Saving Lives Is Good Business

 

 

Carlette Anderson, who taught CPR certification classes for the American Heart Association (AHA) and served as a volunteer for the American Red Cross, realized that there was a better way to teach CPR.

 

"I felt an eight-hour program was too confusing and time-consuming," says Carlette. "I thought I could teach these classes in less than half the time and make them more interactive." So in 1988, Carlette and her husband, JC, started Save-A-Heart, The CPR Pros, developing a one-and-a-half hour CPR training course that emphasizes hands-on practice. "In other training classes, students typically watch videos; take numerous breaks; memorize numbers, cycles, and inches; and have limited practical experience," she adds.

 

To start growing the business, the couple employed grassroots marketing techniques that proved successful. While JC went to industrial parks to pass out fliers and pick up business cards from offices, his wife went through the phone book and cold-called preschool educators, signing up two preschools over the phone on the first day. The Andersons, in their first month of business, earned enough money to pay their bills and allow JC to quit his sales job to devote more time to their budding enterprise.

 

In the beginning, the couple couldn't keep up with the business' growth. Sharing one car became difficult, so JC purchased a motorcycle to get to his classes. They had to stagger classes so that Carlette could shuttle the mannequins to her husband's courses in their van. "The most fun time of our lives was building this business together," says Carlette.

 

The Andersons now teach approximately 30 classes a month throughout Southern California near their home in San Diego County. Their clients range from small dental offices to major hotel chains.

 

As business continued to boom, the couple had more clients than they could visit in a day or a month. So in 1999, they took their course online at www.cprpros.com/, the first CPR training company to do so. They paid a Web developer $85,000 to create illustrations and interactive animations. After six months and little progress, the Andersons discovered that the Web developer was closing his doors and filing for bankruptcy. They quickly found another developer to finish the project without losing any of their work. Their instincts and efforts paid off-online classes now make up about 25% of Save-A-Heart's business.

 

To share a Success InSight of your own, e-mail Greg Galdabini at ggaldabi@uschamber.com or phone 202-463-5563.