Service review: Tea Business School

Tea Business School — Tea Advice
Consumers and B2B
Stock photos

I’m almost willing to bet that at some point every tea drinker entertains the idea of getting into a tea business. Hey, you love the stuff, so why not find a way to make money with it? For some this is just a daydream, but plenty of people have turned their daydreams into reality.

A few tea lovers are fortunate to have worked for or apprenticed at a successful tea business, giving them a head start to setting up their own businesses — but there’s always more to learn. Maybe you’ve just decided to move from teacup meditations to exploring tea house ownership, and you want to know how to start turning your lifestyle into a livelihood. Or perhaps you’re a current tea business owner looking to expand your offerings or keep up with the newest tea trends.

In other words, you need some tea education. And in 2007, where do you turn first? The Web!

Recently I was invited to sit in on a tele-seminar offered by Tea Business School. Based in Vancouver, Washington, owner Jennifer Peterson has been consulting, training, teaching, and speaking at seminars for a number of years. (I actually met Jennifer for the first time when we were both speakers at TakeMe2Tea Expo in Las Vegas.) Earlier this year she entered the high-tech world of online classes.Having designed off-line and online computer courseware in a previous life, I was delighted to have the opportunity to participate.

The skill-building seminar, on blending and flavouring teas, took the form of a slide show presentation and talk by Wolfgang Boehmer of Flavor Dynamics, Inc. My own background is quite limited in this area, and I was very interested to see the actual step-by-step on a professional level.

Interactive voice and chat allows Q&A — you’ll need a telephone connection to dial the toll-free number to hear and to ask questions. I used Yahoo Messenger’s call system, and it worked just fine with computer speakers and mic.

Tea Business School offers a wide variety of seminars ranging from focus on different tea-growing regions, to various types of skills to enhance your business offerings, to universal and tea-specific business skills. Some seminars are suitable for everyone, from tea professional to interested consumer, while others are clearly targeted to current or aspiring tea business owners.

In addition to a telephone line, you’ll need software to play the presentation, so get to the “classroom” early to make sure your system is properly set up. Some seminars are also available on CD. And Jennifer offers a number of other educational and consulting services. If tea is your business, or your passion — or both! — check it out.

Contact us about reviewing your tea-related product or service.

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