Today I'm super excited to bring you a very special guest post by Marie Segares, author of Make Money Teaching Crochet: Launch Your Business, Increase Your Side Income, Reach More Students! As someone who is just really getting into teaching people in person, I can tell you it's an amazing resource! Marie has put together a fantastic book, and today I'm happy to share a special post from her... as well as a giveaway! But first, read her wise words!
Disclaimer: This post may include affiliate links.
I’m Marie Segares from the Creative Yarn Entrepreneur Show and I’m so happy to be visiting with Tamara and the Moogly readers today!
Whether you’ve already been teaching private crochet lessons or are just starting to teach, you may be wondering how to determine if a specific teaching gig is right for you.
There are three questions you can ask yourself and the teaching venue to help you decide!
3 Questions to Ask Before You Accept a Crochet Teaching Gig
Does this teaching job match up with your priorities for your crochet business?
This question is one that only you can answer. If you haven’t already thought about your own priorities for your business, here are some major points to consider.
- What are your business goals? You would feel differently about a specific position if your goal is to earn a specific amount of money during the year rather than to build your reputation in the local area as a teacher or to gain some teaching experience so you can have references to share with future students.
- What type of students do you want to teach? Some teachers want to focus on a specific student population, such as children, people recovering from strokes, or working professionals, while other teachers are generalists. Consider whether this teaching position offers you the opportunity to work with the students you want to reach most.
Is the compensation for this position “worth it” to you right now?
To answer this question, you’ll need to ask the teaching venue for more information and then ask yourself some questions, too. Here are important points to consider about compensation.
- How much will you get paid, how often, and in what form? Some teachers are paid an hourly rate and others are paid per student or a percentage of total sales for the class. Will you be paid in advance, immediately after teaching, or in the near (or far) future? Will you be paid a set amount as an independent contractor or are you being hired as an employee with taxes already withdrawn?
- What services are offered by the venue to offset your expenses? The more services the venue provides, the less time and effort you’ll need to teach the class. As an example, if the venue prepares the classroom, markets the course on your behalf, and makes copies of your handouts, you can save hours of preparation time. Similarly, if the venue is a craft supply store where you regularly shop and you get a substantial discount as a teacher, you may be saving on other business expenses.
- What is the commute like? Consider both the cost and length of your commute to and from class. If you are spending hours in transit, the compensation may be too low.
- What are the cancellation policies? It’s important to understand how cancellation policies impact your compensation before accepting a teaching position. As an example, if you are paid per student and the class runs with just one student, is it still worth it to teach? What if you are paid per hour but the class has to have at least 7 students to run? If it is cancelled the day before, you may not have time to schedule another class in its place.
How much uncompensated prep work will you need to do if you accept this job?
In most cases, as a crochet teacher, you’ll need to develop your own curriculum for each class. In some situations, there is an existing curriculum but teachers will need to create their own samples to use in class. If you’re adapting a class that you’ve already taught or using swatches or samples you already have on hand, preparation for class will be less expensive and time consuming for you. Some venues will pay you for prep work and/or provide free yarn for samples.
By answering these questions, you’ll have a better idea of whether you want to accept the teaching position you’ve been offered. Thank you, Tamara, for inviting me to visit Moogly today!
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Thank you so much Marie! These questions are SO important to ask when you are considering teaching crochet! You can save yourself so many headaches later on!
When I was reading Marie's book, Make Money Teaching Crochet, I was really struck with how thoughtful, insightful, and thorough it is! I definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking about getting into teaching. Even if you've been teaching a while, you'll find super helpful information and tips here to make it even better - and make more money! It's a practical, hands-on guide, and I'll be rereading it several times myself!
To purchase your own copy of Make Money Teaching Crochet, go to Amazon US where you can get it on Kindle or as a paperback workbook! So handy! It's also available on Amazon CA, Amazon UK, and Amazon DE. And there is the Ultimate Printable Edition ebook on Gumroad, which includes 15 worksheets and 5 customizable forms for your teaching business, and is 25% off through July 4th, 2016!
And on top of all that, I'm giving away one Ultimate Printable Edition ebook to one lucky winner here on Moogly! The Make Money Teaching Crochet Giveaway on Moogly is open worldwide, and ends 6/28/16 at 12:15am. To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below. If you are on mobile and have difficulty entering, please use a desktop computer to enter. Only the email option is mandatory – all other tasks are optional, for bonus entries only.
Get Moogly on your favorite social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, G+, Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr, and sign up for the free Newsletter so you don’t miss a thing! Thank you to Marie Segares for the guest post and for sponsoring this giveaway! I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review, but all opinions are my own.
Emilee Manley
Thanks for the giveaway!
Patrice
Great questions, especially the third one which I tend not to take into consideration when I have a teaching gig.
Joan Browne
hello Tamara can I share this post to my site? thanks
Tamara Kelly
Hi Joan! You are welcome to share the link with a teaser and an (unaltered) photo if you like! 🙂 Thank you!