The #1 Thing You Need to Create a New Course or Mastermind
Episode Summary:
Hi friends, I’m so excited to chat with you today about the ONE thing you need to create a new online program, online course, mastermind, or any sort of leverage scaled expertise as a coach or service provider. I'm doing this because I just released a new template (that includes a Canva bundle!) Before creating this new bundle, I took a look at all of the courses and programs I've created over the last seven years and realized that as I create new programs, it's really a lot of copy and paste besides the essence of the program – I reuse so much of my graphics, my emails, my social posts etc. So I basically took out all of the meat of the program and I left all of the bones and I'm giving you all of the bones for you to insert your own expertise into. This podcast episodes goes deeper into how to move forward with your idea for your next offering, the importance of your thought leadership and legacy, and affirmations that will help you feel safe as you make the next big (and small!) decisions for your biz.
Topics Discussed:
Why the most important thing in creating a new course or program is actually getting it done
Why Anna is a big fan of making the product good at the start and then improving it over time
Answering the question of whether you should create a group program or 1:1 offering first
How niched courses can help your clients get better results
The importance of getting your thought leadership down on paper so you can decide your next best steps
Affirmations for moving forward with your next course or program
Episode Resources:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Stitcher
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Anna Rapp (00:19):
Hi friends. So excited to chat with you today about the one thing you need to create an online program or online course or mastermind or any sort of leverage scaled expertise as a coach or service provider. I'm doing this because I just released a template set a new Canva bundle that I am, I mean I always deliver a ton of value, but even I surprised myself this time <laugh> basically for 1 97, you get everything you need to create your program in a day. I looked at all of the courses and programs I've created over the last seven years and I really realized that like as I create new templates, I, or as I create new programs, it's really a lot of copy and paste besides the essence of the program. I am reusing so much of my graphics, my emails, my social posts for my courses.
Anna Rapp (01:17):
And so I basically took out all of the, the meat of the program and I left all of the bones and I'm giving you all of the bones that way you can sit and like fill in the blanks and like I say like really copy paste and insert your expertise and create your group program. So really any group program you create, the bones of it is 16 emails and if it's a 12 week program, 12 worksheets and 12 five minute videos. And I think we overcomplicate what an online course is, but really when I started my courses, like I really did just create 12 worksheets and 12 videos and offer coaching calls like strip it down to its essence, right? And so I'm so excited about this new template set. I'll leave the link if you're interested in it. But it really is everything you need to create your program in a day.
Anna Rapp (02:09):
And I'm so excited about that because I think as I was creating this, I was like if this helps even one more heart-centered woman infuse her expertise into the world, then I'm for it because I think there's so much that stops us like imposter syndrome and time. We're so busy. And so I hope this like removes a lot of the barriers and is almost like I think about everything that I've had to do to create this framework and I've really hired designers and OBMs and copywriters and like so really you're able to use all of those assets in this thing I created for you. So brings me to this point of the training today, which is like the number one thing you need to create a course or a program is really the commitment to finish your product. Okay? What I mean by this is when you
Anna Rapp (02:58):
Create a program or a course, I think people look at it like I'm gonna create this group program and I'm gonna launch it and you know, if it's not profitable the first time and people don't buy it, I'm gonna give up and I'm gonna change it up, right? But the truth is when you have a program that's your million dollar program, meaning over its lifetime, it's gonna make you a million dollars the first time you create it, guess what? It's not gonna make you a lot of money the first time probably, right? Because think about it like when you're making like a product, right? Like I had a little stint of craft fairing. Did anyone else do craft fairs? <Laugh> in college I had a stint of selling and making things for craft fairs and one of the things I did was created this embroidery kit where people were able to learn how to embroider and had everything they needed to like learn some embroidery stitches came with a thread, their first needle, the hoop, everything.
Anna Rapp (03:51):
And when I first created these, they weren't super profitable because I was learning how to create them, but the win was getting the product created, right? And then over time I already had the product created, I already had the tutorials created so then just everything was a lot more profitable, right? I think about this with any course, right? The first time you create a course, the whole goal is to get the course finished, right? And then you can make money with it over time, right? And of course we wanna make a little bit of money our first time it goes out ideally. But I'm a big fan of like the whole point is get the program done, right? Because it is a lot to create a program and also create all the marketing it takes to fill the program. Let me say that again, it's a lot to create a year program and also all of the marketing to actually fill the program.
Anna Rapp (04:41):
This is two different skill sets in some ways, right? And so I'm a big fan since we're heart-centered entrepreneurs here of having a really good product and that's why I say some people prioritize the sales and marketing and then improve their product later. But I'm a big fan of like making your program and product really good from the get go, right? Getting it done, getting it finished even if you have to like move some people through it at half cost or whatever. And then once this asset is created, then you're just improving it over time. And so how I encourage my clients to do this is if you decide to launch a group program, the ship has sailed. That's what I tell my clients. What I mean by that is when you go to launch a group program for the first time, you announce it and then maybe the first day like one person buys and you're like, wait a second, why didn't 19 people buy?
Anna Rapp (05:32):
Right? And what I say to them is like the ship has sailed. Do the full two week launch share about your product, go at it for two weeks and see how many people you get and then after the launch ends, run your program no matter what, whether you have one people or 10 people or 50 people, create the program, create the program, create the asset, create your product, right? Your product is your expertise and your heart and your soul productized. And I just think women, we don't think business savvy enough, right? And of course you guys know I love doing live coaching one-on-one and that type of thing, right? But I do think as women for the legacy of our business and the cash flow, we need to be willing to productize and get our expertise out of our heads and into a product. Let me say that again.
Anna Rapp (06:19):
Okay? I think we need to be willing to get our expertise out of our heads and into an actual product. I think we have a lot of fears around this because for me I was like I help my clients with so many different things and then what if I do that and they don't need me anymore? Or what if like they're not able to get as amazing results as they get with me? One-On-One, right? And like actually yes it's true. Like people will probably get better results with you one-on-one, but what if they don't have the budget and what if they want the community element, right? Like there's just pros and cons to both models. So I think for me it was really realizing that it was time to prioritize getting my thought leadership down. And that's something that's important but not urgent, right? What's urgent?
Anna Rapp (06:58):
Your emails and your current clients and like all of that is amazing but what's important is that you're leveraging and growing your scaling your business over time. And you can start to do this even when you have one-on-one clients. It's so interesting 'cause I think a lot of women in the online space want to launch a group program before they're ready, before they have the audience built because there's this like message online that says like you know, just sneeze and you can fill a group program overnight. And that's not true. Like you have to build your audience and you have to like set yourself up for a launch, right? But on the other hand, so in some ways like I think our online space is like quick to launch a group program but in other ways I feel like we're so slow to actually build out and leverage group programs and leverage our work.
Anna Rapp (07:40):
What I mean by this is I think like while you have one-on-one clients, you can start to build your course. I've said this before, but like all of my courses were built because I started to record videos and make worksheets while I was working with my one-on-one clients. And that's why I love this product in a day template set so much because I think while you are working with one-on-one clients, it's the perfect time to start using some of these worksheets and some of these templates, right? I have a welcome email, you can have that welcome email for your one-on-one clients, right? You can make a worksheet for your one-on-one clients. Why number one so you can repeat yourself less. Number two. So it's more professional. Number three, when you go to launch the group program, like I said, the asset will already be created and that's why so many of my group programs actually did make money so quickly is because I did a lot of the work and the building out of the product while I was working with my one-on-one clients.
Anna Rapp (08:32):
And I think a lot of people aren't really willing to do that and drop their ego, but I just think it's beautiful. So even if you have a one-on-one based business, I think this product product in a day or a program in a day can really help you systematize your one-on-one clients in a really beautiful way and streamline that. And then eventually you can move things to a group, right? So excited about this here. If you have any questions about this because I know it can be intimidating to think through creating an online course, creating a product. It can feel like, again, like I'm not qualified for, for this or like what's my framework, right? Or like there's so many different things my, you know, my people wanna learn in this product too. I have like a little planning document that helps you pick of all the transformations you walk people through, which is the one that makes the most sense to make into a course.
Anna Rapp (09:24):
Because here's the thing, I'm a big fan of like having niched courses because I think you get your clients better results, right? For something that's like a bigger program, like a mastermind, I'm a big fan of like zooming out a little bit, but for like a six week or 12 week course I would write down all the things that you get people results on that you could like different specific transformations you help people with and then just pick one of those to turn into a course with like six steps or 12 steps, right? At the end of the day we want our courses to be really streamlined. We wanna make sure every all those six steps, all those 12 steps move someone towards that goal. And the more and more I've created courses, honestly the more simple and the more streamlined and the less they've included and my clients have gotten better and better results <laugh> because I think it's not for lack of information that people get results, it's lack of action, right?
Anna Rapp (10:19):
And so when we think about the courses we're creating for people or the programs, the last thing we wanna do is get people like 90 worksheets and then they're not doing any of them or like four hours of video and then they're watching it and then they're too tired to do anything else, right? And so that's why I think when we're creating our programs, the most important thing we can do is get clear on what's the objective and then what are all the steps it takes to get someone to that objective, right? And again, in the planning doc for program in a day, I have a template for this that walks you through, you know, narrowing it on your course idea and outlining it because I just think that's so essential before you in some ways I think we want to over plan and have our whole course perfect before it launches.
Anna Rapp (11:04):
And I don't think that's necessary. I think you have to have your idea, your result and really I would say like your first three weeks of content done. But I don't think you have to be a perfectionist about it, right? I think you can let that be enough. And for me, I really like only having three weeks done and then walking people live through the program. Because for me that helps give me accountability and excitement to finish the product, right? Because again, that whole point is that you're finishing your product, you're finishing your entire course and for me the most motivating way I do that is having people go through it with me and then I'll finish the course like a few weeks at a time. I think I shared this in one of my programs privately, but in the middle I built out one of my programs in the middle of my divorce while I was living in a one bedroom with at my parents' house.
Anna Rapp (11:52):
And the way I did this is I had women going through the program. So I had that motivation and sometimes I would even finish that content like at church while my kids were in the Sunday school, like before it went out. Not that I'm super proud of that, but like again, I think we tell ourselves we don't have the time, but I think we do. We just don't give ourselves that authentic pressure to get it done. And for me, like I have always included women in my creation process. I even think about my book, right? It was so motivating to me to have you guys sign up and have a hundred readers waiting to read the Google Doc version of my book before it was published. And that's why I got it done to be honest. And why I didn't revise it a thousand times is 'cause I knew a hundred of you were waiting and all I had to finish was the Google doc.
Anna Rapp (12:37):
I didn't have to finish the book cover and all of the marketing for my book, right? Again, those are two separate things. Creating your product, writing my book, which was basically just words in a Google doc, right? And then marketing it is a whole different beast. All of the things that it took to like get bestseller in eight different categories, that was a completely different skillset and thing. And so I'm so glad I just kept things simple. And I think same thing when you make your program, you just gotta keep it simple and remind yourself like what's the point? The point is just to finish your program. That's the first thing. And then you can figure out how do I get better at marketing this? How do I get better at selling it? How do I get more people in it? How do I make it make more money?
Anna Rapp (13:17):
But guess what, it's okay if it doesn't make you a ton of money at the start. Like that's really not the point. Say it with me out loud. The point and my program is to get it done. It's to get it done <laugh>. It's to get it finished the first draft. You can always improve it, right? And so just remembering again that number one thing you need to create a course and profit off of it is really the commitment to finish it. Setting up the time, having the mindset. My program getting coach 12 weeks long, an amazing price actually helps you with this. Whether you are building out a program and selling it, that's a one-on-one program. Also, you can also do this with a group coaching program. I recommend even my clients that wanna create e-course that are self-study. I recommend the first time you create the program and the curriculum to move people through it live.
Anna Rapp (14:07):
Number one, it helps you make your course better and actually get people results 'cause you're actually running real humans through it and getting that live feedback. Also, it's really satisfying because you are co-creating with humans waiting for you. So you're like, of course I wanna finish module four because people are waiting for me to finish module four, right? And so I really love my program, my 12 week program, it's for open enrollment year round 12 weeks long live group coaching calls with me, live Slack support with me, and really an amazing sisterhood. And what this does is first week you, you finish your offer or whether it's with this template set, whether it's a one-on-one offer or a group offer, you're outlining your course and then the rest of the program you're really working on feeling the program and launching the program, right? So essential.
Anna Rapp (14:53):
So here if you have any questions about that, I also have a free 20 minute presentation that talks through the strategy that I lead in this program. So if you wanna know more what this program is all about, you can go to heart center entrepreneur.com/workshop and you'll be taken to the page that basically walks you through how to the strategy that I use inside my course. So you can watch that 20 minute presentation and then just do the strategy on your own or you can get my support for 12 weeks with it. But that's a great place to start is just that free 20 minute workshop. Here if you have any questions, super excited about this template set. I hope that it serves you. I hope that it fuels you to actually get your product done right? Actually take a day and plan your thing out, right?
Anna Rapp (15:40):
Or if you want my support, like get your product got done, get this out right. Like there is no time like the present when it comes to filling your offer, your program. And I would love to help you do that here if you have any questions. And as always, thank you for being a part of the community. I am so grateful for you. I am so grateful I run my business so that I work about three days a week. Most of my coaching is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and I have Mondays and Fridays light for either personal stuff or if flight business stuff comes up. And then also I run my business three weeks out of the month. And so I have a fourth month of the week that's light. And so I don't have as many coaching calls. I, we had our cell with heart the mastermind workshop today, so sometimes I'll do like a mastermind workshop, but besides that, it really is an empty week.
Anna Rapp (16:32):
I get to go on a field trip with my daughter tomorrow, which is super exciting. Why was I saying that? But oh, I think I just really had like a lot of moments of like gratitude for the version of me that did record my expertise. Like the fact that I am able to work such few hours but still have a business that's so profitable and so fulfilling. I love being with people live like I am a coach at heart. And so I always am going to enjoy like being on coaching calls and Zoom calls and helping people. And so for me, like whether you're someone like me that enjoys that or maybe you're like, actually I could like not have in another zoom call the rest of my life and be fine, I just wanna have an e-course. Either way, I just think like spending time and leveraging your business is a gift all the way around.
Anna Rapp (17:18):
It's really what gives you time freedom. And I think we're all in entrepreneurship for that, for that flexibility, whether it's so you can be a present mama or another reason you wanna travel it, I just wanna encourage you to prioritize leveraging your business, right? With my mastermind clients, I encourage 'em to do that with my take a break document where I help them take a break in their business basically to streamline their business and force them to systematize, right? But I really think the first step is what we're talking about here, which is like recording your expertise and turning it into a program, turning it into a product. And I would worry less about like, is it gonna be a 12 week live course? Is it gonna be a six week self-study e-course? Like who cares? Like, the cool thing is a lot of my programs over time, I've modified them like I've taken live programs and turned them into self-study e-course.
Anna Rapp (18:09):
I've taken programs and turned them into longer masterminds. I've ta like once you have the worksheets and videos, you can morph it to whatever you need. It can be a one-on-one program, it can be a group program. So I would obsess less over the format and focus more on recording your expertise, documenting your expertise, getting it down, starting to make videos, starting to make worksheets, right? Starting to draft the emails that people get when they go through your process. And then trusting over time you'll know what makes most sense. And honestly for my clients, I think it just really depends on personality and availability. Some of my clients have had really big health issues and so for that reason have turned the programs more self-study, right? Some, I mean there's just like infinite things you can do with your thought leadership, but you can't do anything with it if you don't write it and create it down, right?
Anna Rapp (19:01):
And so really prioritize that even though it's like not urgent. I would say it's one of the most important things that you can do and make time for. So I would love to hear for you, if you listen to this training, I would love to hear what your course is gonna be on, what your program is gonna be on. Do you have an inkling or idea? If you don't, you can still grab my template bundle and I walk you through getting clear on your course idea or like what, which program idea to pick. But I bet a lot of you have an inkling. I bet a lot of you have an idea. I bet a lot of you have an intuitive nudge, maybe something you went through or maybe something you walk your clients through a lot that you're like, this would make a really great course that would, this would make a really great program.
Anna Rapp (19:45):
I wanna hear what it is so that I can cheer you on and remind you that yes, it is important to turn this into a program. You are worth it. Your experience is worth it, your voice is important. Maybe let's just like end with some affirmations. My voice matters. It's safe to take up space. It's safe to prioritize the important but not urgent things in my business that will really help me make an impact and a legacy, right? The things that I want to do in this lifetime and that will help me make more of an impact and spread more of my voice without spreading myself. Then the cool thing about having your expertise in videos and worksheets is people like, it's really interesting because now getting coached my 12 week program, people will tell me all the time like, oh my gosh, I'm so grateful for you. I feel so close to you. Like, this program changed my life, but I don't even fully know them completely, right? Like, yes, I we're on coaching calls and in Slack, but like it's really cool to see that my love and my heart can
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Make an impact even when I'm not there. And I think I, it's letting go a little bit of like control. Like for me I was like, but what if they don't watch all the videos? Or what if they misunderstand me or what if blah, blah blah. But it's really trusting that our course clients are community. They're smart, badass women and they can figure it out. They're independent, they don't need you. And I think for me, I was like accidentally almost creating a dynamic where I was we're saying like, we want women that are ambitious in our programs and that do the work and show up, but how much are we overhand holding? You know what I mean? Like I was really, I really challenged myself with that about two years ago and I just wanna remind you, it's safe for you to make an impact even when you're not there.
Speaker 3 (21:28):
Kinda like when you write a book, you write a book and someone can read it later and still be impacted. Same thing when you create a program, it's safe for you to record this time capsule of your creativity and your thought leadership and for people to be impacted it by it even when you're not there. It's safe for you to be enjoying baking cookies with your kids or off traveling while your course is still making an impact that's safe, it's safe for you to do that, right? Even I think about stabilizing and streamlining my one-on-one and systematizing that like, it's safe for me to let it be easier, right? And I think a few of you need to hear that message, so just remind yourself of that and I'm just grateful for you. Okay? Excited to hear what courses and programs you have up the shoot.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Also a reminder that if you are already making $2,000 a month in your business, I would love to to private coaching with you. So feel free to let me know. I have an application if you're interested in mastermind support. My mastermind opens two times a year and I would love to support you in growing and scaling your business with things like this. And really everything you need to have more flexibility, more freedom, more profit, get to six figures and beyond. Feel free to reach out if you want that app. Okay? Have a great Wednesday.
PS: In the midst of this challenging time I’ve been asking myself what I can do to help? One of the #1 ways I support my clients is by helping them simplify their business so that they can increase the flow of money without creating extra work. In this season simplified visibility and sales is needed more than ever.
So if you’re craving personal support as you reposition your free and paid work, I’d love to help you simplify your sales process so that you can produce income in your business even during a challenging time. If you want support you can check out my services and book a free discovery call here, or you can send me a DM on Instagram.