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No
portion of this article may be reprinted without permission. Contact
Kajira for inquiries. This article is awaiting publication in
Zaghareet!
Magazine.
Why
do some events succeed and others fail? It’s in the PLANNING.
Another important word that concerns your success is COMMUNICATION.
It is these two concepts that will make or break your event, no
matter how much or little experience you have in this arena.
I know. I started sponsoring dance workshops because I felt a need
to study with two teachers that no one else had brought out to the
West Coast. I waited a couple years, hoping someone “experienced”
would set up a workshop with these women. No one did, and my desire
to learn from them increased. I knew other people were interested
in their material because I had communicated with dancers in my
community about them.
I decided to begin research into the possibility of sponsoring them
myself. Though I was fairly new to the dance world at the time,
I knew that everyone had to start somewhere. I read every review
I could about workshops in the trade publications. I asked dancers
who attended workshops what they liked and didn’t. I also continued
to take as many workshops as I could and resolved to pay attention
to every detail that went into the planning of these events: the
promo, the venues, the people they attracted, the scheduling, vending,
food if offered, evening shows and tuition rates.
Next, I called the instructors I wanted to hire and requested their
promo packs. Promo packs are the list of offerings that workshop
instructors have available, their fee schedules, the length of time
of each of their workshop offerings, promo photos, resume, quotes
and references from previous sponsors - things of that nature. I
was a bit nervous to telephone these women I had admired from afar
to speak with them personally, but I got up my courage and it turned
out they were kind, professional and easy to work with. They also
were very encouraging and offered me many pointers regarding setting
up the workshop. They asked me if I’d sponsored any before,
and I admitted I had not. They wanted the event to succeed as well,
of course. They wanted me to understand that the idea I had in mind
for my first endeavor was considered rather large, as it involved
flying two instructors across the country, not just one. They needed
me to be clear on what was entailed. They are excellent communicators
and planners.
They also offered to add our workshop date, once we had settled
on one, to all their promo and any calendar listings they sent out
to dance magazines, websites or newsletters. I so appreciated their
help! Surely, my first experience as a sponsor colored all subsequent
ones for me in a positive fashion. I’m happy we had the clear
communication we did. I’ve since learned that you should ask
your instructor to help promote the event in any way they can, including
copying and distribution of flyers, event calendar listings, verbally
to their students and on their websites. Always provide your instructor
with a few flyers and especially a white master copy from which
they can make additional copies as needed. Nationally-known teachers
have many events going on, and they will bring your event flyers
with them if you provide them. This helps them as well as you, not
only in name recognition but also in their total financial profit,
which we’ll discuss later. Also, it is quite possible the instructor
you’ve chosen has a personal newsletter or periodic mailing
- either postal or online - and of course they’d be happy to
list your event. Be clear with them that you expect and appreciate
this type of cooperation.
I then began my search for a date and a venue. Of course the first
people I checked with in regards to dates were the teachers, who
provided me with two or three possibilities that would work for
them in the general time period I was hoping for. I arrived at that
decision by paying attention to the events in my area for a few
years to see which were regular, what was always held when, who
to call to check dates with, where are the calendars of events listed
so I could try not to conflict, etc. I also called a few sponsors
whose workshops I’d attended over the years just to make sure
they weren’t planning anything I didn’t know about. Join
any dance clubs or organizations that you can. These groups are
networking tools and offer members free calendar listings. They
are great resources to check to avoid conflicting dates. Same thing
with the dance publications such as this one. Subscribe, and then
use, their directories - that’s what they’re for. All
of this, in my mind, falls under both the planning and communication
categories.
Today I have an additional resource for networking that I did not
at that time, which are regular teachers’ meetings in my area.
You may wish to join or start something like this where you live.
Once a month teachers from several counties around the San Francisco
Bay Area convene for lunch in order to give one another their flyers,
dates, discuss events, plan and generally network and communicate.
This serves us well, as there are so many events in our area that
it is very difficult not to conflict, though we certainly try our
best. We are very conscious of the fact that we are part of one
organism, and realize that our dance community thrives when its
members support one another instead of competing against one another.
This is an important lesson to learn and embrace if you wish to
bring successful events to your community for the long haul. Sure,
every now and then a fluke happens and something is a success that
defies logic, but anything long term needs the support of the greatest
number of people in your area that you can muster. So don’t
cut off your nose to spite your face.
I live an hour or more from the largest metropolitan area in the
north half of California, in San Francisco’s North Bay Area.
I wanted a venue that was closer to major airports and public transportation
than my county is for my first big event. I needed this workshop
to be easily accessed by those who live in the city and have no
cars, as well as for those who flew in to not need to rent one.
I knew that by keeping down attendees’ expenses that I would
attract more of them. Hotels are more plentiful and can be less
expensive in the city than in the suburbs. Plus, there are simply
more dancers in urban areas, and for these reasons a centrally-located
event would have a better chance at succeeding than one that was
not. Additionally, I wanted a venue that also had free parking nearby
for those who drive, room for the show, a dressing room for the
show’s performers, and hopefully was aesthetically pleasing
with good floors and mirrors - though I knew that was a longshot,
and was willing to look at places such as community center recreation
rooms and school auditoriums that had linoleum floors and no mirrors.
I also was thinking of holding my event in the summer, and remembered
to try to find a place that had an air conditioner or cooling system.
At the time, I didn’t think about room for vendors other than
the hired teachers, which is something I do take into consideration
now if the size of the event I am planning warrants it. Many large
events with multiple instructors and performers use the revenue
gained from the rental of venue spaces to pay for the building,
though this is usually not true if the event has only one or two
instructors and an evening show.
Something I learned right away was that liability insurance is required
in California when you rent dance studios! Some may have their own
insurance that covers special events, while others’ policies
may only cover their own contracted teachers and classes. Other
types of venues may not only require insurance - which often can
be purchased from the city for a certain event - but a business
license in the city of its locale, or business licenses from each
vendor for that city. Be prepared for this as a possible expense
for yourself and/or your vendors.
When negotiating with a venue, don’t be afraid to ask about
discounts on the hourly rental fee for an entire weekend. Other
items you will use that may or may not be negotiable when you rent
a building are the use of its tables (for vendors and your instructor/s)
and chairs for the show (if you have one). Some venues have their
own event concession, which means you will not gain any revenue
from the sale of food or beverages at your show, if you were planning
to provide them. If you want one less thing to think about, then
their own concession could be a blessing. Another thing to think
about in regards to venues is advertising. Does the venue help with
this? Do they have calendar listings of events held at their building,
allow flyers to be posted, do they do mailings?
Try to be as flexible as you can in regards to dates while venue
hunting. Many of the best places book a year in advance. Some cannot
book any event on Sundays, as many public buildings are used by
church groups that pay months in advance. This is where planning
comes in. Do not be in a hurry to hold your workshop! Make sure
everything else is in order before signing a contract for a certain
date with a venue, but do ask them to “pencil you in”
if you think you’ve found a weekend that will work for you.
Communicate with them to be sure that means they will call you first
if they have not heard back from you and they get another request
for that weekend. This may buy you some time to double-check with
your teachers to make sure they have not accepted another booking
since your last conversation (though you’ve asked them to also
“pencil in” the dates when you first discussed them and
communicated to them that you were beginning to venue hunt).
Now you’re ready to sign contracts and send in your deposits.
Nearly all venues require one and many teachers do as well. Deposits
are considered non-refundable unless stated. Do not be afraid to
spell out any detail you can think of in your contracts. This is
the single most important part of the aspect of communication when
you are working with people and places you don’t know well.
Never assume anything. Never take anything for granted. Always ask
questions and always err on the side of being squeaky clear. Most
venues will have their own contracts and if you want to rent their
building you will have to agree to the terms.
Instructors are usually more flexible. Some will want to use only
their contracts, while others will ask for amendments to yours.
Some may say they don’t need one, but unless you’ve worked
with this person before, insist on getting your expectations in
writing. This is standard business practice and you need not feel
bad about conducting yourself in a businesslike manner. You will
learn to respect yourself more as you do, and the people you work
with will come to appreciate this aspect of doing business with
you. This is extremely important: whether written down or not, always
do what you say you will. Be honest in your business and personal
life. Don’t commit in the first place if you are not certain
you can deliver. Never change your mind unless it is a completely
mutual decision that benefits all parties involved. It is more important
in my book to stick to an agreement - even if it costs you financially
- than to reneg on a business deal. In the words of Don Miguel Ruiz,
in his book “The Four Agreements”: “Always be impeccable
with your word.” Another of The Four Agreements states: “Don’t
make assumptions.” Here’s where the following comes in,
which are things to be clear about on written contracts with instructors
in order to avoid assumptions (this is clear communication):
1. Date/s of event.
2. Place of event.
3. What they will do: teach, perform, vend? The subject matter they
will teach, the type of performance they will provide, the size
of vending space they require (or that you can provide).
4. The hours they will teach during, the time of their show and
the length of time for their performance.
5. Fees for both teaching and performing. This is fairly standardized.
Common fee structures are percentages that range from 60/40, 65/35
or 70/30 instructor/sponsor splits. The difference between these
agreements often has to do with how the workshop expenses are handled.
When the teacher gets the smallest percentage (60%), perhaps the
sponsor will be expected to take her expenses out of her 40%. If
the teacher gets the more common 70%, then it is usual for the sponsor
to take the expenses off the top before the percentages are calculated.
I personally will no longer agree to sponsor an event unless I know
I can take all the expenses off the top from the beginning. I have
not done so in the past and have been left with very little to show
for all the hours of work and worry. Additionally, I do not ever
ask a teacher to agree to anything I would not agree to in her place
as an instructor. Being on both ends of this business at different
times gives one an outlook of mutual benefit.
The only exception I make for this is in regards to festival sponsorship.
Full-scale festivals are a different animal entirely from workshops
with separate shows. I think of “festivals” as the California-styled
events with ongoing performances, all day, both days, plus vendors
and several instructors. In this situation, due to the sheer number
of teachers and the many different types of expenses involved, my
festival co-producer, Ellen Cruz, and I handle our expenses separately.
Another factor for us in this decision is that the length of the
teacher’s classes during festivals are short in comparison
to workshops where they are the only teacher. Therefore, the amount
of tuition charged must be less, so the total 70% pay for the teacher
will be less than in a workshop situation.
Another way that fees are commonly handled in our dance community
on a national scale are by hourly guarantees. Most often, instructors
ask for a guarantee of anywhere from $100 to as high as $200 per
hour of instruction. Often there is a minimum number of hours to
guarantee as well, which is most commonly four hours or more for
out of state teachers unless it is a multiple-teacher event such
as a festival, when the classes are typically shorter (1 - 2 hours).
Very often the agreement is written for “whichever is greater”-
the percentage or flat fee - after the expenses have been taken
off the top and the minimum guarantee has been met. I prefer this
manner of dealing with fees from both a sponsor’s and instructor’s
standpoint for several reasons. One is that the teacher will be
more apt to help promote the event if s/he knows s/he will be paid
a percentage. With this agreement, neither the sponsor not the teacher
can lose anything, unless for some reason the sponsor completely
flakes out and no one attends. In that case, the teacher still gets
her minimum guarantee, so in this case scenario the sponsor could
conceivably lose at least that much.
Fees for performances are usually negotiated separately and are
most commonly a flat fee when there is a multiple-performer workshop
show or festival situation. When the instructor is the only headliner
for the show, they may insist on the percentages mentioned above
of the door in addition to the percentages of the workshop registrations.
I would caution against this, if only because it tends to make figuring
everything out more of a nightmare later (when you’re both
tired, famished and the teacher probably needs to grab a plane).
In the case of festivals, because there are so many teachers and
performers, the teacher’s performance is usually gratis and
considered as part of her duties as a festival instructor. If this
is the case, be sure to communicate this clearly.
6. Sound system. Does it use CDs and cassettes? Which does this
instructor require? Who is responsible for providing it? (Usually
it is the sponsor’s responsibility.)
7. Provision for transportation as discussed and agreed upon by
both parties. This can vary depending upon the situation. Most instructors
worth their salt require all their transportation fees be paid for,
on ground and in air, and that should be stated in the contract.
Again, in the case of festivals, this is not the case. Festivals
do not provide transportation for all the teachers (usually at least
five or more at two-day festivals). However, transportation is a
tax write-off for your teaching and performing professionals, which
makes it worth their while. The exposure teachers gain from festivals
is considered as a form of payment in itself, as several hundred
more people attend festivals than do workshops. Offer your festival
teachers vending tables as you would your workshop instructor. This
is also part of their payment, and since their classes are relatively
short as discussed previously, they can more than make up their
money while vending to the hundreds of festival goers.
Other times, a well-known teacher may be traveling and arrange a
workshop with a sponsor in order to help facilitate her or his travels.
In this case, transportation is usually paid for by the teacher,
since they are going there anyway. These workshops are usually smaller
and more local, with less output for expenses from the sponsor’s
end, since they have less to lose in that type of situation expense-wise.
Some sponsors can only operate that way, perhaps due to their own
busy schedules or the size of their dance studio that when maxed
out will not accommodate enough people to pay for the expenses incurred
in a larger workshop situation. But the purpose of this type of
agreement is mostly to enable the instructor to travel, and not
to make a lot of profit. This is a different type of workshop that
could be thought of as “more casual,” since it usually
involves people who know one another and who enjoy spending time
together. In this case, the visiting teacher usually stays at the
sponsor’s home and not in a hotel in order to save money for
both people.
8. Motels, hotels or somewhere for the instructor to stay must be
stipulated and agreed upon in advance. Many instructors need privacy,
away from children and noise, between their classes and shows. Others
enjoy company and are not bothered in the least by noise. This is
a very individual thing that should never be taken for granted and
should always be communicated about well in advance.
9. Any provisions for food or water during the workshop and/or show.
Some instructors from out of town may need an assistant to drive
them to a nearby restaurant or to buy food to bring back in between
the classes and the show. This should all be planned in advance.
10. It may not hurt to detail what constitutes the expenses that
will be taken from the top (or not) in writing as well. These would
be: the instructor’s transportation costs on ground and in
air, lodging for the instructor and sometimes the sponsor if the
event is out of her town, parking fees if any, all meals for sponsor
and instructor as agreed upon in advance, any and all advertising,
flyer printing costs, design costs if any, mailings, phone calls
and venue rental. Did you have to buy insurance or pay for a special
event license? If you elect to provide water or snacks for your
participants, these are also legitimate expenses to take off the
top before you figure your percentages.
Now you need to make sure people will hear about your event! Remember,
plan and communicate! Immediately get out preliminary word. It doesn’t
matter if you have all the details yet, get the date out as soon
as you can once its set in as many free listings as you can. If
you are still negotiating certain aspects of the event, go ahead
and make flyers anyway that will hold your date in people’s
minds. This helps avoid those conflicting dates mentioned earlier,
which you need to do in order to be successful for the long haul.
Be sensitive and respectful of other established events in your
area and do not purposely conflict, ever.
Then fine-tune your promo to include the details. Be sure to be
clear about everything. Always print the date/s, who and where clearly
at the top of your flyers. Some venues will require you to list
them as a sponsor or producer, as this may concern liability in
public buildings. Print some detail about the subject matter - get
this from your hired instructor, do not write it “in your own
words” - and never distribute any promo without their prior
approval! Photos can enhance ads and flyers if they copy well. Be
sure the original is in grayscale or half tone so your flyers look
nice. Use light colored paper so people can copy the flyers easily
if they run out. You would not believe how important this is! You
can also fax light colored flyers. These are helpful points to remember
when choosing the paper color. Also, pastel papers are less expensive
and when you’re having several hundred or even thousands of
copies made, that should be a pertinent consideration. Bright and
dark papers tend to fade when posted for a few weeks on a sunny
bulletin board or when left in a flyer rack. If you have your heart
set on some nice, darker paper, go ahead and have them made on it,
but do also get at least a hundred or so on light paper. Use these
when you mail to studios or teachers. Send them, for example, 9
dark flyers and 1 light one as a master copy.
You’ll need to include information about registration. Figure
out if you’ll divide your workshop choices into Day 1 and Day
2, or morning class and afternoon class. Then give a price for these
classes separately and a less expensive fee for all the class offerings
as incentive for people to sign up for the whole weekend. Standard
tuition fees for workshops in my experience range about $10 p/hour
of class when paid for in advance, and $12 p/hour when paid for
at the door. So an average fair price for a four hour class would
be $40 in advance and $50 at the door. This will also depend partly
upon the instructor, as if they are very popular and have not been
to your area for a while, you may be able to ask more. The reverse
can also be true if they come to your area frequently or are not
very well known. Find out the standard for your area by gathering
as many workshop flyers as you can in the months or years before
you actually sponsor your own event. Always charge what the majority
in your area does so you are neither undercutting established rates
nor gouging the consumer. Either of those options will not win you
repeat business.
You may wish to offer group discounts, or discounts for teachers
who bring a certain number of students. Often I see offers for one
free admission when five fully paid for ones are sent in at one
time. This is a good incentive for local teachers to bring their
students. You will wish to offer an advance registration discount
and a higher fee after your cut off date. I think it’s a good
idea to give a cut off date of no less than one week in advance,
since mail can be delayed. This gives everyone’s registrations
a chance to arrive before the event. You may not wish to send registration
confirmations (I don’t), but you should state that on the flyer
so people don’t expect them. I do not send confirmations because
I save postage, paper, time and headache.
Get the word out. Again. And again. Take flyers to every dance-related
event you can get to, and mail them to the ones you cannot attend
personally. Send them to teachers in directories, send them to dance
studios and dance supply stores in your event’s area. Find
out what organizations allow you to include flyers in their mailings
and take advantage of this service. Many dance organizations have
rates for inclusion of 1,000 or so flyers that get sent out during
their regular periodic mailing. Establish your own mailing list
and use it. Put “return requested” on the envelopes so
that the post office will return the flyer in the case of an address
change and then update your records. Copy the addresses from every
check you take as a vendor and add the names to your list. Gather
email addresses and take advantage of the numerous free and paid
online advertising opportunities and bulk email “spams.”
Taking out ads in dance magazines with national circulation are
also a good idea to help promote your event to people and places
you may not have contacts at yet.
Arrange for your helpers well ahead of time and make sure they are
compensated for their work. You will need helpers! You will need
people at the door, checking off the pre-registrations and taking
money from those not yet registered. You’ll need people to
pick up the instructor from her hotel and get her to the venue.
You may need food runners, or vending helpers. Perhaps the teacher
has written in a vendor helper in her contract. If so, be sure you
have one ready to help. How about venue set up? Clean up? Will you
print a program? How about a show videographer? Sound person? Emcee?
You can compensate these indispensable helpers in any way you both
agree to. Commonly, if you teach classes, you could offer them a
work-study trade for your own regular classes. Or perhaps they’d
like an item from your bazaar if you also vend. Maybe they just
want to take the workshop! I find people work much happier and are
way more reliable if you offer them something. Wouldn’t you
be? Always treat everyone the way you’d like to be treated
in their place when conducting business.
And, how about reviews? That almost “dirty” word! We have
all read the numerous complaints over the years by magazine readers
about “fluff” reviews. Why so full of fluff, you ask?
I shall venture to say it is because reviewers are treated as afterthoughts
by most sponsors. They figure they’ll find some poor soul who
looks like they’re having a good time in class and hit ‘em
up later for a stellar review of their great event. Not! This person,
if they agree, almost never writes the review. It turns out they
agreed in a moment of passion or because they couldn’t say
“no.” If they do write a review, it is almost always very
late. So late, in fact, it does the sponsor or teacher little good
by then. To top it off, this late review is written “off the
top of their heads” because they didn’t come prepared
to write a review that day, they came to enjoy a dance class they
paid for. So later on, while kicking themselves for having agreed
to write the darn review, they try fruitlessly to remember details
of the class that would interest readers. Of course they rarely
do.
Sponsors, think again! In the world of the entertainment business
at large, outside our bellydance community, reviewers are hired
professionals. I hear lots of talk about “elevating our art
form” but little actual acts of doing it by treating one another
with at least something approaching what professional counterparts
in other entertainment forms get for the same type of job.
I was a concert reviewer for a few years way back when. I rarely
got paid for my reviews because I wrote for underground papers and
fanzines with basically no budgets. (Sound familiar? Kinda like
our bellydance publications, huh?) What I did receive was a press
pass that got me and usually up to four friends into the event I
was supposed to review. Heck, that was worth it to me, since I enjoyed
attending the events and writing a short review was easy for me.
In the established press, reviewers are paid a salary. But those
newspapers and magazines turn a mighty profit, and we cannot expect
our dance mags to have the same type of budgets (yet). So let’s
go back to the fanzine/underground paper idea and apply it to reviews
for our dance publications. Here the reviewer is paid by the sponsor,
essentially. If it’s a press pass, then it’s the venue
who sponsors the event that gets reviewed that “pays”
by giving you free admission. This is completely ethical and reality
in the world at large.
So, sponsors, if you want a professional review, “hire”
a reviewer in advance. Give this person their workshop free. Communicate
with them so they know what you expect, which magazine you want
the review to go to and whether or not you also want them to snap
some accompanying photos. Make sure they understand the value of
what they’re getting, and that they know how to write honestly
and how to take notes and get quotes. They should come prepared
with a tape recorder so they can spend little time writing in class
and more time paying attention. They need to be detail-oriented
and willing to watch and listen to not only the instructor but also
to the other participants. They should not be afraid to ask questions
- of you, the teacher and the students. I think it’s a nice
touch to get quotes during or after the class with participant’s
names and permission. This gives the review a personal touch, and
more than one point of view. The reviewer should offer constructive
criticism if called for and tell it like it is as far as the good
stuff. Did the sponsor deliver what she promised? How about the
teacher? Was the class and venue all it was cracked up to be? More?
Don’t hire a beginning level student to write your review because
they cannot give educated comparisons or assessments of your workshop
if it’s the first one they’ve attended.
Reviews are worthwhile to pay for, in my opinion, because they will
help establish you as a sponsor of worthy events. They get your
name and your teachers’ names out there, which is a huge part
of our business. You cannot attract people to classes if they haven’t
heard of you, no matter how wonderful you may be. After you’ve
sponsored a few fun events, you’ll gain a rep as a sponsor
who puts on great events and people will start to attend your events
on your word alone. There is no better reference for repeat business
than word-of-mouth.
And remember, this is fun!
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