Leading female Millennial CEOs like Sophia Amoruso and Brit Morin are embarking on a new venture: teaching online courses. It’s no surprise as the online education market captured $200 billion in sales in 2019 and is expected to skyrocket. With a huge emphasis on online education during this time, it is only inevitable that many are jumping feet first into the world of building online courses.
Whether you’re teaching a course on how to tap into your intuitive nature or building an authentic LinkedIn personal brand, there is a course for anyone and everyone. However, for many potential teachers, imposter syndrome strikes and limits their belief in themselves saying:
“I’m not good enough.”
“Why should I teach this.”
“No one will buy from me when there’s someone better.”
The feeling can hold people back from achieving their dreams. Instead, they should strike out their fears and face them headfirst. Orlando Baeza, Chief Marketing Officer of all-in-one business platform, Kajabi, shares three myths he hears and how to overcome them as they just launched a national brand campaign that tackles this same issue with humor, titled, “ Get Out Of Your Own Way.”
Myth #1: There are way more qualified people
Baeza: We hear this rhetoric all the time. If you have someone who's never played golf before, sure, there are the Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroys of the world. However, that doesn't take any power away from the local golf instructor in your city or available to teach you online to those who’ve never played golf before.
Solution
Baeza: Every person's walk of life is different. Only you have your unique perspective and way of talking about a subject matter. There is power in focusing on a niche. We have people teaching mushroom foraging and gardening in a way that no one does. Ask yourself: how can you differentiate yourself in the market that is truly yours.
Myth #2: Am I worth this much?
Baeza: Will people pay this price for this? Am I going to feel like a failure if nobody buys?
Solution
Baeza: There's a lot of homework you can do around pricing before you launch a course. You can uncover the data to find: "Is it unique?" "Is it in demand?" and "What are the trends saying?" You can launch a mini-course or a freebie option to start building community to see the value of what you're putting out in the world. Use that mindset to execute on low-cost experiments to learn more and then build your higher ticket costs, offerings, and products.
Myth #3: My content won’t be well received
Baeza: There is a fear of the first time pressing the send button on the email or on the publish button on the website. That fear of stepping out into the world.
Solution
Baeza: You have to believe in what you have created. I hear all too often, "I'm having anxiety about pressing send. I've got everything built. But have anxiety of pressing publish." That happens quite a bit, especially, on the first go-round. It goes back to believing in what you have to share is valuable. The moment you push send, the moment you push publish, the moment you make that first dollar literally, it all changes. There are always butterflies in your stomach when you're launching something new, but the anxiety that prevents you from launching entirely dissipates.
Moving past the fear
By believing in yourself and going outside your comfort zone to not only trying something new but providing value to a new audience allows you to break free of the barriers holding you back and step into your power as an entrepreneur and online educator.