Andrea, Author at Music Studio Startup

105 posts, 3

Andrea is a piano teacher, website developer and the founder of Music Studio Startup.

Episode 014 – Attorney Shawn Bartley on How to Protect Your Studio, Get Paid, and Keep What You Earn

September 12, 2018

contracts, entrepreneurship, increasing income, legal, studio management, studio policy

Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music, or wherever you get podcasts! Summary Shawn Bartley is a business lawyer in Maryland. In our discussion, he shares practical steps we can take to protect our music studios, collect payment, and minimize our tax burden. We discuss what to include in teacher and student contracts, what records we should keep…

Developing a Studio Vision and Mission

September 10, 2018

focus, introspection, mission, vision

I’m in the process of completely re-branding my studio and part of that process, for me, means coming up with a new vision and mission statement. The value of mission and vision statements is a heavily debated topic. The more cynical among us might say they’re just marketing fluff for faceless corporate entities or cheesy…

WEBINAR: The Nice Teacher’s Survival Guide for Tough Conversations

September 3, 2018

communication, studio management, studio policy, webinar

Using a Sales Funnel for Music Studio Diagnostics

September 3, 2018

advertising, marketing, online marketing, promotion, studio management, systems, time management

If you’re not sure why you’re not getting new students, the sales funnel might be just the diagnostic tool you need. It can show us a lot, including how we can improve our processes to get more students. What is a Sales Funnel? The sales funnel is the path people follow to become customers. At…

Writing a Better Welcome Message

August 27, 2018

branding, communication, customer service, goals, marketing, new students, student experience, student retention, studio management

Last week’s blog post spoke about the tremendous value that comes from communicating well with students and (especially) their families. Today’s blog is an example of how we can practice good communication at the beginning of a new term (or anytime a new student joins our studio), with a strategically-written welcome message! At first glance,…

Avoid Policy Enforcement Problems by Building Bonds with Studio Parents

August 20, 2018

customer service, new students, student experience, student retention, studio management, studio policy

The topic of enforcing studio policies comes up a lot. I hold to the idea that sticking to a policy is a good and necessary thing. (Even if the idea of doing so makes us squirm at times!) I even teach a popular webinar on the topic on how to do this gracefully! But really, avoiding policy…

Phone Productivity Hacks

August 13, 2018

automation, organization, productivity, systems, time management

I have a love hate relationship with my phone. It helps me do so much, but it will also suck my life away if I let it! Over the years I’ve test a lot of phone productivity hacks. Some work for me, others don’t. These are a few of the ways I currently set up…

Episode 009 – Sean Murphy on Managing an In-School Studio of 100+ Students

July 25, 2018

in-school lessons, increasing income, marketing, organization, saxophone teacher, studio management, summer, systems, time management

Summary Sean Murphy is a saxophone teacher who managed to teach 112 students on a weekly basis by teaching in schools, during the school hours. In our interview, Sean shares his scheduling strategies, communication tips, and how he keeps his income up in leaner summer months. Takeaways Starting out Sean’s personal network led him to…

Online Productivity Hacks for Google Chrome

July 23, 2018

automation, Chrome, focus, organization, productivity, studio management, systems, time management

Last week I shared some of my favorite computer productivity hacks. Today I’m sharing web browser productivity hacks. Most apply to Chrome, but I know some (if not all) of the Chrome extensions I mention also have versions for other popular browsers, such as FireFox and Edge. 1. Turn off browser notification requests If you…

Episode 008 – Scott Stratton on Retirement Options for Self-Employed Musicians

July 18, 2018

financial advisor, personal finance, retirement

Summary When I graduated from college and was first starting my music school, I knew saving for retirement was a thing I should be doing, but I really didn’t know how to get started. Today’s guest, Scott Stratton, is a financial advisor and blogger behind FinanceForMusicians.com. In this episode he explains some of the retirement…

Computer Hacks to Make You More Productive

July 16, 2018

automation, organization, productivity, studio management, systems, technology, time management

Computers help us do a lot of things faster (like contact a whole group of students at once by email or automate our billing processes) but I’m convinced most of us could save even more time on these tasks by incorporating some new tools and strategies into our workflow. 1. Learn to text from your…

Episode 007 – Tara O’Brien on Manufacturing and Marketing a New Teaching Tool

July 11, 2018

Kickstarter, manufacturing, marketing, Note Match

Summary Today you’re going to hear from a piano teacher who noticed a problem and decided to do something about it. Tara O’Brien tells us the story of how developed a tool called Note Match to help her students learn to read music faster. Tara’s first Note Match prototype was hand-drawn on a piece of…