[Part 1] The First Thing to Do With a Course Idea

Feb 22, 2022

Inspiration strikes. You have a new idea — many ideas — for a learning offer. Maybe you’ve been thinking about creating this new learning offer for a day, maybe you’ve been thinking about creating a learning offer for a year.

Either way, you’re stuck on one question: Where do I start?

And your blank page doesn’t seem to have the answer — or to get any less blank.

Making the shift from feeling overwhelmed by a new idea to feeling ready to start working on a new idea is not always easy, unless you have a guiding structure.

This is my behind-the-scenes process for doing just that, for getting a handle on a new learning offer, and for figuring out where to start.

1. What opportunity do you see ahead of you?

When I’m exploring a new idea for a learning offer, I start by laying out the opportunity I see. On a piece of paper or a new notes page, I spend a few minutes writing out my answer to this question.

Maybe this opportunity stems from a challenge that my clients regularly face. Maybe I find that I’m constantly searching for help in a specific area and nothing exists to help me. Or maybe I see that existing learning offers are missing something essential.

Write that all out as a response to this first prompt.

2. What are you really good at?

Next, I shift to thinking about my skills, my experience, and my expertise. Where do I fit into this new idea? Maybe I’m really good at creating practice opportunities for this skill area, maybe I have a formal qualification in this area, or maybe I do this often in my work.

Use this prompt to write out all your strengths as they relate to this learning offer idea.

3. What topic ideas are at this intersection?

Finally, I look at the intersection of Prompt 1 and Prompt 2, the intersection of the opportunity I see and my strengths. This overlap is the sweet spot. Are there specific topics that people need to learn and that I can teach?

Spend a few minutes thinking about specific topics — as granularly as possible — that you are involved in this learning offer idea.

After doing this basic three-step brain dump, I work through more specific questions that help me structure, explore, and refine my idea for a new learning offer. This tool helps me set a project up for success.

After I have a starting point, I move on to prevalidating my course idea — the topic of the next blog post in our series on creating learning offers.

Watch the Linkedin live stream or catch the replay for a link to a downloadable worksheet with specific questions, structures, and prompts to help you create your learning offer.

Feeling a little uncertain?

I can help you create amazing learning experiences that get results. For more information, book a discovery call. I’ll help you break through your plateau and boost your learning experiences, coaching programs, and digital learning offers.

I’d love to hear from you, connect on LinkedIn, Instagram or email [email protected]

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