The first version of your course should be embarrassingly small
The first version of a course should solve one painful problem for one specific person. It should not be a 40-video curriculum.
A useful minimum version might be:
- one clear outcome
- one live workshop or three short lessons
- one worksheet that helps the student apply the idea
- one feedback loop so you can see where they get stuck
That is enough to test whether the promise is real.
The larger course comes later, after you have evidence. Your first students reveal which questions deserve a full module, which examples actually help, and where the transformation breaks down. Building those lessons in advance is mostly guesswork.
This is also why I prefer keeping fixed costs low during validation. A $99/month platform costs $1,188 per year before demand is proven. A commission-only option such as iLoquio at $0/month and 5% per transaction keeps the cost attached to revenue while you learn. It is not the right fit for every mature business, but it is a rational structure for a first pilot.
The smallest version is not a compromise. It is the fastest way to discover what the real product is.
What did your first version include, and what did you remove later?
