posted
I was talking to someone recently about the Router Magic Workshops we are hosting in our studio. This person commented on how we had obviously found a lucrative new source of income. It wasn't the first time I had heard the remark. Undoubtably other folks might think the same thing. The comments made me smile and got me thinking as I sometimes do.
It seems these folks had done some quick math... number of available seats multipled by the the entrance fee and come up with a total. While this number was absolutely correct as far as the potential gross income for a workshop it didn't sum up our net income nor take into account the costs for the project. As we all should know that's not how it works. Hosting an event of any kind is somewhat like running a business... the truth is you only get to keep what's left over at the end. Or pay the difference if you are short.
Bear with me while I explain my point of view...
A couple of summers ago we hosted the 'Picnic at the Ranch'. It was a blast and we had fun as did most of those who came! And we were proud to host about 60 people for the day. We asked for a small donation to help cover costs which most happily paid. A couple of the attendees complained about the price and a few simply didn't pay. Everyone who helped us out was waived in (as it should be) Some other attendees were guests for various good reasons.
The work to get ready for the event started weeks before and involved paid staff and family members and friends. As anyone who has hosted an event in their own shop well understands its no small task.
Afterwards things had to be cleaned up, put away and borrowed items returned, before we could get into production once more. I never truly added up the cost... I never really want to know... but without doing the detailed math I do know we did not come close to breaking even... just adding up the big things and not including our wages or that of our staff. Countless small things will never be accounted for and I wasn't keeping score. The Picnic, even though it was a small, low key, and very casual affair cost us money. Plenty.
All that being said I loved hosting the event but a number of things prevented me from wanting to do more similar gigs. We didn't want to largely subsidise future Letterhead meets at our place of business. It didn't make sense.
Hosting an event can be a high stress and somewhat crazy excercise. Don't believe me... take a good look at the host of the next Letterhead event you attend. Most times they are simply a blur as they run around tending every detail, trying their best to make everyone happy. Chances are they will have to look at the pictures which other people took afterwards to really appreciate what went on. And chances are they will need a real holiday afterwards, whether they get to take one or not.
The third thing is that I would love to have beeen able to spend more time with each of our guests during the event. Some travelled a long,long ways to come (which I really appreciated) and they wanted to see more of what we did and how we did it. I hardly got to spend more than a few minutes with each of them at the picnic because I was kinda busy taking care of things for everyone else.
Just as importantly I wanted to teach and share what we do here, but because of the crowd and my busyness there was no way it was humanly possible.
While there were some brief demos and some learning definitely took place, the fact remains it was primarily a social event as are most Letterhead events. I love a good party but I wanted more from the events I choose to host.
I know we could have spent the time and effort to contact other businesses to help sponsor the meet and offset some costs. But I also know that there are countless requests for support of these events. Sponsorships seldom really pay off for the donors. There is also a real cost to spend the time making these arrangements for the host. Time is real money if you take it away from your business. Lastly, I wasn't at all comfortable begging sponsorships from my suppliers.
There had to be a better solution (for us). We hoped to discover it with the workshop format. The first one we held in October was a test.
We struggled long and hard to come up with a price that would both cover our expenses and at the same time provide value to those attending. But just how do you calculate that and what do you include to make it so?
We wanted to go over the top in every respect! We were sharing proven methods and 'secrets' which had taken years to gather and formulate. Including the instruction of the top EnRoute trainer meant the instruction was two-fold... delivered from both from the artistic side (me) and from a technical standpoint (Tom). We could effectively deliver both the 'how' and 'why' of what we do. CD's and printed material from EnRoute would provide a way for each attendee to review what was covered during the workshop and for reference later... no small value by itself. We also included a CD of proven bitmap textures which I had developed over the last years.
We started to add up the expenses. Staffing costs to prepare, host and clean up afterwards. Costs of wholesome, catered meals, supplies and necessary tools and materials we needed to properly host the event. Catering the event in the shop would maximise our time in learning. I didn't want to rely on family volunteering to subsidise the event. This was my gig... not theirs.
Many, many hours were spent planning and preparing the material we would cover. The seemingly endless arrangements took many hours of planning. Many emails were sent and many phone calls were made. It was all to make sure everyone and every detail was taken care of.
We checked out the caterers, and the accomodations. The shop was cleaned from one end to the other, customer's projects put away and everything made safe for our guests. Some projects were postponed and rescheduled after the workshop was done. Multiple samples were created, everything put on display and carefully arranged. We purchased tables, chairs, a projector screen, and a host of other smaller things to create a workable and first class venue, not only for this first event but also for events in the future.
Our guest teacher, Tom Penner, head teacher from EnRoute flew in from back east the day before the official start of the workshop and together we reviewed our materials one last time and made final plans and arrangements. Everything was ready, everything tested and working, every detail in place.
The workshop was officially underway!
Things went relatively smooth for our first time out of the gate... although we made some changes as we went, adapting to the specific needs of our guests. Each morning I got up early to be ready for the first arrival... and worked long past the leaving of the last guest... putting things in place for the next day and tying up loose ends. That was as it should be. Family and staff did their part as well, making the event seamless, with few hitches. Plenty of effort was expended to make things flow.
Although I stayed plenty busy through the event, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute through the workshop. I was relaxed and although I was a leader I also got a chance to learn plenty, visit, relax (a little) and have tons of laughs. Although it was an intense experience I can honestly say I enjoyed the event as much as any Letterhead meet I have intended. Although we are working on some minor tweaks for the next one, the first workshop met my expectations.
Our focus was narrow, although the material covered was broad and varied. We accomplished pretty much everything we had planned although we had to push hard to do it.
I believe (judging from the very positive reponses afterwards) we provided excellent value to each of the attendees. The fees we charged ($1500) covered our expenses and allowed us to do things absolutely right - without running ourselves ragged. Our partner's costs (EnRoute) were also covered to a large extent.
I realise that in reality, the workshop fees were a but small part of the workshop costs for our guests. Most in attendance came from thousands of miles away. Air fares, rental cars, hotel expenses, meals (away from our workshop) and other sundry travel expenses undoubtably all added up to be no small expense for each of our guests.
Did we make money on the workshop? It depends on how you look at it. If you count every hour and all the costs I sincerely doubt it. We absolutely didn't come close to making normal shop rate. We could have made real money by simply working at normal jobs in the shop... and there was no shortage of them.
But I have no regrets this go around...
The end result was an enjoyable experience for me and our guests... one I really want to do again, hopefully many times. I got to share what I am passionate about with a number of other people - all of whom were there to learn and willing to pay for the experience. I got to do it in a relatively relaxed envronment where I my staff and our guests were comfortable. I believe we lit some fires of similar passion in others, passed on some hard earned skills and knowlege and did our very best to give excellent value for the money each guest paid. We certainly opended some minds to the possibilities of outragously creative thinking. I also got to learn some exciting new things!
In the end it was a very worthwhile experience, one which I believe fell into the definition of being a Letterhead. It certainly wasn't merely about the money.
Planning the next workshop in Yarrow...
-grampa dan
[ December 12, 2007, 01:40 AM: Message edited by: Dan Sawatzky ]
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Well-said, Dan- many of those paragraphs will apply to any letterheads event.
Our 2008 meet downunder- well, it had been a goal of mine to host a meet. We had tremendous help. I could not have previously imagined that all work would stop 3 weeks prior to the event, and not restart for at least a week afterwards. The 'lost' manhours in preparation, setting up & packing up are incredible, as well as sponsoprship and materials sourcing & collecting, but the sheer achievement is worth the price- at least once in a lifetime!
Financially- we did not have the people-numbers to reach the budgeted breakeven cost- we were about seven people short, although the gains outweighed the losses and the gains were far more than money can buy. It was the biggest meet we've had here since the Jordan Signs meet in 2002.
On the other hand, if I were to do it again- having it here at the workshop would have been big time saver, compared with the work involved in moving everything away, 50km south for the weekend to where catering, accommodation & atmosphere were all on-tap, and then bringing it all home again!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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$1500. seems cheap for what someone could learn in that time. I think of how a course like that could help take my carved signs to the next level. So thank you to anyone who has ever hosted any type of meet as I have never been to one yet where I have not learned something new which has more than paid me back for my time and money. Thanks again.
It's another Sawatzky labor of love and worth every penny. I didn't pay a cent, sice I didn't attend, but have reaped the benefits through Henry's photo's. Wish I had gone.
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Eye opening read Dan, And so true. Even though I have never hosted or attended a meet, this has to change, I can relate to this. Years ago, and I mean years ago. like 29 years ago when I was just a young lad of 19, I fell in love with solid timber homes, Post and beam, Scandinavian full scribe log homes that you see around you living in British Columbia. I fell in love with them not because there were any around here, in fact there were none, I fell in love with them through a book I happened to pick up a a local book store.That book was "Building with Logs" by B. Allan Mackie. He had a school in Prince George.
To make a long story short, I wanted to learn how to build, so I phoned the school, and someone on the other end suggested I hold a class here in Newfoundland, being a determinned 19 year old I set out to do just that, and went through all you just described, I even brought one of their instructors in from Northern Ontario to teach, at the time I charged $500 each, and I barely covered my expenses, actually I put in money.
Great Read, it brought back a lot of memories.. thanks.
[ December 12, 2007, 08:46 AM: Message edited by: Neil D. Butler ]
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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Well said Gramps. After hosting several events and being a part of some international meets I can honestly say that no one has ever made a dime off the Letterhead gatherings. Most lost money...I know I did.
But, they are not sponsored as a money making affair, although there have been a few that have tried it and failed. They take a tremendous amount of planning and follow up once the event is done. Like Dan said, you have to rely on the photos afterwards to really know what happened.
Thanks Dan for the giving you provide. Hope to be at one of those shin-digs in the future.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Although the router workshop was "officially" Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, it really started a day or two early and lasted a couple days longer. Dan was with his guests, sharing, providing transportation, meals, tours, etc. the whole time. Parker and I picked up as much in the hours and days outside the workshop as during it. Dan was available for the duration.
Considering that his crew was also there for all the extra time, they all probably made as much per hour as Walmart greeters.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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I thought alot about the price, but not the price of the course, as the total cost of getting from all the way over here to all the way over there, I thought about a couple of days extra to make it more worthwhile and aclimatise to the time differences.
It was worth every penny, I actually must have been there the longest and although I tried to help where I could Dan, and his crew worked non stop to get everything set up, in those early days, and most of the name signs were already made, the studio set up for classes, folders everything was in place, but we were of here there and everywhere picking things up, and Dan never stopped going through all the things that might have made it abit better, he was determined to give the best and most he could over the 3 days...well he did much more than that, and was on call pretty much from early in the morning until getting on for midnight most days, it was perfect, and I'm sure it will be more perfect with everyone he runs. I came away with head crammed full of stuff, and then some, made some great friends, and want to go back and visit some more.
Once again thanks for making the time to help us improve our routing skills, and more, it was invaluable
posted
Dan, you are a generous, talented inspiration to this industry.You deserve every dollar you decide to charge for your effort. I'd just like to know where you get the energy.
-------------------- Darcy Baker Darcy's Signs Eureka Springs. AR. Posts: 1169 | From: Eureka Springs, AR | Registered: Nov 2007
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Fees like these are only meant to mitigate the organizers' losses. These brave people NEVER come out ahead financially and deserve an "Order of Letterville" medal for their courage and sacrifice. We have all benefited from efforts of these brave souls and I personally thank them. There are exceptions, but very few of us have paid tuition to a college to learn our craft. As Letterheads, we've, learned from the best of the best, often one on one and at their net co$t. As in all walks of life, many misconceptions abound. A good rule of thumb is, don't criticize a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes. Dan, for one, has a lot of miles on his shoes, I can attest to that fact! Letterheads rule!!!!
I can honestly relate as for 3 years I've been planning our Hullabaloo International meet next August 1, 2008
After many meetings, and hundreds of hours it's continually amazing me how challenging these are.
Education to the community, sponsorship/fundraising permit, and red-tape cutting...
and that's not even the FUN part.
Folks, I can say that as excited as it's been visioning for a positive meet, it's very very draining. I'm strongly supported by many of you here, and I graciously appreciate it.
Of the many meets I've had the great blessing of attending, I want to incorporate as many positive elements from the previous meets, and continue to provide a valuable expierence for both the attendees, and the community.
Thanks for sharing Dan, helps to hear from this upcoming host.
-------------------- Matthew Rolli AdCraft Sign&Design Hudson, WI Posts: 280 | From: Hudson, WI | Registered: Aug 2003
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I'm still paying for the International 2005 meet. lost my ass....but I ain't whining, everyone seemed to have a good time, but most of all, someone shared knowledge, and hopefully they will share, and so on...afterall that is what this group known as "Letterheads" was founded for back 1975. TO ANYONE THINKING OF HOLDING AN EVENT... read and heed what the Good Grampa has written
We don't run meets to make money, at least I never did. Just wanted to break even, and have a good time!
Let em yap Dan...
-------------------- Mike Meyer Sign Painter 189 1st Ave n P.O. Box 3 Mazeppa, Mn 55956
We are not selling, we are staying here in Mazeppa....we cannot re-create what we have here....not in another lifetime! SO Here we are!!!!!!!
quote:Originally posted by William DeBekker: Amen Brother,
Just started putting our meet together for Oct. Hopefully It will go well.
Should be a nice base on the mountain by then, LOL. Note to self: take ski jacket, goggles, tek pants, money for lift ticket, etc.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Hey Dan! you don't need to apologize or to explain yourself. Some people will rather yap at how much others are making instead of concentrating on their own business and actually making it works! Those people should rather look at the value they are getting from the money they spend instead of wondering how much money the other does. Some people are born to whine and some others are born to make them whine even more!!
Anyway, living in fairy land with that huge smile on your face, always positive, never complaining, you must be multi-millionnaire!!!
Life is so good! (hey! I must be rich too!!)
-------------------- Pierre Tardif P. Tardif Inc. 1006 boul. PIE-XI sud Val-Belair QC. Canada G3K 1L2 418-847-4089 pierre@ptardif.com Posts: 800 | From: Quebec city | Registered: Aug 2002
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I was there...... I saw..... I lived it ! If Dan made a quarter that week, let him keep it, trust me, he worked for it !!!
It's been two month and I'm still having flash backs. I can't beleive anyone would complain about anything that happened there, weather being about costs, food, material or anything.
Dan, if anybody asks, tell'm : "Yep, I made a killing that week-end, you should try it too !!!"
posted
My first meet was in 2000, it was $25 each for the weekend, including meals and even a t-shirt! I broke even. The Mars meet was (I think) $150 a Head, less for the spouse. I would have broken even except for one of my staff not charging for spouses at the gate and a last-minute order for scaffolding when a donated scissors lift wouldn't do. I owed $300 after all was said and done. I had some really good sponsors that helped tremendously, and having vendors brought in much needed funds. The PJ Jam broke even. I've also had two impromptu free meets. After the Jamboree, which was my final meet, I had $50 which was donated to the Red Cross after Katrina. At every meet I had, there were good friends who helped with the menial tasks of setting up and tearing down. Thank God for them! I think a lot of people do not realize what an ordeal that meet hosting can be at times. It can be a thankless task and even a lonely one. The meet itself depends on good organization and even good food. The Letterheads provide the knowledge, even the entertainment. What you take away from a good meet is something that you can't really put a price on. I have heard people complain about meet prices for years. When you have to try to explain the value of a meet to someone in proportion to its cost, it usually falls on deaf ears. People either "get it" or they don't. Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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As one of the lucky ones that was there to experience the magic in the first workshop I can assure you it was worth every penny. I even told Dan at the end of the event he was charging to little for what he was giving back to the attendees. It was by far the the best money I've spent in a long time. Since he's giving these workshops away at such a great value, I decided to go again. See you in February!
-------------------- Cody Reich Columbia Signs Posts: 300 | From: Vancouver, WA | Registered: Aug 2007
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