Entrepreneurship and small business training courses in Moscow

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You can earn millions, wake up happy every day and drive around the city in the latest BMW - these are the promises heard from the stage of most business trainings. There are more and more coaches who are ready to share the secrets of wealth. True, not everyone expects mountains of gold after training. Lifehacker talked to people who went in search of happiness, but ended up spending more than they earned. The heroes told what made them doubt the guru’s honesty, how training works from the inside, and why the chance of turning into the last bastard is much higher than becoming a millionaire.

How to open your own business?

The courses allow aspiring businessmen to quickly learn theory and move on to practice. After all, many entrepreneurs at the start face the same problems. As a rule, they lack either knowledge or practical experience. Especially when it comes to new industries. For example, Internet marketing, the ability to build online sales, etc.

It is curious that such skills are usually not taught in Russian universities. After all, most of them have long-outdated training programs that are not applicable to the current reality.

What do those who want to open a business do?

They learn everything from their own experience.
Sign up for specialized training, including business training.

Principles of organizing and conducting business trainings

In an increasingly competitive environment, one of the key competencies of employees (and the organization as a whole) is the ability to quickly and flexibly respond to changes in the external environment. Successful companies differ from others, first of all, in that they are focused on development, maintaining their reputation and environmentally friendly relations (both internal and external). Regardless of which strategy is chosen as the dominant one - reactive or interactive - it can be effectively implemented only if...

To adapt to the environment and internal changes, modern organizations spend a lot of effort on training staff, using active methods and modern forms of training, including training that has become very popular over the past 10 years.

The term training appeared in Russian-language literature as a tracing paper from English - training. In a broad sense, training refers to preparation (Bogomolova; Petrovskaya, 1977), and in a narrower sense, training (Platonov, 1983). In the 1970s in the GDR, under the leadership of M. Vorwerg, a training method was developed based on the benefits of group work, called socio-psychological training.

When talking about training, there are usually two key points: the way of working (active learning methods) and goals . In addition, in each specific form of group activity, it is possible to identify leading and auxiliary processes , which makes it possible to construct a convenient typology of such forms. Three relatively independent processes can be distinguished in the training (H. Mikkin, 1986):

education;
group dynamics;
personal development.

These are objective processes that develop according to their own laws, regardless of whether the coach knows anything about them or not. They all have their own determinants, their own dynamics, and therefore require special attention from the coach.

The basis for understanding the learning process is A. Bandura’s theory of social learning, according to which, in the formation of professional skills, ineffective behavior patterns are replaced by new, more effective ones.

The processes of group dynamics were studied in the theory of small groups. The main methodological task of the trainer is to use the effects and phenomena of group dynamics to intensify training by accelerating the passage of the first unproductive phases of group development and achieving the working phase during the first half of the training cycle.

The processes of personal development in training are deliberately relegated to the background, since its main goals lie in another area. Therefore, for the success of training, it is important to maintain the status quo of the individual during the training.

Today, there are several types of training: personal growth, socio-psychological, development of communication skills, formation of professional skills, etc. When training company employees, various types of training are used in different proportions.

The least common order is for personal growth training , the purpose of which is to stimulate a person’s personal development. As a rule, it is organized for top managers of the company.

Social-psychological training as a set of methods of psychological influence aimed at acquiring knowledge, experience, developing skills and forming social attitudes in the field of interpersonal communication. This is a kind of preparation of a person for communication, aimed at developing his communicative competence. As L.A. Petrovskaya notes, socio-psychological training not only develops special skills (for example, leading a discussion), but also allows you to gain experience in analyzing communication situations. As a result, a person’s adequacy of perception of himself, communication partners, and the overall situation in the group increases.

The main methods used in this type of training are group discussion, games, and special exercises (“psycho-gymnastics”). Active involvement allows participants to test their own ideas about the attitudes, emotions and behavioral reactions of other people, giving them the opportunity to become aware of the characteristics of their behavior. Feedback from other group members and from the trainer, the effects of group interaction allow participants not only to analyze their communication strategies, but also to correct them, to form more effective models of interaction with people.

In a business context, training is an active form of training people aimed at acquiring knowledge and developing skills necessary to improve the effectiveness of their professional activities.

Currently, managers (and employees) are increasingly less likely to ask the question: “Why do we need training?” Managers have already appreciated its advantages and have seen the real benefits of training.

A preliminary assessment of training needs helps solve problems of increasing motivation to participate in training and take into account the real needs of employees.

With the help of training company employees, various problems can be solved. According to the results of our research in 2006, these are:

acquisition of new knowledge and formation of new skills (primarily professional);
development of standards of professional activity;
personnel adaptation;
team building;
ensuring a change in type of activity;
experience exchange;
performance assessment - feedback from employees regarding the effectiveness of activities;
identification and training of leaders;
optimization of personnel placement;
employee compatibility assessment;
increasing loyalty;
motivation;
overcoming the crisis stage in the development of the organization;
unlocking the potential of employees;
conflict resolution;
improving the psychological climate in the team;
formation of a personnel reserve.

In addition to the specific tasks listed, the training helps to solve more general ones, such as organizational diagnostics (identifying existing resources and limitations - both human and technical), organizational development, increasing the efficiency of the organization and acquiring competitive advantages, developing corporate culture, improving the image organizations, etc.

The need to “include” training in the company’s improvement process poses new challenges for its organizers and trainers. The traditional distribution of roles, when company leaders identify problems, and training specialists formulate training objectives, and then solve them by conducting one-time courses in individual disciplines or areas of activity (planning, finance, computing, communication psychology, etc.) , completely ineffective. This is a "reactive" approach.

To achieve strong business results, a training specialist should be involved in analyzing emerging problems at the earliest stages. The modern learning model should be multi-phase . We propose a model that includes several sequential steps (Fig. 1):

Studying the plans and problems of the organization.
Identification of training needs.
Administration of training.
Defining learning goals.
Development of a training program.
Conducting training.
Evaluation of training effectiveness.
Post-training support.

Rice. 1. Multiphase learning model

Of course, all steps are important, but developing the company’s strategic goals and conducting organizational diagnostics is not the responsibility of a business coach; these are the responsibilities of the “customers.” However, it is necessary for both external and internal trainers to understand the company’s development strategy and know the diagnostic results in order to understand the organization’s problems. In the case when company managers make a targeted, clearly formulated request for training, the trainer’s tasks are simplified. But even if this does not happen, the trainer can, having an idea of the current problems of the organization, independently identify training needs and offer his own options for conducting training.

To determine the need for training - the “desired state”, it is necessary to first clarify the attitude of employees towards training, the topics that company employees consider important and significant for its effective development. Methods for assessing training needs are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Methods for assessing training needs

Observation

Group discussion

Questioning

Certification

Interview

Application for training

Customer service quality assessment

The next stage is training administration. Our understanding of this process is reflected in Figure 2. It includes the following steps:

determination of workplace requirements;
assessing the level of qualifications of employees;
group assignments;
formation of a training budget.

Rice. 2. Training administration

An assessment of the level of actual preparedness of workers must be carried out in order to find out exactly what knowledge and skills they lack. Data obtained during employee certification is compared with the description of workplace requirements and job responsibilities. By clearly understanding what they will have to do tomorrow and what they can do today, people learn the material better and are more actively involved in the learning process.

Assessing the level of qualifications of employees, creating a budget for training events and pre-assembling groups are the responsibilities of a training manager , assistant business coach. The training manager does not conduct training on his own; his task is to determine what kind of training and which employees need it to achieve maximum results in the workplace. The activities of a training manager in training administration include resolving all organizational and financial issues; it is carried out in parallel with other stages. Of course, in small companies these functions are performed by an internal trainer or HR manager.

To more completely and accurately determine learning goals, you need to select appropriate methods for collecting information (Table 2). The main thing to remember is that the methods must be used comprehensively, trying to take into account the opinions of all stakeholders: the HR department, employees and managers. Questionnaire forms for determining the training needs of company employees and the need for specific training are given in Appendices 1, 2.

Table 2. Methods for collecting information to determine learning objectives

Methods	Advantages	Flaws
Group discussion	• making a group decision • taking responsibility for the training • high motivation of participants • identifying hidden conflicts • diagnosing participants • summarizing different points of view, determining priorities	• fear of management • jumping into operational moments • can identify problems but not causes • can identify long-standing problems rather than new ones
Observation	• variety of information received • assessment of employees in a real situation • does not interrupt the work of employees	• time consuming • subjectivity (therefore requires an experienced, trained observer) • the observer may be distracting by his presence
Questioning	• saves time in collecting information • obtains a large amount of information • can reach many people • participants have time to think • easy to process • can be reused and compared data obtained	• labor-intensive preparation (if the questions are not formulated very precisely, then the whole work may be ineffective) • no personal contact • subjectivity in processing • time is required to process information • loss of information • ambiguity in understanding the questionnaire questions • not everyone takes part • limited information received • possibility of “socially desirable” responses
Interview	• ease of implementation • flexibility • additional information • formation of the trainer’s image • understanding of the types of participants • reliability of information from participants	• complexity of processing and analysis • requires a lot of time • subjectivity of the assessment (therefore, an experienced interviewer is needed)
Testing	• objectivity • ease of processing • identification of mainly knowledge, skills, abilities • time saving • automation of data processing, processing and storage • mass coverage • can be reused and compared results	• limited information received • lack of personal contact • the possibility of “socially desirable” answers • the possibility of errors when filling out the test • “rigidity” in choosing an answer
Certification	• comprehensiveness • clear evaluation criteria • objectivity of evaluation • employee development plan	• fears of employees • time-consuming and significant financial costs • difficulties in the organization • difficulties in involving managers

The goals of training must be considered in a general context: within the framework of a specific training, mastering certain knowledge, skills and attitudes is the goal, but for training in general it is only a means of advanced training and professional development. They can also be considered at several levels: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, that is:

What should the participant learn, what skills should he develop?
what should he understand?
how (where) can he apply the acquired knowledge and skills?
What needs to be analyzed (previous experience, skills, situation, work tasks, etc.)?
what new understanding (of the situation, business process, direction of activity, work tasks, etc.) needs to be formed?
How can we know that the participant has acquired the required knowledge, mastered the necessary skills?

Operationalization of goals allows us to obtain criteria for assessing the effectiveness and success of the training.

Goals should be formulated in such a way that the degree of their achievement can be easily determined and the result obtained can be accurately measured. It is recommended to use language that reflects what the learner will be able to do as a result of the training. The goals set should be:

achievable (realistic);
measurable;
task-oriented;
taking into account the level of preparation and motivation of the participants.

Having clearly defined goals allows you to develop a training program that will help effectively solve the company's real problems, set tasks to be solved at each phase of the training cycle, choose a learning style (dependent, collaborative, independent) as well as specific methods and techniques. Clearly setting goals is the first step towards writing a training “script”.

There are several basic principles in accordance with which training programs should be developed:

1. Taking into account the characteristics of adult learning (see the article “Features of adult learning” ). Employee training must be organized in compliance with the recommendations of methodologists, which are based on the characteristics of the psychology of adults identified by scientists and practitioners:

assessment of the level of knowledge and skills of participants, composition of groups taking into account these data;
reliance on the professional experience of participants;
building training taking into account the logic of adult learning (sequential change of training phases);
relevance of the content of training programs;
assessment of training needs (before the start of the training);
taking into account the personal characteristics of the participants;
compliance with the rules for submitting feedback;
orientation of training materials to the real tasks of participants.

2. Structuring training. The time allocated for training must be carefully structured, clearly defining the beginning and end of work, as well as all breaks. In addition, you need to write down:

duration of all stages of training;
planned types of work and exercises;
necessary materials and technical means;
all types of results that participants will have to obtain/do while working.

Many proponents of the theory of effective learning suggest alternating the stages of receiving and processing information when learning. For example, E. Lehrer (1992) talks about the “sandwich” of learning:

Of particular practical value for program development is David A. Kolb’s cyclic four-stage model of learning and assimilation of new information by a person (see article “Features of adult learning” ). Learning should be based on concrete experience, include reflective observation, theoretical generalizations and active experimentation. In order for a practical skill to be successfully developed in the training, the group must “go through” the entire Kolb cycle.

3. Use of active forms of learning. Business trainings are intended primarily to develop new professional skills. The use of active forms of learning guarantees not only the perception and understanding of new knowledge, but also their active “assimilation”, strong consolidation of formed skills, development of ability and increased readiness to apply them in the future in practice. A certain “dramatic quality” of interaction, which is created by the involvement of participants in active forms of learning, allows one to overcome natural human resistance to change, helps people “accept” new knowledge and integrate it with existing experience.

4. Inclusion of every participant. By involving participants in practical activities, in the work of the group, the trainer effectively holds their attention and gives everyone the opportunity to contribute to the learning process. This makes participation in the training personally significant and increases the motivation of the participants, since they become not only “recipients” of ready-made knowledge, but also “co-authors” of the conclusions and discoveries of the entire working group. The involvement of participants, their “ownership” of the process, has a positive effect on learning outcomes, as it allows them to share in the overall success and take part of the responsibility for failure.

After we receive information about the expectations and goals of employees, we can move on to designing the training. This part of a corporate trainer's job is the most creative and responsible.

Annex 1

QUESTIONNAIRE to study training needs

Dear Colleagues!

We are planning to conduct a number of training events in our organization. We are confident that our joint work will be a step in achieving the goals set by the company. Training will be more effective if you take an active part in its preparation and conduct. When drawing up a training program, we will definitely take into account your needs and wishes.

If you have any questions while filling out this form, please contact ________________ at tel. _____________. We are waiting for your response within two days.

Thank you!

Last name, first name (optional) _________________________________ Department _________________________________________ Length of work in the company __________________________

How do you feel about the opportunity to train our company’s employees?

Training must be carried out regularly
Training should sometimes be done
It is not necessary

Do you consider periodic training at business trainings and seminars necessary?

No
For staff:	Yes	No

For employees of which departments of our company training is most necessary? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

If you were the head of our company and were planning a training program for employees, where would you start? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Your wishes for conducting training in the company (time, number of participants, place, etc.): _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

What training topics do you think will be useful to employees:

Department

Subject

Are you ready to personally take part in the training?

Yes

Other ______________________

What difficulties do you encounter while doing your work? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

What difficulties do you encounter when interacting with other company employees? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Additional knowledge in which areas would help you improve your work efficiency? First of all: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Second of all: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

What skills could help you use your working time better and get more done? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Please indicate the most suitable form of training for you:

Lectures
Trainings
Seminars
Distance learning
Individual training
Round tables

What trainings, seminars and courses have you attended?

Event

What exactly did you like?

What would you like to change?

What do you use in practice?

If you have already participated in trainings, seminars and courses, please indicate what impact they had on your work and on the activities of the company ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

When participating in the training, you will most likely hold the following position (underline):

Passive
Active
Do not know yet
Other: _____________________________________

Thank you very much! __________________________ Training Manager (full name)

Appendix 2

QUESTIONNAIRE to study the training objectives

Dear Colleagues!

You and I are going to take part in the training “Effective Sales Techniques”, which will take place on _______________. We want to clarify your training needs and understand what you expect from the training. To do this, we invite you to fill out a form. Taking into account your wishes, we can make the training more effective and help you achieve high results. Your opinion is very important to us, we are waiting for answers within two days.

Thank you!

FULL NAME. _________________________________________ Work experience ___________________________________ Position _____________________________________

Have you previously taken part in trainings? _________

If yes, then: Which ones? When? _________________________________ What exactly was useful for you? _________________ What would you like to change? _________________________________

Rate the importance of this training for you on a 10-point scale:

Please justify your assessment: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

What causes you the most difficulty in your work? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Which of these skills would you like to improve (“practice” in training)? Check as many skills as you think are necessary:

During the training, I would like to receive answers to the following questions:

Skills of an effective salesperson	I want to improve (check the box)	I want to work on the training (rank in order of decreasing importance)
Find a new client
Present products and services
Negotiate effectively
Convince the client over the phone
Achieve results
Work with the client base
Analyze your work
Other

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

The following training results will be useful and important for me:

_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Please complete the phrases: “I want the training to be ____________________ “I want the trainer to _____________________________

Your concerns (doubts) about the training: ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

In your opinion, sales training is (underline):

Having fun
Communication
Acquiring skills
Professional growth
Other _____________________________________

During the training I plan to (underline):

Be an active participant
Be an observer
He did not decide
Other _____________________________________

Thank you very much! __________________________ Training Manager (full name)

https://hrliga.com/i

How to proceed?

By mastering the business industry from your own experience, you don’t have to spend money. However, this requires a colossal amount of time and fantastic patience. After all, a lot of mistakes await a beginner on the path. It is a rare aspiring entrepreneur who is able to cope with all adversity and not break down.

In addition, some of them may result in financial losses.

That’s why a huge category of aspiring entrepreneurs prefer to attend training on starting a business, which will introduce them to the main features of this area and allow them to avoid some mistakes, which will save time, nerves and even money in the long run.

Be sure to take an advance payment from those wishing to participate in the training or seminar.

Practice shows that without prepayment, a person easily forgets about the event and stops answering calls the day before, or he urgently has other plans. Even a small prepayment, at least 1,000 rubles, will help weed out those who had no intention of going to the training. Then you will have real information about the number of participants.

Thus, many trainers and training companies sell the first lesson of a monthly course for a relatively small amount, for example, 1,000 rubles, to make it easier for a person to make a decision about purchasing training. Making this small advance payment will certainly guarantee that a person will attend the training or seminar, will help him become convinced of its value and make a decision to purchase the entire course or all training sessions.

This seemingly “long tail of sales” is most effective in terms of increasing sales. There are times when a participant in a trial lesson, based on its results, buys a ticket for another training or for the same training, but on a different date and time.

Using our service www.seminargroup.ru, you can create an event and set up flexible sales of different types of tickets with different prices: tickets for the first lesson of a course, training or seminar as confirmation of the seriousness of your intentions and a ticket in the amount of the full cost of the event.

Benefits of online training

Availability. To attend the event, you only need stable Internet access. It's incredibly convenient. Especially for those who have a full-time job and cannot spend a lot of time attending offline trainings. In addition, this is a great opportunity for those who live far outside the capital. After all, business trainings are mainly conducted in Moscow.
Financial savings. Offline courses for aspiring entrepreneurs can cost several times more than their online version. This is completely understandable and justified. The host must organize an offline meeting anew each time. While it is enough to register an online course just once, and then only provide feedback in the future.
Testing. If we are talking about a new business niche and you have not yet decided whether to pursue it or not, online training on starting a business is exactly what you need. With a relatively small investment of time and money, you will be able to get to know the topic better and make a final decision. If it is positive, no one bothers you to attend full-fledged courses on starting your own business.
Permanent access. Most online courses do not require you to be present at a specific time. Even if you miss the online lecture for any reason. You will be able to watch the video at another time. In addition, if you wish, you can return to previously covered topics, repeat the material you have studied and consolidate your knowledge.

However, it was not without its drawbacks. For example, you won’t be able to listen to material on starting a business if you don’t have stable Internet access.

“I was waiting for a step-by-step guide on “How to build a business””

Maria Shesterikova

Completed the “Concentrate” training from Ayaz Shabutdinov.

I worked at a regional newspaper and went to business training because the phrases “Build your own business”, “Do you want to work for your uncle all your life?”, “Your life is only in your hands” were heard from everywhere. I looked at the success of girls who sell courses on pumping up their ass on Instagram, and I realized that there is nothing difficult in all this: I can do it too. True, for some reason it seemed to me that first I needed to undergo some kind of business training - it would help me understand where to start. A friend suggested signing up for “Concentrate 21.0.” to Ayaz Shabutdinov, the founder of the Like group of companies, and I agreed. It was possible to watch the broadcast directly from Samara, where I live, but we wanted to find out everything first-hand, so we went to Moscow for training.

They have long said about Ayaz that he is a businessman who makes money out of nothing. Allegedly his parents are from the village, but he got out and rose. I thought that a guy with such a background would definitely be able to help me, and I was waiting for a step-by-step guide on “How to build a business” for idiots: I wanted them to tell me how to choose a niche and where to even start. Considering that the three-day training cost only 500 rubles, it was extremely naive to expect the revelation of universal secrets.

The event took place in the large beautiful hall of the “Russia - My History” museum at VDNKh. All this lasted three days, but half of Friday was enough for me to understand that this was some kind of bullshit. We sat down in the hall and started listening to Ayaz, but I quickly realized that he was voicing well-known motivational phrases like “A big journey begins with a small step.” They even gave us bracelets with this inscription.

It all continued with no less abstract expressions: “I could do it, and so can you,” “After six months of work, I bought a red Lamborghini.” At the same time, strangers ran up to us and invited us to join their team. They called themselves team leaders and promised to include them in the networking process - to add them to the chat where all business representatives sit. A little later it turned out that team leaders and business representatives were simply participants in paid author’s programs, which is what it all boiled down to during the conference.

Between motivational quotes from Ayaz himself, participants of his paid projects spoke, who said: “Wow, I launched a cool business! To do this, you need to buy a course for 40,000 rubles.” Then Ayaz appeared on stage again and continued to tell how cool everything was with him.

Twice during the evening the song of the group “Hands Up!” was played to the whole hall. - it seems, “My baby.” We had to hold hands and jump under it, because this is how the process of rallying and unification happens. After the second such mini-concert, I took my friend by the hand and left.

Disappointment set in almost immediately. You come to an awesome room and receive a beautiful handout, but instead of practical knowledge, you listen to completely uninformative things that boil down to selling your own products.

But there were also cool moments. In the handout, I found “The Diary of a Beginning Entrepreneur,” which contained a diagram that helps determine further actions: for example, if you don’t have a business yet, then first of all you need to choose a suitable niche. More advanced guys take a different path - they conduct marketing research and draw up business plans. However, I opened the diary only three times. On the second and third days we did not return, because we realized that the rut awaited us again, collecting money and trying to sell our products.

It seems to me that if a person has entrepreneurial abilities, he will figure it out without business training. Perhaps they can help people who already know what they want and are developing in a specific direction. For me, as a novice entrepreneur, the training turned out to be nonsense - I still didn’t understand where to start to open my own business. I don’t see the point in spending money and feeding such business coaches.

10,000 people came to the conference, each of whom gave 500 rubles - that’s the basis of the information business.

I definitely won’t go to Concentrate again, and I’m unlikely to go to another training. My friend then took the same course again and said that she liked it. Apparently, she got a taste for it by listening to motivational quotes. I never opened a business. I flatter myself with the hope that my time has not yet come: I still haven’t decided what I want to do. True, the problem here is more likely in me than in inappropriate business training.

Benefits of offline trainings

Discipline. Here you won’t be able to find an excuse, postpone the lecture until later, etc. You need to be at the event at the exact time. This motivates you to put everything else aside and get down to business. Otherwise, without attending business trainings and seminars, you will not gain new knowledge and lose your own money. As a rule, such events are organized on a prepayment basis.
Feedback. It’s much easier to get it in a live training. After all, you can just be the presenter, and not write messages in the chat, hoping that they will be noticed and not passed by.

“You want to receive more exclusive information and get hooked on the information needle”

Gleb Leshchenko

Completed dozens of business trainings on making money on the Internet.

I became interested in business training in 2012, when I finished ninth grade. My mother recommended me a course from Azat Valeev, a popular Internet entrepreneur and millionaire. It was called “Breakthrough to Life” and cost 200 rubles. During the week, the author talked about why it is not necessary to work for large corporations, how to make money on the Internet, what freelancing and information business are. I liked it because at that time I gained new knowledge and understood a little better how life works. Immediately after this training, I was offered to take a second one: it cost not 200, but 1,000 rubles. In this course, I was told a little more about what selling information is and how you can develop in this business.

After the ninth grade, I just had a free summer, so I began to study the information business market and over time even began to write my own books and courses: on how to create your own blog on WordPress and gather subscribers on social networks. I understood this issue because I ran a blog myself and promoted it. In addition, I had already completed several courses on this topic and watched dozens of videos on YouTube. It seemed to me that all this was very interesting, so I wanted to develop in this direction in the future.

I chose the trainings based on cost, topic and duration. I bought practical courses on making money on the Internet, but on the way to school I listened to free lectures on personal development - I downloaded them to my player instead of music. When choosing a practical course, it was important for me that the person had decent performance and guaranteed that I would get a specific result: for example, earn a certain amount or prepare my blog.

Prices for trainings ranged from 1,000 to 300,000 rubles. I took the cheapest packages - from 1,000 to 10,000 rubles, because I didn’t have money for more. Besides, it seems to me that choosing trainings for 60,000 rubles is strange and not entirely reasonable. It’s better to spend this money on promoting your blogs or buying new equipment to improve your content. However, I know people who made similar purchases, got results and were satisfied with the investment.

The money paid for training could be taken back if the training did not suit you. True, first you must prove that you did all your homework, otherwise nothing will work out. In addition, after the trial, the author will absolutely ban you. I never wanted a refund because I was happy with my purchases.

Courses on making money online contained quite clear tasks: create a website or add links. No one asked me to go out into the street and shout that I can do anything, or to sell things from home. I developed specific online promotion skills and immediately saw the results of my actions.

However, non-standard tasks sometimes came across in the personal growth trainings that I listened to on the way to college. The kids with complexes were asked to put on a sombrero and bright clothes, and then walk along a crowded street in the city center. Such stressful situations were intended to help us understand that all problems are only in our heads and those around us do not care about them.

I have not performed such tasks. I didn’t need it, because at that time I was already conducting webinars and master classes in schools, universities and various organizations. In addition, I had my own YouTube channel, so the practice of liberation was quite enough.

The trainings that I completed influenced my worldview and showed that I need to develop, go only forward, set goals and achieve them. I realized that I wanted to go to the cinema and buy equipment with my own money, so I found a way to earn money. Of course, millions didn’t appear in my pockets, but I had enough for gatherings in cafes and small trinkets that are so necessary in adolescence.

However, since 2014, I began to undergo training much less frequently. The fact is that I posted a self-presentation on YouTube, in which for 8 minutes I told what I studied and how I developed. The video went viral and they made me into an Internet meme. People started laughing and saying that I was a schoolboy who talked about making money, but at the same time he looked pretty bad: acne, terrible hairstyle and modest results. This was the wake-up call that made me think for the first time about how I look from the outside.

From that moment on, I began to approach training more consciously and noticed that the same thoughts from the category “You need to set goals” were repeated from course to course. I realized that I should listen less and do more.

During the courses, you only imagine how you open a business and earn millions, but in reality you only listen to business coaches and get nowhere.

In addition, trainings are like an endless cycle: after one, they offer you a second, but it is even more expensive than the previous one. You want to receive more exclusive information and get hooked on the information needle. Mindlessly going to all the trainings in a row is not a good thing and even harmful. If a person doesn’t know how to turn his head on, he can tighten things up quite a bit.

Be careful and pay attention to the teacher who is teaching the class. If this is Vasya Pupkin from a small provincial town who has not achieved anything, then it is better not to get involved in such training. Be mindful when choosing training and remember that most of the information can be found in the public domain on YouTube.

I never opened a business, but I still learned how to make money on the Internet. I study directing, am interested in cinematography and develop my own blog “Just About Cinema”: I shoot videos on YouTube and maintain Instagram, and also create documentaries about elderly people who suffered during the Great Patriotic War.

Now I only take courses if I am sure that I can apply this knowledge right now. And if I see a tempting headline, but understand that this information is not useful to me at the moment, I pass by and don’t waste my time.

Julia Hill

Family psychologist, psychotherapist, member of the Professional Psychotherapeutic League.

Any training exploits need. Usually people reach for them when they are in a state of acute stress and anxiety. They are looking for something or someone they can rely on, something that will give them a feeling of self-confidence and allow them to become happy.

With manic persistence, they research the websites of business coaches and follow their success stories, trying them on themselves. In general, this state has its advantages: for some, the desire to prove that “I can” becomes a powerful driving force in self-development and mastering new professional skills. However, there are also some problems: during such periods, critical thinking does not work well. People are easily suggestible and accept various kinds of casuistry on faith.

Under stress, a person regresses, that is, resorts to more immature, “childish” ways of behavior. Hence the belief in fairy tales about instant enrichment, the desire to be unique, not like everyone else: to touch knowledge accessible only to “initiates” (the more secret the knowledge, the more expensive the training). The coach is seen as such an all-powerful father figure, capable of solving all your problems for you and saving you from defeat.

It is better to look for support in yourself in the office of a psychologist or, at least, from close people who are ready to support you.

What is the attractiveness of this way of earning money?

It is believed that such activities do not require large initial investments. But this is a sore subject for most novice entrepreneurs.

In addition, there are many examples of successfully existing training centers that train aspiring businessmen.

In order to make money in this area, you can open a small agency and periodically attract freelance trainers to conduct training sessions. Or you can open a large center by hiring professionals with their own proprietary programs.

Money out of thin air?

Many entrepreneurs are willing to open their own companies and provide the services of experienced trainers on various issues. Why is conducting training so attractive for businessmen? Why are Russians so actively investing in this area? Let's talk about all this in our material. First, let's look at two paths that appear before a novice entrepreneur who decides to make money through training.

So, he can open his own training center. To do this, you can simply organize a small agency that will act as a kind of intermediary between freelancers and consumers of their knowledge. The second way is that a businessman opens a medium or large company, the main direction of which is conducting trainings.

How to find the best programs?

The choice of business training for aspiring entrepreneurs is incredibly huge. At the same time, everyone wants to get the best course, which will certainly turn its participants into successful businessmen.

To avoid making mistakes and wasting your money, you need to carefully study what is offered to you.

Don’t rush to flashy headlines that promise to teach you how to earn a hundred dollars per second without any effort. The best business trainings will not lose their own reputation by throwing around meaningless and impossible promises.

Instead of reading a sales text, the purpose of which is to get you to pay for the training as soon as possible, study as much information as possible about the author of the course. Find out how long he has been working in the specified niche, what successes he has achieved, etc. Collect feedback from various sources. The ideal option is if you can contact former business training participants and find out how useful the training course was for them.

Market analysis

Market analysis: how to collect information (“Business Environment”)

Students will learn how to effectively use publicly available sources of information, which ones will be useful for a business model, where to look for them, and how to check their correctness and reliability. The author of the course, Dmitry Valkov, provides real cases and examines tools for working with information sources.

Cost: subscription to the course database is 1,750 rubles per year.

Duration: 1 hour.

Themes

Business training can include a variety of issues related to your own business. Some people prefer to focus exclusively on the non-theoretical aspects of doing business, while others prefer to devote time to practice. It is better to familiarize yourself in advance with what topics the specialized training course will include, what you will learn, what skills you will acquire, etc. If for some reason the topics are kept in the strictest confidence, it is better to refuse to attend the business training and find an alternative option. After all, you don’t want to pay without knowing what they are offering you in return.

So, the main topics that business trainings include.

Features of creating a business from scratch.
Fundamentals of accounting.
Creation and subsequent promotion of your own website on the Internet.
Sales.
Planning.
Building business contacts.

Let's discuss the business training topics listed above in more detail.

Don't delay in starting your event promotion campaign.

In most cases, you can safely start an advertising campaign already at the stage of searching for training premises.

Depending on the topic of the training and the target audience, the places and methods of advertising may be different. Use the maximum number of paid and free methods.

Free methods: distributing leaflets in places where the target audience gathers, posting notices on bulletin boards on the Internet and in various institutions of the city, attracting listeners through social networks, comments in specialized forums and blogs.

Paid methods: various media (newspapers, television, newspapers, radio), paid advertising on sites close to the topic of the seminar (including thematic forums and blogs), inclusion of event advertising in thematic e-mail newsletters of specialized sites (for example, subscribe, mail, etc.), paid advertising in VK using the HiConversion.ru service (helps to conduct effective targeted advertising and save a lot - we recommend it!).

These are the main methods of advertising, you can use any available to you.

Accounting Basics

To some, such a topic at a business training may seem absolutely useless. Such participants firmly believe that accounting issues should be handled by a hired specialist. However, not all beginning entrepreneurs have enough funds to pay an employee. In addition, it never hurts to know at least the basic points in order to control the execution of the work. In addition, business training can cover the most pressing issues for any entrepreneur. For example, how to save on taxes or avoid them altogether, how to file returns, etc. Knowledge of such nuances reveals a responsible leader.

It is advisable to organize coffee breaks during the training itself.

Coffee breaks help a person switch gears, restore strength to absorb new information and increase blood sugar levels (therefore, the presence of sweets is a must), which is very important for brain function!

In addition, in our experience, coffee breaks create an atmosphere of openness, reduce tension and contribute to the establishment of business and other contacts between people, which ultimately affects satisfaction with the results of the training/seminar.

To organize coffee breaks you need little: several kettles, depending on the number of participants, disposable tableware, as well as tea, coffee, sugar and, perhaps, something for a snack, such as cookies and chocolate.

Website

The rapid development of the Internet has led to the fact that many customers are looking for information in the online space. If a company does not have its own website, it may simply go unnoticed. It is possible that it will be surpassed by competitors who provide services or goods of worse quality or at less attractive prices, but at the same time have their own website.

Many people think that it is difficult to do. However, now there are many opportunities for this. Creating your own website is so simple that even a novice businessman can handle it.

Training principles

In order for the classes to be successful, it is necessary to follow the principles of organizing training:

Voluntary participation. Despite the fact that some organizations force their employees to attend classes, voluntary participation brings stronger results, since there is motivation to learn.

Dialogue with the group. The training director must organize full interaction with all participants. The rules of equality, activity, inclusion in the process, and feedback apply here.

Safety. All group members should feel comfortable, relaxed, and safe. The environment should be conducive to work.
Openness. In group learning, honesty and openness of group members are important both for the overall result and for effective feedback.
Competent management of the process.