The ads are everywhere. “Learn this one skill and earn in crores!” “Work from home, make 7 figures monthly!” “My student went from zero to 1 crore in just 6 months!”
These promises are irresistible. Who wouldn’t want to escape the 9-to-5 grind and achieve financial freedom through a simple online course?
But here’s the uncomfortable question: Is this actually real? Or is it just marketing designed to separate you from your money?
Let’s look at the real stories—both the genuine successes and the heartbreaking scams—and give you an honest reality check about what online courses can actually do for your finances.
The Real Story: Yes, People Have Earned Crores Through Online Courses
Let’s start with the truth: Some people absolutely have built wealth through online courses. But the reality of how they did it is very different from what the ads suggest.
Real Success Story 1: From Law Student to IPO
Greg Smith was a law student in 2005, tutoring LSAT prep part-time to pay off student loans. He was teaching in-person courses, but realized he could only reach a limited number of people that way. So he created a simple online course and priced it at just $29 .
Within a few years, that small course was earning him around $10,000 per month. But here’s where the story diverges from the “get rich quick” narrative—Greg didn’t just create one course and retire. He went on to co-found Thinkific, a platform that now helps over 77,000 entrepreneurs sell their own courses. The company went public in 2021, raising $184 million in its IPO .
The reality check: Greg’s journey took years of building, learning from customers, and scaling a real business—not just posting a course and watching money roll in.
Real Success Story 2: From Insurance Agent to $1 Million Year
Chris Huntley was a life insurance agent who pivoted to digital marketing. He bought a brand called “The Rise to the Top”—the very company that taught him how to create courses in the first place .
In 2025, Chris celebrated a massive milestone: $1 million in sales in a single year between his two companies, with total gross revenue approaching $3 million. He now has over 1,450 subscribers paying monthly fees between $35 and $50, generating roughly $48,000-50,000 in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) .
How did he do it? Chris partnered with Bart Ehrman, a New York Times bestselling author, to create content he was genuinely passionate about. “It doesn’t feel like work,” Chris says. “I’m putting out courses and marketing for courses that I’m truly passionate about” .
The reality check: Chris’s success came from finding the right partner, building an email list of 45,000 subscribers, creating a subscription model for predictable income, and working consistently for years—not from a single course launch.
Real Success Story 3: From eBay Designer to 6-Figure Income
Aliena Cai was a senior product designer at eBay earning a six-figure salary (over ₹3.5 crore annually). She started a YouTube channel about user experience design as a side hustle, building an audience over time .
When her channel’s ad and sponsorship revenue reached a certain level, she quit her job to focus on online courses. It took her two years to build a stable customer base and return to a six-figure income .
The reality check: Even someone with Aliena’s expertise and platform didn’t just “earn crores overnight.” She invested years of effort, learned from mistakes, and iterated based on audience feedback.
What About Students Who Get Jobs After Courses?
Platforms like Simplilearn showcase real student success stories—people who completed courses and landed better jobs :
- Jorge Barboza: Three weeks after finishing a cloud computing course, he was hired as a Cloud Engineer, doubling his salary and successfully switching domains .
- Pragya Patel: After a cybersecurity course, she landed a SOC Analyst role with a 55% salary increase .
- Bhaskar Banerji: After a decade on the support desk feeling stuck, an AI/ML course helped him become a Module Lead with a 50% pay raise .
The reality check: These are genuine success stories—but note what they achieved: 50-100% salary increases, not instant crores. That’s realistic and life-changing. Going from ₹10 lakhs to ₹20 lakhs annually is massive progress, but it’s not “become a crorepati in 6 months.”
The Reality Check: Why Most People Don’t Earn Crores
Now let’s look at the other side—why the “earn crores” promise is almost always misleading.
Reality Check 1: Regulators Are Banning These Claims
In October 2025, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned multiple ads making exactly these kinds of promises :
| Ad Claim | Why It Was Banned |
|---|---|
| “Earn £20,000-30,000 per month” working 4 hours a day | No evidence that results were typical |
| “Grow your business overnight 30 to 130 percent” | Implied anyone could achieve this |
| “Pull $30K/month online and work fewer hours” | Testimonials don’t prove typical results |
| Client earning £33,000 in 30 days was “not special” | No evidence this was achievable for average person |
The ASA’s position is clear: “Claims about earnings, growth percentages or lifestyle changes must be backed by robust evidence showing that the results achievable from an advertised course are typical for the average consumer” .
Even disclaimers at the bottom don’t fix misleading headlines. One ad included fine print saying “These results aren’t typical,” but the ASA found consumers would notice the disclaimer only after reading the full caption .
Reality Check 2: The “Six-Figure Promise” Red Flags
Financial experts warn that many courses promising six- or seven-figure incomes with little work are scams .
Red flags to watch for:
Reality Check 3: Real Victims, Real Losses
The scariest reality check is the actual people who’ve lost money.
The £20,000 Language Course Scam:
A person looking for a language certificate found what seemed like a legitimate website offering a reasonable price and quick turnaround. They paid upfront, providing personal and banking information. Then came requests for more money. And more. By the time they realized it was a scam, they had lost £20,000 .
Police warn: “Scammers are exploiting people’s genuine desire for self-development. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is” .
The $3,000 Influencer Course Ghosting:
Ashley Landin and Michelle Echeverry saw an influencer’s videos claiming she made $200,000 a month in permanent makeup. “Three years ago, I was living in a homeless shelter,” she said in one video. “Today, I bought my second dream car, all cash.” She promised to teach them how to generate $1 million in one year .
Each paid $3,000 for a class. The day before, she canceled due to “emergency surgery.” When they asked for refunds or rescheduling, she blocked them .
The victims’ mistakes:
- No signed contract
- Didn’t know her full legal name
- Paid through peer-to-peer platform (Square) instead of credit card
- Didn’t verify licenses or references
Reality Check 4: The Math of “Earning Crores”
Let’s do simple math on what “earning crores” actually means:
| Income Level | Monthly | Daily (30 days) | What It Takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹10 lakhs/year | ₹83,000 | ₹2,700 | Realistic for skilled professional |
| ₹50 lakhs/year | ₹4.16 lakhs | ₹13,800 | Senior professional, niche expert |
| ₹1 crore/year | ₹8.33 lakhs | ₹27,700 | Top 1% of professionals |
| ₹5 crores/year | ₹41.6 lakhs | ₹1.38 lakhs | Business owner, multiple revenue streams |
To earn ₹1 crore annually, you need to generate ₹27,700 every single day—including weekends and holidays.
Is it possible? Yes—if you build a real business with multiple products, subscribers, and marketing systems. But not from a single course you bought last month.
The Honest Truth: What Online Courses Can Actually Do
Realistic Outcome #1: Career Advancement
The most common and achievable outcome: better job, higher salary.
- 50-100% salary increases are real for people who upskill strategically
- Domain switches are possible with the right training
- Breaking out of career plateaus happens
Example: A support desk professional with a decade of experience used an AI/ML course to become a Module Lead with a 50% raise . That’s life-changing—but it’s not “instant crores.”
Realistic Outcome #2: Building a Side Business
Some people turn their expertise into a real business—like Greg Smith with his LSAT tutoring course or Chris Huntley with his subscription academy .
But the timeline:
- Greg’s course took years to reach $10k/month
- Chris built for years before hitting $1 million/year
- Aliena Cai needed two years to return to her previous income level
Realistic Outcome #3: The “Create Courses” Business
Some people don’t just take courses—they create and sell them. Thinkific now helps over 35,000 businesses generate billions in sales . But these are businesses, not passive income schemes.
What Online Courses Will NOT Do:
How to Spot Legitimate Courses vs. Scams
Legitimate Courses Usually:
Red Flags (Scam Warning Signs):
The “Free Training” Trap
Some ads promise “free training” that reveals secrets to success—but the free content just pushes paid programs. UK regulators banned ads where free videos implied you could achieve results without buying anything, when actually results required additional paid products .
The 5 Questions You Must Ask Before Buying
Question 1: “What will I actually learn?”
If the answer is about money (“how to earn crores”) rather than skills (“how to build an email list,” “how to analyze data”), be suspicious.
Question 2: “Who is teaching this?”
Can you verify their background? Do they have real experience? Are they actively working in the field? A quick LinkedIn search can reveal a lot.
Question 3: “What do former students say?”
Look for detailed reviews—what specific outcomes did they achieve? Did they get jobs? Start businesses? Or just vague praise?
Question 4: “Is there a contract?”
Legitimate providers always have clear terms. “Without a contract, no serious company or blogger will provide you with services, especially educational ones” .
Question 5: “Can I get a refund?”
What’s the policy? 100% prepayment without refund options is a major red flag .
The Bottom Line: Realistic Expectations
What Success Looks Like (Real Examples)
The Honest Equation
Online Course + Your Effort + Time = Better Career, Not Instant Riches
- A good course can teach you valuable skills
- Those skills can lead to better jobs or side businesses
- That can mean 50-100% salary increases
- Over years, that adds up to crores
What it won’t do: Make you a crorepati by next year without effort.
The Final Truth
As business coach Treasa Edmond puts it: “The most successful course participants treat it like a commitment. They block time to do the work, ask questions when they’re stuck and apply what they’re learning. It’s not magic. It’s mindset plus action” .
If a course promises you millions with minimal work, run the other way. If it promises to teach you valuable skills that you can apply consistently over time, it might be worth considering.
Remember: Every genuine success story you see—every person who actually earned crores through online education—spent years building, learning from failures, and working harder than they ever did in a job. The course was just one tool in their journey, not the magic wand.
Choose wisely. Work hard. Be patient. That’s the real path.
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