You have probably attended a workshop or training program of some sort. Many of us have and I bet you that rarely do people stop to think of how money is made through such avenues. The thing is, you can make money from doing workshops or training in Zimbabwe. In this article, I will help you know how you can make money through those. Again, just like virtual assistance, anyone can conduct workshops or training here in Zimbabwe. The key element is having a notable skill set that you can use to impart knowledge and skills to others.

There Is A Difference…

Though most people might use ‘workshop’ and ‘training’ interchangeably, they are dissimilar. A workshop is characterised by interactive discussions that are tailored to promote an immersive learning experience. Training, on the other end, deals with an individual or individuals teaching a group of people something. The two can be used together and they somehow overlap. For a workshop, a group of people share knowledge whereas for training an expert or experts impart knowledge to a group of people.

The Conceptual Framework Of A Workshop Or Training Program

What is your skill set? That is the starting point because a workshop or training program must be themed. (Here is a side note – you can put together a workshop or training where it is not even you who will be conducting the actual activities. So do not think that you cannot do these simply because you are not an expert in something. Anyways, you must come up with a topic – a relevant one. Let us suppose that you are an ICT guru or have significant expertise in computer science or computer studies. You can come up with an idea to conduct computer literacy workshops or training programs. So having a skillset helps you easily come up with topics or themes that have to be covered.

Choosing a topic or theme is closely tied to your target audience. The nature of their needs will inform of what topics or themes you must cover. If you do not consider the target audience you might put together a good topic or theme which will be irrelevant to them. Another close ally to these considerations is the intended number of participants. This feeds into several issues such as complexity of the material to be covered, cost considerations, nature and size of venue, and so on. Then there is the issue of available time – it is a significant factor to the overall composition of a workshop or training program. For example, if a booked venue allows for 2 hours it means you have to fit in everything into that time slot.

The Business Models

Charge Per Person

If you are to understand how money is made from workshops or training you must understand the possible business models. Before I get into more detail I want you to not be demotivated by the huge amounts of money some people make from workshops or training. There are established players in this industry that can charge US$100 per person per day and people will pay without a thought. It is all about a reputation that they would have built over time. The wise thing is for you to start small and perfect your craft gradually.

The core of workshops or training is charging fees per person. That is the most common business model because it is simple and straightforward. You simply have to calculate all your expenses and determine an individual price point that produces a profit. In most cases, it is that simple but in some cases, it is not. What is preferable is that if you do that which I have just highlighted a profitable yet affordable price point should result. In the case where it does not then you would have to consider adding more revenue streams centred on the workshop or training.

Ad Placements

The second most popular business model is advertising. This entails advertisers paying you for ad placement on materials used before or during the workshops or training. When you are starting this might not be easy to find but as your reputation grows advertisers will be scrambling for you. I know circumstances differ but if you can marry these two business models that would be great. Charging a fee per person and charging for ad placement are tried and tested business models for workshops and training.

Direct Sales

We have yet another business model and that is direct sales. This depends on the nature of topics or themes you will be exploring. You can have products (either goods or services) that you can sell during your workshops or training. This is something that most people do because it enhances revenue streams. You can develop things like books, newsletters, learning, or information kits in essence. These are items you can sell to the participants. This is really up to your creative imagination otherwise there is a lot you can do make money from direct sales during your workshops or training.

The best approach I recommend is for you to start small and scale over time. Your first workshop or training can be just 5 people than the next time you scale and so on. As you scale you will be monitoring and evaluating how you will be faring. Before you know it you will be selling out much bigger venues and with people paying lots of money to participate. Times are changing so do not just limit yourself to physical workshops or training. You can also explore ways to conduct these online. Costs will be lower and you can sign up more people thus enabling you to price your services favourably.