The Artisan Southwest Skills School is now live!

Departing from my regular posts I wanted to tell you all about my latest project which launched earlier this month – the Artisan Southwest Skills School.

It’s a project I’ve been working on in the background for some months now, but I’m pleased to say we’ve finally got it “over the line” and out to you!

From previous posts you’ll know that while I do like to cook, my bag is really learning and practising  Artisan skills like curing, smoking, preserving and the like. As I met with more and more local Artisans and tutors in the region it became apparent to me that it’s very hard to get “critical mass” and communicate what you have to offer as a standalone small business.

Also, it will come as no surprise to learn that many do not have the time, money or background to embark on sophisticated marketing campaigns to drive their business! I wanted to use what I had learnt in my corporate career as a “technology marketer” and the latest trends in cloud computing and social media to see what I could do to help!

The Skills School is my first project designed to do just that. We’re using the power of cloud computing to create a network of tutors across the region, presenting ourselves as “Virtual” Artisan Skills Cookery School. Under the hood we’re hooked into a full system to enable us to efficiently market our courses, especially to the visitors that come to the area every year, primarily utilising email marketing, and social media. What I’ve learnt is that many of the people that come on courses are often interested in learning other skills too. By working together we can offer a variety of courses to suit everyone!

Over time I hope that we’ll be able to exploit the power of the network that we are creating to pursue all sorts of other projects that enable the individuals to grow their businesses.  Helping me project manage the School is Tourism Marketing Expert, Maureen McAllister without whom I think the project would still be months away from launch!

Together we hope to make a real difference to the businesses that we are working with, and further boost the already excellent reputation of  Artisan food in the region.  Exciting times!

We’d love you to join us over at the Skills School, and maybe take a course or two that take your fancy! You’ll find many of them already profiled here on my blog  over the last year or so.

Why not join the Skills School mailing list, like us on facebook and/or Google+ and follow us on twitter @ArtisanSkills

Cheers!