Category: Studio Business

Studio Business

Forum Q&A | Advertising for Piano Lessons

Joy Morin

Last time, we shared our favorite pieces of technology!  It’s never too late to add your thoughts, so feel free to jump in the conversation if you haven’t already!

This time, let’s talk about advertising.  Yesterday, I mentioned that I will be giving a presentation about marketing & technology for piano teachers in March.  I would love to learn more about what techniques piano teachers are currently using to advertise!

What kinds of advertising have you tried in the past?  What works, and what doesn’t?  How often do you advertise?  What kind of budget do you give yourself each year for advertising?  

Leave your comments below!

Photo Credit: Dominique Godbout | CC 2.0

Announcements, Studio Business

My Studio Sign and More

Joy Morin

I thought today I’d share a photo of the sign I have on my house for my studio!  My brother-in-law made it for me as a birthday gift (my husband gave him the idea).  The lettering is just the right size for the window and can be seen well from the road, since our home sits pretty close to the road.  It looks very professional, and we’ve already had a few of the neighbors notice it.  🙂

Before putting a business sign outside my home, I had to get a “Home Occupation Permit” from the city.  I’m sure it varies from city to city, but my permit cost $25 (I think it’s per year – or maybe longer) and it allows me to put up one sign, no larger than 12 inches by 12 inches.  I suppose that if you live in a rural area, there might not be any stipulations regarding running a business in your home or putting up a business sign — but it doesn’t hurt to check.  Most cities probably do.  Having this Home Occupation Permit gives me peace of mind!  Should a neighbor ever complain about my business for some reason (unlikely to happen, but always possible), the city would not be able to easily shut me down since I am running my business legally.   Continue reading “My Studio Sign and More” →

Printables, Studio Business

Just Added: Studio Planning Calendar

Joy Morin

Just added to the Printables > Studio Business page:

Studio Planning Calendar

I needed some kind of calendar to keep track of both short-term and long-term studio-related projects…and came up with this!  Each month has space for 8 dates or “to-do” items.  The check boxes are so you can “check off” those to-do items with the utmost satisfaction.  🙂

Here are some of the things I’m keeping track of using this calendar:

  • Piano tunings
  • Studio Recital(s) planning
  • Create monthly newsletter
  • Advertising
  • Summer camp planning
  • etc.
You are welcome to download and use this pdf in your own studio, as always!  I’ve left room at the top of the page for you to print your own logo across the top if desired — just send it through the printer a second time.
Printables, Studio Business

3 New Printables and 5 Others Updated!

Joy Morin

To prepare for the new teaching year, I’ve been updating a plethera of my studio documents!  I finally have them all updated here online too on the Printables > Studio Business page.  If you are interested in using any of them, feel free.

The ones that are Microsoft Word documents can easily be edited to your personal needs.  On the pdf documents, I’ve left room on the top for you to print your own student name or logo if desired (just print it twice – once as is, and then run the sheet through the printer again this time adding your own personal touch).  Enjoy!

  • New! Record of Payments Due / Received – I use this to record checks and cash when I receive them from students/parents.  You can also use it to mark down books/sheet music that you purchase for students, so you can keep track of what has and hasn’t been paid for yet.
  • New! Student Scheduling Preferences – This 2-page document includes an empty scheduling table that allows students/parents to fill in their schedule and indicated their top 5 choices for lesson times, and to X out any times that will not work.  The first page is for the school year schedule and the second page is for the summer schedule.  This file is a Microsoft Word (docx) file, so it can be suitably edited to your needs.  There is room at the top of each page for your studio name or logo.
  • New! Studio Policies & Procedures (Sample) – This Microsoft Word (docx) file is a editable sample Studio Policies & Procedures.  If you are making your studio policies for the first time or are looking for ideas for adjusting your current policies, this may help you get started.
  • Updated! Record of Lesson Attendance & Payment – This 3-page document has been updated for the 2011-2012 year.  (see image at right for a preview)
  • Updated! Record of Student Achievements – This printable has been slightly updated in format.
  • Updated! First Lesson: Student Information Form – This printable has been updated to include a section for asking permission to use photos/videos of the student.  It is also now more suitable for using with both children and adult students.
  • Updated! First Lesson: Interview with Beginner Student – This printable has been updated in both format and content to reflect my evolving teaching style.  🙂
  • Updated! First Lesson: Interview with Transfer Student – Same as above.

improving as a teacher, Studio Business

Forum Q&A | When to Say “No” to a Potential Student

Joy Morin

For our previous Forum Q&A, I asked about the legal side of being a business – becoming a Sole Proprietorship or an LLC, dealing with taxes, etc.  My previous private teaching has mostly been as an employee of the university’s Community Music School.  I find all the legal stuff for getting set up on your own to be so complicated!  I am thankful for all the infomation online, books in the library, and the advice I’ve been getting from other teachers.

I’m still sorting this all out, but I did decide to be a Sole Proprietor.  Becoming an LLC does have the benefit of protecting your personal assets in the event that someone should sue the business for some reason (they can go after your business assets but not your personal assets).  But setting up an LLC is more complicated and costly than a Sole Proprietorship.  Of course, as a piano teacher, the chances of getting sued are relatively low.  If you do want some protection, extra liability protection can often add something on to your current homeowner’s insurance policy for this purpose.  Oh, and another thing I learned — be sure to check with your city to see if they require a zoning permit for running a home business and having a sign outside for your studio.  Don’t I sound smart?!  I’m learning so much these days!  😉

Regarding taxes — I decided to hire a CPA to handle my taxes for my first year or two, or until I can learn how to manage it all on my own.  I feel good about my decision.  Keeping track of my income and expenses shouldn’t be too complicated, but estimating quarterly taxes is complicated for me since I don’t really have anything to refer to from previous years.  My CPA should be able to help me get up-and-running.  🙂

Anyway — I received a question yesterday from a reader that is perfect for this week’s Forum Q&A.  Here goes:

How do you know when to say “no” to a potential student?  What do you look for when you interview an interested student?  What kinds of questions do you ask to sift out whether you are going to accept the student?  And what do you do when you realize you’ve made a mistake with a student you said “yes” to?  

In all honesty, I kind of wish I had this problem!  Right now, I am saying “yes” to anybody who comes through my door.  Such is the life of a recently-relocated piano teacher.  🙂

Advice, anyone, for this reader?

Photo Credit: Valerie Everett | CC 2.0

Professional Development, Studio Business, Technology

Studio Marketing: Communicating Value Through Your Website

Joy Morin

Have you ever visited a website and been completely overwhelmed with the amount of information, ads, links, and CLUTTER?  Have also you ever visited a website and been impressed by the graphics and the ease with which you could find information?  This post is going to offer some tips for organizing and effectively communicating value through your studio website.

Studio Websites: A Necessity

Having a website is an important part of studio marketing.  In a world where the internet is now the first place parents turn for business information rather than the phonebook, teachers need to maintain an online presence.  The good news is, it’s a pretty affordable and easy way to market yourself as a piano teacher (see the resources section below) — definitely more affordable than an ad in the Yellow Pages!  Continue reading “Studio Marketing: Communicating Value Through Your Website” →

improving as a teacher, Professional Development, Studio Business

Determining Tuition Rates for Piano Teaching

Joy Morin

Every once in a while, I receive emails from readers wondering if their tuition rates are appropriate.  Setting rates is a difficult topic to talk about, because for one thing, rate depend largely on the area where you live.  For that reason, I can’t advise exact numbers — but with this article I hope to offer some guidelines and suggestions regarding this topic nevertheless.

The Problem

I’m sure we’ve all experienced parents/students who are shopping for piano lessons by price.  Let’s face it: many parents today (especially in America) shop for piano teachers based on price, even though they really should be “shopping” based on the teacher’s experience, education, professionalism, dedication, etc..  Parents shop by price because in their logic, little 6-year-old Suzie doesn’t need an expensive teacher unless they discover that she has a talent for piano and long-term interest.  And they don’t know any better.  Continue reading “Determining Tuition Rates for Piano Teaching” →

Questions, Studio Business

Forum Q&A | Studio Business Structure: Sole Proprietorship, LLC, Corporation…?

Joy Morin

It’s time to get another Forum Q&A going!!  Let’s talk about business structure options for teaching studios.  Despite having a music degree, I still know very, very little about setting up a business.  I doesn’t seem right…I wish one of my college courses had covered this topic at some point.  :/

Do you have a solo proprietorship, partnership, an LLC, or a corporation?  What are the benefits of each option?  Do you have a separate bank account set up to manage studio income and expenses?  Do you hire an accountant or bookkeeping services to help with the accounts and taxes?  What other business advice can you offer?

I hope you can help me out — and hopefully other readers will benefit too!  Update: Here is my follow-up post. 

Photo Credit: o5com | CC 2.0

Professional Development, Studio Business

Studio Marketing: Creating Value

Joy Morin

Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of requests for posts about how I’m building my studio since I moved to a new area.  I have been reading a lot of books and articles about marketing lately, and I’ve been learning a lot!   I’m happy to share what I’m learning, so I’m going to be posting a whole series of posts on studio marketing.  The most important lesson I’ve learned is going to be addressed in the first post of the series: today’s post about creating value.  Enjoy!

Marketing

Marketing, at a most basic definition, means promoting your business.  While advertising and branding are indeed part of it, marketing is much more than that.  Marketing is the combination of all your efforts to get people to remember your business, including having a creative website and make it easier to find.  Marketing builds your brand, and your brand is what gets people to remember your business.  And when people remember your business, they are more likely to buy from you. Continue reading “Studio Marketing: Creating Value” →

Questions, Studio Business

Forum Q&A | How Did You Become A Piano Teacher?

Joy Morin

Well, unfortunately we didn’t get many responses to the last two week’s Forum Q&As about group lessons!  I guess nobody wants to share their secrets.  Just kidding.  =)  We did get a few good responses, which you can check out here and here.  It’s not too late to add your comments, if you are willing to enlighten us.  =)

This week’s topic is a fun one!  Please share: How did you become a piano teacher?  Tell us all about it.  Here are a few prompt questions to get you thinking back to those early days:

How did you start teaching piano?  Who was your first student?  Who inspired you to be a piano teacher?  Did you always know you would be a piano teacher?  Did you have a mentor?  What kind of piano did you teach on?

If any of you have your own blog, feel free to share your story there and leave a link here in the comments.  I can’t wait to hear your stories!  I’ve just put mine in the comments.  =)

Photo Credit: kevin mullet | CC 2.0

Studio Business

Studio Marketing: Advertising on the Internet

Joy Morin

Hello, all!

Over the weekend, I started packing up my sheet music library into boxes since we’re going to be moving in a month or two.  All I can say is, I need to downsize!!  I have a lot of used music that people have given me over the past few years.  It makes for a great lending library, but it sure takes up a lot of room!  As backwards as it seems, I’m going to save going through my music until after we move.  =)

I’ve also begun looking into advertising piano lessons, since I will definitely need to do some of that in order to find new students.  I’ve found a number of free ways to advertise online, and have compiled a list of links below.  The first step to online advertising is definitely to create a website for your piano studio.  If you haven’t already, I would recommend checking out the user friendly Weebly.com.  If you have a studio website already, then you are ready to try out the links below!

Create a Google Places page

I recently discovered that local businesses can create their own Google Places page for completely free.  Click here for a very nice example of a Google Places page.  You can click here to get started listing your own studio business.

Free Teacher Directories

I don’t know about you, but I only use the teacher directories that are free.  I don’t know which ones are worth paying for, so I play it safe and stick with the free ones!  I suppose the chances of a student coming across some of these sites is somewhat slim, but when it’s free it’s worth a shot.  Here are the ones I found:  Continue reading “Studio Marketing: Advertising on the Internet” →