7 Strategies for Building a Music Studio Business Model That Crushes the Competition

Do you dream of owning a successful music studio business that stands out from the competition? The music industry can be tough to navigate, but with the right strategies, you can create a business model that crushes your competitors and attracts loyal clients. In this article, we've gathered seven proven strategies for building a music studio business model that is both profitable and sustainable. From effective marketing techniques to innovative strategies, we'll show you how to differentiate your business from the rest and create a brand that resonates with your target audience. So, whether you're just starting out or looking to take your existing music studio to the next level, read on to discover how to build a business model that sets you apart from the crowd.

1. Start with what instruments you can teach. I’m a horn player but also accomplished at piano. So I offer lessons for both piano and horn. And since horn is more of a speciality instrument, my studio is filled with mostly piano, although it is starting to become more even. Let’s say you play violin, you could potentially also teach viola, cello or bass, and possibly guitar. Vocalists, just because you are a tenor doesn’t mean you can’t teach other ranges. Think of this as a way to open up how many more students you can teach, meaning you are that much closer to having a full studio.

2. Determine the teaching level you are comfortable with. You don’t have to be an advanced player at any instrument to teach beginning level lessons. My beginning teacher only taught through intermediate lessons. I switched teachers when I became too advanced. You do have to have specific skill sets, like being able to read the notes, rhythm, counting and such, you can read more here how teaching helps to increase your own musicianship, and as long as you are proficient at the basics you can teach beginning levels.

3. Decide what age groups you intend to teach. You don’t have to teach just young kids, you can teach any age you want from the youngest to the oldest. I personally don’t start students younger than 6, and generally I suggest boy around 7 but it’s based on the maturity level of the child. A good rule of thumb I like to use too, is if the child can read and write their ABC’s.

4. Decide how you are going to market yourself. Are you an after school only teacher or can you teach during the day. This will determine where you will post openings in your studio. If you are able to teach during the day, homeschool students are going to be where you want to focus your attention. They often do their activities during their school day. Or do you only want to teach in the afternoons, maybe because you have another job during the day?

5. What is your goal for each of your students to obtain? Are you wanting to teach future solo performers, church piano players, introduction to music/beginning skill sets to set them up for another instrument later on, hobby player? Have a firm idea on the type of students you want to attract.

6. Determine if you are going to teach in one place (renting a space, in your home) or if you are going to be traveling to the students. This will determine the geographical area in which you will teach. Good rule of thumb, keep it within a specific radius of your house so you aren’t spending all your time driving here and there.

7. What do you intend to get out of teaching private music lessons? And this is important because like any job there are going to be days you don’t really want to teach (yes it happens) and you will have to remind yourself why you are doing this. “ I get to teach today because ___________ (fill in the answer). When you turn the attention into, “I get to work with” instead of “I have to teach” and turn it into a service act makes all the difference on those days where you might be struggling trying to balance teaching with everything else you have going on in your life!

Need more help in getting started with your music studio? Our 12 week Successful Music Studio Strategies online course is here to make every step easy and give you the tools for success. Click here to learn more!

Happy Teaching!

Elevate Your Music Event with These Free Spring Recital Templates

Need help with a quick and easy spring recital program? I made 4 different FORMAL-themed Music Recital Program Templates you can use using Canva.com

You can access them here using this LINK. You must create an account to access it, and be sure to save the templates to your account before you make changes so everyone can access them as they are now.

Happy Teaching!

5 Marketing Strategies to Help Your Music Teaching Business Stand Out

Are you struggling to attract new students to your music teaching business? Don't worry, there are plenty of marketing strategies you can use to make your business more visible and appealing to potential students. In this article, we'll be discussing 5 effective marketing strategies that can help your music teaching business shine. From creating a strong online presence to offering unique incentives, we'll cover everything you need to know to make your business stand out from the competition. So, whether you're just starting out or looking to revamp your marketing efforts, read on to discover the top strategies for attracting new students and boosting your music teaching business.

1) Utilize Social Media (Instagram or Facebook)

This is the number 1 place to post your business and that you have openings. Join a local community board on Facebook and see if you can post in there. Post on your feed. Share pictures of your studio space, pictures of you, your instruments. Set up a tripod and do a personal photoshoot of you playing your instrument. Sounds silly, but in the end, the students are investing in you. You are the product of the service. So you have to show yourself.'

2) Neighborhood Newsletter or Group Feed

Call a nearby neighborhood’s HOA and ask if they have a newsletter that is sent out monthly or if they have a facebook group or communication center you can advertise on. Create a little business card size ad (that way your advertising fee is less with the HOA as you will more than likely have to pay to advertise if you are outside the neighborhood) with your contact information on it to post and that’s it. I look for the super large neighborhoods. That way my info gets in front of a ton of new people. Same with an online group feed. Ask before you post.

3) Use BUZZ Words In Your Advertising or Flyers

Utilizing community posting boards at a coffee shop or local gym, use a buzz word to get people to stop in their tracks to consider you as a teacher! Do you offer online lessons? SAY THAT! “Online Private Music lessons”. Do you offer a FREE trial lesson, say that! “FREE Trial Lesson”. “Jazz piano lessons”, “Classical Specialty”, “Music Audition Specialist”. Say something that makes someone take a second look and think about it. “ONLINE or IN PERSON Private Piano Lessons. Contact by 6/1 for a FREE Trial Lesson!”. That would make someone stop and think about it.

4) Offer a Discount for Military or Emergency Responder Families

This is a big one for me in my area as we have a lot of military personnel in our town. I have a special flyer that I post at the army base and education school specifically for military families. The only thing is, some of these families are not long term, but only for as long as they are in the area. So you can expand it to Emergency Responders, to help out the ones that help you when you need them.

5) Offer Lessons or Variety To Your Studio

Don’t be a one-hit wonder, have more offerings up if you are able to. Most any musician can learn to teach beginning piano. You don’t have to be an advanced pianist to teach piano especially if you only ever plan to only teach beginning piano. Here’s a good rule of thumb, you just have to get really good at teaching through Level 2B of a method books. (I personally love the Faber & Faber Piano Adventures.) It’s okay to only teach through beginning and elementary piano. Most students only go beyond this level. If a student progresses, refer them to a more advanced teacher. That’s what happened to me when I was a kid. I outplayed my teacher and moved up. Nothing wrong with that. Also, if you are already mildly proficient at a second instrument expand your capabilities. Get better at it and continue to work on it. My main instrument is the horn, but it’s a specialty instrument so I also teach piano which I was classically trained on all the way to college. When I first started teaching, I didn’t think I would feel comfortable teaching advanced-level lessons. But they are some of my favorites because it’s real music! And to expand further, I’m developing accompaniment skills and accompanying my horn students with their solos. All the main solos I worked on through college, I’m learning the accompanist parts. So now I can use ACCOMPANIST as part of my BUZZ word with advertising if I need to ever advertise.

What are other ways you found worked for you with advertising?

Happy Teaching!

Key Essentials: Everything You Need to Launch Your Own Private Music Studio

Ready to start your own music studio? First, you have to have a couple of things to be able to teach music lessons. (This post contains affiliate links)

1) Choose a method series that you will follow. for private piano lessons, I love the Faber & Faber Piano adventures and have been using the series for the past 15 years. It’s a little slower-paced than other series’ out there, but it develops a strong foundation in rhythm, and note names from the beginning BEFORE introducing more complex note values.

2) Invest in a piano. You don’t have to have a huge grand piano to start or an acoustic piano. You can start your studio with just an electric or digital piano. Here are 2 options that work well. A Full size 88-key weighted piano or here’s an option that you can take with you for easy portability as a traveling music teacher! Both are Yamaha which are considered the gold standard in electric pianos.

3. Students! For that I suggest you start here: STARTING YOUR STUDIO STRATEGIES to learn the secrets to geting your stuio started. And don’t forget, 12 Week Online Course Successful Private Music Studio Strategies to help you get started, build and create a successful and THRIVING private music studio! You can check that out here.

4. Studio Policy to set the boundaries and expectations with your new students. I’m a huge advocate for having an ironclad music studio because I’ve been there, where I didn’t have one and was taken advantage of by not getting paid, taken seriously, or families wasting my time by not showing up for lessons. Set yourself up TODAY with a strong ironclad studio policy to avoid any problems down the line. Check out my Successful Private Music Studio Policy Templates here! You can get a done for you studio policy, that is ironclad and stands the test of time. It took me years, to create this studio policy making sure I covered ALL THE BASES of expectations, to help new teachers just like you.

5. Bookkeeping. For business purposes, you need to be tracking income. This is how you can track your growth and continue to grow. Again, I’ve taken all the steps to help get you started, but providing ALL the templates I use for bookkeeping purposes with step by step videos to walk you through how to customize it for you and your business, from invoices (Lesson Summary) Receipts, student organizing, total money earned plus more! Check out my Successful Private Music Studios Bookkeeping Online Mini Course!

Happy Teaching!

10 Proven Strategies to Keep Your Music Teaching Business Running Successfully

As a music teacher and entrepreneur, you know that running a successful teaching business can be challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. Whether you are just starting or have been in the industry for years, there are always new strategies and techniques to learn and implement to grow your business and keep it running successfully. In this article, we will explore 10 proven strategies that will help you keep your music teaching business running smoothly and successfully. From creating a solid business plan to leveraging social media and building strong relationships with your students and their families, you will discover practical tips and insights that will help you take your teaching business to the next level. So, whether you are looking to attract more students, increase your revenue, or simply improve the quality of your teaching, read on to discover how you can achieve your goals and build a thriving music-teaching business.

1. Develop those long-term friendships with your student. Make lessons fun, and have a candy bowl. When your student is super excited to come to lessons or practice at home, the parents will see that and will love that they don’t have to work as hard to get their kid into lessons. They will thank you for it and will tell their friends all about you and your business and referrals are GOLD as a small business.

2. Offer a referral incentive. This goes right along with #1. The more your students bring, the more in demand you become. Make sure you have a stipulation, that only 1 benefit is awarded monthly. For my studio, the students will receive 1 free month of lessons once a referral student starts. You can stipulate, max 2 referrals a semester, or good for any month of their choosing. But this is something to have added to your Studio Policy!

3. Create a Lesson Agreement that new students have to continue lessons for 4-6 months (you decide the length) to allow enough time for the student to fully get the basics learned and if music is right for them. This shows the parent you are worth investing in for at least a determined amount of time.

4. Create a solid business plan of a set teaching schedule and even make up lesson frequency, and stick with it. When you treat your business like a business, you will be regarded as a business, not just the neighborhood piano teacher that is doing this in their spare time.

5. Word of Mouth! Referrals are GOLD, but you still have to tell people that you are a teacher/offer music lessons. ADVERTISING is necessary for any business. People won’t know unless you tell them about it. Get business cards made and carry some with you everywhere you go. Hang one up on community boards when you see one. Leave it on a counter at a business where other cards are being left.

6. Think outside of the box in what you can offer. Offer to record music and splice recordings together, be an accompanist, offer songwriting workshops, theory workshops…The list can go on and on! You can check out more ideas in this post about innovative teaching opportunities!

7. Don’t feel like you have to cater to the masses. Limit your studio to what you can realistically handle. And price your tuition at what you are truly worth, not what others think you are worth. Teaching can take a lot out of you, especially if you are teaching in small pockets during the week or weekend after working another job during the day.

8. Build a waitlist. While it’s hard to say, “I have no room right now” when you "might “ be able to add an extra lesson day in to accommodate every student that comes calling, you will be making sacrifices somewhere else. For me, I teach 3 days a week almost right as soon as school gets out and often finish teaching when it’s my kid’s bedtime. I dedicate 2 days that I don’t teach so I can help my own kids with after-school studies and have time with them. If I gave that time up for more lessons, I miss more time with my kids.

9. Value your time. Don’t be the teacher that always goes over lessons and makes another student wait. Just like going to a doctor’s office, no one likes having to wait beyond their specified time. If a student is late, there is no make-up time at the end of lessons. When you respect your time, the families will too. And things happen, but when it becomes a constant problem, address it with the parent as “Is there another time in the week that works better for your family.”

10. Incentives work wonders for kids and families. When you have a challenge for your kids to work towards with BIG REWARDS. Believe it or not, candy does the trick, especially when they get to pick what candy they are getting. Be very clear about how the student earns the reward. I usually send an email out to families with the challenge rules. And check in weekly with either a practice chart/sticker chart or have some way to track progress over time so they can see their progress.

When you use these proven strategies, your studio will not only be in demand but will prosper the test of time with loyal families that come back year after year and you will be able to continue to grow your business on your terms and make it a fun place for your students!

Happy Teaching!

Strike the Chords of Your Success: A Comprehensive Guide to Hosting a Flawless Online Music Studio Recital

The world is in a different place right now, but the show must still go on. Whether you had to move your private music lesson business online or you’ve decided to stay or choose to teach online, we still want to showcase our students the best way possible and that happens with a RECITAL!

1) Use the same platform you teach lessons on for your recital. I personally use Zoom. It’s easy to use and currently, there is no max time limit on how long you can host a group event. (I suspect things will change in the future) But be mindful of the max time limit for online group events.

2) Send out specific and detailed instructions to the families 2 weeks prior to the recital about how and where to set up the camera — for my piano students, I request a profile view so we can see the student’s hands and some of their faces. —so that the student can be seen and heard. Also, advise them about extra lighting. Set up a lamp next to them (in front of them) or a ring light so that their child is well-lit and everyone can see them easily.

3) Send an email to all families with the link and a special password to access the online event 2 weeks before the recital so they can send it to their family members who want to attend.

4) Set up the link that people can’t just automatically enter, that they will be entered when the host allows, so you can get the exact time you need for the recital. Also, so they are automatically muted when they enter so you don’t have to go through and mute everyone or when new people join halfway through the recital because they missed the initial time, they will be automatically muted.

5) The morning of the recital email the recital program to all the families and ask them to email it to those that are joining in so that they have a program to follow. This works as a great reminder the day of the recital to ensure everyone remembers!

6) Be short and quick. Most people are taking time out of their day to attend to listen to the performances but keep your remarks and intros for the students short. You don’t have to give details about every student before they perform or at the end of the performance. The families are there to listen to the student perform. Plus if there is a time limit you want to make sure everyone has access to listen to all the performances.

Happy Teaching!

10 Proven Tips for Launching a Successful New Music Teaching Business

Are you passionate about music and eager to share your knowledge with others? Becoming a private music teacher can be a fulfilling and lucrative career path. However, it's not just about having musical skills; communication and recruitment are also crucial aspects of the job.

1. Get your name out there. Set up a free website to have a landing page for people interested able to start somewhere, because most searches start online. Start hanging flyers up, and advertise at local coffee shops, neighborhood newsletters, and community boards online. Become the name people know and recognize.

2. Start thinking about how you can effectively communicate with parents. Start practicing answering common questions that are asked. You can see some of the top ones I’ve encountered here. The goal is to get them on the phone and chat with them, or in your door for a trial lesson to make sure things click between you and the family. 🎶 The trial lesson does not have to be free. That’s your choice, but remember, your time is worth something. You can always start offering free trial lessons, and change at a later time too.

3. Select the method books you are going to be teaching from. There are a lot of choices out there and take the time to sit down with the different method books and decide what you feel most comfortable with. For private piano lessons, I use the Faber & Faber Piano Adventures.

4. Create your business model and scheduling. To maximize your time spent teaching block off time in your week and schedule all lessons back to back. Have the students come to you if you can and just keep them rolling in one after another. You can teach a lot of students in very little time.

5. Bookkeeping is essential to track your business. From income tracking, to tuition statements, you will want to have some form of Bookkeeping. I created a mini course with all the Bookkeeping tools I use so you can become a powerhouse too, plus accompanying videos on how to customize all documents on your computer for your studio! Check it out here! Successful Private Music Studios Bookkeeping Powerhouse Mini Course.

6. Start working on your musicianship skills. You’re going to be teaching others, but still take the time to keep developing yours. From working on a new piece of music to joining a local community ensemble to perform with. 🎶 This creates Credentials that you are actively performing still is a great talking point for why learning music can benefit not just as a child but later in life too. Even if you are just back into picking music back up.

7. Create a studio policy so that all the questions regarding your music studio is answered before the student comes to the first lesson. That way you establish the rules, sets you up as someone who’s taking this seriously and leaves out any questions for what to do when. You can get my IRONCLAD ready made studio policy template that you can customize to fit your studio. I walk you through exactly how to customize it to truly make it your own. You can get it here: Successful Music Studio Policy Templates Mini Course.

8. Set a goal for how many students you want to have by a specific date. Then work to start a wait list so that you will always have students in demand ready to walk through your doors.

9. Think outside of the box when it comes to what you can offer as a teacher. Can you teach more than one instrument, a primary and a secondary? Are you an accompanist? Can you sing? List what you can offer on your website.

10. Create a fun atmosphere for your students from the moment they walk in the door. Believe it or not, even just having a simple candy bowl from them to take a piece of candy from at the end of lessons, will make them want to come back week after week, year after year. You can also create sticker charts, or challenges for them to work for prizes from a “treasure box”. Practice x amount of days and they get to take a prize from the box. Keeps them engaged and excited.

Becoming a private music teacher can be an exciting and rewarding career path for those who have a passion for music and teaching. Remember that communication, recruitment, forming bonds with your students, and organization are all crucial aspects of the job. With dedication and hard work, you can help aspiring musicians appreciate their artistry and create beautiful sounds through music lessons.

Happy Teaching!

Private Piano Lessons Method Books

I’ve been using this Faber & Faber Piano Adventures 4 book series set since I started teaching in my home based studio back in 2007. I literally sat down in the music store and went through all the different method books and choose this series because it was slower paced, not introducing too many concepts at once or super early on giving a very strong foundation in the basics of note reading and counting. The 8th note learning doesn’t even happen until level 2A. And the book series has worked well for me!

When you decide on the method books you choose to use, I suggest you get a full set of every level to have on hand that way you have a set of books if your student forgets their books for lessons or if you are doing online lessons so you are following along in your set of books with the student during their lesson.

Happy Teaching!