My journey creating an online organizing course

April 15, 2025/Julie Stobbe/

Reading time -10 minutes

One of the many things I love about being a small business owner is the opportunity to learn new things. For a long time, I envisioned creating an online course, and when I finally took the leap, it was an incredible journey.

Here is my story.

I was thrilled to be interviewed by Janet Barclay, a talented virtual assistant, web designer, and webmaster, who featured my experience on her blog. Our first interview focused on my adventure in developing an online course. The process was both exciting and terrifying. Janet played a crucial role in setting up parts of the website, while I created and added the course content. Whenever I encountered obstacles, she provided invaluable guidance. I truly enjoyed the experience! You can read more about it here: Can an E-learning or Membership Site Help You Grow Your Business?

Fast Forward

Fast forward five years, and my business had evolved. I decided to streamline my operations and consolidate everything under one website. This meant making the difficult decision to take down the separate site I had built for my online courses. However, rather than retiring my courses completely, Janet suggested an innovative solution—integrating them into my main website and offering them in a smaller, more accessible format.

She asked me the following questions:

Can you please explain how your courses work, now that you’re not using ecommerce or e-learning plugins?
What factors contributed to your decision?
What changes have you noticed since making the switch?
Looking back, do you wish you’d gone in this direction right from the start?

Read the entire blog post Online Courses Without the Tech Hassle: A Business Owner’s Journey to learn the answers to these questions.

Lesssons learned

This experience reinforced an important lesson: business growth is about continuous learning, adapting, and making strategic choices. While my online course journey has shifted, the knowledge and connections I’ve gained along the way have been invaluable.

Have you ever considered launching an online course? I’d love to hear about your experience or answer any questions you might have!

One more thing:

I am happy to share that this blog Mind over Clutter has been selected by the Feedspot panellists as one of the Top 100 Organizing Blogs on the web. (#38) This is the most comprehensive list of Top 100 Organizing Blogs on the internet and I’m honored to be part of this! Thanks for supporting me.

Julie Stobbe is the 2024-2025 winner of the Harold Taylor Award for outstanding contributions to the organizing industry and Professional Organizers in Canada. As a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach, she brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides, mentors and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.