B (12:45)

To tell you about a really cool model that I'm a little bit obsessed with right now. So it's called the working genius model. And I'm telling you it's going to transform your work, your team, and your life. And really, it will do so by leveraging your natural gifts. So it's an assessment that I recently took. It takes, like, 10 minutes, and the.

A (13:08)

Results you can apply immediately.

B (13:10)

You're going to discover how to increase joy and energy at work by understanding what your geniuses are.

A (13:17)

And it kind of blew my mind because I thought, this makes sense why.

B (13:20)

I do some things and I hate doing them, and then I do some other things, and it fully lights me up. And it actually gave me permission to stop doing the things that totally drain me, because now I understand why they drain me.

A (13:32)

So it's really good.

B (13:34)

So essentially, you're going to get more done in less time with more energy and joy.

A (13:38)

Yes, please.

B (13:39)

Right, so you can get 20% off a $25 Working Genius assessment if you go to workinggenius.com and just enter the code marketing at checkout. So you're going to get 20% off.

A (13:52)

It's 25 bucks.

B (13:53)

It's worth every penny, but you'll get a discount. Go to workinggenius.com and enter the promo code at checkout.

A (14:01)

Okay, let's get back to the episode. Fear number two. If my course isn't polished and perfect, it will flop. Now, I know that you're saying, amy, I know my course doesn't need to be perfect. I know we're not going for perfection. But your actions speak differently. Your actions are telling me you actually do think it needs to be better. It does need to be more polished. You don't feel as though you're good enough to put something out there that might be like, B plus work, not A plus work. Because if you haven't started, if you're like Laura and you mention a course for years and years before you actually do, makes me think that you think it needs to be really, really polished before you get it out there. And that fear can keep you stuck for months or years trying to build out every module, every bonus, every fancy piece of tech before you hit publish. But here's what I want you to really hear. Your first launch should be bare bones. I know that might feel counterintuitive, especially if you like things like done just right. But keeping it simple is actually your advantage. A minimum viable Course with a simple launch doesn't just save you money and keep you out of overwhelm. It gets your idea validated faster. You can start bringing in revenue right away and collect feedback from real students, which is gold when it comes to improving for your next launch. I'll be honest. When I teach how to create and launch a digital course, I do show you all the bells and whistles. Why? Because those are the strategies that have helped me run multimillion dollar launches. And of course I want you to know how to create really big success. But here's the thing. I also tell my students, you don't need to add all these bells and whistles. I have a program that I sell and it's called Digital Course Academy. I launch it every year and I tell my students, you get lifetime access into this course so that you can start out simple and you can learn about my bells and whistles that I add. But don't do them just yet. Not on the first launch and then the second time you launch that same course. Because my goal is rinse and repeat. Now we can add a bell or a whistle. The next time, maybe add two bells or whistles. And so I love to have my students go through my program, cherry pick what works for them in the beginning, what feels simple to them, and then they can just add on and I could continue on the journey with them. That's what I love. So I have a student, her name is Carlin, and she teaches English Language arts and reading and creates digital courses and curriculum resources that teachers can use to support and enhance what they're already teaching in their areas of expertise. Now here's what's so inspiring about Carlin's story. She didn't follow the full pre launch Runway and live webinar model that I teach inside of my program. Instead, she chose what worked for her lifestyle and capacity. Right now she took a little here, took a little there from my own program and she kept her launch super simple. Just posting on her business Facebook page, sending launch emails that I told her how to write. But she didn't do a live webinar. She didn't do a big pre launch content push, just posting in emails. And it worked. In her first two months she made $10,000 and over the next eight months she generated an additional $32,000. That's big. Did she leave some money on the table by not doing live webinars? Probably. But that's okay because she has room to grow. Now. She has already said she wants to layer in webinars and more strategy over time. But the important part is she got started. Now she's gone on to build a business that's worth over a half a million dollars. But what if she was like, I can't put this out there. Amy said that I should do all these things, which I didn't. But she could interpret, like, because I teach a lot of really cool strategies in my program, that she has to do them all the first time out. No, that's not how we start. And I tell you this story because I want you to hear how simple she made it. The fear of wasting time and money creating a digital course is what keeps so many people stuck. Carlin couldn't let that fear stop her thinking she had to do it all the right way from the start. Instead, she chose to do what was doable for her. And she proved that even with a simplified version, you can get results, you can build your own confidence, and you can grow from there. And here's the thing. Your students don't need perfection either. What they want is transformation. They don't care about the polished course that is so outdated. They're not signing up because your slides look gorgeous or your bonuses are stacked to the sky. They're signing up because they believe you can help them get results. So when you focus on just the essentials you're actually modeling for your students, that progress matters more than perfection. And that, my friend, is a very big deal. So I love this story of Carlin because it's proof that she wanted to follow someone who had a proven plan. That's me. She wanted to follow someone who's gone before her and is willing to say, this is exactly how to do it. But she made sure that she allowed herself to grow in phases, using my model versus telling herself it had to look exactly like I do it. I'm 16 years in. Nothing that you do in your first few years is ever going to look like someone 16 years in. So I just want to remind you of that. If you're feeling a little fired up, if you're like, okay, wait a second, Amy, you're kind of speaking to me. I've had these fears, and I have talked about courses forever, and I haven't done them, and I have no idea where to start. Well, my friend, I want to invite you to a free masterclass that I'm actually doing tomorrow. So if you see this episode when it comes out, which would be September 16th, tomorrow, I am doing a free live masterclass. It's called the New and Better Way to create and sell a profitable Digital course in 2025 the new and better way so I'm kind of hinting at some of the new and better ways here, but I'm really going to get into it in my free masterclass, so I'd love to see you there. Amyporterfield.com masterclass. You can grab your spot, but I promise you, if you feel a little fired up or if I'm speaking to you even just a little bit, my masterclass is perfect for you. And it's just 60 minutes. It will go by really fast. But I'll lay out what it looks like to create and launch a profitable digital course in 2025 when the world is changing because courses are still thriving. The industry of digital course creation and launching is still growing. So I want to share with you how to position yourself so you are at the top. When people think I need to learn XYZ your niche, your name comes up. Okay, let me share a few more fears to see if you can relate. Another fear is I'll have to start completely from scratch. So it might be like I don't even know where to start creating a course. I'll be staring at a blank screen forever like I don't know how to get started. Amy, this is a big one I hear all the time. But here's the truth. You are not starting from scratch. So if you're multitasking, come back to me. I really want you to hear this. You are not starting from scratch. Most people think they have to build an entire course from nothing, but that's simply not true. Chances are you already have plenty to pull from past podcast episodes that you've done, client resources that you've created, or even advice you've shared with your friends, family or colleagues and help them get results. Think about it this way. When people text you for advice, maybe it's how do you handle tricky clients? Or what's your process for meal prepping each week? You already have steps you give them that works. That's the foundation of a course. Those steps you naturally share are a proven process. You've been teaching informally all along. You already know enough. I believe every single person has a digital course inside them. You've been teaching, coaching, or sharing pieces of it all. All along. It's simply about packaging what you know into a clear roadmap that saves people time, energy, and the headache of trying to figure it out on their own. And these days, the courses that really are rising to the top, making people a lot of money is if you lead with helping them along the way. If you build in a little accountability to make sure they stay on track. If you build in some support, office hours, private community for your course students, access to you, not overwhelming access to you, whatever feels good to you and helping them implement along the way, those are the courses that are killing it. No matter if AI is on the scene or not, AI is not going to keep people accountable. It's not going to support them with that human touch. It doesn't help them implement when they get stuck in the moment. With real teaching, that's where you can come in. So here's what I want you to remember as we close out this episode. The fear of wasting time and money will always show up. It will always be riding shotgun, whether it's about creating a digital course or anything else in your life. But the real waste that's letting the fear keep you stuck. You don't need months or a massive budget to get started. You don't need every bell and whistle for your first launch. And you definitely don't have to start from scratch. You already have so much that you can build from. And when you do, take action. Here's the shift I want you to make. Your course isn't just another project on your to do list. It's an asset in your business. A course is something you create once and sell over and over again. That means every ounce of effort you put in now continues to pay you back. So when you keep things simple, follow a proven plan and and build from what you already have, you minimize the risk, quiet the fear, and finally give yourself permission to get your course out into the world. That's when your confidence grows. That's when clarity comes into play. And that's when you start building the kind of freedom and stability you've been craving. And if this is resonating at all, if you're shaking your head, yes, Amy, or hopefully some of you are thinking, how did you get into my head? Because I am just like you. I've absolutely been through so much of what you're going through now. So if you're feeling like, okay, she gets me, then join me. Tomorrow, I'm hosting a brand new free masterclass. It's called the New and Better Way to Create and Sell a Profitable digital course in 2025. What is working now? Inside? I'm going to walk you through exactly how to get started without wasting months or spinning your wheels or pouring money into things you don't need. You're going to leave with a clear picture of how to build a profitable course that fits your lifestyle and your goals. I would love for you to join. So go to amyporterfield.commasterclass to save your spot. All right, my friend. I'll talk to you soon.