Established Corporate Training Firm Seeks Partner/COO

Opportunity Summary

Founder and president of a corporate training firm located in Philadelphia PA seeks partner to grow business.

Since 1993, the company has delivered Business Communication Skills workshops (eg., Customer Service, Management Skills, etc.) and curriculum design consultation services to organizations ranging from Fortune 100s to small businesses, non-profits, and educational groups. Clients include Chevron USA Inc., State Farm, the Federal Reserve Bank, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Wyeth Europe, and numerous others.

With a background in comedy and theatre improv, the company founder has authored two books on using humor in training design and delivery. The first is a best-seller in the industry, and between them the two books have been translated into five languages and used in business courses at University of California Extension and Western Michigan University. The founder is regularly invited to speak at conferences on business, training, and humor (yes, there are conferences on humor!), and when “business/training/humor” or “corporate/training/humor” are Googled the company appears at the top of several million URL listings.

At this point, the company enjoys a fairly high profile within the industry, with unique proprietary features that distinguish it from its competitors. The company offers high value to a substantive market, but as a micro-corporation can serve only a small percentage of that market. Multiple sources of new revenue can be created through outreach to new markets and product development. At this time, the founder has a three-pronged plan for growth: 

1)   Offering LONG-TERM ONSITE TRAINING PROGRAMS to organizations with specific performance improvement goals

2)   Delivering PUBLIC CERTIFICATION SEMINARS for professional trainers throughout the US and beyond

3)   Producing and packaging registered communication skills WORKSHOP "KITS” and selling them as off-the-shelf products, as well as through catalogues, the company website, and back-of-the-room sales at the above-mentioned Certification seminars

Some key factors are in place to launch these projects. The next steps involve building a sales and marketing infrastructure, putting things into place for packaging, licensing, and distribution of product, and piloting the Certification seminars. It may become necessary to engage contract trainers, which will involve developing pay, commission, and royalty structures, intellectual property agreements, etc. Needed is an equity partner with experience and knowledge in:
 
1) Marketing approaches for the training industry; building a sales and marketing infrastructure  

2) Product distribution, including intellectual property protection, exclusive licenses, exclusive marketing and distribution relationships, etc. 

3) Administration and finance