Hello,
In January I will start a series of some cross-over workshops with an extremely interdisciplinary approach. They will involve creative and strategic thinking, personal development, networking and activities that will help people find solutions to their problems or just reinforce their knowledge in various fields (arts, writing, English grammar, financial management, time management, soft skills etc.).
The workshops will most likely be held on weekends and they will last for a few good hours (probably around 4). There will also be professionals from the areas that we cover that will be invited to the workshops to give the attendees some insight into their job.
The available language options are Romanian or English and, if there are enough requests, French, as well.
I would need some insight from you now.
1. First of all, I would like to know if these workshops are something that would appeal to you and which language you would prefer to be spoken there.
2. What would you like us to talk about?
3. How much money would you be willing to invest in a workshop like this?
4. What are your fields of interest?
5. How old are you / How old is the person whom you know might be interested in this?
Since the business is still in the planning phase, I can use all the help I can get, so those of you who give me ideas that I can implement will receive a discount voucher for the workshops once everything is ready, but please bear in mind that this will probably only happen after the month of January.
Thanks for all your answers.
Insight on workshops held in ENG/FR/RO
Hi,
These kinds of seminars were quite big here a decade ago when a lot of the big companies were really into it and would pay for their employees to take part - mostly interpersonal skills and team building events. Since the crisis, the interest from companies has largely fallen off. When people are paying out of their own pocket, they're mostly looking for something with certification that'll help them advance their careers.
The only exception I've noticed is with the 'personal development' type courses targeting egotistical middle-aged women who want to bang on about their personal problems to a captive audience for a weekend in some 'finding myself' mission whilst being fed meaningless generic platitudes about their capabilities for self-improvement. I have a few acquaintances who've paid quite a lot to attend such events, particularly if they take place in a pleasant environment (i.e. the mountains or the seaside).
Even if all the participants are Romanian you might hold them in English with English-speaking 'experts'. People here seem to think that anything in Romanian much be a crock of doodoo and stuff 'from abroad' has got to be more worthwhile.
As for price, for a four-hour course with no official certification with a group of 8-10 people (I'm just guessing, I don't know what size groups you're aiming for) I would say you could charge about 15-20 Euro per person including some refreshments.
Thank you for your feedback, Maykal.
I don't claim to be an expert or anything like that, although I do have experience in counselling and training; I am, however, an experienced translator and teacher (I mostly teach English, but I have taught French, Romanian and Japanese, as well), and I wanted to have something special on top of the standard language classes that I already teach.
I initially thought of targeting teenagers more than anything else, because getting involved into something that has to do with arts requires a certain degree of open-mindedness that a lot of adults seem to have lost on the way. Nevertheless, it has been pointed out to me that a lot of adults might benefit from these workshops, as well.
I don't claim to solve anyone's problems regarding life and relationships and other such matters, I merely try to facilitate those processes by taking this "backdoor". It worked for me and it worked for a lot of people that I've helped, so it might work for even more people. Worst case scenario is that you spend a nice Saturday doing some activities that are fun and call it entertainment. Since I am a musician and an actor, too, I can accept the "entertainment verdict" more than other trainers. Best case scenario is that you actually go home with some useful information or skills that you can apply to your everyday life.
And I assure you that, at least in the beginning, the prices will be very accessible. I am not trying to get rich, I am just trying to help people, to entertain them and to do a job that I love and which doesn't involve corporations, set rules, set procedures, tight schedules etc. Call it "being free" if you want 
Anyway, I will send you the voucher starting January, like I promised. Good luck and have fun! 
P.S. These activities are not only for expats, but I know how things are around here regarding expats (I have one at home, btw, and I used to be one myself a few years ago), so I wanted to offer them a space and an opportunity to do things that in other countries cost a few hundred or thousand EUR.
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