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Are you a music studio owner or instructor looking to grow your music teaching business? This podcast will teach you how to apply marketing and business fundamentals so you can get more music students for longer.
The podcast about all things business for music teachers and studio owners. Learn how to brand, market, and grow your music studio. Hear stories of creative music teachers who are taking on other cool entrepreneurial projects. Get answers to your self-employment questions from experts. Hosted by entrepreneur, business coach, and piano teacher, Andrea Miller.
OutsideGuitar.com was founded in 2015 by guitarist Aram Bajakian. Having spent more than a decade as an active member of NYC's scene, and performing with a diverse range of artists (Lou Reed, John Zorn, Diana Krall, Malcolm Mooney from Can) Bajakian wanted to find a way to give back some of what he had learned to the music community. Thus, the online guitar masterclass, OutsideGuitar.com was born. The OutsideGuitar.com podcast allows subscribers to ask questions to guitarists that play outsi ...
Zealous Musician is a podcast that takes a closer look at the music we love. For season one, we’ll dive into music from post-hardcore and emo bands like Thrice, Underoath, A Day to Remember - Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, and Copeland. Our focus will be on light music theory -- even playing some ourselves -- and rediscovering why we loved these bands so much in the first place.
Preschool friendly music lessons that develop perfect pitch and a good sense of rhythm! Host and creator Mr. Rob makes music lessons fun and easy. Why? So that every child can enjoy the benefits of (and art that is) music! The show uses 8 colored bells (amongst other characters and instruments) to give preschool children meaningful exposure to pitch! Preschool children are uniquely capable of developing perfect pitch due to the deep-brain auditory development that takes place between birth a ...
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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Mini Interview: Jenica Nevala on Bold Promotions and Growing a Multi-Teacher Music School
16:06
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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 ha…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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How to be a Better Leader of Your Music Studio With Marwan Kanafani (Part 2 of 2) | Ep 110
31:52
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Some of us are born with the gift of music. Some of us are able to sit down at a piano at the age of 3 and begin to sound out melodies and chords. The rest of us have to work hard to nurture, develop and hone our musical chops. The same can be said about leadership and management. We all can't be an Abraham Lincoln. We all can, however, nurture, de…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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Mini Interview: Rachel Ehring on Startup Costs and Being Flexible
21:37
21:37
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21:37
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 j…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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Mini Interview: Scarlette Kerr on Professionalizing a Private Piano Studio
20:33
20:33
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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 …
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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How to be a Better Leader of Your Music Studio With Marwan Kanafani (Part 1 of 2) | Ep 109
33:21
33:21
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33:21
Most music studios start off with one employee-YOU. Your studio was defined by your ability to show up. Everything changes once you hire that first employee. You are now the head of an organization. Your first employee needs to understand what your mission is, what success looks like, and what expectations exist. Once you hire that first employee y…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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069 - Angie Marianthi on Building a Family-Owned Music Studio
58:30
58:30
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58:30
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 dif…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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How to Market and Sell Group Music Classes with Sophia Hardesty (Part 3 or 4) | Ep 108
28:22
28:22
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28:22
In episode 3 of this 4 part series, I discuss phone strategies for directing incoming students into group classes.By Dave Simon
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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Mini Interview: Anna Mayer on Transitioning from Full-Time School Teacher to Studio Owner
12:48
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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 l…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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How to Market and Sell Your Group Music Classes (Part 2 of 4) | Ep 107
46:28
46:28
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Everyone knows what private lessons look like or has an image of what that experience looks like. Group classes are another story. Group classes can be a bit murky in the mind of the customer. What do they do in those group classes anyway? That's not how I learned how to play an instrument. Aren't you supposed to do private lessons? Isn't the "righ…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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What My Mailman Taught Me About Marketing Music Lessons | Ep 106
14:58
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In this episode, I share a story about my neighborhood mailman and what valuable lessons he taught me about marketing music lessons. www.davesimonsmusic.comBy Dave Simon
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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068 - Andrea Miller on Goal Setting for 2021
10:59
10:59
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10:59
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. Wit…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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How to Market and Sell Your Group Classes (Part 1 of 4) | Ep 105
9:47
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When someone lands on your website they've got one thing on their mind; private lessons. They have this fantasy of what that first lesson will look like. Little Susie is bouncing with excitement as she hops into the car to tell mom all about her first lesson. 4 months later Susie steps out onto the stage to be greeted by applause as she walks with …
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 ex…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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2 Secrets to Music Studio Growth with Stacy Tuschl | Ep 104
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One of the best ways to improve your marketing skills is to talk to business owners from other industries. Perhaps you belong to some Facebook groups that cater to folks like us, music studio owners; but we exist in a bubble. One music studio shares a marketing tactic that sounds promising and other studios get inspired and give it a go. There's a …
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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066 - Chris Swan on Iterating in an Early Stage Music School
49:52
49:52
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49:52
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…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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The Secret to Word of Mouth Marketing | Ep 103
21:22
21:22
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Marketing experts can overwhelm us with must-do lists for growing our businesses. Social media, websites, content marketing, SEO, advertising, Google AdWords, email marketing....the list goes on. Who has time to tend to all of these tools and resources? We all know by now that these are important weapons in our marketing arsenal but nothing is more…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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065 - Andrea Miller on Incentives at Work in Music Studios
13:58
13:58
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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 bu…
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
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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064 - Ryan Benthall on Firsthand Experience with Lead Generation Platforms
33:26
33:26
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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 exp…
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 fu…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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062 - Caleb & Rebecca on FAQs (Rebroadcast)
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10:46
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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 t…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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061 - Allie Tyler on Building an Aligned Private Voice Studio
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42:54
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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 gradual…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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060 - Reed Caldwell on Starting a Non-Profit
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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 …
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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How To Create Viral Videos and Get Local Press With Sophia Hardesty | Ep 102
19:02
19:02
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In this episode, I share an easy strategy that is guaranteed to get you local press and generate viral videos on social media. A St. Louis based a 5-man marching band of college kids took their music to suburban streets. Their message of unity and music went viral and local news featured this feel-good story. Music schools have a lot to learn from …
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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059 - Terry Miller & Leslie O'Brien on Starting a Foundation
40:11
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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…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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The Real Reason Parents Want Music Lessons For Their Child | Ep 101
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18:29
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Why do parents sign their kids up for music lessons? To play an instrument of course. Why is playing an instrument important to parents? Do they want their child to be the next Leonard Bernstein or Eddie Van Halen? If you can uncover your customers' core desire you can speak directly to their emotions. Why do parents buy music lessons? In the book …
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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058 - San Francisco Study Center on Using Fiscal Sponsorship to Launch a Community-Oriented Project
37:20
37:20
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37:20
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, …
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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057 - Lauren Bateman on Building a Multi-Location Music School
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44:46
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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…
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Music Lessons and Marketing
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A Makeup Policy Everyone Will Love | Ep 100
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22:04
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22:04
I tried every makeup lesson policy under the sun. I initially offered makeup lessons with a 24-hour heads up. Very customer friendly, but as my studio grew, so did my administrative efforts with having to keep up with the demand for makeup lessons. Then I tried a no-makeup lesson policy. Not very customer friendly but it allowed me to devote more t…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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056 - Jaclyn Bradley on Bootstrapping a Music School During a Pandemic
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33:59
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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 st…
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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs
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055 - Leischen Moore on Rebranding an Independent Voice Studio
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29:43
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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 develope…
