"It's hard to explain my process, let alone teach it?"

Who "should" be creating courses? Don't we need an audience first?

"What if this is my first offering as a creator? Should people just entering the content creation field start elsewhere?" This is a fantastic question that many aspiring course creators grapple with. The short answer is: No, you don't need a large, established audience to successfully create and launch a course.  In fact, creating a well-crafted course can be one of the fastest ways to build your audience and establish yourself as an expert in your field. The Power of Courses for New Creators: The beauty of courses, especially shorter courses or even a single, well-focused webinar, lies in their ability to: Showcase Your Expertise: A course allows you to demonstrate your knowledge and passion in a structured, in-depth way that goes far beyond a blog post or social media update. It positions you as a go-to resource. Provide Tangible Value: Students are actively seeking solutions and transformation. A well-designed course offers that, making it inherently valuable and attractive. Accelerate Audience Growth: When your course is aligned with what people want and need, and it's delivered well, it can be a highly effective tool for word-of-mouth audience growth. Build Authority Quickly: Successfully teaching a course, even a small one, establishes credibility and positions you as an authority in your niche. My Personal Story and Strategy: I (George Kao) actually started my online business by creating courses right from the start. I didn't have a large following. Here's the strategy I used, and it's one you can adapt, starting with the people you already know: Identify Your Expertise & Passion: What are you genuinely knowledgeable and passionate about? What problems can you solve for others? This is the foundation of your courses. Identify "Influencers" (Within Your Network): Look at the people already in your network. This includes: Facebook friends LinkedIn connections People who follow you on Instagram (or other social media) Contacts in your cell phone address book Email contacts People you've met at networking events or conferences Colleagues past and present Clients past and present Are there friends, colleagues, or acquaintances who have a network or audience that would benefit from your course topic? These could be bloggers, authors, podcasters, service providers, other course creators with a complementary offering, or even just individuals with a bit of a following. Think broadly – "influence" doesn't always mean having a massive following. It can mean having a small but highly relevant following. Offer Genuine Help: Approach these individuals and offer to help them personally (for free) with the topic of your course. This isn't a sales pitch; it's a genuine offer of value, leveraging your existing connection. You might say something like, "Hey [Name], I know you're interested in [Topic]. I've been developing some expertise in this area, and I'd love to offer you a free consultation/mini-training/resource to help you with [Specific Problem]." Build (or Strengthen) Relationships: By providing valuable assistance, you build (or deepen) trust and rapport with these individuals. Strategic Collaboration: After you've provided value and established a stronger connection, you can then explore the possibility of them sharing your course with their audience. This is much more effective than a cold outreach because it's built on a foundation of genuine help and a pre-existing relationship. Key Takeaway: Don't let the lack of a large audience hold you back. A well-crafted course, combined with a strategic approach to leveraging your existing network, can be a powerful engine for growth. We will be diving a lot more deeply into the above strategy, and working on the specifics, in the coming modules of this course. Revisiting Lesson 1: Think back to the qualities of an effective course creator we discussed in Lesson 1. Do you want to embody those qualities more fully? If so, creating courses is not just a business strategy; it's a path to personal and professional development. Action Step: Start brainstorming a list of people in your existing network who might be a good fit for the "influencer" strategy described above. Consider who has a relevant audience and who you could genuinely help. Comment below on whether you have ever thought of this strategy, or how you might now use it. Also comment on any connections that came to mind! 

Welcome to Course Creator's Journey!

A warm welcome here! I see my courses as a learning community that I'm facilitating -- we learn from each other, I learn from you, as well as you learn from whatever I share that is relevant to you. I invite your questions and your replies to each other's questions.  Be helpful, be kind, be engaged in the chat as much as you'd enjoy! Each of us who participates in this course is a culture-setter... You influence our course's culture with every interaction. How would you like for this course community to feel like? What are a few top values you'd love to see? Comment below. Some principles for us: Comment once, reply twice. For each comment that you make, try to find 2 other comments, especially those with few replies, and try to add a reply – with your encouragement and suggestions, if appropriate. This helps to balance the comment/reply ratio, making the community more like... a community :) Co-Learning Community. Nobody here (not even the "teacher") knows everything about the topic... as we each learn from our actions in the world, we can share that learning with each other here. So let's create a co-learning environment! Even the "teacher" will learn from your comments :) Keep all sharings confidential.  Let's keep this a safe space for sharing by promising to keep all comments (particularly the personal ones) confidential. Receive deeply what others see/feel from you, especially if you're sharing something personal. It’s a meaningful practice. It’ll help you integrate and express better your energy signature. Let me know below if these values are helpful, and if you have any suggestions. The values we embody together here is what makes this course experience amazing for each other 😊 If no comments below and no ability to comment, first log into the course.

Soulful game of hide & seek 👼🏼✨🌎

Let's play with this imaginary tale...  In a celestial realm known as Heaven, a soul family thrived, aglow with a wisdom and love that felt almost boundless. Each soul was a unique spark in a grand constellation, radiant in the light of collective unity. Despite this wondrous harmony, a subtle yearning began to stir within them—a desire for deeper individual expression and growth. An Elder Soul stood before the gathering, saying, "Though we are in a realm of unity, we yearn for individual experiences to enrich our collective wisdom. Let us incarnate on Earth during a time of a great digital web, where we can send forth our unique energy signatures as a way to remember and recognize one another." In agreement, the soul family embarked upon their journey to Earth, manifesting in physical forms to navigate a world filled with complexities and opportunities. Bound by an eternal promise, they ventured into lives where they could both seek and offer lessons, always on the lookout for their kin. Grounded in teachings of authentic business, they each began to carve out their own unique paths. These souls emitted their energy signatures through heartfelt pieces of content—videos, writings, audios, and art. Each was an imprint of their authentic selves, designed to resonate through the sprawling digital landscape. While Earth's challenges—doubt, time, imperfection—sometimes darkened their steps, the soul family drew strength from their original mission. They saw these difficulties not as obstacles but as the medium through which their energy signatures could become more distinct, more refined. Over time, these soulful pings became more potent, more nuanced. Like cosmic beacons, they began to attract soulmates back into a collective orbit. Each reunion was a moment of celestial alignment, a rekindling of ancient connections, filling the souls with a sense of completeness and purpose. And so, every emitted energy signature and collaborative endeavor wove a new, intricate pattern into the tapestry of their Earthly lives, creating a bridge to their celestial origins. As each soul found its counterparts, the heavenly constellation they had once formed seemed to reclaim its brilliance, glowing with renewed fervor. The mission endures, both on Earth and in Heaven: to develop individual expression while fostering a collective, eternal unity. The energy signatures continue to flow through the digital maze and across the universe, each a note in a cosmic symphony of reconnection and love. –– courtesy of ChatGPT with George's prompting.

Let's begin imagining your 20...

Imagine 20 people you love to work with – they enjoy your style and skills just as you are now, without you needing to change or improve anything – and you enjoy them as well. Part of this work – as all work of "authentic business" – is to practice believing in the value of your skills and presence, and stepping more into your authentic service-oriented power. Those 20 people probably already in your life/network right now. Draw them forth by writing a heartfelt description of them...  You're welcome to comment below as you tell us about them – anything you can tell us is great, their inner characteristics, outer (visible) demographics, their interests, and most importantly – why they like and trust you. And what they believe that you can support them with. No perfection needed here... just write what comes to you.  You can always update it later – and likely will :) After writing your comment, turn around and comment on 2 others' descriptions, especially if you resonate or know someone who is exactly like that! :) Just because you reply to someone's comment doesn't mean that you'll get a spot as part of their 20 ;-) but later in this course, if there's still space, and it seems aligned for the time being, they might reach out to you with a gentle invitation to play :-)