Workshop Operations Support - How to turn your £6k workshop into an easy £36k/year - A Guide for Coaches & Consultants

After 21 years in senior leadership across wild tech startups and global brands, doing everything from People Ops to Internal Comms, Events, and Executive Support I ditched the employee life. I launched a leadership consultancy… then binned it. Because what I really wanted was to build The Ops House, a business that lets me do what I’m best at: helping solopreneurs run smooth, scalable operations.

And now? I'm the Workshop Wingwoman you never knew you needed!

The Problem with Brilliant Workshops (That No One Talks About)

I know so many brilliant UK-based Coaches and Consultants who kill it in workshops. The content lands. The feedback’s lush. The cash? Delicious. But when it comes to repeating or scaling those sessions?

🚫 They're too knackered to run another one.

🚫 They're buried in logistics.

🚫 They’re stuck doing it all from scratch. Again.

I’ve been running events for over two decades - from 5-person VIP dinners to week-long leadership retreats in Asia. And I can tell you: the operational side of workshops is way more work than creating the content.

And that’s where most people get stuck.

What’s Holding You Back from Scalable Workshop Revenue?

It’s not your content. It’s not your facilitation. It’s your systems.

Workshops become one-off energy drains instead of repeatable revenue streams because the behind-the-scenes chaos is left unstructured.

But good news: that chaos? Totally systematisable.

I've wrapped up that 21 years into a practical guide and a bit of a map to follow, so, ya know, you don't forget to tell people where the workshop is being held!

Some of the below works for in person, some for virtual. Take what you need and bin what you don't, that's my gift to you.

🛠️ Your Workshop Ops Timeline: A Breakdown

Here’s a simple timeline of what actually needs to happen before, during, and after a workshop - whether it’s in-person or virtual.

🔹 6 Weeks Before – Lay the Foundations

• Confirm your venue + A/V setup (TV or projector? It matters.)

• Order materials (HDMI cables, Mac adapters, flipcharts, etc.)

• Draft comms: invites, reminders, feedback surveys

• Create folder structures to store everything

• Order name badges, post-its, etc.

• Start selling – and when you think you’ve done enough promo? Do more.

🔹 2 Weeks Before – Confirm & Prepare

• Chase RSVPs and confirm attendee details

• Finalise venue logistics

• Create run sheets and brief any co-facilitators

• Print materials and prep name badges

• Snap venue photos for accessibility info

🔹 1 Week Before – Final Prep

• Send attendee emails + pre-event info

• Confirm catering numbers

• Do a full materials check (you forgot something, didn’t you?)

• Prep facilitator briefing packs

• Test post-event feedback links and tech

🔹 Day Before – Mental Checklist Mode

• Pack everything (HDMI adapter, chargers, backup EVERYTHING)

• Charge all devices

• Handle last-minute attendee queries

• Panic slightly. Then double-check everything.

🔹 Workshop Day – Showtime

• Arrive 45–60 mins early

• Re-set the room (chairs are never in the right place)

• Tech check (projectors lie, always test twice)

• Setup reg table, materials, refreshments

• Snap setup photos

• Figure out where the loos are so you don’t look daft when asked

🔹 During the Workshop – Split-Brain Mode

• Hit record (don’t forget!)

• Capture those gold-dust testimonial moments

• Transcribe live insights using Otter.ai

• TAKE. PHOTOS. Especially of you facilitating!

🔹 Immediately After – The Debrief Window

• Do an informal debrief (even if it’s just you talking to your phone)

• Transfer recordings, send surveys and thank-yous

• Ask for testimonials – voice notes are 🔥 for this

🔹 1 Week Later – The Revenue Window

• Analyse feedback

• Capture what worked/what didn’t (Keep/Kill/Change doc)

• Draft standout testimonials

• Follow up with warm leads

• Post that social content — don’t let your momentum die!

🧠 Why Most Workshops Don’t Scale (And How Yours Can)

You’re already a fab facilitator. Your content? Solid. Your attendees? Happy.

But what stops workshop #2 from happening isn’t energy. It’s the fact you’ve got to rebuild everything from scratch AGAIN. This is why you need Workshop Operations Support, but for now here's the secret.

🧩 The Secret to Scalable Workshops: Systems, Baby

Here’s how to turn workshops into repeatable, revenue-generating machines:

✅ Pre-Event Systems

• Comms templates

• Materials checklist

• Venue A/V checklist

• Attendee registration workflow

✅ During-Event Protocols

• Tech troubleshooting cheat sheet

• Insight capture method

• Flexible timing framework

✅ Post-Event Follow-Up Engine

• Same-day thank-you templates

• Feedback and testimonial workflows

• Lead nurture emails

• Keep/Kill/Change system

• Repeatable ops documentation

👋 Wanna Skip the Chaos?

If that all sounds like a full-time job, it is. But it doesn’t have to be yours.

That’s what my service Workshop Wingwoman is for. I handle the chaos so you can stay in facilitation mode. You keep your energy and creativity. I keep the ops flowing.

But hey, whether you DIY it or delegate it - now you’ve got the guide.

Pick just one section of the timeline above and start building your system today.

Because the difference between a good workshop and a profitable one?

🧠 It’s not the facilitation.

📈 It’s the systems.

Laura