If you just did the hard work of searching, listening, and asking about your course, but need some help making sense of what you discovered, don't worry. Once you have done some research and begun the work of validating your course topic, chances are, you will end up with 1 of 2 common concerns: either your course topic is "taken," or there is NOTHING out there about your course topic at all.

If your course topic is "taken," think again. Often, finding other courses on your topic is a good sign. It probably means there is demand for your course topic. There is room for more than one expert on your topic, and keep in mind that you won't be exactly like a competitor. Here are a couple ways to stand out:

• Maybe you will reach a slightly different audience than other experts. Maybe you have seen loads of courses on yoga. You can capture a more specific group, like yoga for healing after a serious injury.
• Maybe your course will be at a higher quality. Do you see other courses out there that are at a very low price or obviously lower quality? You can do a better job of delivering the material.
• Or maybe you will teach in a unique style. People learn in different ways, and your style of teaching may resonate better with some people in your niche than what is already out there.

If your research shows you there is nothing out there on your topic, or very little, you have a different dilemma on your hands.

• It could mean that there is no demand for your course—if you're in this boat, user interviews will be crucial to discovering if your course solves a problem for people.
• It could mean there is demand for your course, but no one has covered it yet. If your research showed you that lots of people asked questions about your course topic, but there weren't many good answers, that's a good sign for you!
• Or it could mean there is demand for your course, but your audience isn't online. This one is trickier, but user interviews should help you figure it out. Find people to talk to in-person at events, like conferences, training events, or community spaces.

If you're still stuck, go through the validation processes of searching, listening, and asking with a few different course topics, till you find one that seems like the most obvious path for you.