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How a Piano Hobby Turned Into a Million-Dollar Online Course | Jacques Hopkins

Jun 1, 2025

Guest

Jacques Hopkins

Jacques Hopkins, an electrical engineer turned online course creator, shares his journey from frustration with traditional piano lessons to launching his successful course, Piano in 21 Days. He reveals how turning hobbies into businesses can lead to financial success. Jacques emphasizes the importance of having a unique value proposition and overcoming imposter syndrome. Listeners learn about audience-first strategies, course validation, and building a course business that supports their ideal lifestyle.

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ANECDOTE

Piano Hobby Sparks Business Idea

Jacques Hopkins procrastinated by playing piano after work, which sparked his idea for an online piano course.
His course, Piano in 21 Days, took years to become successful after that initial realization.

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ANECDOTE

From Frustration to Enjoyment

Jacques hated traditional piano lessons for 12 years and only learned two songs.
He discovered a new way to play by learning chords and improvisation, which he found enjoyable and easier to learn.

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ADVICE

Validate Through Live Teaching

Before creating an online course, teach your curriculum live to a small group to validate and improve it.
Early live teaching helps refine content and speeds up success compared to building the course first.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

From Engineer to Entrepreneur: The Piano Journey

01:47 • 15min

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Revolutionizing Music Education Through Personalized Learning

16:26 • 4min

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Crafting Unique Value in Online Courses

20:40 • 16min

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Building a Successful Online Course: A Strategic Approach

37:06 • 5min

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Navigating Online Course Business Mistakes

42:11 • 10min

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Cultivating a Proactive Vision for Sustainable Business Growth

51:57 • 3min

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#434 What if your favorite form of procrastination could be the key to your next million-dollar business? That’s exactly what happened to Jacques Hopkins, an electrical engineer who turned his frustration with traditional piano lessons — and his love for a better, simpler way to play — into Piano in 21 Days, an online course that has generated millions in revenue. In this episode hosted by Kirsten Tyrrel, Jacques shares how he went from building circuits to building a thriving course business in a non-money-making niche. You’ll learn how he found his unique value proposition, why you don’t need to be the top expert to start teaching, and his three-phase method for creating not just a course — but a full-fledged course business. We also explore how to overcome imposter syndrome, build an audience the smart way, and design a business that supports the lifestyle you want!

What we discuss with Jacques:

+ Turning hobbies into businesses

+ Unique value proposition importance

+ Teaching without being an expert

+ Online course validation strategies

+ B2B vs. B2C course models

+ Building a course business

+ Avoiding the learning loop trap

+ Audience-first content strategy

+ Why focus beats many offers

+ Creating systems for freedom

Thank you, Jacques!