Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs

We have wrapped up another school year and another season of our long-format teacher interviews. But don't worry, we have NO intentions of abandoning your playlists this summer.  Listen in to hear about a returning series AND a brand new series coming your way! A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/2023summerannouncement .

My conversation today is the second in a set of two interviews from first-time parents talking about how they planned for parental leave. In both last week's episode with Renee Shaw Nutwell and today's episode with Jeremy Eikenberry, we talk about the goals these teachers had for their students and studios during their leave, how they attempted to plan for something that they didn't have full cont...

Today's interview is on a topic I've never covered on the podcast before and it's not one that gets a lot of attention, but it's a real thing that a lot of teachers have to navigate and it can be kind of complicated. I'm talking about taking an extended leave from a studio. Our discussion centers around taking parental leave after the birth of a child, but the insights and takeaways translate to t...

This interview is really fun, because it's sort of a listener response to some previous interviews I did with teachers who used lead generation websites, like Thumbtack.com, to build their studios. Today I'm interviewing a drummer who dove into teaching during the pandemic when gigs stopped. Rob had such great success building his studio that, even with gigs returning, he's kept the studio open. Y...

Today I have the privilege of interviewing Kayia Baker, the director of a non-profit music school from my own city - St. Louis! In this interview we talk about how the program launched to 45 students in one location to now serving over 250 students in three different neighborhoods, we talk about what it takes to fund a program that provides free lessons to students while also paying teachers, and...

This time of year I get a lot of financial questions from teachers. We've just gotten through the holiday spending spree, new year's might have inspired some financial goal-setting, and then there's the looming tax deadline in April, so there's a lot to think about. Sometimes the questions I get are really specific to an individual, but lately a bunch of clients and listeners have said "hey, you t...

Today we're talking about all things non-profit management. My guest, Erin Parkes, founder of the Lotus Centre shares so many insights from her experiences working with a board of directors, crafting effective messaging for different stakeholders, managing a budget, and even dealing with burnout. All while keeping the mission of her organization front and center.  A full transcript and resources f...

Many teachers are intrigued by the idea of introducing group lessons into their studios, but may feel like the hurdles to getting started are too high. Today I'm talking to an Ohio-based teacher, Debra Mattera, who started her group lesson program by partnering with other organizations - first a music store and later local elementary schools. We talk about getting the word out to students, pricing...

Will you be in Reno, NV for the MTNA conference next week? Find out how we can meet! Not attending? No worries. We've got a great episode coming your way about starting group lesson programs in local schools. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/2023mtnaconferenceannouncement .

Today I'm talking to Noah Tretter, a guitar teacher who branched out from his private studio in Oregon to start a virtual multi-teacher studio during COVID. One of the unique things about this studio, is the way its founder has tapped into charter school programs as a way of building the student base and making it possible for families to use educational funds provided by their state to pay for mu...

Today I'm talking to Celeste Watson, the owner of a thriving private piano studio in North Carolina. We cover a lot of studio nuts and bolts in this conversation: things like studio policies, parent communication, handling tuition increases, setting expectations for new students, and much more. But before we get into any of that, we talk about the journey it took for this teacher to get to the pla...

Today we're back with part two of a great conversation with someone you may have encountered on YouTube - The Ukulele Teacher aka John Atkins. John is YouTuber, Patreon creative, and now podcaster who got his start on YouTube back in 2011. We talk about the opportunities and the challenges of being an early user of platforms like Patreon, how monetization on YouTube has changed over time, and how...

Today we're back with part one of a great conversation with someone you may have encountered on YouTube - The Ukulele Teacher aka John Atkins. John is YouTuber, Patreon creative, and now podcaster who got his start on YouTube back in 2011. We talk about the opportunities and the challenges of being an early user of platforms like Patreon, how monetization on YouTube has changed over time, and how...

Today's episode is a little different than usual. Amy Elmore (who you may remember from Studio Snapshot 007 ) is returning to talk about mindset and goal-setting. We're also pulling back the curtain on a little thing we've got in the works to release later this spring. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode112 .

2022 has officially come to a close. With the turn of the calendar, many of us are closing the fiscal years for our businesses and wrapping up our bookkeeping for the year in anticipation of the tax season ahead. I am a HUGE fan of a low-stress tax season and the way to accomplish that is to get started early and tackle one step at a time. Which is why I invited back to the podcast, Andrea Yahr, a...

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode110.

Today I'm joined by two guests who have started two businesses together: a thriving, multi-location conservatory, and a practice app to motivate and inspire students. You'll get to hear about how Chris and Robert manage both  businesses and what they've learned along the way. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode109.

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming back Chris Swan, a guest who was on the podcast back in Episode 066 . In that episode we talked about Chris's studio STL Piano Lessons and all the changes he made in his first years in business to get his studio where he wanted it to be. Chris was super transparent about the highs and lows he had experienced as a business owner, and he was really good at arti...

Over the next two episodes, you're going to hear from two teachers who have moved and restarted their studios in new cities. The circumstances are pretty different, so I think you'll enjoy hearing the contrast between the two experiences. Today I'm joined by a teacher who relocated from Colorado to Utah. We talk about the steps she took and timeline she followed to close one studio and how she wen...

Today's podcast hits on one of the harder aspects of being a music studio owner and one of the harder aspects of life in general: navigating through a personal crisis. In a time of crisis, your world is turned upside down. You might be facing uncertainty, confusion, grief, pain, or a whole host of emotions, but the rest of the world is still turning. And as business owners, taking time away to fig...

If you've been a music teacher for a while, you're probably familiar with the most common studio management systems out there. And you may have noticed in the last year or so that one of these platforms got a makeover and a new name. Music Teacher's Helper and its counterpart for multi-teacher studios, Studio Helper, have become Duet Partner. Behind the name change and rebrand, there's also a new...

Today we're covering a topic that is a huge question for musicians and often a barrier for people considering self-employment. The topic is: health insurance. Whether you have it already, anticipate needing it in the future, or are shopping for it right now during open enrollment, this episode will help you understand what the options are and how you can make an affordable and informed decision. M...

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/episode000-Fall-2022.

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/snapshot010.

Welcome back! We're doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you're used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest's studio at a moment in time.  They're part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where these teachers are today. Today I'm talking to C...