Our recent webinar showcased Core's partnership with the Council of Independent Colleges. Rick Beyer and Marjorie Hass discussed Core's innovative strategies and how CIC members can benefit from business model transformation.
Transcript
When we talk a little bit about a comprehensive set of of of solutions, you'll see revenue, tech and kind of operationals in in capital we cut across we've we've built, we have about 110 people in the company today and growing. We look horizontally and we spent a lot of time with the President and the Board. Because we know revenues and issue, we we know that and we know revenue diversification is an issue. So we we have very deep skill sets. Well there might also be 10 other vendors there. But we also when you get into this, we have corporate people, B to B offer business to business setting up corporate relationships for our our partners. We get them into revenue diversification. We have a full workforce development platform with 50 certificates that can be used. By our partners all of the margin goes to them, no Rev share and then inside we can then have, we have very deep technical skill sets. So we look across. Uh, like what we'll call revenue technology solutions and then going over to the right where we talk about workflow. Workflow is critical and this is an area that probably 95% of colleges really haven't looked at. And we have a lot of people who understand workflow. It's how things get done. What are the operating rhythms that need to change inside of an organization, what operational rhythms that are now non non competitive auto market, how do they impact technology? OK. And then how can we get better yield? And so sometimes people might ask, well, should I hire another Rep, should we add some more programs, should we expand marketing? And we said once you look at your workflow first and let's get the tech working and if we need to put more money in marketing, we will, let's make sure what you're doing is right. So what what we do is we can cut across that We get down as deep into capital strategies, venture, philanthropy and from one organization, one organization. And this is where it's so important we can do this as a as a partner. In a long term, partners. About going deep, because what will happen now? Like, we can hire a couple incredible workforce workflow people that one college could never afford? No. Do they need them full time And to be able to get in and show all of the things that are broken, all the links, all the systems, and then say, OK, we're going to help get this fixed with you, we're going to help it. If you have a technology issue, we'll help you stabilize, OK, we'll actually get the doing. Them with you. So it's an ongoing relationship that we're we we we have with the the partner. I really like this model of the prosperity gap because I think what often happens, I talked to presidents all over the country and I know this from looking at, you know, budgets of my own. We often think about, OK, we've got to balance the budget. And I like this, you know, balancing and operating a balanced operating budget can hire, can cover over any number of sins. And you're talking about something that goes well beyond that because you can bounce your operating budget by not covering your deferred maintenance or by as you say. Paying people substandard wages and then you've got all this turnover. So you're asking us to think about an institution, and this is, this is scary stuff, right? Because you have an institution, you're already feeling like you're having trouble. You know, just again, balancing that operating budget, say or or or making meeting, meeting today's needs. And you're saying, what if we thought really big picture and we thought about what would it look like if we were really flourishing? And then you help us think about that. That's a change in mindset that feels both empowering but also a little overwhelming. And and but it's critical because if you do if if too many organizations are thinking so small and so incremental that it literally guarantees them. That they'll probably never survive right because they're they under invest to balance the budget and we understand that run businesses we understand what we have to do. But what happens when you do that five, 1015 years you basically have have have kind of ruined your competitive position and you're just spiraling down well. So what happens is that we'll then translate that into the amount of margin through growth and cutting your cost doesn't actually improve it, it worsens it. But what happens it's a little daunting but it's OK. Because if you have your number and it gives you where you have to go and if you get 50% there or 75% there, you're going to be in so much better position than you are today. The problem is, is that we're thinking so small that even if we're successful, we're going out of business. I think we're often used to thinking about these kinds of arrangements as like well OK, we'll do a one year consultant agreement, but you're really talking about no, this is a much more longer term you're you're talking about being a long term partner that once you decide on a on a way to move forward. Part of what makes the solutions you're going to suggest doable is they don't require that you then go out and hire 15 specialists to start a Graduate School. You we rely on the shared services that core has an expertise you have to help us launch these revenue generating programs or to make our own programs more efficient or run better than we might be able to hire people to do. Am I right about that? Definitely not consulting because we get things done. If I were to give do 8020 in the very beginning part, it's probably, I mean beginning meaning the 1st 60 to 90 days. Uh, including the prosperity study, it's probably 80% strategic, right, because you've got a model, you got to get thing, so 80% strategic, 20% tax cut vote, but then after that it becomes 80% tactical, 20% strategic. And you'll always want and need that strategic because there's going to be things that happen in, in institutions can get it turned on a dime. When we're thinking about this, what can we do? But it then becomes very tactical about getting things done. Pretty handsome prosperity study with the present and the board. I mean board was very much engaged and this included you know ask yourself the quite president of the board like what is the amount of capital. That the college needs over the next five years that should be a known answer, right. And so and what what will happen is that there's sometimes, you know ask 10 people, you might get 15 answers will help you and show you what kind of what are the capital requirements you have, where the revenues, where you go. So we started initially with some technology infrastructure support and what I'll call stabilization. Things just weren't working small college limited to ITT tech budget, we went in there, right. Way and started immediately getting things to work right, getting things to work. We use a lot of their existing budget. Don't hire this person. We'll do it. Let's we can get you. We can get a lot more done for what you're spending. And then by the way, let's gets into some business intelligence here. You've got to get some better data. We moved almost immediately into institutional research. We have an institutional research team. Let's do that. OK. There's oftentimes colleges will have an IR person and they're focused on one area. Person, IT spends all their time just filling out federal compliance forms, right. There's there's no time to really do real institutional research and then bring that to bear enclosure. And I know this because boards are used to business intelligence and they'll come in and they'll say to the president, well, what does it cost you, you know, to to offer a major in philosophy to two students And you're like, I don't know how we would even answer that question. It's too complicated. And you've got the expertise to answer those kinds of questions. Um, for instance, exactly. And then we move relatively probably within about four months because we already had out at outlined in this prosperity study, we moved in the workforce development credentials and certificates that had and did get faculty approval. Again, Simon, we're not here talking about cutting the head cuts so much just like the guy at colleges we're already cutting really we're going to cut more. Now it's not to say that you know maybe there's 10% or 20% of the colleges need to do some cutting, but we then started moving into workforce development. They leverage that platform. And and and I always say to people, you know who gave Greensville College the right to have, you know, 20 healthcare certificates, they're not known for healthcare. Well, yeah, they are now, right. And they get revenue every single day. And so and we're moving in. We we implemented B to B, nothing. Nobody knows core at all. The employees know core because we've got people on the inside with them. Then we expanded into supplementary support of campus enrollment Okay focused on yield and matriculation. And then all of a sudden they said look at we don't even want to hire anymore. Black people just take our tech over, right. That was maybe about a year and a half down the road. We run everything now. Now what we're doing is we're expanding and getting them and helping them with real estate strategies and non banking financial alternatives. OK, like like wow, where do you get that We we have that capability. We're now also expanding, getting ready to expand their online program offerings. So you can see how different it is, but yet they have an operating partner that they can go to on literally pick it up. The phone and say I want to look at this, I'm thinking about that or you told us about that, so. We work as an operating partner to help you raise money or we'll help you find financing and we'll create the business case and the ROI and the value proposition to help you. On the right are just some of the things of the last probably year that we've done, one of our colleges said, OK, where we want to go full board in workforce, how much does it cost? Well, it doesn't necessarily cost 2 1/2. It actually costs less than that. We modeled it out. And we said OK let's go and raise two and a half million and they got it OK that's coming in over a few year period. They got it right, they were able to explain it. The investor got the the, the funder got really excited about it, right. We helped another institution expand their, their line of credit right, because we they brought us in, we showed them the, the, the model, what the plan was going to go forward. We just sold one of our our institutions that was fortunate to have some, some, some land. And some property it's a small piece of land but we got them 3.4 million, we just closed down that. Again our people is to talk about the comprehensiveness. We we just have a we're in the process of what happens is oftentimes a lot of the real estate handles are are done locally and we're saying no, no with this deal nationally we'll help you get more money. We've got people now to do that. We just we just received a 20 million just this week $20 million revolving line of credit for one of our term sheet. We're moving it through that. But so this is how a partnership works, I mean, and we will help you with your. Campus enrollment yield will help and move your technology. Just think about everything because that's what we're trying to do is generally be your partner.To view or add a comment, sign in