The more I thought about this topic, as I wrote copy to promote it to my email list and on Instagram, the more I realized how passionate I truly am about teaching and also about helping other singers to recognize the opportunities teaching offers us, not only to earn money, but also to learn more about our own voices and about ourselves in general. Why not share some of what you know?! And if you'd like to download the little mockup flyer I created, you can find it here: bit.ly/2H5J1J5
A singing friend of mine once said "I can teach anyone to sing..better." It is, as you say, the recognition that because of the focus and attention that it takes to be a singer, one gains significant expertise. thank you for sharing your experience and expertise.
You're welcome. I believe singing is our birthright and I agree with your friend that with the right coach, anyone can sing "better" as in with more freedom and joy!
Heather Ramey Konowal I am SO glad to hear this! And it’s easy to come up with reasons not to do it. One of those reasons is often that the teaching business would “take over” and that’s why next week I’m going to talk about how to SCALE your teaching business. This is really one of the biggest pieces I was missing for a long time!
Thank you for the awesome video. The imposter syndrome when starting teaching is so real. I literally have a bachelor's and master's degree in voice performance, but still tell myself that I don't know enough to teach! What the heck?? I'm probably more qualified than 95% of people!
I hear you Chris! So glad you're facing this head on. The truth is that YES you ARE qualified and the more you do actually teach the more you will start to believe this on a cellular level.😃
Teching is actually a terrific way to learn. It is the best way to start making money before you make it. Frankly, I have had a thriving career for the past 19 years in Europe, but I always kept a small voice studio. It's fascinating to watch students get better and so much fun to see them succeed.
OMG! This is such an inspiring and motivating speech! I'm trying hard to collect all my courage and self confidence and just... start teaching finally!!
I can hardly believe how good these nuts-and-bolts video talks are. When I read one, like your earlier video on getting gigs you may never have thought of including singing at weddings, or today's about teaching it's really information that can be stored for the future.
So glad you find the topics interesting and helpful! I've been living with this info as it accumulated over the years in my knowledge banks and am more than happy to share it now. My goal is to help singers look outside the box for real ways to earn money.
I’ve just been binge watching all your videos since I just received an unexpected call from my first student scheduled in a week from now as a result of a fluke online ad I put up months ago and forgot to take down when I later decided it was just a pipe dream. Your experience you’ve mentioned in other videos with imposter syndrome and your relaxed and easy going demeanor has COMPLETELY turned around my thinking! I am SO grateful to you and your videos, which have been the sole reason for my most recent (as in just now) decision that I can, in fact, do this. Thank you a million times Fiona.
Sure! You may have covered this and I haven’t seen it yet, but I would love to hear any personal tricks/methods of combating some of the common pitfalls for beginner singers, and how to determine from the teachers point of view(or ear) what the issue is. For example, how can I hear if someone is experiencing tongue tension and do you have a favorite exercise to help the singer relax their tongue? Also other things like too much or not enough breath, experiencing breaks in their range, or anything else you wish you knew starting out.
You're welcome! So glad it was helpful! There are two playlists on my channel where you can find all the videos on setting up and scaling your teaching studio.😍
Wow! This is great! You answered a lot of my concerns and questions. This was very informative Fiona! I feel like I might be on my way to really having a plan for my business. Thank you so much!
YESSSS! Don't let imposter syndrome get in the way. You know you have the background and there are lots of people who would benefit from learning from you!
What a great question! This was a huge issue for me, BUT what I discovered was that it was MY issue and not my neighbor's issue. I understand this may not be the case for everyone, but my neighbors had NO challenge with my practicing or teaching. I'm sure it helped that I spoke to them in advance and let them know what I was planning and I only taught and sang during the day and typically between 10am-5pm. I have had clients who've had challenges with neighbors. But in my own experience, just being respectful of them personally and of the time specifically was enough.
Thinking a little beyond starting a teaching business, I wonder about keeping it going amidst obstacles. A thing I worry about are problem students or bad fits where the student doesn't improve or he may discount any improvements. The auditioning process suggests that singers should be indifferent towards rejection, but as a personal business owner relying upon positive comments and word of mouth, how should these obstacles be handled?
These are GREAT questions and worthy of future videos! And in my next video I actually cover how to scale a voice studio business, because teacher burn out is definitely one of the obstacles to keeping a studio running. In terms of the bad fits, in my experience the students typically self select. If they are not improving or not benefiting from my teaching style, they usually find a different teacher. In all my years of teaching, I've never encountered anyone who didn't genuinely simply want to sing better. So if they didn't think I was helping them, they moved on. Ultimately this was best for both of us. We can never be all things to all people and there will always be enough students who really value what we have to offer to give us the positive referrals.
I have been singing for 40 years (gulp) and recently began teaching since Covid destroyed my live performance career . It's very rewarding but I'm struggling to figure out how to make real money. I'm sure there is a way, I just haven't figured it out yet :/
Yes, there IS a way. Congratulations on taking your business to the next level by beginning a teaching studio. I'm so sorry you were severely impacted by Covid. How are you marketing your teaching?
Fiona Flyte thank you. I am reasonably experienced at marketing and well known in my community as a musician, so getting my first few clients was pretty easy. I had a fun logo designed on Fiver, then used a simple Facebook ad campaign. One mistake I noticed a lot of teachers make is that they focus their ads around them and their experience etc. I focus my ads on the benefits of singing and what the client will get out of it, because that's what's important! My website should be up next week and I have some flyers in local music shops. I have also given some business cards to current clients and asked them to write their name on the back and give it to a friend that may be interested in lessons. If a card comes back to me with their name on it, I give them a free lesson. The issue I am struggling with at the moment is that at $50 an hour (Australian), I will need 20 clients a week to make even a basic income and I'm not sure I can juggle that many people, it would be a lot of work! I'd love some advice!
@@officialWWM First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! You are doing so many things REALLY well! You're thinking outside the box in terms of your marketing and you're approaching it from multiple angles ALL GREAT! So yes, the next hurdle is how to scale from a 1:1 lessons model to something that will really help you achieve the lifestyle and security you desire. Some options include: raising your rates, teaching groups and developing an online course. I actually talk about all of these options in the video on scaling also in this voice studio series. Have you seen it yet?
@@FionaFlyte thanks. I haven't seen the series yet but I will be sure and watch it. Other coaches in the are seem to be charging around $70 per hour but that's a lot of money for some people. My approach has been to fill my calender or at least get to 10 students at $50 per hour, then maybe raise my rate to new customers. I've thought of doing group lessons but Im not sure how that would work as people really need that one on one time :/
@@officialWWM Yes, you're dealing with exactly the challenges most teachers encounter. You're in good company. When you're ready, I also have a video here about raising your rates. FYI the way you're already doing it is what I also advocate. Look on my channel specifically for the videos on : Raising your rates, Scaling your studio and Teaching online. They should all be helpful. You may also want to join my free Facebook group for more content and FB lives.
