.com/r/rMzp5EPv/t/ebabzkhf

Get my free Course Creation Starter Guide & Checklist here: https://www.ashlylocklin.com/course-creation-starter-guide

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