Studio Booking Software Articles

I’ve stated this before, and I’ll state it again: communication with parents is absolutely essential in my studio.

Many parents come in before or after their students’ lessons or wait in the waiting room, so I have a chance to briefly chat and give a progress update. But other parents simply drop their students off and wait for them in the car, so I rarely see them face-to-face.

For that reason, I implemented weekly lesson notes about four years ago. Up until this past spring, I’ve sent my students home with written assignment sheets and lesson notes in their binders.  However, with so many students to see every day, I hated the thought of going through so much paper — not to mention all the time spent handwriting notes.

Previously, I wrote about how to use time effectively while teaching a lesson in Self-Help Pedagogy: Part 2. In this month’s blog, I will address the topic of how to make the best use of our most precious commodity as studio business owners – Time. Time is very valuable; once it is used, it is gone forever. We can’t ever get it back. In today’s world, time moves very fast. As one student parent said upon returning after summer break, “I blinked and summer was over.”

Therefore, it is in our best interests to use time wisely. I must admit as I sit here writing at the last minute that I am no expert on time management! However, after doing some research, I have come up with my top ten list of the best tips on time management.

10. Stay healthy. Take care of yourself – exercise, eat healthy and often to stave off hunger and keep blood sugar levels stable. Stay hydrated and get 6 – 8 hours of sleep every night. Remember to breathe, slow down, and take breaks.

Each year, I find myself re-evaluating my studio policy, tweaking it and adjusting it as a result of things that I have learned throughout the year. When younger siblings were hanging out during older siblings’ piano lessons and becoming disruptive, I added a new policy about having no siblings present during lessons. When parents were cancelling piano lessons regularly in order to make sure their kids didn’t miss a volleyball game, I instilled a non-negotiable monthly fee regardless of missed lessons (totally changed my life, by the way!).  Having a studio policy in place to give students once they inquire about lessons — and then enroll at your studio– is invaluable. At the end of each school year, I adjust my policy and re-distribute it to all current students with any updates.

The trick for me in developing a studio policy that works is making sure that I don’t have so many rules and policies in place that it seems overwhelming to students, and being brief and concise in the way I explain them. Having a policy in place protects me as a teacher. If a student or family ever questions something, I remind them that it is part of my studio policy.

October is here with Winter around the corner. Now is the time to start thinking about the festivities and recitals before winter break. The new year is less than three months away. We have allocated all of our programming resources this month in upgrading Studio Helper's underlying framework to increase speed and reliability. Meanwhile, you can submit an idea, or vote on features you would like to...

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Last week I received a nice surprise in my email inbox: an invitation to have my studio featured on a local news program.

Of course I accepted this invitation, and the interview and filming took place this past weekend. I’m thrilled that my business is getting such nice exposure…and the price is pretty nice, too: $0.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been contacted for publicity opportunities; in the past three years, my studio has been featured on numerous times on television, radio, and in the newspaper. And while I feel incredibly fortunate to have these opportunities, there are some strategies I’ve put into place that helped attract such attention.