Thread: traveling teacher, looking for opinions

I wasn't sure where exactly to put this post so I can move it if it doesn't fit.

I was recently presented with the idea of becoming a traveling teacher. A good example is a community for active adults wants me to teach a weekly on-going class at their clubhouse. They advertise, worry about insurance, have all the equipment I will need, etc. I just have to show up and teach. I can set the minimum number of students that have to be there. They are willing to pay $5 a head on top of what the tuition would have been if they attended the studio class.

I've also been approached by a few businesses for me to travel to them and teach a lunch class for the employees with basically te same details.

Does anyone here do this? If so, do you like the idea? Would you charge more?

I'm looking for any kind of feedback.

I've done it, and I do charge a little more to travel depending on the distance (using the same calculations I would if I were being hired for a show).

It's been a great experience for me - the venues have been very accomodating, the students ready and excited to learn, and I just focus on teaching.

Do you mean traveling around town, or actually traveling distances?

I was a 'nomadic' teacher for a long time -- and I think many or most of us are. I taught for two parks departments, one dance studio and a health club in addition to a private group in someone's home. It got to be a nuisance, carrying everything in the trunk of my car, remembering props or that someone wanted to look at hip scarves, etc. But it worked.

If you mean traveling distances to teach, I have a friend who does that. She drives over an hour to teach one class, BUT she sets it up so she only comes once a month, the other three weeks the students get together and practice on their own. If I were doing that, I'd make that monthly class a 2-hour one and offer privates as well to make the drive worthwhile.

Nomadic describes it better. Actually one of the places is within walking distance of my house and the others are within 20 minutes driving distance which is typical to get anywhere in this area.

How much extra would you charge? I'm not looking for a number per se but maybe a percentage.

Sounds like a good opportunity to develope students.
Set a flat hourly rate and let the people that are booking you worry about how to meet it.

Depends on the situation. I ONLY teach in sessions, 6 weeks at a time. My flat rate for small groups is $300 per 6 week session ($50/hour). For flat rate groups, one person has to organize and collect from the others, I WON'T take 17 phone calls and try to resolve whether Suzy has to pay as much as everyone else if she's going to miss two classes. The class then belongs to that Organizer, she can resolve those issues however she likes, let people take drop-ins, collect enough from the others to make her own class free as 'payment' for organizing -- whatever she wants. I show up and teach, she administrates.

For parks departments and health clubs, I usually teach on a percentage. Anywhere from 60-80% is mine to keep, depending on who's providing the liability insurance and the advertising. I still insist on committment 6 weeks at a time (that's just how my lesson plans are organized, plus makes it worth my time setting everything up, plus keeps people from wandering away after the second class). They handle all registration and questions. I insist that the rate for the class is the same as or higher than my own studio classes (not going to undercut myself!) but they can offer a discount to members/residents if THEY are willing to make up the difference in my pay. (big one! Many parks depts. insist on a steep discount for residents, but they don't offer to cover the difference, that's not fair to you!). I usually insist on a minimum enrollment of 6.

My pay in these situations winds up being less than what I'd be getting at my studio, since I'm giving a percent to the venue, but it lets me draw new students from their membership or advertising efforts who might persue higher level classes at my studio. Also lets me fill awkward hours sometimes when a class might never fly at my studio -- like a 5pm after work class, or a lunch hour or Saturday morning.