by wendy
Are you a DIY workshop leader struggling to fill seats for your DIY Workshops?
Try this…..offer LESS!
Yup. Weird, I know. But it works.
I’m forever being asked to help workshop leaders market their workshops and how to get people to actually book.
When I review their workshops schedule they have tons of workshops listed but say no one is booking.
Here’s the problem, your customers get overwhelmed and can’t decide, so they just don’t. It’s like too many items on a menu.
Secondly, there is no sense of urgency, if you offer the same workshops over and over and tons of them, they are always available, there really is no urgency to them booking today, so they think “aw, I’ll book next time”.
Try cutting back on when you post workshops and how many, and changeup rotation of what you offer as workshops, it works for many retailers.
Bottom line: don’t overwhelm your customers and they will book the workshops you offer.
Less is more.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
For more workshop tips, grab my free workshop tip guide HERE and be sure to join my FREE creatives group, where we share tips and tricks with other creative brick and mortar store owners and DIY workshop leaders.
Xo, Wendy
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by wendy
I recently attended an amazing Creative Retreat in Italy. I was excited to go, to connect with other and rekindle my creativity.
If you have known me for awhile, I am a go go go person and stopping and relaxing is not in my DNA. I’ve been an entrepreneur for many ears, this was truly my first vacation, I didn’t know how to stop working.
But I did. And I needed it. And it was wonderful.
I always love being around other creatives but this was special.
The group was a lovely mix of creative shop owners, creatives just expanding their creative side, painters and a few wanting to start up a creative business. It was pure pleasure to finally meet some of my coaching clients face to face with a hug, renew some long time friendships and make so many new friends. We were in a tiny beautiful hillside Italian town, and our creative sessions took place in an amazingly beautiful villa. It inspiring just being there.
My mentor and very good friend Miss Mustard Seed was there with us, along with a lovely and amazing group of creatives from all walks of life and locations.
As a creative retailer coach and mentor, I loved listening to and hearing the common threads of challenges they face as they navigate the balance of being a creative and running a business, and equally of the pure joy they get from their beautiful shops and using their creativity to make a living. There were some wonderful conversations that took place.
There is no way to explain the magic that happens with a group of like-minded creatives spend time together. In person, over dinners and walks through the old towns and bus rides. Sharing new fresh thoughts, fears, joys and inspiring ideas. Connecting.
As a creative, I can’t tell you how nice it was to step outside my normal creative “rut” and try some new techniques and be ok with failure and be surprised by successes, to listen to the others talk about their work, to share pictures and ideas and come home excited and eager to try my hand at new creative ideas.
The creative world is a solo endeavor usually, if you are running a business using your creative talents it can feel isolating. I loved the connections made with fellow creatives, connecting and my brain loved it too.
If you ever have an opportunity to get together with creatives, do it. If not a creative retreat in Italy, then organize a meet up in a local art gallery, or park, or coffee shop, find a group and make some connections.
There are online forums too, I have started a group for creative retail business owners on FB: JOIN US HERE! We can still network, share ideas, help each other and plan to meet up in the future!
Have you ever attended a creative retreat? I’d love to know where you went and what it was for.
If you haven’t been on one, but think it could be good for YOUR creative soul to take a biz break (kind of) … stay tuned. I had so much fun I’m thinking of gathering creative retail owners for stateside retreat!!
So the next question I’m asked, is when I’m planning my next creative retailer’s retreat…
Our Next Creative Retailer Retreat is March 24-26, 2020
That’s right! Back by popular demand, we are meeting again this year in Orlando in the early spring. This is where the magic and business-building happens. Click here to read more about this rate opportunity to meet with other creative retailers IN PERSON.
Wendy
Love the thought of working with Miss Mustard Seed and other top Paint Retailers? Get the best paint sales advice for Creative Retail Businesses in my free guide here!!!
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I’d love it if you shared my pin below on Pinterest! Find me on Pinterest @FrontPorchMercantile for more Creative inspiration and Creative Biz Tips
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by wendy
As you read this I am in Europe for a creative retreat. I’ll be in France and Italy for the first time. Pinch me now.
I’m traveling with my husband, who works with me in the business and is a photographer, and with Marian (Miss Mustard Seed), my friend and mentor, and several paint retailers and other creatives. I’m super excited about this creative retreat. For the travel AND for the creative inspiration.
A year ago a fellow retailer asked if I thought there would be any interest by paint and creative store owners to attend a retreat, and boy was there.
I truly believe getting out of our everyday routine is good for our bottom line.
6 Reasons YOU should attend a creative retreat
1. The most important reason is you get away from your business. You need a break away from your store. As a creative, you will get stifled!! Your creativity starts to take second fiddle to the books, the schedules, serving customers and all the million things that come with running your store and studio.
2. Travel reawakens your creativity. Seeing new things, new places, beautiful things.
3. Meet new people and grow your network. There is nothing like meeting face to face with people who “get” what you do. (And I’ve made lifelong friends from meeting up with fellow retailers.) It’s impossible to quantify how friendships “in the biz” can help you.
Being around fellow creatives – just watching and listening to other like-minded people is inspiring and energizing.
4. See new trends and get inspired for your store. There is a whole shiny beautiful world outside of Pinterest and outside of your own town.
5. Attending a creative retreat reminds you of why you started your creative business and allows you dedicated time breath in creative air and spirit.
6. You will come back refreshed and happy. Your customers will be excited for you and you will be happily chatting and sharing for months after
These things all affect your bottom line. If you stay happy, healthy and creative, you bring that energy and creativity back to your retail store and studio. It’s invaluable. It’s priceless.
Remember to go with an open mind, and try experimenting with a retreat that may be outside your “creative specialty”. The creative retreat I’m on now is not just paint retailers, there are photography, water colour or sketch classes, things I am completely inept at, but I’m going to try and be open.
Personally, I’ve been so knee-deep in the business side of my business that I have lost a bit of my creativity. I’m excited to see new things, meet new people, try my hand at new creative endeavors and let my business brain rest a little. A little “white space” if you will.
I’m grateful to Dana from Inspired In Tuscany for inviting me to this retreat, follow her FB page and sign up for her email list so you can be advised of the next one!
Have you ever felt like your creativity is taking a back seat? Have you ever attended a creative retreat? I’d love to know how it benefited your business. And if you have any to recommend!
Our Next Creative Retailer Retreat is March 24-26, 2020
That’s right! Back by popular demand, we are meeting again this year in Orlando in the early spring. This is where the magic and business-building happens. Click here to read more about this rate opportunity to meet with other creative retailers IN PERSON.
If you can’t go on a creative retreat any time soon, I have created an online community of like-minded creative business owners who running a business and trying to share their creative side of life. Join us here: Rockstar Creative Retailers and Shop Owners Group. It’ll be the next best thing to hobnobbing in Italy.
Thanks for dropping in,
Xo
Wendy
Love the thought of working with Miss Mustard Seed? Get her paint sales advice in my free guide here!!!
Pin me!
I’d love it if you shared my pin below on Pinterest! Find me on Pinterest @FrontPorchMercantile for more Creative inspiration and Creative Biz Tips
by wendy
As a retailer coach, I am asked daily by my clients “should I host paint workshops?”
My answer is always a big fat YES!
Here are 6 reasons why hosting paint and DIY Workshops can help your business.
1. They give your customers confidence in the product. They get to “try before they buy” and learn from you.
2. Workshops position you as the go-to & increase Brand Awareness. I cannot stress enough how much.
3. You are serving your customer’s needs. Not all your customers are brave enough to DIY on their own, or they don’t have the space, they need a night away to create and craft (away from kids etc.), you are offering them a service they want and are willing to spend money on.
4. Workshops help you build community. Everyone likes a party and to learn new things and feel accomplished and proud. If you do your job right and your customers have a successful workshop and a fabulous time, they will leave feeling part of your creative community and will become great repeat customers that spread the word to others. Some of my most favourite clients come to repeat workshops and are my business “advertisers”.
5. It adds value to existing customer relationships. As your customer base expands to become a community, your customers will want to keep learning and quite frankly, if you are doing everything right, they will be eager and want to come to be inspired in your creative space. It’s our responsibility to keep offering fresh and fun experience to our customers.
6. When done right it can be a fabulous added revenue streamOffering the right workshop to the right customer, filling the seats and keeping the costs down will significantly change your bottom line.
I am a big believer in offering quality workshops and a wonderful experience for my clients. It has been a great income source for our stores and my retailer coaching clients stores.
if you are considering teaching workshops or already hold workshops and just need some strategies to streamline them feel free to grab my free workshop strategies and tips guide.
More Workshop Tips
To help you out, I have created an e-guide with the best and most successful workshop tips from our industry’s top painters, you can get for FREE here!!!
Thanks for popping in, if I can be of any help to you and your creative retail business, just let me know!
Xo
Wendy
Ps. I’d love to know when it comes to workshops what your biggest struggle is? Leave a comment and let me know!SaveSaveSaveSave
