A client asked me if would like to teach classes in her shop. We decided on doing a small demo as a promotion for now for valentines day, but I'm not sure on future "classes". I don't feel like I'm that great of and established as a decorator to be teaching right now but it does have me thinking for the future:

1. Are there any permits or certifications needed before you start teaching?

2. How should fees be handled?

3. When claiming profits from classes does it count as a sales tax? Is the percentage the same as your products? Should this be taxed?

4. I understand that you cover the cost of materials provided in the class fee. How do you estimate your time teaching to be included in the class fee?

5. Does anyone here teach classes?

I'm not sure if there are regulations from state to state on this. I'm not sure if it matters but I'm in North Carolina.

1. Anybody can teach anything, there aren't any certificates that allow you to teach decorating techniques.

2. I'd have the shop owner pay you as a consultant/contractor. They have to report your income to the IRS after a certain amount (I can't remember off the top of my head right now what that is) but you just report it on your own income tax as income otherwise. Check with an accountant to see how to handle it if there are not taxes withheld, you may have to pay estimated taxes on it.

3. I don't collect sales tax on my classes but you should check with your county to see how they handle it. If it's a service they don't always tax it.
(This site says that personal instruction is exempt from sales tax in NC http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/pub/services/online/default_07.html )


4. If I'm teaching classes for someone else, I charge them something like $10 per student with a minimum as well (so if they only enroll 4 people and I have a 6 student minimum I still get $60) and they reimburse me the actual cost per student for materials. That fee is added onto the fee for the class, so the student ends up paying it.

For classes that I teach myself, I figure my hourly rate, then add the cost of materials onto that, and that's the fee for the class.

5. I teach classes, obviously

Also, make sure that your liability insurance covers whatever location you're teaching at. You just need to call your insurance agent and add the address of the lady's shop onto it as an additional location.

You do have to be a Wilton instructor to teach Wilton classes. To be a Wilton instructor you have to take all the Wilton classes and get an instructor to recommend you. When I teach classes, I will just call them beginner cake decorating classes.

I am a Wilton Instructor. You need to go through Wilton to teach for them directly. They provided each of the student kits to me. However, as others have stated, you can teach anything..anywhere, to a point. Wilton is the catch.

My answer: "the patience of Job."