Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs

Today's guest, Lee Stockner, started out as a traditional, classical piano teacher, but when he had the opportunity to teach a student with Autism, he found some of his personal experiences with ADD made him able to relate, and teaching students with special needs became Lee's niche. On Lee's journey to find ways to be a better teacher to his students, he developed creative solutions to the challe...

With spring officially here, that means recital season for so many music teachers. Today we're taking the branding conversation we been having over the last few episodes, and applying it to our studio events, like recitals! Joining me is Allison McDonald, an event planner from St. Louis. Now, I know most of us aren't hiring event planners to coordinate our recitals and the majority of our prep tim...

When Tim Topham was trying to make a living as a music producer and it wasn't going well, he started taking on piano students as an additional source of income. In our interview, he talked about how little he knew about teaching at that stage. Over time, Tim discovered his unique teaching style lent itself particularly well to teaching teens and students who were feeling dejected by their current...

Nicole Riccardo is a flute teacher and branding consultant. Today we talk about how music teachers can identify a niche and then how to use that focus to strengthen our marketing. Nicole outlines some great questions music teachers can ask themselves to start developing their brand and also questions to ask periodically down the road to maintain focus and growth. Full show notes available at  http...

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! Full show notes available at  https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/ episode025 /

Today's show follows a slightly different format because we're talking about how to prep for taxes. I've got five tax prep tips to share and details about an upcoming Self-Employment Tax Crash Course webinar that I'll be offering on Friday, March 1, 2019. Register for the webinar here! Full show notes available here  https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/ episode024 /

Eric was a third-generation music teacher making a great living when he got hooked up with a tech business founder looking for a new project. Eric realized he was spending a lot more time on admin tasks than he realized, so together they launched an online payment and scheduling app called Fons. If you're familiar with Fons, you might be surprised to learn what the original vision was for the plat...

Today's podcast is part two of my interview with Thomas Grayston, the developer of the Note Rush app. ( iTunes and Google Play ) In it, Thomas puts on his app developer hat and guides us through the first steps teachers can take if they have app ideas they want to bring to market. There is a TON of information in this episode, so be prepared to take notes! Full show notes available at musicstudios...

Today's episode is the first of a two-part interview with Thomas Grayston, the developer of the Note Rush app. In this week's episode, Thomas puts on his entrepreneur hat and shares his startup story. In next week's episode, he'll put on his developer hat and talk about first steps non-technical teachers can take if they have app ideas that they want to bring to market. Full show notes available a...

I have to take a quick break from the podcast to move Music Studio Startup HQ (and the rest of my life) from Maryland to Missouri! If you haven't heard the earliest episodes the podcast, now is a good time to catch up. If you want to read about the steps I've been taking to close and transition my studio in Maryland, you can check out those details on the blog! Moving - Part 1: Decisions, Decision...

Cindy Hsu is from a slightly different category of entrepreneur than my usual guests, but she has such a great sense of hustle and so many insights to share on building an audience. I know I picked up some gems to apply to my business endeavors! Full show notes available at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode020/  

A lot of entrepreneurial stories have meandering starts, often with setbacks and challenges that test a founder's dedication and perseverance as much as the business idea itself. Today's guest has one of those stories, but she stuck it out and made it to the other side. Here's our conversation! Full show notes available at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/ episode019 /

Last week we heard from Jolene Madewell , who used Instagram and other social media to build her online flute studio, so I thought talking to a full-time digital marketer would be a great follow-up. Today I'm talking to Molly Marshall about how local businesses like music studios can set themselves apart on Instagram. She talks about using hashtags, geotags, video, and good ol' fashioned networkin...

Lots of teachers transition in-person students to Skype students out of necessity when someone has to move, but today I'm talking to a flute teacher who has done the opposite. When Jolene's local studio wasn't gaining traction, she decided to focus on teaching virtually. She ramped up her social media presence and built her studio of mostly online students. After a couple of years, her local commu...

Today Lance LaDuke of Carnegie Mellon University shares the story of his winding career and how he created his dream job encouraging and mentoring music students who want to pursue entrepreneurial ideas. Full show notes available at  musicstudiostartup.com/ episode016

Dr. Joel Pierson, founder of Sadsap Music and creator of the "You Suck at Piano" series, gives us an honest, behind-the-scenes look at how he raised $85,000 in his first Kickstarter campaign. Joel tells us about the thought process behind setting a good Kickstarter budget, what it was like working with a PR firm, how crazy expensive international shipping can be, and some of the other surprises th...

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 in case we need to defend our businesses in a tax audit or in court, and we discuss some of the hard choices teachers have to make...

Ashley's own journey as a church musician led her to start a blog and create resources for others who have found themselves in similar roles. Last year she began to monetize her blog by creating and launching two online courses. In our conversation, Ashley shares tons of practical advice on the steps she went through to validate, create, and market her courses. Full show notes available at musicst...

Andrea Yahr, accountant and tax preparer, explains the different business structures (sole-proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp) music teachers can choose from, and when different structures might make sense. She also clear up some often misunderstood information around self-employment taxes and shares loads of resources. Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode012 Webinar The Ni...

Aaron Garner is a piano teacher and champion for innovation in music education. Like other teachers I've interviewed, Aaron's business idea came from an inefficiency he noticed in his piano studio. The solution he came up with led him to raise $600k in capital and start a software company called Piano Marvel. Full show notes available at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode011/  

Joanne Haroutounian is a piano pedagogy professor at George Mason University and founder of MusicLink Foundation, a non-profit organization which creates opportunities for eager students to participate in music lessons, despite financial disadvantages. In this episode, Joanne and I discuss the components of MusicLink, the development of a 501(c)(3), and how music teachers and individuals passionat...

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. Full show notes at musicstudiostartup.com/episode009    

Scott Stratton, a financial advisor, tells us about retirements options available to self-employed musicians. Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode008/

Tara O'Brien tells us the story of how developed and brought to market a tool called Note Match, to help her students learn to read music. Full show notes at musicstudiostartup.com/episode007

Wendy Racer is an interior designer and the owner of Way Interiors. In this episode, she shares her five profit-boosting interior design tips for music teachers and studio owners!   Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode006