Eight Great Ways To Fill A Workshop In A Bum Economy

Yes, you can fill a workshop when spending is down and buyers are wary. If your topic is clear, your marketing materials well-done, your product solid and your title catchy, success shouldn’t be tough. The fact is that people are as hungry as ever for the inspiration and stimulus a workshop provides, even when they’re nervous about money. And even though most bum economies recover over time, you may find the following tricks helpful enough to keep using even in good times!

1. Tailor the workshop to the economy. In other words, acknowledge the problem. So if your workshop is about helping women over 50 live their dreams, change it to Living Your Dreams Over 50 … Even When the Economy is Down. Or make it about finding your dreams after being laid off, or managing fear while pursuing your dreams in a poor economy. Your fundamental message doesn’t have to change … you just dress it up in slightly different clothing.

2. Use unconventional marketing methods. Advertising and flyers may not be the most effective way to enroll a workshop in lean times. For one thing, affordable ads are not usually big enough to effectively describe a workshop, unless it’s very targeted and easy to ‘get’, i.e. quitting smoking, or stress-reduction. If you’re teaching motivational or inspirational work, consider using an affiliate program, viral email marketing, distributing articles through targeted ezines, working your personal network, or making yourself available as a guest on local TV or radio talk shows. Best of all is a combination of all of the above.

3. Make your niche one with a pipeline. Be careful not to pick a tiny niche market that is hard to access. Instead, a good rule of thumb is to look for a niche market with marketing channels already in place. For instance, one successful workshop leader I know targets retirees on the RV-Camping circuit. Many US campgrounds offer classes and other stimulating perks to visitors, and since RV’ers often stay for several nights or even weeks, this makes a workshop a likely hit. She simply has to talk to management, and they put her workshop in place for her. Participants magically show! Hospitals with neighborhood ‘wellness’ programs, bookstores with evening events, and community center Teen programs are also good venues.

4. Pitch a co-operative venture with another business. One fun way to reach your niche is to approach another business’s clientele. For instance, if you’re offering stress-reduction workshops, arrange a tie in with the local health club or weight loss group. Look for businesses that attract people who would logically be drawn to your product as well. Then approach that business and offer something great. You can sell them your workshop at a reduced rate (a special offer just for their members, which they can use as a perk.) Or you could hold a workshop on their premises at your usual fee, and pay them a percentage of the gate. Or you could simply offer to exchange advertising plugs for each other’s business’s. (This works well if you communicate with your clients via an email newsletter or direct mail.)

5. Offer a FREE mini-workshop. In tough times, people need more convincing to buy. So offer a free sample of your workshop (a forty minute talk, say) at a local venue such as a public library or church coffee hour. Give participants time to ask questions, and have lots of handouts available about your bigger, more elaborate (paid) workshop to be held a few weeks later. And be sure to make the occasional reference to it in your free talk. Finally, make your free talk compelling and packed with good stuff. It can be a very general overview or ‘taste’ of your more fleshed out paid workshop. (You don’t have to give away all your goodies, of course, but don’t be afraid to share a few key pieces.) Wary buyers cannot resist excellence.

6. Lower the price. Not always the most fun option, but one that works – especially if you have a themed sale, such as Wipe Out the Winter Blahs Special or a Kick Off the New Year With a Bang. If possible, try to position your price reduction as a limited time gift for your clients … one that ties in with a particular need or time of year. This lets them know you are, in fact, thinking of them and their best interests.

7. Offer bonuses. We all love something free, so come up with some highly desirable bonuses that are just irresistible. These can be free reports that get downloaded automatically, or sent with registration info. Or it could be a tangible product, such as a book, a mug, etc.

8. Enroll a friend for a discount. Or if you don’t want to offer a discount, encourage clients to bring a friend who can act as an on-going supporter with the work of the workshop. (And, of course, they can provide the same to their friend.) Such support is actually one of the best ways to get your material to ‘stick’, so your client’s get more on-going value from the workshop, so this plan is a real win-win. Consider tailoring the workshop to pairs such as mothers and daughters, work buddies (great for stress reduction!), married couples, fathers and sons, or best friends. If you pitch it to couples, you could market it to resorts as part of a Second Honeymoon or Mom-Daughter Getaway package weekend.

If you’re interested in leading your own workshops, but don’t know quite where to start, check out my How Much Joy Can You Stand? Facilitator’s Home Study Course. You’ll learn how to create, book, fill and lead your own workshop. Details and a FREE sample are at http://www.howmuchjoy.com angfacil.html

About the Author

Suzanne’s free ezine, The Joy Letter, brings you a crisp, fresh burst of inspiration for your dream every week or two. Sign up at http://www.howmuchjoy.com/joyletter.html

7 Bad Eating Habits You Should Change Immediately

People are obsessed with dieting and weight loss! Don’t believe me? Just tune-in to any source of advertising…you’re instantly bombarded with the latest diet schemes and “Hollywood” food fads.

Here in America, we have built a thriving industry trying to control our weight and treat the consequences of over-indulgence. The cost of weight loss and obesity related health care treatments is staggering…Americans alone spend around $114 billion every year! And even with all this interest in losing weight, we continue to pack on the pounds like never before…

- A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese…up about eight percent from earlier estimates.

- Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost nine million are overweight…triple the rate in 1980!

- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese.

For Americans, modern life may be getting TOO easy. Our cushy lifestyle means we expend less energy and consequently need fewer calories to sustain our normal body weight.

Think about it for a moment…

Entertainment no longer requires energy expenditure. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite. We now entertain ourselves in the comfort of our own home while watching TV and munching on our favorite snack. Whether it’s television, computers, remote controls, or automobiles, we are moving less and burning fewer calories. Common activities that were once a part of our normal routine have disappeared…activities like climbing stairs, pushing a lawn mower or walking to get somewhere.

And please do not misunderstand me…I appreciate comfortable living just as much as the next person. But, here is the problem…

With all of our modern day conveniences and “cushy” style of living we have not adjusted our caloric intake to compensate for our decreased caloric expenditure. We consume more calorie rich and nutrient deficient foods than ever before. Consider a few of the following examples comparing what we eat “today” vs the 1970’s (U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):

- We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption has jumped 45 percent since the 1970’s, from 138 pounds of grains per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of the wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat.

- Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but only because French fries and potato chips are included as vegetables. Potato products account for almost a third of our “produce” choices.

- We’re drinking less milk, but we’ve more than doubled our cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one source of saturated fat in our diets.

- We’ve cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried), so that overall, we’re eating 13 pounds more meat today than we did back in the 1970’s.

- We’re drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than milk, compared to the 1970’s, when milk consumption was twice that of pop.

- We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has increased 32 percent.

- Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. People are consuming roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day, about 20 teaspoons on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies. In 1978, the government found that sugars constituted only 11 percent of the average person’s calories. Now, this number has ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and as much as 20 percent for American teenagers!

Unfortunately, it would seem that the days of wholesome and nutritious family dinners are being replaced by fast food and eating on-the-run. We have gradually come to accept that it’s “OK” to sacrifice healthy foods for the sake of convenience and that larger serving portions equate to better value.

It’s time recognize that we are consuming too many calories and time to start doing something about it! Each of us can decide TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits WILL become a normal part of our life!

We can begin by exploring our values, thoughts and habits… slowly and deliberately weed-out the unhealthy habits and activities and start living a more productive and rewarding life. And remember, it has taken a long time to develop bad habits, so
be patient as you work toward your goal!

The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any health care program.

About the Author

Emily Clark is editor at Lifestyle Health News and Medical Health News where you can find the most up-to-date advice and information on many medical, health and lifestyle topics.

3 Surprising Statistics About Our Weight

To say that Americans are obsessed with dieting is an understatement! Pick up any magazine, tune-in or turn-on any source of advertising and you’re bombarded with the latest diet schemes and food fads. More often than not, they are endorsed by some familiar Hollywood celebrity, or promoted using some other cleaver technique.

It’s no mystery that the weight-loss industry has built a thriving empire. In America, for example, we spend about 35 billion dollars every year on an assortment of weight loss products and plans. In addition, we spend another 79 billion dollars for medication, hospitalization, and doctors to treat obesity-related problems. Even with this, the obesity epidemic continues to spread. Sadly, we have become the heaviest generation in our Nation’s history.

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that we have some very good reasons to be concerned about our weight-gain.
Americans, for example are packing-on the pounds faster than ever before and weight-related medical problems are taking center stage. Diseases like heart disease, diabetes and yes…even certain forms of cancer have all been linked to obesity.

Here are a few of the surprising statistics about our weight:

- A whopping 64 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. That’s up approximately 8 percent from overweight estimates obtained in a 1988 report.

- The percent of children who are overweight is also continuing to increase. Among children and teens ages 6-19, 15 percent or almost 9 million are overweight. That’s triple what the rate was in 1980!

- Nearly one-third of all adults are now classified as obese. At present, 31 percent of adults 20 years of age and over or nearly 59 million people have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater, compared with 23 percent in 1994.

(The BMI is a number that shows body weight adjusted for height. For adults, a BMI of 18.5 – 24.9 is considered normal. A BMI of 25.0 – 29.9 is overweight and 30.0 or above, is considered obese.)

Modern life both at home and at work has come to revolve around moving from one “seated” position to another: whether it’s television, computers, remote controls, or automobiles, we seem to be broadening the scope of our inactive endeavors.

At times, life seems to have gotten almost too easy! For entertainment, we can now just sit-down, dial-up our favorite TV program or DVD movie and enjoy hours of uninterrupted
entertainment…

And all those simple calorie burning activities that were once a normal part of our daily routine not so long ago? Long gone! You know the ones I’m talking about…activities like climbing stairs instead of using escalators and elevators. Or, pushing a lawn
mower instead of riding around on a garden tractor. And what about that daily walk to school? Now, our kids complain when the school bus happens to be a few minutes late getting to the bus stop!

Along with the convenience of our affluent lifestyle and reduction in energy expenditure, have come changes in our diet. We are now consuming more calorie rich and nutrient deficient foods than ever before.

Here are a few examples of what we were eating in the 1970’s compared to our diet today (information is taken from a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture survey):

- We are currently eating more grain products, but almost all of them are refined grains (white bread, etc.). Grain consumption has jumped 45 percent since the 1970s, from 138 pounds of grains per person per year to 200 pounds! Only 2 percent of the wheat flour is consumed as whole wheat.

- Our consumption of fruits and vegetables has increased, but only because the U.S.D.A. includes French fries and potato chips as a vegetable. Potato products account for almost a third of our “produce” choices.

- We’re drinking less milk, but we’ve more than doubled our cheese intake. Cheese now outranks meat as the number one source of saturated fat in our diets.

- We’ve cut back on red meat, but have more than made up for the loss by increasing our intake of chicken (battered and fried), so that overall, we’re eating 13 pounds more meat today than we did back in the 1970s.

- We’re drinking three times more carbonated soft drinks than milk, compared to the 1970’s, when milk consumption was twice that of pop.

- We use 25 percent less butter, but pour twice as much vegetable oil on our food and salads, so our total added fat intake has increased 32 percent.

- Sugar consumption has been another cause of our expanding waistlines. Sugar intake is simply off the charts. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, people are consuming roughly twice the amount of sugar they need each day, about 20 teaspoons
on a 2000 calorie/day diet. The added sugar is found mostly in junk foods, such as pop, cake, and cookies.

- In 1978, the government found that sugars constituted only 11 percent of the average person’s calories. Now, this number has ballooned to 16 percent for the average American adult and as much as 20 percent for American teenagers.

The days of the wholesome family dinners so near and dear to our hearts, where we all sat around the kitchen table to discuss events of the day, are now a part of our sentimental past. They have been replaced by our cravings for take-out and fast-food. We have gradually come to accept that it’s “OK” to sacrifice healthy foods for the sake of convenience and that larger serving portions mean better value.

And, since I have been throwing-out statistics, here’s one more:
Americans are consuming about 300 more calories each day than we did twenty years ago. We should actually be eating less because of our decreased activity level, but instead are doing the opposite!

Decide TODAY that healthy eating and exercise habits will become a permanent part of your life!

Begin to explore your values and thoughts and other areas of your life where change may be required, and then take action. Begin slowly, but deliberately to make improvements in the areas you identify. And remember, it has taken a very long time to develop your habits, and it will take some time to undo them…so be patient!

The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any health care program.

About the Author

Emily Clark is editor at Lifestyle Health News and Medical Health News where you can find the most up-to-date advice and information on many medical, health and lifestyle topics.