How to build a thriving course business 📈

Hi! To those of you who attended the XLOOKUP and VLOOKUP webinars: Thank you for being the best students ever! Couldn’t make it? No sweat—I’m already planning more free classes. Which brings me to ask…when should I host them? 🤗

How to Keep Track of Your Projects With Excel 

Picture this: You’re at a job interview. Everything is going well until the interviewer asks, “So, how do you stay organized while managing a project?”  

While you’re not “disorganized” per se, you know the honest answer—“I just keep track of stuff in my head!”—isn’t going to cut it. 🙃 That’s when this Excel formula, which shows how many days are in between tasks, comes in handy. It lets you plan your workload in advance so you can accommodate for those shorter turnaround times (AKA, be super on top of things).

Here’s how it works: 

How I Built a Thriving Course Business 

I started Miss Excel from my childhood bedroom in 2020 (feels like yesterday! 🥲). Since then, I’ve launched over 12 online courses to help people level up in Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and even AI. 

Online courses are the cornerstone of my business, generating well over seven figures in revenue. The best thing about courses? Scalability. Once created, online courses expand my impact and bring in revenue without additional effort. 

If you’re thinking about creating an online course, you’re in the right place. Here are my top two tips for running a successful online course business: 

1. Go All In 

Around 80% of online courses use a slideshow or green screen and call it a day. Sure, those will get your point across, but the best courses are those that are creative, immersive, and fun. To stand out, go all in. 

For each course, I go the extra mile. I…

• Use storytelling. Course attendees can expect made-up characters, anecdotes, music, and wild green screens (picture: safaris or winter wonderlands). These all create an immersive—and therefore engaging—experience. 

• Prepare a take-home gift. I hired an ‘Excel Spreadsheet Designer’ (yes, they exist!) to create colorful, interactive spreadsheets that students can download after the course and practice the material at home. 

• Dress up. For example, I wore a winter outfit for my ‘Freezing Panes in Excel’ lesson. The more entertaining, the more approachable the material becomes. 

Don’t be the teacher who’s reading bullet points straight off of a slideshow. To truly teach others, infuse creativity and effort into each lesson. Not only will people love learning from you, but you’ll have more fun teaching, too! 

2. Don’t Be Afraid of Selling. 

Before launching my first course, the idea of advertising made me shudder. Me? Asking people for money?! No, thank you. 

But soon, I realized: You aren’t selling a “course.” You’re selling a skill. 

Excel used to be frustrating and intimidating. But once I mastered it, I landed a promotion (and a raise!). That feeling of reaching mastery was amazing. I wanted to give others that same sense of confidence—and my courses do just that. Upon realizing that, promoting the courses came naturally. 

“But Kat, I don’t have any skills that people would be interested in.” 

If you’re thinking this, remember: The knowledge you consider ordinary could be extraordinarily valuable to others. Someone, somewhere, needs to hear only what you know. ✨

A Quick Shout Out…

Earlier this year, I hired my incredible friend Carissa as a social media manager. But Carissa isn’t just gifted in socials: She runs Vision Boards Charcuterie, a NYC-based charcuterie board business with designs that are certain to Blow. You. Away. 🤩

If you have any future hosting plans, Carissa’s got you covered. Order beautifully designed platters, or even create your own using her patent-pending “Bleuprint” charcuterie stencil. I just got mine in the mail and have been obsessed! 

• Has Google Drive’s new “Home” page been confusing you? Here’s how to navigate it. 

• Why this creator seriously regrets not taking meditation seriously sooner. 👀

• Malcolm Gladwell shares a two-second rule that can transform your business. 

• How to reframe your insecurities as “features” that add value as you are.

Thanks for being here! I’m off to clean my desk—it’s always chaotic after hosting webinars! I splay out everything from crystals to beverages (and also do a few kundalini chants) to get in the right mindset. It works every time, but the clean-up is a different story. 🙃

Stay Exceling,

Kat