Something that really inspires me in the small business world is how many turn their hands to teaching online, myself included. I remember teaching my very first workshop online to over 350 people around the world during lockdown and absolutely LOVING it. Since then I've taught lots more and created group courses that I'm so proud of which is why I was thrilled to chat to Patricia van den Akker, director of the Design Trust, business advisor, trainer and coach.

Patricia's worked with thousands of creatives over the last 20 years and she's recently written a book called Teaching Creative Workshops in Person and Online.

So if you already teach as part of your business or it's something that you are interesting in adding, then I think you're gonna find today's episode so, so valuable where we talk all about how to host workshops and teach really, really well. 

Episode Highlights

• 05:06 Patricia shares a tip for online teaching and workshops: "launch before you're ready" to stop procrastinating, noting that getting paid increases commitment
• 11:59 Discussion on why teaching is beneficial for creative small business owners, including the reality that services are often currently easier to sell than product
• 16:59 Patricia discusses the psychology of pricing, noting that "when people don't pay, they don't value it" and that charging can actually increase student commitment .
• 30:00 Patricia outlines her framework for teaching by asking three key questions: "Why do you want to teach?", "What do you teach?", and "How do you teach?" .
• 39:56 A discussion on facilitation and the realization that often "we teach what we need to learn," and that students frequently learn more from each other than from the teacher .

About the Guest: Patricia van den Akker

Patricia van den Akker is the Director of The Design Trust, a creative business advisor, trainer, and coach. She has over 25 years of experience working with craftspeople, designer-makers, and applied arts professionals.

• Book: Teaching Creative Workshops in Person and Online
• Website: http://thedesigntrust.co.uk
• Instagram & Facebook: The Design Trust
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I would love to hear what you think of this episode, so please do let me know on Instagram where I'm @‌lizmmosley or @‌buildingyourbrandpodcast and I hope you enjoy the episode!

This episode was written and recorded by me and produced by Lucy Lucraft lucylucraft.co.uk

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