Today I’m talking to Mirka da Pieva, a piano teacher in Brazil who noticed a shortage of blogs and teaching resources available in Portuguese so she stepped in to fill the gap. She has grown her business to include a blog, in-person and online teacher trainings, and a collection teaching games. She’s also done some very creative things to build a strong community of Portuguese-speaking teachers and to elevate music teaching as a viable profession in Brazil. A full transcript and the show notes f...
Feb 24, 2021•57 min
Today I’m talking to two musicians about how they have made a career in music over the last 15 years. I think their story illustrates what it means to be, not just an entrepreneurial musician, but an entrepreneur in general. You’ll hear about how they’ve made plans and pursued ideas, while keeping an open ear to what’s going on in the market and world around them, so they can respond with products and services that meet real needs and opportunities. At points this has led them to make pivots. CO...
Feb 17, 2021•55 min
Today I’m interviewing two piano teachers who, although they didn’t set out to start a business have, over the last decade, built a thriving enterprise and made a noticeable mark on the world of piano pedagogy. You’ll hear about how they came to develop their own piano method, the humble beginnings of their first print runs, how they’ve expanded their distributor network to reach a global audience, and how they’ve grown as entrepreneurs through the process. Enjoy my conversation with Katherine F...
Feb 10, 2021•48 min
Today I’m talking to someone with a background in tech who came into music school ownership by opening a franchise! He brings a really interesting perspective to the conversation and there’s a ton to learn. Enjoy this conversation with Ashwin Kotian from Bach to Rock - Cedar Park, TX. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode071
Feb 03, 2021•49 min
A number of podcast guests and teachers I’ve talked to over the last year have recommended the Profit First book by Mike Michalowicz and talked about the impact this method has had on their businesses. Today’s guest, who comes from a background in finance and accounting, is going to explain the basics of how this method works and why you might want to adopt it for your studio. Full transcript available at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode070/...
Jan 27, 2021•35 min
Business Building 101 starts this week! This 12-week course is all about building a strong foundation for a financially-sustainable business, and I’ll be walking through it with another live cohort of teachers. You’ll get weekly video lessons to complete whenever it’s convenient and you can join the live office hours to get personalized help and hang out with other teachers in the cohort. Today’s mini interview comes from Jenica Nevala, a music school owner who already had a few years of studio-...
Jan 22, 2021•16 min
Business Building 101 starts this week! As I mentioned in previous weeks, I’ll be bringing another live cohort of teachers through the Business Building 101 program . This 12-week course is all about building a strong foundation for a financially-sustainable business. You’ll get weekly video lessons to complete whenever it’s convenient and you can join the live office hours to get personalized help and hang out with other teachers in the cohort. Today’s mini interview comes from Rachel Ehring wh...
Jan 21, 2021•22 min
Today’s mini interview is with Scarlette Kerr, a teacher who went from having a very part-time studio while in grad school to building a strong student roster within seven months, even with COVID happening. We talk about being a musician AND business owner, time management, and self-promotion. Scarlette also happens to be the winner of the startup grant we awarded back in May 2020. The next cohort of Business Building 101 is starting this week! Enroll today at musicstudiostartup.com/businessbuil...
Jan 20, 2021•21 min
Often when I interview studio owners, there’s one specific element of their business that I want to highlight and delve into, but I’ve gotten to know today’s guest over the last year or so and there were so many big and little things about the way they run their studio that are really cool and I wanted you to hear about. We’ll touch on a lot of different topics from developing a unique teaching method and calendar, to branding, to building community partnerships,to having co-owners - we really c...
Jan 13, 2021•59 min
Business Building 101 is starting January 18! Join this live cohort by registering for the course at musicstudiostartup.com/courses Happy new year! As I ease back into my regular routine, I’m popping in today with a quick announcement and a mini podcast interview. First, the announcement. As I mentioned in previous weeks, I’ll be bringing another live cohort of teachers through the Business Building 101 course starting January 18. This 12-week course is all about building a strong foundation for...
Jan 06, 2021•13 min
Business Building 101 will be back in January! Join this live cohort by registering for the course at musicstudiostartup.com/courses What a year it’s been. It’s been hard in big, life-altering ways and in incredibly mundane ways. This year, more than usual, I’m looking forward to the symbolically fresh start and optimism that a new year brings. With that new year around the corner, goal-setting is on my mind. Today I thought I’d share my own goal-setting process. If you already have a process th...
Dec 23, 2020•11 min
You might already be cringing at the title to this episode, so first a little background. Jason and I are both alumni of an entrepreneurial training program called College Works Painting. My time in this program was hugely influential in my life and career and it’s where I got my first taste of sales training. I am constantly drawing on my sales experience from this business and Jason has taken this many levels beyond what we learned back in the day, so I’m excited for what he has to say. I know...
Dec 16, 2020•42 min
BIG NEWS! Business Building 101 will be back in 2021 with another live cohort! Check out musicstudiostartup.com/courses to enroll. Today I’m talking to a piano teacher who is in the early stages of transitioning his private studio into a multi-teacher studio. In order to be sustainable, there are some foundational things that have to change to when you scale up from being a solo teacher studio to a multi-teacher studio, especially for owners who want to be strictly administrators and not also be...
Dec 09, 2020•50 min
A couple of weeks ago I aired an episode with Ryan Benthall about different lead generation platforms like TakeLessons.com and Thumbtack. After hearing Ryan talk about the different platforms and the business models behind them, my economics nerd radar was buzzing. This was a perfect illustration of incentives and how they influence consumer and business behavior. I hope today’s episode, I’m doing a deep dive econ case study. We’ll be looking, primarily at TakeLessons.com, as an example of incen...
Dec 02, 2020•14 min
Today I’m taking a break from the regular format to just say “thank you.” Learn to grow your music studio with business resources for music teachers at musicstudiostartup.com
Nov 25, 2020•2 min
I get a lot of questions about online platforms like TakeLessons.com and Thumbtack, that connect teachers with students. I haven’t used these platforms myself, but after Allie Tyler mentioned in our interview a couple of weeks ago how she used Thumbtack to build her studio, I wanted to investigate further. When I met a teacher who had firsthand experience with several of these platforms, I jumped on the chance to pick his brain. Read the full transcript for this episode here ....
Nov 18, 2020•33 min
Today, on what happens to be Veteran’s Day in the US, I’m honored to be talking to a Vietnam Veteran and guitar teacher for a non-profit organization that aims to brighten the lives of veterans who suffer from physical and mental wounds from their times of service. You’ll hear about how their mission is shaped by those they serve, how they raise funds for the program, and how they address some unique considerations when matching teachers with veterans and finding creative ways to make the guitar...
Nov 11, 2020•37 min
As I prep and schedule this podcast episode, it’s still October, but if you listen to it on the day it comes out, it’s the day after the presidential election in the U.S. It’s been quite a year. Stress levels have been high. And I thought we might just need a little humor this week. So I’m rebroadcasting an episode I aired back in April. I’ve got two musicians on the podcast today who are experts in pretty much every aspect of running a studio. We’re doing a rapid fire interview with some of the...
Nov 04, 2020•11 min
We cover a range of topics in today’s episode: everything from branding and marketing, to starting a new studio in a new state, to building a business model that prioritizes flexible time and passive income. Allie talks about how a year of traveling and living in a van gave her clarity on her values as a teacher and entrepreneur and how she gradually built her new studio to reflect those values. I think you’ll get lots of inspiration and ideas from this Colorado voice teacher. Show notes and ful...
Oct 28, 2020•43 min
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking about fiscal sponsorship as a way of launching a foundation or community-oriented project without having to set up an official non-profit organization. Today we’re shifting gears and I’m interviewing the executive director of a more traditional 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. This foundation has a really interesting founding story and its director, Reed, has a lot of experience running non-profits, so I think you’ll learn a lot from the way he...
Oct 21, 2020•38 min
In last week’s episode, we got a great introduction to the concept of fiscal sponsorship from the San Francisco Study Center. Today, I’m talking to a world-renowned bass player, Terry Miller, who has used the fiscal sponsorship model to start a foundation that brings music to kids, both locally and globally. Terry is joined by the head of the board for his foundation, Leslie O’Brein. Show notes and full transcript available at musicstuidostartup.com/episode059 ....
Oct 14, 2020•40 min
I often hear from music teachers who have aspirations to start nonprofit organizations or to have a non-profit component of their music schools. Their ideas are noble and awesome, but sometimes they never get very far off the ground because of the complexities that come with starting and maintaining an official tax-exempt organization, or 501(c)3, as it’s known here in the U.S. Today's guests are going to talk to us about why that tax-exempt status is so important and introduce us to a little-kn...
Oct 07, 2020•37 min
Today I’m talking to the owner of a music school in the Boston area who started by teaching guitar out of her spare bedroom and now has a school with three commercial locations and a staff of over 30 teachers serving more than 500 students. We talk a lot about finances in the conversation. More specifically, how Lauren decided when to bootstrap and when to take out a loan to finance her business growth. This episode provides a really helpful counterpoint to last week’s bootstrapping conversation...
Sep 30, 2020•45 min
Today I’m talking to the owner of a studio that has only been open for a couple of months! I know a lot of my listeners are in the early stages of starting their businesses so hopefully this provides some encouragement. Although we’re recording during the pandemic, which presents its own special set of challenges, we also talk about some classic startup challenges, like financing and getting paid as a studio owner.
Sep 23, 2020•34 min
Today I’m talking to the owner of a boutique voice studio about how she rebranded her studio to make it more about her students and less about her. You’ll hear all about how she introduced the new brand, how it was received by studio parents, and how her students have taken ownership of the studio community, to the point where they’ve even developed their own gang sign. There’s a lot of food for thought in the episode with Leischen Moore. Full transcript available at musicstudiostartup.com/episo...
Sep 16, 2020•30 min
Today’s guest is both a music teacher (drummer!) and counselor. Johnny Hunter, talks about how we can make our studios safe spaces for students going through hard things and also how to handle situations where we might notice behavior or have a conversation with a student that is concerning. Full transcript and show notes at musicstudiostartup.com/episode054
Sep 09, 2020•42 min
New episodes coming next week! Check out resources for music teachers at musicstudiostartup.com or on Instagram at instagram.com/musicstudiostartup
Sep 02, 2020•2 min
I’m on summer break so this week I’m rebroadcasting a previously-aired episode of Music Studio Startup. Show notes from when this episode originally aired can be found at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode017/
Aug 19, 2020•27 min
I’m on summer break so this week I’m rebroadcasting a previously-aired episode of Music Studio Startup. Show notes from when this episode originally aired can be found at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode025/
Aug 12, 2020•37 min
I’m on summer break so this week I’m rebroadcasting a previously-aired episode of Music Studio Startup. Show notes from when this episode originally aired can be found at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode016/
Aug 05, 2020•38 min
