310: Creating an Online Course for Parents

I’m the fortunate podcast host with two guests today, which is a first for me! They are long-time friends of mine from grad school who have taken a unique idea and brought it to fruition in starting their company and launching their first online course. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to hear all about it, so join us to hear their story!Our Featured GuestsJordana Mortimer, PhDErin Avirett, PhDJordana Mortimer and Erin Avirett are both child neuropsychologists with independent private practices. They have been friends for 15 years since their days in grad school, and they always had the idea to start a business together. Even though they live in different cities in Texas (Jordana in Fort Worth/Erin in Amarillo), they made things happen this year in starting their company, Mind and Child. In addition, they developed and launched their first online course, Parenting 101, for parents with kiddos under the age of twelve. The course takes their experiential parenting lessons and merges it with solid research and data. In this session, Jordana and Erin share how this business idea originated, how they approached marketing, and how they are handling the practical challenges of working together. Even though close friends don’t always make good business partners, they share with us how they are navigating that intersection and overcoming the odds to make it work well for their families.  Mind and Child WebsiteErin’s practice WebsiteJordana’s practice WebsiteYou’ll Learn:How Jordana and Erin first developed the idea for Mind and Child with the overall goal to help parents and families on a larger scale How their roles as testing psychologists helped Jordana and Erin to follow through on their dream of starting a business togetherThe hardest parts of creating their online courseHow they promoted the course with social media, blogs, and adsHow the course feels genuine and authentic with their mission and purposeWhy they consulted with advertising experts to know which social media platforms were best for marketing their courseHow they have navigated challenges with marketing their business but setting boundaries to protect family timeHow Jordana and Erin coordinate their social media interactions by alternating weeks to handle posts and engagementsWhy Jordana and Erin hired a friend’s video production company to film their course, which was more complicated than they had envisionedSpecifics of the filming process, set design, using a teleprompter, speaking succinctly, etc. Why being close friends and business partners has been beneficial in every way without any real hardships or friendship-threatening challenges for Jordana and ErinA few details about their website, course, and private practicesMentioned in this episode:Try Alma!Building and managing the practice you truly want can feel overwhelming. That’s why Alma is here—to help you create not just any practice, but your private practice. With Alma, you’ll get the tools and resources you need to navigate insurance with ease, connect with referrals that are the right fit for your style, and streamline those time-consuming administrative tasks. That means less time buried in the details and more time focused on delivering exceptional care to your clients. You support your clients. Alma supports you. Learn more at sellingthecouch.com/alma and get 2 months FREE—an exclusive offer for STC listeners.