If you’re passionate about training, love impacting
people and organisations, and want to have a career that delivers more than a
payslip, setting up a training firm is the way to go.

This article is intended to help you ask some of the
important questions before you begin, and to provide some knowledge other
platforms do not.

1. Target Market

Your idea may be the best you’ve ever heard, but demand
for your ideas needs to be in place.

Somebody needs to be able to pay you for your
professional advice. To put it another way, who are your future clients? Can you sell your
consulting services to major corporations?

Or are you going to be selling a service that will only
attract smaller companies? In any case, make sure you spend time creating a
business and marketing plan.

2. Staff and Skills Needed

The personnel required by your new training firm can vary
drastically due to the scale of the business. Therefore, it would make more
sense to look at the appropriate tasks, rather than individual members of the
team.

Here’s why: if the company is small only one employee
may be able to carry on many duties. For a bigger company, you will need to
include many team members to perform the same function.

3. Business Model

One of the first (and most important) choices you’ll
have to make is ‘where do I get my revenue from?’

If you’re not okay with selling your services, then
you’ll need to concentrate on seeking out opportunities for backend income. You
need to make sure that, as a freelancer, you are not too reliant
on one client.

4. Business Insurance

No matter how professional you are, there’s still a
risk something might go wrong. If it does, you’ll need to be sure your company
has the right insurance cover to protect it.
Getting the right cover right from the start means that the company is in the
safest position to rebound in case something goes wrong.

5. Registrations and Licenses

You may either run your company under your personal
name or a made-up business name, based on your ambition and the degree to which
you plan to expand your practice. If you are operating the business in your own
name, you are generally going to operate as a sole proprietor.

Registering as a sole trader ensures that you will be
fully responsible for the responsibilities that come with your service. When
you lose, you will be financially responsible, so if the company is profitable,
you also are.

An option is to set up a Limited Liability Company
(LLC), in which your firm is treated as a distinct company and your personal
finance is not in threat.

Conclusion

If you are self-motivated, have experience, and are
skilled with people, then you are well on the way to beginning a training
consultancy company.

When you have what it takes, the
best way to learn is to take action. Bring yourself out to try to find the
first client. After you have developed a strategy, revisit it periodically and
ensure that you make decisions in accordance with your business and priorities,
as well as making any changes required along the way.

Self-care can be one of
the first things to drop off the end of the ‘to-do’ list when we’re busy. It’s
really tempting to think it’s not necessary, and that we need to do other
things first.

Experts say self-care is
a must for mental health, so how do you find the time when you are a busy
professional?

Take Time to Exercise

A little exercise to
reduce stress will go a long way. Even a short morning stroll will boost your energy
and inspiration for the day ahead. Set your alarm a little earlier than normal
and hit the pavement. Save time by preparing the night before the exercise.

How? By choosing what
you will wear and keeping other necessary items, such as headphones, a snack
and a water bottle, where you can easily grab them. The idea is to get moving
as soon as your alarm rings without spending too much time preparing.

Keep Healthcare Appointments

Have an appointment to
see your doctor? Schedule it into your calendar and plan to keep the
appointment. Do not postpone it because you are busy.

Or perhaps you need to
see a doctor last minute, but you are too busy to wait around all day at a
doctor’s office waiting to be seen? In that case, invest in a private health
insurance plan so that in the future you can fast
track your doctor’s appointments and see a specialist sooner, allowing you
to put your mind at ease without disrupting your working life too much.

As the wise saying goes,
prevention is better than cure.

Eat Right

There is so much
information on nutrition and
eating well out there that it seems to be everywhere you look. A lot of the
time it can seem like eating healthy and nutritious meals requires a lot of
effort, which is why it seems a lot easier to get fast food when you’re busy –
saving time and energy for other things. But – not all foods are created equal.

Your food preferences
have a direct effect on your physical and mental health, so choosing your food
carefully is crucial. To know the right food to eat, you should talk to a
nutritionist and visit trusted sources of health information online, such as government
health websites.

Practice Meditation

Meditation is the
perfect way to get in touch with your instincts and listen to yourself. Many
achievers in the world credit meditation as an important practice in their
daily routine. Not only that, but it can have great
benefits for your brain and body

Try to set up an area
within your home (or even your office) where you can sit in peace and quiet and
really focus on your practice – even if it is only for a few minutes a day.

Squeeze in a Few Breaks into Your Schedule

Don’t forget to plan some
“me” time into your day, so that you’re not going absolutely
nuts. Take a short walk, listen to some music in your car. Doing so can greatly
reduce your stress to remove yourself from the work environment for even 10 to
15 minutes.

Lastly, Ask for Help

However, busy you are,
whatever happens in your lives, we are important. If you need it, support is
always available. You have to put yourselves first sometimes and incorporating
any of these tiny suggestions of self-care in your day will help keep you in
tune.

The online learning industry has expanded in recent years
and further growth is expected. By 2025, the sector is predicted to generate revenue
of over $325 billion. With the potential to triple its value in just ten
years, it’s easy to see why so many entrepreneurs and budding businesses are
focusing on online learning management systems.

As the industry grows, it will bring new job opportunities
and career paths with it. If you want to be part of the eLearning boom, take a
look at these top tips for what it takes to succeed in the industry.

1. Business Acumen

Any successful manager or entrepreneur needs to develop good
business
acumen. Understanding the market, predicting future developments, and
having in-depth knowledge of how to leverage corporate structure for financial
gain are key attributes of effective business owners.

Whether you choose to launch your own online learning firm
or join an existing enterprise, possessing business acumen is advantageous.
While eLearning is focused on online education, the organisations within the
industry are operating to generate revenue. Being able to increase this revenue
and secure a bigger market share will ensure you can look forward to a
glittering career within the industry.

2. Understand Education

Effective eLearning is about much more than making materials
available online. Although many people will seek to capitalise
on the eLearning industry in the next decade, few will have a thorough and
nuanced understanding of education.

By enhancing your understanding of education, you will bring
unrivalled insight into your next role within the sector. Formal training in
education will give you the opportunity to delve into critical issues and concepts,
such as:

• How do we learn?
• What hinders the learning process?
• Does the environment affect learning methods?
• Group vs. individual learning
• What improves learning outcomes?
• How can learning be measured?

As you might expect, these types of issues are at the core
of the eLearning industry. When combined with business acumen and commercial
awareness, they are the backbone for a successful career within the online
learning sector.

Many people assume that you need to train to be a teacher in
order to study education in detail. While this is certainly an effective way to
understand education, it isn’t the only way to gain the knowledge you need to
succeed in the eLearning landscape.

There are a number of highly respected programs designed for
non-teaching professionals, which enable you to increase your understanding of
education. At the University
of Exeter Online, you can advanced post-graduate qualifications in
education easily into your life, even if you don’t have previous experience in
teaching.  What’s more – completing a
post-grad program online will give you key insights into what it means to be a
student within an eLearning environment!

Studying online is an ideal option at post-graduate level,
as many people want to continue working on a full-time basis while completing
their qualification. In addition to this, completing a post-grad program online
typically means:

• Lower fees
• More flexibility
• The ability to pace your learning
• The opportunity to use your skillset in
  real-world settings

If you want to develop a career within the online learning
sector, becoming an eLearning student will give you an exceptional
understanding of key industry issues. Furthermore, obtaining an advanced
qualification in education will establish your specialism and give you the
skills you need to thrive in a growing sector

3. Tech Knowledge

Online learning is centred around technology, so it’s
beneficial to have a good understanding of what it takes to create a great
learning management system. Online learners prioritise a number of factors when
selecting online learning tools, including:

• Reliability
• Accessibility
• Compatibility
• Intuitive UX
• Security

Depending on your target market, you will need to ensure
your future learning platforms offer an enjoyable, stimulating, and rewarding
experience to students, as well as improving
learning outcomes. Although you may choose to work with developers and
designers to create an innovative learning platform, having an understanding of
the technology driving the industry is always beneficial.

Building a Career in eLearning

The internet has changed the way we live, and it’s certainly
revolutionised the way we learn. With information at our fingertips, we can
access any type of data within seconds and connect with experts across a number
of platforms.

As more educational
institutions and private companies seek to implement online learning
opportunities for students and employees, the future of eLearning is undeniably
bright. For the savvy entrepreneurs who choose to hone their business acumen,
develop their understanding of education and enhance their tech skills, the
online learning sector offers unrivalled opportunities.

Prototyping
is the critical step between initial design and mass production. Skipping
prototyping is always a mistake since you risk launching a product that doesn’t
work or fails to meet customer expectations. Delays in prototyping can delay
the release of your product, and poor quality prototypes may lead to incorrect
design decisions. On the other hand, choosing the right prototyping service and
making other good decisions during this process can save your company time and
money during this critical step. Here are eight questions you should ask when
prototyping a product.

How have Previous Solutions Fallen Short of Market
Expectations?

It is far
less painful to learn from another’s mistakes than to make them yourself. So,
before you start, you have to do an honest assessment of the solutions to the
problem you’re trying to solve and try to determine why they failed. Were their
products too expensive for their customers? Was it too difficult to use?
Understand why they fell short of market expectations so that you don’t make
the same mistake.

You’ll
also notice that it’s rarely because the product was delivered ahead of schedule.
For example, the answer might be that the devices they offered were too slow or
inconvenient for the modern consumer. Read customer reviews before you make
assumptions about your product being better. What would keep them from buying
the product, and what makes them regret the purchase they made? These are all
questions that will allow you to refine your product, and give your clients
exactly what they need.

What are Customer’s Behavior Patterns?

A good
rule of thumb is to always make your product fit the customer’s current habits.
If you change how they do things, there better be a very good reason. For
example, people will use more expensive disposable straws before they buy a
reusable straw that has to be purchased and then sterilized.

Understand
how your target audience uses current products to solve their problems. A
product that’s too different will be disregarded in favor of the familiar. This
is why successful wearable devices tend to be more similar to watches.

Understand
the ergonomics of your target user base, and ensure that your products
literally fit them. If the item is too large, heavy or hard to use, they won’t
use it. This knowledge can prevent you from adding features that get in the way
of the product’s core purpose, too.

What is your Turnaround Time?

Once
you’ve finalized your initial design, it is time to find a prototyping service
to make the first prototype. Understand that prototypes are intended to be
rough, disposable, initial versions of the product. It won’t be perfect the
first time, and you’ll probably need several iterations to get a good final
design to hand off to production. This means you’ll want to get each prototype
back as soon as possible for user feedback and product testing. You’ll also
find that the best prototyping services balance speed with quality of work.

What Services do You Offer that can Improve the
Prototyping Service?

You can
find a variety of CNC services online, and they all have a different scope of
service. Some will allow you to send them your design files, and the online CNC
machining service will make it in their shop and ship you a prototype. That
allows startups and small businesses to quickly get a working prototype,
assuming the design is viable.

However, there are CNC prototyping services that will go the extra mile and give you invaluable advice on improving the design and electronics compliance. For example, prototype machining company Rapid Direct has a blog where they discuss design for manufacturability or DfM. They touch on recent tools that have come out online that allow you to upload a CAD file and grade the manufacturability of a part. You could use this information to make changes to the design to make it cheaper and easier to manufacture before you ask them to make it for you.

How do we Communicate Design changes?

Some
prototyping manufacturing services require you to place a brand new order and
pay full price yet again if you ask for a modified version of the original
prototype. Other companies allow you to make modest changes to the design and
order a few more. You want a team that will be as flexible as possible and will
leave you some space for some alterations.

On the
other hand, you also need a process for receiving feedback regarding their
proposed changes to the design during their manufacturing process. You want to
know when they’re having problems 3D printing or injection molding the product.
You can’t maintain your schedule if you don’t know about delays until it is too
late. You should also know what the process is if you want to order an
additional three prototypes for testing.

Do you use Non-Disclosure Agreements?

You don’t
want to hand your design to a prototyping service that won’t respect your
intellectual property rights. You also can’t afford for one of their employees
to discuss your product development with other companies that might steal the
idea. Ensure that they have a non-disclosure agreement they use and enforce so
that your prototype is protected. This is crucial if you
hope to get a patent for the product.

How Much Do You Charge for the Manufacturing of
the Prototype?

Cost is a
factor in the selection of a prototyping service, but it is far from the most
important one. For example, it is worth paying more for a service that can not
only make it according to your plans but gives advice on how to make it faster
and cheaper. You also can’t afford a cheap prototyping service that takes weeks
to send you a working unit.

You should
ask about the materials that are available as well. Some companies offer low
prices because they’ll only make the prototype out of cheaper materials. This
could result in an inferior prototype. Then you waste money on a prototype that
falls apart in the user’s hands or fails during performance testing even though
one made of the same material as the production version would survive.

A good
company will be able to give you advice on which materials would be the best,
and which ones could cause trouble. Some pieces might absolutely need to be
made out of metal, and in some cases, polymers and plastic might work. So, make
sure that you work with a team that will be ready to give you some suggestions,
and look at the suggestions with your development team.

What other Services do You Offer?

3D
printing is commonplace. CNC machining is commonly available, as well. Sheet
metal fabrication isn’t as common. The best prototyping services offer all
three so that they can make every piece of your prototype in house. This
simplifies the manufacturing process and typically speeds it up. It also helps
protect the intellectual property itself since the prototyping service will not
have to share your design information with third parties in order to
manufacture the item.

Conclusion

Take the
time to ask questions during the design and prototyping process. Rushing
through this critical phase can cost you dearly later.

To prevent the spread of
coronavirus (COVID-19), face-to-face businesses around the world have been
forced to shift to remote operations. This shift has proved to be particularly
difficult for traditional investment brokers, many of which still rely on face-to-face
contact with clients. Fortunately, online brokerages have been able to take on
the additional demand for brokerage services.   

Given their growing popularity,
we thought now would be a good time to take a deeper look at online
brokerages and determine whether they’re an effective investment platform
for today’s turbulent economic conditions.  

What Are Online Brokerages?

The term “online brokerage”
refers to a class of brokerage firms that use digital interfaces to both host
their services and communicate with clients. Unlike a conventional broker,
investing through an online brokerage does not require face-to-face
consultation. By shifting their services to the web, online brokerages do not
have to maintain or staff brick-and-mortar business fronts.

In comparison to a conventional
brokerage service, online brokerages—which benefit from very low running costs—are
usually far more affordable when it comes to brokerage and account fees. What’s
more, many online brokerages offer additional affordability bonuses. For
instance, top Canadian brokerage Questrade offers zero account keeping fees and
$0 brokerage for exchange-traded fund (ETF) products.

The Economic Impacts of
COVID-19

To combat the spread of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the international community has implemented strict
containment and social distancing policies, shuttering non-essential businesses
and, for all intents and purposes, locking down the global economy. While
unquestionably necessary, there’s no doubt that COVID-19 prevention measures
have wreaked
havoc on global equity markets.

In the U.S. and Canada, dozens of
industries, especially businesses in the tourism and entertainment sector, have
been pushed to the brink by the ongoing wipe-out in earnings. According
to the U.S. Commerce Department, month-to-month retail sales have already
fallen by a staggering 8.7 percent. U.S.
unemployment data is similarly bleak, with slightly more than 10 percent of
the domestic workforce, some 16 million people, losing their jobs over a three
week period. Unfortunately, the economic impacts of COVID-19 are not isolated
to North America., comparably bleak figures have been recorded in the
Indo-Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Although it recently recorded an
encouraging rally, the benchmark S&P 500 index (sitting at 2,783 points as
of April. 16) is still a long way from its record high of 3,386 points on Feb.
19. When you consider that the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, it’s
entirely possible—maybe even likely—that global equity markets will undergo
further falls.

Why It’s Still a Good Time to
Invest

On the surface, you might think
it’s crazy to even consider investing in today’s hyper-volatile geo-economic
environment. However, as anyone who’s seen “The Big Short” would tell you,
financial crises pose unique opportunities to savvy investors.

Broadly speaking, when retail
investors rush to take their money out of the market, they’ll often leave
behind a treasure trove of distressed assets and undervalued stocks. Remember,
looking for opportunities during a market downturn doesn’t mean you should go
out and buy every cheap stock on the market. There are a lot of
under-valued equities on offer right now, but you have to be discerning.

If you’re in a position to
invest, opening an account with an online brokerage will give you access to a
wide range of low-cost stocks, bonds, and commodities. By getting a 20 percent
to 30 percent discount on these assets, your portfolio will be primed for
significant growth when the global economy starts back up and markets
inevitably begin to recover. Encouragingly, there are several factors which
suggest that the global economy might recover sooner than expected.

The first factor is the extraordinary
level of monetary and fiscal stimulus being hurled at the global economy. On
March 26, the collective economies of the G20 announced that they would be injecting
over $5 trillion into the global economy, mostly via central bank monetary
stimulus and liquidity operations. In the U.S, the Federal Reserve has
committed to buying an unlimited amount of Treasury Bonds, corporate debt, and
municipal bonds. These unprecedented measures show that central banks are
willing to do anything to pull the global economy out of recession.  

The second key factor is the fact
that the international COVID-19 outlook is slowly improving. While we’re not
out of the woods yet, many countries have experienced a slowdown in the rate of
new cases. For instance, in the U.S., models for the rate of new COVID-19 cases
have begun to resemble a standard growth curve rather than an exponential
growth curve. Meanwhile, in places as far afield as Australia, the daily infection
rate for new COVID-19 cases has dropped from between 25 percent and 30 percent
to 5 percent. The sooner we reach an international inflection point in the
COVID-19 viral curve, the sooner economies around the world can begin reopening
and recovering.