Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs

Coronavirus is impacting music teachers and music lesson studios in cities around the world. In this very brief message, I share some suggestions for how to lessen the impact on your studio.

More resources are available at musicstudiostartup.com.

Instagram: @musicstudiostartup

Facebook: @musicstudiostartup

Today’s interview digs into the group lesson studio model. My guest, Jake Estner, shares the logistics of how he runs his guitar studio, how he schedules groups, how he thought about pricing, and more. He also answers an important question I hear all the time: “How do you switch a studio from private lessons to group classes?”

Jake talks about how he thought through what was important, pedagogically, before suggesting group lessons and did some beta tests with a few students before making group lessons the default in his music studio. Jake even explained exactly how he communicated to students that group lessons are not “less than” or somehow inferior to private lessons, they’re different in some ways that also make them awesome.

For full show notes visit musicstudiostartup.com/episode032

Ken is on a mission to save classical music. His story is a testament to how long-term focus on one mission can have incredible results. About 20 years ago he opened the Musical Arts Center of San Antonio, a music school which, at the time of this recording, had 1,125 students and 39 teachers.

In this episode, Ken talks about how his school came to be so large and how figuring out a viable financial model for his business was critical to being able to provide sustainable careers for his teachers.

Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode031

Do you have a vision or vision statement for your studio? In this episode I share some questions I think about to get a more vivid picture of what I'm trying to accomplish with my music studio and business.

I also talk about Vision's nemesis: FOMO. It's real and it's constantly trying to sabotage our focus.

To get a printable version of the questions from this episode, go to musicstudiostartup.com/episode030

Don't forget to follow Music Studio Startup on Instagram or Facebook at Music Studio Startup to get all the details on the upcoming vision workshops!

I’m going to be taking the summer off of podcasting. I don’t like taking breaks, but I think welcoming a new little human into the world warrants some time away.

I’ve already got some really fascinating podcast episodes lined up for the fall and I’m working on some cool business planning resources that have grown out of the conversations I’ve had with many listeners and clients over the last year, so I’ll be getting those ready to share with you in the fall, so stay tuned on social media for those updates!

And if you’re looking for a professional development opportunity this summer, consider the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogyin the Chicago area! I’ll be presenting in the Student and Young Professional Pre-Conference Track and I’d love to connect if you decide to come.

Thanks for listening I’ll be back!