The art of commerce, part 3

More than a year ago, my friend Sara suggested that I teach photography workshops.  “After all, you’ve trained journalists all over the world,” she said.

I grimaced.

I love training adults in new skills. I’d rather teach people how to photograph their kids than have them pay me to do it.

But as I told Sara – I’m a professional trainer. Unlike some so-called instructors, I can’t just show up and start talking. I spend 4 or 5 hours in preparation for every hour of instruction. So here’s the math:

In North Georgia, the typical workshop fee is $40 for a morning workshop. Typical enrollment is 10 people. Gross: $400.

The hosting organization takes 25 to 30 percent of the total. So, I’d take home $280 to $300. That is IF 10 people enroll and show up.

Best case, I spend eight hours preparing for a two-hour workshop. Inevitably there is travel time and I also spend time marketing directly to my client list, adding at least another two hours. That means I am earning $25 an hour.

But that is my GROSS pay. Then there’s overhead…. I pay income tax, social security, insurances, office costs, supplies, expenses, advertising – and I pay for time off. Any minute I’m not working is a minute I’ve lost income, which means I usually work six days a week.

As a sole proprietor with no employees, I do EVERYTHING. I hold a dozen staff “titles” because I do it all myself: secretary, accountant, tech support, marketing, legal documents, purchasing, printing, state sales tax, archiving, vehicle maintenance, research and continuing education, and HR.

[Yes, HR: I have to spend time to shop for and maintain all my benefits - health insurance, pension, disability, business insurance... And I donate a significant portion of my time to charitable events.]

Still – I love to teach. I have been satisfying that urge by doing short seminars and private lessons, but that only seemed to create demand …. for workshops.

So, I gave in and started teaching workshops. It immediately became my biggest steady source of income.

To make the math feasible for workshops, I have gone to this formula:

+I do workshops that require less preparation time, and that can be repeated in many locations or in larger markets.

+If asked to do a workshop for a group, I charge a set fee of $175/hour for up to 12 people. This way I have a guaranteed income no matter how many people sign up.

+I market more heavily on individual and small-group lessons. With only one to three people attending, I can simply adapt the pace and material on the spot. That greatly reduces the prep time.

If you are an artist or photographer who’s considering this, please do your participants a favor: LEARN how to train adults first. Just because you are a good photographer, or painter, or writer, does not mean that you know how to transfer these skills to a group of adult learners. Lecturing is not training.

But that’s another blog entry….