Episode 025 – Stephanie Bonte-Lebair on Rebranding a Voice Studio to Attract a More Profitable Niche

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Summary

Stephanie is a classically-trained opera singer turned voice/presentation/sales coach. This interview blurs the line between an entrepreneurial music teacher sharing the evolution of her voice studio and a communication expert sharing a mini sales workshop. It’s one you’ll want to listen to more than once!

Takeaways

When teaching 35 students every week became too taxing, Stephanie decided to get a business coach and figure out a way to leverage her time.
Stephanie’s business coach introduced her to the concept of business networking.
The first shift in Stephanie’s business evolution was psychological. Through networking, she began to notice some of her limiting beliefs and see how she might be able to change her teaching business model to build a more sustainable career.
The second shift was in her business model. She introduced group programs and, instead of charging by the hour, Stephanie created packages for a certain number of 1:1 lessons, group lessons, and recitals within a specified timeframe.
When Stephanie started getting requests from business people on how they could learn to speak and carry themselves more confidently, the way she did, she realized that all her voice and theater training skills could be transferred to the business world.
Targeting business and sales people allowed her to raise her rates substantially because this niche was willing to pay more than a casual voice student.
Stephanie pursued additional training in strategy and sales to help her add value to her coaching in this new business-oriented market. She gave us a mini workshop in the middle of the interview to explain the BANK Communication method, which is based on Hippocrates four personality types. (See more detail below.)
Currently, 80% of Stephanie’s business is traveling to give group workshops and trainings. She has a small number of 1:1 students, some singing students and some business people.
Her current main coaching model is giving “introductory talks” at conferences that provide value and also invite the audience to join a future online training or in-depth live, group trainings. Stephanie is doing minimal 1:1 training because her time is so limited.
Stephanie has become intentional about setting goals and prioritizing where she invests her time and money.
Having a very clear call to action helps Stephanie make the most of her networking events.