|
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 1738
   
Location: right where I'm supposed to be | Or anyone else who has hosted a weekend workshop.
I'm planing (very early stages) to host a weekend workshop (Green Tara Retreat) for my students. One bummer is they only (right now say 6) at the most 9 or 10 including me in the count.
This is the place, click on the link that says slideshow on the left. It's very nice.
http://www.americanyogini.com/about_where.php
They have a cook that comes in with either just a juicing diet for the weekend, or for a nominal fee, all meals will be vegetarian. I will host two yoga classes a day , 2 hours long each, meditation in the early evening and fill the day with hikes, massages, accupuncture (My spelling, sorry) etc.... Night time is relax with the girls and laugh.
Care to share any information which would be helpful to know ahead of time?
I'm waiting on the owner of the house to get back to me to see if we can work a deal out and what the cost would be.
Edited by mishoga 2008-01-15 11:17 AM
|
|
| |
|
| ok, just to make sure that i'm understanding, the basic idea is that you'll have a workshop of 6-10 people, with nice accommodations and vegetarian meals for the whole weekend (friday evening, saturday, through sunday afternoon). and you're still working out the price with the facility, to determine a "cost per person."
my best advice is about pricing. in planning my last retreat, i got a bit confused about space. that is, i knew how many beds there were (many!), but i didn't know how much yoga room there was (room for about 18 folks, we later figured out).
ok, so, the mistake that i made was that instead of determining the minimum number of people i wanted to "break even" and let everything be profit after that, i simply came up with a number of "what i would earn per person" and then went from there.
while i did make a profit, it wasn't as considerable as i'd hoped. So, in planning anything else, i try to make the costs covered by a minimum number of people and balance that out with what the market, in general, bears for retreats and what my particular student-market can bear for a retreat. this makes a huge difference.
so, first, i determine costs: accommodation fees (rental of the center, etc), advertising costs, and supplies and misc. expenses.
then, i look at the market for similar retreats in my area.
then, i consider the income of my primary draw (my students) and their ability to do retreats financially, time-wise, etc. (this is also particularly important when choosing a date. for example, in planning my spring retreat, i'm paying attention to easter, spring break at the schools here, the major sporting/music/dance activities, etc, and how close these things are to the costs that people have to bear or prepare for in the mean time. For example, typically a bad idea to do an expensive yoga offering right before christmas.)
finally, i consider what i would consider to be a "good number" for a class/retreat if i only got a minimum of people (for me, that number is 5; i prefer to teach five or more students. fewer than that and the work is different, more private, but once i get to five, it's more like a "class.").
I then take the total costs and divide it by 5 students, and see how that compares to the market in general AND how that compares to what your particular market may bear.
if it's more than your market can afford, it would be wise to find a way to cut some costs back considerably. or, decide to not take a profit, or far less of a profit.
but to be sure, it's a lot of work to do "for free." a lot of work. 
|
|
| |
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 1738
Location: right where I'm supposed to be | Personally I don't think I can make any money because the place is expensive. They usually provide workshops and the yoga teacher but I will get a reduction since I am not interested in the workshops they offer and I will be teaching all the classes. If some junior teachers (my yogini mitraHs) attend they can teach if they so desire the opportunity.
I just sent out a mass email. I will see the response and whether they are interested. I can invite as many as thiry and we would be housed in two mini mansions within walking distance. They are gorgeous homes.
Edited by mishoga 2008-01-15 1:50 PM
|
|
| |
|
| that's really cool.
i'll be honest and say that it's a lot of work "for free" but if you see it as a "building" opportunity (that is, something that will profit you later one way or another), then that would be the "profit."
when i sat down and did the numbers, the time i spent organizing, getting advertising together and out, and actually preparing for and leading the retreat, it was well over 100 hrs of work.
that's a lot of work "for free." it's a lot of work for the profit that i made, but i see the benefit in having learned a lot, etc.
you might consider other alternative spaces, see if there are places that are less expensive available to you. you might be surprised at what you can find when you look around. i'm surprised, honestly.
even so, sounds like (looks like too), a lovely place. |
|
| |
|
Expert Yogi
Posts: 1738
Location: right where I'm supposed to be | This past holiday season I decided to host a party for my yogini students and a few junior teachers. I invited 22 and 18 attended. It was awesome. The women had such a great time and they were from several places I work. Many of them recognized faces from attending different classes. It was a real bonding experience for all of us. it was such a diverse group in ages and occupations.
We had such a good time that I am hosting a Yogi Garage sale this spring. I will serve lunch and spirits and we will all laugh and simplify our lives by getting rid of unused material posessions. Hopefully I can ask for small donations for someone in need.
So this is why I decided to start exploring the idea of a workshop weekend filled with learning more about yogasana, pranayama, meditation, yogic living and living a more joyous life. I'd also like to introduce a more focused Tibetan buddhist practice with them.
The exchange of energy between me and all these beautiful women with such vibrant energy is enough to motivate me to give of myself without seeking personal gain in any form. (By the way, most of these women are professionals or pampered housewives) I truly love these women and love spending time with them.
What was your schedule like?
I'm so excited. I finally figured out how to play a singing bowl. I absolutely love the control of the vibrations.
Edited by mishoga 2008-01-15 2:19 PM
|
|
| |
|
| well, i think it's very nice of you to want to do this for free.
i would say that in my classes, at the retreat, and even in the many things that i offer for no-cost or low cost to m students, we have a great love for each other and a great energy exchanged. but they also are very thankful for the free stuff, because they know how much i value what i have to offer, my time, and my experience/training/expertise. they value it because i value it.
truth is, my time is valuable, my training/expertise is valuable, and i spend a lot of time, energy and money on getting training, getting books and supplies, creating an environment (such as finding, renting a place, doing advertising, etc) and so on.
it is these things--which may not be at issue for you, as i have no clue of your financial situation--that impact whether or not i'm "seeking a profit" in what i do.
i think that, for me at least, a profit is valuable--particularly if we're talking about professionals who largely wouldn't dream of offering their services for free, or "pampered housewives" whose husbands/partners wouldn't dream of offering their services for free and understand the value of one's hard work to earn a living. they can afford it, even though they'll look for every free opportunity that they can.
i'm not doing this to say that you shouldn't do this to "break even"--i think that's perfectly fine if it's what you want. But i do believe that we need to value ourselves and what we have to offer. If we're not putting a value on our time and training, no one else is either. and then, they can become glib about it.
and the last thing i want is for someone to think that my work is meaningless or cheap.
from a business perspective, my husband offers this:
while you may not be "in it for the money" you should act like you are because it's no less difficult to break even than it is to make a profit. it's not about charity, it's about perspective. in this instance, the main thing may be that you don't want to have a loss. in order to achieve that, you need to behave as if you want a profit, as if you want to make money.
the thing is, if you go into this with a casual attitude, there's a big chance of loosing money. one of the ways that i see it most commonly in myself, is that when i'm casual about something, so is everyone else. they become cavalier, and they back out or decide that they dont' want to do something after you've paid a fee for the rental.
in this sort of event, you have to put the money down first, and then everyone else gets to commit when they want to. and they may decide today to commit, and three days from now to say that they can't make it. i've had that happen, and i'm left paying the deposits or the full amount.
don't think that because you want to break even that A. you will, or B. that the effort to get there would be any easier than if you made profit. many times, i've simply "broken even" on the basic costs (not my time, effort, training, etc--no profit made), and i've fallen short and lost money.
it's part of the business and part of learning.
but every time, i learn and i act as if i want to make and can make a big profit. sometimes i make a profit, sometimes i don't. what works, i keep, what doesn't work, i toss.
so, no matter which way you want to go--you need to act as if you're doing this for profit.
so say your facility costs $6,000 to rent for a weekend, and say that you have 10 pampered ladies who usually join you. you might say that the retreat should cost $600.
but i say otherwise. why? because those ladies may not be comfortable, or able, or feel that it's worth $600--enery or no, because it's not free or "low cost."--and so it may be that such a retreat needs to cost $1,200 so that if 5 commit, you're not left holding the bag.
because goodness forbid you put down your $6,000 now, and three months from now you only have 6 ladies signed up at $600, and you have to cover the other $2,400 PLUS you've put in all of that time, effort and energy on top of that.
it's not to say that people are going to "leave you out there"--but they may. it's one thing to spend a day at a garage sale where you're providing food, or a day retreat, or a two hour class or what have you--all for free or little cost. people have no problem NOT parting with money. but when you're asking for a retreat at $600, for a lot of people this is a lot of money--no matter how wealthy they are--and it's a far cry from the garage sale or free class or $25 day retreat.
and they may say "oh how great mish is, and oh how nice!" but they may not put their money where their mouth is, and you may end up paying a deposit or the difference on something very expensive, and the energy alone can't sustain the process.
(and btw, i turn the profit that i made from my retreat into the deposit for my next one, as well as advertising the next one and so on--so even that profit is put to work!)
|
|
| |
Zoe, need your advice......
