What would you do if you spent$2,000 on a course creation program and it taught you almost nothing about how to actually create a course? Welcome to Course Creation for Solopreneurs. I'm Dr. Curtis Satterfield, and I've spent 17 years as an educator and course designer helping thousands of students learn new skills. Now I help solopreneurs like you create courses that actually transform your students and grow your business. Let's get into it. That's exactly what happened to a coach I worked with. She asked for a refund, started working with me, and two months later, she sold out her first course. A couple months after that, she sold out her second course, and it wasn't better launch strategies that made it work. I've been an educator and course designer for over 17 years, and I've seen this pattern over and over. Programs that teach you to launch and sell, but skip the part that matters most. The coach's name is Anna, and when she came to me, she had a nearly full roster of one-on-one clients. She was doing well, but she wanted to expand, build a course, and reach more people without trading more hours. So she did what many people do. She bought a course creation program. A big one. She paid$2,000 for Digital Course Academy. She went through the whole thing and what she found was module after module on launching and selling the course. But when it came to actually building her course, almost nothing. One module that was surface level and no real guidance on how to take everything she knew and turn it into something that would offer her students a transformation. And she was upset because the entire reason she bought the course was to learn how to build a course. She had the knowledge. She had years of it. She knew exactly what her students needed, but she wanted guidance on the best way to break it down and structure it. How to sequence it so they would actually provide transformations for her students. She got so frustrated she asked for a refund. That's when we sat down together. We went through my entire framework, we mapped out her transformation, where her students were starting, where they needed to be. Then we broke it down into modules and lessons that wouldn't overwhelm and confuse her students. We figured out the right sequence so each piece built on the last. We made sure every lesson had a clear outcome her students would achieve before moving on. All the stuff the$2,000 program had skipped. She launched that first course with 10 spots for$697, and she sold out. But here's what happened next. Her students didn't just finish the course, they had the transformation that she promised them. And they started coming back to her, asking for private coaching and high-ticket one-on-one work. Two months later she launched the same course for the second time. This time she charged$9.97 for 10 spots and sold out again. And just like the first time, the people who finished her course came back to her for more one-on-one high-ticket work. She's growing her business through courses, not because she learned some launch hack, because her courses actually work. Her students become fans and they come back to her. They tell their networks. And then she has the social proof she needs to make marketing easier. That's what happens when you design for transformation, not just for sales. And that's what the$2,000 program didn't cover. The basics. The nuts and bolts of building a course. The big programs give you all the marketing and launch strategies you could ask for. But when you sit down to build your course, you're pretty much on your own. You maybe get one module at best. So let me show you what helped and a design courses that sold out repeatedly. You need a transformation. Last year I ended up in the ER. I had dizziness, blood pressure was up, and something wasn't right. When the doctor came in, he asked me, What's going on? And I explained to him, but I could tell he wasn't really listening. He says, Okay, we're gonna run some tests, then he disappears for two hours. When he finally comes back, he says, If you have benign vertigo, here's a pill, go home. Four minutes with the doctor. That's it. He didn't explain anything. He just made a snap judgment about what I needed and sent me on my way. And he was wrong. It wasn't vertigo at all. He didn't take the time to actually diagnose properly or even explain anything to me. That's what happens when you don't focus on where your students are on their journey and what they need. You give them a quick prescription to fix a problem they probably don't even have. You need to understand where your students are starting and then where they will be when they finish your course. That drives all your other course decisions. I went to another doctor a couple days later. She spent time with me, asked me questions, and listened to my concerns. And I felt like she cared and listened to me. At the end she diagnosed me with something completely different, gave me a new treatment plan, and this time it worked. Because she took the time to find out what I needed, not what she thought I needed. And I told everyone I knew about this doctor and how good she was. That's why it's critical to understand the transformation your students will achieve. But how do you know what to actually put in each lesson so that students can make that transformation? Imagine you're out walking through the woods and you come across a stream. The water's cold, you don't want to get your feet wet because that's going to ruin the rest of your walk. So you look for a way to get across the stream. You spot a stone not too far from the bank and you step to it. Looking a little farther into the stream, you see another stone and you step to that one. Stone by stone, you make it to the other side with dry feet so you can continue your walk without feeling miserable. Two of the biggest reasons students don't finish a course are because they get overwhelmed and they don't see progress. Each lesson is a stepping stone with a specific tangible outcome. Your student can see exactly where to step next. They can see the progress they need to make without getting overwhelmed. Every lesson in your course should have one clear outcome your student achieves before they move on. So don't make a lesson called learn about email marketing. Make it how to write your first welcome sequence. Don't make a lesson that only explains why niching matters. Show them how to find their niche. Every lesson needs one clear outcome. Something your student can do by the end of that lesson they couldn't do before. If you can't name the outcome, the lesson isn't ready. That's how Anna structured her course. And that's why her students actually finished. This next question Anna had is something a lot of solopreneurs asked me, and it was one of Anna's biggest questions. Should you be on screen during the lessons or should it just be slides and screen shares? Think of showing your face like a dating profile. I'm sure you've heard the stories. Someone sees photos, thinks the person looks great, shows up to the date, and they look completely different because the photos were from five to ten years ago. That's what happens when your course does well and you're still selling it years later. You're using a video of yourself from five to ten years ago. You look different now. Your marking materials show current you, but the course shows old you. Your students come in expecting one thing and get another. It's jarring. If you're planning to make evergreen content, materials that don't need constant updating, record an intro video showing your face. That creates the connection with your students. They see you, they know who you are. Then just do a screen share and slides for the actual lessons. That way, if your course does well and you're still using it years later, you just re-record the intro. Five years go by, re-record the intro. Major change to your appearance, re-record the intro. One video to update instead of your entire course. Anna's course sold out because we covered everything in this video and more. We use my entire framework to make sure she was selling a course that would transform her student. Thanks for listening. If this episode helped you, take a second to subscribe and leave a review. It's the best way to support the show. Also, be sure to check the show notes for any links and resources mentioned in this episode. Now go create a course that transforms.