Guide to Starting a Training Business

If you are looking for a opportunity to earn money and you have a specialty that you master properly, so today I present you a complete guide to teach courses and turn your knowledge into an excellent training business.

It is a proven fact today that people seek to improve their skills and knowledge in order to aspire to greater benefits in their jobs. Hence the increase in demand for varied training alternatives, personalized, short-term and with affordable prices. And that formula of course is the perfect answer that unlike universities, a entrepreneur it can offer.

So whatever your specialty is like sales, computer repair, baking, clothing, jewelry, sports, or public speaking, you can turn this into a business project based on teaching specialized courses.

Of course, it is one thing to have knowledge and quite another to transform it into a systematized course.

However, with the right planning you can do it. Therefore, here I share as a guide, some common questions to be able to start your own training business.

What type of course to teach?

The most convenient thing is to start courses or seminars that are related to the topic or group of topics that you best master and that you can develop properly. The success of this business is based on people really learning and taking that intangible value that knowledge represents.

You can develop seminars of a few hours, short courses or complete certified courses according to your availability of time, space and target market.

How to start a training business?

As in any business, it begins by preparing a plan. Although it sounds repetitive, nothing is better than taking a pencil and paper and sketching your ideas to give them shape. You must answer several questions before starting that have to do with the what, how and when of your business.

It is also important to prepare a budget that allows you to clearly determine what financial resources you have.

What hours can I offer?

To get started, you must schedule your courses based on your own time availability. You can offer courses in the evenings, mornings or Saturdays. Most people prefer to study outside of their work routines. So after-hours courses are attractive.

How many people can I attend in a course?

There are a variety of modalities. You can start offering personalized courses which allows you to agree with your client the best time for both. You can also offer courses to small groups of 3 to 5 people or organize more formal courses for groups of 10, 20 or up to 50 people.

Groups that are too large are not desirable because they require more control. However, if you have demand and time availability, you could attend several groups for the same topic at different times.

What equipment will I need for my training business?

The team of course has to do with the type of course you will teach and the number of people you want to reach. For example, if it is a computer repair course, you will need some computers to be able to carry out the different practices among the participants or request that each one bring their laptop.

Not necessarily one per person but at least availability to be able to properly teach practical classes. Similar occurs, for example, with cooking or tailoring courses.

While for the practical part you will need at least a medium board and markers and then a multimedia overhead projector, a laptop and a sound equipment with enough power to teach the classes.

Other more sophisticated equipment such as ipads and the like are not exactly necessary at the beginning and you can acquire them over time as your business grows.

How much should I charge per student?

The price per course and per student has to be set based on several factors:

• Your authority and expertise on the subject
• The type of course to be taught
• The duration in time of the course
• The materials to use
• The place you will use to teach the course
• Payment to instructors in case you do not teach them personally
• Material to be delivered
• Use of electricity, Internet and others

What do my students expect from me?

The main thing that every student or student expects from a course is a level of learning that compensates their economic investment and this can only be measured based on the knowledge acquired and applicable. Therefore, it is essential that your content is practical and quickly applicable.

They will also expect formality and seriousness in organizing your courses and seminars. So you must be very methodical to comply with the agreed schedules, fees and content.

How to ensure a good training experience?

A good training business It is one that is built on the basis of applicable theoretical and practical knowledge that involves group and experiential interaction. And this can only be achieved through good didactic dynamics. This is certainly not that difficult to achieve if you are looking for some advice from experts on the subject.

What materials will I need?

The minimum usual materials that every student wants from a course is a study guide, content references and complementary audiovisual materials. Preparing a CD with this information works very well to spice up and enrich a course. Also on the web you find a lot of useful information and at no cost.

How long should my courses last?

Actually the answer to this question has to do with the extent of the subject and its scope. For example, a sales course can contain many complementary topics and therefore the content should be classified as: basic, intermediate and advanced.

In addition, if the topic is extensive, you can segment it into different modules and therefore help your students to dilute the costs of it as well.

The usual thing is to measure the duration of the contents in a certain number of hours, which at the same time will allow you to budget the costs and put a good price on your courses and / or seminars. For example, the basic excel module, as part of an office course, could last about 5 hours. And finally you can add the hours and give a real idea of ​​the duration of the course according to the days to be taught.

What academic support can I offer?

Initially and in most cities the concept of “free courses” is accepted, which allow you to offer the contents with the sole agreement that the student learns. You can then offer a symbolic diploma of “participation” that allows the student to verify that he received the training course for his work or personal purposes.

However, you can also approach other more prestigious educational institutions such as colleges, universities and private training centers to invite them to evaluate the quality of your courses and support you through a certified diploma with their name, thus giving more weight and prestige to your courses and therefore charge them even better with the respective commission for them.

Where to teach the courses?

The ideal for start your training business Of course, it would always be to have your own lounge or access with advantages to a hotel lounge. And this is not difficult to achieve if you budget well and achieve ideal conditions to cover costs.

Otherwise, you could start some courses by teaching them from your home. Another alternative is to go to a nearby school to rent a classroom for you by the hour or on weekends.

On the subject of seminars, breakfasts or dinners with specific themes are very well accepted.

How to promote my courses?

Finally, a super important issue such as the promotion and marketing of your courses and seminars. And for this there are a variety of ways, however the first convenient step is to prepare some informative material regarding the topics you teach, duration and cost.

To later distribute them in different places related to the subject as well as schools and other businesses in the area where you want to attract your customers. You can also read our topic on low cost techniques to promote your business, which I am sure will expand your possibilities even more.

So, as you can see, this is a great way to start your own training business And as in everything, the recommendation is to start small and grow step by step until you form a company that yields the desired results.

It may interest you: How to Teach Online Courses and Turn Your Knowledge into a Profitable Business

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