Meet Gina Onativia | Course Consultant & Digital Strategist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gina Onativia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gina, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

Early on in my business I had mentors tell me: Be unreasonable.

In other words: don’t be satisfied by the status quo. Don’t be afraid to go against the grain. And have the confidence to do something that others will say: That will never work.

Five years ago I took a risk in my business when I decided to double down on course creation.

Up until then I was doing all sorts of tasks to cobble together a business as the behind-the-scenes girl. Need a script for your virtual event intro video? I got you. Ten-post blog series? I am your girl. Produce a livestream? Let’s go.

Now this online business whack-a-mole wasn’t doing me—or my company—any good in terms of my brand or scaling.

I decided that I had to take a stand and step into the spotlight and be known for that one special thing. Ah, course creation.

When I offered my first done for you course service five years ago—I didn’t know anyone offering a comprehensive course service—totally custom, from outlining to designing to building the course platform. It was unheard of.

It was a huge risk to put a bigger package (and me as the face of the brand) out there vs saying — just pay me this small piece. Keep filling those small holes.

In fact, one well-meaning friend said to me—you have a nice thing going, why mess with it?

Because I was playing small, and needed to go bigger.

I had a vision of serving course creators. I wanted to be unreasonable. I want to be out there.

That’s how Course Creation Boutique came into existence.

I’m known as “the course creation gal” and have created and marketed my own programs, hosted my own virtual and in-person workshops. All because I took that leap.

So I am here to tell you: don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do with your business. Be unreasonable as hell and don’t look back.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Really what sets us apart is that a lot of businesses in the course creation and digital marketing space are one-size-fits-all. They offer you a plug-and-play system, and leave you to figure out the rest.

I think it’s tough to build an online course or a business that way, so we pride ourselves in getting in the trenches with you, holding your hand through the course creation and marketing process.

This year, we’re excited to extend our digital marketing agency services. We have traditionally offered mainly course creation; now we’re offering done-for-you clients packages to help build out their customer journeys, scale their businesses, and build out campaigns.

What I learned along the way is to listen to all of those folks (read: potential paying clients!) asking you for more, or a specific offering. For so many years I resisted expanding our services. The truth was, I was just getting in my own way.

If it’s going to be profitable for your business, give the people what they want! 🙂

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We divide our weekends – beach or trails, depending on the season.

If beach:
Head to Azucar for pastelitos and the BEST cafe con leche or breakfast. Grab a pumpkin loaf if it’s in season. Or the ham and manchego cheese quiche. Or the banana chia seed muffin. OK, I could go on and on here. Everything is delicious.

Then go to Ocean Beach to bodyboard (well, WATCH my 8-year-old bodyboard! I’m just taking it all in!).

Then hit Pizza Port in OB for a late lunch (our pick: their Monterey pizza).

If trails:
Head to Sheldon’s in La Mesa and grab one of their breakfast bowls and caramel macchiatos (half sweet, oat milk = a dream).

Hit one of the Fortuna hikes at Mission Trails Regional Park.

Once exhausted, grab Tamarind Thai (the 8-year-old’s favorite).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The women who taught me to play bigger—Amy Porterfield, Pam Hendrickson and Patty Vogan-Geyer.

Website: https://coursecreationboutique.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coursecreationboutique/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginaonativia

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coursecreationboutique/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmueJi9AkM1HZ9R8ZcmZsSw/videos

Other: Podcast: https://coursecreationboutique.com/podcasts/