One Step Ahead: Is This Popular Course Creation Advice Helping or Hurting?

"You only need to be one step ahead of someone to teach them."

If you've spent any time in the online business space, you've likely encountered this advice. It's typically offered as a remedy for impostor syndrome—that nagging feeling that you're not qualified enough to teach others. On the surface, it seems encouraging and accessible. After all, who doesn't want to believe they already have enough knowledge to help others and build a business?

But as someone who's spent years helping course creators develop truly transformational educational experiences, I have some thoughts about this popular piece of wisdom. Let's unpack why this advice exists, where it falls short, and what might serve you better as an aspiring educator.

The Intent Behind "One Step Ahead" Advice

I understand the sentiment behind this advice. It aims to:

• Reduce the paralysis of impostor syndrome
• Lower the barrier to entry for new educators
• Encourage people to share what they know
• Remind us that we all have valuable knowledge to offer

These are worthy goals. Many people do have valuable insights to share, even without decades of experience or formal credentials. The people one step behind you genuinely might benefit from learning from your recent experience.

But context matters. And in the context of online business coaching, this advice often morphs into something more problematic.

When "One Step Ahead" Becomes Problematic

The trouble begins when this advice is used to justify a profit-first approach to education rather than a transformation-first approach. Here's where it becomes concerning:

1. It shifts focus from impact to income

The "one step ahead" mantra is often embedded in messaging that emphasizes quick profits over meaningful impact: "You don't need to do all this work or become an expert—just package what you already know, add some AI, and start selling!"

This mindset treats education as merely a vehicle for making money rather than a means of creating genuine transformation. It focuses on what you can extract rather than what you can contribute.

2. It ignores the importance of contextual knowledge

Being one step ahead means you've only experienced a single step of what might be a much longer journey. This limited perspective creates several issues:

You may lack the context needed for effective teaching. The approach you take to step one is often influenced by what will happen at step five. Without broader experience, you can only recreate your exact circumstances rather than adapt to various student needs.

For example, if you're teaching business foundations, the way someone should structure their offers on day one is influenced by their five-year vision. If you've only just launched your own business, how can you guide someone to set up systems that will scale appropriately when you haven't scaled yourself?

You may not be able to anticipate obstacles. Every journey has unexpected challenges. If you're only one step ahead, you'll encounter these obstacles at roughly the same time as your students—leaving both of you stranded.

You risk teaching tactical moves without strategic understanding. Without seeing the bigger picture, you might teach cookie-cutter tactics that worked for you without understanding why they worked or whether they'll work for others in different circumstances.

3. It devalues expertise and continuous learning

The "one step ahead" philosophy often comes packaged with an implicit devaluation of deep expertise. It suggests that extensive knowledge and experience are unnecessary—or worse, that they're just barriers constructed to keep people out of the market.

This perspective can lead to:

• A race to the bottom in educational quality
• Perpetuating shallow, tactical advice without strategic depth
• Discouraging continued professional development
• Normalizing minimal preparation as sufficient

A Better Approach: Responsible Expertise

So if "just one step ahead" isn't enough, what is? I'm not suggesting you need to be the world's foremost expert before creating educational content. But I do believe in a more responsible middle ground:

1. Map the full journey

You should be able to articulate:

• Where your ideal student is when they find you (Point A)
• Where you'll take them in your course (Point B)
• What happens after they complete your program
• The various contexts and circumstances they might face along the way

This means understanding the broader context of their journey beyond your specific teaching. For example, if you're teaching business fundamentals, you need to consider: Once they implement your methodology, what challenges will they face next? How will their business needs evolve? What additional skills will they need to develop?

Try this thought exercise: Imagine a graduate of your program books a one-on-one call with you. They acknowledge you might not be an expert in what comes next, but they value your perspective and ask: "What should I be focusing on now that I've completed your program?"

How thoroughly could you answer this question? Would you have enough contextual knowledge to:

• Point them toward appropriate next steps?
• Recommend quality resources for continued learning?
• Explain the potential challenges they might face?
• Outline different paths they might consider based on their specific circumstances?

If you struggle to provide meaningful guidance beyond "I don't know" or generic advice anyone could give, this suggests you may need more contextual understanding of your field before teaching others.

The point isn't that you need to be able to teach every step of their journey personally. Rather, you need enough perspective to ensure your teaching fits coherently into their broader path and prepares them adequately for what comes next.

2. Embrace impostor syndrome as a signal

Rather than dismissing impostor syndrome with a convenient motto, view it as valuable feedback. Sometimes that feeling of being unqualified isn't just fear—it's legitimate recognition of gaps in your knowledge.

When you feel that discomfort, ask yourself:

• What specific aspects of this topic make me feel uncertain?
• What additional knowledge or experience would help me feel more confident?
• How can I fill these gaps responsibly?

This approach turns impostor syndrome from something to overcome into something that guides your professional development.

3. Prioritize proficiency over proximity

You don't need complete mastery, but you do need proficiency. This means:

• You can answer not just the basic questions but the follow-up questions
• You can adapt your teaching to different contexts and circumstances
• You understand enough about where your teaching fits in the bigger picture
• You can anticipate common obstacles and prepare students for them

4. Be transparent about your boundaries

No one knows everything. Even with years of experience, you'll have knowledge boundaries. The difference between a responsible educator and an irresponsible one isn't the absence of limitations—it's transparency about them.

Be clear about:

• The scope of your teaching
• When and why you're directing students to other resources
• Areas where you're still learning
• The difference between your tested knowledge and your educated guesses

Creating True Transformation Takes More Than One Step

The truth is that creating transformational educational experiences requires more than being slightly ahead of your students. It requires understanding the contours of the entire journey, even if you haven't personally completed every possible variation of it.

This doesn't mean you need to wait until you've "arrived" at some mythical destination of complete expertise. But it does mean taking your role as an educator seriously enough to:

1. Continuously expand your knowledge
2. Honestly assess your qualifications
3. Fill your gaps before asking others to trust and pay you
4. Structure learning experiences based on where students are going, not just where they've been

The next time someone tells you that you only need to be one step ahead to teach, consider whether that's truly sufficient for the transformation you want to create. Your students deserve more than someone who's barely cleared the hurdle they're facing—they deserve someone who can show them the path beyond it, too.

If you're ready to create a course that delivers genuine transformation through thoughtfully structured curriculum—whether you're just getting started or refining an existing program—I'd love to help. Click here to learn more about how we can work together. Let's build something that truly changes lives.