Million Dollar Micro Business summary

The first course that Tina Tower created was far from perfect. In fact, if she were to edit it now, there are many things that she’d change. Does that mean that she’s sorry she launched it at the time? Hell, no. She’d given herself the assignment to create a course in ten days, and that’s what she did. Launching it taught her all the skills she needed to make the next course even better. And it proved that these courses could provide a viable form of income.

When it comes to creating an online course, you need to channel some of Tower’s gumption. Don’t spend months umming and aahing, and rewriting and tweaking. Take a leap of faith, and just jump in.

And the place to start is to pick a specific idea that you want to teach other people about. You may have zillions of ideas crowding your brain at this very moment. But you need to just pick one. And it needs to be the one that lights you up the most.

How do you find that idea? Through the tried and tested tool of brainstorming. Grab a pen and paper, and allow yourself to quickly jot down some sentences in response to the following questions:

First of all, what are you good at? This isn’t necessarily the same thing as what you studied, or what you’ve worked at for 20 years. What comes naturally to you that other people might find very tricky? Are you a whizz at planning parties? Can you solve sums at the drop of a hat? Jot down a list of anything that comes to mind, and don’t overthink it.

Next, ask yourself another question: What can you talk about all day? This is another way of asking: What are you passionate about? Unfortunately, some of the things you’re good at may also bore you to tears. When you’re developing your online course you’ll need to live and breathe the subject so make sure it’s something that you genuinely love. Take a few moments to jot down some of the things that you find endlessly fascinating.

The third question is: What do people always ask you for your expertise in? Do you end up always being asked for help mediating conflicts in your friend group? Do people always ask you for your insights into world politics? The answer to this question will give you important clues about the expertise you need to put out into the world.

Now you should have three lists: things you’re good at; things you could talk about all day; and things people always ask you about. The first course you create should be in the sweet spot: occupying a place on all of those lists.