First-time course creator goes from zero to Hero with single Kajabi mini-course

Category: Customer Stories

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Read time: 5min

There’s no skirting around it - the cost of creating an online course can impose a major barrier to achieving the dream of passive income. After investing in equipment and an online course platform, plus considering the labor involved, creating a course can cost anywhere from $200 to $10,000. For some, that price range is too large a hurdle to overcome, no matter how confident they are in their online course vision.

That pricing barrier was something Marjorie Torrie had to consider herself before creating an online course. After building a business dependent on cold calls, Marjorie was feeling burnt out and ready to shut down her business entirely. Rather than call it quits, she re-imagined what her business and her life could be like without the pressure and demands of one-to-one selling. Her lightbulb moment: become a course creator. But before diving head first into course creation, Marjorie had one objection - you guessed it - the price of an online course platform.

Let’s take a look at how Marjorie took advantage of Kajabi’s three months for $99 promotion and built the foundation of her successful online business on a single mini-course.

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Removing the barrier to starting an online business

Marjorie was ready to take the plunge into course creation, but there was one thing standing in her way, the price of online course platforms. She said, “When I heard the words ‘all-in-one’ tool for course creators, I was sold on Kajabi. The only objection I had was being able to afford this tool.”

Almost kismet, Kajabi launched its three months for $99 promotion in July of 2021 - near the same time Marjorie was searching for a change in career. With the pricing barrier removed, Marjorie jumped on the opportunity to build her online course. Still, she wasn’t convinced the cost of Kajabi was sustainable past the 90-day promotion. But she was determined to make the most of that time.

Marjorie reminisced on creating her first digital product, “I created my first mini-course in three days while staying at a 3-star hotel near my house. Because I needed to continue to afford Kajabi after the sale ended, I wanted to get my online course out fast so I could keep figuring out my journey as a successful course creator.”

She opened her course cart for only four days (and over a holiday week at that!). In that short amount of time, she earned nearly $1,700, paying off her initial investment in Kajabi and more. That’s a good start to your course-creator journey, Marjorie, if we do say so ourselves!

Going beyond the Kajabi promotion

Did Marjorie stick with Kajabi past the promotion period?

The short answer: yes!

Since the initial launch of her mini-course, Marjorie has created four other digital products on Kajabi - all of which have earned her $13,000 in less than a year. And, her achievements don’t stop there!

Because of that first mini-course, Marjorie discovered her niche. And if you’re a creator, you know how important finding your niche is for the success of your online knowledge business. Now, Marjorie serves as a Certified Online Business Manager working with coaches and consultants on sharing their expertise and knowledge via digital products. Through this work, she has earned an additional $7k since launching her business in November 2021.

Marjorie claims the launch of her first mini-course was “imperfect.” But as you can see, even a perfectly imperfect digital product can pave the way to success, which brings us to our next topic: Marjorie’s advice for you.

Marjorie’s advice for future Kajabi Heroes

Marjorie was very aware of her limited time with a discounted Kajabi rate. She said, “The $99 promo forced me to figure out how to become a course creator fast.”

To make the most out of the promotion, she honed in on what she was best at; she said she stayed in her lane and taught what she already knew. This is where Marjorie’s main piece of advice stems from. For those who take advantage of Kajabi’s promotions, this is what Marjorie has to say:

“Create a basic viable digital product as fast as you can. Don’t wait until it’s perfect because it will never be. You don’t have to be ‘married’ to your first online course, so don’t think of a ‘forever’ product when you’re starting out because that’s going to keep you stuck.”

Marjorie’s advice doesn’t end there. She goes on to say, “The easiest digital product you can create is a mini-course. So check out Kajabi’s Mini-Course template and load it up with your stuff. Then get it out there as soon as possible and let the market tell you if it’s viable.”

While the course-creating process can feel like a solo mission, with Kajabi, it doesn’t have to be. When you sign up for Kajabi, not only do you have access to Kajabi University, Kajabi Live Chat, and the Kajabi blog, you also have immediate access to over 34,000 creators within our Facebook community. If you have a question - someone will have an answer for you.

”The Kajabi Hero Facebook group really helped me learn from the questions getting asked from other Kajabi users,” Marjorie said. But besides it being an excellent place to learn and gain knowledge, it’s also a group of like-minded people. Marjorie comments on the latter, “I really like the community’s culture in Kajabi. It doesn’t feel like a place where people are trying to sell things to each other. It’s a supportive environment where we feel valued as customers, which is so hard to find.”

The community is always looking for new members!

Keeping the momentum going on her online business

Nine months after the release of her first digital product, Marjorie’s online business is going strong; so strong, in fact, she has upgraded her Kajabi account!

She said, “I have upgraded my account to the Growth plan so I’m excited to create more, bigger, and better digital products in Kajabi! I’m also just scratching the surface of its full potential - so there’s so much room for growth here!”

If you’re ready to turn your creativity and knowledge into a successful business, like Marjorie, Kajabi is the tool for you.

With Kajabi, you can sell your expertise online. You’ll get an online course builder, coaching platform, podcast tool, and membership management software. Plus, we pair it with sales and marketing tools like a website and email marketing platform and insightful analytics. All for one low cost.

For 14 days, fully explore everything Kajabi has to offer you for free! Start your free 14-day trial of Kajabi today.

For more inspiration, check out these other successful Heroes who jumped on the opportunity to try Kajabi:

Personal development coach turns wellness into her work

Time management coach launches membership with private podcast on Kajabi

Still researching?

Check out Kajabi’s free downloadable ebook resources and attend free Kajabi webinars Monday - Friday to answer your questions about Kajabi's capabilities.

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