Angie's Soapmaking Business Soars after Class!

A letter from Angie Barrett....

A few years ago I decided to take a class on cold processing soapmaking. I had already been making melt and pour soaps but wanted to try cold process so I had control over what ingredients went into my products. After researching in books and online, I was still terrified to try this method myself. I found out that First Class Inc. was offering a cold process soapmaking class so I convinced my sister to come with me and check it out.

After taking the class and seeing the process done first hand I was ready to take the plunge! Now I love experimenting with different ingredients and coming up with my own recipes. Not to mention, my business has been much more successful since I added these soaps to my product line.

Thank you, First Class Inc., for the skills and confidence to expand my business!

Sincerely,

Angie Barrett
Owner
Angie's Suds 'N' Such
www.SudsNSuch.etsy.com

The Benefits of Lifelong Learning

by Adrienne Carlson, Guest Writer for First Class Inc.
adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com
Accelerated Online Degrees

Education is the lifeblood of a career; it is the very foundation on which you build your future and climb up the career ladder. And for those of you who think that learning stops at the gates of college once you graduate, you have another think coming. Education is something that must continue, from the time you are born till the time you die, because lifelong learning sustains more than just your educative pursuit alone. When you make the attempt to learn at all stages in your life, when you keep updating your knowledge, you gain the following benefits:

•A keen and sharp mind: When you continue to tax your brain cells in the pursuit of learning new things and keeping your knowledge current and relevant, you become sharper and cleverer than before. Your brain develops new connections between neurons and remains healthy no matter how old you become. You’re able to stave off Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia when you keep your mind busy. Just like exercise is good for the body, learning is good for the mind.

•Self confidence: When you’re able to speak confidently on any subject, when you know that your knowledge level is high, you gain in self esteem and self confidence. This boosts how you feel about yourself, and you remain in a healthy state of mind. When you’re confident, you tend to taste success at a higher level. You also raise your standards and improve yourself.

•A boost up the career ladder: When you are knowledgeable and well educated, you are in demand in the job market. Organizations are keen to employ you and retain you at high salaries. And when you make the effort to continue with your learning process even on the job, you climb faster up the career ladder and are able to do your job more efficiently and effortlessly.

•New skills and talents: When you make it a point to learn new things and stay ahead of the learning curve, you pick up new skills and talents. You become a multi-faceted person, one who is well-versed in any subject under the sun and equipped with a variety of skills.

•An open and mature mind: When you make learning a lifelong experience, you open your mind to new experiences. This makes you more tolerant and understanding when it comes to dealing with people who interact with you. You gain maturity as you learn more and more and you’re eager to explore new options and test new ground. In short, you become a completely different person because of learning.

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of accelerated online degrees. Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com

First Class Inc.'s 25th Anniversary

Wow, it truly is a milestone...running a lifelong learning center for 25 years. What I have come to love most are the eager students who always come to class with an open mind and a willingness to learn how to do things better...or just a willingness to tackle a new skill or concept. If it were all about that..I think I could run the center for 25 more years. But, what bothers me the most is probably not what you'd expect. It's that adult students think nothing of dropping their trash on the floor, taking cell phone calls during class, arriving 45 minutes late, and then expecting the teacher to backtrack and review the missed information. It's this underlying selfishness that scares me more than anything. I can't help but think that this is the byproduct of early education gone wrong.

On the other hand, keeping your mind engaged is what makes life cool, neat and fascinating. It's a reason to get up in the morning..and you never know when you might discover a latent talent that changes your life's path. I've been energized by all the student success stories. In fact, I just listened in on the class on "Creating Healthy Friendships" and found just the tools I needed to move on from an unhealthy friendship.

So, to "Living and Learning"..a toast to lifelong learning.

Sincerely,
Deb Leopold

Fear of Public Speaking Conquered via Seminar!

I took a few of Arnold Sanow's classes on public speaking. He is the best! Before taking his classes, even the thought of giving a presentation or speech made me ill. Picturing everyone in the audience with their "underwear" on never worked for me. I was already outgoing, but something about getting in front of a big audience scared me!! His classes changed all of that. Last summer, I was invited to give a presentation to a national association at their annual conference. Since that time, I have given about six other presentations and always received feedback stating "exceeded expectations."

Just recently, I have really been able to put my skills to work! I am very excited to share that I just launched a new business. White Brights Teeth Whitening Boutiques! We offer teeth whitening at salons, spas, gyms, national trade shows, conferences and home parties. Results are immediate and only one treatment is necessary. Our customers have been thrilled!

Arnold Sanow's classes helped me feel comfortable presenting all of this information to groups, investors and the general public. I even spark up conversations in the grocery line. Before, I would have felt stupid or uncomfortable. I have always been very impressed and "wowed" by First Class. I love to get the catalog and go through and select classes. I feel very fortunate to have such an awesome variety on such cool topics.

Sincerely,
W. Mason Preddy
CEO/Founder
White Brights Teeth Whitening Boutiques

A Tour Guiding Success Story! $39 grew to $100,000!

A note from Lynn O'Connell:

Lynn just recalled how much she had earned from taking her first class entitled "Wanted: D.C. Tour Guides" over 20 years ago!

My cost: $39. My profits: $100,000+ over the past two decades – in my “spare” time. When I first moved to DC, I signed up for a two-hour class on Becoming a Tour Guide, thinking it would be a good way to explore the city. I went on to get my D.C. license and have led local tours for many years. I now lead tours internationally to places like Kenya, Belize, and France. Yes, I have a Master’s that helps me succeed in my day job. But, that $39 class has certainly brought me a return on investment! -Lynn

Multiple Revenue Stream Seminar Reaps Rewards!

A message from Larry Ray!

I wanted to become self-employed. My first step: take classes at First Class Inc.. I took two classes: "How to Be a $1000/Day Consultant" and "Making a Living without a Job." I took away two important themes--create multiple revenue streams and consult in areas in which you already have expertise. For the past 12 years, following those themes, I have been a successfully employed Attorney, Mediator, Arbitrator, and Executive Coach.

Sincerely,

Larry Ray

Tarot Class Leads to Profound Change

A message from Paul Weiss:

Back in the winter of 2002, I enrolled in "Tarot Messages" taught by Geraldine Amaral. This class that is held at First Class Inc. changed my life. Over the past six years, I've taken other classes through First Class to imprve the quality of my life and to start a business. From the very first class, "Tarot Messages," I became a certified professional tarot reader. I do highly endorse this center because it will have a profound impact on your life for the better. First Class rocks!

Export Import Class Spurs Student to Launch Website

Fresh out of college, I took the “Break into the Import/Export Business” class offered by First Class Inc. to give me more insight on how I could get started in the import industry. Two years later, I now run a successful website full-time RoundBrushHair which provides products from the Dominican Republic to men and women in the United States and eight countries in Europe.

Jennifer
Founder, RoundBrushHair.com

The Dilemma: How to Handle a Difficult Adult Learner

When it is no longer an option to send a student out of a class, how does a seminar leader handle a student whose behavior can impact on a seminar in a negative way? In the past few weeks, I've watched two different instructors handle challenging students. In the first instance, a female student (who will remain anonymous) kept interrupting the teacher with unrelated and somewhat racist comments. The teacher handled it like a pro...found something in her statement to comment on (since it was a communication class) and then forged ahead with the material. Luckily, the other students in attendance realized that the student was troubled. Because everyone behaved like mature adults, the seminar was not seriously impacted. I was very close to asking the student to leave, but I did not want to undermine the teacher's authority.

In the second instance, we had a gentleman who wanted to make sure that everyone in the class knew that he was also an authority on the topic. He would raise his hand to comment on something the teacher had said, but when the teacher began talking again...he was still talking. I have to admit--this was a first! And, very annoying to both the teacher and the other students. Again, everyone in class behaved admirably. In this instance, it might have helped if one of the other students gently mentioned that his behavior was bothersome. That would have lifted the onus off the instructor so that he/she did not have to be the "bouncer."

Hopefully, this is just a fluke. But, I always try to use these situations as learning experiences and judge how to best handle them in the future.