It feels like the easy and smartest thing to do when you're stuck-- take a course to help you with whatever it seems like you are struggling with or maybe even peruse the internet for a blog post or podcast for something, anything, to help!
Courses are GREAT! But we see all the time that a lot of people are afraid to make moves in their business and the answer is to course hoard.
Here's why a course might not help you the next time you're feeling stuck.
#1: Courses Overwhelm if They Don't Address Where You're at Right Now
I see this happen a lot-- someone buys a course then part way through it they realize this is stuff that they actually can't apply right now.
Often someone will feel like they are having slow sales and so what should fix that? Well, people tend to turn to marketing-- specifically social media. But if they haven't dialed in their audience, their product and the outlet and platforms they sell on, then that course probably won't help a ton with sales.
#2: Courses Frustrate if You Don't Know Exactly How They Fit into your Business
Did you know that most courses bought online never get finished (Seth Godin says 98% of people who start online classes don't finish them-- Seth is smart and I trust him!)? Yeah, you're not alone. It happens to the best of us.
Here's what usually happens: You are having slow sales on Etsy, so obviously a course on mastering Etsy is what to take next.
It MIGHT be, but if you don't exactly know how Etsy fits into your business, it can seem like you're putting in a lot of effort for something that might not be the best outlet for you.
#3: Courses Confuse if You Can't Immediately Apply the Information
The best courses are the ones where you have an immediate need and can instantly plug into your business so you can level up. Started a newsletter but you need to get people on it and figure out how to use it to drive sales? A course could be great!
But oftentimes makers will begin a course knowing NOTHING about the topic other than the person selling it says that this is the thing that is guaranteed to get them sales. It might, but only if you have the right infrastructure and tools that will let you immediately apply what you're learning. Otherwise it's something that's for another day and time.
THIS IS NOT ANOTHER COURSE...
That you likely won't finish. It's more like a revelation. Or an intervention. Maybe a journey of business discovery and enlightenment?
It's really all of those things. But it's not a course.
You're feeling stuck even though it seems like you're doing the "right" things. Instead you're:
- consuming education willy nilly--scavenging blogs, groups and forums for any morsel of clarity
- meanwhile making and hustling hoping you're doing it right
- working hard, but it doesn't seem to be making a difference.
- throwing good money after bad
- spinning your wheels
- asking people "does this seem right?" and not sure if you should trust those answers
Actually you're close to figuring it out, but things just aren't quite in focus yet. So let's channel your energy in the right direction!
Take our Maker Business Type Quiz using the form below and start to understand that maybe your needs are different than you thought. That building a business might take more than a one-size-fits-all course. OR that you can ease up on some of the pressure of being good at everything right now.
This is the first part of getting to a place where you are doing things your way, with confidence and no judgments. A place where you no longer fear missing out or that somebody else has cracked a code the you're waiting to be revealed.
When you know what you want and where you're going, it becomes easier to make sense of the info that's out there.
