Employee Trainer

Startup Costs: $10,000 - $50,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Franchises Available? Yes
Online Operation? Yes

If you're a born teacher and motivator, then you'll get inspired as an employee trainer. You'll give specialized sessions on your area of expertise, which can be anything from language or math skills to getting the most from company employees or their customers through leadership, self-motivation or sales motivation. This is a hot new field, and growing hotter. The most popular training topics include customer service and creative problem-solving, but they can also encompass internal communications and even math or reading 101. The advantages to this business are that startup costs are minimal, it's creative, and when you communicate new ideas and techniques and see them take root in someone else's mind, it's fulfilling. You'll need not only a knowledge of the topic you're teaching, but also the innate talents of a good instructor: the ability to explain your subject clearly and make it interesting, and to inspire. You'll also need excellent sales and marketing skills to merchandise your services.

The Market

Your customers will depend on the topics of your workshops or seminars. Just about any business could benefit from a course on customer relations or marketing techniques, but if your subject is advanced spreadsheet software, you'll be wasting your time targeting, for instance, companies with an employee base of telemarketers. Direct-mail brochures or letters of introduction to prospective companies, then follow up with phone calls. Network among professional and civic organizations in your community. Give seminars and workshops at local colleges and give talks at business associations. Write articles for business publications. Place an ad in your local Yellow Pages.

Needed Equipment

You should have the businessperson's basics--a computer with a laser printer, a fax machine and the usual software--and you may want to invest in a copier so you can run off materials for your students. And depending on your subject matter and your personal style, you may want a dry-erase easel, board and markers.