18 Skills Training Business Success Stories [2023]
It is a great idea to start a skill training business with a website-oriented online presence, aimed towards helping people learn new skills. Starting your own skills training business doesn’t require a lot of money, but it can have a significant impact on your life and others.
The global skills training market is expected to reach $47.2B by 2027. If you’re looking for financial freedom, starting your own skills training business is the way to go. Training clients and building an impressive portfolio will allow you to charge higher rates and start living the life of your dreams.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a skills training business:
1. TrumpExcel.com ($120K/year)
Sumit Bansal, the founder of TrumpExcel.com, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the demand for Excel tutorials and courses. Working for a tech company, Sumit saw the need for efficient Excel skills and decided to create a blog and offer online courses to teach people how to use spreadsheets effectively. With over 1 million monthly pageviews and an average monthly revenue of $10,000, Sumit has successfully built a profitable business helping millions of people learn Excel.
How much they make: $120K/year
Current team size: 1
A one-man business teaching people how to use Microsoft Excel effectively has gone from getting ~15k pageviews a month in 2014, to more than one million pageviews every month as of today, generating an average monthly revenue of ~$10,000, with the majority of the money coming from online course sales and a newsletter, which has 40k+ active subscribers.
2. Marketplace SuperHeroes ($4.2M/year)
After getting scammed multiple times while searching for a way to make money online, Stephen realized that selling physical products was the easiest way to get started. He partnered with Robert and built a multi-7-figure business selling branded products on Amazon. This success led to the creation of Marketplace SuperHeroes, an 8-figure online education company that helps people learn how to sell their own products on Amazon.
How much they make: $4.2M/year
Current team size: 0
Marketplace SuperHeroes co-founder Stephen Somers shares how he started an online education company that helps people sell their products on Amazon globally from scratch, built an 8-figure coaching and services business, and created a consolidated freight company.
So... can you actually make money with a skills training business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Better Sheets ($100K/year)
Andrew Kamphey came up with the idea for Better Sheets while working on a web app and realizing the creative potential of Google Sheets. Seeing a gap in the market for tutorials on using Google Sheets for businesses, he launched Better Sheets with a landing page, free and paid videos, and quickly gained traction, making $2,291 in revenue in just one month.
How much they make: $100K/year
How much did it cost to start: $109
Current team size: 0
Better Sheets is a Google Sheets tutorial providing screencasts to small businesses, earning $2,291 from 134 sales in May, with sales being mainly driven by AppSumo.
4. SquarePlanet ($3.49M/year)
Brian Burkhart, founder of SquarePlanet Presentations & Strategy, came up with the idea for his business after witnessing a top doctor give a painfully boring presentation at a healthcare conference. The wasted time, money, and missed opportunities motivated him to help people improve their presentation skills. With his experience in business communications and a deep understanding of what makes presentations go wrong, he created SquarePlanet to provide consulting, training, and execution services for impactful presentations. The company has since seen consistent and upward revenue growth, working with big brands like Coca-Cola and Google.
How much they make: $3.49M/year
Current team size: 7
SquarePlanet Presentations & Strategy is a Phoenix-based business communications firm that helps its clients tell their stories in the most impactful ways possible through meeting creative, brand voice, presentations that matter, engineered delight, speaker training/workshops, and keynote addresses, resulting in consistent and upward trajectory since inception.
So... can you actually make money with a skills training business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. EMDR Consulting ($1.8M/year)
EMDR Consulting training, I included the consultation fees in the overall cost, making it a more comprehensive and valuable offering. Marketing: I utilized online platforms such as websites, social media, and email marketing to promote my training events. I also leveraged my reputation and network within the EMDR community to spread the word about my new training organization. Word-of-mouth: As attendees experienced the effectiveness and quality of my training, they shared their positive experiences with their colleagues, which generated further interest and traction for my events. Through these strategies, I was able to establish credibility, attract attendees, and build momentum for EMDR Consulting's training events.
How much they make: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 8
How one founder grew their business, EMDR Consulting, from a one-person operation to one of the largest EMDR training organisations in the US, annually conducting over 150 EMDR basic training courses a year teaching over 1500 mental health professionals how to integrate EMDR into their clinical practice.
6. Product Focus ($1.8M/year)
Ian Lunn and his co-founder Andrew Dickenson started Product Focus after seeing a need for high-quality product management training. With their background in product management and marketing, they launched their first public course in 2006 and have since grown to become the European leaders in product management training. They have adapted their business model during the pandemic and continue to provide world-class training online. [Word count: 36 words]
How much they make: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $10K
Current team size: 5
Product Focus has become the European leaders in product management training, running multiple courses every week and receiving over 20,000 subscribers for their resources in 2018, now providing both face-to-face and online training options after COVID forced them to pivot their business model.
So... can you actually make money with a skills training business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
7. Mindynamics ($18K/year)
Saakshi Choithani, a mompreneur and Professional Growth Hacker, came up with the idea for her business, Mindynamics, after realizing the impact of the pandemic on the education sector. She designed her first program to help teachers during the lockdown and offered it for free, which attracted participants from multiple countries. From there, she expanded her offerings to include e-learning programs and services to help companies and organizations set up their own e-learning platforms.
How much they make: $18K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Current team size: 0
Mindynamics, an Indian-based training and skill development company, successfully pivoted to e-learning during the pandemic and achieved over 100 events in the past year, expanding to five countries and offering individual and corporate training programs, while also helping trainers with technology challenges and content creation.
8. COO Alliance ($5M/year)
How much they make: $5M/year
Current team size: 7
COO Alliance, founded by successful entrepreneur Cameron Herold, provides an online support group for COOs to access helpful tools and guidance in growing their companies, with Herold's expertise leading a growth in sales from $2 million to $106 million during his time as COO for 1-800-GOT-JUNK.
9. The Speaker Lab ($1.92M/year)
How much they make: $1.92M/year
Current team size: 0
The Speaker Lab founder grew his public speaking company to over $2 million in earnings from 500+ paid engagements around the world through the use of automated webinars, Facebook ads, and email marketing, more than tripling his business over the past few years.
10. Fixer ($19.2M/year)
How much they make: $19.2M/year
Current team size: 46
Fixer, a handyman service co-founded by former GrubHub COO Mike Evans, has completed nearly 25,000 jobs so far in Dallas and Chicago, offering skilled career paths for both men and women in the building trades.
11. Oki Doki Digital Inc ($480K/year)
Marie Poulin came up with the idea for her course, Notion Mastery, after discovering the software tool Notion in 2018. She found that Notion helped her with organization and productivity, and she began sharing her tips and tricks on YouTube. After receiving requests for a course, she launched Notion Mastery, which now generates an average of $40k/month in revenue.
How much they make: $480K/year
Current team size: 2
Marie Poulin built a digital strategy and design company, Oki Doki, with her husband and pivoted the niche to course creators, culminating in their signature course, Notion Mastery, which generates an average of about $40k/month for the company.
12. Frontend Mentor ($360K/year)
Matt Studdert, founder of Frontend Mentor, came up with the idea for his business while teaching a front-end web development course. He noticed that his students often struggled to find professional designs and projects to practice their skills and build their portfolios. This led him to create a platform that provides developers with challenges, designs, and optimized assets, ultimately launching Frontend Mentor.
How much they make: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $8K
Current team size: 0
Online learning community Frontend Mentor has over 200,000 members, with over 1,500 paid subscribers generating over $15,000 MRR, offering professionally designed challenges to improve front-end coding skills with a freemium business model and a focus on real-life experience.
13. Just Ninety ($54K/year)
Andrew Lawson, founder of Just Ninety, came up with the idea for his business after realizing the need for professional trainers to reclaim their time and generate more revenue in the virtual training space. After beating cancer for a third time, Andrew decided to use the online courses he had created during COVID as the foundation for Just Ninety, helping trainers around the globe shorten their design process and deliver engaging corporate training materials in a 90-minute format. Since launching, Andrew has made $4,500 in just over 4 weeks and is focused on increasing web traffic and generating more leads through targeted campaigns.
How much they make: $54K/year
How much did it cost to start: $17.2K
Current team size: 1
Founder Andrew Lawson launched Just Ninety, a platform that offers ready-to-go corporate training materials to professional trainers to shorten development time for virtual courses, and has made $4,500 in revenue within the first month of launch.
14. EntryLevel ($360K/year)
Ajay Prakash, the founder of EntryLevel, started the business in 2021 with the mission to make tech education more accessible. Inspired by the World Economic Forum's goal to reskill 1 billion people by 2030, Prakash saw an opportunity to create a high-volume, low-cost reskilling platform. With a unique pricing model, active community, and AI teaching assistant, EntryLevel has trained almost 30,000 people and is making $40,000 per month.
How much they make: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
Current team size: 12
EntryLevel, an online education platform founded by Ajay Prakash, provides accessible and effective tech education through cohort-based programs that have resulted in training nearly 30,000 people since its launch and generating $40,000 per month, with a unique pricing model allowing 100% refund for those who complete the course.
Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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