Courses are about so much more than simply making money. From building closer communities, to helping students feel a newfound sense of confidence or safety, these online courses provide a service that money simply can’t buy. I believe that courses offer supportive spaces for people to learn from where they are now and more importantly, they will contribute to the creation of a more compassionate and understanding society.
Let me tell you a story…
A couple of months ago I was asked to update my safe ministry training which is a compulsory requirement for all volunteers in our church to enable them to serve within the church and also be part of the children’s teaching programme. It’s something that we are required to do regularly.
Being on the Gold Coast and having a busy life, I was grateful it involved doing the training online and not having to go to the church headquarters in Melbourne. Whilst I would have loved a cheeky trip to Melbourne, I so appreciated the flexibility of being home and learning around my family and business commitments. There are 10 church plants in our movement and all volunteers are required to complete the same training. That works out as a lot of people around the country who are required to do this training. Facilitating the training in any other way than a self study online course would be a logistical nightmare.
This is just one example of how an online course is not necessarily solely created as a money making opportunity. It wasn’t a paid course I was taking, by the way. I felt better about my volunteer work in my community knowing I’d taken the course and committed to the safety of the families in our congregation.
And it’s not just churches this type of course works for…
I love the example of Dr Justin Coulson’s Happy Families programme. Our state school has invested in this programme and is supporting the parents of the school community to work towards having a happy family!
While Justin has a lot of different types of offerings he has built a reputation through his podcasts, speaking gigs, appearances on TV and his ONLINE COURSE as the go to parenting expert in Australia. Now I imagine he has a great income from his programmes but as someone who wants to be the best parent to her children and makes a lot of mistakes, this school programme has come into my life at just the right time and had a huge impact on me.
What impact are you having on the world with your business right now?
Or what impact would you like to have with your business?
When people are happy, well and thriving, they are in a better position to support others in their care which will in turn impact their environment and the generation they are raising.
I believe that a well designed and executed online course can make education more accessible to people who may not have the time, money, or the opportunity to attend traditional classes in their country. You don’t have to be a teacher, be in ministry or even move from your comfortable life to make an impact on people in other countries. Access to online education will help to level the playing field and create a more equitable society.
Imagine having an online course and being able to reach an audience all over the world. This is the beauty of the flexibility courses offer. From your office in Australia or America, you could be sharing your knowledge with people in the Philippines, India or Kenya who you might not otherwise have met or may not have had access to this knowledge. And who knows how far the impact reaches from there
Creating an online course is a great way to expand your reach, make a huge positive impact on the world, oh and grow your revenue at the same time…..all online and all from the comfort of your own home or office.
So over to you, what could you create that could impact your community, or even the world?