How to refocus your teaching when it’s time for a change
Student scenario #1: I’ve been teaching for quite a while, but it’s always been a matter of squeezing lessons into my schedule. I haven’t been intentional about making my teaching a real part of my harp life, instead of just something on the side. But now I think I’d like to concentrate more on teaching and take on more students, and to do that I need to up my game. How do I start?
Student scenario #2: I’d really love to give my teaching a more professional feel. I think it would help me make a little more income from teaching, and I also think it would motivate my students and their parents to treat their lessons with a little more respect. What can I do to rebrand my studio?
Whether you have four students or 40, there are several worthwhile reasons you might consider a studio reboot. This is more than just redecorating your harp room. A true reboot will help you better align your teaching philosophy with your day-to-day reality. It is an opportunity to make your studio a business that reflects you—your outlook on teaching, your own harp life, your personal style, and your lifestyle goals.
One of the most common reasons to consider a reboot is to attract new students. Perhaps you have students graduating and you have empty slots to fill, or possibly you just want to add to your student roster. Sometimes all you need to do is spread the word that you’re looking for more students, but this might be the perfect time to give your publicity materials a new look and your marketing message a tweak.
Teachers who develop their studios around their core beliefs create dedicated and devoted students.
A more substantial makeover is in order if you would like to lead your teaching in a new direction. You may have fallen in love with a specific genre or style of harp playing, and you would like your teaching to reflect that new interest. You could specialize in folk music, or ensemble playing, or preparing young harpists for competitions, or jazz harp. Although selecting a particular musical niche may limit your potential student pool, you will likely be more passionate about your teaching, and your students will be drawn to your energy.
Don’t overlook another powerful reason to reboot: to refresh and renew your outlook, your energy, and your commitment. You work hard to make your lessons creative and inspiring for your students. Put equal energy into making your teaching inspiring for you. What do you want your students to learn, and how do you want them to learn it? What message do you want to send? Teachers who develop their studios around their core beliefs create dedicated and devoted students.
Whatever your reason for deciding to make changes to your teaching studio, it is critical to consider your ultimate goal. The strategies and changes you adopt will need to align with that goal in order for the reboot to be successful. Generally, your goal will fit into one of these three areas: income, involvement, impact.
Do you need more income? Your strategies may include recruiting more students, charging higher fees, and leveraging your time with group lessons.
Do you want more involvement in your community? You might want to create more opportunities for outreach, possibly recitals or music for local events. Or you might choose to expand your offerings in a way designed for your unique location.
Do you want to make a bigger impact with your students individually? This might involve more intense training or adding theory instruction or masterclasses or regular concert “field trips.”
Now that you’re excited about the possibilities, let’s look at the details.
Once you have decided on your message, you must determine how you will communicate that to your current students, to potential students, and to the public. You may want a new name for your studio and maybe even a tag line. You will want to update your online and print marketing materials with your new message. It doesn’t take a big budget to do this; there are plenty of free web resources available, and you probably have students who would love to help you for a minimal charge or a free lesson or two.
You could also put together some events in your community to get some visibility and generate excitement around your new studio. A harp “Discovery Day” or “Petting Zoo” can be a fun event and one that your students will enjoy helping design and staff.
Even more important than these outward signs of your reboot are the internal changes you will want to make. You will need some systems and organization to support your new direction and the growth that will result. Review and update your studio policies, making sure that you have clear guidelines particularly around scheduling, payments, and communication. These are the areas most likely to cause any teacher frustration. Planning ahead now, instead of trying to create these systems on the fly, will save you from pulling your hair out later.
I have one word for you about fees: scale. You can raise your fees (and most of us probably should), but you will hit the ceiling at some point where you will simply be too expensive for the students you want to teach. If your teaching income is an important part of your financial plan, you will eventually need to find a way to scale your business. This will mean finding a way to increase your income without increasing in the same proportion the time you spend teaching. Scaling your teaching will likely take the form of group classes or lessons, but it could also be assistant teachers. Imagine your teaching philosophy expanded to an entire school—that’s scaling. •
