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24 Oct

3 Books That Helped Me Become a Better Teacher and Business Owner

by admin
in Program Development
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Books That Helped Me Be a Better Teacher and Studio OwnerWhen I first opened my studio several years ago, I knew I was going to need a lot of help. Teaching would be the easy part; it was running a business that overwhelmed me.

Having never taken a business course in my life, I dove into blogs and books that could help fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Many of the books I’ve read have had a profound influence on the way I run my business, but there are a few that have positively affected not only my studio operation, but also my teaching. Here are three that I’d recommend to any teacher and studio owner.

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21 Oct

Achieving Balance to Avoid Burnout

by admin
in Uncategorized
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balance beamWhen I mentioned to my husband that this month’s blog would be about balance, he laughed and suggested that I first start to make some changes, and then write and article in six months to share how I achieved a more balanced lifestyle. I have to admit that he is right. I have not done well with balance over the last two months. Most of us start the year with high expectations, good intentions, high energy and a long list of goals. That was how I began September – full of energy, many students, a waiting list, and lots of projects. By the second week of lessons, I had already suffered from illness due to stress. I was out of balance – I had fallen off the beam.

Instead of sharing my own ideas, I will summarize a session from the 2011 Music Teachers National Conference in Milwaukee entitled “A life in balance.” This was one of the last sessions presented at the conference and even though I was there, I was not able to attend so I purchased the MP3 DVD and listened to it. Meg Gray, a professor of music at Lincoln University of Missouri, and Ellen McQuie, family medicine physician, gave an insightful and helpful session in which they concentrated on the following five different areas to assist in creating a balanced lifestyle.

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09 Oct

Taking Risks

by cconrad
in Finances, Program Development
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risk-and-reward-787129This past spring, I decided to take a bit of a risk with my studio.

I’ve taught private piano lessons for about nine years.  Since having a child two-and-a-half years ago, I’ve kept my studio relatively small.  I only accept twelve private lesson students, since I like to be a mostly stay-at-home mom.  In March, all my private lesson spots filled up, and I began a waiting list.  I have always hated turning students down both because I love my job, and let’s be honest–no one likes turning down money.  But I know that being home with my little one is most important right now, and in order to make a substantial enough leap in income, I would have to take on quite a few more students which means quite a few more hours away from my little one.

So, I decided to branch out from private lessons.  Before moving from Wisconsin about two years ago, a public school there had approached me about teaching piano lessons in a group setting as part of their summer school program.  I was all set to begin a certification process, but ended up moving to Montana before I could see it through.  The idea of teaching group piano entered my head again this spring when I thought of the way it would work out really well in allowing me to teach substantially more students at my studio without taking away the amount of time from my daughter that it would require if I was to teach each of these students privately.

So I took the plunge.

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