So, you’re thinking of starting your own training business but do you have the essential skills to make it a success?
One of the most common pitfalls for business owners is underestimating the range and depth of skills needed for success.
And not just short term success. Real-life, long-term success that elevates your new business to a whole other level.
It’s important to categorise these skills, because just having the passion for training and helping people or knowledge of your industry does not mean that you are set up for automatic success.
The first category we will examine in relation to your skills are business skills.
Yep, that’s right.
Before starting a business you need to understand what skills are necessary to manage that business and take it from startup to success.
1. Financial Management
It’s obvious, right?
To run a successful business, no matter the sector or service, it is essential that you can effectively manage your finances.
That means forecasting cash flow and sales to monitoring your profit and loss.
Before you get carried away with the finer details of your business, become proficient in what it means to become a business owner. Period.
2. Marketing Skills
No matter how good your training courses are, or how experienced you or your employees are, if you don’t know how to promote them effectively you won’t be able to take your business beyond the startup phase.
Sound marketing skills and a solid marketing strategy will help you to generate sales and build up a pipeline of work that will see you through your first few courses to strategic success.
3.Communication Skills
Communication forms the foundation of everything you do in business. Being able to communicate effectively with customers, employees, suppliers and more is absolutely essential to success. So, if your communication skills are somewhat lacking or you don’t have much experience in actively selling, this is something to work on or considering outsourcing so you can absolutely maximise the earning potential of your company.
Once you’ve got business skills nailed, its time to think about the skills you possess in relation to the training process. Without these, you won’t be able to communicate even the most effective course content, no matter how well you sell it.
4. Training Skills
If you have a background in training you probably already understand what makes a great trainer vs what makes a not-so-great trainer.
Part of this comes down to communication. How effectively can you communicate the material to your audience? Are you confident in delivering information to your learners and assessing whether they have competently fulfilled each and every learning objective?
Possessing a qualification in Education and Training is one of the very best assets you can have at your disposal, particularly if you are going into this alone in the first instance. Not only will you be solely responsible for the management and finances of your business but the delivery of your courses.
When you can do this effectively you will sell many more courses based on your merit as a trainer alone.
5. Passion for Learning
If you are passionate about learning, and the learning process, this will reflect in your teaching.
If you don’t believe that learning can be revolutionary in a person’s life, how can you instil this in your learners?
This starts with you actively seeking out opportunities to learn and develop yourself. For example, reading widely is a great way of learning, and keeping abreast of any changes or developments in your field will keep you at the top of your teaching game for as long as you are in business.
6. Innovation
Training doesn’t always thrill – and that’s often where courses fall flat.
Keeping your courses fresh and entertaining will keep the attention of your students and help you to establish yourself as a second-to-none trainer in your field.
By being willing to dive in and shake things up, your students are more likely to engage with the course material and succeed. This means being creative and pushing boundaries, incorporating various technologies and techniques into your teaching, and crafting learning resources that really capture the imagination of your audience.
Finally, the third skill category for training business success is expertise in your field.
7. Qualifications
This isn’t so much a skill, but an asset that really helps define you in your field.
Anyone is able to say they are an ‘expert’ but it is qualifications and testimonials that really set you apart from the rest.
If you have been working within a field for a while and have a lot of knowledge, is there an opportunity for you to take an accredited course that will give some weight to that knowledge?
8. Networking
If you have been employed in a field for a good while, it is likely you have a network of business people around you that you can draw on to support you in achieving business success.
If not, now is the time to do it. LinkedIn is a fabulous platform for networking and different features of the social network offer opportunities for you to develop yourself as an expert in your field.
One of the most crucial things to remember when setting out your stall is that, although you may know (or think) you are the best, your potential customers certainly don’t. It’s all about proving yourself and the value of your business and this will come through honing and demonstrating the 8 skills listed above.
