Have you ever had a hobby that you love and considered how great your life could be if your hobby was your career? We all have things we could do for hours on end and really enjoy, so why not turn that hobby into a career or even a side gig? How do you do this, you wonder? Through online courses!
So what are online courses? And why am I so pumped about them?
What Are They?
Online courses are exactly what they sound like. They are a virtual package that you can buy online that will give you lessons, modules, and/or possibly feedback, depending on the instructor.
There are a lot of online courses out there that are affiliated with colleges or universities, but often you need to be a student of that school to take part in those classes.
The courses that I am specifically talking about on this site are produced by someone who has knowledge in a specific niche. Sometimes there will be certificates of completion but often, these courses are for the explicit reason of gaining knowledge about a certain subject.
What Kinds Of Subjects?
I personally offer courses that teach civil engineers how to successfully pass the PE, FE, and depth exams. And this is a course about producing your own course!
Here are some other successful online courses I’ve seen:
But you don’t have to limit yourself to the world of engineering, even if that’s your day job! There are several other courses that I’ve seen that have nothing to do with the instructor’s profession, such as:
- How to Potty Train Your Child in 3 Days
- How to Grow Succulents
- How to Become a Narrator
- How to Sketch Architecture
Why Courses Might Be Perfect For You
The very fact that you’re here suggests that you have probably thought about the possibility of making some side cash from teaching about things that you love! But having a specialty isn’t the only thing that makes this a great time for creating a course. So what does make now a good time for course creation?
Online Education Growing
Online education is continually growing every day. Currently, there are 235K virtual goods businesses (ie courses or digital goods) worldwide, and 51K in the United States.
Online learning is at an all-time high, especially due to COVID. In the past, people may have resisted participating in an online course because there were more in-person options and they may have wondered if they could keep up with the technological demands. However, now that a majority of the world has been forced into virtual learning or a virtual workplace, online courses are platforms that most people are generally comfortable with.
In fact, many college-age students claim that they prefer online learning to in-person learning.
Since the pandemic, there are many businesses that focus primarily online when they were more geared toward in-person communication before. This means that some people don’t have the same support that they had in the past and they might be looking for some online education to help them out.
Extra Time
One thing you absolutely will need if you want to build a course is extra time. If you have a little time and you could use the money, then course creation could be up your alley! I’m not going to lie to you though, creating a course isn’t exactly a passive income. This is a side hustle and it could potentially be your full-time gig, but it does take time to build up.
How much time you put towards your course will vary greatly depending on how long your course is going to be and how much additional research that you’ll need to do for it. You might want to include videos along with your course materials or voice recordings. This is all based on what you are trying to teach, but they are things you need to consider when you are thinking about how much time you have to commit to a course.
How Much Time Do You Need?
If you really want to get a course off the ground quickly, I would say that you should work a few hours each day on it. The more you work on it, the faster it gets out there and generates income.
If you have a handful of hours a week you could devote to this, whether this means waking up early, staying up late, or just removing video games from your life, then you could create a course.
Some people might prefer to do several hours of work one day a week, like on a Saturday. That might work for you, but I find that it can be easy to blow off a workday if all your hours are in a big chunk like that. For me personally, it is easier if I spend an hour or two each day working on a course. This way it’s easier to pick up where I left off and it creates a good habit. It also isn’t overly devastating if I’m not feeling it on the one day I should be working on it.
Affordable
So a course does take a bit of a time investment, especially if writing isn’t your strong suit, but it doesn’t take a lot of money! In fact, online businesses are the least risky businesses you can get into.
In my article about Discovering Your WHY for Creating a Course, I talk a bit about startup costs. But basically, it comes down to getting a website and a domain name. Many course platforms will allow you to use it as sort of a trial until you have a certain number of students, and by that time you will have a little bit of money.
No Physical Presence
You don’t have to worry about a storefront, about paying employees (at least at first), or about foot traffic.
There are other concerns like marketing and organic search engine optimization. However, these are all things that I will cover extensively in this course. By the end, you will feel confident that you can create your course and keep people coming to it.
Lifestyle
If you’re here, then you likely have a reason why you want to create a course. Can you imagine what having more money coming in each month could do for your lifestyle or for your family? Many people have the drive to make more money, but what they need this money for vary.
- Your motivations could likely be:
- Getting out of debt
- Having more time for your family
- Going on vacations
- Living remotely
- Living more comfortably
- Being your own boss
Or many more reasons! Creating an online course can offer you a lot of freedom to make your life look the way that you always dreamed it would.
The Take-Away
Overall, a course is really a great way to make extra income. It can open up more possibilities than you have now in your current status. It can give you the freedom to make your own decisions about how you spend your time and it could even save you from a job that you don’t necessarily love. The risks are so low, it would be crazy not to give it a try.