Sharon Gaskin is Founder of The Trainers Training Company the UK’s premier resource to help freelance trainers create and grow successful businesses.
Sharon has been in training and development for 20 years both as a corporate Training Manager, freelance trainer and business owner. As a freelance trainer herself she has had direct experience and insights into the challenges involved in running a successful training business.
The Trainers Training Company was established in 2009 as a direct response to the needs and requests that came from other freelance trainers who were struggling to get their businesses off the ground or wanted to make their existing businesses much more profitable. Sharon is passionate about helping freelance trainers to succeed and enjoy the adventure of being a business owner!
14/05/2012 - 16:24 - 125 reads -
As all freelance trainers will tell you most work comes through other people. Networking – both on and off line is crucial to the success of your training business. But before you rush headlong into attending every event you can get your hands on stop and think about why you are doing it and what you hope to gain from it.
11/05/2012 - 15:31 - 118 reads
One of the key questions that many new freelance trainers grapple with is deciding on what type of training to offer. Should you opt to appeal to as many different markets as possible in order not to cut yourself off from any potential offers of work or should you specialise? Should you stick to an area in which you have the most experience and qualifications? Or is it more important to just go with the likely market demand?
09/05/2012 - 16:04 - 141 reads
When you are in the early stages of setting up a training business it’s very easy to get carried away and spend money on a web site, glossy brochures, logos and business cards and advertising. Guilty as charged! I remember spending around £1000 on an ‘advertorial’ that didn’t bring in any interest and about the same again on leaflets that just ended up being taken down the tip.
03/05/2012 - 07:41 - 171 reads
A question I often get asked is What are the foundational pieces that you need to put in place when you are setting up a training business? What are the absolute essentials that you need to think about before you do anything else?
The main thing that you need to think about is what you are about. What are you going to be offering and who are you going to be offering it to? It’s so important to do this as once you know the answers to these questions your whole marketing strategy becomes a lot clearer and a lot simpler.
30/04/2012 - 17:34 - 136 reads
Do you ever hear freelance trainers say things like:
I’ve always been really lucky to have a steady flow of work’
or
‘Stuff always turns up, don’t know how but I’m not complaining ….’
