Ideas for summer teaching in the private studio.

I’m about to start my third summer as a voice teacher in Kalamazoo.  So far, it’s just been trying out new ideas in terms of finding what works with students and families in my locale and how I want to run my business.  This summer, I emailed a flyer to my current students (most of whom are middle and high schoolers) saying the following:

 

Summer is a great time to be able to focus on your voice without fitting it between homework and extracurricular activities.  It’s also a chance to develop other skills you’ll need as a singer – playing piano, music theory, songwriting, sight singing, special audition or repertoire projects, etc.  Consider coming a couple times a week, or for longer lessons if you want to work on additional things.

Also, think ahead to what this next school year will hold for you.  Perhaps you would like to audition for a special program in the community or away from home, a choir (community choir, honors choir in school), a school musical or a production at the local community theatre.  Please ask me if you are looking opportunities and ideas.

I then included this wonderful idea of flexible summer packages from trumpet guru, Keith Geiman, a fellow teacher here in Kalamazoo, MI.  See his original here; I modified mine a bit.

 

Please choose a package (all scheduling is flexible to accommodate summer plans).  Additional lessons can be added to any package at the regular price.

Package #1:  2 Hours of Instruction

- Four 30-Min Lessons, Two 60-Min Lessons, or a combination of each.

Package #2:  3 Hours of Instruction [10% discount]

- Six 30-Min Lessons, Three 60-Min Lessons, or a combination of each.

Package #3:  5 Hours of Instruction [15% discount]

- Ten 30-Min Lessons, Five 60-Min Lessons, or a combination of each.

Full payment for the summer is due by Sunday, June 10th (the recital date).  You can pay me in cash, check, or online with a card at the above web address.  Thank you!

Keith said next time he’d make payment due at the first lesson, instead of giving a calendar date, so he could have more time to promote the special.  I love his idea because:

• It gives me the minimum I’ll earn over the summer upfront, and I’ll get a sense of what the teaching load will be.
• Commits students to pay for a certain number of lessons, versus having them cancel on you for a day trip to the amusement park, etc.
• Makes me set a boundary as a businesswoman, something I need to continually become more comfortable with.  Like, either pick a package or don’t take lessons this summer.  2 – 4 lessons is a reasonable minimum in my mind.
• Encourages students to keep up during the summer, and perhaps that would make them want to stay on in the fall too.

I haven’t offered a discount before based on the principle that I don’t want saving money to be a reason to take more voice lessons.  I want people to take them for the pure value they hold, not because they are getting a deal.  But idealism aside, I figure that summer, with it’s high attrition rate, is a great time for me to try out new ideas.  There are also some great ideas for summer (which I might get to NEXT year) on the Music Teacher’s Helper blog.

As of today, I’ve had five students sign up for a package. What have you done in the past during summer?  What has worked?

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