The Tips I Can Share From Creating A Digital Course
Welcome!
For the past 2 and half years I have been growing this platform for regional small business owners and creatives who lift each other up, inspire one another, motivate and hold each other accountable and this is just the side effect of what it all started out as! The Mindful Business Hub digital course has changed my entire business platform for the better and today I share with you its story! I invite you inside my world and why, how + when I created my first digital course.
Show Notes:
I want to take you back, just briefly, to mid 2020. The world had stopped and everyone was just trying to work out what they were doing. I had been growing my photography business for just over 3 years when Covid began and I really saw the effects of the global pandemic hit hard on the small business world, but particularly regional small business in Australia after so many had already been suffering through the drought and bushfires.
Now, I am from a small town in regional NSW Australia called Gunnedah. And no, that is not Canada as most people hear. Gunnedah is this beautiful little country town, full of vibrancy, community and heart. We might be small but we certainly are mighty and our creative and small business world is so incredibly inspiring. Growing my photography business in my home town didn’t come without it’s challenges, and at times it felt a little lonely which is why in 2019 I began the business brekkie meetings were I invited other business owners in our town to get together over coffee in the morning and chat all things business. There has always been an experience or a life lesson that I have learned throughout my adventures as a small business owner from a regional area. Always.
It is through observing the heartache, the closed doors, the disconnect of our business community throughout Covid, that I really felt the need to act. I couldn’t sit by and watch as the business world closed down in our town and it was then that I decided to be the change. If you know me, you know that I have a very strong passion for believing that you can achieve anything you put your mind to regardless of your circumstances, surroundings or location. I say not even the sky is the limit, you are only limited by your mind. So I put my mind to work and acted on an idea. I gathered all the information that I had learnt through all the mentors, business coaching, webinars, seminars, workshops that I had done to grow my regional small business and put it all together in a sort of membership/digital course platform to help others think creatively so they were still able to build a powerful small business regardless of their location, or the hurdles they were facing.
I created the Mindful Business Hub. This was a completely new world to me as up until that point I had been growing a photography business in the lifestyle family, newborn + wedding category. So, helping other business owners was definitely a passion project.
To begin with, I created the course very basically. I started with a single page on my website that was password protected, I uploaded PDF workbooks to this page along with any other links to relevant resources I thought the business owners would need. I held 2 weekly calls inside a facebook group that would then become the content and a way for me to gain new content ideas too. And it worked.
I had no idea that my unique perspective as a photographer and a creative, would impact the small business world in my community so much! And this really excited me.
I grew my idea over the next 12 months by recreating the course inside a whole new platform. I had to learn all about tech, creating a secure online platform, putting together course content, recording video, hosting video, designing workbooks, storing workbooks online, using tags, drip feeding content. In a short amount of time, I had this whole new product that didn’t fit in with my existing business, and so a new business was born.
I began using my own name and creating my brand - not just a business that limited me to one single offer, but a brand that allowed me to grow a following of people who had the same values as me. And who were genuinely excited to see what else I created and came up with.
And if it wasn’t for that one little idea I had back in 202 for creating a digital course, none of this I don’t think would have happened.
By creating the digital course, it showed me what I was actually capable of, what I already knew, areas where I needed to grow more, and it gave me a new platform to create and connect.
So, with all of this being said, there are a few things I have learned by creating a digital course, that I feel can help any regional business owner to grow their business.
Imposter syndrome sucks. But, like anything else, it doesn’t have to stop you if you don’t let it. And I feel like I am a walking billboard for that. Right from day 1 imposter syndrome has been there for me. And it is something that I am continually learning about, embracing + overcoming each and every day. But, regardless, I will not let it have power of me 100% of the time - see what I did there. and you shouldn’t either. Anything that takes the power away from you isn’t worth it.
Sometimes you do need to dive in head first - you can spend hours, days, weeks, months, years in the planning stages, and still not be fully prepared for what’s to come. I have always been the sort of person who dives in the deep end and learns to swim then, and I think this has guided me with my decisions to act. It doesn’t have to be perfect, I say this with tongue in cheek as this too is something I am learning to embrace, but it really doesn’t. Like, I mean think about it. By the time you feel fully prepared and ready, will that time actually ever come?
This also brings me to my next point which is become really familiar with the word embrace. You can prepare yourself, and try to think of all the things that might happen, create the best business plan there is, but, there will be things that change your path, things that stop you, things that hold you back, change your circumstances. Being a business owner is not about creating one thing and never looking at it again. You are a business owner to live the life you want, on your own terms. So don’t let something stand in your way. Embrace rather than give away your power.
The only way to find clarity is in the doing, not in inaction. I live by this. Because how something looks on paper or in your mind, can be very different in reality - and different in a good way too. Because as you start to do something, you will then review it, receive feedback on it, reassess it, you will grow and so does the thing you created. Clarity will come from the action you take.
There will always be a time where you need to work a little harder to get something off the ground, and then a time when you can review. Be aware of the season you are in and this will help you in all aspects of your life.
Everything is figureoutable and I learnt this from the incredible Marie Forleo. And it’s so true. This statement I applied particularly to the tech when creating the digital course and I got there. Admittedly the first round was a very simple structure, a simple webpage on my website and a facebook group, but I have grown it from there to use digital course platforms, email platforms and more and I have done all of this. I surprised myself. Everything really is figureoutable if you have the passion to want to do it.
Being regional does not stop you, it is actually a superpower. Because there aren’t as many people surrounding you, I feel like you are made to work a little differently. We are open to opportunities more, open to seeing a different perspective. And we have the power of our community with us. Don’t feel limited because you aren’t in the city. Use your location as your secret weapon.
There is sooo much that I have learnt by creating one single digital course, but above all, I learn the most that my passion to help others is so strong, that I will do whatever it takes to make sure regional creatives and small business owners see what I see in them. And that they understand nothing should hold them back.
More from the Mindful Business Hub:
If you are looking for a business bestie, someone who can help you through the different stages of building + growing a business that’s right for you, click here to visit the Mindful Business Hub digital course - just one of the ways we can work together! xx
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