Money & Entrepreneurship

Context

I've always been ardent about teaching, hence why I've been teaching most of my life; I started when I was 11 years old with writing and public speaking engagements, which evolved into private and public tutoring/teaching. I then commenced my own music teaching business at the age of 14 after my parents encouraged me to monetize my affinity with music. My first music lessons began at 9 years old. I'm no prodigy, but I can play a tune or two. When I began teaching music, the first instrument I taught was the piano. The second instrument I taught was beginner guitar.

Know How-To Teach

You don't have to be an expert to teach music. You only need to know what you are teaching. You can be a beginner teacher. You can be an intermediate teacher. You can be an expert teacher.

Know what level you can teach, and aim only to teach the students at your comfort level.

I taught beginner to intermediate piano and beginner guitar.

What are your instruments of expertise?

Focus on tuning up your skills, and get ready to make money while doing what you enjoy.

Getting Students

Getting students is the most crucial aspect of your music business, or you won't be teaching.

So, where do you get the students from?

Anywhere and everywhere.

If you want to teach inside your home, you can put out signs around your area or areas you are willing to travel to.

If you want to teach online, you can do Facebook advertising or use other sites to post your music lessons.

Things you can include in your advertisements:

1. Business Phone Number 2. Type of lessons 3. Email Address 4. Price

When I put signs out, I got poster boards from the dollar store, sticks and nails from Lowe's or Home Depot, and staples. I had a contact who could print out the paper signs for free, which I attached to the posterboards.

Online advertising is a great way to go, but putting up signs in specific areas was a great success for me and the only thing I utilized when I taught music.

Pricing

What will your price be? I charged by the half-hour, which is standard in the music teaching business.

If you want to earn $3,000+ per month, you first need to decide how much value you place on your time. $15 to $60 per session is usually the going rate.

I recommend choosing a competitive rate no lower than $20/30 minute session. But choose a number that works best for you and your goals.

Charisma & Communication

Know how to communicate and understand the needs of your clients. Teaching music is a service, which means you need to ensure your customer service skills are superb to keep customer retention high.

Turnover is inevitable, but you can control churn by offering excellent customer service and ample schedule flexibility.

Payment

I always had my students pay a month in advance. I made exceptions for students depending on their financial situation, but I tried to be consistent across clients.

When you have students pay in advance, it puts a portion of the responsibility in their hands. They have to commit, which helps ensure they maintain a level of discipline to learning their craft; this also ensures if a student does not show up, you still get paid.

Materials

My students paid for their materials, but I did get the materials for them.

How did this work? The students would give me additional funds with their monthly payments to pick up the books we would use for their lessons.

Curriculum Standardization

There was not too much variation in the curriculum I used. Using the same curriculum helped familiarize me with the contents, which enabled me to master the curriculum.

Teachers don't change the curriculum too much in traditional schooling. They may improvise and update the curriculum, but they usually use one curriculum for an extended period, which leads to three things:

  • High familiarity with the content
  • Teaching is made easier since you know the content so well
  • Creativity can increase since you've mastered the content

Where Will You Teach?

I taught in my home, I taught online, I taught in churches, and I also taught in others' homes.

Do what you are most comfortable with. Maybe it doesn't make sense to teach in person. Maybe it makes more sense for you to teach online.

Screen Calls/Emails

Not everyone who contacts you will be creep-free.

Screen: calls, emails, and clients using discernment and wisdom.

If a person ever makes you feel uncomfortable, skip that client. Yes, it may be lost money, but your well-being is more important — always.

Be Confident

One of the best characteristics a teacher can have is confidence. Be confident when you answer the phone, when you respond to an email, and when you teach a session.

Confidence will bring you more students, confidence will keep the sessions fun, and confidence will bring you more money.

Get Started

What are you waiting for? Get your music business started. And please know, you can make way more than $3,000/month teaching music. :)

Offer Discounts & Incentives For Client Referrals

I got tons of students from student referrals before I started to offer incentives for referrals. Word of mouth is king when it comes to advertising for two primary reasons:

  • It's free
  • People like utilizing services based on others' experience — trust is a huge factor in buying products and services.

Part-Time Versus Full-Time

I made $3,000+ per month working part-time, less than 20 hours a week. So imagine the money you could make charging higher rates and working full-time. Teaching music is a great way to pad your pockets, budgets, and accounts with extra cash flow.

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Destiny S. Harris is a writer, poet, entrepreneur, teacher, and techie who offers free books daily on amazon. Destiny obtained three degrees in political science, psychology, and women's studies. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, or @ destinyh.com

This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any significant financial decisions.