You already know you don’t like launching… but you’re still asking yourself, “Am I really ready to sell my course on autopilot?”
Let me make this simple for you. Today, I’m going to share the five biggest signs that it’s time to quit launching for good and start building the kind of consistent, sustainable revenue that you deserve.
Here’s the deal, if you recognize even one of these signs, that’s a huge red flag and you’re definitely ready to make the switch.
But from my experience? Most people listening today are going to see themselves in at least three… maybe even all five.
My name is Caitlin Bacher, CEO of Scale With Success®, and I’m on a mission to help course creators all over the world grow their business in a way that is profitable and scalable. I’m sharing revealing insights about what it really takes to scale an online course business to millions of dollars per year. Join me here to discover the tough decisions I’ve had to make, the biggest failures I’ve had to bounce back from, and the learnings that emerged every step of the way. I’m so grateful that I have the chance to tell you everything right here on Scale With Success®: The Podcast. Let’s get started.
Launching is just one way to grow a business. It’s loud. It’s exhausting. It’s high risk. And for a lot of us – it’s not even that profitable.
The good news? There is another way.
So, let’s talk about the top 5 signs it’s time to ditch launches and start selling your course on autopilot.
Sign #1: You’re Crunched for Time
As a small business owner, time is your most valuable resource. You’re the CEO, the marketing department, the sales team, and the customer support line – often all in the same day.
And here’s the problem with launching, it’s the opposite of efficient.
A typical launch means:
- 2-3 months of intense prep work: list building, content creation, tech setup, ad campaigns…
- Then you open your cart for 5-7 days…and maybe you generate a little bit of excitement. But, then… nothing. No sales until you begin the next grueling launch cycle again.
All the momentum you worked so hard to build? Gone.
That’s what I call linear thinking. You start… you stop… you start again. Over and over.
Selling on autopilot is systems thinking. You connect the dots between creating, promoting, selling, and delivering – so each part of your business feeds into the next without you personally driving every step.
If you feel like you’re constantly starting from zero after each launch, that’s your sign – it’s time to switch to systems.
Sign #2: You’ve Got a Small Team (or No Team at All)
Back when I was launching, my team was basically me and a bunch of contractors I’d have to hire to swoop in right before a launch.
It was expensive. It was chaotic. And it was risky.
Here’s what I didn’t realize: Launching requires a bigger team than evergreen does.
When you’re trying to cram 12 months’ worth of sales into a few days with launching, you need all hands on deck: copywriters, designers, ad managers, tech people. And they all need to get paid before you make a single sale.
I remember one launch where I spent $20,000 upfront on contractors and agencies. I thought, “This will be hands-off for me. They’ll do everything. It’ll be my biggest launch yet.”
I was wrong.
That launch broke even. Which meant all that work… all that stress… and I didn’t even pay myself. It wasn’t that the team was bad – it’s that I assumed paying more meant I could walk away. And that’s not how it works.
If you’re trying to keep your operations lean and your profits high, launching is like trying to run a marathon in shoes two sizes too small – it’s possible, but it’s going to hurt, and you probably won’t want to do it again.
Selling on autopilot removes that crunch. You can operate with a smaller, more nimble team – and your revenue doesn’t depend on one “make or break” week.
Sign #3: You Want to Increase Profit
This is the part that rarely gets talked about in the “launch life” world: Big launches are expensive.
If your launch goes well, great. But if it doesn’t? You’re stuck waiting months to try again, with empty pockets in the meantime.
Every week, I get DMs from smart, capable course creators in the middle of launches that are tanking. They’re stressed. They’re panicking. And it’s not because they’re bad at what they do – it’s because the launch model is unforgiving.
When you sell on autopilot, you’re enrolling students every day, not just a couple times a year.
That means:
- Your cash flow is steady.
- You can make small tweaks to your funnel while you’re still making money.
- You’re constantly collecting fresh data so your marketing improves week by week.
This is huge. Because growth comes from iteration, not just from big, flashy events.
Sign #4: You Have a Tiny Audience
This one surprises a lot of people. They think, “I can’t sell on auto-pilot until I have a massive audience.” Not true.
In fact, launching is the thing that requires a giant audience because you need a big enough list to hit your revenue goal in one short burst.
When you’re selling your course on autopilot, you’re growing your audience and making sales at the same time. You’re not paying a fortune to build your list months before you ever sell anything. Instead, you’re using systems to get in front of new people every day, nurture them, and invite them to buy – whether they found you yesterday or three months ago.
And because your funnel is doing the selling for you, your time is freed up for higher-level thinking: refining your message, improving your content, and finding new ways to reach more of the right people.
Your audience grows alongside your revenue – no more waiting.
Sign #5: You Hate Launching
This might be the most important one. If you hate launching… you don’t have to do it. Period.
Yes, some people love launching. They live for the adrenaline rush, the big event energy, the “cart closing” countdown.
But a lot of business owners secretly dread it. They just think it’s the only way to hit their goals. That was me.
Even when launching wasn’t bringing in the revenue I needed, I kept doing it because I thought it was my only option.
Then I met someone making over $300,000 a month selling his course on autopilot. No launches. No drama. Just consistent, predictable sales.
Seeing his numbers was the moment I realized: If it’s possible for one person, it’s possible for me. And that means, it’s possible for you, too.
Once I made the switch from launching to evergreen, my entire business shifted.
- I stopped living in rollercoaster revenue cycles.
- My profits became predictable.
- I could plan, hire, and grow without wondering if the next launch would flop.
And best of all? I built a business that actually supports my life, instead of the other way around.
Let’s recap the 5 signs it’s time to quit launching:
- You’re Crunched for Time – Launches stop your momentum. Systems build it.
- You’ve Got a Small Team – Evergreen works with fewer people and less stress.
- You Want to Increase Profit – Evergreen selling is cheaper, smarter, and more sustainable.
- You Have a Tiny Audience – You can grow your audience and sell at the same time.
- You Hate Launching – You don’t have to do it just because someone told you it was the only way to grow.
If even one of these is true for you, that’s your signal – it’s time to rethink your model.
Selling your course on autopilot isn’t just about the money – it’s about the freedom. The stability. The ability to make decisions from a place of confidence instead of panic.
You don’t need a bigger team. You don’t need a massive audience. You don’t need to spend tens of thousands upfront hoping it all works out.
You just need the right system – one that works for you, every day, without the launch rollercoaster.
If you’re ready to see how it works, I invite you to join my free masterclass where I’ll walk you through my Profitable Sales Engine™ step-by-step. The link is in the show notes.
Thanks for being here and tune in next week for another episode of Scale With Success® The Podcast.
Are you sick and tired of launching and looking for a proven method to generate consistent revenue from your online course on autopilot?
Sign up for my free masterclass, “How To Generate Launch-Sized Revenue Without Launching” and I’ll show you how our clients are making MORE money in LESS time than they ever did while launching.
If making sales everyday in a way that is completely automated and doesn’t require paid advertising sounds good to you, then click the link around this episode and sign up for my free masterclass today.
Today’s episode is brought to you by Scale With Success® Accelerator — an online course designed to help you generate launch-sized revenue without lanching. If you want to learn MORE about our proven method for success, click here to watch my free masterclass. See you in there!
