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There’s something magical about the idea of creating an online course, setting it up, and escaping to the beach to sip cocktails. Yes, many coaches and teachers of passive income strategies out there will sell you this lifestyle and tell you that it can be yours.

In reality, though, what would that actually FEEL like? Did you create your online course business so that you could set it up and check out? Really?

For most service-based businesses, passive and leveraged income-generating products are a gorgeous idea, but there are a lot of emotional and mindset issues that can arise when stepping into this realm. Firstly, there’s this misguided belief that passive income is the best type of income. Sure, you get to make money in your sleep and you get to go to the beach. I get it, you don’t have to sell it to me.

But what if you ACTUALLY care about the people who are purchasing your program? What if heaven forbid, you didn’t WANT to go off to the beach, but instead you would prefer to stick around, hold some hands, answer some questions, and genuinely SUPPORT your clients through the program?

Does that make you a bad businessperson?

Does that mean you’re only leveraging, and you’re not creating true passive income, so you’ve FAILED?

NOT AT ALL.

I’m here to tell you: Leveraged is the new black.

Besides, passive income is soooo 2014.

Successful online course creators stay connected to their customers

Gorgeous, heart-centered entrepreneurs are out there creating BRILLIANT leveraged programs, and staying CONNECTED to their tribe – and people are LOVING them for it.

In a world where your potential clients have ALREADY signed up for dozens of online programs, never to complete them, another self-study program is white noise.

In a world where people are SICK of being pushed through automated funnels, lead generators and basically forced to jump through hoops in order to find out how much money you want, and how to pay it to you, online buyers are pushing back. Saying no. Choosing to wait until they can work with someone one-on-one or in a high-touch group program that involves LOTS of face time.

For connected course creators, this is GREAT news.

Using gorgeous tools and online course platforms, combined with face-to-face group calls, these high-touch small-group courses are brimming with possibility, and buyers are lining up to invest higher sums of money in order to be part of them.

Personally, I don’t even think it’s in my DNA to create truly passive income. My first ever real passive income product was a yearly planner for entrepreneurs and was just $19.98. The first time I launched it, I sold 170 copies, which was absolutely gorgeous. I then proceeded to start emailing and messaging the people who had bought it to make sure they were filling it in, to find out if they found it helpful, to provide suggestions on how to keep it alive throughout the year.

It was by no means a passive income product. In fact, I probably spent over 10 hours CHASING the people who bought it to find out what they thought and help them use it!

Fast forward one year and I released my Heart and Soul planner again in late 2015. This time, it included two live group workshops: One where I walked everyone through the planner page by page, answering questions and providing suggestions, and a second workshop where I helped people to develop their own implementation strategy to ensure the planner didn’t become just another dust collector.

By turning my passive product into a leveraged one, I discovered several benefits for both buyer and seller alike:

  1. I felt more CONNECTED to the people who purchased, and was able to ensure people were getting great value – felt good for me, and good for them.
  2. I created a TRIBE – we were all on the live call together, and people were connecting with each other, cheering each other on and providing ideas and suggestions. There was no divide and conquer – instead, the focus was to unite and connect.
  3. People were able to KNOW me – and therefore, my KLT (know, like, trust) factor skyrocketed.
  4. The CONVERSION into higher products was phenomenal – out of the 256 women who purchased this time, around, three are now VIP clients, 14 joined one of my signature programs, and at least 20 have joined my business academy, in just six weeks. The conversion will continue to happen throughout the year I am sure.
  5. I am energized and lit up – I didn’t create this business so that I could check out and go to the beach. Yes, it’s a lifestyle business and I live an amazing life as an online entrepreneur. But what gets me bouncing out of bed each morning is not the money that might be in my bank account – it’s the PEOPLE THAT I SERVE. And I get to hang out with them each and every day. I wouldn’t change that FOR THE WORLD.

So the next time you’re planning and scheming your next program, course or product, give a thought to creating something that is more connected, and less passive. Sure, you might have to show up to work a bit more consistently.

But you never know, you might just find that you like it.

Passive is Passé: Why Creating Online Courses Requires Active Involvement @tashcorbin Click To Tweet

Tash Corbin is a business coach and mentor for heart-centred, soul-driven entrepreneurs. She is a lean start-up specialist and helps women to create passive and leveraged income. Her Facebook community, Heart-Centred Soul-Driven Entrepreneurs is now 10,000 members strong, and growing rapidly.