Several times a week on the Duet Facebook Group for music teachers, we ask questions and welcome answers from our community. Recently, we asked, "What's one thing you wish you knew before starting your own private music studio?" Here are some of the comments we received:
"I started teaching nearly 35 years ago and things were a lot different back then. Teaching an instrument wasn't considered a career. It was just a little something you did. I wish I would have had the insight to take it seriously back then and think of it as a business and a real career that I could make something out of."
"How important it is to establish a good policy and stick with it thru thick and thin. To have all my ducks in a row for teaching materials for all levels. To realize that I can do this if I spent the time researching commercial propertied and churches to set a teaching space. Realizing teaching out of my home and in students’ homes does not work for my best interests. It’s not as hard as I thought it would be, but requires a lot of thinking and networking."
"I wish I had thought about the implications of being self employed regarding insurance, social security and retirement."
"Kids need parental support."
We thought these were pretty powerful. What would you add to this list?
