New owner takes helm at New Horizons

For the past eight months, Nicholas Sanders has been in the owner’s seat at New Horizons Computer Learning Center, 3330 S. National, Ste. 800.
Sanders purchased the Springfield New Horizons center and the southwest Missouri franchise territory from Tom Dapp with a $600,000 U.S. Small Business Administration loan through Great Southern Bank. Sanders declined to provide the total purchase price of the business.
Dapp still operates a New Horizons Center in Rogers, Ark.
The technology field is new to Sanders, who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Forest Institute, but he said the company is allowing him to use his education and expertise – while adding to New Horizons’ services.
“I took several classes in organizational psychology, so that was one of the things that I really had an interest in – working with businesses and doing business consulting,” he said.
Now, in addition to computer software and applications training – among other certifications, New Horizons is a Microsoft-certified training partner – Sanders is using his psychology training to offer tailored business consulting with the center’s current customers – and for new ones who contact the center after hearing about the consulting options from those who have used them.
“I go in and I do things like leadership training, conflict resolution and negotiating. I do corporate assessment with employee selection and retention. I do executive coaching,” Sanders said.
Stephana Wilson, title officer and office manager of Tri-Lakes Title, is among several employees who have participated in business consulting with Sanders through New Horizons.
Wilson said she attended a managerial leadership course led by Sanders.
“We learned a lot of things about how to better implement changes within the organization, policies and procedures, and how to work through when you have a problem employee,” she said.
Wilson noted that its likely that new Tri-Lakes employees will be sent to Sanders for some training in customer service.
“Our business is very customer-service oriented. That’s how we make our money,” she said.
Sanders said he didn’t want to go into a traditional consulting firm, because it would’ve meant uprooting his family – wife Erin and 4 1/2-year-old triplets Calvin, Sophia and Isabella.
“I just wanted to have something local where I could spend time with them,” Sanders said.
“Nick, I think, is going to do a wonderful job with that business,” Dapp said. “That’s what struck me immediately with our discussions. You can tell that he’s a very intelligent businessperson, and he knows this market well.”
Business-consulting customers, like those after technical training, can visit the New Horizons Center or have sessions on-site.
New Horizons has 12 employees, Sanders said, most of whom worked at the center before he bought it. In addition to Sanders and Todd Carter, vice president of sales, there are five full-time instructors, four account executives and an administrative assistant on staff.
Companies, Sanders said, are looking for return on investment for the money they spend for training and consulting.
“Our team here really focuses on providing that ROI and finding ways that the companies can begin to see how the training is impacting their organization in a very definable way,” he added.
Goals and guidelines make it easier for clients to quantify the value of training, Sanders said.
Sanders added that 80 percent of technical training is done at New Horizons, and 20 percent is on-site at client businesses. However, the number of on-site training sessions is growing.
There are five classrooms at the Springfield New Horizons center, and training can be done during the day, at night or on the weekend.
Sanders said the transition to his ownership hasn’t been without challenges, but he credits Carter with smoothing out the process.
Carter maintains that change is positive.
“What’s always good is change. I came from almost 15 years with FedEx, so you learn to accept change very rapidly,” Carter said. “It’s always a benefit to have a change, because you look at things from different eyes, and it’s more advantageous for your clients.”
Response to the new consulting services has been good, Carter said.
“The response back from clients has been tremendous. That opens up the doors to other companies,” Carter said, adding that word-of-mouth has been a mainstay for the company.
In 2004, Sanders said, New Horizons had $1.3 million in sales. The goal for 2005 is $1.5 million, he added, and the company is on pace to reach that amount.
“That’s very good for a change (in ownership),” Carter said.
In addition to adding the corporate consulting for client businesses, Sanders said he’s working to take the consulting model and apply it with the technical and applications instructors so that they’re more integrated into clients’ workplaces.
Sanders also would like to gain more clients in the Joplin area, where New Horizons already works with several companies. But he doesn’t necessarily plan to open a center there.
“Probably what we would do is provide more on-site training, versus opening a center,” he said.
[[In-content Ad]]