Desire to make courses but not an expert in anything

[superb]

The best questions to be asking yourself are:

Is there a need for the courses that I offer?

Could I offer courses that teach the subject matter better and/or are more accessible than the existing courses?

Being an expert is not necessarily required, you only need to to know more than those you are teaching. But if you want to offer the best courses, I think you would need to eventually become an "expert" in the field you are teaching, or enlist the expertise of experts as you create courses.

Also there is a big difference between having researched/learned/experienced something and the ability to teach it well to others. If you haven't already, I would try to find people locally to teach some of these things to before attempting to create an online course. There is no way to fully anticipate the sort of questions course participants might have or things that you might leave out of a course because the info might have seemed redundant to you. After doing this, your course material will be more refined and have fewer holes in the content. It will have greater value than if it were created in a vacuum and then placed on the a website.

 

[GoGetter24]

You could do joint ventures with people who are experts but don't have the time/inclination/ability/interest to make courses themselves.

 

[Lex DeVille]

1) The Millionaire Fastlane
2) Unscripted

 

[RazorCut]

But the problem is, I am not an expert in anything. I have about 20 interests and hobbies and have taken a few online courses myself, read hundreds of books, etc. I have dozens of notebooks just filled with the information I have learned over the years

If YOU want to build and sell a course you need to stop with the shiny metal object syndrome and pick ONE subject you have some passion for then master it.

That can take less time than you think.

I read a book on stock market tactics some time ago from an expert in the field. In it the author said that 'you can be an expert on pretty much any subject in 6 months' if you put the work in. He was not saying you would get a Masters Degree. But then all a degree does is show a prospective employer that you are relatively competent and teachable. It certainly doesn't make you an expert.

What he was proposing was that you can master that subject if you dedicated 6 months solid to it (say 60 hours a week). Now that wouldn't make you a brain surgeon but if you studied everything you could on that subject you would have a phenomenal insight compared to 99.9% of the population.

Or as @GoGetter24 and @Andy Black have indicated find experts in various the fields and build courses via collaboration. But I think your passion stems from wanting to be an expert rather than joining forces with one.

 

[Andy Black]

Just thought I’d leave this here:

• You don't need to be an expert

Can you add value? Can you get paid to do so?

 

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[The-J]

They exist!

Ain't that the truth. Lol.

Seriously, OP, don't create online courses in things that you can't add serious value to. There are people who CAN add serious value, and you want to reach out to them specifically to help them create a course.

Find one of these people. Offer your partnership. Clearly outline how it'll be beneficial for them. Ideally, this person should have a good reputation in their community, so this way you have a captive market.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

I think virtual assistant work is a good way to position yourself if you're a freelancer. It's better than copywriting in many instances and can create full-time income or even high-ticket income depending on who you work for.

If you link up with high-ticket coaches, they'll pay $3k or more per month for a good virtual assistant who can keep them organized, manage their calendars, set up courses in wordpress or whatever software they use etc.

Later you could create your own courses on how to be a virtual assistant. That would be a cool way to get experience in a lot of different areas while creating value and doing what you want to do.

 

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[GaiaGoddess]

After years of figuring out what I want to do, I have finally narrowed it down. I believe it is my life purpose to create online courses. All of these skills have came naturally to me my whole life; reading, editing, writing, researching, collecting information, organizing information, sharing information, etc.

But the problem is, I am not an expert in anything. I have about 20 interests and hobbies and have taken a few online courses myself, read hundreds of books, etc. I have dozens of notebooks just filled with the information I have learned over the years. But I feel like this doesn't make me an expert. I don't have enough of any one subject to create a whole course on it. And since I have so many interests, I have proven that I can't just stick to one subject. I have had a few blogs and websites about various subjects and they haven't worked out and I think the reason why is because what I love to do isn't about the actual subject, it's about the act of researching, learning, collecting information, organizing information and sharing information. So I think the only thing I can do that involves all these (and my skills with grammar) is to create online courses. It is my passion to help people learn, but I want to do it online so I can put out a course and move on to the next one. I don't want to be a school teacher, I want to be the person to take the information that is already out there and format it in an organized way and give it to them so they can learn it in their own time.

I think I could have multiple courses for all the subjects I love, that would give me the variety I need. But I still have the problem of not being an expert in any of these fields. I have never gone to college or gotten any degrees or certificates in any of these fields. I can't feasibly take college courses in all of these subjects just to call myself an expert. I am in my late 40's and want to earn money now, not go into debt with years of education first. What are my options here? Is it good enough to create a course with just the information I have gathered from other experts? Are there any other ways to make this a successful career?

 

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[Andy Black]

You could do joint ventures with people who are experts but don't have the time/inclination/ability/interest to make courses themselves.

They exist!

 

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[RazorCut]

I think I could have multiple courses for all the subjects I love, that would give me the variety I need. But I still have the problem of not being an expert in any of these fields. I have never gone to college or gotten any degrees or certificates in any of these fields.

What is an expert? It is someone who has expertise.

What is expertise?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as: Expert skill or knowledge in a particular field.

So would you consider someone who knows more on a particular subject than, say, 98% of the population to be an expert? I would say that the expert would need a well rounded knowledge of their subject. Do they know and understand all the underlying principles associated with their chosen field? If 100 people each asked them a question would they confidently be able to answer 98% of them? Could they stand up in front of a group of people and teach them your subject? Could you?

If the answer to these questions is yes then why do you need formal pieces of paper? The short answer is you don't.

However your answer will be no. There is a saying "Jack of all trades, master of none." It implies that, while competent in a variety of things, you are not highly skilled in one particular field.

 

[Jeff Noel]

You could do joint ventures with people who are experts but don't have the time/inclination/ability/interest to make courses themselves.

I know a guy that has been successful doing just that. Tai Lopez. Probably the most sucessful on the web just teaming up with other people and letting them make courses on his website. And I'm not bashing here, he's really doing great !

 

[PureDirect]

A few things I like to add to what everyone else has said:

A course is just a delivery mechanism to add value or to help solve a problem. It's a tool, like a hammer. Whether or not it's a useful tool completely depends on the problem you want to solve. Not everything needs a course. Not everyone wants a course.

Also, doing the research to create a valuable course takes years. You're probably already familiar with the Dunning-Kruger effect. If you want to become an expert in anything you will go from "I think I know everything", to "I still need to learn more", to "There's too much I still don't know.". So if you think you know everything, you're most definitely not an expert.

This research entails doing customer research to find their actual problems and needs ("Domain Experience") and research into how these problems are best solved. To add value, your course will have to offer more than just regurgitation of useless advice found online, which is why the research phase is so critical.

One last point I want to mention is that there are many other ways to add value to people's lives and thus to make money. If making money is the primary driver for creating course(s) you're probably better off taking an alternative route that is faster, because if there's anything courses are not it's a fast income stream.

 

[Andy Black]

Like @Lex DeVille says, it sounds like you could provide a service to the subject matter experts to help them get their courses out there, marketed, and supported? There's plenty of people with knowledge and no clue how to turn that into a course and get it in front of people who'll pay for it.

 

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[Real Deal Denver]

And now.

For something completely different.

Instead of being an expert in something, MAKE a course for a COMPANY that HAS to teach a topic to their workers. The list in endless. How to use software - how to operate a machine - how to fill out forms.

The benefit to the company is that they don't have to take a valuable employee away from their work to teach new people how to do things. Another great benefit is that your course could be much more structured and effective. How many of us have been trained by someone "in a hurry" - so they gloss over things. That's leaves the trained person in the dark and frustrated. No problem - the training can be ongoing over and over. OR do it right one time, and the first time. Create a test after the training so the comprehension can be measured and recorded. That way, if they forget to turn the power off the acid bath, and somebody is dissolved, they know for a FACT that it was covered in the course - because they HAVE the course to review. If it was "live" training, could they be sure? No, of course not. Here come the OSHA fines and litigation procedures!

Using this approach, you have to be an expert at CREATING courses, which you already are... but you don't have to be an expert on the subject matter.

Restaurants - how to follow health dept. guidelines - how to clean the kitchen to protocol.

Offices - how to use the phone system's two thousand buttons. How to use the company software. How to fill out a service request - on, and on, and on.

Golf Course - how to maintain the greens. How to maintain the carts. How to set up a banquet. On and on, and on.

Attorneys - How the initial legal work will be set up - and an outline of what steps will typically follow. Do they NEED an attorney repeating this 8 times a week to potential new clients? No - set them in a room and watch the 20 minute video. IF they like what they saw AND want to engage in a business relationship, THEN meet with the attorney for 10 minutes - instead of 30.

How hard of a sell are any of these ideas?

When their procedures change, or they get new equipment, or they add a new position, or they add a new process - you do it all over again.

You can host this on a website, for which you can charge a monthly fee. Will they love you for that? Absolutely.

Make it easy for them to hire you. Deliver exactly what they want and NEED. And do it for a recurring fee. Rinse and repeat.

There you have it. Go get em.

PS - I lived in Minnesota for over 40 years. One does not simply leave Minnesota. One escapes. Now that the brutal winters are coming, start planning your escape. There is NO reason to endure those long 30 below zero winters. Trust me - I know.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

So would you consider someone who knows more on a particular subject than, say, 98% of the population to be an expert? I would say that the expert would need a well rounded knowledge of their subject. Do they know and understand all the underlying principles associated with their chosen field? If 100 people each asked them a question would they confidently be able to answer 98% of them? Could they stand up in front of a group of people and teach them your subject? Could you?

If the answer to these questions is yes then why do you need formal pieces of paper? The short answer is you don't.

However your answer will be no. There is a saying "Jack of all trades, master of none." It implies that, while competent in a variety of things, you are not highly skilled in one particular field.

I do know more than most laypeople about these subjects, I just know that ALL the other teachers in these subjects know more than me. But it isn't exactly teaching that I want to do anyway, I just want to be the person to lead people to these teachers, or help the teacher arrange their courses (since my strong point is organizing). I admit I am a jack of all trades when it comes to the subjects I love, but I am a master at researching, organizing, and sharing information. So I guess I either have to work with a teacher as a collaboration, or just do something where I am helping people discover their information.

 

[Bhanu]

Hi ...Here are few ideas which can help I think:

1. As you said you like researching,editing,formatting information . You can do freelancing for correcting grammatical errors.(You can tap into market in Asia,South Asia (like helping people with Resume, basic English,essays etc)
2. Can you make subject revision for people easy? (in his book M J says the biggest market in the world is market of easification, I think he said it is a trillion dollar market ) . For example I am preparing for my Sociology exam and have read 500 Page book . But at the last moment or just before the exam I need something concise to revise (I cant read 500 page book at the last moment) . So if you can create online content which can help people revise at the last moment then it is a huge market .
3. Make a YouTube channel and help people with English Grammar .There are plenty of people who really want to improve grammar/basic English speaking skills (specially in India,China,South east asia etc)
4. Learn copyrighting and help big corporate/new businesses with their marketing pitch .Please refer to Lex's thread on learning copy writing .(this is a saturated market though IMO)

 

[GaiaGoddess]

If YOU want to build and sell a course you need to stop with the shiny metal object syndrome and pick ONE subject you have some passion for then master it.

That can take less time than you think.

I read a book on stock market tactics some time ago from an expert in the field. In it the author said that 'you can be an expert on pretty much any subject in 6 months' if you put the work in. He was not saying you would get a Masters Degree. But then all a degree does is show a prospective employer that you are relatively competent and teachable. It certainly doesn't make you an expert.

What he was proposing was that you can master that subject if you dedicated 6 months solid to it (say 60 hours a week). Now that wouldn't make you a brain surgeon but if you studied everything you could on that subject you would have a phenomenal insight compared to 99.9% of the population.

I have done that, I have taken classes on many of my favorite subjects, started blogs and websites about them, etc. but have always lost interest because there are too many other things I love that I can't do if i only do one thing.

Or as @GoGetter24 and @Andy Black have indicated find experts in various the fields and build courses via collaboration. But I think your passion stems from wanting to be an expert rather than joining forces with one.

No I don't need to be an expert, I get my joy out of discovering new subjects that I am interested in and collecting the best information about them and then I naturally move on to the next subject. My passion lies in the act of discovering, researching, finding the best information, sharing it, and then after that I have no desire to continue learning about that subject. I don't completely lose interest in them forever, I just feel like I've done what I needed to do.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

Not sure this will be helpful, but if you are a generalist, that may have its own market as well. Maybe not in the online courses business, but possibly somewhere else?

Well I have pretty much been trying to figure this out for about 10 years now, and nothing has really jumped out at me as being an obvious choice that feels right, until I recently realized what I love to do isn't about the subject itself, it's about the process of organizing and sharing the information. And i know how lucrative online courses are, and it is my goal to make enough money doing this so that I have a passive income coming in and I don't need a normal job. This is the only thing I have found that fits those criteria, with the skills I have.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

Ain't that the truth. Lol.

Seriously, OP, don't create online courses in things that you can't add serious value to. There are people who CAN add serious value, and you want to reach out to them specifically to help them create a course.

Find one of these people. Offer your partnership. Clearly outline how it'll be beneficial for them. Ideally, this person should have a good reputation in their community, so this way you have a captive market.

Well now I have some people saying you don't have to be an expert and some people saying to let the experts make the courses, lol I do like the idea of helping them though, I just have to find someone with the information who doesn't want to actually do the technical details online. I suppose I know enough to put out short ebooks but not charge a few hundred dollars for a major course. I feel like I'm getting somewhere with these ideas.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

A course is just a delivery mechanism to add value or to help solve a problem. It's a tool, like a hammer. Whether or not it's a useful tool completely depends on the problem you want to solve. Not everything needs a course. Not everyone wants a course.

True, but the subjects I am interested in are in the list of most profitable niches. I could easily make a course for every subject I am interested in as well as smaller sub-niche courses. I have done a lot of research about online courses so I feel pretty confident I could make enough money with them. I only need $2000 a month, and most of the people with successful courses are making 5 figures a month. I don't even need nearly that much. I also planned on having a few other income streams as well, building FB pages for businesses, and affiliate marketing through Anik Singal's program. At least that is what my plan is, to start all these and see which one(s) are sustainable and successful for me.

Also, doing the research to create a valuable course takes years. You're probably already familiar with the Dunning-Kruger effect. If you want to become an expert in anything you will go from "I think I know everything", to "I still need to learn more", to "There's too much I still don't know.". So if you think you know everything, you're most definitely not an expert.

That is why I would probably work with someone who IS an expert, or just do mini courses on just the information I have from classes I have taken and books I have read.

This research entails doing customer research to find their actual problems and needs ("Domain Experience") and research into how these problems are best solved. To add value, your course will have to offer more than just regurgitation of useless advice found online, which is why the research phase is so critical.

I used to think that too, that you can't just repeat what everyone else is already doing. But then I learned that's all EVERYONE is doing. It also matters how much you market your product or service. There isn't a whole lot of new information out there, just different twists on the same information. I don't think any entrepreneur has failed just because they are one of many doing the same thing.

One last point I want to mention is that there are many other ways to add value to people's lives and thus to make money. If making money is the primary driver for creating course(s) you're probably better off taking an alternative route that is faster, because if there's anything courses are not it's a fast income stream.

Well money is the reason why we all work, really. I don't feel guilty admitting that. But at least what I want to do is something that could provide value to the world and it's something I would feel good about doing. I know I won't become rich overnight but no one ever is with anything they do.

 

[Andy Black]

The only thing is, I don't want to trade my time for money. Otherwise I might as well just get a normal job again. I want to create something that can earn residual income so eventually I can work less and less and still earn money from those things I created. That is why I wanted to create courses (or books, I am open to writing books too but that doesn't utilize my skills like creating a course does.)

If you want recurring revenue then structure it so you have recurring revenue?

 

[GaiaGoddess]

>> Please go through Lex's thread about Copyrighting once .

Been reading it for half an hour now and i'm not getting the connection with that and with what I wanna do. I don't want to WRITE, or SELL, or CONVINCE people to buy something.

 

[MashaN]

And i know how lucrative online courses are, and it is my goal to make enough money doing this so that I have a passive income coming in and I don't need a normal job. This is the only thing I have found that fits those criteria, with the skills I have.

Perhaps not the best mindset to begin with. 7 billion other people would like the same. Figuring out (specifically) what you can do for a small fraction of that 7 billion would be a better approach that will set you with rewards (aka money) for life.
New skills can be acquired.

 

[srodrigo]

But the problem is, I am not an expert in anything. I have about 20 interests and hobbies and have taken a few online courses myself, read hundreds of books, etc.

Not sure this will be helpful, but if you are a generalist, that may have its own market as well. Maybe not in the online courses business, but possibly somewhere else?

 

[GaiaGoddess]

You could do joint ventures with people who are experts but don't have the time/inclination/ability/interest to make courses themselves.

I think this could work! Where would be a good place to find these people? Like would I be an independent contractor putting ads on freelance sites?

 

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[GaiaGoddess]

1) The Millionaire Fastlane
2) Unscripted

I've read Unscripted , and the first 3 chapters of TMF . I just don't remember if he mentioned anything about my specific problem. I might have to go back and scan the book for that.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

Well I have pretty much been trying to figure this out for about 10 years now, and nothing has really jumped out at me as being an obvious choice that feels right, until I recently realized what I love to do isn't about the subject itself, it's about the process of organizing and sharing the information. And i know how lucrative online courses are, and it is my goal to make enough money doing this so that I have a passive income coming in and I don't need a normal job. This is the only thing I have found that fits those criteria, with the skills I have.

Sounds like what a virtual assistant does to me.

 

[GaiaGoddess]

Just thought I’d leave this here:

• You don't need to be an expert

Can you add value? Can you get paid to do so?

Cool video! I am liking the idea of finding people who are wanting to put together a course but don't want to organize and present the information, I could do that for them!

 

[GaiaGoddess]

I know a guy that has been successful doing just that. Tai Lopez. Probably the most sucessful on the web just teaming up with other people and letting them make courses on his website. And I'm not bashing here, he's really doing great !

I will have to check him out! Now I have hope this will be a good idea!

 

[Jeff Noel]

your course will have to offer more than just regurgitation of useless advice found online

That's not mandatory... but if he wants to make a

I will have to check him out! Now I have hope this will be a good idea!

Just be careful when checking him out. He quickly goes on to try to sell you a $495 course on pretty much anything, where you magically save $4000 with all the bonuses. There's so much free content from him though that there's definitely time to learn how he sells his stuff.

This man is a great marketer/salesman.

 

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