I'm only planning to quilt for myself, not as a business. Well, I want to donate quilts to charity as well as for family/friends/myself. I understand the basics of long arming, having rented time on one and having done a good bit of hands on research, but I'm easily frustrated and will probably get upset if I can't figure something out.
I did forget to mention that in addition to weekly classes, that dealer includes leaders and a few spools of thread so you can start quilting on a practice quilt while they are in the home. The other dealer charges separately for the leader cloths. Also, with the classes, they provide a quilt sandwich each week, which you will then take home and do "homework" on your own machine and bring back the following week so they can be sure you're mastering the skills. The classes are individual so you are the sole focus and last roughly 2 hours depending on individual need.