So you’re thinking about building something online. A course. A coaching offer. A membership.
And before you even begin, your brain is already spinning.
You think you need:
Every platform. Every tool. A perfect landing page. A massive following.
Or you’re completely frozen because it all feels like too much.
I’ve been there. So have most of the people who reach out to me.
Here are the three myths that keep capable people stuck before they ever get traction.
No.
You need one clear offer for one specific audience.
That’s it.
Not five tiers.
Not a podcast, YouTube channel, mastermind, and membership.
One defined transformation for one defined group.
If you’re teaching baking, teach one cake.
If you’re teaching marketing, teach one channel.
If you’re helping business owners, solve one painful problem first.
Clarity creates momentum.
Complexity creates paralysis.
Start focused. Expand later.
For most of my life, I thought my approach was common.
If someone said, “I have this idea,” I immediately see the final product and the steps needed to get there.
I could see who it’s for, how to position it and different use cases.
That always felt obvious to me.
So I didn’t treat it like anything special.
I thought, this is so easy. I don’t even think this is a thing.
Fast forward 30 years.
I now understand that what feels easy to you is often the thing other people can’t access on their own.
Not because they aren’t smart.
Because they aren’t built like you.
What feels simple is the result of your wiring, your education, your lived experience, your perspective.
It’s the combination.
You don’t notice it because you’ve always had it.
When something feels effortless, we dismiss it.
We assume it’s basic.
We assume everyone sees it.
We assume it doesn’t count.
But ease is often the clue.
If you find yourself saying,
“That’s so easy.”
“I don’t even think this is a skill....
A few years ago I started working with a woman who had a steady, healthy business.
Not loud.
Not online-famous.
Not launching every five minutes.
She just did good work.
She helped people clean up their finances. Month after month. Quietly.
One day she shared something almost offhand.
“I made this for my clients.”
It was a workbook.
Nothing fancy. No polished branding. No big reveal.
Just a simplified way of approaching budgeting.
She had built in monthly income tracking.
Expense categories that actually made sense.
Clear visibility into cash flow.
Decision checkpoints woven into the process.
It was the exact rhythm she walked clients through every single month.
And it worked.
Clients stuck with it.
They made better decisions.
They stopped feeling reactive.
What she had done, without labeling it, was create a system.
It was repeatable.
It was structured.
It removed guesswork.
It delivered a consistent outcome.
And most importantly, it existed outside of her personality.
...You may have not even given it a second thought, but the truth is we all interact with licensed methods, frameworks, and curriculum every day.
And if you’re a coach, creator, or curriculum builder, you probably already have licenseable assets that you use yourself.
Here are 10 recognizable examples of licensing in the coaching, curriculum, and training world.
1. CrossFit® Classes
Local gyms don’t just decide to “teach CrossFit.”
 They pay for a licensed affiliation that allows them to use:
It’s one of the most successful licensing models in the fitness world.
 2. Zumba®Â
Every Zumba teacher pays a monthly license to:
It’s licensed group fitness — not just a type of dance folks enjoy.
3. The Gottman Method™ for Couples Counseling
Therapists can’t teach Gottman techniques without:
If you’re anything like me, you get a great idea and you’re all in. You want to license your content. You start mapping out every piece. You want to organize it, package it, and get the whole thing ready.
And I get it — the creator brain kicks in and you start thinking about every aspect.
But here’s the thing:
The biggest mistake you can make is trying to license everything at once.
It feels like the “right” way to do it. But licensing isn’t about volume — it’s about creating a simple, repeatable process.
This is where one of my favorite principles comes in:
KISS — Keep it simple, silly ;)
(Because I only talk to myself with kindness… but that’s a story for another day.)
The simpler your starting point, the stronger your licensing foundation becomes.
Start with one asset — your simplest, strongest, most consistent method.
Not the 12-step signature program you’ve been refining for years. Not the entire universe of PDFs, videos, worksheets, and tools.
Just the one method you u...
You've built something incredible.
Maybe it started as a side hustle. Maybe it was born from solving your own problem. Or perhaps you've been grinding for years, perfecting your systems, refining your processes, and building a brand that actually means something to people.
But here's what keeps me up at night: How many entrepreneurs are sitting on licensing gold mines without even knowing it?
I've watched too many business owners pour everything into growing their operations—hiring more people, opening new locations, taking on more overhead—when they're literally sitting on intellectual property and systems that could generate exponential revenue through licensing.
Think about it. What if instead of doing all the heavy lifting yourself, you could have other entrepreneurs pay you to use your proven framework? Your brand? Your systems?
That's not a pipe dream. That's licensing. And it might be th...
Hey there, coaches and creators! Let's talk audience. Common wisdom tells us that the greater the pool, the better the opportunity. In our case, it just isn’t true. It’s one of those “less is more” things. The more you try to talk to everyone, the more you connect with no one. So, how do you narrow your audience? How do you find your tribe?
Who do you love working with? Seriously, think of that one client or follower that makes your day—the one who gets your...
I've recognized a pattern in my business: in the past, when I hit a wall, I let it derail me. I’ve failed enough times to fill an entire journal. Looking back, most of the initiatives I started could have succeeded to some degree if I had just kept going. The problem was, I saw obstacles as stopping points instead of part of the process.
Here’s what I’ve learned: it’s only a failure if you 1. Stop and 2. Define it as a failure.
Let me share a story. When my daughter was a baby, I invented a baby product. I created a prototype, filed a provisional patent, manufactured it overseas, developed branding, packaging, and marketing, connected with mom bloggers, had it safety tested, and even set up at a national trade show in Las Vegas. There, I met Babies R Us executives, and they bought my product for their online store. Huge win, right? Sales were okay—not amazing, but I was selling on BabiesRUs.com!
But then I decided I needed a distributor. Why? I still don't know. First mistake. I tho...
Perfectionism is a sneaky obstacle. It presents itself as a commitment to excellence, but more often than not, it’s a trap that keeps us from actually making progress. It stalls us, holding us back from sharing our work with the world because it’s “not quite ready yet.” And let me tell you—I’ve lived in this world. I own this t-shirt in many colors.
Recently, I revisited Seth Godin’s book The Practice, which talks a lot about the concept of showing up, doing the work, and learning to embrace the journey, imperfections and all. Godin emphasizes that perfection isn’t the goal; progress is. The real work happens when we let ourselves create without the constant pressure to get everything perfect on the first try.
I had to remind myself of this: Perfectionism stalls progress. It’s a form of procrastination that hides behind the guise of high standards. But in reality, it keeps us from putting ourselves out there, from improving, and from growing. I’ve had a whole course ready for 2 years...
Whenever the idea of an accountability partner came up, I always poo poo’d it. Every book you read recommends it, but for whatever reason, I always felt that wasn't for me. I guess I thought I didn’t need it. I could do it all on my own, right?
But recently, I decided to question my own bullshit. I thought, why not give it a try? Perhaps every book ever written on productivity and goals has a point? So, I reached out, found a partner, and we’ve committed to meeting weekly. Our first meeting was productive—we both gave each other some valuable insight, and it felt like we were really onto something.
Here’s our plan going forward to make sure this partnership is a win for both of us:
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