Studio Hacks
One of the questions I answered in my May Ask Me Anything YouTube video is the following:
What parts of studio management logistics have had the biggest impact on your studio running smoothly?
This is the type of question that I frequently discuss with Teacher Consultation clients. If you’d like to flesh out any of these ideas and see how they might work best for you, please consider investing in one of these. Every teacher’s context, demographic, and experience is different. These are things that have worked well for me in my context, but I’m happy to help others think through what might work best for them. Of course, experience is the best teacher, and the these “logistics” have all evolved over time for me.
Here goes - a short list of some of the things that are most helpful in my studio:
A clear studio policy. I strongly believe that any professional teacher of any instrument should have something written that explains the basics such as cost of lessons, how students will pay for lessons, and when and where lessons will be offered. Many teachers include more details in their policies, but some stick with a very simple document that just covers the critical elements.
Boundaries around my schedule. This was simple when I worked at a studio outside of my home and had to share space with other teachers. The reality was that I only had specific times on specific days when I could teach, so it was usually impossible for me to accommodate lessons outside of those times. I frequently encourage other teachers to decide what times of the week are best for them to teach, and then stick within those boundaries when setting schedules and deciding whether or not to offer make-up lessons. When someone asks for a different time, my favorite way to say “no” goes like this: “I’m sorry, I’m not able to accommodate that request.”
An effective onboarding procedure. In truth, this one is constantly evolving based on whether or not I have room for more students, and what type of student I’d like to take on in any given season. But the important piece here is that you must have a plan in place for the times when a potential student contacts you about the possibility of starting lessons. Do you have a website to which you direct them? A digital form to fill out? Do you offer a free interview? Or do you do a paid trial lesson?
Flat rate tuition. There are certainly teachers who have reasons for not using this system, but I think most would benefit from considering it. You can read a much more in depth article about how to do this here. I combine this with automated payments, which means that my teaching income requires virtually no effort on my part once the school year has started.
I answer two additional questions in the posted video here, and I’d love for you to check it out.
Do you have a question for my next Ask Me Anything video? Leave it in the comments here or on the YouTube video itself.
