Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum How long did it take you to build up a healthy full studio?

And another thought...

Set a goal for your studio in terms of the type of students you want. Naturally, those who do not fit the goal will drop out, and your studio will attract the type of students you want.

I keep in touch with several of my friends from college. I have by far the fewest number of students, but I get to work with kids who play well, are serious about piano, and win a bunch of competitions. Some of my friends prefer to work with little kids and beginners, and they deal with a whole different set of issues.

I've been trying for about a month to get started and not a single inquiry.
Advertising ****s.

I also wonder if I'm charging a bit too much considering my lack of credentials, but when I think about all the work outside of lessons that I know I'm going to put in, I don't really want to lower them.

Hi, Sal,

I've been wondering about how you were doing down in the Lacey-Olympia area since you moved here and announced you were going to build your studio. The last we heard you were building your website. If you published your link here we could take a look at it again and see if there is something that we might notice that would make a difference to you.

Not a single inquiry is a disappointing situation. But since you have stated prices to them before meeting them and giving them your spiel on your teaching, only the location and the price are what they are considering. They don't have access to who you are, what you look like, your age group, you playing the piano for them.

How can you make their inquiry and entry into your studio more personal and attractive?

So many people are teaching piano with out credentials that I don't think that's a big factor. For instance MTNA has 24,000 members across the US, and Washington State has remained at about 1000 - 1200 since I joined in 1981. If credentials and professional association memberships were the calling cards, our MTNA - WSMTA studios would be absolutely full with long waiting lists.

What seems to be thriving are the new studios of teachers who are networked into sports, school, church activities with their own children. I'm not sure what they are charging, but when I see a new teacher starting and they are charging what I and others with years of experience are charging, that makes me irritated somewhat. At the same time, I realize that it takes quite a bit of income to provide for oneself in today's economy.

When I started teaching in 1981 I charged $6 at home and $10 in their home for half an hour. I no longer travel and my fees are $25 for half an hour and $40 per hour. I can't afford to reduce them because of the lower size of my studio during the past 3 years.

At some point, clients may realize what they are getting for their money and make some serious changes in the description of what they are looking for in lessons. For instance, quality of instruction is not a consideration I've heard from parents in many years.

I hope you get even more pro-active in favor of yourself because I know you have musical abilities to share just as I felt I did when I started teaching. You have a sense of purpose and confidence and you should be able to use make use of it just like all the other new teachers are doing.

I just hope that they all have what is needed to be a piano teacher and that it is not just turning pages in a method book for them without having the smarts behind it. That would be a very sad scene for the next decade to come. I hope it's not just about gaining "easy" earning power to augment family income.

Betty

Sal, these are tough decisions and tough times. You have several dozens of piano teachers living and working within a 2 mile radius of where you live - there are 3 on my block alone! There are several Korean and Chinese teachers living near you who dramatically undercharge the market (I just lost 2 students to them, 1 a military family whom I was already offering a 10% tuition discount to). You can understand how an immigrant family would be more comfortable with someone with the same background, language and experiences. I certainly can.

About advertising. This town is leans heavily to the left politically, and our local paper reflects this bent. But a good 3rd of the population is more conservative and rather than being insulted by the daily diatribes, read the Tacoma paper. So, many of the people you'd like to reach are reading the local paper.

When first moving here, now 11 years ago, I advertised heavily in the two military post papers, and it netted me only a couple of students - barely offset the costs.

Talking with other teachers at the local music store, I find they are experience similar problems you and I are.

I don't have a solution for you, because if I did, I'd be using it myself. The economy will turn, eventually, I hope. So in the mean time, as my studio isn't flourishing like it was 4 years ago, I'm using the extra time to work on repertoire I put off polishing. It's actually rather enjoyable.

By the way, you really should stop by for coffee some time so we can chat.

John

Yet in other threads you express irritation with the teachers who charge markedly less than you do, because you correctly feel that it undermines the market and makes it more difficult for you to maintain your fees.

You've stated on several occasions that it irritates you when new teachers charge the going rate. Let me ask a very specific question, then: You say you charge $25 per half hour and $40 per hour. Exactly how much do you think a new teacher in your general area should charge?

John, I'd love to stop by sometime. My schedule is as open as can be, so just say when. I'd meant to make it up to Yenney's this past week and completely forgot. "several dozens of piano teachers living and working within a 2 mile radius of where you live"... why do I bother? Just send me your teens who can't do math. I'll be satisfied with that.

You sound a lot like me when I first started out. I wasn't sure what to charge, what kind of policies to have, etc. I agree with pps that you need to increase your lesson fees and registration fee. I charge $40 per year registration. As pps said, it pays for studio operating costs, copies/staff paper, computer programs, piano maintenance, etc. Sometimes I think that isn't enough, considering that I will also have to buy recital certificates or rewards, Christmas gifts, etc. I can't imagine only charging $15 per year. Raise those fees a bit!

Regarding how long it takes to build a studio...I may have been really lucky in this department. It didn't take me long at all to get to full capacity. It took me only 6 months to go from zero students to 35 students. Within 8 months, I was still full at 35 students and had a waiting list a mile long. Being in a large city with a ton of piano teachers, I was shocked at how quickly I filled up. Word of mouth is *everything.* I advertised a little at first, but then found that most of my students were referrals from current students. I also donated a month's worth of lessons to a charity auction, and attached several business cards to the certificate, and that event alone got me about 5 students, as well as word of mouth afterward. I would get people calling who said, "I heard about you from so-and-so" and I would have no idea who they were talking about...which was a good indication that my name and reputation were getting around in the community. I have not advertised at all since the first few months of starting to teach, and I am not listed on any web sites, but I find that I don't need any of that, so why bother with the expense. I am also raising my rates in January. I'm finding that if students and parents are happy and the students are excelling, they don't mind paying an extra $5 per week for a great teacher.

I also recommend doing a meet and greet for prospective students. This is where your personality and education shines, and you can demonstrate how you interact with your students and how/what you teach. This is a strength of mine, and one reason I believe my studio filled up so quickly. You can also weed out any "problem" parents or students that might cause conflict later on.

Regarding your policies, I echo the cash-only thing. I think you should change that so as not to give off a bad vibe. But the rest of your policies sound fine to me. They sound like mine LOL. Many parents have said that one reason they signed up with me was that my policies are so professional, so that might serve you well in the end. People respect a professional business.

Bottom line...be patient and don't compromise yourself just to attract students. The longer you teach, the more your name will get out there and you can build a great reputation for yourself. In the meantime, make the small changes this group suggested and keep focusing on being a great teacher! =)

It took me about 5 years, though I consider a healthy studio is about 15-20 students, and I have a lot of performance committments this year, plus studying and taking lessons for my own exams.

Meri