Bought a $500 course on scaling a service business. Turned out to be 80% motivational videos and worksheets about mindset. Very little concrete strategy. I feel dumb for not asking for a curriculum breakdown first. Anyone else been through this?
business courses
I bought a business course that was mostly motivational fluff
What was the course called? Or at least what platform? I almost bought something similar last month.
This is why I always look for a detailed syllabus now. If they can't show you the actual lessons, skip it. Motivational stuff is cheap to produce and easy to pad a course with.
Did you try asking for a refund? A lot of those course sellers have a 14 or 30 day window. Even if they say no, a chargeback is sometimes an option if the content doesn't match what was advertised.
I did ask. They pointed to a line in the terms saying 'mindset modules are part of the core curriculum' and offered me a discount on a different course instead. I didn't push further because I just wanted it done with.
I've bought three courses like that that over the years. The pattern is usually the same: a few good tactical videos buried under hours of filler. Now I only buy from people who show a full lesson list and have actual customer examples, not just testimonials with headshots.
Honestly this is why I stopped buying courses entirely. Free content usually covers the bascis and you can piece together the rest. Paid courses are often just curation with a hype tax.
@plaid_cushion I don't fully agree. Some paid courses have been worth it for me because they give a clear sequence and save time. But the ones that worked had actual templates and walkthroughs, not just 'believe in yourself' videos.
The worksheets about mindset are the tell. Real strategy courses don't need you to write down your limiting beliefs for 40 minutes.
I'd still leave a public review if you can. Not a rant, just a factual summary of what percentage was actually tactical. That helps the next person.
Did they advertise specific outcomes? Like 'double your clients in 30 days' or something? If so you might have a stronger case than just 'I didn't like it.'
They did say 'learn the exact system to scale to six figures.' No numbers or case studies to back it up though. I think Im just going to leave a balanced review and move on. Chalk it up as a lesson about asking for specifics upfront.
That's fair. The review matters more than you'd think. A lot of these sellers quietly delete or bury negative feedback, so putting it somewhere neutral helps.
Also check if they have a Facebook group or community attached. Sometimes the real value is in the peer answers, not the course itself. Not saying that excuses the fluff, but it's a place to ask for the tactical stuff people actually used.