[hackerspaces] question about workshop strategy

[Alan Fay]

Our class policy is documented on the Freeside wiki:
https://wiki.freesideatlanta.org/fs/Policy_Classes

1. It's a 50% split, but Freeside absorbs credit card fees, Meetup fees,
etc.

2. Teachers not required to be members.

3. No members-only classes, but we haven't really experimented with that
yet, not for any particular reason.

4. Community can be built up independently of the classes.  One thing we
encourage is members trading skills with one another.  Just this week I
traded setting up a basic wordpress website for an introduction to milling.

We've also had people come in for a class, and fall in love with the space,
and then become members - so I think classes supplement cultivating
community, rather than a means to that end.

5. It is difficult - it's one of the downsides of teaching classes.
 Remember, most people operate on the idea that they're paying for a
service; so that's their singular focus.  I would put the number of people
interested in more than just the class at around 1-5% of students.

One thing you shouldn't do is treat the workshop or the class like a time
share presentation.  That *really *turns people off.  If you're around
before or after the class, offer to show people around if they want to
check it out - if not, no hard feelings.


On Fri, Oct 11, 2013 at 11:53 AM, Florencia Edwards <floev22 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hi all, I wanted to ask you how do you do it with the workshops.
>
> 1. How do you divide the winnings between the makerspace and the teacher
> by percentage?
>
> 2. Are all the teachers members? Is it a requirement?
>
> 3. Are workshops for members only?
>
> 4. If teachers are not members and workshops are not members only, how do
> the people that go to the workshop relate to the makerspace. How can they
> make community if they only go for some classes.
>
> 5. Last question, how can one establish a relationship between workshops
> and memberships or members, so they are not two separate things. Sometimes
> people who come to our workshops think this is just a building the teacher
> is renting, they go to class and never come back to the makerspace. We give
> them tours and we even talk about the makerspace when there is a workshop
> but they don't have the need to become members, because they can just come
> to the workshop and never come back. It's difficult to create a community
> that way
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>
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