Today we talk about 10 tips for coordinating a workshop on your own property. Want to know why? Well, selfishly, this is in part because ALL I am thinking about right now is workshop details. And also because I know lots of you are on your own side hustle or entrepreneurial adventure. It is so cool when you send me emails about what you are up to. And you guys have neat skills that not everyone has. When you are in this situation, it becomes tempting to host a workshop and share the knowledge. So today, we will go over some early lessons I have learned getting the LFTN18 Spring Workshop up and running.

What Mother Nature is providing

• Dryad’s Saddle
• Watercress is getting long in the tooth, deadnettle and wild mustard flower
• Raspberry leaves for tea
• Mint is starting to come on

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

• Play a little help from our friends
• The snakes were tamed by a very special set of visitors who reminded me to have fun no matter what - and fun we did have.
• The sweet potato slips
• Using up the canned goods: Weekend stew
• Making pickled quail eggs for the spring workshop.

Getting the gardens ready

• Seedling update - Houston we had a problem
• Getting materials for the Aquaponics system - and also getting excited

Operation Independence

• Metal scrap pays for gas tomorrow
• Outdoor composting toilet is ready to go
• Last week’s trip to Houston will knock out one of my debts

The 10 tips for hosting a workshop on your homestead

Organize your schedule around a foundational speaker.

1. Organize your schedule around a foundational speaker.
2. Give yourself at least 6 months or a year to get this right: Marketing, mechanics of web sign up, overview emails, getting your grounds read, all take a ton of time.
3. Events a bloody expensive.
4. Infrastructure need to have vs nice to have list - then cut the need to have list in half and set realistic participant expectations.
5. When someone offers to help, find a way to let them help. Your community helping you go toward the same mission is what will make or break you.
6. Hire help. You may be really good at catering these things. You dont actually have time to do that. Know the roles, write them down, have some backups ready to go.
7. Empower the participants to make things better. (Slack)
8. Organize early and often. Remember the little things are the most important.
9. Inform your neighbors
10. Do a run of show two weeks in advance

 

And remember this tip from one of our friends: You will always wish you had 2 more weeks to get ready (from David at Cider Hollow)

And with that, go out, and make it a great week!

Song: Thanks Dave, Sauce