Talented? Why Not Start Your Own Workshops?

The internet has made many things a whole lot easier.  From learning to teaching, buying to selling and even staying in touch with long lost friends.  There is very little that we cannot do since discovering the world wide web.  It is even possible to publish that novel you have been penning since you were a child.

If you are self employed, a stay at home parent or a part-time worker with a particular skill for something, then you could think about starting your own workshop or event in your local area.  This could be anything from photography to marketing.  As long as you believe you have a special skill in this area, then there is nothing to stop you sharing that with the world.

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Eventbrite.com is a fantastic site which brings together all the events and workshops in your local area.  You can use it to sell tickets and as a great platform to get your workshop noticed so is an excellent marketing tool.  It is also a great place to research how to get started with workshop building.

You need to understand the basics of teaching a workshop as it is a lot harder in practice that it seems in your head.  You need to have a formula which works for each one.  A well informed introduction followed by the body of the workshop and then a good conclusion.  You also need to decide if you are running a one off or a modular course which could be taken as a single workshop or made into a series of 3 or 4 modules.  Each one important on their own but delivering a great training course if taken together.

It would help you to take a course or sit through a similar workshop or online training scheme.  This can show you some great areas for you to improve or highlight areas you may not have thought about.  Remember you are there to learn about structure, not so much the subject matter.  Whilst the course itself may not have interested you, the structure of it may have been simple, effortless and enjoyable.

Build yourself a free website which will become your public CV.  Showing people why they should come and what they could learn.  WordPress hosting is great for this and gives you the option of a paid for platform or one of their free blog templates.  Either way you will get a truly professional finish which could give you the edge on any competition.

Start small and charge a little less than your competitors but don’t undersell your talent.  People can be put off if things look too cheap, they may assume your course isn’t as good as one that is just a few dollars more.  So be confident but remember you are just starting out.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, so your million dollar empire can wait.

Think outside the box when it comes to location.  If you are helping budding photographers then head somewhere with great architecture or design.  Talk to bars, businesses and local authorities about holding your event with them.

Now head out and share your talent.