New Business Venture - Advice Welcome

sams247

Hello. Facing redundancy some colleagues and I are considering using the knowledge we all have in what is quite a unique field and creating a training company. Can anyone give us advise as to if we need specific qualifications, or if there are any legal catches. We have researched marketing, designed the packages and sourced a training area. We would appreciate any advice - many thanks.

Zazen999

Are you trying to market and sell a course, or a qualification? Huge difference in outlay and hurdles to be honest.

Is there an NVQ in the thing that you are training in? Is there a federation that covers the thing that you are hoping to train in. Also, is your trade covered by any of the sector skills councils?

Has anyone looked through the packages from the trade that you are hoping to train in?

Are you all qualified in the thing that you are hoping to train in?

Have you all had 'train the trainer' training?

Has anyone in your potential new company done training before, or worked for a training provider? Or have you just worked in the field in which you are training?

Have you done this training for anyone at all yet?

Have you got any competitors in the market place in what you do?

Have you got a potential customer base yet?

Probably a zillion other questions; I used to manage a training centre, and we have a sister company who is a training provider. It is hard work, lots of travel but very worthwhile if it works.

sams247

We wont offer a qualification, what we do now is deal with various lines of bullying, addiction, abuse, aggression etc., and we feel this is a quality that we could take into schools etc. We have many years experience, are all qualified in a variety of areas, and have all been trained to train. We have done a lot of training in our own business, it is one of our key areas that we do in our day, which is why we thought about taking it outside. Our current company is cutting back so we all face losing our jobs and thought we'd try and expand to other areas. We even have a customer base that would be interested if we had a proven reputation outside of our own workplace. Which seems catch 22. We need to work to get known and people want us to be known to use us!

Has anyone used conference exhibitions to market training courses? It was an idea one member had.

Zazen999

sams247 wrote: »

We even have a customer base that would be interested if we had a proven reputation outside of our own workplace. Which seems catch 22. We need to work to get known and people want us to be known to use us!

Welcome to the world of running your own business!!!

Come in, sit down and have a cuppa.

As soon as you have done one job, you need to quote their feedback and show how you have impacted positively on their business.

Apart from that, have you thought about partnering...which means you get a foot through the door by being recommended by someone who offers a complimentary aspect? It's often the way business is done nowadays - a bit like the 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' syndrome.

Get a really good book on sales and marketing [i can recommend one - The Secrets of Selling by Geoff King]. And really use the concepts - they really do work.

Horace

Seek advice from Business Link and your local chamber of commerce - they are helpful to start up businesses and will offer free courses in sales/marketing, financial stuff, legal stuff, business awareness.

HTH and good luck in your new venture.

sams247

Thank you, stopping for a quick brew always sounds a good idea, I'll bring cake.

We'll look out the book, thank you. And am looking up the Business Link web site page as we speak. I ask myself - is this exciting or terrifying?

therealdessie

It's very common practice also to offer a discount to a client in return for the rights to their feedback for use in your materials. You should consider this in the short term.

Flylady_Flower

Zazen999 wrote: »

Welcome to the world of running your own business!!!

Come in, sit down and have a cuppa.

As soon as you have done one job, you need to quote their feedback and show how you have impacted positively on their business.

Apart from that, have you thought about partnering...which means you get a foot through the door by being recommended by someone who offers a complimentary aspect? It's often the way business is done nowadays - a bit like the 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' syndrome.

Get a really good book on sales and marketing [i can recommend one - The Secrets of Selling by Geoff King]. And really use the concepts - they really do work.

Just reading this with interest. I run my own business and have done for nearly 4 years (on and off - done part time usually while working to make ends meet - not a good mix!). Thanks for the book recommendation, one of the hardest things I have found is having to be the answer to every problem, you know, book-keeper, payment chaser, marketing expert, sales person, bank manager, etc, while still doing the day to day stuff that I got into it for in the first place!
Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but I hate marketing and selling, so any advice on this is more than gratefully accepted, so thank you again,
Denise

Horace

It is exciting and nerve racking setting up your own business even more so when you are on the dole and skint:eek: Still I am not going to change my mind because I think I will make oodles of pounds - pink ones included:rotfl:

Sales & Marketing - now there's a thing. Denise, you could always approach your local chamber of commerce because they run a good course on this. I think the idea is to know your market - ring a few people in your area who are in the same business (pretend you are a customer) and get their prices - set your price in the middle.

Use leaflets, brochures, even join your local chamber and attend their networking events (some of these are free), the more you talk to people then you are likely to pick up more business.

If you are doing something new - bung out a press release - they are free and don't cost anything and hopefully the local paper will run a story.

HTH

Flylady_Flower

Horace wrote: »

It is exciting and nerve racking setting up your own business even more so when you are on the dole and skint:eek: Still I am not going to change my mind because I think I will make oodles of pounds - pink ones included:rotfl:

Sales & Marketing - now there's a thing. Denise, you could always approach your local chamber of commerce because they run a good course on this. I think the idea is to know your market - ring a few people in your area who are in the same business (pretend you are a customer) and get their prices - set your price in the middle.

Use leaflets, brochures, even join your local chamber and attend their networking events (some of these are free), the more you talk to people then you are likely to pick up more business.

If you are doing something new - bung out a press release - they are free and don't cost anything and hopefully the local paper will run a story.

HTH

Thanks Horace, great advice.
I have been running for a while now, but gave up the 'J.O.B' on 28th June :j :j so now on my own, although I am doing some work for a friend who is in the same business, but a different part of the country, so that helps.

I have done a lot of what you mentioned already, but am just getting back into networking - Highly recommended and when I first started I had a great 2 page spread in our local paper, as I had been personally trained by a TV personality (don't want to name drop )

Free advertising is definitely the best way to go too, and because I deal with homes & properties I often do door knocking, although I don't sell, just introduce myself and then leave some information - amazing how that works as it's not pushy and they know who you are - I get a good response from that.

Anyway, mustn't ramble - good luck to everyone starting out and all those who are already up and running - keep it up, you can get there!:beer: