The JR Digital Academy Is Taking Shape.

I’ve been talking about creating the JR Digital Academy for what feels like forever. The idea behind it is actually quite simple — I want to teach small business owners how to build their own business website, without having to spend thousands of pounds getting someone else to do it for them.

It’s been one of those ideas that I genuinely wanted to get off the ground, but somehow there was always something else that needed doing first. Usually client work. I’d work on it for a bit, get busy, put it to one side and promise myself I’d come back to it. And repeat!

So, what changed?

This week I decided enough was enough. I blocked out the week, stepped away from client work as much as possible and finally gave the Academy the time it needed. And what a difference that has made.

The first course is now properly taking shape. It’s an 8-week course designed to teach small business owners how to build their own business website. Not just how to follow a set of instructions, but how to actually understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. Because that’s the bit I think is really important.

Designing and teaching have always gone hand in hand

I’ve been designing websites for years, but teaching has also been a huge part of my working life. Long before JR Digital, I was a college lecturer in Graphic Design and these days, alongside running my web design business, I also teach Pilates and other fitness classes.

They might sound like two completely different worlds, but the part I enjoy is actually very similar — taking something I know and helping someone else understand how to do it for themselves.

I suppose that’s why I’ve always been a bit of a teacher with my web design clients too. I don’t particularly like keeping everything mysterious! I’d much rather show someone how to update their website, explain what SEO actually means or teach them how to add a blog post themselves than have them frightened to touch their own website.

So the Academy really brings together two things I’ve been doing for a very long time — designing and teaching.

Why build your own business website?

There’s another reason I want to do this. Websites are expensive. A professionally designed business website can easily run into thousands of pounds and, for a new or very small business, that can be a huge chunk of money.

Not everyone needs — or can afford — to hand the whole thing over to a web designer. If you’re prepared to learn and put the work in, you absolutely can build your own.

That’s really the thinking behind the course:

Build the website your business needs yourself — and save thousands in web-design costs.

And I should probably point out that I’m not trying to do myself out of a job! There will always be businesses that want or need someone else to build their website for them. But there are also plenty of small business owners who would love to do it themselves if somebody simply showed them how.

That’s where the JR Digital Academy comes in.

It’s finally becoming real

This week I’ve been getting stuck into the actual course rather than just talking about it. I’ve mapped out all eight weeks, started building everything inside the Academy, been working on the student planners and downloads, and started pulling together the sales and marketing side of things too.

I’ve even been looking at the 14-day guarantee and all the boring-but-important bits that come with selling an online course. And somewhere in amongst all of that, I’m doing some Divi 5 training this week as well. Nothing like giving yourself plenty to do!

There is still a LOT to get through. I need to record the training, finish the resources, work on the launch and no doubt change my mind about various things another dozen times along the way.

But for the first time, it actually feels real. The JR Digital Academy isn’t something I’m going to do “when I get time”.

I’m doing it.

And I’ll share a bit more of what’s happening behind the scenes over the next few weeks.

For now, though, I’m just rather pleased that I finally stopped procrastinating and got started.

Want to know when it opens?

If building your own business website is something you’ve been thinking about, email me and I’ll make sure you’re one of the first to know when the course opens.

There’s absolutely no obligation — I’ll simply keep you in the loop as the launch gets closer.

Email me: jacquie@jr-digitaldesign.com