I am a huge believer in the power of community. How do you foster a sense of community in your studio? For me it is about providing opportunities for students to learn with each other and from each other. For parents to meet each other and have conversations that go beyond "hi, how are you". And for the whole studio to feel like we are...
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Since I opened up my studio ten years ago, I have required all parents to attend a year-end parent/teacher conference. The conference is always scheduled the week after spring term ends. This year it will be the first week in June. Every parent is required to attend in order to register for lessons in the next year. Parents sign up for 30-minute time slots per child. Students that are age 15 or older may join their parents but it is not required.
I really enjoy meeting with the parents to discuss how the year went, goals for next year, and areas that are in need of improvement. Another item of business in the conference is scheduling lesson times for the following year. Usually parents are thinking ahead and know what their child’s school and activity schedule will include. Some are already asking for lesson time changes in preparation for next year. For advancing students, it may be time to discuss and recommend a longer lesson time. This really helps in jump starting my planning for the fall and eases my job in August when putting together my final schedule.
It's not unusual for the holidays to be a "down time" for studios. Here are some ideas that might turn these otherwise quiet days into positive energy and help build your business. Consider this blog posting "timely," since the the holiday break for schools is rapidly approaching. There may be an opportunity to implement some of these in the next couple of weeks. These thoughts fall into...
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