Entrepreneurship for Music Teachers - Piano, Guitar, Violin, Voice

Episode 003 – Regina Ngo on Teacher Development and Accelerated Learning Programs

June 13, 2018

branding, marketing, multi-teacher studio, professional development

Apologies for the scratchy mic noises in this episode! (Still getting the hang of this podcasting thing. 🙂 ) Summary Regina Ngo is the owner of Regina’s Music Studio in South Pasadena, California. In our interview, Regina shares how she went from teaching at a music school to travel teaching to teaching from her home,…

Increasing Income Through Other Business Ventures

June 11, 2018

entrepreneurship, focus, goals, increasing income, introspection, lifestyle, passive income

We’ve been focused on the music studio startup phase, but now I want to fast forward to when your studio is at full capacity. What’s next for the motivated music teacher? At this point, most teachers I coach are looking for ways to increase their income through other business opportunities. The Natural Next Step? Many…

Episode 002 – Heather Aiolupotea on Health Insurance for Self-Employed Music Teachers

June 6, 2018

health insurance, self-employment

Summary In this episode, licensed health insurance agent, Heather Aiolupotea, explains what we need to know about health insurance as self-employed music teachers. She explains open enrollment, how to think about what insurance we need, how to evaluate plans, how to find out if you’re eligible for a subsidy, and more. Heather is so knowledgeable…

Episode 001 – Tasha Locke on Starting a Studio with No Personal Network

June 6, 2018

AdWords, marketing, online marketing

Summary When Tasha Locke moved from California to Virginia in 2016, she had to start her studio from scratch with no personal or professional network. A daunting undertaking! In this interview, Tasha tells us how she used Google AdWords promote her website and get her first student in only one week and how, less than…

Episode 000: Welcome and Intro

June 6, 2018

podcast

The Music Studio Startup podcast is all about the business of teaching music. Here’s what you can expect from future episodes! Music teachers sharing the lessons they learned while launching and growing their studios Stories of teachers who are doing interesting entrepreneurial things Interviews with experts (like accountants, financial planners, laywers) who will clarify…

Six Lessons for More Effective Studio Promotion

June 4, 2018

entrepreneurship, marketing, networking, online marketing, perfectionism, promotion, studio management

This post isn’t so much a list of marketing ideas (although there are some of those) as it is a list of studio promotion principals or lessons I’ve learned over the years of promoting my own music studios and other small businesses. If you can’t figure out why your marketing hasn’t gotten any traction or…

Systems for Music Studio Owners

May 28, 2018

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

I feel I need to be upfront here: I probably have an unhealthy relationship with systems. I get really annoyed when I have to expend creative energy on repetitive tasks. REALLY annoyed. (If you want to hear a rant, ask me how I feel about picking out fresh clothes to wear every. single. morning.) It…

Interview on Finance for Musicians

May 16, 2018

finance, personal finance

This week I had the honor of being interviewed by Scott Stratton for his blog, Finance for Musicians. Scott is a Certified Financial Planner and the founder of Good Life Wealth Management. He gets what it means to be a musician, though, because he’s also a freelance trombonist in Dallas! I’ve learned a lot from…

Registering Your Music Studio Business

May 14, 2018

startup, studio management, taxes

If you’re taking your music studio seriously as a business, you’ll want to make sure you’re setting it up professionally from a legal and tax position. This means choosing the appropriate legal structure, getting tax id numbers, and registering your studio name. There are a few steps to this process, so stay with me as…

Creating a Music Studio Financial Plan

May 7, 2018

business plan, finance, startup, studio management

My favorite part of business planning is developing the financial plan. This is when we lay all our assumptions out on paper and try to realistically predict how much $$$ it will take to start our business, what it will earn over time, and how long it will take to become a profitable venture. It’s…

Sizing Up the Competition

April 30, 2018

branding, competition, focus, marketing, niche

If you’re trying to start or grow your music studio in a crowded market, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the other teachers and music schools in your area (geographic or virtual). These are your competitors. In this post, I walk through how to do a competitive analysis AND how to use the insights you glean from it…

Creating a Personal Budget + Worksheet!

April 23, 2018

budgeting, debt-free, finance, personal finance, retirement, saving money, taxes

The first step to building a sustainable studio is to know how much you need to earn to keep yourself (and your family, if you have one) alive! The way to do that is to create a budget! Armed with this information, you can feel confident you’re taking this next step in your music career…