Are you an artist, designer, photographer, or any type of creative? Teaching a creative workshop is not only a great way to earn extra income, but it also helps build your reputation as an expert in your industry!

About seven years ago, I taught my first ever creative workshop. I had no clue what I was getting myself into and since then, I've learned a ton about teaching workshops. I've traveled all over the world with my #jennaraineyworkshop, from Paris to southern California, Singapore to NYC and have seen first hand how amazing these classes can be for growing an audience and income.

So, if you've been wanting to teach workshops, but don't know where to start…I've got 3 secrets to teaching creative workshops for you below:

Cover your costs

This may seem obvious, but this is a big one! A lot of creatives either don't buy their supplies at wholesale, or they price their workshops based off of a “feeling” or emotion. Don't do this. Know your costs and mark it up! Add up what each bit costs: your supplies, your time, gas money, paying the venue, etc. and tack on at least another 40%. If you don't know what to allot for your time, ask yourself a couple of question:

• How many hours is the workshop?
• How experienced am I?
• How long does it take me to pack up and order supplies?

There is no method or formula that will give each person the exact number they should be charging for their time, so do your research! Look at what your competitors are charging and evaluate them with the questions above. Are they more experienced than you? Etc. Your time is valuable and you don't want to undercut the industry and become the “cheap” workshop either. So sit with this!

Know your limits

My class size is typically 20 people. I've taught more than that, and whenever there's more than 23, it's hard for me to manage and make sure I give everyone some one on one time. You know in your gut how well you can wrangle a crowd. Make sure to consider this when booking a class! Don't just get distracted by the money signs, because happy students makes for more word of mouth and spreading the love on social media! You want to keep your students happy!

Craft a killer outline

This is the gem right here. If you've been teaching classes for years, or never taught at all, crafting a killer outline is my secret weapon. This one simple step can make all the difference with your confidence, and memorizing your course topic. I know it seems simple, but the outline I've tweaked and created over these last seven years is what's made my workshops such a huge success. I've never had a bad review of one of my in-person classes, and I honestly attribute it to my outline creation. Especially in the early days! So, don't skip this step…I have MY exact outline template HERE for you to use! 

So there you have it! 3 secrets to teaching a creative workshop! Go forth and TEACH and build those thriving creative businesses!

Have you considered teaching a workshop to diversify your revenue streams? Check out my newest course, Workshop Teacher Academy!