Hey there! Just a quick pop in to say that I'm taking an early summer break this year. If you can call it a break... I'll be taking some time off from podcasting to welcome another little human into the world. I've already got an amazing lineup of episodes in the works for when I return, so make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss them when they start dropping. I’ve gotten inquiries about whether or not I’ll be running a cohort through Business Building 101 this summer. The next live cohort will begin in the early fall (August/September), but you can get a headstart with the video lessons right now! The course is open to join anytime and you can jump into the next live cohort when it opens! In the meantime, listen through the previous podcast episodes and keep in touch on Instagram, Facebook or at MusicStudioStartup.com.

Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entrepreneurs

000 - Summer Break Announcement

Today I’m talking to the owner of a high end music school in downtown Boston, that serves mostly adults. In this episode, you’ll hear about how the vision Alyssa had for her school has gradually come to fruition and how she’s grown as an entrepreneur, particularly in the area of finance, along the way.  If you’ve been listening to the show for a while now, you may have observed a theme I’ve been seeing that a lot of good startup stories include evictions or other real estate catastrophes, and Alyssa’s story delivers in this regard, too. I think you’ll really enjoy it. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode083. [[Expand Online Summit - May 3-7]] Free to register! Masterclass: Business 101 - Setting Up Your Studio with Andrea Miller Releasing on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 9am Pacific (available for 48 hours)

083 - Alyssa OToole on Building a Premier Music Community for Adults

A few months ago I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jamie Slutzky of the expand online podcast to talk about some of the many ways music teachers can expand their businesses. Today, I'm going to be rebroadcasting Jaime's show here on my feed. But before I do that I want to talk about the Expand Online Summit that I briefly mentioned at the end of the show last week.  Jaime also happens to be the coordinator for this Summit. It features more than a dozen master classes and interviews with some fantastic music teachers and entrepreneurs. I'll be presenting a master class on setting up your music studio. If you've ever been curious about my Business Building 101 course, this is like a super mini version of that course. I packed as much as I could into 25-minute master class so it’ll give you a really good start, and it's also a great opportunity to see if the full course might be up your alley. The summit runs from May 3rd through 7th. I think it'll be inspirational and a great way to jump start your summer studio goals AND it's completely free. I’ll have all the info in the show notes for this episode at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode082 and when you register, be sure to use my link so Jaime will know you’re with me. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode082.

082 - Jaime Slutzky and Andrea Miller on Expanding Online

We've talked about music publishing and app publishing and digital resource publishing on the podcast before, but in this episode we're talking about something different - fiction publishing! And what does this have to do with music teaching or studio ownership? Well, it just so happens that today's guest, Ashley Rescot, is a violin teacher who took her creative writing hobby and channeled it to address the student retention issues she noticed with her middle and high school students.  Ashley takes us behind the scenes into self-publishing short stories and novels. It may be a different industry, but it has plenty to teach us about the principles of business. Full show notes and a transcript for this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/episode081 Expand Online Summit - May 3-7 Free to register! Masterclass: Business 101 - Setting Up Your Studio By: Andrea Miller

081 - Ashley Rescot on Self-Publishing and Student Retention

Today’s guest is Stephanie Smith of Dynamic Doodle Co.. She’s another “accidental entrepreneur” who was pretty convinced that running a business other than a music studio was not something she’d ever want to do. But when she had an idea for a studio incentive program that would require investing $250 in a button machine, she decided to offer her buttons for sale on Etsy in order to offset that equipment purchase. In addition to recouping that investment many times over, she has also discovered joy in running a business and is here today to tell us the story. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode080.

080 - Stephanie Smith on Selling Products Through Etsy and Shopify

Today I’m talking to Nick Schlueter, the co-owner of a type of business that we haven’t had on the podcast before. For lack of a better term, I’d call it a dueling pianos talent agency, but I suspect my guest would say that’s too fancy for a venture he and his business partner started kind of on accident. In the interview we talk about how they got started, gradually made investments to offer more services, eventually expanded to other cities, and hired other performers along the way.  A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode079.

079 - Nick Schlueter on Starting a Dueling Pianos Business

Today’s guest, Noa Kageyama, got an early start as a violinist studying with none other than THE Dr. Suzuki - founder of the Suzuki method. Everything was on track for his performance career when he took a class at Juilliard that exposed him to sports performance psychology and the trajectory of his career shifted. Today Noa’s sharing the startup story of his blog, The Bulletproof Musician. He talks about how he thought he had run out of content ideas after the first month of writing, but has managed to keep finding interesting things to share more than 10 years later. Today the blog has expanded into a variety of work and now serves as his primary source of income. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode078.

078 - Noa Kageyama on Building a Personally Fulfilling Business

Today’s guest, Tanuja Gomes, is a former banker turned entrepreneur and music school owner. Tanuja shares in the interview how she has built an incredible business over the last decade that serves 75,000 students. Along the way she’s raised money from investors, pursued different formats for music education, and even built some cool technology. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode077

077 - Tanuja Gomes on Building a Music School to Deliver Universal Access to Music Education

I’m taking a spring break from podcasting this week to attend the virtual MTNA conference! If you’re registered for the conference, I gave my presentation “Let the Website Speak: Crafting a More Effective Studio Website” on Sunday, but it’s not too late to view! It will be available for registered attendees through June 1. I’ll be back next week with a regular podcast interview. :) For more entrepreneurial resources for music teachers, including a FREE Vision & Values course, check out musicstudiostartup.com.

000 - Spring Break Announcement

Today I’m talking to Joey Lieber, a music teacher and virtual music school owner, about how he’s made a shift from thinking about income goals to lifestyle goals and how that impacts the way he manages his personal budget and his time. A full transcript for this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/episode076. Upcoming workshop: I will be presenting a session called “Let the Website Speak: Crafting More Effective Studio Websites” at the MTNA virtual conference this weekend. That session will go live on Sunday at 11am Eastern and I will be around to answer questions afterward. I hope to see you there! “Let the Website Speak: Crafting a More Effective Studio Website” Sunday, March 14 at 11am Eastern

076 - Joey Lieber on Leveraging Resources for Growth

Way back in Episode 048, Judy Naillon was on the podcast to talk about how she started a ukulele program in her studio. In our conversation, Judy had great things to say about the Rainbow Ukulele curriculum she purchased on Teachers Pay Teachers to lead this program. A lot of you have asked about what it’s like to sell on platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers, so today I’m excited to welcome Shelley Tomich, the creator of the Rainbow Ukulele curriculum, to talk about how she started her TpT store and how it has given her flexibility in a season of life when her priorities shifted. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode075 Upcoming Speaking Engagements: “Let the Website Speak: Crafting a More Effective Studio Website” on Sunday, March 14 at 11am Eastern as part of the MTNA Virtual Conference 2021 https://www.mtna.org/Conference/Home.aspx?hkey=cecd079e-f62b-4ed5-8575-57e2283ba248&WebsiteKey=5679cafc-84b2-4fd2-b431-bda8f7b0c53b

075 - Shelley Tomich on Running a Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Today I’m talking to Mirka da Pieva, a piano teacher in Brazil who noticed a shortage of blogs and teaching resources available in Portuguese so she stepped in to fill the gap. She has grown her business to include a blog, in-person and online teacher trainings, and a collection teaching games. She’s also done some very creative things to build a strong community of Portuguese-speaking teachers and to elevate music teaching as a viable profession in Brazil. A full transcript and the show notes for this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/episode074

074 - Mirka da Pieva on Creating Resources for an Underserved Market

Today I’m talking to two musicians about how they have made a career in music over the last 15 years. I think their story illustrates what it means to be, not just an entrepreneurial musician, but an entrepreneur in general. You’ll hear about how they’ve made plans and pursued ideas, while keeping an open ear to what’s going on in the market and world around them, so they can respond with products and services that meet real needs and opportunities. At points this has led them to make pivots. COVID has been one of these points, but we also talk about how the 2008 financial crisis impacted their work and how they bounced back. Here’s my conversation with Barbara Siesel and Keith Torgan. The transcript and show notes for this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode073

073 - Barbara Siesel and Keith Torgan on Adaptability as Entrepreneurial Musicians

Today I’m interviewing two piano teachers who, although they didn’t set out to start a business have, over the last decade, built a thriving enterprise and made a noticeable mark on the world of piano pedagogy. You’ll hear about how they came to develop their own piano method, the humble beginnings of their first print runs, how they’ve expanded their distributor network to reach a global audience, and how they’ve grown as entrepreneurs through the process. Enjoy my conversation with Katherine Fisher and Dr. Julie Knerr Hague of Piano Safari. Full show notes and a transcript for this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/episode072.

072 - Katherine Fisher and Dr. Julie Knerr Hague on Developing and Publishing a Piano Method

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.

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Music Studio Startup: Helping music teachers thrive as entre...

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