Hi there!
I couldn't help myself - I simply had to respond!
Likewise, I have worked for many years as a professional, but entrepreneurial blood runs in my veins. Twenty years after completing my PhD, I went back to school to obtain an MBA. My degree was obtained online through a pilot program offered by the local public university.
That program taught me that online learning can work well. A fellow MBA graduate and I took best practices from that program, folded in some ideas of our own, and created our own company. We built a suite of nine courses in an area in which we could claim to be world-class experts (I don't mean to sound boastful, but you must be a leader in your field to be credible as an instructor).
We call our approach "interactive online learning". We need a better term really, but here are the benefits. Because it's online, our training is accessible from any place and at any time, and it's inexpensive (we have few fixed costs). Because it's interactive, our training is akin to a classroom except that discussions continue without a break. The real value comes from that interaction; everyone in the class becomes a teacher as well as a student. We use instant messaging and Skype to create the impression that, as instructors, we are always available.
I can tell you that we, as instructors, have a lot of fun. Much to our delight, members of our beta trial have helped us a bunch - offering to sell our courses, inviting us to conferences, and spreading the word (which is essential in the early stages of a business).
In many ways, you are at the point I was at one year ago. Thinking about the last twelve months, here are the most important lessons I have learned:
- Take care and spend the time needed to get things right. Always strive to improve. Seek advice from those you trust and admire, act on it, and never be satisfied with anything but the best.
- Find a partner. I could never have succeeded without a wonderful business partner. I admire her abilities, I trust her judgment, and I respect her work ethic. We complement each other very well. It's tough to go it alone.
- Run a beta trial. I was in a rush to launch our product, but my business partner demonstrated her usual wisdom. We ran a beta trial for several months to prove our concept and to test our courses. We involved participants from several countries, of different ages, and representing many industries. We learned lessons we could never have imagined, and our courses are so much better as a result.
- Establish partnerships. The guy who provides our course management system has been a great help and a useful source of leads. The local university helped us to design courses that would sell in a Continuing Ed environment (a number of programs now resell our courses). We have a reseller in Japan and hope to have resellers in other countries soon. Good partnerships benefit everyone.
- Define your core purpose and core values. Yes, it sounds premature to do this before you even generate revenue, but I find our company's core ideology to be very helpful as we make key decisions.
- Most of all, maybe, discuss your plans with your family. I've been working 100 hour weeks for three years now (two years for the MBA, and one year to get our venture started while working as a senior manager at a large international company). That's a lot of hours, and it calls for a very patient wife and children.
Despite all the hard work, I wouldn't change things for the world. It's exciting to run your own business. It's rather like watching a baby being born.
Good luck as you consider what to do. I'd be glad to help in any way I can.
Steve
www.goldctr.com
