You Don’t Need To Build A Big Course. You Need To Solve One Problem Clearly
Want to create an online course?
Don’t start by buying equipment, learning more or trying to cover everything.
Start with one person, one problem and one useful result.
Start With One Person
Don’t make a course for “business owners”. Be specific.
Who are you helping? What situation are they in? What are they struggling with?
A great place to start is with your former self.
What did you wish somebody had explained to you?
Define The Transformation
Forget creating the ultimate course.
Ask:
What is the smallest meaningful result I can help somebody achieve?
That becomes the focus of your course.
Describe The Before And After
Write down:
- Where are they now?
- What is stopping them?
- How do they feel?
- What changes after your course?
- How do they feel then?
You’re not really selling information.
You’re selling the change that information creates.
Write One Promise
Use this simple formula:
By the end of this course you will be able to [result], without [struggle], so that you can [outcome].
That one sentence becomes your filter.
If a lesson doesn’t help deliver the promise, it probably doesn’t belong.
Keep The Course Simple
Build it backwards:
Milestones → Steps → Teaching points
A few meaningful milestones are better than dozens of modules.
For recorded courses, short lessons of around 5–15 minutes are easier to watch, revisit and re-record.
Forget The Fancy Studio
You probably already have most of what you need.
Improve things in this order:
- Framing
- Audio
- Lighting
- Camera
Your course is fundamentally just you communicating something useful to somebody.
The Four Things To Do Today
- Choose one person.
- Define their before and after.
- Write your one-sentence promise.
- Map three to five milestones.
That’s it.
You don’t need to record anything.
You don’t need to buy anything.
You just need to know what you’re helping someone achieve.
My Takeaway
Whenever something feels overwhelming, ask:
“What is the one thing I can solve clearly?”
Don’t build the biggest course you can imagine.
Build the smallest course that creates a meaningful transformation.
Then make the next one.
The Tools & Resources
- Ecamm for Mac
- Alec Johnson “One Take Tech Wizard”
- Daniel Chi Studio &
