Kevin Landry bought the franchise New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Southern California in 2007, thinking it was a good opportunity to have his own business.
“Of course, I didn’t realize I was about to enter into the worst of all recessions,” said Landry, chief executive of the Anaheim-based provider of computer training services.
New Horizons’ ability to shift business models, along with increasing demand from clients for computer skills in the workplace, has helped the company navigate through the economic down years and emerge with recent double-digit revenue growth.
New Horizons was ranked among the best places to work in Orange County on this week’s Business Journal list, topping the category of medium-sized companies (see list of rankings, beginning page 40).
The Southern California unit has five locations and is part of a Pennsylvania-based global network of more than 300 New Horizons locations in 60 countries. Landry said his Southern California company is aligned with some of the biggest vendors in the world.
“We are Microsoft’s largest learning partner worldwide,” he said. “We are Cisco’s North America partner [and] also partnered with Red Hat.”
Consumer Shift
Revenue largely comes from corporate clients, but New Horizons has been increasing its concentration on individual consumers.
“We call this a career-development focus,” Landry said. “That makes up 20% to 25% of our business today, where we’re working with individuals.”
That proportion had been smaller at the onset of the recession, which kicked in just after Landry bought the business.
“I came to New Horizons in 2006 to work for a franchise,” Landry said. “A little less than a year later, I bought it. At that point, 90 % [of our business] was focused on business-to-business sales. A lot of the enterprise clients cut back significantly during the recession. People found themselves outsourced, downsized.”
A nimble restructuring of the company’s client base to strike a better balance between corporate and consumer customers—along with a growing number of job seekers looking to boost their tech credentials—helped New Horizons grow to a projected $14 million this year.
“We’ve seen nice business growth,” Landry said. “The consumer career development business has been growing at a 30% rate, and overall we’ve had 17% year-over-year growth. We currently have about 250 active [consumer] enrollments.
“We’ve stood the time,” he said. “There have been a lot of competitors that have come and gone. We’re a solid partner to do business with. Stability is key for us.”
New Horizons brings some fun into its employees’ work lives by regularly holding Wii bowling tournaments across all five Southern California locations.
On other occasions the entire Anaheim office takes breaks to go next door to a dance studio for half-hour workout sessions.
“We have an employee committee that works hard to keep the culture going,” Landry said. “Our holiday party is going to be at the House of Blues at Downtown Disney this year. In July, we had an employee day at the Del Mar Racetrack.”
Classes, Tracks
New Horizons charges clients from $295 for a class to more than $6,000 for a track program that includes a series of courses.
“If you’re at a dead-end job, you’ve got the ability to come here, see what your goals are and what you like,” Landry said. “There are aptitude tests to guide you along the way. We figure out what certification would be best for our students and give them the best chance of employment. They might be paying for themselves or they could be funded, through unemployment benefits or veteran groups.”
New Horizons has been working closely with returning soldiers.
“One of our company initiatives is actively engaging the troops who are returning home from active duty as they transition out of the military to civilian life,” said New Horizons spokesperson Rebecca Berg-strom. “We are donating 100% of the proceeds from a group of specific classes to the Wounded Warrior Project.”
The center recently was recognized by the California Employer Advisory Council for its contribution in the hiring of veterans. It also hosted an event last week to connect veterans to potential careers in technology.
“We’re basically bringing experts from the information-technology field to talk to some of these folks coming back from service transitioning to careers,” Landry said. “Veterans come home, and they have to take the whole process of coming back into society.
“A lot of them have benefits that afford them to go to career training, and information technology is one of the leading industries in the market today,” he said. “If we can get people technical certificates, it’s a nice alternative to college.”
Instructor Bonus
New Horizons instructors receive bonuses based on evaluation forms completed by students and reviewed by a third-party firm.
The company also invests in employee training and development, including a succession-planning initiative for advancement opportunities. It sponsors a company Toastmasters Club, through which employees can practice communication skills, including public speaking.
New Horizons is an advocate for Working Wardrobes, a Costa Mesa-based organization that provides career training and wardrobe services.
“We host clothing drives to provide the professional dress for job interviews and employment,” Bergstrom said. “We also donated over 60 computers and monitors to the local youth network organization, [which] provides shelter and education for homeless teens.”
