3 Responses

1. Business pricing
   This may not be the forum for a pricing start up query. http://www.bizzadvice.com and also the sister site to this http:www.accountingweb.co.uk web would help.

   You could make a start by looking at what the competition charge for similar services to ascertain market price. Beware however as just because others charge it it may not be the right fee structure for you. Do not aim to undercut as customers do associate price with quality. Correct pricing of the product ensures your business’ future also!

   You will also need to work from your own business costs and factoring in a profit margin. This should take into account all the usual insurance, telephone, travel, marketing etc. Have a look at some of the USA business planning sites for ideas on costs out. They are very user friendly in the main. You have a lot more going out in the first year than you cater for and any ideas gleaned on real costs will beefit your business at this stage.

   Best of luck.

   Training By Design Global Ltd
   0870 241 3998

2. Pricing for e-learning consultancy
   Hi Barbara,

   I am an independent e-learning consultant myself, and have experienced this issue first hand in the past as well.

   My email is mjk_010@hotmail.com and will be glad to discuss pricing with you.

   Matt

3. e-Learning Consultancy for SME’s
   Dear Barbara

   The normal charging method is Consultant Days.

   I would suggest you calculate your target income for the year, allowing sufficient margin, then estimate the number of chargeable days per month you can realistically expect to sell.

   -Don’t forget that clients will not be prepared to pay for initial sales discussions and you will initially need to spend a lot of time in non-productive networking/marketing. Also, if you are selling “best advice” to clients then it would not be legitimate to plan for, or accept commission payments from e-Learning vendors.

   Divide your target income by the number of estiamted chargeable days and you get a rough target day rate.

   If you find you are not selling the right number of days per month or are not achieving your target day rate then you will need to make adjustments as the year goes by.

   A word of warning -you have selected a very tough market for your new consultancy business. As I understand it you are planning to offer your services to local businesses that employ between 5 and 99 employees.

   The economic characteristics of e-Learning favour large and geographically distributed audiences because one-off access/development/ implementation costs can be high and distribution/delivery costs are typically low.

   Once you move beyond basic skills training it is unlikely that 99 employees will share common learning objectives. You might often find yourself scoping learning solutions for target audiences of between 10 and 20 local people, for example.

   You will find it hard to build a compelling business case for e-Learning in these circumstances, when a local training provider will be prepared to run a few conventional courses locally at a very competitive rate.

   Unless you can regularly point out potential ROI improvements that will cover your fees and the costs of the e-Learning solution then your proposed business model will not be viable in the long term.

   The Training Foundation offers certificated courses for e-Learning Consultants that will assist you in addressing these issues and building your business.

   See:

   http://www.e-learningprofessional.com

   I hope this helps.

   Best wishes