How to Turn a Good Workshop Into a Repeatable Revenue Stream

You know what kills workshop businesses?

It's not the content. It's not the facilitation. It's not even the sales.

It's that every single event takes up a ridiculous amount of headspace.

The hidden cost of running workshops

I've run hundreds of events in my career. Everything from 10 person VIP dinners, to 3 day leadership retreats in Asia, to week-long team offsites. I also ran my own Leadership Consultancy and have delivered countless workshops. So I know exactly what your life is like.

I know what it feels like to be mid-flow in facilitation or trying to build something valuable while your brain is screaming 'you've forgotten to actually tell people what time it's happening!'

Here's what most facilitators don't talk about: the operational stuff is what stops good workshops from becoming profitable, repeatable revenue streams.

The checklist nobody tells you about

Here's the stuff you forget you have to do (that takes ridiculous amounts of time because you have to stop your brain mid-flow to actually do it):

4-6 Weeks Before Your Workshop

Planning & Setup:

• Creating signup forms with accessibility requirements and dietary needs

• Booking venues and confirming A/V equipment, WiFi, breakout spaces

• Ordering materials (because venues never have Mac adapters)

• Drafting communication templates, feedback surveys, calendar invites

• Setting up folders for workshop materials

• Creating attendee invite lists

• Ordering name badges, flipcharts, post-its

The reality: This alone is 8-10 hours of work that isn't facilitation.

2 Weeks Before Your Training Event

• Chasing RSVPs and following up with non-responders

• Confirming final venue details and A/V setups

• Remembering you need a slide clicker (and where your laptop will actually plug in)

• Creating run sheets with timings

• Briefing any extra facilitators

• Printing materials and preparing name badges

• Taking photos of venue entrances for accessibility
  

The reality: Another 6-8 hours, and you haven't even started refining your content.

1 Week Before Event Day

• Sending pre-workshop emails to attendees

• Confirming final headcount with venue for catering

• Final materials check

• Preparing facilitator briefing packs

• Creating post-event surveys and getting links ready

• Testing recording equipment

• Preparing sign-in sheets

The reality: Your nervous system is starting to fire up. Sleep quality drops.

Day Before Your Workshop

• Packing everything (did you remember the HDMI adapter?)

• Charging all devices (laptop, phone, power bank)

• Final venue confirmation

• Last-minute attendee questions via email

• That thing you forgot but can't remember what it is yet

The reality: You're going through mental checklists at 11pm.

Workshop Day (Arrive 45-60 Minutes Early)

• Room setup and layout (they didn't put the chairs in the right places!)

• Testing all tech and recording equipment (how the hell does the projector work??)

• Setting up registration tables

• Placing materials at each seat

• Setting up refreshments area

• Final tech check (again, because it stopped working)

• Briefing facilitators on-site

• Taking setup photos

The reality: You're sweating before the first attendee arrives.

During Your Event

• Answering "where are the toilets?" while trying to facilitate

• Troubleshooting "I can't get into the breakout room" mid-session

• Remembering to hit record (or realising 20 minutes in that you forgot)

• Switching between facilitator brain and logistics brain every 8 minutes

• Capturing sidebar conversations that could be testimonials

• Managing timing while staying flexible

• Staggering 1-on-1 pull-outs for feedback

The reality: You're half-facilitator, half-logistics manager. Your flow is constantly interrupted.

Immediately After Your Workshop

• Informal debrief with facilitators while it's still fresh

• Transferring recordings to laptop

• Sending thank you emails same day (if you have energy left)

• Noting immediate observations
  

The reality: You're too exhausted to think straight, but this is when insights are freshest.

Within 24 Hours Post-Event

• Sending feedback surveys while it's fresh

• Backing up all recordings and notes

• Beginning transcriptions of 1-on-1 conversations

• Consolidating facilitator notes

• Preparing social content
  

The reality: You're in recovery mode. This rarely happens.

1 Week After Your Training Session

• Completing feedback analysis

• Full debrief with facilitators

• Documenting Keep/Kill/Change learnings

• Drafting testimonial requests for standout quotes

• Following up with leads (the 3 potential clients you met who are now going cold because you're too knackered to chase them)

• Posting social content
  

The reality: If this happens at all, it's rushed. And those leads? They've probably gone cold.

Why Good Workshops Stay One-Offs Instead of Becoming Revenue Streams

When you're managing all of this yourself, you can't scale.

You're too exhausted to book the next workshop. You don't have systems documentation, so next time you start from scratch. The follow-up that could convert attendees into paying clients doesn't happen. Operational learnings stay in your head instead of becoming reusable systems.

And the most painful part? You know your workshop is flippin good. The content works. The facilitation lands. Attendees get value.

But you can't turn it into repeatable revenue because operational chaos is the bottleneck.

ENTER - The Workshop Wingwoman: Operational Support for Facilitators Who Want to Scale

I created The Workshop Wingwoman because I've lived this pain hundreds of times. I know exactly what breaks facilitator flow. I know which tasks pull you out of your zone of genius. Luckily for me it's the stuff I love, and know how to anticipate. And I can handle it so you don't have to.

What Workshop Coordination Support Looks Like

Pre-Event Management:

• Registration systems setup and managed

• Attendee communications sorted (invites, reminders, logistics)

• Venue coordination and A/V planning

• Materials ordering and preparation

• Logistics checklists tailored to your event

• Tech setup planning

• Communication templates (save-the-dates, reminders, thank yous)

• Feedback survey creation

• Contingency planning for common problems

During-Event Support (optional):

• Real-time logistics coordination

• Tech troubleshooting (so you can keep facilitating)

• Attendee coordination and questions

• Capturing insights and observer notes

• Managing timing and transitions

• Recording testimonial-worthy moments

• Staggering feedback pull-outs

• Making sure nothing falls through while you're in flow

Post-Event Follow-Up:

• Same-day thank you communications

• Feedback distribution and collection

• Recording backup and transcription

• Facilitator debrief sessions

• Keep/Kill/Change analysis documentation

• Lead follow-up sequences (so opportunities don't go cold)

• Systems documentation for your next event

• Social proof capture and preparation

The Outcome: Workshops That Scale

When someone else handles the operational chaos, you can focus on what you're actually good at: facilitation.

More importantly, you build the operational backbone that makes your second workshop 10x easier to sell than your first, and you can do them much more often.

This is how your workshops become repeatable revenue streams.