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As makers, we have a wealth of information and skills at our disposal.  We know how to make every shade of neutral grey with watercolors.  We can bend ear wires with our eyes closed.  Or we can knit the most intricate pattern for a sweater. 

Well, guess what?  More and more people want to learn those skills to!  Teaching a class, whether in-person or online, has a lot of benefits for makers.

New Revenue Stream

Let’s be honest: we all have slow months of the year where our stress levels soar and our bank levels dip.  Being able to teach a class in that down time allows you to negate that stress and add some cash flow to your income.  Many courses can be set up to run on their own via email autoresponders, which means there’s minimal effort for you.  This is a perfect example of working smarter vs. working harder.

Network

You never know what amazing connections you will make by teaching.  Someone may become your customer after seeing how hard metalsmithing can be.  Or they may be a writer for a magazine who wants to feature you.  Or they may simply tell all of their girlfriends about you and help you rack up extra sales.

Gets You Out of Your Comfort Zone

Since we work from our studios so much, we can become isolated and introverted.  We fall into ruts that make us feel safe.  Teaching a class helps break up that pattern and gets your creative juices flowing.  When you work in-person with people, you also learn what they really want to learn and that allows you to get to know your customers better.  The knowledge you gain from a class will help you write an e-book, tweak a product, or design something new that fits their needs.

Become an ‘Expert’

You get to step into your ‘expert’ role.  So many of us belittle our skills.  We don’t think we have the right to call ourselves ‘experts’.  Well, guess what?  As the teacher, you are the undeniable expert.  You’ll not only become more confident in your skills but also in your products when you teach others a skill.  Confidence sells, ladies, so be assured that you know what you’re doing.

Most people worry that teaching others one of their skills means those people will become copycats who steal their secret formula for purl stitches or their signature style of painting.  If you set up your class the right way, there’s absolutely no reason to fear copycats.

Megan Auman, an amazing metalsmith and business coach, is running a new program called Do/Teach.  This 6-week program shows you how to create a signature class that sets you apart online and ensures your students won’t follow exactly in your footsteps.  By the end of Do/Teach, you’ll be ready to launch your first signature class!

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