When Louis Trahan decided he wanted to transition from employee to entrepreneur he wanted to make sure that he ended up with more than just another job. With that in mind he took three ideas he had, wrote mini ‘business briefs’ and cash flow projections for each. Then using these briefs he compared them to a list of criteria he felt was important in a business and made a decision to start Last Minute Training.
Surprisingly enough, most of the criteria had nothing to do with business but rather with the lifestyle he wanted.
“I didn’t believe that owning my own business had to preclude having a family and social life. I wanted to make sure that the business I started wouldn’t take all my time away from my family and friends,” says Louis. Very often entrepreneurs end up working incredible hours and end up finding themselves in their own little bubble. Taking steps early to prevent that from happening is important. “You need to be able to rely on your friends and family to help you along the way, sometimes simply as a distraction for an evening, other times for more significant help.”Lifestyle issues were not the only criteria Louis used to make his decision. He also looked at factors such as scalability, the ability to be active in an international market, innovation and market size. “It was important for me that whatever business I started wasn’t going to rely on a single economy, the ability to grow internationally was a necessity. Second to that was that I knew I wanted a technology based business.”
And Last Minute Training is all that and more. Based on the popular “last minute” travel discount model Louis’ company has applied that same last minute discount concept to the world of public training seminars. Using his service, people and companies can purchase seats in popular training seminars for up to 50% off regular prices. This is great news for small companies and entrepreneurs who often find it difficult to invest in the training they need to succeed.
The company, originally launched selling training in Toronto, Canada has grown to include training in 6 different markets and is expecting to launch into the USA before the end of this year.
Louis has this to say to young and aspiring entrepreneurs, “Of course there are sacrifices you’ll have to make, and you’ll be working longer hours than most of your friends. But don’t let your new business take over your life, instead make it a part of your life and keep it in balance. Business success shouldn’t come at the cost of being able to curl up on the couch with the person you love and watch a movie together.”
Evan Carmichael
