How to price a mobile pottery party
Most studios price mobile parties by guessing at a per-head number and quietly losing money on the drive. Here is a method that holds up.
Start from the hours the job actually takes
A two-hour party is not a two-hour job. Loading wheels and clay, driving, setting up, running it, packing down, driving back, then unloading and cleaning. A two-hour party is commonly a five to six hour day.
Price against that number. If you want $60 an hour for your time, a two-hour party starts at $300 before materials, before travel, and before the firing you will do next week.
Charge for travel separately, and by distance
Rolling travel into a per-head price means every local booking subsidises every distant one, and you cannot see which jobs are actually worth taking.
Set bands. Something like: free within 10km, $25 to 25km, $65 to 50km, and nothing beyond that. The bands also stop you agreeing to a two-hour drive because somebody asked nicely on a Tuesday.
Set a minimum spend, not just a per-head price
Six people at $45 is a good Saturday. Three people at $45 is a loss once you have driven there. A minimum spend on the booking — say $400 — protects the floor without punishing larger groups.
Take a deposit, and mean it
Mobile parties cancel more than studio classes, and they cancel later. A 25% deposit with a clear refund window changes behaviour: people who have paid something turn up, and people who cancel do it early enough for you to rebook.
Write the terms down and apply them consistently. The awkwardness of a policy is far smaller than the awkwardness of deciding case by case in a message thread.
Remember the firing
Every piece made at that party comes back to your kiln. That is electricity, glaze, shelf space, two firings and your handling time, usually two to three weeks after the money arrived. Build it into the price at the start; it is nearly impossible to add later.