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In the Spotlight:
The Why, What and How of Diversifying Income
(Open Access)
How many times have you been advised “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” or told that “variety is the spice of life?” My tuition fees are part of my overall income “pie,” but other slices include a church position, adjunct collegiate teaching, accompanying and speaking engagements. How many ways can you divide the pie? And why should you?
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In the Spotlight:
Step-by-Step Guide to Launching a Diversified Revenue Stream
(Open Access)
Diversifying revenue through coaching or other professional services, such as marketing consulting, website design or social media engagement, creates a sustainable business model for long-term success. Get started with seven proven steps.
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Legal Landscape:
What to Do If You Don’t Get Paid
What are the options if a student or family does not pay the tuition they owe? We all hope that this will never occur, but if it does, there are better choices than just “swallowing the loss.”
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In the Spotlight:
“What Do You Charge?”
The fear that the answer you give to this question will lose a desired prospective student may be the most important reason independent music teachers sometimes hesitate to charge a professional-level fee.
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From Surviving to Thriving: Mindset and the Ability to Earn a Good Income
Many musicians dream of a successful career, but lack the financial tools to support their creative vision. By working with money mentor and accountant Katherine Pomerantz, I learned that business and creativity are two sides of the same coin.
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Money Matters: Tuition FAQs
An essential ingredient in a profitable business is the amount it charges for its services.
Setting and raising tuition, as well as communicating value, was explored in the previous column (August/September 2018). Determining an appropriate tuition is just the beginning of your studio's financial planning. Equally important is how tuition is implemented and managed. A myriad of tuition-related questions must be answered. …
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Money Matters: Setting And Raising Tuition
An essential ingredient in a profitable business is the amount it charges for its services. In any profession, supply and demand dictates what rates are viable in a particular area. A basic business principle states that tuition should be based on what the market will bear. …
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Collecting Tuition and Raising Rates—How Do Teachers Collect Tuition?
As music teachers we often need to think like business people. We also need to be firm and proactive about business decisions. Increases to your lesson fees are much better accepted if your business practices are consistently professional and organized. …
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The Check Is In The Mail
A new teaching year is under way. Months ago, you updated your studio policy, decided what to charge and communicated with parents. Yet, here it is October and not all parents have paid…
You can prevent misunderstandings and frustrations by clarifying on the front end not just what amount to pay but also how, when and where. …
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The Value of Music Teacher Surveys
One of the most valuable ways to increase professionalism in the independent studio is to network with other teachers about successful policies. Discussing business issues during local and state music teacher associations meetings offers the opportunity to share favorite teaching practices and seek solutions to joint concerns. Such sharing acknowledges that we are not only independent, but also interdependent music teachers. …
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Collecting Payments—Past, Present and Future
Like the English language or our understanding of the solar system, the independent music studio is in a state of constant flux. Today's studio looks and operates much differently than the studio of fifty years ago.…
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Do We Need an Attitude Adjustment?
As independent music teachers (IMTs), we work in a profession that offers a great deal of freedom and personal gratification. Our profession attracts highly educated, creative, hard-working and nurturing individuals, yet most of us are underpaid. …
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Being A Starving Artist Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be
If we are not happy with our income, do we see ourselves as suffering victims of society's disregard for the arts? How can we avoid the starving-artist syndrome?. …
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Overworked and Underpaid? Take Action!
Let's profile the typical independent music teacher. She started music lessons at the age of seven, studied piano for eleven years before college, earned a degree in music and has taught for thirty years. …
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