On this episode of the Course Creators HQ podcast, host Julie Hood shares how a show on Netflix and a Steve Jobs quote can change your business in the 4th quarter! She also shares her secret to a productive day – it’s something you start today so tomorrow is even better!
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This week, you get to hear exactly how Netflix and Steve jobs inspired me to redirect my course business. And you can use this technique. So let's jump Right in. Welcome to the course creators, HQ podcast, helping you navigate the latest techniques for creating and marketing online courses. And now here's your host Julie Hood. Hello, and welcome. And I'm thrilled.
You're here for episode eight of the podcast. How a Steve jobs quote and a Netflix question can change Your business. This week is the end of the third quarter in 2020. And I know it has been quite a year for all of us on the planet. So I can definitely say that my plans for the year in January did not come together in the way I had written them.
And in some ways, my business has made some huge leaps this year that weren't on the list, but there were definitely some difficult times. And like you I'm sure on a personal level when we lost my mother-in-law in April to coronavirus, it made for some very challenging times for the whole family. So as I reflect over the first three quarters of the year,
there's a lot to digest, a lot to consider. And as we run into the fourth quarter, I really want to end the year on a high note. So I'm doing some planning this week for the fourth quarter, and I wanted to share the top three questions I'm using in case they can help you move forward too. So it always amazes me where I can get some inspiration.
And last night, while I was watching Ozark on Netflix, I heard a question that is perfect for planning time. So first let me say, this is a really dark and definitely TV, MA show with way too much cursing and violence. So I'm not recommending it to you to watch, but I'm fascinated because the show is set in Missouri. And we really don't tend to have a lot of TV shows that are set here.
So it's been interesting watching them talk about places that I actually know and have been to, but let me set up the episode for you. Marty. The main character has been laundering money for a drug kingpin in Mexico named Navarro. Well, Navarro was not happy with him. So he kidnapped Marty, drug him to Mexico and threw him into a Mexican jail complete with nonstop stadium lights and blaring music to drive him crazy.
But then every so often Navarro would turn off the lights and the music and ask Marty a very specific question. He got in his face and yelled at him and said, what do you want? And it was so unexpected that it really got my attention. I mean, why would a drug Lord be asking his prisoner, what he wanted? And then he did this several different times before the story continued.
And I, as I watched, I realized that that's one of the very first questions we need to ask when we start planning and we need to answer, you know, what is it I want this quarter, this year or the next five years or 10 years. And while we probably don't need a Mexican drug, Lord ask us the question. It's the perfect place to start with your fourth quarter planning.
What do you want to happen with your course business? Is there a course you want to finish? Is there a marketing technique you want to add this quarter? Is there a launch you want to do? So the first question you need to answer is what do you want for the fourth quarter? And then the second question I have for you is actually inspired by Steve jobs.
He has this amazing quote about focus that I keep tucked in the back of my mind. He said, people think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on, but that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are, you have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done innovation is saying no to a thousand things.
So to really focus this quarter, your second question is, what will I say no to what 1000 things will not happen? So the top three or the top 10 can happen. And I will tell you, this is one of the biggest lessons I've learned after all these years in business, because there are so many amazing ideas and opportunities out there that you can easily get wound up in chasing the latest,
shiny new thing. Especially when you get into the messy middle of your current projects, you know, that spot where things aren't working and you don't know what to do next. That's when something brand new and different sounds so much better. But the problem is that if you never finished these projects, you'll never have something to sell, to make money, to get your business going.
So that's sometimes why I will get frustrated with my course creators because they stop in the middle and if they could just finish their course, they would have it as an asset, making them money. Instead, they have this half finished course that they can't really use. And a much better idea would be to just get it finished at a good level that works for their students.
And maybe it's not perfect, but as long as your students can get the result, the transformation that you're promising, you can make improvements and make the, the course way better as you go forward. But just get the darn launched, get your first student so you can start getting some testimonials to use. And then a second part of this question for a lot,
of course, creators is they have a lot of ideas for courses and they can't decide which ones to say no to for now. You know, you only have to say no, right now, you don't have to say no forever, but just for now. And we did this over the summer, my team, and I started putting together a five day challenge and it turned into a big project if we wanted to do it well and not just throw it together,
we needed it to work properly. And it wasn't something that we could just completely throw out there. It was basically its own course on a standalone and a launch that needed to go with it. So after we went through the initial planning, but before we'd actually started on the project, I put the brakes on it for now. We have a lot more pressing projects that were getting lost and I'm not giving up on it.
I'm just putting the planning that we did on pause. And you'll notice we didn't actually start this project. We just started planning it and realized how much work was involved. If I had been halfway through the process of putting together this five day challenge, I would've made us finish it so that we could use it. But since we hadn't started yet, I've got all the planning we can use it for sometime in the future.
So your second question, as you're planning for fourth quarter is ask yourself, what do I need to say no to so I can focus or at least what should I say no to for now? And then finally, the last question I'd like to have you ask yourself is what is most important for me to accomplish tomorrow, each day at the end of the day,
I would like you to sit down and think about what tomorrow needs to look like. What things do you absolutely have to get done tomorrow? What needs to be on your to-do list with double stars or triple stars, because they're so important. What appointments do you have? And do you have some time that you can put in the next step on a longterm project that you have?
So I wanted to tell you, I have a daily notebook that I use, and it's just a spiral notebook from the store. It's nothing fancy, but I write page every day at the top. I write the date. And when I do this short exercise, the day before, where I sit down and I think about the day, I think about the timing of when things need to happen.
I think about what's most important and where my appointments fall in. And I get so much more done on the days when I do this. So it's a little magic trick. And part of what helps I think is that I don't have to use the first of my day trying to figure out, okay, which thing am I going to do? First?
When I have it preplanned, it just feels like it flows so much better. I get up, I get started. I sit down at my desk and I can jump to it and get in process rather than pausing with. Okay, where do I start? So I get started when my brain is the freshest and I can jump right into the deep end of the pool right away.
So try that this week and please let me know if your week flows better, do you feel more productive? And most importantly, do you get more done when you do this? So let me recap. The three questions for you. Question number one from the Ozark show was what do you want? Question number two from Steve jobs is what will you say no to at least for now?
And then question number three for me is what is most important for me to accomplish tomorrow to ask yourself the day before? So I hope this gives you some ideas of things to use, to make your fourth quarter, the best fourth quarter that you've had so far. And to also help you out. I want to give you a quick win. If you're trying to figure out,
Hey, is this course idea? I have any good. It's a $37 training called is my idea any good? And it will help you decide whether or not you should pursue your course idea. It's a quick way to evaluate your concept, and I want to give it away to you for free, just visit course creators, hq.com/idea. And you can sign up for the free course.
Now I have one last request. If you wouldn't mind, please hit that subscribe button in your podcast software. If you learned anything valuable from this episode, I was also really appreciate a five-star review. These reviews are excellent to help us reach other course creators. So I so appreciate you taking the time to make us look good to apple podcasts or Google podcast or wherever it is you listen.
I want to thank you for listening. Thank you for subscribing and thanks for reviewing. I really can't wait to connect with you next time and looking forward to a fantastic week. I hope you have one to take care of everyone.