Podcast 103: How to Grow a Training Business as a Solopreneur

EPISODE 103: How to Grow a Training Business

Alicia Katz Pollock, Founder, Royalwise Solutions

What does it take to grow a training business from scratch? Countless training company founders can answer that question, but each has their own unique twist.

As a solopreneur who is building a business around my learning systems expertise, I love hearing from people who are carving out their own paths. We may have different stories, but there’s also plenty of common ground.

That’s one reason why I feature so many founders here. It helps connect the dots for all of us who are navigating on our own. And hopefully, their advice benefits others, as well.

For instance, consider today’s guest, Alicia Katz Pollock, co-founder of Royalwise Solutions, a company that specializes in QuickBooks training. She didn’t set out to be the “Queen of QuickBooks.” Yet, years later, here she is.

How did that happen? And what lessons can Alicia teach others who want to grow a training business? Join us as we dig deeper on this episode of the Talented Learning Show…

HOW TO GROW A TRAINING BUSINESS — KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The future is bright for independent professionals who want to grow a training business. In the U.S. alone, nearly 30 million solopreneurs contribute $1.7 trillion to the economy each year. 60,000-70,000 of these independent business owners offer training in some form. And demand continues to rise, as reskilling and upskilling remain workforce priorities.  

• Despite its potential upside, training business success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes persistence, the foresight to leverage opportunities when they arise, an appetite for managing risk, and the ability to adapt to change. As Alicia has found, the most sustainable way for a solopreneur to grow a training business is through incremental progress.

• A robust, reliable online learning backbone is essential for independent professionals who want to grow a training business without disruption. This is why Alicia says she chose CYPHER Learning, a platform that aligns with company’s requirements, scales with her client base, and continues to evolve over time.

HOW TO GROW A TRAINING BUSINESS — Q&A HIGHLIGHTS

Welcome, Alicia. Why did you decide to grow a training business based on your expertise?

Well, I have a master’s degree in education, and I started as a 7th grade English teacher in public schools. But I quickly realized that kids there aren’t motivated to learn there. So, I moved to community college, where I taught GED and English as a second language.

But also, I’ve always been a computer geek. When I was 13, I got my first computer. Immediately, I started helping my dad automate his dental office operations. And I’ve never looked back.

Now, I’m combining the best of both worlds because I teach people how to use computers.

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Interesting. When did QuickBooks come into the picture?

That evolved from my computer consulting work. I was certified for Microsoft Office and Apple. So I helped individuals and businesses with training for Mac systems, as well as Excel, Word, PowerPoint and other applications.

Eventually, people asked if I could help them with QuickBooks. And because I used QuickBooks for my own business purposes, I decided to give it a try.

After sharing what I was doing with several bookkeepers, they told me my books were bulletproof. Plus, I thoroughly enjoyed it. So, that gave me the confidence to keep going.

Then, about 20 years ago, I met my husband, who is also a computer geek. That’s when we joined forces with Royalwise. Over time, as the QuickBooks side of our business kept expanding, I decided to specialize. And that led us to where we are now, with me being known as the Queen of QuickBooks.

What kind of clients do you serve? Individuals? Businesses? Or…?

I started with business owners because I was helping them set up and use their QuickBooks.

This was about 20 years ago. And before every class, I printed out all the pages in the curriculum and put them together in binders. But that cost me about $15 to produce each manual.

Then, I realized I could publish them on Amazon for less than $5 each. So I rewrote the manual as a standalone book and started selling it on Amazon. That’s how the publishing arm of our business started.

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Makes sense…

Soon afterward, Facebook and LinkedIn began to take hold. And as I posted on social about my classes and books, the algorithms started pushing me towards bookkeepers. So, my client base shifted in that direction.

I still work with business owners because that’s where my heart is. But now, probably 75% of my business comes from bookkeepers.

And in the past few years, we’ve been working with accounting firms, because each client has multiple bookkeepers. So, that lets us scale.

Nice. At some point you decided to put it all in an online university. How did that unfold?

Well, years ago, we started selling Mac-related training CD on Amazon. And then in 2017, a snowstorm kept us from providing live classroom training. That’s when I discovered Zoom so we could deliver online training. And that changed everything.

I still held classes here in Portland several locations. But I started broadcasting those live classes over Zoom. So, I had a virtual audience as well as an in-house audience.

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I see…

And then COVID arrived. Before that, only one or two people would attend an online class with us. But we were among the first teams to help seniors learn how to use Zoom so they could keep in touch with their families.

Covid normalized being online for Zoom meetings. It normalized webinars. And it normalized the ability to take a course anytime, anywhere.

So, the world caught up with what I had envisioned 20 years ago.

What does your curriculum look like today?

Because I’m a teacher, we started with a learning management system (LMS) right off the bat to deliver the flagship 7-hour bootcamp I’ve been teaching for 15 years. Even though 7 hours sounds like a long time, it’s only enough to quickly introduce all the basics you need to know about QuickBooks.

So, I started adding deep-dive classes on specific topics — reconciling, sales tax, payroll, and so on. In each of those classes, I go through every feature, best practice and secret I’ve learned by working hands-on with my clients and with programmers I know at Intuit.

Excellent…

Also, I want accountants to know they’re getting high-quality training from us. So, to verify our authority with those professionals, we got certified by NASBA — the CPA training certification board in the US.

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So, does that mean you assign CPE credits  for successful completion of your classes and you report those CPEs to satisfy continuing education requirements?

Exactly. If you attend live, you must be present throughout the class and answer all the poll questions. Then we’ll award the CPE.

We record the live classes as webinars, which give us material for on-demand courses. And we break those online classes into smaller segments.

This means people can use the content as a library. They can log in and can take an entire course or just watch any piece of it. And if they complete the whole class and answer all the quiz questions, they can receive a certificate.

How do you organize your 70 courses? Do you offer learning paths or journeys?

Yes, our catalog orders everything from basic to advanced. And for members who subscribe to the library, we have learning paths we call flight paths. So, it’s easy for people to find a group of classes that fit their experience level.

Currently, the catalog isn’t organized that way for non-members. Instead, people just go to our landing page where all courses are listed and search for a keyword of interest. Say, you want to know about managing car loans in QuickBooks. Just enter “car loans” and you see all courses mentioning that term.

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So, most of your students return year to year for continuing education credits, with more students signing up each year?

Yes. With continuing education credits and the fact that the software is changing constantly, there’s always something new to learn as you develop expertise. And my content has enough depth that it means different things to people over time.

Like reading a good book when you’re a kid. And then, when you read it again every 10 or 20 years throughout life, there’s always something new to take away from it…

Absolutely. And because QuickBooks is constantly changing, my work is cut out for me. I have job security.

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No doubt. Let’s talk about the technology you use. I hear you rely on the same LMS you started with in 2017. Is that right?

Yes. We use CYPHER LMS, which is designed for online education providers.

Occasionally, we get shiny object syndrome, where we imagine it would be easier to market our courses if we went with a platform like Kajabi, which includes marketing capabilities. But I’m interested in compliance. I’m interested in certifications and degrees. So, we’ve decided to stay with CYPHER.

Eight years is a long time to stay with the same learning platform…

And a LOT of content to move!

True! CYPHER Learning has been doing a lot with AI in the past few years – GenAI authoring and agents. Are you getting involved with that yet?

Yes…

… For complete answers to this and more questions about the business benefits of training professional drivers, listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on Amazon, or right here on our site.

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Find Out More About CYPHER LMS

Learn more about the LMS Royalwise used to grow a training business. Check my Hot Take Review of CYPHER Learning on YouTube:

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