Thread: The same event twice in 4 months?

I just found out that someone else is sponsoring a workshop weekend with the same instructor I have coming for a weekend just 4 months after my event and within 4 hours driving distance. I'm a bit concerned because there's a huge overlap in target market and I'm a bit miffed because I have been announcing my event since November and since I've spoken with this person via e-mail, and on tribe, I am pretty sure she must have read the tagline in my signature about the event or seen it on my blog.

At the same time though, I understand this is business and anyone can schedule whomever they want whenever they want and wherever so I don't want to spaz. This is the first time I've ever had anything like this happen and I just want to try and handle it as appropriately as possible, whether that means trying to talk to the other event sponsor or doing nothing at all.

Have any of you event sponsors dealt with a similar situation? How did you deal with it and do you feel it significantly effected attendance at your event?

Event attendees, have you ever had this situation presented to you and how did you decide which to attend?

Well yours is first so you must have got a lot of business already. What a pity that none of your students will be going as they would have loved a different instructor/topic 4 months after yours!!

Originally Posted by MaryRaks

I just found out that someone else is sponsoring a workshop weekend with the same instructor I have coming for a weekend just 4 months after my event and within 4 hours driving distance. I'm a bit concerned because there's a huge overlap in target market and I'm a bit miffed because I have been announcing my event since November and since I've spoken with this person via e-mail, and on tribe, I am pretty sure she must have read the tagline in my signature about the event or seen it on my blog.

At the same time though, I understand this is business and anyone can schedule whomever they want whenever they want and wherever so I don't want to spaz. This is the first time I've ever had anything like this happen and I just want to try and handle it as appropriately as possible, whether that means trying to talk to the other event sponsor or doing nothing at all.

Have any of you event sponsors dealt with a similar situation? How did you deal with it and do you feel it significantly effected attendance at your event?

Event attendees, have you ever had this situation presented to you and how did you decide which to attend?

When you live in the UK, four hours drive is halfway across the country, so i'd say that it's a different catchment. This kind of thing is irritating though, so you have my sympathies.

Originally Posted by MaryRaks

I just found out that someone else is sponsoring a workshop weekend with the same instructor I have coming for a weekend just 4 months after my event and within 4 hours driving distance. I'm a bit concerned because there's a huge overlap in target market and I'm a bit miffed because I have been announcing my event since November and since I've spoken with this person via e-mail, and on tribe, I am pretty sure she must have read the tagline in my signature about the event or seen it on my blog.

At the same time though, I understand this is business and anyone can schedule whomever they want whenever they want and wherever so I don't want to spaz. This is the first time I've ever had anything like this happen and I just want to try and handle it as appropriately as possible, whether that means trying to talk to the other event sponsor or doing nothing at all.

Have any of you event sponsors dealt with a similar situation? How did you deal with it and do you feel it significantly effected attendance at your event?

Event attendees, have you ever had this situation presented to you and how did you decide which to attend?

I choose whichever one suits my schedule and interests the best. If the topics are different enough, I'd go to both, depending on schedule, interest, and class.

Same thing happened to me, except 2 hours away. Mine was earlier so it didn't really affect me to much. People want workshops and they will most likely go to the earlier one!

I am noticing the same thing this year. Aziza and Karim Nagy are both going to be in my area (within 4 hours driving which in the US is nothing, can't even get out of the state sometimes) and within 6 months. Karim will be in Michigan in April I think and then in Cleveland in October. I know I have seen Aziza event invites in Philly and she'll be in Michigan in May. It used to be such a treat when someone big came anywhere near me but now it seems like they are swinging through every weekend. I would think that the events would all be smaller because there is only so much time, money, and interest.

I wouldn't worry too much in your case. I just got the announcement fir the event you're talking about...and even though they are only 4 hours apart, you'd is more convenient for the south central gals while the other is more convenient fir the southeast/Atlantic coast gals.

Unfortnately for me, the timing works out so that I can't go to either!

Good luck, hope you get a good crowd, both of you!

Thanks for the input everyone.

Sonja - I'm actually really glad to hear from someone closer to the area. I'm glad to hear they're far enough apart that there's a chance we're not looking at *exactly* the same market. I hope both events are successful too. :)

You should be fine. You are fortunate its a four hour distance and 4 months AFTER your event.
You cant restrict an artist from working and four hours away isnt necessarily your major target area of draw for your workshop.
Most contracts ask that an artist restrict doing workshops within certain sqaure miles and days (like 60 to 90 days) if you dont have anything like this in the contract you have with your
workshop teacher, you lucked out that (a) its later and (b) its a pretty good distance away.

I wouldn't worry too much. 4 months is a pretty big gap. And where I'm at, it is usually the second visit from an instructor (in less than a year) that is less well attended. The other sponsor is the one making a mistake, imho.

And you can always add a non-compete clause in your contracts the next go-around with a distance that encompasses your area.

For whatever it is worth, I learned this lesson the hard way. LOL. You'll get through it and come out ahead in the end.

Originally Posted by MaryRaks

Have any of you event sponsors dealt with a similar situation? How did you deal with it and do you feel it significantly effected attendance at your event?

Event attendees, have you ever had this situation presented to you and how did you decide which to attend?

I'm with Samira on the non-compete clause. We have one with our Tribal Revolution instructors, although it doesn't go four months out from our date in either direction (before or after). You should be fine, really..... especially if yours is first.

As a workshop consumer I actually wish this would happen more often. If I liked a teacher enough to go to one workshop, seeing them twice in one year would be amazing! I'm assuming the teacher is teaching something different at each class, of course.
Also, you have to consider who this class may be able to reach that is on the opposite side from you. Meaning someone 6 hours east of you is only 2 hours east from the other person. I would choose based on whoever was closest-I can do a 2 hour drive every day no problem, but a 4 hour drive means I need a hotel, which figures into total cost for me personally.
Nikki

a 4 hour drive in europe often is... a different country. the big names we have teaching over here (aziza, ava fleming, sharon kihara) are often teaching in a different town (in a different country) the weekend before or after. for example amsterdam, then Brussels, then paris or london, ... all not more than 4h away...

so i wouldnt worry too much about it. 4 hours is quite a bit away.

Originally Posted by artemisia_danst

a 4 hour drive in europe often is... a different country.

No wonder Americans appear so insulated and Ameri-centric to Europeans.

I would literally have to drive for several *days* in any direction to get to another country.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

No wonder Americans appear so insulated and Ameri-centric to Europeans.

I would literally have to drive for several *days* in any direction to get to another country.

And you can drive more than a day and still be in the same state, in some cases.

Regarding the topic, though, I think it's strange that someone would schedule her so close to yours. Hopefully it will not effect you.

Distances are a whole different story in Europe and the US ;-) It is not just that in the US, distances are bigger, most areas are rather sparsely populated, compared to Western Europe. Most people have to cover larger distances to get to big cities in the US, as compared to Europe. There's a looooot of empty space at this side of the Atlantic.

Two events that are around 250 miles apart possibly (depending on what's between them - the Grand Canyon or a metropolitan area?) can have a significant overlap. A good choice would be if the second organizer could pick a different workshop topic - that could make everybody happy.

For myself, four months is a long way off. I know if I could I would go for the first one that came up and in my vicinity. Driving four hours is not very attractive to me, especially when you never know what gas prices are going to be in four months' time. I would be looking for something else anyway - two of the same workshops in one year for me is too soon because there are so many, I would be aiming for variety anyway.

Yes! I grew up in North Dakota, where there are only about 635,000 people in the WHOLE state (70,704 square miles). ..g.:

Originally Posted by steffib

There's a looooot of empty space at this side of the Atlantic.

Thank you for the input everyone! At this time I don't think I'm going to mention anything to the other sponsor since I don't think it'll effect my event an extreme amount and there's no sense in creating drama where there isn't any. :)

You will have people who are in the same situation as me, 4 hours is much too far to travel right now - my schedule is way too tight - for any instructor (even my very very favorites).

Hi Mary!

I think that *I* may be the "other" sponsor that you are talking about. The decision to bring Rocky to my town was based on conversations with several friends of mine who are also good friends with Rocky. We thought about traveling to NYC to spend time with her in her studio but after a conversation with Rocky, found it more economical to fly her here. Even though we knew that she will be in Middle GA in April, most of us have schedules that make attending your workshop impossible.
We have also selected topics that are different than the topics that you are having her teach and in my coversations with her she did not mention any contractual arrangements that would prevent her from coming.
In addition, the workshop that I will be sponsoring is limited to 20 students and is a semi-private event that is primarily being offered to my students and those on my mailing list.
I really did not perceive this arrangement as being harmful to your event at all. I'm just trying to have a nice weekend with friends and helping out an artist who makes her living on her art by providing her work.

Also,

The reason that my workshop is scheduled the last weekend of August is that there are no other workshops in GA, SC, or NC scheduled at that time, my friends who want to attend a Morocco workshop will be able to do so that weekend, AND (most importantly) Clemson will have not yet started their season. Any other date this year would have been impossible and the instructor wanted to schedule for this year.

Hi Ra'eesha! :)

Tone is always really hard to read on the internet, so I hope you weren't upset at the post and I get the feeling it may have ruffled your feathers a bit. I totally understand that your event is smaller and has a limited number of students and that's why after I thought about it a bit more, I figured this wasn't that big of a deal in this case.

I just asked about information on how others dealt with this scenario in case it comes up in the future where there are 2 big events.

I hope you have an awesome weekend and sincerely wish you the best of luck with your event. :)

If you'd like me to take down the thread for any reason, just let me know.

Mary,

No, I'm fine. I just wish you had emailed me your concerns. But I see where you were going with the thread and there's no need to remove it.

I just wanted to let you know that I didn't view my event as interfering with yours and that definitly was not the reason why I chose to bring Morocco to SC in August.

I also emailed with Morocco and she has insured me that absolutely no content will overlap between the 2 workshops.

I *really* wanted Rocky to go over Guedra here but I see that she will be doing that in GA, so I'll just wait until next time I see her. I really wish I could attend your event but I will be in CA that weekend in April.

I wish you tons of success!!

Ra'eesah

Mary & Ra'eesah--

I just want to commend you both for handling your respective comments on this thread with mutual respect towards each other. It's all too often that we see threads like this turn into a mud slinging match, and I'm glad you are both open minded to see each other's perspective.

Kudos to you both.