Deborah Jaggard Success Story: How a Teacher Built an Online Learning Marketplace with Zenler

See how Deborah Jaggard used Zenler to build an online learning marketplace, launch multiple courses, and grow a community around education.

Deborah Jaggard's story is one of deliberate reinvention. A teacher and learning and development professional for years, she found herself online during the pandemic and never looked back. What began as a necessity became a passion — and eventually, a business. Through NTSSLearning.com, Deborah is building something ambitious: a one-stop learning marketplace where students of all kinds can find courses, community, coaching, and support, all in one place.

She has been with Zenler for around a year and a half. She came in knowing nothing about funnels, automations, or domains. Today, she has a fully built site, multiple courses live, a public community, and a pipeline of ideas that shows no sign of slowing down.

From Classroom to Online: A Pandemic Pivot That Stuck

Deborah spent years teaching teenagers and adults, and working in learning and development in a business training context. When the pandemic hit, everything moved online. Her workplace adapted, she adapted, and something unexpected happened.

She loved it.

"I discovered I really like working online, teaching and coaching people online, supporting people online, because you can get so far. It's open to the whole world."

That realisation changed the direction of her career. Once restrictions lifted and the world returned to normal, Deborah did not. She stayed online, stopped doing face-to-face teaching entirely, and began thinking about what it would look like to build something of her own.

She is also, by her own description, a techie person. The online world does not intimidate her — it fascinates her. That enthusiasm has been a significant asset as she has built NTSSLearning from scratch.

Finding Zenler and Getting Started

Deborah's path to Zenler came through research. She wanted to set up an online business and started looking into what that involved. Zenler appeared by chance during that search, and at the time it was available as a free account with no commitment required.

She joined, explored, and started building. When Zenler moved to a paid model in August of last year, she did not hesitate.

"I decided to become a pro."

From there, she went straight into the Accelerator programme and then Accelerator Plus. She has been learning consistently ever since — workshops, mini courses, bite-sized videos, live sessions — absorbing everything available to her and putting it into practice on her site.

The support she received went beyond the standard training. Kevin's video review of her site once it was built gave her specific, actionable feedback on exactly what to change. That kind of direct, personalised input made a real difference.

"That's just an example of what Zenler offers that's absolutely brilliant."

Starting From Zero — and Building Anyway

Deborah Jaggard is candid about how much she did not know when she started. Funnels, automations, domains — none of it was familiar territory. She had taught online, but setting up an online business with its own infrastructure was entirely different.

She worked through the onboarding checklist, found her footing, and focused first on what mattered most to her: creating distance learning courses. Getting the course structure right, adding media, building quizzes, understanding how learners would move through the content — these were her early priorities.

Then the Accelerator programme opened things up further. Webinars. Opt-ins. Communities. Features she had not known existed became tools she could actually use.

"You learn a lot by being in Zenler, and doing things within Zenler."

She even made it near the top of the leaderboard through Zenler's gamification feature — which she admits took a little while to get the hang of.

What Has Impressed Her Most

Deborah does not point to one single moment of surprise. Instead, she describes a constant process of discovery. Every course she attends, every video she watches, there is something new.

At the time of this interview, she was working through David's 31 Days series — daily bite-sized videos covering Zenler features — and finding something useful in every single one.

The blog scheduling feature is a recent example. Being able to write posts in advance and schedule them to publish automatically means she can step away from the screen while her content continues to go out. For someone building a content-driven platform, that kind of automation is not a nice-to-have. It is essential.

"I can have a bit of a break if I want, and it will happen automatically. So you can set up everything, and then get on with the other things you need to be doing, like creating courses and promoting yourself."

The Community: Not Just a Platform Feature

For Deborah Jaggard, the Zenler community has been one of the most valuable parts of the experience — not just because of the help it offers, but because of what it represents.

Working online can be isolating. Running your own business compounds that. Having a community of people in similar situations, who understand the challenges and are genuinely willing to help, changes the texture of the whole experience.

"You know, there are other people in the same situation as you that you can talk to."

Deborah does not just receive help. She gives it too. When she knows something that can help another member, she shares it. That reciprocity is what makes the community work.

She has also set up her own public community inside Zenler, open to anyone with an interest in learning. It is free to join, designed to connect people around the topic of education, and already a growing part of what NTSSLearning offers.

What She Would Do Differently

If Deborah Jaggard could go back to day one with her current knowledge, she has two clear pieces of advice.

The first is about time. Building an online business from scratch takes significantly more time and effort than most people expect. Coming in prepared for that — organising life accordingly so the hours are actually available — makes everything smoother.

"If you think you'll do a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon and that's it, I'm afraid you do have to put in a lot more time and effort than that."

The second is about checking. Check everything. Check it on a laptop. Check it on a mobile phone. Check it on a tablet. What looks right on one device does not always look right on another, and every learner who visits the site deserves a positive experience regardless of how they are accessing it.

These are not glamorous tips. They are the kind of practical, honest advice that only comes from someone who has actually done the work.

What NTSSLearning Offers Now

Deborah Jaggard has built a genuinely varied learning platform. NTSSLearning is not built around a single subject or a single type of learner. It is designed to be a marketplace — a place where there is always something relevant, regardless of what someone needs to learn or how they learn best.

Current offerings include distance learning courses across multiple subjects, tutoring and coaching, English language courses, wellbeing content, and a new series called Micro Maths.

Micro Maths is particularly worth noting. These are intentionally tiny courses — ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour at most. They are designed for complete beginners who struggle with maths and have never found a resource that goes back to true basics. Each micro course is self-contained but can also be combined with others, allowing learners to build their own pathway. They are designed for mobile, designed to be quick, and designed to prevent the loss of focus that derails so many learners.

"A lot of people struggle with maths and can't always find somewhere that goes right back to basics."

The site also features external practitioners. One current example is an interview with an autism expert who also lives with autism herself — giving learners insight that comes directly from lived experience alongside professional expertise. This kind of content reflects Deborah Jaggard's broader vision: NTSSLearning is not just about her. It is a platform where many voices can contribute.

What Is Next for NTSSLearning

Deborah Jaggard has no shortage of ideas. Her challenge is not coming up with things to do — it is prioritising them.

In the next six to twelve months, she wants to bring more affiliates onto the platform, expanding the range of courses and practitioners available. She wants to grow the community significantly, welcoming people who may never buy a course but want to connect with others around learning. And she is planning to introduce a membership option — a monthly subscription that gives learners access to the full range of courses on the site rather than purchasing individually.

"I have plenty of ideas. I never struggle with ideas."

That is not a small ambition. It is the vision of someone who knows exactly what she is building and is steadily putting the pieces in place.

What Business Owners Can Learn from Deborah Jaggard

Deborah Jaggard's story is a useful reminder that success in the early stages of an online business is not always measured in revenue. It is measured in what you have built, what you have learned, and how far you have come from where you started.

A few things stand out from her journey.

Be prepared to put the time in. There are no shortcuts to building something properly. The people who succeed are the ones who treat their online business like a real job and give it the hours it requires.

Check everything, on every device. Your learners will arrive from mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. Their experience matters on all of them.

Use the training available to you. Deborah Jaggard has attended courses, workshops, mini videos, and live sessions consistently. That ongoing education is directly reflected in the quality of what she has built.

Build a community, not just a course catalogue. Deborah's public community adds a layer of value that no course alone can replicate. It brings people back, keeps them connected, and turns a platform into a place.

Think like a marketplace. Not everyone needs the same thing. Offering variety, flexibility, and multiple entry points — free content, paid courses, coaching, community — means there is always a reason for someone to engage.

"There's no fear in anything. Just launch yourself, and you won't regret it."

Connect with Deborah Jaggard and NTSSLearning

Website: https://www.ntsslearning.com

FAQ

Who is Deborah Jaggard? Deborah Jaggard is the founder of NTSSLearning.com, an online learning platform offering distance learning courses, tutoring, coaching, and community support across a wide range of subjects and learning styles.

What does NTSSLearning offer? NTSSLearning offers online courses across multiple subjects including maths, English, and wellbeing, as well as coaching, tutoring, a public learning community, and content from external practitioners. It is designed to serve a wide range of learners with different needs and different ways of learning.

What is Micro Maths? Micro Maths is Deborah Jaggard's new series of bite-sized maths courses designed for complete beginners. Each course is ten to thirty minutes long, mobile-friendly, and can be taken individually or combined with others to build a personalised learning pathway.

Why is Deborah Jaggard's success story important? Her story shows how a teaching professional with no background in online business can build a fully functioning learning platform from scratch using the right tools, consistent learning, and a clear vision.

Why did Deborah Jaggard choose Zenler? She found Zenler through online research while setting up her business. She joined on the free account, explored the platform, and committed to the paid plan when she saw how much it could support what she was trying to build.

What Zenler features have made the biggest difference for Deborah Jaggard? Course creation tools, the community feature, blog scheduling, webinar functionality, the Accelerator programme, and the support team have all played a significant role in how she has built and grown NTSSLearning.

Has Deborah Jaggard's business generated income yet? Deborah Jaggard has courses live and available on her site. Her current focus is on expanding the platform, growing the community, bringing in affiliates, and developing new course series ahead of launching a membership option.

What is Deborah Jaggard building next on Zenler? More courses, a membership subscription option, an expanded affiliate network, and a growing public community focused on learning and education.

What can other business owners learn from Deborah Jaggard's journey? Put the time in properly, check everything on every device, use all the training available to you, build community alongside courses, and think broadly about the different ways people might want to engage with what you offer.

Categories: : Entrepeneur Success Stories

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