The Starting Point
I had (and still have) a huge problem with the "gatekeepers of knowledge" in the creative community.
Back in 2017, I had little to no references on how to run the types of workshops I wanted to run.
My commitment was simply to share everything I learned along my journey with others! I am still committed to this mission today.
That was a very deliberate decision, and I'm so proud of the outcomes.
Constraints
No runway or investments to get started.
I priced the workshop based on what I thought people would be willing to pay #epicfail.
I googled all participants, terribly afraid they would uncover the “impostor” in me and doubt my expertise.
Spoiler: I do not recommend any of those "strategies".
Process
How did I achieve that?
- I always aimed to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for everyone.
- My courses provided a very personalized experience with nicely handwritten name cards and individual communication from the ticked booking to the thank-you emails.
- Catering was provided.
- All materials were included in the ticket price.
- Having a feedback form with me from day one was the most crucial decision for the development of the series.
All these decisions above remained relevant for every single course I hosted afterwards.
Positioning & Differentiators
After attending courses and workshops by some big names in the industry, I was shocked to see that the things I cared about were often not considered at all. It made me proud, and I attribute the success of my courses to these “details” everyone else seemed to have forgotten.
- Safe space for everyone (!)
- Accessible locations
- At least one spot for someone who could not afford the ticket
- Partners and collaborators were invited to join
- Food intolerances and allergies were considered
- Support for the left-handed participants
- Translating for the international participants
Concept Development & Experimentation
None of the courses were the same. Every single time I had the opportunity to test, implement, and get feedback. Interviews were also a super important part of the process! But the immediate feedback loop gave me insights about how to improve for the next session. And I experimented a lot with parameters like course topics, duration, ticket price, materials, catering, breaks, time of the day/day of the week... just to name a few.
Results
- 52 Workshops
- 23 Collaborators
- 25 In-House Trainings
- 7 Cities
- 416 participants
- less than 3% no-show rate
- over 90% shared feedback
- 4,9 out of 5 Stars including one complaint that we did not need that much food :D
- Profitable AND Inclusive Events (you don’t have to choose)
- Follow-Up Connections
- Growing Community
- Long-Term Partnerships & Friends
Learnings
- Teaching is the best way to learn.
- Putting yourself out there will have a great effect on building a network.
- People understand it takes courage to speak in front of a group, and they will applaud you for doing that.
- Teaching will open doors you didn’t know existed before.
- You will build a connection with lots of different people that would have not been possible to work with on a 1:1 basis.
- We all have something to share! We just need to be one step ahead in order to teach people something new!
All that being said, I highly recommend you start gathering some experience with teaching. Our experiences and interests will never overlap 100%, so we can always learn something new from each other.
I am so thankful for the experiences and for everyone that was a part of it!