| a retreat takes different planning than a workshop for the most part.
Workshops:
i like to give workshops as often as possible, and like tourist said, i simply pick a topic, make a flyer, and then teach it through the studio where i work. But, i'll go into a bit more detail of how i go about doing a workshop.
First, most workshops that i teach are 3 hours long. I usually pick a specialized topic that cannot be met in my usual classes, but where my students have a general need or a general interest. For example, i do not spend a lot of time in each class going over the bandhas, though i do mention them and describe them repeatedly and i do spend some time doing specialied movements to help access these movements. Because it can be rather esoteric, i offer a quarterly class in pranayama, which includes work on the bandhas. Most students take this class twice a year.
To make the class accessible, i teach in two locations. The first location is the studio where i work. The second location often has to be determined. On occassion it is a gym where i work. They're very supportive of yoga and it's an excellent facility. It's still a gym, so not as 'pretty' as the studio, but a functional space to work in. About 6 weeks before the workshop, i make sure that the studio/gym is available for the weekend in question--either a saturday or a sunday afternoon. I set the time (usually 2), and i set the cost (usually $45/person). I make a flyer that gives a description of the class and necessary information. The studio/gym sends an announcement over the email and puts the event on their web site. They hang the flyer and i take flyers to my classes and pass them out. I also put flyers on open community boards in my area.
I mention in the flyer that preregistration is required, and that if there is space available, you can register on that day paying a higher price. Usually the price changes 2 days before the workshop. the week before the workshop is to start, i offer a full refund. after this date (say the saturday before the workshop), there is a cancellation fee of 25% of the fee of the workshop. There is no refund from 2 pm on the day before the workshop unless there is medical necessity.
I do this because some students are ridiculous. They'll sign up for a workshop first thing to reserve their space, and when it fills (usually the week before the workshop, the class is full), i have to turn people away or start a waiting list. I start a waiting list, and then i get two or three people cancelling about 15 minutes before the workshop is going to start, expecting a full refund. In the past, when i didn't have a policy, i felt compelled to give it to them. I would then not be able to fill the spot--even though i had a waiting list--because these students waited until the last minute to cancel. By having a cancellation policy, i ensured that i was A. either actually full or B. that i at least got paid for the full class even though people chose not to come at the last minute. To those students who did this repeatedly, it ws only a matter of two or three workshops with the cancellation policy where they stopped playing around with me.
i bring up this money element for a reason. I often am splitting the cost with the facility that i'm using in a 60-40 or 70-30 split. It depends largely on whetehr or not i'm bringing more of my own clients into the studio or whether the studio is bringin in most of them. Either way, i get the larger portion. But, when people cancel on you--both you and the studio loose money if you have to give a full refund AND you don't have time to go to the waiting list and refill that space. You want all of your spaces filled, as that maximizes the benefits for everyone.
And, in this spaces filled business, you do want to set a cap. one studio that i thought i wanted to do a workshop for wanted me to teach 50 students in the room. I woul dhave needed at least two assistants and would have had to cover their travel expenses as well as my own. This would have increased the cost considerably per student. By dropping the number down to 20 students, i was actually able to charge less per student, max out the class more quickly (creating demand), and then teach the class on my own without assistants. This cut costs for me, for the studio, and percentage-wise we were able to charge more per student, even though the cost was actually less than what a student would have had to pay had we had 50 students. Understanding how this works can get tricky, but it's important to figure out what your costs actually are--travel, food, clothing, special props, cost of the facility, etc--and then what is the most efficient way to make those costs and to make a profit (your earnings).
This is true of retreats as well.
Retreats:
Retreats are a different animal from a workshop, and actually take on a different form of marketing, pricing, and many other elements. the first element is location. it's relatively easy to find any number of near-by retreat centers, but check out the less well-known ones for good prices. And, look for alternatives.
for example, i recently ran a day-retreat at a local nature center. This nature center has hiking trails and also a lovely facility in an old stone farmhouse. they have a large room for classes, meetings, etc, and the rental fee for the space was only $100 for the whole day. We had access to the whole facility--including a kitchen. Of course, we had access to the trails as well, and they had a bonfire space and would do a bonfire for us FOR FREE if we would like. For something similar at a near-by retreat center, it would have cost $1,000/day--that's one room, access to the kitchen, trails, etc, and no bon fire! that's a huge difference, no?
Next, you have to ask yourself what you're going to provide for participants. I've been to any number of retreats, and they provide any number of things. For day retreats, i've had ones where food (lunch and snacks) were provided and others where we were required to bring our own and only water would be provided. If you're going to provide food, it can be as complex as a specialty caterer or as simple as salads, fruit, tea, and water that you can prep yourself the day before and keep in the fridge at the facility.
If you're going with a specialty caterer, it becomes a cost to you, depending upon how you do it. Many of our local retreats include a specialty chef such as a raw foods chef, or the very popular 'beauty chef.' as part of the retreat, participants spend time prepping food for her and learning about 'beauty diets.' for this, they usually take a portion of the retreat monies or they're paid like a sub-contractor. It could be that because 1/3 of the retreat is taught by this teacher, she then gets 1/3 of the profits as her payment (she provides the food herself, which are an aspect of her costs).
for the most part, i ask participants to bring their own bag lunch, but i provide snacks (fruits, veggies, nuts), water, and tea.
the next element--once you have the space and food situation figured out--is to decide on your theme. The one i did at the nature center focused on the concept of sleep, looking to the winter landscape as our mirror of the inner seasons of our lives. The time for rest allows for rejuvenation, regeneration, and the activity of growth for the months to come. I focused on receptivity as opposed to creativity--how these two elements work together. I wrote out a lot about this concept, and used snippets of it for the marketing materials.
Once i chose the theme, i set the schedule. Registration from 8:00-8:30 am. Silent, unguided meditation in the main room until 9:00 when registration, etc, would be complete (you know how people always come at 8:31 and have to go to the bathroom, etc). From 9:00-9:30, guided meditation (usually focused on communicating oneself simply, in prepartion for introductions. 9:30-10:00, introductions (each person at the retreat gives a brief introduction based on the meditation). 10:00-11:30 yoga asana practice focused on recieving the gifts and blessings of practice, moving gently noticing openings and backing away from discomfort and tightening--allowing the body to open slowly and gracefully. 11:30-12:00 preparations for lunch (tea, water, chit chat, bathrooms, getting bagged lunches together, sitting in a circlein the main room). 12:00-12:30 eating in silence. 12:30-1:30 personal time that can be spent alone in the woods, in groups in the room, or resting. 1:30-2:30 hike through woods with nature guide (turned out also to be free) to talk about winter landscapes. 2:30-4:30 group discussion on receptivity and openness. 4:30-6:00 Yoga asana practice. 6:00-6:30 guided meditation 6:30-9:00 pm--optional bon fire celebration (included ritual for bonfire, chanting, drumming, and dancing).
once this was basicly sketched out, i began to gather my marketing elements.
i have some pictures from classes that i've taught in the past, so i grab those. i also asked the facility for some pictures from their place, so i grabbed those too. I looked at the schedule and the description of what i was trying to accomplish or the theme of the workshop. I was able to come up with a three-line description of the course and using the pictures came up with a nice flyer. I considered taking an ad out in the local yoga free publication, but decided against it due to costs. I took the flyer to my classes and hung them on community boards. The facility also emailed their regulars and hung up flyers.
I kept the registry down to 25 participants (and brought two assistants who volunteered--to help with administrating). My cost of food, water, and tea was around $100 (i bought all organic produce); my costs for the facility was $100/day. My total costs, then, were $200. I didn't have any other overhead (teachers, etc), and was able to make a rather considerable profit. I had 17 participants. Most day retreats in this area run $100/person. I charged slightly less for early registration (4 weeks prior), and then charged $100 at two weeks prior. full refund to the week before, kept 25% if cancelled during the week before, no refunds on cancellations 24 hrs prior to the workshop UNLESS there was medical emergency of some sort.
In workshops that provide food (lunch/dinner), the cost is greater to cover the caterer.
I hope that this helps you out. |
running a workshop/retreat
