13 Nov
I am not a lawyer, or an experienced business person – and I have absolutely no idea how to handle payroll, but I am a teacher who has been filling the role of teacher, bookkeeper, human relations, events coordinator, etc – so what I will address today is related only to the fact that I am feeling overwhelmed and overstretched.
How does a teacher in a private lesson situation do it all? When we teach at our homes, we live at work… we breathe work, sleep at work, eat at work, spend time with family at work. Separating the daily workspace and homespace is easy enough, but nearly impossible when our minds are constantly working on our next “to do” list. Sometimes, we simply need help.
Most readers of this blog–like me–have probably gone to a lot of trouble to advertise your studio. When I first moved to Wisconsin, I paid for a huge ad in the paper, stuffed mailboxes with coupons, and hung flyers at every business in town that allowed them. No one called. After a few months of this, I put an ad on craigslist. In a few short weeks, my studio was full and I had to begin a wait list. 
When I first opened my studio several years ago, I knew I was going to need a lot of help. Teaching would be the easy part; it was running a business that overwhelmed me.
When I mentioned to my husband that this month’s blog would be about balance, he laughed and suggested that I first start to make some changes, and then write and article in six months to share how I achieved a more balanced lifestyle. I have to admit that he is right. I have not done well with balance over the last two months. Most of us start the year with high expectations, good intentions, high energy and a long list of goals. That was how I began September – full of energy, many students, a waiting list, and lots of projects. By the second week of lessons, I had already suffered from illness due to stress. I was out of balance – I had fallen off the beam.