Teaching Woodworking

[Greg Heppeard]

An instructor from the local area VoTech was just in my shop looking around and brought up the idea of offering classes here. I am to meet the local big wigs tomorrow at an open house at the VoTech. This wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me as I used to manage the local Woodcraft store and taught a few classes there. I also might be able to get a couple of "Guest Instructors" in occasionally. I'm not sure if I would be totally government subsidized or what, and I'm not sure I would like "Big Brother" looking over my shoulder. Can anyone think of any advantages or pit falls that I'm not thinking of yet?

[Gary Keedwell]

An instructor from the local area VoTech was just in my shop looking around and brought up the idea of offering classes here. I am to meet the local big wigs tomorrow at an open house at the VoTech. This wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me as I used to manage the local Woodcraft store and taught a few classes there. I also might be able to get a couple of "Guest Instructors" in occasionally. I'm not sure if I would be totally government subsidized or what, and I'm not sure I would like "Big Brother" looking over my shoulder. Can anyone think of any advantages or pit falls that I'm not thinking of yet?

Litigation is the only thing that comes to my mind.

Gary

[Greg Heppeard]

I think I would be covered by their liabilty insurance....or I would get my own

[David Duke]

I'm no lawyer but I would bet you would need to get your own insurance to make sure you are covered.................best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

[Jim Becker]

Outside of making sure your insurance is set up properly, it will likely be a really nice experience. I do a lot of teaching in my "real job" and it's extraordinarily enjoyable...and I learn a lot from it, too.

[Jim O'Dell]

And I've always been of the opinion that you don't really know the subject until you can teach it. It has always been a learning/solidifying experience for me when I've had the opportunity to transfer knowledge. Sometimes the light comes on for the teacher at just about the same time as it does for the pupil!! Jim.

[Greg Heppeard]

And I've always been of the opinion that you don't really know the subject until you can teach it. It has always been a learning/solidifying experience for me when I've had the opportunity to transfer knowledge. Sometimes the light comes on for the teacher at just about the same time as it does for the pupil!! Jim.

I hear ya Jim. I think I'll learn a lot more than any one of the pupils.

[K. L. McReynolds]

Perfect reason to get a SawStop. I would think, with all the testing and evidence the system works, liability insurance would be less. I have seen articles referring to many shops/schools that are getting that saw.

Disclaimer---I only know the owner from woodworking rforums and do not own a SS.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I think you should take a long moment to think about this and the down sides associated with liability.

One never knows exactly how litigious people are until after they they sue you.

One lawsuit could take your house.

If the shop is in your home you will have needed to:
1.) Incorporate
2.) Carry liability insurance for the business
(I'd suggest $2 million minimum)
3.) Divest yourself of ownership interest in your home - go to a lawyer and transfer full ownership to your wife.
4.) Start the business well before any students are recruited,
5.) Pay a monthly or annual Rent to the owner of the property on which the business is located and have a formal lease.
6.) Keep books & a have a separate bank account for the business and NEVER intermingle your $$ with the company's money.
7.) let people know they are doing business with a corporation or LLC whatever form you incorporate as.
8.) Sign all documents using the hand penned phrase "For the company" after your name - this includes checks. You can have it printed at the signature line if you please.

If you do all that and stick to it, your average local lawyer won't likely pierce the corporate veil if you are sued. But then, you never know. If you are lucky, they won't try.

Honestly I think it's not worth the headache. I'm a lawyer. I can waltz through most small business corporate veils with relative ease. It is my experience that your corporate veil is only as good as your ability to keep paying to defend it.

[Greg Heppeard]

I think you should take a long moment to think about this and the down sides associated with liability.

One never knows exactly how litigious people are until after they they sue you.

One lawsuit could take your house.

If the shop is in your home you will have needed to:
1.) Incorporate Done
2.) Carry liability insurance for the business Covered by local VoTech
(I'd suggest $2 million minimum)
3.) Divest yourself of ownership interest in your home - go to a lawyer and transfer full ownership to your wife. Done
4.) Start the business well before any students are recruited,Done
5.) Pay a monthly or annual Rent to the owner of the property on which the business is located and have a formal lease. Done
6.) Keep books & a have a separate bank account for the business and NEVER intermingle your $$ with the company's money.Done
7.) let people know they are doing business with a corporation or LLC whatever form you incorporate as.Done
8.) Sign all documents using the hand penned phrase "For the company" after your name - this includes checks. You can have it printed at the signature line if you please. What's the purpose of this if I use a separate account for the business?

If you do all that and stick to it, your average local lawyer won't likely pierce the corporate veil if you are sued. But then, you never know. If you are lucky, they won't try.

Honestly I think it's not worth the headache. I'm a lawyer. I can waltz through most small business corporate veils with relative ease. It is my experience that your corporate veil is only as good as your ability to keep paying to defend it.

I think I've got most things covered. I've been researching lesson plans. Going to have the pre-requisite of "Shop Safety 101"

[Larry James]

And I've always been of the opinion that you don't really know the subject until you can teach it. It has always been a learning/solidifying experience for me when I've had the opportunity to transfer knowledge. Sometimes the light comes on for the teacher at just about the same time as it does for the pupil!! Jim.

I agree Jim, teaching is a learning experience! The best way to find out how much you know about a subject is to try teaching it.

On Teaching:
As a former voc-tech instructor (HVACR*), I found that you must fill in the gaps as you teach. Some things that seem so simple and obvious to the instructor are often not presented, but are key to the student's ability to comprehend the bigger picture.

>Using abbreviations, trade lingo, technical terms, etc. should be avoided unless relevant and defined.

>Developing a lesson plan is a must - but that plan must be flexible and dynamic - revise, revise, revise.

>3-steps "Tell the students what you are going to teach them, teach team, tell them what you have taught them."

>Decide what you want to teach in a given period of time, and then reduce the amount of material by half for that time period.

>Use the K.I.S.S. method of teaching - "keep it simple stupid."

*HVACR=Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration.


Greg, I do not think this is a good idea for many of the reasons given in the previous posts.

Larry

[Ted Calver]

Don't know whether Sapulpa owns any bureaucrats or not, but just in case check your zoning ordinance/city code to be sure you don't require a special use permit or some other "permission" from the good folks at city hall to hold classes.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I think I've got most things covered. I've been researching lesson plans. Going to have the pre-requisite of "Shop Safety 101"

That's good. And you seem to be pretty well prepared. The reason I suggested #8 is because a fair number of states interpret the UCC to require it. Some don't do this but, some states will hold you personally liable for an obligation that arises from an instrument that you executed using your name without indicating that you are executing it in a "representative capacity."



As a general proposition piercing the veil usually requires some harm done by the corporate ownership that was expected to bring about a foreseeable result as to the person claiming to have been harmed. There are a number of "piercing" doctrines in the law with interesting names such as: Alter Ego but, usually they all boil down to the harm how it came about and whether the the harm and the victim were intended, foreseeable, or due to some other "fault" oriented cause that set them up to be specific at to each other. Courts look to whether personal and corporate money was co-mingled and other factors but, standing alone those side issues are not the grounds for a piercing.

For example, a Code violation might prove fertile grounds to seek a piercing if some argument can be erected that the violation and the harm were connected (however remotely).

In a wood shop the hazards are so many and so frequently encountered (everything cuts) that it's almost a slam dunk that if one got hurt one could easily raise the argument that the owner knew of the danger and willfully failed to take precautions.

So proceed with great caution.