Going to Give a Seminar?

So you are going to start giving seminars. Going to mingle with the masses and impart your wisdom. The following few words may help you get started, and alert you to some of the pit falls of being on the seminar circuit.

There has to be a reason that you are going to be paid to give a seminar. Being the top fighter in your martial arts school probably won’t create a demand for your knowledge at another martial arts school. The curriculum of your clinics must be unique, in demand and/or exceptional. Prof. Wally Jay, the missionary of the small circle theory of Jujitsu, refined many Jujitsu moves to make what he taught unique. If you saw him teach, or better yet felt his theories being put into practice, you knew that he was most exceptional.

If your offering is unique and your teaching is exceptional, but there is no demand for what you teach, you won’t be packing your bags. Every thing runs in cycles, and the martial arts are no exception. You may be teaching excellent Kung Fu, but the flavor of the month is grappling. In which case you will be staying home.

If your lessons are indeed unique, in demand i.e. popular and/or exceptional then your seminar sponsor can sell tickets, fill the mat, and recover his cash out-lay of bringing you to town. Remember, he is paying for your travel expenses, lodging, food and your seminar fees, as well as advertising the event.

Ok, you’ve found a niche. There is a demand for your talents. Not a self-perceived demand, but a real honest to goodness demand. Now what?

Show Me The Money!!
I had a martial artist tell me that he charged $3,000 to do a seminar. I was impressed until I asked him how many seminars he had done. “None yet”, he answered. “But I’ve got some feelers out”. I expect that this gentleman still has his feelers hanging out.
Charge for your seminars, yes, but don’t over charge. You can charge a flat fee, a per attendee fee, a percentage of the gate, or some combination of all three: As an example, $10 per person with a minimum of $200, plus 20% of the gate if there are more than 30 sign-ups. Make sure that the sponsor at least breaks even, so that you will be invited back.
If the sponsor is new to you, get some up front earnest money. Say, $200 two months before the event. The earnest money insures that the sponsor is serious about having you teach, and it reserves that date for him.

Show Me The Ticket!!

Unless you know the sponsor really well, don’t pack your bags until you have a round trip ticket in hand. Let me say it again, A Round Trip Ticket.
Word of caution. Check your ticket carefully. I got a round trip ticket that had me flying out of Las Vegas. Which is all well and good, except that I live outside of Reno, which is over 400 miles north of Las Vegas. I got another ticket that had me returning on a Monday when I should have been returning on Sunday. Got another ticket where my last name was badly misspelled. The airlines will not let you aboard if your ID does not match the name on the ticket.
If you get ticket confirmation via email or fax, call the airlines and double check that everything is in order. You don’t want to find out that a mistake has been made when you are standing at the ticket counter and your flight is ready to depart.

Show Me The Ride!!
Make sure of the transportation arrangements before you leave. Find out who is picking you up at the airport. If you don’t know them get a description and describe yourself (“I’m the guy with the bright, baggy pants, carrying a cane”). I have been stranded at the airport through miscommunication and didn’t know whom to call. So get as many phone numbers as you can.

If arrangements have been made for you to take a shuttle or pick up a rental car, know where you are going and how to get there. A rental car was waiting for me in Detroit, and I was given what I thought were accurate directions to my destination. My flight arrival time was 11:00 p.m. At midnight I was in a part of Detroit that I shouldn’t be in, and there was no way that I was going to stop and ask anyone for directions. Finally, at 2:00 a.m., I found the motel, much older and much wiser.

Make sure that you have a ride, or directions to the seminar location. Normally the sponsor will pick you up and deliver you, but there have been mishaps that got me to my own seminar late.

Make double darn sure that you have transportation to the airport for your return home. Some motels don’t have shuttle service or the shuttles are not leaving at the right time. I had a sponsor delegate my pickup to one of his students. Said student partied hard the night before. My early flight out and his hangover clashed, and I was scrambling for a ride to catch my flight back to mama.

Show Me The Room!!
I have stayed in private homes and motels that had a big can of roach spray on top of the broken TV. I have stayed in motels that charged by the hour. I have stayed in motels where the floors were so dirty that I left mud tracks when I got out of the shower. Now I want a nice, non-smoking room close to the event site. An on-premise restaurant is a plus. The bottom line is to make sure that you have a place to stay, and that it meets your needs.

Now it is up to you. Forewarned is forearmed. Don’t repeat my mistakes. The final step is to give the best seminar that you possibly can. I will touch on that subject next.