Want peole to show up to your classes?

As silly as this may sound you would be surprised at the little bit of thought that some people give to scheduling and I will admit it can be trial and error. I have been doing this for over ten years now and there is a bit of a challenge to it. When I started at the college we had classes in the evenings and most of the people who showed up worked a day job. A year later I went to work at a large health and wellness facility and our biggest classes were on Monday mornings. So how do you know when to schedule your classes?

In previous post I covered how to decide when you should teach, that is your first step. What fits into your life style. For the sake of this blog I will use myself and a current graduate as an example, we will call her Sally. I have teenagers whom I take and pick up from school, it is important to me to be available for them early in the a.m. and afternoons. However I can work some weekends because my kids can feed  and look after themselves and my husband is off on weekends.
Sally however has small children and her husband is a nurse who works three weekends a month working three ten hr shifts. He is usually worn out on Mondays. Sally would like to work Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, but not all three days as she would like to have some family time. Sally would like to add about $300 a month to her income so she feels at $25 an hour she needs to teach four classes per week. Sally and her husband talk and decide that working on Tuesdays and Thursdays would be ideal. Sally decides to approach her yoga studio and ask to teach a 6:00 a.m. class and a 9:30 a.m. class, giving her a little time to run errands between classes or do paperwork. She approaches the Director whom she has taken classes from in the past. The Director ask her to demonstrate a class, which she does. The Director says she will be happy to ad the 6:00 a.m. class for three months and see how it does but she, the Director, teaches the  9:30 class. Sally gladly accepts and soon finds she has an average of eight folks showing up to take her class within six weeks. The Director is becoming more and more busy and decides since Sally is doing so great by month three that she will let her sub for a month and see how it goes on the 9:30 class with the intent to free up the Directors time if it goes well. Sally loses two students (normal when teachers change out) but gains four so the Director keeps her on and within in four months Sally has exactly what she wanted and is bringing in an extra $400 a month for her family working two weekday mornings and loves her job.


So you may be saying "Huh, how does this apply to getting people to my class?" Well it's only half of the story. One Sally is happy, enthusiasm is key to your success. So then what is the other half, or I should say quarters.
You need to look at your clientele and marketing approach. At a college you cater to students and to retirees who get a discount so you can offer classes for students any time of day and they will likely show because they need P.E. credit. I would recommend between the hours of 8a.m. and 12:00 and 1:00 to 5:00 and then starting again at 6p.m. and then offer classes on M/W or T/Th for an hour at a time. Look at the college schedule and see what classes are offered and talk to the Director of Health and Fitness.


At a health club or yoga studio you can start at 6:00 a.m. and then nothing from 7 to 8:30, start back up 8:30 and end no later than 12:00. There are some exceptions but slow times are usually 7a.m. to 8:00 a.m. for classes and 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., at 4:00 you get school age kids, around 5:30 start back up and end all classes by 7:30. Depending on your place of business you can have 15 mins of wiggle room here. These numbers are based on many years of experience on my part. For yoga I highly recommend you have 15 to 20 mins before or after a class for people to socialize. A huge part of exercise is the community aspect, hold this to be true "Value the social aspect of your yoga community in order to grow." Push them out within minutes of a class and failure is an option. Give them time to build relationships and they will return.

Happy Scheduling!

Courtney

Schools About to Start, Woo Hoo!

I am very excited about the next teacher training. I really love doing the teacher trainings and for me the weekdays are far less stressful when my kiddos' are at school and I am not worried about who is watching them or feeding them or what they are doing. So in saying that I want to thank you for your interest in the weekday program. Do to the climate of teacher trainings it will probably be the last weekday training for awhile. The demand is much higher for weekend trainings so after this session I will focus on those for a while.

*If you are signed up or are interested there are a few things that have changed or are unique to this training.

Schedule

• Starting Jan. 31st we will meet each Monday and Wednesday from 9a.m. to 2:30p.m. . However we have the option to meet on Friday's also from 10:45 to 2:30. We will sit down and work out those Fridays so we can all meet together.
  
• The college is allowing me to have you come and observe me teaching once per semester per student. You may also do some guest teaching under my supervision. The reasoning behind this thinking was that "you" will be the future of teaching in schools, colleges, etc and it will be good experience for you to see what it is like.
• These options are going to allow us to finish, hopefully no later than May 11th...very likely by May 4th. Each student has to accumulate 180 hrs of contact training and 20 hrs of study. This schedule allows for us to move through the program at a quick pace and get you out into the world of being a "Certified and Registered Yoga Alliance Teacher!"

Other Big Changes: Financial
floatinglotusyoga.net

• This is the first time we are accepting payments. We require that if you are making payments by cash or check that you keep a credit card or debit card on file in the case a student does not pay this protects the school. We have adapted this common policy from other schools around the nation. Running a technical school requires many fees' for accreditation, insurance, staff, rent, supplies, etc. The first day of school we will fill out paperwork that will ask you to please give a copy of a debit or credit card to be on file until you graduate. This will never be shared and you can have the copy back upon graduation (please request it). If you have any questions about this please contact me and we can discuss it. Each of you will also be asked to sign an agreement for your payment plan as it has been worked out with you and the school.
  

Weekday Training Special in 2011
Includes:
Jan 31 to May 18th, M/W 9-2:30p.m. Fridays from 10:45 to 2:30. Likely one weekend day training will take place for Pre/Post natal training with Elana. We will determine this once we get together and can find a date to suit each of us.

*Full Payment Tuition. Cash or Check. Early Bird Discount :$1975 total
$150 Deposit
$1825 due one week prior to training start date

* Payment Plan $2075

1. $150 deposit due with registration and payments of $481.25 do 1/31,2/28, 3/30, 4/27
2. $ 500 down prior to training or the first day of training,1/31, and make thee payments of $575 due 2/28, 3/30, 4/27

*We require a credit card or debit card on file with all payment plans. Please read financial policy carefully.

We will type up a contract for each student with registration, payment plan and credit/debit info. The school honors our commitment to provide you with a quality education in response to your financial and physical commitment of your time.

Being Present in January

Yogini's: Here is the final schedule. Please read carefully. I have a few test still out and I need them asap. Please put them in my mailbox or give them to me no later than the 11th. I need as many of your hours as possible by the 11th if you have not completed them as of yet. I cannot give out the certificates without the test.

I am teaching 6:30p.m T/Th and Wed.9:00a.m. at the YMCA. If weather is bad call first.

Jan. 7th -open practice, freestyle. GC Library Auditorium, weather permitting. 12-3 p.m.

Jan. 11th:
9:00 to 10:00 Mi Mi
11:00 to 12:00 Sherry
12:00 to 1:00 Lunch
1:45 to 2:45 Jennifer (gentle class)

Jan. 18th
9:00 to 10:00 Shelby
11:00 to 12:00Emmy
12:00 to 1:00 Lunch
1:00 Fill out paperwork for Yoga Alliance
2:00 Graduation (in addition to tea, I will provide Chai,something sweet (Surprise) & salty. You can invite anyone you would like.

This is the time to make a list of any questions or concerns you have, & get with me between practice teaching time.

Much Love to you all. I'm not ready for this to be over, but I'm so proud and happy for each of you!!!!

Courtney