How to Choose an Online Course as a New Coach and Get the Best Value for Your Money

If you are a coach, a solopreneur or just getting your feet wet in this entrepreneurship journey, I’m sure you have considered buying online courses to grow your business.

In fact, I’ll be surprised (and envious) if you are a profitable entrepreneur and not bought any ebooks or courses by now!

You may be tempted (as I have) to purchase *that* hot course which all bloggers and influencers are raving about. Or you may see a course being mentioned often in Facebook groups. 

I have to iterate that online courses are not magic pills. 

In fact, I tend to trust recommendations in Facebook Groups more than recommendations via blog posts with affiliate links. (This blog post contains ZERO affiliate links!) 

I believe that if a course is not as good as it’s trumpeted to be, other members of the Group will have a comment or two about it. Or they will recommend other better courses. 

If a course is awesome, many members will also chime in (even those with no affiliation) to vouch for how great it is.

I am very picky about spending money on courses nowadays. Because I have burnt money before ($999 to be exact) getting a course which was not value for money in my opinion. 

Please don’t email me asking which course this is - because I respect the course creator :) Besides, what does not work for me may work for you and vice versa!

I have some tips, based on my experience, for you as a new solopreneur to choose the right course or ebook so you will get the best bang for your buck!

1. Buy courses or ebooks which focus specifically on one topic

If you want to learn about Pinterest, make sure the ebook or course is solely about Pinterest.

If you want to learn about SEO, choose an online course or an ebook which has a laser focus on SEO

This means, the writer will go in-depth and you will learn a lot from it.

I prefer to choose depth, not breadth. 

There are many all-in-1 courses which teach you everything under the sun about business or blogging. 

Right now, I choose to steer clear of those because 

• they can be very expensive 

• some topics will likely be touch-and-go topics and not helpful at all

• I don’t have the time to devour so much content!

2. Affordable courses and ebooks can be very good!

The most helpful ebooks and courses I bought are less than $100 each.

I admit that I have bought several of these over the last couple of years, so they do add up!

I believe in just-in-time learning. If I need to sharpen my SEO skills at this moment, I’ll get an SEO course/ebook which is value-for-money.

With my busy days, I can’t commit to expensive courses which have 57 videos and 786 hours of content.

Also, don’t discount great audiobooks from Audible.com. 

If you are busy and want to learn about email marketing or even how to use your intuition in business, for example, you may be able to find a great audiobook about that topic.

To be fair, I’ve not bought online courses which cost more than $1000 before. So there may be very good courses out there which do cost that kind of money - you’ll have to dig out these gems yourself :)

3. Some affordable courses and ebooks I recommend for new coaches and solopreneurs 

I have some links below but they are solely for your convenience. They are NOT affiliate links!

A good Pinterest course I like is Carly Campbell’s Pinteresting Strategies. I go over it again and again over time to refresh my knowledge.

Debbie Gartner’s books are helpful too. Very quick to read and cost about $47 each at this time. I’ve bought quite a few. Each book focuses on only 1 topic. 

If you struggle writing emails to your subscribers, you may like Kate Doster’s The Email Marketing Fairy. She has a GAZILLION email templates you can use. Note: You have to add your own personal touch to these templates or they may seem ‘soul-less’. 

I relied a lot on those email templates during my early days. Now I pretty much write what I feel inspired to write to my 6000 subscribers. I think The Email Marketing Fairy costs $36 at this time.

These are the ebooks I’ve bought which I can remember off the top of my head right now.

4. Buying online courses for fun? 

I rarely buy digital products for fun unless they are cheap, honestly.

But I have gone on to a new level in my business where I need inspiration and intuition to help me - not sales funnels or structures.

So I just purchased Steve Pavlina’s Amplify course yesterday. It is a course about how to be productive as a creator. 

I hemmed and hawed about it because 

1) the course outcome is not specific 

2) it costs $497

and

3) it sounds like too much fun for me (wait - how is this a problem again?)

It was $297 upon launching in early March. I thought and thought about it for weeks and when I decided to go for it yesterday, the launch discount was over. Bam!

I can afford the cost, hence it’s not about the money.

But I could not justify spending $497 on a course with no defined outcome, if you get what I mean.

But I felt great relief after purchasing it. I believe it is something I need at this stage of my business.

When you are at a different stage, you need different tools. The old ebooks and courses may not fit you anymore.

So that was the first time I bought a course which can help me in my business (in the long term) AND is fun to me.

Wish me luck!

5. I have gone for in-person seminars too

To be fair, since 2016 thereabouts, I have gone for many in-person seminars about copywriting, digital marketing, mindset and more.

So I can’t say that the courses and ebooks alone have helped me in my business.

All these in-person seminars add up to lots of money (as you would expect!), but they are mostly paid by my husband. He is self-employed and when he attended seminars, I would tag along.

My last words about choosing the right online course…

I believe there is no magic online course - even if you pay someone thousands of dollars to give you private guidance.

To me, the best way to learn is to try some strategies you’ve learnt from courses or ebooks, make mistakes and learn as you go.

At the beginning, you may follow an expert’s recommended template or structure.

But as time passes, you will find your own groove and style which work for you and your audience.

It’s a long journey! 

I feel like I have to place a disclaimer again that this blog post is based on my personal experience + opinions.

You may have a different opinion and that’s fine! Every person has a different style and preference.

Also, if you have the resources to splurge on big-ticket courses which make you happy, lucky you!

Meanwhile, I wish you all the best in your business.

Sincerely,

Shikah

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Free 3-Day Self-Love Challenge to use as a Done-for-you Lead Magnet to Grow Your Subscribers!

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If you are looking for a done-for-you Self-love ebook (with private label rights) to give away or sell in your online shop, this may be it for you!

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Available in my Life Coaching Tools Shop

This done-for-you Self Love Guide will supercharge your clients’ self-love journey.

Every day comes with 1 self-love activity which is life-changing. Most of the self-love activities in my Self Love Guide focus on the mindset. I believe activities have a more lasting effect if they change us at the mindset level.

An Example from this Self-Love Guide: 

“DAY 2: 30 MINUTES OF ME-TIME

Your best ideas + solutions come to mind when you some spend time in solitude. Allocate 30-60 minutes of solitude time today. Take a long walk, sit in a park or spend time with yourself alone at home. One rule though: you have to be free of tech devices. You will notice solutions to problems or inspired actions pop into your mind.”

Because I like creating high-quality workbooks, it takes me at least 2 weeks to write, research + conceptualise a Workbook like this! 

You can sell my Self Love Guide in your online shop, give it away as a lead magnet or even as a ‘content upgrade’ for your blog posts.

Get my Self Love Guide and save your precious time! Focus on marketing your business and coaching your clients to success!

Want to make this done-for-you Self Love Guide uniquely YOU?

Change the pictures, the colour scheme or even the text to suit your style or your brand. Easy as pie!

I’m proud to say that my products are all personally written by me. 

Want the Free (brandable!) 3-Day Self-Love Challenge to use as a lead magnet?

Three days is a bit short for a proper self-love challenge.

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If you want to sell it, you can get the Ultimate 30-Day Self-Love Guide from my shop.

Have fun, lovelies!

Shikah

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How to Get Hits of Inspired Action when You are Busy and Overwhelmed

As coaches or self-employed individuals, we know that inspired action is the key to a smooth-sailing business.

I know for sure that if I take inspired action, be it for work or personal matters, everything falls into place beautifully.

But how do we get inspired action ideas when we are stressed and busy?

The issue is...how do you get those nudges of inspired action when you are busy and overwhelmed?

From what I know, when we are busy, stressed or fearful, our channel for creative energy to flow through, is constricted.

But when you are feeling free, expansive and joyful, inspired action ideas will hit you left, right and centre.

I came across Jess Lively’s podcast episode: What I Do When I ‘Work’ to Find Alignment and Inspired Action and she shared a technique which helps her get those hits of divine inspired action.

She mentioned that she will sit in a cafe with a laptop. And will start typing a gratitude list on autopilot.

For example: “I appreciate the sunny weather today.” “I appreciate the comfortable jeans I’m wearing today.” The list goes on.

During that gratitude typing session, she will get hits of inspired action to call someone or do something.

I thought this technique is genius. (I tried a modified version of this because I hate lugging my heavy laptop to a cafe.)

So I did a mental gratitude list whilst at a cafe. “I appreciate my healthy body.” “I appreciate the beautiful morning” and so on. I just think these sentences in my head.

At first, I thought I’ll run out of things for gratitude fast. But surprisingly, the things to feel grateful for kept flowing to me in my mind. I rarely run out of things to appreciate.

(Always remember that you have to genuinely appreciate those things at that moment. You  usually appreciate different things at different times of the day!)

It’s similar to meditating in a public place. If you hate meditating alone with your eyes closed, you can try my method 😂

I had better perspective and a stream of ideas just flowed into my mind. I had clarity to make better decisions too.

If you are willing, you can try this technique on busy days when you don’t know which task to do first.

As you mentally appreciate your life at that moment, you will be nudged to do THIS task first. And then THAT task. And somehow, your to-do list is more or less done.

Not always in a chronological order, though. You may be inspired to start tomorrow’s task or even next week’s project, today. But what needs to be done, will be done in an almost effortless way.

So when do you leave the cafe? When you feel ‘done’ and fulfilled.

Let me know if you have tried this method to get inspired action and if it works for you!

I wish you the best in everything you do.

Shikah

The Benefits of ‘Being Unproductive’ for Life Coaches

“Being unproductive can mean that you are doing inner work and enriching your mind + soul.”

I’m writing the above quote with a reference to a quote I read on Instagram. Our modern society is dead scared of being ‘unproductive’, telling people that we are ‘doing nothing’ or that we are enjoying life smelling the roses.

Doing nothing can be rewarding - if you do it well. (Please don’t laugh - sometimes I have difficulty relaxing properly!) 

Some of us relax with a thousand thoughts and questions running through our minds. “Did I remember to turn off the lights?”, “I better force myself to relax and make the most of today - tomorrow is a work day!” etc.

Your body may be resting but your mind is still working overtime! As a result, you feel just as exhausted as an unfulfilled day.

That is not a productive way of ‘being unproductive’.

To relax and ‘do nothing’ in a way that benefits us, I’ve noticed that these actions help:

1. Make sure you have settled the necessary chores and tasks first. You can’t relax when your mind keeps reminding you to reply *that* email, do the day’s laundry or prepare dinner.

2. Only start relaxing when your mind is at peace and clutter-free

3. You may need to plan ahead and batch your tasks so that you can relax peacefully 

As a coach, your energy can get easily drained when you communicate with clients daily.

Recharging properly is crucial to give your best and be present with clients.

When you choose a day off, make sure you are 100% off from work. Don’t be tempted to ‘do work just for an hour in the morning’ or schedule to do work at night.

As mentioned, to take a 100% day off, you may need to plan or batch your tasks ahead.

The wonderful side effect of being 100% relaxed is that abundance flows easily to you.

I find my most lucrative days (in terms of sales of my coaching tools) happen on my off days.

I once set aside one whole week of 100% relaxation after feeling burnt out. My best sales week for that month came from that week! (This has happened to me a few times)

When you are not attached to your sales figures for the day, it’s somehow the law of the universe that sales come to you (I believe it’s one of the ways the Law of Attraction works.).

So try it. Be 100% relaxed, unproductive + do nothing, smell the roses and own it.

It feels heavenly and you may just be rewarded in many ways.

Take care,

Shikah



How to Coach Mental Self Care to Clients & Empower Them During Stressful Times (free Brandable Coaching Resource!)

I’ve created a FREE Self Care for Mental Well-Being coaching tool just for life coaches like you.

It helps your followers + clients to reduce negative emotions & feel empowered to take action when facing challenging days.

You can even brand this free tool in Canva and use it as a free lead magnet or during coaching calls!

This free self-care coaching tool is part of my brandable18-page Self-Care Workbook which you can use with clients or sell in your online shop.

If you want a free brandable coaching resource, this free Self Care Action Sheet for Mental Well-Being tool can be sent to your inbox ASAP. Simply enter your email address + name below:

How can you use this free + brandable self-care coaching tool with your clients & followers?

This Self Care Action Sheet for Mental Well-Being worksheet prompts your followers and clients to pinpoint their emotions at the moment and take action to reduce those emotions.

Many times, we may feel down or negative, but unsure of what the exact emotions are.

Thus, the 1st question in this Self Care for Mental Well-Being coaching tool is: How do I feel at this moment?

This question forces them to tune inwards, be aware of their emotions and identify 3-5 of them.

The 2nd question in this Self-Care for Mental Well-Being coaching tool is: What do I need right now?

Ideally, the answers should be broad, such as “I need to relax and ‘let go’ of perfectionism right now” , “I need some enjoyment in my life right now” , “I need support and help right now” and so on.

The 3rd question in this coaching tool is : What SPECIFIC actions can I do to make me feel better right now?

This is where your followers or clients will write specific actions which will reduce the negative emotions in Question 1.

Examples include: “I will go to a nearby cafe to get a good cup of coffee to relax my mind” or “I will get my husband to handle the chores tonight to reduce my overwhelm”, etc.

This Self Care Action Sheet for Mental Well-being coaching tool is designed for use on challenging days (or ‘bad days’ as we like to call them!).

Want to launch your own Self Care Workbook by the end of today… even if you are busy juggling everything on your to-do list?

Well, you can grab my done-for-you 18-page Self Care Workbook which you can brand with your own logo using Canva!

You can also edit its text, change the images & colour scheme to make the Self Care Workbook truly unique to your brand.

Creating high-quality workbooks can take weeks of research, writing and designing.

Well, you can now focus on serving your clients + followers and leave the workbook creation to me.

I’m here to help you grow your business + create a difference to the world fast.

If you have questions regarding my done-for-you Self Care Workbook, feel free to email me at shikah@shikahanuar.com

Have a good week ahead.

Shikah