Corporate Training & Development

Corporate trainers deliver professional development programs to companies covering leadership, management, communication, sales, software, compliance, team building, diversity and inclusion, or industry-specific skills.

You design curriculum, facilitate workshops, create materials, and measure learning outcomes.

Success requires subject matter expertise, facilitation skills, understanding adult learning, and business acumen.

Pricing models include day rates ($1,500-5,000 per day), per-participant fees ($100-500 per person), project fees for curriculum development ($5,000-30,000), or retainer arrangements.

A single 2-day workshop with 20 participants can generate $5,000-15,000.

Startup costs include professional development certifications, curriculum materials, facilitation tools, website, and marketing totaling $3,000-10,000.

Building client base involves leveraging corporate experience and network, partnering with HR consultants and organizations, speaking at industry events, content marketing on training topics, and cold outreach to training managers.

Revenue comes from workshop delivery, curriculum development, train-the-trainer programs, and potentially online courses.

Operating costs include travel to client sites, materials, certifications, and continuing education.

Challenges include long sales cycles, training budget cuts during downturns, proving ROI of soft skills training, and competition from large training firms.

Success requires expertise in valuable topics, engaging facilitation creating behavior change not just information delivery, measuring impact, and building relationships with repeat corporate clients.

Many trainers specialize by topic (leadership, sales) or industry (healthcare, tech, finance).