It was a lifelong dream of Richard and Kelli Lyons to own their own business.  Richard had extensive training in the heating and cooling field and had recently received his EPA Certification.  However, as with many entrepreneurs, he possessed the technical skills but lacked the operational, management and planning side of business ownership.  He and his wife enrolled in the First Step FastTrac Entrepreneurial Training with hopes of making their dream come true. 

Richard says, “It’s easy to have an idea but it’s hard to turn it into an actual business.  This class provided us with information and the ‘tools’ necessary to determine the feasibility of our idea.” 

During the training, the Lyons discovered the importance of identifying their “target market” and how to concentrate their marketing efforts and limited resources wisely.

 “We really didn’t know how to go about pricing our service until we went through the training.  Now we know how to price our products and services so that we are not only competitive but able to make a profit at the same time.  We had never been exposed to a cash flow report before and the course taught us how to financially plan out our year and make adjustments as needed. We still use some of the templates provided in the training to provide information to our accountant, which saves him time and us money.  We are truly blessed to have had the opportunity to participate in such a fine program and would recommend it to anyone who is considering starting a business.”

The Lyons are now in their fourth year of business and their sales have increased to more than  $200,000 this year, which is an  increase of 38 percent over last year.  In addition, their net income will exceed $40,000 this year.  They are cautious about expanding too fast, but with the increased demand for their services, they anticipate adding an additional employee during the next year.

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