Lara Mellor on Microsoft training and the joy of proficiency

In Partnership with Lara Mellor Training and Consultancy

Hi Lara, tell us a little more about your business

In a nutshell, I’m an ex-secondary school maths teacher who discovered a passion for Excel and other Microsoft software packages when Excel was incorporated as part of the normal weekly maths lessons. I’ve always loved science, technology and maths so teaching people how to use software suits my background down to the ground.

I made the move to teaching adults in 1998 when I left secondary education and set up on my own in 2000 down in Windsor, which is where I lived at the time. I moved up to Warkworth in 2016 with my husband and two dogs and have run my training and consultancy business from that base ever since.

How does your company help its clients?

I provide training in all the programmes across the Microsoft suite. That covers Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office 365, Outlook, Power BI – you name a piece of Microsoft software and I deliver training in it.

Pre COVID-19 I delivered my training from my own premises in Warkworth and at the premises of my clients across the North East. Obviously, that isn’t possible at the moment, so I put all of my training online within one week of lockdown being announced at the end of March. It’s meant a steep learning curve, but my courses are now all online and they’ve been a huge success.

How much do you charge for training?

I have an online-only offer of a two-hour session for £200 or regular half-day or full-day courses which can be delivered online or on-site at £300 or £450 respectively (when it is safe to do so).  All sessions can be tailored to the client’s exact needs to ensure they learn what they need to, when they need it, and can be run for up to eight people.

What are the FAQs you get all the time?

Can you install and set up my Microsoft 365 software? 

Why is it that everyone thinks that if you are involved with IT in any form you know everything about everything?  I am a specialist Microsoft Trainer and that is my niche. It’s only a small proportion of IT as a whole but means I can deliver what I deliver consistently well and keep up to date with any changes.  This enables me to deliver a great service for my clients.

How are you finding training online? 

I am loving training online and see this as an option to continue offering going forward. It works particularly well for courses with a shorter duration. I still see some sessions being run face to face but where delegates are travelling in from various locations it can be a huge time saver, with a high-quality course still being delivered. Businesses have been forced down this route but now that many are more comfortable with and understand the benefits of online meetings, it’s a far more viable option.

What is your favourite product to train? 

I enjoy the variety of training most of the Microsoft products but anything that is mathematical or logical is where my background and passion is. I have a soft spot for Microsoft Excel as that is where it all began. Give me a complicated calculation to play around with and you will make me very happy!