I’ve Created an Online Course—Except That I Haven’t

Online courses are boring AF and I will never buy another online course about business. But you should buy mine. Because it's not a course.

Spent the last 7 hours setting up a membership page for a paid newsletter, which is actually an online course on my website that I haven’t even set up yet. But then I got hungry, it was lunchtime, so I activated the paid newsletter on Substack in 3 minutes.

How Do I Say This…?

I thought about how not to f*ck up again (I have a story to tell about my failed business—it’s on my blog soon).

So, everyone is jumping on the paid newsletter bandwagon.

Me? Not so much. At least not your average paid newsletter.

This is why.

I Don’t want another F* Content Hamster Wheel

If I want to see if my Substack experiment can also become a business—aka receiving money in exchange for what I openly share, with the intention of genuinely helping someone (I write this for my daughter)—I cannot repeat the same mistakes I did when I started to hate my business.

Lesson here:

1. I won’t create another business that depends on my image or personal brand.
   I don’t want to be recognized because of my profession or my credentials, nor do I want to perform for an audience. I want the freedom to sit in my living room, eating chocolate in my pajamas, on an ordinary Wednesday afternoon, like I do today. Not having to put a f*suit just for the image. My kid is at my in-laws, and when she’s back, we’re going to bake a cake, play with the cats, eat some candy (yes, I said cake and candy—it’s fine, we will have a regular dinner as well and we usually eat healthy), and read together. I don’t want her to grow up believing that fun is reserved only for weekends. So Wednesday Fundays are now our new normal.

2. I won’t get on another f* content hamster wheel.
   A business without a brand, relying solely on writing, still depends on how much content I produce—I am not a machine and I don’t care for being consistent. That’s hustle culture disguised as "consistency or be forgotten" BS. And is not true. The reason I never had a personal social media account? The pressure to pump out embellished content is exhausting. It’s a training device for losing focus and feeling inadequate. Again, I tried to do that (and my first business failed)
   Producing weekly content for paid subscribers forever—Makes me want to run and shut everything down ASAP.

So, I’ve Created an Online Course as a Paid Newsletter that is not a Newsletter or a Course

I love it here, but it’s like working in your favorite bookstore that also happens to be a coffee shop. The real work is on my blog.

At least that is my long-term plan.

After I’ve published stuff there, printed it, re-read it, edited it, seo-friendly made it, I let live anything I can really organize on my blog. You should come and check it out. I created it in two days.

If you’re following my logic, here’s a free business tip:

Build your foundation on your blog, your book or licenced content, and come here for the amazing people, the newsletter and stuff you really want to read.

How is an Online Course That’s Not Boring AF?

It is set up on membership site as a paid newsletter, which is actually an online course because you don’t want another newsletter to write or read and be bored AF.

I hate most online courses.

A boring online course is selling you the idea that you must follow a proven formula blueprint that is statistically right in 99% or - die.

I once bought a gardening course from these incredibly passionate people who even have volunteers answering questions on Sundays. Problem? They’re in the UK. My climate is different. So even though I love their permaculture and edible garden approach, I have to modify everything. (Side note: It’s February, my garden is already in bloom. If I don’t plant by December/January, I disturb the bees.)

So it was fun reading, but, sorry (I love you garden course creators) useless.

So, back to my non-boring online course that actually works.

What Worked in My Past Businesses (And What Didn’t)

Since January 2025, I’ve been analyzing what worked in my businesses. One of them failed—or rather, I let it fail, because it was built on all the traditional business hustle BS.

Now, if I’m going to create another business out of passion, what would that be? (I have a gazillion ideas.) More importantly, how do I not f*ck it up? How do I build something purely attraction-based—energy only—so that when the passion fades, I leave behind a legacy that continues to serve people, even if I stop producing content.

Take my Substack experiment. I’m building a business on those premises.

I know myself. I give it two years, max.

The passion will fade, and I’ll move on to something else that fuels me more.

Or worse, I’ll stay out of obligation and courtesy, then secretly send a middle finger to everyone. And I don’t want a life of obligation and courtesy.

I WANT to be free to move on to something else, still collecting cash—because my content will continue to do good for people (I’m all about being intentionally helpful, for both of us).

With one of my current businesses, I’m deep in moving mud. I’ve built it around a professional practice. Great, but it’s built on my image, energy, and brand. So, if I wanted to liberate myself, I would need to wait at least two f* years.

Right now, just because I haven’t implemented my own advice from a 10+ years older me, I’m going through a decade’s worth of intellectual property.

And if I want to have a clear exit strategy, I need to have a book ready and licensing content for other practitioners. And it will take me forever to go through this stuff.

How was that I was so f* stupid?

Lesson Here: Don’t Let Your Best Work Collect Internet Dust

Print your work as soon as you’ve written it. After 3, 5, or 10 posts, reread it. You’ll have feedback from your audience, and you’ll also have a book - if you want to write a book. You can sell it through a publisher or license the content. I’m doing both—with my professional practice.

Back to the Online Course That’s Not an Online Course…

I didn’t take the content from any book or anything you might find on ChatGPT or look up online to create it.

If you Google "organic marketing," all you’ll find is SEO, guest posting, and other tactics. That’s great, but I go to the root cause (back to our core principles—passion + people).

In case you haven’t read it yet:

This is Your Million Dollar Organic Marketing Formula (And How I Do Marketing for a Silent Millionaire Business)

I looked at what I did right in all of my businesses up until now. What brutally honest answers did I need for myself to build a business that feels natural, flows effortlessly, and attracts the right people and money?

Remember, I realized what I was doing only after I did it. While doing it, I thought that I was the only idiot not implementing those fast-scaling BS strategies.

So, the course not course is built from extracts of my journal—stuff that took me a decade to figure out.

I cover both energetic and tactical aspects—metaphysical first, because if you’re building on someone else’s foundation, it’s not really yours.

Okay, really, so what is it?

The best way to describe it is: it’s a weekly guided journey where people learn, reflect, and implement small steps over time. A paid newsletter with a course-like structure that feels more personal, low-pressure, and easy to integrate than your ordinary boring 8-week online course.

It also gives me the flexibility to keep evolving the content without locking myself into a fixed curriculum.

See? Not boring.

For people who like to think.

Each week, you’ll receive one powerful insight on energy, money, or organic marketing—helping you align your work with your passion, attract the right opportunities, and create sustainable income streams without burning out.

I’ll insist the most on that energy part.

What you get:

• A deep weekly insight on energy, money, or organic marketing

• Journaling prompts & reflection exercises

• Practical steps to integrate the lesson into your life & business

• A way to grow without pressure or burnout

How to join: Monthly or yearly subscription. I also offer (for now) a 14- day free trial (only trough this link, if you go to my profile, it will prompt you to buy a subscription without any trial).

What I want you to get out of this experience:

Less stress. More clarity. You’ll know exactly how to align your work with financial stability. Love life. Do whatever you want, whenever you feel like it.

Surrender. Be yourself.

Side Note:

I thought I would start this on February 27—but I don’t see why I should wait since I’m offering a 14-day free trial for anyone and have the content ready.
Actually, I can’t wait to share.

We’ll start next Thursday February 20. For people who join later, you’ll have access to a full archive (no preview, sorry).

I may or may not raise the price, but it won’t change before the 27th. I’ll probably raise the yearly investment as soon as I have some feedback.