Jennifer Lindsay-Finan

Luncarty-based Jennifer Lindsay-Finan runs River Park Training Limited which specialises in designing and delivering digital-based training. 

Getting started

Despite always wanting to be a teacher, Jennifer was persuaded to study business and management at university. After a few years of working in finance and administration, she went on a ‘Train the Trainer’ programme and absolutely loved it.

She then enjoyed many years as a trainer in various companies but started to feel frustrated at not being able to try new ways of doing things and wanted the variety of working with different organisations. And so, six years ago, Jennifer set up her own business specialising in designing and delivering digital-based training.

The enterprise journey

When she first started out, all she wanted to do was deliver training.

Jennifer explains: “Initially, I put all my energy into designing and delivering training for clients instead of working with them to analyse the issue first.

“Actually though, training is not always the answer and even if it is, it’s not always as simple as putting on a workshop and hoping the people who need it will turn up. 

“Now, I’ll spend more time getting to know a client’s business and understanding the issues they have before recommending some solutions.”

Support

When Jennifer made the decision to go self-employed, the first thing she did was search the internet for help.

She says: “I found GrowBiz, went to meet them and instantly knew I’d be ok. I was fairly new to Perthshire and really didn’t know anyone but through GrowBiz I met local business people and attended local events where I could learn more and connect with others in similar situations. 

“I also found the Trainers Training Company online and am still an active member of their network.

“Everyone at GrowBiz is so supportive and friendly. I can ask any ‘stupid’ question and know they’ll either know the answer or will know someone who does. Whether you need specific help or advice or just want to meet people in similar situations, GrowBiz will help.

“When you’re running a business, you don’t have the time to drive to a city to get the support you need, so it’s great that you can meet someone from GrowBiz in the local café or even digitally.”

Looking to the future

For Jennifer, it is still all about teaching and using technology to enhance the learning experience for her clients.  

As she says: “I am passionate about inspiring continuous learning in the workplace and design and deliver digital-based training to boost access to learning and engage people wherever they are. 

“I would like to see more businesses embracing virtual or digital training – technology makes it so easy for us to work globally, from any device and it’s getting better all the time.

“The days of boring ‘next, next, finish’ e-learning are long gone!”