#1 - Create a Writing Class

Back in fall 2021, I went to a Chicago Blackhawks game with my friend Alicia, who generously takes me to games pretty often and yay hockey. While we were there, she told me about a virtual class she'd been taking on the business as art and how helpful it was to her as an artist who sells her art. (Also, her art is awesome. Check out her Instagram and also her Society 6 store, where you can get prints of her art on all kinds of things, like water bottles, yoga mats, even furniture.) As she was describing the course, she said to me, "You should do this. Create a class." That game and the next, we talked about what kind of content might lend itself to a virtual class and what the class could look like. 

While Alicia had to do some convincing before I believed it would be a good idea, I came around to the idea of this being a way to (1) have some additional income through the registration payments, (2) get exposure to people who may be curious about what a writing coach / editor could do for them and could learn about the support I offer in a low-risk environment, and, most important to me, (3) I could offer a very low-cost support option, allowing people who cannot afford one-on-one editing services to get some additional writing support.

To further this idea, I created a Google form to collect ideas about content and process from many of my higher ed communities. Then, in December 2021, I was awarded a Chi Biz Strong grant, which created a lot of opportunities to try some new things, like creating a class. I signed up for a Zoom account, created the content and format, and sent around virtual flyers. I decided on a 2-class workshop on writing an academic literature review (a very common struggle in doctoral programs) with an optional 3rd class for peer review.

For the first class, I had 4 enrollees. Only 3 actually attended the first class. I was all set with my content, had them introduce each other, and--well, then I had to completely change what I was doing because during the introductions, I learned they were all doctoral students in the same program at the same institution, and they'd already done some of the activities I had planned. Because the group was so small and willing to share, it turned into a group coaching session, where they could share and ask questions, and then I would give recommendations about next steps and things to think about. It went as well as possible when I had to completely throw out my plans.

Then, for the second class, they all had a conflict with a class they were all in for their program. So we never had the second class. Or the third. They all did say they would like to continue to work with me, so really, as one already is working with me regularly, this is a huge win.

The second session I offered had no registrations at all.

I'm really glad I tried this and now that one of my spring classes is cancelled, I will be planning future classes, working to get this piece of my business off the ground.