What to keep in mind when negotiating with a venue now we are we're going to touch on this and there's a few more examples of this of things related to this like contracts and rates and things like that there's a few examples in the workbook and what I'm going to say about this it's important to remember so when we're talking about negotiating with the venue I like to remember this at all times okay, we are all in this together, okay? It is important to remember that no two venues they're going to be the same even within the same city right? Certain venues can charge way more for their classes and people will take that their classes okay, it's just a matter it's just fact ok, you are building experience, okay? And I always say that you have to start somewhere okay? And you could always change your rate. Okay? So just because you start off at a certain rate, there is no reason why you can't change it for the next time. Okay? There is no reason you have to promote your class that's the b...

ottom line even like I was saying like even if you do teach in a shop they might not they might not get you might not get um they might not get a lot of students for you. Bottom line you might have to get all of your students yourself even if you're teaching at a shop that already has an established clientele okay and remember we're all in this together yeah, my always going with the assumption that we're nobody's trying to cheat anybody out of anything okay? And you have to make sure to stand up for yourself, okay? And you have every right to stand up for yourself so if you feel like you you know that you're you know you need to charge more than you need to charge more okay and just, you know, there's a whole there's a whole level of emotional attachments that we have with with our self worth around pricing, which we've all we all know as makers we've addressed this and the same goes for teaching okay? So for contracts and rates like I said there's a few more examples in the workbook um and I invite everybody to join the teacher's lounge to discuss this stuff in more detail ok, I'm not going to be able to go over very, very specific examples, but for example, if you are in michigan and you know for a fact that you know these studios in these shops are are really fair people toe work with, then go in there and share those right find find people in your community and ask what studios they work with what's shops they work with how are their rates? How much do you charge? Okay we really it's more is helpful for all of us to just share this information I think we can all grow from it so four contracts and rates like I said there's more in the bonus materials okay when you're signing contract always read it carefully, negotiate if needed and have your own contract written out on hand now I have an example in the workbook of things to include in a contract and I am by no means a contract lawyer I've just taken this the's bullet points from several contracts that I've seen other teachers use okay? So dates and times make sure they're very clear total fees maximum number of students what the teacher needs, what the students going to need in terms of space and tables and setting up do you need a screen? Do you need a projector? Do you need a white board? Okay? Lodging, travel meals okay and any special requests and of course a cancellation policy okay on dso those again, those things they're going to be very specific I don't want you guys to overlook the steps involved in that, but I also invite you guys to get into the community of teachers to find out what other people are doing okay and then for rates you always need to keep him in mind that there's potentially going to be travel set up in cleanup time so like for example, if I'm teaching at a place that's an hour away any defector and that it's an hour away and that's another hour of my time that I'm not doing something else so when I calculate my hourly rate, if I'm teaching a three hour workshop I have to add on an hour in the front end and an hour in the back end so it's actually I have to divide my rate by five and served by three okay, so you gotta think about those kinds of things when you are deciding some people um I have to you know, you have to decide if it's going to be worth your your your time versus the money you're going to get in order to travel and I would say that this is dependent a lot upon your experience level so and and venues so a lot of conferences for example, like quilting conferences will charge a flat rate, so I'll get, you know, a flat rate per day versus an hourly rate aura per student rate. Ok, do the math and keep in mind that when you're working for a venue they're going to potentially take I mean they're going to take their cars so sometimes it's they'll take fifty percent, sometimes they'll take forty percent so it's just going to depend, so if you you know the example that I gave in the in the workbook is if you teach a three hour work works up at a local venue students are charged thirty five dollars okay you have eight students so thirty five times eight that's two hundred eighty dollars with the shop taking fifty percent so that's one hundred forty divided by four I included one hour set up and clean up so that meant that means that you made thirty five dollars an hour sounds pretty good so that's the kind of that's what I mean by during the math are there any questions about that before we move on I know that this is like a huge topic so I think that we could really talk all day but I would love to take just a few maybe a few questions and now it's kind of a question and yeah response I also think about insurance too because some places require own insurance and sometimes they're really good on the sideline build that into your own contract is that what you do yeah yeah about that applies into the contract and also the venue that something that you work out with individual venues and conferences for example retreats really is there anything from our online are yes we have a question and a little bit off topic but I love it okay for you know I think all artists grapple with this yeah how does it's already sandra asked how does one balance teaching and building one's own art business I used to teach our two children and got lost in the teaching made more money than doing so I taught all the time then I took a break from teaching and embodies return yeah, I know a lot of our you know, that's a really great artist who I know most you know I'm mostly no theater artists but they a lot of them teach yeah because it's hard to make a living a regular living acting so how do you mean it's always a balance like how do you yeah, you know it's always it's always a balance and I know you know, I have a special example that I have my mom my mom has been a professional culture a schoolteacher for my almost my whole life and so I've kind of watched how she's gone through periods of that as well. So you just kind of have to know that if you know if you you start scheduling things really far out once you start to get more established and people want you to come and teach because they know that you're good, you have to start saying no to things in order to give yourself either that downtime or that that creative time for your own creative endeavors, right? And then you have to be able to you know, you have to balance your own budget essentially, right? So you know how much if teaching is providing your main, you know you're one of your main source of income you need to figure out, well, how much do I need to teach? And then if that number is way too much like if you're way overloaded, then then let's re evaluate from another perspective and maybe, you know, teach a longer workshop in charge, more razor rates to teach less, um and see how that works in trying out different things that was in flux, depending on what your situation is definitely financial situation is what your artistic situation is exactly, and it's it's always going to change to one year, you could get like your main you're almost of your income coming from teaching, and then the next year you find that you don't teaches many classes, so you're like, wait, but nothing really changed just like the natural flow of of the demand and how much you marketed your classes. And so it's just one of those things, I think that's always going to be in flux, but I totally understand that that, oh sort of feeling is like, I'm teaching too much on the stop teaching, and then I want to teach more, and then it's so that's a great question.

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Ashley Nickels

Ashley Nickels is a quilter, crafter, and teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. She grew up surrounded by quilters—making her first nine-patch at age eight—and was designing handbags by high school.

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Ratings and Reviews

Claude Aimée Villeneuve

This was a very good class, well prepared and packed with such useful information! I've been teaching various arts and craft classes for over 10 years now and did it sort of instinctively. Ashley gave me the tools I needed to refine my classes and prepare really good classes outlines and how to find venues to teach and pitch my classes. That was awesome and I plan to watch it again and again because there is so much in it! This was a first class presentation! Thank you Ashley! Claude Aimée Villeneuve, Visual artist and teacher

a Creativelive Student

I'm not even half way thru the online videos and want to recommend this class to anyone who just needs that extra boost to start their own classes! I like the fact that Ashley suggests that we think from a student perspective to help us to better plan. This class covers many things I have heard before BUT in greater detail. When I hear the 'WHY' of doing things, I'm more likely to follow thru. These videos explain many 'WHYs' (There are many informative sites/classes for this topic but not many people give you 'this is WHY' it should be done this way) Ashley gives the "WHY' and the 'HOW to'. If you want to teach and are mostly ready to teach, take this class and all the gaps will be filled in and you will be ready to go forth and teach your craft!

Barbara Schiffman

Great class -- watched live (most of it) and purchased for ongoing review. I've taught many things, including some crafts (decorating gourds, collage, making your own tarot-collages) but I gained new insights, ideas and confidence from Ashley's advice, the students questions and input, and the panel! I recommend this for anyone who wants to teach a class -- craft oriented, personal development, or anything else!

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Factors to Consider When Negotiating with Venues

Factors to Consider When Negotiating with Venues

Lesson Info

12. Factors to Consider When Negotiating with Venues

Lessons

Class Introduction

The Benefits of Teaching a Craft Class

Determine Your Expertise

Different Types of Teaching Venues

Factors to Consider Based on the Teaching Venues

The Importance of Lesson Planning

The Different Types of Classes

Determining the Class Objective

Create a Technique-Based Lesson Plan

Create a Project-Based Lesson Plan

How to Approach a Venue to Teach a Class