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Thinking of Becoming A Freelance Trainer? The 6 Questions You Must Answer

1. Do you know where you want your business to be in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years from now?

Two of the biggest mistakes new freelance trainers make are thinking too small and not thinking long term. Lots of trainers hit the ground running by getting some work from the employer they have just left behind or picking up an associate contract which keeps them busy for the first few months. This can lull you into a false sense of security. It can lead you into thinking that this freelance training thing is actually quite easy! And you might not have the time or the inclination to sit down and think about a long term business plan.

But believe me - not taking the time to plan and think about where you want your business to be in 1 yr, 2 years or 5 years time can have serious repercussions for your business in the end.

When I started The Trainers Training Company my vision was to be able to help new freelance trainers who didn't know where to start, to give them some clear steps that they should take in the first year of their business and to help them to avoid making the same mistakes that I did when I first started out - mistakes that cost me time, money and stress. New freelance trainers were very much my target market.

What has been a complete surprise to me though is how many trainers have come to my workshops and bought my products who have been in business for quite a few years! And they have told me quite openly that the reason they're doing this is that they need to go back to basics, go back to the drawing board and do all the things they should have done in the first place.

So don't miss out on this important activity. Think about how many days you want to be working, what kind of client you want to be working with, what income you would like to have, whether you want to be doing all the delivery yourself or whether you are going to start using associates and so on. Once you are clear on what you want your business to achieve it is much easier to start identifying the specific things you need to do to get there.

2. Are you confident enough to charge what you are worth?

In your early days as a freelance trainer you might be really tempted to take any old work that comes along regardless of the rate. Let's face it, when you have just taken the plunge and gone freelance you are very grateful to get any work at all! And you start thinking ‘Well, I don't know what it might lead to …….'

The reality is that it often doesn't lead to anything and if it does it's usually more of the same – more low value work. There are several really good reasons why you shouldn't get tied into low paying work:

- Low paying work does not pay the bills

- You will need to work more days to achieve your financial targets

- It's really difficult to raise your fees with the same client later down the line

- It devalues what you do

- You can start to feel demotivated and resentful

- It starts to erode your self confidence and self esteem

But one of the biggest reasons why you shouldn't jump in to taking low value work is that the minute you start a piece of work that you don't really want to do something much better will come along and you won't be able to do it because you are already committed. Don't you hate it when that happens?

3. Do you believe in yourself and your ability to have a successful business?

Lack of confidence and self-belief is probably the single biggest thing that holds people back from having successful businesses, not just training businesses. Most trainers I know are pretty confident people and immensely capable and qualified professionals but when it comes to running a business they are far less sure of themselves.

When you go freelance you are suddenly on Your Own. It's a great feeling of liberation initially because you don't have the politics and all the red tape of corporate life – if you have an idea, if you just want to do something you can just go ahead and do it. You are totally in control. But what you don't have are the people around you to bounce ideas off, to support you and encourage you. And there's a real irony in that because when you are a freelancer you need SO much more help and support than before. Self confidence and self motivation are two things that will be absolutely crucial to the success of your business.

4. Have you worked out a sustainable business model?

Your business model is your statement of what income you want and expect your business to bring in and how you are going to get it. Many new freelance trainers are totally unrealistic when they first start out about what they are going to earn. As someone who has spent many years on the ‘other side' in the corporate world I can guess where this inflated earnings picture comes from. We have all seen freelance trainers invoices, looked at their daily rate, done the maths and thought to ourselves ‘Hmm, it's alright for some!'

The reality is somewhat different. Most freelancers don't train 4 or 5 days a week. They couldn't do this even if they wanted to because if they spent all that time in the training room they wouldn't have a business at all. If you take out all the days you need to spend on marketing activity and the other things you need to do to run a business you only have about 100 to 120 fee earning days in any one year.

And what about the costs of running a business? Here are just some of the things you will need to pay for:

Accountant
Tax liability
Phone/mobile/broadband
Stationery - pens/paper/envelopes/diaries/folders/ink cartridges/flip chart pens
Anti virus software
Web site e.g. annual hosting fee
Training material and resources e.g. books, training manuals, downloads
Professional subscriptions
Networking events
Membership of on line forums and communities
Professional indemnity and public liability insurance
Self-development

So make sure that any business model you work out is realistic and sustainable otherwise you will be driven back to corporate life before you've barely begun.

5. Are you clear on what you are offering and to who?

One of the biggest mistakes I see new freelance trainers make is trying to be all things to all people and offering training on anything under the sun. I know why people do this. I still come across people who know for sure they shouldn't be doing it but I can't convince them to change their approach. And the thing that stops them doing it is fear. Fear that if they just focus on one particular market or one particular area of training it will rule them out of a whole load of other stuff that they could potentially be doing.

It's absolutely essential to identify as precisely as you can what you are going to be offering. The more specialist you can be the better. Resist the temptation of trying to do everything. Get known for providing one thing, be really good at doing it and you will find that people will begin to seek you out and you can charge more for your services.

And it's equally important to identify as precisely as you can who you are going to be offering your services to. Your target market should be specific types of organisations or groups of people who want, need and can afford your services. Once you have identified both your service, product and target market your whole marketing strategy becomes a lot clearer.

6. Are you willing to make marketing your Number One priority?

If you hate the thought of marketing your business but are comforted by the thought that you will only have to do it when you are desperate for work then think again! Time and time again I see freelance trainers failing to make time for marketing, giving it a low priority and only considering doing it when they are not out delivering training. And these are the trainers who constantly experience the feast and famine syndrome rather than having a steady stream of work.

I often hear people say ‘I don't have time for marketing'. How can you NOT have time for marketing?. Marketing should be your number 1 priority! If you don't have a marketing plan and don't put it into action you won't have any clients – it's as simple as that. So you absolutely have to make time for it and you have to make it a priority.

One of the other things I hear people say is ‘I'm not doing anything on Friday so I'll do a bit of marketing', almost as if this ‘Marketing Friday' is a special event! What you should be doing is having a Marketing Friday every single Friday and carrying out your marketing activities absolutely religiously, blocking space out in your diary and letting nothing get in the way. You should have the same attitude to it as if it were a client. You could, of course, have a Marketing Monday or Tuesday, it doesn't have to be a Friday. In fact, you should be carrying out marketing activities every single day. It has to be done regularly and consistently to get results.

About the Author

The Trainers Training Company was created to help freelance trainers start up, grow and develop successful and profitable training businesses. All our resources and programmes are designed for trainers by trainers because we understand the issues and challenges that are involved - we have been there ourselves!

Sharon Gaskin is the founder of The Trainers Training Company. After a 12 year corporate training career she set up her own consultancy at the start of 2002 and has worked with corporate clients both in the public and private sector. 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!

www.thetrainerstrainingcompany.co.uk