As many of you know, I started out as a “Piano Teacher On Wheels”. I held lessons in my students’ homes every Saturday and drove back and forth all over the valley where I live. In rain, snow and sleet my rusty (not trusty!) Toyota puttered around (actually, in the sleet Dad would ferry me through the blizzards!). It was a great way to get started, but it wasn’t a long-term solution for me as my waiting list grew.
We’ve had several readers write to ask a) whether they should move from in-home lessons to in-studio lessons and b) how they should go about making this transition without losing their student base. If you too are in this position, read on to find out how to make this change work smoothly.
Moving From Traveling To Studio-Based Lessons
1. Just make one change at a time – If you are announcing your change to in-studio lessons then just make this one announcement; don’t raise rates, change the months that you teach etc. Let your clients digest one thing at a time.
2. Keep your explanations positive and to-the-point – In your announcement be sure to highlight the benefits to your students in terms of what you will now be able to offer (your studio piano, recording set-up, more choice in games, a computer lab, better choices in time-slots… whatever you can do now that you couldn’t do before). Avoid justifying your decision with your own personal reasons for making the change.
3. Be sure to offer convenient sibling arrangements – The biggest benefit to in-home lessons is the convenience factor for parents. If this is now changing, be sure to keep as much simplicity for your families as you can.
4. Give lots of notice – If you are making this change, be sure to let your clients know with plenty of time for them to make arrangements in other areas of their life to accommodate this shift.
5. Host a studio-warming party – A great way to put a positive spin on this change is by hosting an open-house where your students and their parents can come check out their new lesson location. Make your space welcoming, serve small refreshments, have your most exciting resources on display, dedicate a wall of your studio to highlighting your students in some way… welcome them to your professional place of business in a festive way.
Dealing With The Inevitable
Even if you follow these 5 steps it’s inevitable that not everyone will be happy with the change (or able to make the change). Any time change happens in a studio it’s likely that not every client is going to be on board. However, if you are making this change for the betterment of your own professional life then know that the long-term benefits will outweigh the short-term inconveniences. Lost clients can be replaced, displeased clients will settle in and get used to the change.
We want to know… Did you hang up your “traveling piano teacher keys” at some point in your career? Are you considering doing so? Share your pointers and experience in the comment section below.
Shirlyn says
Thanks for all the good tips and advices. I am in two heads regarding this matter and it’s always a bit daunting to step my foot down for that change but I know I wouldn’t want to travel to students’ houses to teach forever. I have done this for nearly 8 years now and it can get a bit tiring especially when it snows or stuck in heavy traffic. We ought to get a house this year, so hopefully then I will make this dream of mine come true!
Robbin says
I’ve never heard of a traveling teacher here in Louisiana. I’m wondering whether I could add extra students to my current studio of 20. So many children have only inexpensive keyboards in their homes though. I would hate teaching on that!
Emily Bass says
I went from roving piano teacher to home based one in 1984 when I was pregnant with my 2nd daughter. It was a hard transition and quite a few of my students quit….which was fine because I had a new baby and a 5 year old. It took a few years to build up the home practice but I never looked back. You can’t beat teaching from home as far as really being in control of your business!
Alexandra Weiss Toronto Piano Teacher says
In order to travel to piano students homes, the in-studio rate should be tripled to be financially viable for the teacher, and most piano students families are not prepared to pay that rate…
nancy says
yes time wise and gas wise, but it’s hard to triple that. It’s also harder to “get away” from the student and their mother because it’s so easy to chat! There’s not another student who shows up for their lesson.
Jane says
I agree whole heartily, Alexandra. Too many teachers who travel to the student’s home do themselves and other teachers a disservice by not charging nearly enough. I look at it this way – the normal rate for tuition, plus another amount for my time, gas and mileage, plus another amount as a convenience fee b/c the parent is saved time, gas and mileage. So, yes, 3X as much sounds about right!
Abigail Poirier says
When I first started teaching, I traveled some and taught at a local studio some. After I bought my first house/studio, I quit offering new students lessons in their home. Over the period of a year or two everyone ended up coming to the studio. I was able to find convenient times for the people that were most used to me coming to them, so it was a very smooth transition. Definitely much easier to teach when everything I could possibly need is right around me!
I did just add one student I travel to, but it’s before school gets out, close by, and much easier for me to go there than for him to come here.
Fiona@A Woman of Notes says
When I started out as a young teacher I taught a few lessons each week in students’ homes (in addition to some in my own home). In hindsight (and even at the time) I knew that it was not the way I needed to teach. I never felt I had full authority and didn’t have control over the environment (or the quality of the piano). In each and every case it was a relief when those students discontinued lessons, and even triple pay wouldn’t entice me to do it again!
Noreen Wensley says
I’ve always taught from an in-home studio and love it. I can’t imagine travelling to students’ homes, and would consider it “wasted time” and “lost income”. None of my students would pay my standard hourly fee for the time spent driving to my house, and the small compensation some teachers receive for gas doesn’t compare to a professional music teacher’s hourly rate. However, when students come to your studio and lessons are scheduled back to back, no time is wasted, and every minute is “billable time”. And that’s why teaching from home or in a studio is more efficient…. it maximizes your income.
Denise says
For my studio in Georgia, I have a motto: I make piano lessons affordable, accessible, and enjoyable. Traveling to a student’s home is where the accessible part comes in. I travel on Monday’s and Wednesdays, and I’m at my home studio on the other 3 days. I teach in homes with families who cannot travel; those whose mother is handicapped or they have young babies who need to stay at home. 90% of my clientelle are homeschooled, which allows me to teach during the day so I can be available to my own children during the evenings. I charge more for travel students to cover the cost of gas. I love walking up to a home and hearing the children yell “Miss Denise is here!!!” . Makes me smile. I love getting to know their home environment, their pets, etc. I will only teach in a home with a piano or full-size digital piano. I give a free session at their home before our first lesson to discuss my needs as a teacher and what has to be done before I arrive at every lesson. I love it and wouldn’t change it; however, I am not dealing with snow as I did when I lived in Ontario. 🙂
As for the enjoyable part, I rely heavily on Andrea and Trevor for great ideas to make lessons fun! Thank you Andrea and Trevor for all you do for us!! Keep it up! 🙂
lizkullman says
Any tips on expanding my studio to homeschoolers? I would also like to get home earlier to be with my own children. Thanks!
Tommy Johnson says
I graduated from conservatory a year ago and began my teaching studio in September. Until now, I’ve been taking on any students I could find, whether it was at my home, theirs, or a separately owned music studio space. I have about 15 students and drive around to most of their houses. It’s no fun driving in the suburbs of New York City, but I figure this is just one step in my long career.
Right now I teach as a contractor for a number of music lesson companies, but I’m not going to take any more students on with them. No more middle men taking 50%+ cut of the lesson fee!
My dream is to get my own studio and have all my students come to me there. A home studio would be fine, but as a young person rents a room and has housemates, I can’t always control the environment here. There’s a lot or upscale competition around my area, so I have to figure out how to make a studio financially viable, but after that, I’m not going to look back! Id love to sell my car entirely.
Elizabeth says
In our area, the cost of living is very high, and city bylaws forbid having a client-based business in our residence (townhome). The only legal options are buying an overpriced single-family dwelling (with a forever mortgage), renting overpriced commercial space, or traveling to my students’ homes. I reluctantly advertised as a mobile teacher, and found to my surprise that there was a huge demand for the service here. In two years my studio has grown from 10 students to the place where I’m teaching every weekday and need to start a waiting list. I don’t love the driving, but I do love the teaching, and I can’t see hanging up the car keys anytime soon. Even though I do not make the hourly wage that would be possible in a studio environment, I also do not have the expenses that situation generates. And in the meantime, I know I’m providing a music experience to many kids who wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise.
Someday, I would love to teach in my own studio again…but in the meantime, there are good things to enjoy in this situation too.
Rebecca U says
I’m currently in the process of converting to having lessons only in my home. I have them all convinced for summer, but some of them don’t think they can do fall. Now I just have to make the lessons at my house so amazing that they’ll realize what they’re missing when I don’t have all of my teaching aids right at my fingertips!
All of my students that I’ve been traveling to have at least 2 children taking lessons. One perk I’ve been advertising is that while one child is having a lesson the other one will get to participate in a free lab time. I’m hoping that this will work out well.
Cindy F. says
It is important to first check with county and/or city zoning laws concerning having a home business. In the area where I live, there can be no more than 6 students a day. Also, home owner’s insurance will increase.
lynn kiesewetter says
No on and e else has mentioned the convenience of having access to your own music library and copy machine. Every day there are a couple of things I think of on the spot to copy for someone and I can do it right away. So much of my teaching is based on those quick little “ah ha” moments when I want to grab something. Same with cds.
Andrea G says
Hi- thanks for this terrific post! I am just starting to teach piano after having another career… I’m in NYC, where rent for a studio is expensive and there are a lot of busy people who seem to want piano teachers to travel to their house to teach their kids.
Does anyone have any advice about skipping the traveling thing altogether? I’d love to just set up a studio here, but I’m afraid of losing business.
Joanna says
After opening my studio and ‘hanging up my car keys’, I noticed an immediate difference in some of my students who had negative attitudes toward their lessons. They suddenly took lessons much more seriously being in an environment set up just for their lessons. From a psychological perspective, they went from seeing me as being an interruption to their playtime when I went to their house to teach piano, to being someone they had to make an effort to go to see.
For those teachers out there who are worried about losing their clientele – in my experience, the parents were not thrilled when I announced the move, but they have adjusted. If your new studio has a great new waiting area set up with games, books, maybe even refreshments, it becomes a great place for the parent to go and sit with other siblings and do homework or spend time together as they wait. If you happen to be located in a busy area, you can remind parents they can conveniently do some shopping or groceries while they’re in the area.
When I made the switch, I lost only one family with three kids. About 6 months later, they called back, displeased with the teaching style of the new teacher they had hired to come to their house, and now happily come to my studio space. Your dedicated students will follow you to your studio, and chances are if they’re so quick to quit then something else would have led them to stop lessons soon enough.
Good luck, everyone – and thanks for another great post, Andrea!
Sarah Barford says
Just went through this transition this week when we moved into our new home. It’s 10 minutes further away for one family, about 20 minutes total, and I don’t think she ever intended to make the switch from our old apartment to our new house. She even called up at their lesson time from my old place demanding to know why I wasn’t there, then telling me that I should teach them at their home.
Well, I’m sorry but I can’t run a business that way. Yes I have gone to people’s homes to teach before, but look at all the lesson time I’m losing driving around town. Her kids were great, super smart, but she’s not willing to put forth the effort to drive them to lessons (once every other week. She won’t even do weekly lessons.)
Having the studio at home is so much easier. I have the books organized, all the prizes and stickers where they should be, and I can put together the lessons for my students in advance and put them on a shelf instead of rifling through my stuff and shoving it in a bag on my way out the door. I don’t think I’ll ever go back. It’s better for me and the students.