In this episode, I’m sharing my honest perspective on the recent shifts happening in the online business space and why so many people are feeling anxious about them. With well-known industry leaders making big changes and new conversations popping up everywhere, it can feel tempting to question your own strategy or wonder if you’re doing something wrong.

I talk about why it’s so important to stop making business decisions based on what others are doing and instead look at your own data, your own enjoyment, and what’s actually working for you. I also unpack how major events like COVID and the rapid rise of AI have permanently changed the online landscape and why change itself isn’t a sign that something is broken.

Throughout the episode, I encourage you to evaluate your business through the lens of your current stage, not someone else’s. What works for a creator who’s years ahead of you may not make sense for where you are right now. This episode is a grounding reminder that your business gets to be built on intention, clarity, and informed choice, not fear or industry noise.

 

Just because a well-known name changes direction doesn’t mean you should. Your numbers, your goals, and your enjoyment matter most.

From COVID to AI, the industry has shifted in big ways. Change doesn’t mean failure; it means adaptation.

Always evaluate advice and trends through the stage of business you’re in, not the stage someone else is at.

 

Connect with Teresa on Website, (Grow, Launch, Sell), Sign up to Teresa's email list,  Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook, Subscribe to my Youtube

 

There has been a lot of talk in the online space recently because a couple of the very big players in the online space have made decisions to change things in their business. I am not jumping on the bandwagon of talking about this because I know it might get me clicks or might get me views. In fact, I'm not even gonna name the people who have made the changes, but I am going to address it because I think when something like this happens, there is a lot of people who have a lot of opinions and I have been asked my opinion, and there's a lot of fear that's spread in the online space about it's not working anymore or.

This means something. So I want to do a really short, quick episode about my thoughts when things like this happen in the online space and what do I think is gonna happen with the online space, having been in it for about a decade.

If we haven't met. My name is Teresa Heath Wareing and I help course creators, membership owners. And coaches grow their online businesses through launching and selling their offers online. And I have [00:01:00] seen a lot of things happen in the online space over many, many years. And to say it's changed is an understatement.

Let's talk about first when COVID happened and the fact that the whole world had to go online and what was fairly new and misunderstood, suddenly had to be taught and get very comfortable with very quick, and the online industry boomed. It was really, really successful. And then as time went on, people got a bit tired of the online.

The world opened up again, things changed. Also, at that point, it encouraged a lot of people into this. Space that shouldn't quite honestly have been in the space that were coming into the space 'cause they wanted to make money quick and really weren't the best people. And also there'd been a history of online sellers and some big online sellers basically.

Not being very ethical and not using great sales tactic. And then the world opened back up again. People started going back out and they suddenly started to go, I don't really love this online thing as much. And then [00:02:00] AI came in and kicked everyone's backsides and it's changed everything again. And the online space, like pretty much every industry is constantly moving, but when a couple of the really key players make business decisions.

It means everyone suddenly has an opinion about what that means. Now, the very first thing I want to say about this is I think people forget that it's their business and they get to do what the hell they want, and that goes for me And for you, it goes for. Anybody in business, and one of the things that I am so passionate about is whenever I am teaching or speaking or doing a video like this is my job, is to help you create a business that you love, to grow your online business, and to give you strategies that work, however, that comes with a massive caveat.

And that caveat is it's your business and you get to decide. You get to choose. So if someone is sat there telling you, you must do [00:03:00] this to be successful, or you have to do this to be successful, or the only way you can grow an online business is if you do this, it's absolute rubbish. Okay? I'm telling you now, it's rubbish.

I can show you people in different industries using different tools and strategies, being successful in many different ways. There's not a one size fits all, and that is really, really important. So that's my first point. When people make a decision to change something in their program, pull a program, stop doing something, start doing something.

They can do what the hell they want because it's their business. Okay. Now they would've made a decision based on their own business and where they are right now. And I think that's another really important thing to note. Everyone's businesses are at different stages, serving different audience, doing different things, even if you are doing something similar to someone else.

They're still very, very different. And to make a [00:04:00] decision that is right for you, you have got to know and understand your business. You have got to decide, okay, for the effort I put in, the time I put in. What return do I get from that? And is that return money? Is that return things that you enjoy? I have turned down and stopped things that have bought me a lot of money because I just don't like it.

And someone else would've looked at that and gone, well, that's crazy. Why would you give up that money? Because I didn't like it and I'm the one who's got to do it. Okay. So that's really, really important. So if you are going to make a decision in your business, whether it's to start something to stop, something, to pivot, to change, you are the one who's got to understand the effect that it's having on your business.

You will have the data, you will know whether it's doing what it should be doing, and you can make a decision based on that. So again, anyone that we are looking at, anyone that is humongous in the industry or that you look up to, if they make a business decision, that is what they've done. They [00:05:00] have looked at what they've done, they've looked at the effort they've put in, they look at the return they're getting, and they've made a decision on that.

Okay? So that kind of brings me to my third point. This is a very relaxed, uh, video or podcast if you're listening to it. So my third point is this doesn't mean that it's not going to work for anybody else. Okay? So. People have stopped courses, people have stopped doing content like podcasts. Again, I'm not gonna mention names just because I don't wanna be seen as just doing it to get the views and get the listens, but that doesn't mean podcasts are dead.

Because someone doesn't go all out on YouTube doesn't mean YouTube doesn't work because someone is or isn't on TikTok doesn't mean it's the strategy to use or the strategy doesn't work. It just means they are making decision for their business. It's very easy to look at someone making a decision, like to pull a a course or a program that they're doing and run over a very sweeping statement that no longer courses work, [00:06:00] or the reason they've stopped this is because it's broke and the industry's broke.

That is not the case at all. Now, is the industry different to what it was? Yes. Has that person made a decision based on what they know about their business? Yes, they have and they have made the decision for whatever reason they have, and they don't owe us an explanation. Okay. I'm sorry to say, they don't have to tell us or they don't have to be.

Saying things in a certain way as to why they made that decision. They get to make the decision they get to make, but it doesn't mean because they've made that decision. It doesn't work. So let's take the example of someone stopping a podcast. Okay. So someone very prominent has stopped a podcast. That person has done over 900 episodes.

So the first thing I'll say about that is they have done the reps, okay? So if you are looking at this, having never done a podcast, having never done a blog, having never done YouTube or done [00:07:00] any content and thinking or reading into it, that because that person stopped, it means that it doesn't work. That is just not true.

That person has done the reps, they have a bank. Those podcasts haven't gone away. They still sit there. There is still 900 episodes that people can go and listen to. They have put in the work, they put in the effort that they now get to make the decision that they don't want to do that anymore, and that doesn't mean podcasting is dead.

If someone decides that actually they go all in on YouTube and they stop, that doesn't mean that YouTube's dead because they decide to stop. So don't read into it that it doesn't work. Like I said, I can show you someone doing. All the different strategies in different industries, and it works for them and it's great for them.

The one thing I would say about this is you've got to enjoy it and you've got to want to do it because at the point where you are absolutely burnt out by it, and [00:08:00] maybe that's where they were, maybe they were burnt out and they were like, do you know what? I don't wanna do this anymore. And again. That's fine.

They get to make that decision, but at that point you have to decide is it worth the effort and the time. But like I said, it doesn't mean that all those get deleted and that work hasn't been done. They've already done that. Okay. Just to clarify, in case I haven't quite said it the way I want to say it.

When people make decisions about their business, it's based on the stage they're at, and you might not be at that stage. Okay? So if someone's made a decision, whether it be someone huge in the industry or someone who's just started, and you are looking at that thinking, should I do that or shouldn't I do that?

They could be in a completely different position to you. I did. 400 odd episodes of my podcast before I decided to take it onto YouTube. Now, would I do it differently if I started a a podcast today? Yes, I would do it differently. I probably would go straight onto YouTube, but I was in a very different position.

My team were in a different position. Our business was in a different position. We could afford to bring in [00:09:00] editors, we could afford to bring people to help us manage this whole thing. So that is why I based my decision. So the other thing I want you to understand is. Again, it doesn't mean it's not working.

It doesn't mean that it's over. It doesn't mean that courses aren't selling. It doesn't mean that podcasters, podcasters. It doesn't mean that podcasts don't work. It just means where someone was in their point, in their business and therefore, if you are not in the same point, which I would argue that most people are not at the same point because these two people have huge online businesses and there's not many people who have businesses the size that they do in this space.

I would argue that therefore you shouldn't necessarily take their decision as what to do in your business. The last thing I want you to do is make a decision for your business when you are on chapter three and they're on chapter 30. You know, it's very, very different. So I wanna kind of just wrap this up 'cause I realize that this hasn't been particularly structured.

This probably won't make a very good YouTube video because I haven't necessarily given you. Great outcomes or a really good structure of the video. [00:10:00] But one of the things I do wanna say is if you are going to make a decision about your business, I a want you to at least tried it. Okay? If you try something and you've put some time and effort into it, and you have data about it, and that data proves that it's not worth the time and effort that you're putting into it, or what you were putting in, and what you're putting in now is bringing you different results, then absolutely fine.

You make that decision. So I want you to look at, have you done it first before you make a decision of whether it works or not. The second thing I want you to look at is what data have you got based on this? So again, do you have actual facts that say, this used to work really well, it doesn't, and therefore I'm not gonna do it.

And are you making a decision based on what you love and how you love to show up and where you like to hang out? So I really enjoy. Doing these episodes now, sometimes they're hard work. I'm not gonna sit here and say it's easy 'cause it's not. But I [00:11:00] do really love sharing my knowledge and I love talking about these things.

So therefore it's easy to have done 400 episodes of my podcast. If I hated it, I would've stopped a long, long time ago 'cause it would've been very difficult to keep going and stay consistent social media, I am not consistent at all. I am terrible at it 'cause I really don't love it and I'm working on that.

But. Like I said, it's gotta be based on you and your business. And yes, I watch all the other people in my space. Of course I do. I learn from them. I understand. I work with them. I consult with people. I am constantly looking at what people are doing. However, the decisions I make in my business are about me and my business and what's working and what's not working.

It doesn't mean because someone else has made a decision in their business that actually we all need to pack up and go home because online courses are dead because they're really not okay. If you found this at all interesting or helpful, I would love to know what thoughts you have about this. Have you seen [00:12:00] lots of content?

I have some very opinionated stuff about how it should have been done, what was done, and all of that good stuff. I'm just interested. My take is probably very different to what you've heard already, so if it is different and you've got some thoughts on it, I would love to know.