Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I just joined SUN yesterday, and I am so excited, it’s embarrassing. But I wanted to ask a question to anyone who may have some thoughts on a direction I should take. I actually have two business ideas I have been toying with for a long time. I want to be an independent corporate trainer for adult grammar (I have discovered there is a HUGE need, but interest is another story!) I used to do this for a well-known national training organization, but I didn’t like their philosophy of “get all their money, you’ll never see them again.” I also have been writing personalized poems for years, and I have a website (www.loris-stories.com) but with a full-time job and family, I don’t have time to enjoy this the way I want to. My problem is that with one of the ideas (grammar), there is a need but the interest is lacking. It sounds boring and dry, but I was told by many people that my seminars were the most educational and most fun of any seminar they had ever attended. With the other idea (the poems), there is a desire for the uniqueness of my writing, but not necessarily a dire need. Any ideas on how I could incorporate the two, or on whether or not I should choose one over the other? I am passionate about both! Sorry this is so lengthy… I’m really quiet in real life! Thanks so much!

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lori m

Hi Lori,

Welcome.  I, too, am new as of yesterday.  My suggestion is that you not be quiet.  If you are quiet, you won`t get your service out there.  Perhaps you could contact Human Resources of corporations and recommend a management training seminar.  Explain how your service will benefit the corporation`s bottom line through better communication.  Then you could incorporate some of your unique writing in some of the exercises of your management training seminar.  I would also incorporate some of the corporation`s specific business into the seminar to keep it pertinent and not lose the managements` interest.  Hope this helps.

Perhaps you would have some suggestions for my posting under "Newbie Needs Help" in the Everything We`ve Missed Forum?

 

Quite some time ago (maybe still - I haven`t listened for a while now), Rush Limbaugh was doing commercials about expanding your vocabulary. Maybe you could spin of this idea talking about how proper English will increase people’s attention span. It will also help in your writing skills. I too believe there is a great need for grammar lessons. I see your trouble of convincing people to look into themselves, to see their faults. No one wants to realize how poor of a speaker they are. Many should pay more attention to how others view their words and the placement thereof.

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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

Welcome to StartUp Nation GramaQueen. (Love the handle.)
Have you read Eats Shoots and Leaves?
I`ve noticed a new trend with grammarians taking an unconventional and fun look at grammar.
Could you angle your business to ride this new trend? I could see you mashing grammar and self-improvement together as a critical step toward success in business and office politics.
Just a thought. (I know that`s a sentence fragment, please don`t correct this post. Please.)

Maybe I need to ask Joel, our chief community dude, about adding a spellcheck tool...

The Swaynester.

I just read an excerpt on Amazon. It`s hilarious. I`ll have to see if our library has it.

You can sure tell I`m a penny-pinching, boot strapping, startup entrepreneur. A year ago I`d have just bought the book on Amazon. Now I`m looking for it at the library.


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Steve - Kirk Foods, LLC home of the Gluten Free Cookie Factory - To reach any significant goal, you must leave your comfort zone. - Hyrum W. Smith, Founder, Franklin Quest

Suggestion:  contact my friend, Abe.  See http://www.newswriting.com/.  He is doing training similar to your grammar training idea.  He is a nice guy and I`m sure he would have some suggestions for you.  Good luck.  You are right, people in this country do need advice on proper grammar and word usage.

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Norton R. Townsley
Patent Attorney/Professional Engineer
The above message is provided for general information purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

Hi Swaynester,

Yes, I will be purchasing that book for sure. I read the entire excerpt smiling and nodding my head, all the while thinking, "Oh my gosh, that`s totally me!" I feel the author`s pain, because I have a hard time enjoying a newspaper or book because I`m so busy looking for errors. And it`s amazing how satisfying it is to find them! Correction: It`s not satisfying that they exist; it`s satisfying that I find them.

Thanks again for the recommendation.

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lori m

Vincent, I am going to look for archives of Rush`s radio shows where he promotes expanding one`s vocabulary. Mayve I will get some good quotes to use during my seminars!

Thanks! 

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lori m

Norton (I feel like I should say Sir Townsley),

Your friend Abe has tons of information on his site. He is leaps and bounds ahead of me, but he had to start somewhere, right? I will shoot him an e-mail and see if he will critique my idea.

Thanks!

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lori m

Hi Lori,
What about developing a set of children`s books about grammar? The problem is mostly a failure to learn the proper way to speak in environments such as family dinner conversations, holiday get-togethers, and so forth. Children in particular, seem to learn more easily with rhymes and poems, right? You could invent some sort of "Gary the Grammar Gator" character, like Mickey Mouse, who in its adventures might have trouble with grammar. For inspiration, consider "The Phantom Tollbooth," or "The Line and the Squiggle." Just a thought...:-)


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