The Course Mentors Podcast
Hey there, future course creator!
Ever feel like turning your know-how into an online course is like trying to solve a Rubik's cube blindfolded? Well, grab your headphones because "The Course Mentors Podcast" is here to be your secret weapon!
Meet Aimee and Odette (that's us!), your new best friends in the course creation world. We've been in the trenches for over a decade, and for the last five years, we've been rocking the online course space. Now we're here to spill all our secrets in bite-sized, 15-20 minute episodes that'll fit perfectly in your coffee breaks.
No fluff, no filler - just real, actionable advice that'll take you from "um, what's a landing page?" to "holy moly, I just hit six figures!". We're talking everything from crafting your course to marketing it like a pro and building a business that'll have you pinching yourself.
Whether you're dreaming of ditching the 9-to-5 grind, adding a sweet extra income stream, or just want to trade demanding clients for students who think you're the bee's knees - we've got your back.
Think of us as your personal cheerleading squad, but instead of pom-poms, we're armed with proven strategies and a healthy dose of "you've got this!" energy. We're here to give you the straight-up truth (with a side of fun) to help you crush your goals and create that freedom-filled life you've been daydreaming about.
So, ready to turn your expertise into course gold? Tune in to The Course Mentors Podcast. And hey, once you're done implementing our awesome advice, swing by Instagram @thecoursementors and show us what you've created. We can't wait to celebrate your wins!
Let's make some course magic together, shall we? 🎉
The Course Mentors Podcast
Who Am I to Teach This? Here’s Your Permission Slip to Begin
We’ve all had that moment, the “who am I to teach this?” voice that creeps in right when we’re ready to take action. In this episode, we’re getting real about the number one thing that stops more courses from ever being created than anything else: imposter syndrome.
We’re unpacking the myths that keep so many course creators stuck. Like thinking you need to be the top expert before you can start, or that you have to wait until you feel “ready.” (Spoiler: you won’t.)
In this conversation, we share how we’ve both dealt with imposter syndrome in our own journeys, why your unique story and style are what make your course special, and how to move forward even when the fear is loud.
In this episode:
- Why you don’t need to be the world’s leading expert to teach
- How your voice and story make your course stand out
- What’s really hiding behind “I’m not ready yet”
- How to reframe self-doubt and take action anyway
- The truth about where confidence actually comes from
If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to start your course, this is your sign, the moment is now.
Hello and welcome to the Course Mentors podcast. I'm Odette. I'm Amy. And today we're tackling the thing that stops more courses from being created than anything else. And it's not tech issues, it's not time. It's imposter syndrome.
SPEAKER_00:It is. It is imposter syndrome. But before we dive in, Detty, how has your week been?
SPEAKER_01:It's been good. I have a beautiful six-month-old at the moment. He's an angel. Can take him anywhere. I can just sit him down now, like surrounded by pillows so he doesn't bonk his head. And I can just go about my day making dinner, cogging over, having a sing with him. He's an angel. So it's basically just like a bit of like trad wifing on the side of work. How about you? What's going on? Much, much, much more is going on with you, actually.
SPEAKER_00:In a way, it's really weird because it feels like I'm going on holiday next week, but I'm not going on holiday. I am moving countries. But it doesn't feel real yet. It hasn't like landed and it doesn't feel like I'm actually doing that, even though there is people contractually moving into my house next week, and we have no furniture, and I'm sitting here talking to you while my computer is propped up on a ladder. But we're doing it.
SPEAKER_01:I'm so excited for you. I think you're gonna have the time of your life. Even just like flying over, getting out of your house, like flying over, it'll be such an adventure.
SPEAKER_00:I actually texted you on Monday and I was like, am I really doing this? I was currently like half a bottle of wine deep, just like, wait, what am I actually doing? What did what am I planning on? You did text me. I was probably in bed already. Okay, let's get into it. So let's get real. If you out there listening to this have ever thought, who am I to teach this? Or do I need a certification before I can create an online course? This episode is your permission slip to stop waiting and start teaching.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. So let's get into a few truths about this subject, about imposter syndrome. So truth number one. You don't need to be the world's leading expert. You just need to be a few steps ahead. People want to learn from real people. Your students, they don't need to know absolutely everything. You don't have to be the world leading expert on everything because you're not there to teach them everything there is to know on your subject. They need you to know more than they do right now. They need you to be some steps ahead. If you're a seven out of ten in your skill, you can absolutely teach people. You'll teach people beginner, you know, you'll teach people who are at a two or a three. I could technically teach a Japanese course. I wouldn't be teaching you're like, no, you can't. But I wouldn't be teaching people who are going over to, you know, work in government. I'd be teaching kids or beginners. But you'll probably teach it better than the expert who's at a 10, because that beginner level, they don't need a 10. They need someone who's a few steps ahead, who's just been where they are, and they've really understand it. They don't need to wonder what it was like at the beginning because they've just been there, you know?
SPEAKER_00:To be honest, I wouldn't want to learn from the top most world-renowned 30-year expert of all experts, because one flip side of that coin is that they've forgotten what it's like to be a true beginner and they've forgotten what it's like to have that empathy for people who are learning. And if you're a good teacher, you have good empathy and you understand what it's like to be a beginner. But the other side of that, the second half of that, is I don't think someone who is at the top of their game is the person who should be helping me with something. Like if I want to learn how to renovate my house, I don't need to learn from someone who is Australia's most renowned and rewarded and famous architect. I probably just need to learn from someone who does renovations well.
SPEAKER_01:It I sort of look at it as like a line, like whatever subject it is, it goes from beginner to advanced. Depending on your expertise and where you're at and who you want to teach, then you can sort of like pick any part of that line and like hone in on it. It makes it really niche. And it it it means that yes, there can be five different expert bakers teaching courses specializing in different areas of baking. So you don't have to be the expert, of course, but you get to choose on that line of novice to expert where you can teach. And I think that's really fun to figure out in the beginning.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think to kind of summarize this point, you don't have to be an expert, but if you are, then great, because then there are people for you as well. But if you are getting into your topic and you're thinking, well, I've only been doing it for a couple of years, I know a lot about it, and I think I could do it really well. I could do it better or faster or easier, but I don't have like, you know, a lifetime of experience behind me, and I'm worried that that's gonna stop me from getting into course creation. It's not at all. There are people who are just two, three years behind you who want to zoom up to where you are right now and skip the two or three years that you put in. And for that, there's so much value in bringing that to market.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, people really look like when they do competitor sort of research or they think, oh, I want to make a course, but there's this amazing person in their field. They often sort of look sideways, but they don't realize like you don't have to be that person, you know. Actually, that leads us me on to the second point. Somebody needs to hear it from you specifically.
SPEAKER_00:This is another thing that really, really lends into imposter syndrome. You want to create a course, you have a great course topic, you know what you're doing, and then you start researching. So you start looking online at what kind of courses are available, and then you're seeing people with like extremely fancy degrees and a lifetime of experience and a million different students that they've had before, and you they've been on public stages talking and they've been flown all around the world to talk about this topic. And then all of a sudden, an imposter syndrome hits, and you think, I couldn't possibly do this. I'm just a nobody. Who am I to sort of go up against and compete with that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, 100. You're or you're looking at their point Z too. You know, you're looking at them like years down the track. So it's not, it's comparing apples and oranges. Also, like, yes, they're doing it. That doesn't mean anything. Like if you say there are already courses on this topic, sure there are. There are courses, there are books, there are uh private coaching, there is everything on your topic, that's fine. There's already thousands of books on productivity, relationships, fitness, you name it, people still buy new ones.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. Do you think that because someone 30 years ago wrote a book about how to lose weight, that there should never, ever, ever be anyone talking about that topic ever again? No, definitely not, because even though there are definitely books from 30 years ago about how to lose weight in the 90s, that gets better. People bring a different spin on that. People bring different niches and subjects and topics and ways to approach losing weight that is so much better than what we had in the 90s, but also so much more niche and specific to you. Like there are ways that you can do weight loss for busy mums and weight loss for people over 100 kilos and weight loss for people who want to do keto or whatever. Like there's all these different styles that fit all these different kinds of people. And yes, this is one example, right? But every single industry has that. Every single industry, there could be one course made in that industry with one opinion or one way of doing things, but that doesn't mean that that can be the only one that can exist. At the end of the day, you still have an opinion or a way of doing things or a spin on your topic that is probably not already being done.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, your voice, your story, your teaching style, that'll all click for someone in a way that another teachers won't. Maybe you explain things with analogies, maybe you're super practical and no fluff. Maybe you're funny. Maybe people just like you for what, you know, whatever makes you you. That definitely comes into it. There's someone out there who's been watching 10 other course creators, just like us, and thinking, I don't know, something's just not clicking. And then finally, my God, finally, someone who gets me, you know, it just clicks and it's ready, then they're ready to go. You're not for everyone. You're not trying to capture every single person in the world who wants to a course on productivity or on weight loss or whatever it is that you do. You're for your people, and your people are waiting. They're waiting for you.
SPEAKER_00:I think one thing that I tell people every single week, and I even have to think of myself as well, is there are millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of people on this planet, and there are so many of those millions that will want to buy your course. You don't have to be this person who has a million qualifications, you're speaking on every stage around the world about your topic. You are the most, you know, a million accolades about your topic. You don't have to have been doing it for 25 years. You really can just show up as you with your unique spin on it. And there are going to be people out of those millions and millions and millions of people who want to hear what it is that you do. And on that note, we have our next imposter syndrome truth, which is truth number three. Waiting until you are ready is just fear. So let's just call it what it is, shall we, Daddy? When people say I'm not ready yet to create my online course, even though I know everything I need to know, and I've got a really good idea. In fact, I've got a couple of really good ideas, and I really want to do it, but I just need to X, Y, Z, understand social media a little bit better first, build my social media profile a little bit better. I need to wait until I've got one more qualification or I need to take one more course before I'm ready to actually create my own program. This is just fear dressed up as productivity.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. You know enough right now. You really do. And here's the kicker. You'll never feel 100% ready, ever. Ever. Even after you launch your first course, you'll second guess yourself, you'll want to improve it. Confidence doesn't come before action, it comes after. You've got to take action to be confident in what you're doing. You build it by doing the scary thing, by getting the feedback, seeing your students succeed, and then realizing, oh wow, I actually can do this. Every course creator you admire, they launched before they felt ready. They had the same fears. It's not a lack of fear that made them successful. They just decided that helping people imperfectly was better than waiting on the sidelines perfectly prepared. Because especially if you're if you think that way, you know, if you're a perfectionist, which I'm guilty of and I've had to get over it. But if you're a perfectionist, it's never gonna feel ready. So you need to have those thoughts and then you need to continue through and focus on the action.
SPEAKER_00:Den and I get this hands down a million times, round around 100% we get this. Because before we created our courses, I think that there was a little bit of delusion and but a lot of fear, a lot of fear, a lot of just thinking, how am I gonna do this? Am I gonna look like an idiot? Am I gonna be stupid for doing this? Are people gonna laugh at me? Am I going to create all this work for nothing? Is this all gonna be for nothing? Do I need to learn more about marketing? Do I need to learn more about websites? Do I need to learn more about what funnels are before I create an online course? And ultimately, the answer was just no. The answer was we needed to get out there and do it. And through that work, through learning on the job, through having students in our programs and putting ourselves out there, that's how we've ultimately been able to grow.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. We're talking from experience here. We're not just, you know, saying you're wrong, do it. We've we've definitely, you know, we've had the thoughts ourselves, but we've come to realize that doing the thing is how the thing gets done. So if you are feeling a little bit imposter syndrome-y right now, doing the work is what's going to get you moving. Dreaming about what it could be is scary. You don't know what it is. Of course, you don't see how it could be valuable to people. Doing the work will give you that confidence. Doing the work will take away that imposter syndrome. You need to have these thoughts, but you need to keep moving through them, knowing that they're not, they're, they're not going to stop you. That's the most important thing. Have the thoughts, do it anyway. Instead of seeing it as I'm not qualified, try reframing it as I care deeply about this. I have really high standards about this. I'm going to commit and I'm going to show up fully. Recognizing it and reframing it is key because that feeling doesn't go away, by the way. You just get better at doing it anyway.
SPEAKER_00:100%. I think I always say to you, Debt, new levels, new devils. But as we go on and we grow, even our own businesses and as we grow course mentors, I feel like we are constantly coming up against new things that are hard and new things that are scary. And it's always going to be that way if we want to scale and we want to grow. If we want to stay exactly where we are right now, yeah, it's going to feel really, really comfortable forever. But we want to get better, we want to make more money. We want to provide a better life for ourselves and for our family. And to do that, there's going to be levels of fear. An imposter syndrome isn't a bad thing, ultimately. It's not a warning that we shouldn't be doing something or a warning that we should stop and be afraid and be terrified. It's really just our brains telling us this is something new that we've not done before. This is something that's a little bit scary because it's completely new. But that's okay. Because as long as you can feel that, exactly like you say, as long as you can feel that fear, do it anyway and reframe it along the way to say, I know that my brain's keeping me safe. It's trying to keep me safe. It's trying to say, hey, this is new. Is are we, are we good? Are we doing this? This is new? Oh, okay. It's new and we're doing it anyway. And then once you have done it, you will feel that confidence that you want to feel. You will feel like you're competent to do something. But that competence is on the other side of action. It's like a retrospective feeling. I can look back at what I did in my first year or two of online courses and I can feel competence and confidence about what I did, but only in retrospect. I didn't feel it moving forward. I only felt it looking better. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:It feels easy when you're looking back. It's a great thing to experience.
SPEAKER_00:It can only be through action. And I think that's the hardest thing, right? Is that if you out there right now are feeling like, I want to create an online course, but I don't know if my ideas are good enough. I don't know if other people are doing it better than I am. I don't know if I can do this if I need to do something more productive, like learn more about social media before I do it. One thing that Dead and I ultimately will tell you time and time and time and time and time and time again is the best time to create an online course was last year. The second best time to create an online course is tomorrow. So get out there, go do it. And by doing it, you will feel the confidence that you want to feel.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, make the decision today. You're not going to wait anymore, please. You got to teach what you know, help who you can help, and trust that you're exactly the right person to do this, and you'll learn that along the way. Because you are. So go create that course. We'll leave it there. I think that's a positive note. See you next week, guys. Bye.