Meet Craig Shoemaker | Online course relaunch coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Craig Shoemaker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Craig, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
“Dig your well before you’re thirsty.”

After 20 years as an online course author, the publishing company I was working with was changing fast. First, they forced severe contract changes on all existing authors – especially with those with popular courses. Then, we were expected to keep quality and quantity up, but only for pennies on the dollar for new contracts.

As I watched my royalty checks begin to dwindle, I knew I needed to make a change.

So I decided that if I was going to “do something on my own”, I needed to check these boxes:

✅ Evergreen focus:
As a web developer, my courses are tech-based which means they show their age fast. Instead of creating a business based on guaranteed obsolescence, I wanted to create content and build systems that endure.

✅ Leverage my unique skills:
I’m a published writer, long-time podcast host, and teacher at heart. Beyond that I enjoy every type of the creative process – everything from writing articles to writing code, leading people beyond limiting beliefs, and creating quality course content.

✅ Help others make money:
When working in a space where I can help others multiply their income, I’d be serving people incentivized to pay for professional services.

Knowing all this – I believed that I could take my experience as a technologist, podcast host, writer, and course creator and build a business that would be distinct from my competition.

What should our readers know about your business?
About:
I’m an business coach who helps online course creators avoid the guesswork and costly mistakes of going alone while they relaunch their courses. Along the way I pay for myself by helping them build more profitable, brand-building course businesses.

Differentiation:
In contrast to my competition, I’ve created over 20 of my own online courses and have fine-tuned the art of teaching online. I’ve worked as a course reviewer and editor for hundreds of courses. This experience has taught me how to package course content that’s effective for the student and brand-building for the course creator.

Beyond course content, I’ve built a series of frameworks that build profitable launches and course sales. My “Offer Map” acts as the formula toward building offers that produce higher profits. My launch plans manage every detail in a launch, and I teach my clients methods to help students keep momentum with quick wins.

Achievements I’m proud of:
I’ve had the privilege of being a part of some life-altering change in my client’s lives. For one of my client’s, he was chronically over-worked. He was “always on” and at his computer seven days a week. After a few months of fine-tuning his course business, he began to work with less intensity – all while profits surged in his business. Now takes every weekend off to be with this family.

In another instance, I helped another client triple her company’s revenue. Together we reformulated her client interactions, how she charged for her services, and helped her scale at a level never possible before.

My Journey:
After wincing in pain as my publishing royalties continued to plummet, I knew I had to build something for myself. I needed to build a business where I wasn’t reliant on the whim of a big business that only optimized for profits. So I created an evergreen service-based business where I can help others build businesses where they can work less, enjoy more financial freedom, and where they can explore their passions.

Challenges:
Building a solopreneur-based business is tough. Your motivation has to stay high when you’re on the hook to for everything from marketing to fulfillment. Throw in a full-time job and and family of seven – I have to be incredibly focused. It’s too easy to get distracted or demotivated if you’re not careful.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If they like the city, I would take them to the newly redone downtown area to look at the city lights and enjoy a meal with a great view of the city. If they’re more into the outdoors we’d head down to Garden of the Gods and eat at some of the specialty restaurants in Colorado Springs.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife, Heidi, and my kids, Tyler, Zachary, Jacob, Alexis, and Sydney.

Website: http://craigshoemaker.net

Twitter: https://x.com/craigshoemaker

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CreateWithCraig