First time instructor

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by sue on May 10, 2012 at 4:09pm

To answer your first question:  If you have not taught before I would start with course 1 and gradually build from there.  It can be a little overwhelming at first.  The first month that I started teaching I only offered course 1.  The second month I offered course 1 and 2.  The third month I offered courses 1, 2 and 3.  I always kept the courses on the same day of the week that I started it on.  My thinking was that if that weekday worked for that group of people, it would probably continue to work.  I did teach for Michaels but have since quit.  Nothing to do with the store.  My manager was great, it was Michaels corporate and my Wilton manager that aggravated me.  My Wilton manager offered no support.  As for you second question I would say to watch the videos.  They can be helpful.  Keep a clock or stop watch on hand so you don't run over time.   As for you third question about pay...I could never figure out if I was being paid correctly.  That was one of the main reasons I quit.  The pay was not worth my time.  By the time I paid for my supplies, showed up early, stayed later (because some people never leave), did the paper work at home to advertise my classes, had taxes taken out, put gas in my car to get to work...I was not making enough money to make it worth my time.  I found that Michaels and Wilton liked to change the pay scale on the Project classes without warning.  READ EVERYTHING...INCLUDING THE MICHAELS/WILTON TEAM WEBSITE.  CLICK ON ALL THE LINKS...THEY LIKE TO HIDE INFO THERE ABOUT YOUR PAY.  They use to offer Kakes for Kids as a project class.  Then they sent out an email saying we were no longer going to teach Kakes for Kids...instead we were going to teach Super Cakes for Kids...after reading the new and improved curriculum I realized it was the same exact class just a new name and less money.  Good luck to you.  I LOVED TEACHING and I made lots of lasting cake friends that I still see and do things with.  But I won't teach for Wilton and Michaels anymore.  

Permalink Reply by Dawn Ryan on May 10, 2012 at 4:18pm

Welcome! I'll try to answer your questions, and hopefully that helps a little. As far as training goes, my guess is that they are probably referring to the Annual Instructor Meetings that Wilton holds around the country. They do some training during those meetings. And they also from time to time have training seminars directly related to a certain course. They don't have them everywhere, just so you know. There really isn't any "training" per se before you start teaching, like there would be at a new job somewhere, if that's what you're thinking. The videos online are a great way to refresh your skills and see how things should be taught.

Technically, once you are an instructor, you are supposed to offer all 4 courses every month. You obviously won't get them all filled at once because people would start off with Course 1, but my guess is that your supervisor will tell you to offer all of them. That way people will know what else they can learn!

As far as preparation goes, my best suggestions are to watch the videos, more than once if you're uncomfortable. And watch each lesson the day before you teach it, so it's fresh in your mind. Practice your techniques as much as needed so you'll be comfortable teaching them. The more you know, the more comfortable you'll be. The paperwork is the most confusing part, if you ask me. But that'll come with time and asking questions.

There is a chart which lists how the pay goes for Michaels. Basically, the more students you have, the more you get paid for each class. If you give me your email address, I can send it to you. There are also various websites you can go to where you can download stuff like this too. I can send that list to you as well. Hope that helps!

Dawn

Permalink Reply by debbie catanese on May 10, 2012 at 4:45pm

Watch the videos they will really help you to know what they expect. Teach what you are comfortable with.

Permalink Reply by Anayanci Reboyras on May 10, 2012 at 4:46pm

Thank you so much for your answers! Dawn, my email is anayancitamayo@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Dawn Ryan said:

Welcome! I'll try to answer your questions, and hopefully that helps a little. As far as training goes, my guess is that they are probably referring to the Annual Instructor Meetings that Wilton holds around the country. They do some training during those meetings. And they also from time to time have training seminars directly related to a certain course. They don't have them everywhere, just so you know. There really isn't any "training" per se before you start teaching, like there would be at a new job somewhere, if that's what you're thinking. The videos online are a great way to refresh your skills and see how things should be taught.

Technically, once you are an instructor, you are supposed to offer all 4 courses every month. You obviously won't get them all filled at once because people would start off with Course 1, but my guess is that your supervisor will tell you to offer all of them. That way people will know what else they can learn!

As far as preparation goes, my best suggestions are to watch the videos, more than once if you're uncomfortable. And watch each lesson the day before you teach it, so it's fresh in your mind. Practice your techniques as much as needed so you'll be comfortable teaching them. The more you know, the more comfortable you'll be. The paperwork is the most confusing part, if you ask me. But that'll come with time and asking questions.

There is a chart which lists how the pay goes for Michaels. Basically, the more students you have, the more you get paid for each class. If you give me your email address, I can send it to you. There are also various websites you can go to where you can download stuff like this too. I can send that list to you as well. Hope that helps!

Dawn

Permalink Reply by Dawn Ryan on May 11, 2012 at 11:15am

As Sue was describing, there can be some frustrating parts about teaching, whether the WMI works for Michaels, Joann, or Hobby Lobby, etc. The pay is probably the most confusing. I'll be emailing you the pay sheet shortly. I just keep track of which days I work, and how many people were in the first class, (which determines how much you get paid). The way the stores have to figure out the pay is broken down by your hours and a "classroom bonus". But either way, it should still add up to your normal pay. There are times when they don't get the pay sheets put in in time to catch that payroll. For me, that means one time my check might be shorter than what I think I should be paid, and the next time I'm overpaid for what I think I should getting. In my case, it all evens out. And granted, unless your classroom is packed full, none of us are going to get rich doing this. I have a full time job as well, so I'm not counting on teaching as my only source of income. Even though I don't make a lot of money off of this, I do it mainly because I love teaching and I love cake decorating. The way I like to think about it is that even though my paycheck isn't huge, there are other "bonuses" to it. For one, I love that 40% off discount when I order from Wilton, and my 25% employee discount from Michaels. I buy a lot of cake stuff, so that really comes in handy for me and saves me tons of money. At other times, you can buy stuff from Wilton at a really great discount. Plus, my favorite part, is the Wilton gift certificates! If you do a demo at the store once per month, you'll get a $30 gift certificate once per quarter! Plus they give you certificates for meeting your goal, for teaching courses 2, 3, & 4, etc. Free money AND 40% off! I count all of that stuff towards my "pay" as well.

I'm lucky in that I have an awesome manager who will let me do whatever I want to increase enrollment and in his classroom, Wilton comes first. My Wilton supervisor is helpful as well, and they do have a lot of other resources if you have questions or need help. Also, on www.wilton.com, they have a discussion forum that is really awesome too. There are a lot of very helpful, knowledgeable people on there. Some of them are professional cake decorators, some regular people, and some of them are also WMI's.

I hope you have a good store and a manager who is willing to work with you. If they haven't had classes in a while, there may be a few bumps in the road to get everyone up to speed, so be patient. Tell your supervisor of any issues you might have. But I'm sure they'll be more than happy to have a Wilton instructor again and will want to help build the classes back up. Good luck!

Dawn