Joy Clark Dudis has expanded on her love for entertaining by teaching several unique classes offered at The Villages Life Long Learning College. Nestled in the heart of the Villages, affectionately called Florida’s friendliest retirement hometown, her classes are in demand. Imagine coming up with something so unique that you always have people clamoring to take your classes. I love it. My adorable mom, who has a penchant for entertaining, stumbled across these classes. After a little investigating, I decided to share this business model with you.
If your curiosity is getting the best of you, here are a few classes that Dudis teaches:
“Decorating On A Shoestring” : A three-week course with tours and analyses of three homes. The first house belongs to Dudis and was deliberately decorated as a teaching tool; the other two belong to her former clients.
“Thrift Store Shopping with Joy“: This is a guided shopping tour of Leesburg and Eustis thrift shops, with Dudis as your guide. She helps participants use the terrific bargains and points out things they might have overlooked on their own.
“Holiday Tables”: An informative class in setting outstanding holiday tables. Fourteen individual tables are set up throughout Dudis’ home, each decorated in a different theme, color and setting for the holidays. In addition, there are 10 more individual place settings, adding up to a grand total of 24 settings. Although most of the settings are Christmas-oriented, there are Hanukkah-, Thanksgiving- and even Halloween-themed settings.
“House to House”: An afternoon is spent visiting four or five beautiful Villages homes (all Dudis’ former clients or students). Each home features “the unexpected,” along with striking colors and techniques. And they won’t break the bank because they are all done on a budget.
Dudis has been teaching her popular classes for two years. Luckily The Villages Life Long Learning College does all the advertising and marketing, which allows Dudis more time and freedom to enjoy doing what she does best. The college produces two catalogs a year and uses the local newspaper and open houses to promote its classes. Dudis says, “There really isn’t any competition since it’s the first course of its kind to come to The Villages.”
Hope this gets your creative juices flowing. A class like this could unleash your dream of being like Martha Stewart. Taking a class can be the beginning of a whole new career or a rewarding hobby. On the other hand, teaching classes can create another stream of income for your business or hobby. Classes can be given at places including community centers, malls, your local library, the chamber of commerce, churches and adult ed locations. You can charge extra for things such as books, training manuals, workbooks, CDs and DVDs. You are only limited by your imagination.
Let me know what you’re up to and if you’ve heard of any good business ideas lately. It could be your business idea or colleague’s.
Cheers!
Michelle
P.S. Thanks, Mom, for sharing this idea :+)
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