Based in North Carolina, cLearn LLC has quickly become one of the most forward-thinking adult training providers in the construction sector with a focus on improving standards and driving change in the construction industry. Through continuing education, onboarding programs, and customized certification development, cLearn helps builders, contractors, and construction leaders upskill, comply, and grow.
CEO and founder Jeff Makey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Construction Safety and Education from Western Carolina University. Frustrated by the lack of formal education paths for adult training in the early ’90s, Jeff convinced Western Carolina University to let him design his own degree. That determination to design better systems has shaped the way he approaches every training program today at cLearn.
As a licensed general contractor, he knows what it’s like to sit through hours of tedious classes, forcing down coffee and Mountain Dew just to keep his eyes open. And when North Carolina introduced mandatory continuing education for contractors, Jeff saw an opportunity. “Most builders don’t want to sit through PowerPoints. They’re mandated to be there. So we said: let’s respect their time and give them something meaningful.”
The business’s continuing education programs are anything but traditional. Instead of lectures, classes center around interviews with real industry experts, edited and presented with humor and energy. Participation is central. “We don’t have students. We have participants. And half the time, they’re the real experts in the room.”
These classes, run almost entirely online through webinars, avoid static content in favor of conversation, video insights, and community-driven discussion. The result? Participants leave not just informed – but engaged and inspired to make change.
“We believe that continuing education doesn’t have to feel like a nail in the foot. It should be informative, interactive, and maybe even a little bit fun – or at least a valid excuse to take a day off.” says Jeff.
That hands-on, people-first approach has led to lasting partnerships and a reputation for quality that sets Jeff’s business apart and has led to rapid growth.
Over just five years cLearn has moved from a single instructor to a team of four, hundreds of webinars delivered each year and a growing consulting arm.
At the core of that growth has been a relentless focus on quality – and the right technology to support it.
Streamlining administration with Arlo
Before implementing Arlo, the administrative burden of managing training was consuming up to 30 hours a week.
“I was doing everything by hand – managing registrations, sending out Zoom links, following up with certificates. It was exhausting and unsustainable.”
Arlo has transformed the way the business runs – freeing up time, reducing errors, and enabling the team to scale without adding more admin overhead.
Learners register online and instantly receive course confirmation, Zoom links, waitlist notifications and calendar invites without manual intervention. State-mandated certificates are automatically generated and emailed immediately after course completion, saving hours of manual work. And email reminders and follow-ups are sent automatically, reducing no-shows and boosting engagement.
The in-built CRM makes it easy to keep a record of all learner’s classes, track attendance and meet Government requirements.
“Arlo saves me the work of a full-time admin. It’s like having another employee without the payroll.” – Jeff Makey
Since adopting Arlo, the business has been able to increase the number of live online courses and webinars offered, maintain compliance and meet education regulations without complexity, and expand into consulting and custom onboarding programs – without overloading the team.
On-brand website and seamless learner experience
With Arlo, cLearn was quickly able to launch a modern, professional course website – without a team of developers or months of custom coding. Now, they’re in their second phase of website improvements with Arlo.
When cLearn originally created its continuing education (CE) program, it was a marketing strategy to support its consulting, certification, and training design services – and it worked. The visibility it generated helped fuel hiring and expand the team.
Today, as North Carolina legislation moves to potentially reduce CE hours for contractors, cLearn is adapting once again. A new website focused on certifications and onboarding design is launching soon, with Arlo powering two separate course catalogs: one for CE, and another for certification programs and custom-designed training.
“This new Arlo website meets our needs of two different widget integrations and two different course catalogues. This is huge for scaling our company. Arlo is making it possible to evolve with fast paced legislative and consumer driven demands.” Says Jeff.
Both the CE and training design offerings have won regional industry awards, and the company has grown rapidly – from a solo operation to a team of four, delivering hundreds of webinars a year and building a thriving consulting division.
Arlo has been instrumental in that growth. Its seamless website integration reduces admin workload and delivers a smooth learner experience from start to finish.
Publishing a new course takes just minutes – no duplicate data entry, no back-and-forth between systems. Their website is automatically updated when new courses are scheduled, or edited, in Arlo. Course templates allow the team to schedule and publish courses in seconds, making it easy to scale their offerings.
For the learner, courses are easily searchable and filterable by course type, date, and delivery format. Checkout is integrated with Stripe for secure, instant online payments. And the website is a fully branded experience, with no trace of third-party systems.
“People don’t even realize we’re using a third-party system. The integration into our website is seamless and maintains our brand experience.” – Jeff Makey
Real-time insights for smarter decisions
With a growing team and increasing course volume, visibility became essential. Arlo’s reporting features have made it easy for everyone at cLearn to stay informed and aligned. Daily and weekly reports are automatically emailed to team members and dashboards provide real-time snapshots of course registrations, revenue, and trends.
Custom report templates allow cLearn staff members to track exactly what matters to them, whether it’s monitoring enrollment for a specific webinar series, identifying popular training topics, or evaluating attendance across in-person vs. online formats.
This access to live performance data has not only helped the operations team manage day-to-day tasks more efficiently – it’s empowered the sales and marketing teams to make smarter, faster decisions. Whether it’s reallocating resources based on regional course demand, tracking how promotions are performing, or simply knowing which sessions are filling up.
“Everyone from sales to operations can see exactly what’s happening with our courses, in real time. That kind of visibility is a game-changer.” Says Jeff.
With Arlo handling the admin, Jeff has turned his attention back to what he loves – delivering quality training and growing the business.
“If we didn’t have Arlo, we’d need to hire another admin. Instead, we’re investing that time and money into making our training better, designing new courses and growing the business. It automates so much of our workload that we’ve been able to focus on what really matters – delivering exceptional training.”
