5 Steps to a Successful Piano Teaching Business
by Kristin Yost (PianoTeacherSchool.com and CentreforMusicalMinds.org)
Let’s face it, your planning abilities make you more than capable of creating an elaborate family budget, time for volunteering, planning recitals, judging, social events, spending time with family, etc… but you just might not know where to begin when it comes to your teaching business outside of the usual scheduling. You’re a piano teacher who has a successful home studio and you know you could be making more money, and would certainly like to, but you’re doing everything in your power and your business still isn’t doing what you want it to financially. Here are 5 essentials that need to be a part of your business strategy in order to be financially satisfied in your piano teaching career.
- Plan your year, one year in advance; from private lessons, vacations, to master classes and summer camps. The planning process is best done after the first of the year, so you can hammer out all of the details of summer by March…when people start planning their summer vacations and other activities. Be sure to plan through May of the following year and include potential performance dates.
- Plan your budget; additional insurance, taxes, music expenses (you know some months are greater than others), fees, piano tunings, etc…You know when taxes are due, the months you need to make large music purchases, months you need to purchase office supplies, photocopying expenses for recitals, etc…streamline any process you can think of to make your life easier. How much money do you need to be bringing in each month to live how you want?
- Evaluate the previous year. What was your best new idea last year? What was your best old idea that has stood the test of time? What was your worst new idea? Was it the idea or your implementation of the idea? It’s important to evaluate and learn from our previous experiences. This evaluation needs to be from a financial perspective as well as an operational perspective.
- Plan your salary. Yes, YOU can change how much you make with a very simple step: raise your rates. If you haven’t raised your rates in a few years, imagine me waiving my finger at you…and then begin writing your new tuition policy. I gave myself a 7% raise last year so this year decided not to raise my tuition, though I did raise the annual enrollment fee that goes to cover the cost of music and recitals. As a point of reference, in 2011 the national average for raises in the United States was 3%.
- Compare/evaluate your budgets and income from the past two years and develop a two-year projection of where you think you will be (based on previous numbers) and where you would like to be. Are they close? If not, do you know how to get it up to where you would like it?
The operative words you see here are “plan” and “evaluate.” When you run a business (which you are,) the worst thing you can possibly do is the “sit and wait” philosophy or the “I will build it and they will come” mentality and find out that you have no money to pay the electric bill come next month.
We plan ahead for our student lessons, we plan ahead for recitals, we plan ahead for so many things but yet we financially (as piano teachers) seem to still be lagging in our collective financial successes. For those of us in single-income homes/families, it’s imperative we plan and budget. It’s just as important however, if the income from your piano teaching business is secondary – it’s important because the rest of us need you to make it a priority. If there is an “industry standard”, everyone wins!
When you planned this year, did you:
- Consult last year’s numbers?
- Address the challenging months and try to develop a plan to make those leaner months, less lean?
- Ask what works about your tuition collection?
- Ask what could be improved?
Ask those tough questions and share your feedback and questions here.
If you have questions for Kristin or Wendy about business matters, please email your question and we’ll get you an answer!
Read MoreHow Do I Implement a Registration Fee?
I had a parent call during Christmas break wanting to enroll two young beginners in February. When I called to confirm the arrangements we had made, and he said they had changed their mind. I had already purchased music for them. I would like to charge a $50 registration fee but how do I justify this with parents?
Answered by Wendy Stevens
Well unfortunately you can’t do anything about people who change their minds! But, you are right that this situation is definitely something where a deposit would help protect you from or at least keep you from being out any money! First, consider what you are really wanting to call this fee. If it’s a deposit (meaning that it’s going to go toward something parents would pay for anyway like books, recital fees, etc.), then you just need to make sure that you explain the purpose of the fee and what it will be used for. I would suggest that you call it a “registration fee” so that you can be more flexible in how you use it and you don’t have to worry about keeping a careful ledger to show how much was deposited and how much you spend. A “non-refundable registration fee” accomplishes your goals here without parents wondering what it is going toward exactly.
I don’t always use my students’ registration fees for the same thing, so I’m pretty general in my policy. “Your registration fee guarantees you a place in my studio at the beginning of the term” is a sufficient reason for implemented a registration fee, but I also tell parents that “it helps to deflect expenses for preparing to teach your child (incentives, development of programs, supplies, etc.) for the year.” We all know that there are many expenses that we incur at the beginning of the year which benefit our students (MTNA dues, professional journals, workshops, etc.). If you do use the reason of “guaranteeing a place,” then make sure you implement the policy at the end of your teaching year (say, May to be due in June) so that you know who will be returning to your studio.
Here are a few other options to consider: I charge a higher registration fee for new students than for returning students. So, my policy states that the “registration fee is $30 for new students and $25 for returning students, not to exceed $50 per family.”
And here’s a few important principles that I have learned in piano business matters:
1. Do not change an entire policy based on one person or one problem. Evaluate the impact that your change will make on all of your families and then proceed cautiously but confidently. That said, I think you are right to charge a registration fee across the board. When a prospective student calls and you have to tell them that you are full because someone else will be starting, and that family doesn’t actually start, then you have not lost 1, but 2 students.
2. When it comes to making policy changes that you know are necessary, just do it. Be brief in your explanation, articulate how students are benefitting from the policy change (if applicable-don’t do it if you have to raise your rates because you charge too little), and then deal with the people who have an issue with it one on one. Chances are that only a few of your families, if any, will question this and when they do, you can explain it and see what their reaction is. If they are in financial difficulties, you can make a case-by-case way to help the family. In the case of large families, I state that they will be charged no more than $xx as a registration fee each year (it is usually the price of 2 registrations). In other cases, I have given a family 2 months to pay their registration so that it was not so difficult in one month. However, I would only do this for a family that is already in my studio and who expresses concern for their financial situation.
Remember, most families will not have a problem with your policy change if you state it clearly and don’t over explain yourself. Just do it…and deal one on one with the few that might have a question.
Read MoreSay YES to 12 months of Income as a Piano Teachers
by Kristin Yost of PianoTeacherSchool.com and Centre for Musical Minds in Texas.
Admit it, you’re a piano teacher that teaches at least one lesson every week of the year, and you spend “summer” doing too many makeup lessons. When asked why you teach all the time, you say, “I have to make a living!” What if I told you that I have 12 months of revenue and have 8 to 10 weeks off each year? It’s all in the strategy!
After four years of teaching (too many) piano lessons while still trying to improve the quality of my life, I finally came to a couple conclusions that have worked great for me these past few years:
Read MoreHow Do I Teach Fewer Weeks a Year and Still Make a Living? [Dollars and Sense Q&A]
How do teachers only teach 45 or so weeks a year and still make a living? I’m working 48-50 weeks per year and still feel like I’m just scraping by! Answered by Kristin Yost
You are the CEO of your company, if you don’t like your payment system, you are the only one that can change it. I think the most important thing for you to do is change your mindset – you aren’t charging “by the lesson”; your rate should be determined by your experience, education, student achievements, etc…and you should be collecting a tuition check every month, in equal amounts regardless of how many lessons are being taught. I personally teach 40-42 weeks out of the year and have a stable, predictable income. How you ask? I think there are two very important things you can do immediately to help combat the fatigue. Let me share with you how I think ALL piano teachers should invoice!
Read MoreWhen Should I Raise My Rates? [Dollars and Sense Q&A]
As promised, I am adding a feature to the Dollars and Sense category of the blog called Dollars and Sense Q&A! Kristin Yost has give a brief answer to this week’s question:
I know that I need to raise my rates. What is the best time to do this? Answered by Kristin Yost
Ah yes, the raising of the rates! First and foremost, I would make it clear in your studio policy that your rates are raised annually based on the national average, (last year is was 2-3%) and the new tuition takes effect June or July 1 of each year or when your studio calendar year begins.
I like to send out a personal note of accomplishments of myself as the teacher as well as what my students have achieved in the last year. This helps parents to understand the value of your service that you offer. You may also want to send your students a copy of the “Where Does My Tuition Go?” brochure that Wendy has provided so parents can be reminded of all the wonderful things their tuition covers.
If you have a business question you’d like to ask, email me (Wendy) and we’ll get your question answered in an upcoming post.
Read MoreA Better Image Can Translate to Better Money
Our “Dollars and Sense” feature is back! Kristin Yost will be sharing some fantastic articles containing useful business advice for piano teachers. She and I will also be sharing answers to your questions on business matters. Simply email me (Wendy) with your questions and we will try to answer you in a future post. Here is this week’s business advice for the piano teacher:
A Better Image Can Translate to Better Money
by Kristin Yost (PianoTeacherSchool.com and CentreforMusicalMinds.org)
You know as well as I do that the prettier the package in the window, the more sales the company will have. When I say “better image,” I’m not talking about the ten pounds we could all probably shed, or those bad hair days that you wish you could avoid. I’m talking about your online and print image to the public. If you are struggling with enrollment and you are asking yourself “What online and print image?”, well, you may already have your answer to why your enrollment is struggling. It’s time to ask yourself an important question that can truly make or break your enrollment numbers: Is your print image consistent with your personal image?
Let’s take a look at the ways your “image” is portrayed to the public, both in print and “real life.” As someone who is educating children through adults, your personal image needs to be one that is desirable to a large and wide variety of people – your print and online image should also match this. I love hot pink, but that doesn’t mean it should appear on my website. As an example, my company website appeals primarily to women who are in their 30’s and 40’s – this is on purpose. The vast majority of people going to our website happen to be in this age group, and they are also mostly female.
As a musician, we have so many options of what we are going to teach, how we are going to teach and what kinds of activities we offer.
Read More
Follow Us!