Unleashing Potential: How Online Courses Ignited My Personal Development
Did you know that online learning has grown a staggering 900% since 2000? (source)
If you’ve been in the online space for a few years now it can feel like it’s becoming oversaturated and that there is no more room to make money if you didn’t already jump on the bandwagon before.
But I personally don’t believe in that… recent statistics indicate an insatiable appetite for virtual learning, projecting the industry to reach a staggering USD 475 billion by 2030, boasting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9.1% between 2023 and 2030 (source: Chris Arnold on LinkedIn).
This surge in online education isn't just a statistical phenomenon; I've witnessed this growth happen time and time again in the results that my clients get when launching their offers. But it isn’t just running my business that has fed my love of the industry - the truth is that I have always been someone who loves to learn, and so having the whole world to learn from is so incredibly appealing to me!
At the very start of my journey (and here I will definitely show my age) I was focused more on learning specific skills. In fact I paid several hundred pounds to take a course that made me an expert in the Word software - yes back when there was no GSuite or online tools!
But it was coming across the likes of the incredible Gabrielle Bernstein and Gala Darling that really made me become a mega fan of online courses.
I learned about healing modalities that I had never heard of before (or would have heard of had I never ventured online). Meditation and tapping have been transformational tools in my life that have helped me to ground myself, come out of post-natal depression and also help me expand the vision for myself and my life.
Through the power of the internet I was able to connect with people all over the world who openly shared their unique viewpoints, experiences and offered guidance through various situations.
I personally loved the fact that I didn’t need to be in person with someone to learn from them - it made the world of knowledge so much more accessible and at times more affordable. Now don’t get me wrong, as with any industry there are always two sides - and over the years I have come across many people who are selling courses or coaching like this with not the right intentions behind it all but overall I would say that my experience has been positive and I’m a massive proponent of online learning in all shapes and sizes.
Every skill that I have used and grown since being in business I have learnt online. I didn’t go back to college or university for it - I learnt it either in the school of trial and error or by paying someone who had more experience to teach me what they know.
AND IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE.
Which is why I’m so passionate and fired up about supporting female coaches and course creators to get their offers out there because I know the amazing impact that it can have.
I have learnt software skills.
I have learnt about digital marketing and growth strategy.
I have learnt how to run a business.
I have had therapy from therapists I came across online.
I have met healers
I have met the most diverse and beautiful group of women online not only trying to carve out a space for themselves in this world but also support and help others do the same too.
Like Julie, a single mum from Australia who build a thriving property empire alongside her nursing job and then starting others how to do it too so that they could have greater financial freedom!
Or Kate who supports women with ADHD just like herself with the tools that can help them move past overwhelm, connect more to themselves and drop the stigma, shame and guilt around their diagnosis.
Or Kathleen who teaches others how to develop their painting skills so that they can enjoy their passion for art on a new deeper level.
I’ve taken courses for fun just because I wanted to hear and learn from other people that had something that I yearned for or wanted.
And I believe that we all have something to teach each other, because all of our experiences matter and are part of the collective whole.
Long before education became formalised and wielded as a symbol of power, knowledge was a communal exchange—a person-to-person experience. While I appreciate the value of traditional education, I believe it's time to redefine our perspective on learning. It's crucial to move away from viewing education solely as just what you learn in school or university.
Let's open up to learning from one another, sharing experiences, and tools that have supported us. It's not about putting someone above others, but understanding that growth, healing, and knowledge happen when we learn from each other. If you have something helpful, don't be scared to share it. That we can have a profound impact on each other by sharing information that has helped us to get a certain result that we desired.
We don’t have to think that no one will listen to us.
That our knowledge isn’t as valuable as a university education.
We all have something to teach each other.
And from a consumer point of view we have to remember that some of the most profound and life shifting knowledge we can gain is from each other - that just because you’re learning something from another ‘ordinary’ person doesn’t make it less valuable or less worth investing our money and time into.
As the online learning space gains momentum in the UK, remember that the hunger and audience are present. To thrive, tap into your unique ability to help, identify who you're assisting, define what you're offering, and express why you're passionate about making a difference. The online learning revolution is just beginning, and there's room for all of us to learn, grow, and share our unique contributions. Want help bringing your course idea to life? We can support you with that. Just click here to book in a chemistry call and see if we could be a good fit for working together.