Online Course Business: The Perfect Muse?

Are you familiar with The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss?

Chances are, you’ve at least heard of it. And if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably read it more than once. While the title may sound a little far-fetched, the book is packed with practical strategies for what Tim calls lifestyle design — the idea of designing your ideal life first, then building a business that funds it.

One of the most powerful concepts from the book is what Tim calls a muse — a low-maintenance, semi-automated business that generates recurring income. Some folks call this “passive income,” but the core idea is the same:

Build something once, put systems in place, and allow that asset to earn revenue with minimal ongoing effort.

If you’re looking to create an online course business, that’s exactly the kind of model you should be aiming for.

From Side Hustle to Full-Time Freedom

A lot of people start their muse as a side hustle. Maybe you work a full-time job. Maybe you’re juggling a family, obligations, or another business. But carving out just 10–20 hours per week to build something of your own can be the bridge to true freedom.

Sure, the “4-hour workweek” is catchy — but most entrepreneurs will tell you that in the beginning, it’s more like the “20-hour hustle.” Still, that’s the beauty of it: over time, your muse grows, your systems improve, and the hours shrink. Eventually, your Plan B can become your Plan A.

And for me, the first true muse I built was an online training course.

We set out to create an online course business in a specific niche — web-based, video-driven, and value-packed. I poured a ton of time into developing the content and building the site (which, by the way, is what led to the creation of WP Courseware). But here’s the kicker…

Months later, that course was still generating income.

Students continued to sign up, go through the material, learn a new skill, and move on with more confidence — while we continue to earn revenue without needing to touch the site. Obviously there were some maintenance tasks, but those tasks were not a time consuming as the initial workload.

Why WP Courseware Is the Ideal Tool to Create an Online Course Business

WP Courseware was born out of necessity — we needed a simple, flexible way to deliver online training through WordPress. Over the years, it has evolved into a complete business in a box for course creators.

That means you no longer need a patchwork of plugins to piece together your online business. WP Courseware now includes:

• ✅ Membership functionality to restrict access to your course content
• ✅ Built-in Stripe and PayPal payment gateways to accept payments seamlessly
• ✅ Course drip functionality, quizzes, certificates, gamification and much more

If your goal is to create an online course business, WP Courseware gives you all the tools you need in one powerful platform.

Our customers have used WP Courseware to teach everything from dog training to real estate investing, piano lessons to personal development. And the stories we hear are inspiring — people who’ve taken their knowledge, packaged it up, and built true lifestyle businesses around it.

Start Your Muse Today

If you’ve ever thought about building a training course, now is the time.

The knowledge you already have could be the foundation for your own muse. Whether it’s through video, written lessons, or a mix of both, you can create an online course business that pays you long after the work is done.

WP Courseware makes it easier than ever to get started — no coding, no tech headaches, just everything you need to launch.