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  #1  
Old September 30, 2019, 12:08 PM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default Designing a class 101.

Two to 2.5 hour classes, workshops are what I want to focus on.

My first workshop will be TURN YOUR EXPERIENCE INTO CASH. A workshop in creating information products from your experience.

Two hours. It will be scheduled on several Sat. Mornings in Oct, Nov, Dec and also be offered ON DEMAND to meet people's time.

10 minute intro and hand outs. I like to hand out things, get them involved early, usually a mechanical pencil and pen to each, and some blank worksheets. Long ago, I learned NOT to give them books, booklets or pamphlets or any support materials because they glance it through, think, "I know this, or I've heard this before" and they drift.

Giving them something to do right up front keeps them involved.

The intro will be my Navy chatteling experience, and the first edition of the CHATTEL REPORT sent via mail. Then the first digital version in 1990, first digital version sold in bulk in 1994 and in 1997 a TON of them. Then go over some other Intellectual Property and Special Reports we've created.

10 mins for them to write down jobs, hobbies, list experiences.
10 mins we share (or whatever time is needed).

Then they use the BINARY MATRIX to get to their first idea.

My part two lecture...a list of how to write a report, various formats, laying it out and them working on their first IP.

We're into the second hour and we go over the MARKETING, the opportunities, and then the FAMILY OF PRODUCTS or other creative babies.

End with Automatic Product Vending and/or potential teaching of their idea at my place or a possible JV.

This will be FREE, a lead generator. I'm building a TEMPLATE for these classes, a 2hour, a 2.5, a 3, 4 (half day) or full day of about 6.5 hours with a lunch break too.

Anyone should be able to use these templates and create their own workshop, class or lesson plan.

What I have learned from years of doing these things is: KEEP them involved, create a personalized workshop which will be different for everyone because their worksheets will be about them.

Ask them to hold all questions until the end of the segment, and chances are most of them are covered.

Prevent class takeovers. Always get the one or two who want to take over and hog up the time, best way to prevent that is a TASK for them. I give them a special assignment, and they keep stories to a minimum.

I have several tracks to take any given person down, once they have gone through one of the FREE workshops.

The purpose is to find others who can teach, or create IP, and build a network. Maybe form some clubs, groups, or meet ups from this.

We have a lot for WRITERS, which seems to be an Evergreen market, and locally there is no shortage of authors who would love a paid gig too, most give free lectures at libraries, I want to pay them for their time.

Creating courseware may be one of the classes we get into soon, I have several fellow software trainers who are experienced with courseware. I think there might be a demand (don't know) of small spiral bound booklets on popular software like WordPress, sure a ton of free info, and video, and youtube, but some (maybe most) people learn faster and remember more with an instructor and going through courseware they can take home.

Gordon
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  #2  
Old October 3, 2019, 06:15 AM
Millard Grubb Millard Grubb is offline
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Default Re: Designing a class 101.

Gordon,

I like your concept.

How are you planning to get your first students?

Have you considered the fee you will charge?
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  #3  
Old October 3, 2019, 08:29 AM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default Thanks Millard, all a test, test and a test.

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Originally Posted by Millard Grubb View Post
Gordon,

I like your concept.

How are you planning to get your first students?

Have you considered the fee you will charge?

I have a press release ready to go out to local papers, my hometown likes to feature any Falls Graduate who starts a new business, so, hopefully my persuasion skills will make that work. At the same time, I'll have some free craigslist ads under classes, groups, and lessons. Small classified ads in U of Akron and Kent State newspapers and small display ads in the four high schools in town, each publishes a weekly newspaper.

Most of the ads in the schools will be HELP WANTED ads, seeking tutors, instructors, educators, teachers, etc. Then I hope to have two weekend open houses, and the FREE workshops...sort of test which one generates interest.

The PROBLEM, or one of the bog down points is getting too deep into the people, so I'm looking at automated solutions. I may have to spend a little bit for some tweaks, but it appears that Google Calendar has some advanced features which could make things run smoothly. I, however, will commit the quarter to fully test, so if I have to meet a lot of people, so be it. But a fully articulated Brainery, will allow the INSTRUCTOR to schedule their own workshops, and also, offer it ON DEMAND.

Now I have some old buds from my days at NEW HORIZONS computer training center who are fully qualified, to teach most all MS Office and Many Adobe software products. These seem to be evergreen and a constant need to get employees trained on things like EXCEL. It currently costs almost 400 dollars for an ON DEMAND training of Excel if a company wants it NOW. Or they can wait weeks and pay only 295 to 350 per person. We can offer it for 150, with the instructor getting 120 (80%).

My "PLAN" calls for at least an 80% pay to instructor, and in some cases 90. Since the overhead is a fixed small monthly, and maybe can be off site, once vetted, I will basically operate a CLEARINGHOUSE of courses, much like the BrooklynBrainery does now. I'm not trying to reinvent a successful wheel.

If one has a skill, experience or whatever they want to share and there are a pool of buyers, we'll create a class for it. I have several class/workshop templates I've accumulated over the years, from New Horizons, the Community Training Centers (where I worked for 2 years), and 15 years of Inservices and trainings from the social work field, those people love to put on workshops.

So, you, people who already have courses ready to go, I would probably encourage to start with either a free or low cost introductory 90 minute workshop to get those interested, then you would offer whatever follow up classes the demand wanted.

One reason why TODAY, I can think of the ON DEMAND feature is, there are so many EXPERIENCED people either out of work, or under worked, or seeking part time income...that I have a pool to draw from. In the Excel example, anyone of a dozen instructors would be able to fulfill almost any request. And most of them would be tickled to get the 120 bux. However, I may also offer some of those at 99, a very low cost price for a training like that and give 100 % to the instructor. Just to get the ball rolling. And again, there are enough qualified people who would like to put 100 bux in their pockets for a few hours of work, doing something they like to do and are good at.

I just need to keep tight reins on this, and not let the horses run wild and get overwhelmed. I don't know. BUT, my educated guess, and seeing the success of other such places, is encouraging, and the kicker is, Millard, even though we have a brick and mortar center...

Nothing says we can't do a lot of it online too. I do think there is a demand for INSTRUCTOR courses, workshops, and all evidence I've seen points to a more productive educational experience. I may also CERTIFY the people for employers, sort have a test of their resume skills. Seems a lot of current employees are telling a few stories about their use of software on their resumes, we can check them out for a small fee.

Thank you for posting. If you see any bog down points or have any insight from a person with classes to offer, any input would be appreciated.

Gordon

PS Another potential bog down is the use of and description of FREELANCERS and/or contract workers and all that. 1099ers are changing, and rules and IRS regs are making the whole gig economy a bit murky right now. But being aware of that quick sand pit, I will have some CPA/Attorney (actually have a couple who are both, right up the street) to confer with on all legal matters, and of course INSURANCE too. So it does have some start up costs, IFfin AND WHENIN I pull the trigger, but for the small tests, more of a worry about an apology vs getting permission sort of a thing. Small little classes I can do, with a full money back guarantee should be in my FL CtD category for now.

AND, if it does get beyond me, I pull the plug on the big idea, and just do the classes myself, and get back to Flying Low and Collecting the Dough. We'll see.

Last edited by GordonJ : October 3, 2019 at 08:52 AM.
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  #4  
Old October 3, 2019, 01:48 PM
Millard Grubb Millard Grubb is offline
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Default Re: Designing a class 101.

Thanks Gordon.

You have given me food for thought. I like the idea of doing a 90 minute presentation to determine interest. This could certainly be done to determine interest in an entertainment course. ( I already created a 26 week course and have sold it in the past)

Additionally, this gives me ideas for teaching folks how to really make the internet work for them... My wife says I can find just about anything with my searching skills.

Moreover, I think the personal approach to teaching workshops is "old enough" to be new. At least , you can make a few bucks while testing the waters.

Looking very forward to seeing how things pan out for you !
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  #5  
Old October 4, 2019, 09:27 AM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default Throwback idea, high touch vs high tech.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Millard Grubb View Post
Thanks Gordon.

You have given me food for thought. I like the idea of doing a 90 minute presentation to determine interest. This could certainly be done to determine interest in an entertainment course. ( I already created a 26 week course and have sold it in the past)

Additionally, this gives me ideas for teaching folks how to really make the internet work for them... My wife says I can find just about anything with my searching skills.

Moreover, I think the personal approach to teaching workshops is "old enough" to be new. At least , you can make a few bucks while testing the waters.

Looking very forward to seeing how things pan out for you !

Millard, I think you are sitting on a silver mine, hope you get it out.

Today, there is a generation which prefers HIGH TECH over HIGH TOUCH, in other words, they like communication at a distance and are awkard with direct interaction. Although, they like group, to get together socially.

Learning wise, many studies have shown there is an efficiency factor which is significant when someone learns from a live person vs self study or a remote instructor (as in the MasterClass series), if Ron Howard gave you the same info in your house, you would retain more of it, and also ask the questions as they came up. However, mountains of cash evidence say that remote learning, and do it on your own is alive, thriving and good for the bank account. Of course it is, you leverage your time incredibly.

No different than when I put my golf clinics on cassette tape, and multiplied myself by the thousands. Today, instead of dvd, cd, cassette tape or VHS or even BETA tapes (yikes)...

We have the podcast, portable and on demand. Or if visuals are needed, downloads or YouTube like videos. Again, the MASTERCLASS idea offers a great proven road, albeit, the do use well known experts. To downsize that, you just need to have a specific expertise, you might not be as well know as David Copperfield for example, but having been a WORKING magician, actually performing and getting paid for decades goes a long way to credibility.

My BIGGEST idea is to create a center which can be duplicated in many cities.
My Bigger idea is to have the ONE operating on an Absentee Owner basis and becoming a Cash Cow.
My big idea is to just have several courses which replace a job (not for me, but for my daughter).

She is NYC, has been for the last 6 years. She has taught at the BrooklynBrainery so brings first hand experience. She is a professional trainer and the classes, many to executives on Wall St (etc.) go for over 5 figures a day. She's paid hundreds of dollars a DAY to do the training.

I would like for her to come home for a year, finish her third book, and replace her jobs in NYC with doing the same thing here in Northeast Ohio. I could easily earn a decent income just booking her but the idea is not to keep her working, but to give her the time to write and create.

So, one or two days a week, gives her the income which matches a week of NYC income, which has to be substantial due to high living costs. She can live a year here in Kent, OH for what she spends in 3 months over there.

Combined, we have enough classes and workshops to take care of ourselves, but the idea is to have other people in on the act.

And again, it has steps, or progressions, and even an Exit Strategy, if we can build one, replicate it, get a few successful up and running, then attract the attention of Big Pockets Corp. and let them buy it out (minus SQ1 or any proprietary IP we develop).

Harvey Brody did teach me to full flesh out the idea, get a clear view from the rooftop, and at this point, there is still a lot of fog around it. I want to measure THRICE, or more, before I cut the cloth.

But, on a dime, I turn and just do SQ1 at the Co-op workspace 1 or 2 days a week and not worry, but be happy.

Thanks Millard for helping in the process. I keep you and others with stuff to offer in mind, when I'm throwing stuff up on the white boards.

Gordon
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  #6  
Old October 6, 2019, 12:07 AM
unpinkpanther unpinkpanther is offline
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Lightbulb But what happens when...

Quote:
Originally Posted by GordonJ View Post
If one has a skill, experience or whatever they want to share and there are a pool of buyers, we'll create a class for it...

Gordon

Thanks for sharing, Gordon

Please what arrangements will you put in place to avoid having unpaid instructors, especially for those with classes that don't generate enough enrolments to make any financial sense?
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Old October 6, 2019, 12:50 PM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default Good question.

Quote:
Originally Posted by unpinkpanther View Post
Thanks for sharing, Gordon

Please what arrangements will you put in place to avoid having unpaid instructors, especially for those with classes that don't generate enough enrolments to make any financial sense?

Instructors get paid first. One thing is to educate them on their workshops and make sure there is DEMAND for such a thing. My idea is simple. Make it so ONE student is worth your time and makes financial sense.

See, I can do free, and know it makes financial sense because of the lifetime value of the student. But then, I have the SQ1 and the student is the product.

Let me give a couple of examples. With the MS Office EXCEL I used earlier. I can get 99 minimum up to 199 for a class ON DEMAND. And there are enough qualified instructors to get one of them to take the 99 for the day, along with some other perks (not fully fleshed out, but maybe top of the call list sort of thing, give work to those who are hungry sort of a thing).

By having everyone use a calendar, like Google, they can select their times for a scheduled class, OR when they list themselves as ON DEMAND instructors, the calendar shows how much interest there is...all of this automated, a good calendar is interactive and so potential students can either claim one of the seats on the schedule, or they can indicate they are interested in an ON DEMAND class, and give us some windows of availability.

So, no instructor gets canceled or gets holding the bag. They will be paid the day of the event. Whenever they want to hold it.

Good question, do you have any others?

Gordon
PS. Although my workshops may be in the lower price range, that doesn't mean a guy with expertise in a hot area, take WORDPRESS, can't charge 149 for his training, plus have backends, like offering to build the site. DEMAND dictates everything, but having a pool of instructors is going to be a good thing to have. And I plan on doing INSTRUCTOR trainings for free too, to teach them how to maximize their efforts.

Also, the calendar becomes the main marketing tool, after the initial set up.
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  #8  
Old October 7, 2019, 07:37 AM
Millard Grubb Millard Grubb is offline
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Default Re: Designing a class 101.

Just for clarification. In the Excel examples, $150 is for the entire class, even if the class is say, four sessions?

Or is this for a multi-hour workshop?

Yeah, each market is different and testing price is a factor.

I like the concept... just getting details straight in my head...

This looks like a REAL, VALUABLE, WINNER.

As you said... Could be a SLVER MINE for me.

Thanks Gordon !
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  #9  
Old October 7, 2019, 09:25 AM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default Re: Designing a class 101.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Millard Grubb View Post
Just for clarification. In the Excel examples, $150 is for the entire class, even if the class is say, four sessions?

Or is this for a multi-hour workshop?

Yeah, each market is different and testing price is a factor.

I like the concept... just getting details straight in my head...

This looks like a REAL, VALUABLE, WINNER.

As you said... Could be a SLVER MINE for me.

Thanks Gordon !

Millard, for these things, New Horizons Computer Training centers is the model I follow. One day, 9 to 5, lunch and breaks in the day, four parts.

New Horizons charges 295 for theirs.
ONLC, online gets 295 for theirs.
Certstaffix is 335
U of Akron, does offer a class for 139, however, you must register 15 days before the class and they are scheduled approx one a month at each of their satellite locations. A good price, INCONVENIENT.

I can match that 139 with an ON DEMAND class, and get someone just as qualified to teach it.

Here is U of A Fall Catalog for this sort of training.

https://bit.ly/2MowmCI

Note also, they offer test prep. Again, many people available to teach and where there are multiple sessions, the instructor can schedule that time on the calendar too. I have a couple of "rent on demand" locations too, in case it takes off and need more room. I'm talking to a local club, which has a full kitchen, about renting it out for larger classes and training, there are times when the members just don't use it (I think a lot of these clubs; Italian, Eagles, Moose, etc., have dwindling memberships and most in my area have their sites paid for) and these could hold dozens of people too.

But I want to start and EMPHASIZE, the short little half day, or 2 hour class, where people get in and get out. Down the street is a Catholic Church, they have a great MODEL, pack em in 8, 10, 12...and then rent out the place the rest of the time. Weddings, Funerals, events.

I like the idea of getting a few people in every couple of hours for MY workshops, but each instructor will design their own class.

Yes, check local prices, I'm on top of Northeast Ohio and what it has to offer and have put a considerable amount of time into the research. It looks promising.

Please, keep the questions coming, it helps me analyze my thinking too, maybe I have overlooked something.

Gordon
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  #10  
Old October 7, 2019, 12:19 PM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Default Inexpensive office space helps. Location, location.

https://bit.ly/2MjBA2B

This is one example, a block from the co-op space I'll be testing. Six offices, and all that for around 800 a month. With utilities, 1k a mo. Now how many classes could I (we) do? Or how many could we schedule?

So, by having a place, even the co-op space, it creates options, and with renting a facility not too out of reach too, lots of classes for cooking, baking and all that. When you look at the Rochester Brainery, you see a lot of SOLD OUT classes in their cooking areas.

www.rochesterbrainery.com

Having a kitchen available doubles the classes. So does having the local mechanic with a shop willing to teach a night a week at his location.

I'm on a steep curve of getting a calendar to do it all for me, and don't want the rug pulled out, so I like Google, but I don't trust Google. So still looking at a total booking/class scheduler which can be instructor done.

FUN stuff.

I like that little office above, convenient. But again, a little bit ahead of where I'm at.

Gordon
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