Living Arts Massage and Bodywork School
This was a long and hard project. I was still in college and this project was creating a trade school. I was the projects, operational manager, through certification through the state regulators in Colorado. Though the state was very helpful in the guidance of what needed to get done. I worked with the three founders to present the regulatory bodies with an accurately completed student manual and supporting documents that clearly communicated the cost to the student, the timeline for completion and what the student was obligated to do for complication and what the school was obliged to provide for the student once enrolled. The State sought to ensure that all parties understood and that the school set forth policies that were fair and reasonable to students. By getting certified not only was it legal to operate in the state but it ensured the school business plan, catalog, and policies were all well thought out. This project had more than a few setbacks, because of staffing or simply not getting the work done, everyone working on the project had at least a job, if not several other projects going. I, Myself was working 40hr a week going to school and for a while also doing Wee One’s. Everyone was spread very thin and though we all believed in the idea we paid a high price for the lack of focus When the first class of students got involved the kitchen slowly became too filled with cooks, and further setbacks to the project. When control was regained and the major hurdle of passing the state regulations inquiry and a certified trade school officially, everything got much better. I worked on shortly after this point my work having been done.
LAMBS was unique because it was modular allowing students to customize their education to their life style. This would not allow them to attend school in a traditional fission which at the time was all that was offered. This modeler program made the school attractive to students that had left the other schools unable to attend. The students could complete the entire program in two years or as long as 5 years. During the interview with the governing body this was thee first school to come before them with sch a program. Now they are much more common place.
Today this school as been acquired by anther school managed to make one larger massage bodywork school, a popular and growing industry.
Skills learned from this project
- The importance of having everything on paper
- Knowing when to walk away
- Timeline Management
- The difference between authority and leadership
- Lots about working with state and regulatory bodies
- The power of a good idea
- The value of focus
