E Learning Business - You Can Teach And Make It Profitable
Here's Why and How

Do people come to you for answers about a particular issue? I'm confident they do because every one of us has greater knowledge about a topic than the average person does. Maybe you're a great cook, musician, crafter or a home improvement pro. Through the Internet, you can be in the e learning business.

Why An E Learning Business

E learning has it's roots in good old fashioned correspondence school. The biggest difference is the method of delivery and the Internet can deliver richer formats and learning experience from a distance than other distance learning methods. According to a study by Eduventures, "Online enrollment has jumped from 1.98 million in 2003 to 2.35 million the following year"*.

While that study is aimed at traditional learning instituitions like colleges, there is still lot's of opportunities for non-formal learning. People have been selling e-books for many years and very successful at it.

E Learning From Expert Peers Is Hot

If you take a good look at the Internet, it's really a big peer to peer library of information. It was made for information sharing and it's more apparent today than ever especially with the advent of blogs, how to web sites and wikis (a sort of online information resource built by common people). For many, learning from peers is less stressful and it gives them a sense of 'can do'; “If she can do it, so can I” and this in itself is appealing.

People Are Busy

All over the world, modern life keeps getting busier. Between the daily commute, family commitments and work, many people's simply do not have room in their schedules to go and sit in a class. If they could join a class virtually online, they still get to learn, interact with the tutor and classmates just like a real class without having to be there physically. And this leads into my next point.

People with disabilities want to learn too. That's right. There are so many people who cannot get to class. E Learning is very appealing to them.

Not Bound To Location

People are getting more mobile. For some, work takes them to far flung corners of the world. In the past, if there isn't a school in your town, you'll have to travel or even move to the town your school is in, or postpone their education altogether. E Learning requires no such commitment – which can be quite a big one if one already holds a steady job.

Getting Started In Your E Learning Business

Now we've established demand for this format of learning, here's what you need to get started with your E Learning business.

• A computer

• A website

• Broadband Internet connection

• A video camera or web cam

• A microphone that attaches to your computer

• A web conferencing service to deliver your classes to your students.

Tip: Many web conferencing service providers charge by the minute, or by the number of students. This can take a deep cut out of your E Learning business profits. You want to find a service that offers web conferencing at a flat rate monthly fee. This reduces your overheads and keeps your costs fixed.

As you can gather, setting up an E Learning business does not cost a lot of money compared to a physical school. You probably have 90% of what you need to get started. Before I leave, there is one other recommendation I'd like to make and that is to equip yourself with the knowledge of marketing online. It could be the difference between a successful E Learning business and one that never gets off the ground. Here's a good E Learning business resource to get you going in the right direction.

*Source: WashingtonPost.com