THE STUDIO CHALLENGE
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HAve Better Lesson Options...

8/17/2020

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Do you have a PREMIUM option? 
 
I recently read something interesting about marketing.

Approximately 10% of your customers will gladly pay 30%-50% more for additional offerings and you are leaving money on the table by not having anything available to them.

Think of it like desserts in a restaurant. Most people don't buy desserts when they go out to eat, whether it's fast food or somewhere really fancy. But they do have the options available for a premium cost.

They would lose money by not having these options available even though most people don't take advantage of them. 

And 1% of your students would happily pay DOUBLE or more your current rate if you had offerings for them. 

Some people simply want THE BEST, regardless of the price and will always pick the highest option. 

You will also sell more of your lesser options if a PREMIUM option is available to make them look more reasonable. 

That's why you need a PREMIUM option. 

Maybe it's access to additional classes or multiple lessons each week.

Maybe it's access to a super secret club in your studio. The sky is the limit.


What would you want to offer for your students if you KNEW price wasn't the issue?
Understand that MOST of your students won't select your PREMIUM option.

They aren't supposed to. This is about having something available for the 1% that would. 

I'm a big Disney fan and they recently released a $12k tour. Obviously not many people will take them up on that offer but some will. And it's another way for them to offer exceptional service and opportunities for people that want it.

This is an excellent example of a SUPER PREMIUM option. 

Having a "Good, Better, Best" option is a great way to begin working towards a Premium option in your studio. 

For our studio, we offer:
 Good - 4 Week Intro Groups
Better - Beginner Group Classes
Best - Private Lessons
Students pay more as they work through the options and also get more commitment and get to dig in deeper. 

We are able to offer different options for students at different price and commitment points based on where they are in the journey and what kind of access they want. 
Do you have a "Good, Better, Best" option?

​Have you registered for the 5 Day Challenge yet?

Beginning Monday, August 24th, we are offering a FREE 5 day challenge to help you get MORE students and fill your schedule! 

The uncertainty of this pandemic has led us all to worry about what the Fall holds...

Let us unite and challenge one another to break through this and have studios FULL of happy students... NOW! 
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The story of Courtney Umphlett and her studio's rise to success

8/11/2020

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Meet Studio Challenge Member, Courtney Umphlett! 

Courtney and her family live in the small, rural town of Sylva, NC, nestled in the North Carolina mountains. 

Courtney founded her school Wonderworks Learning and Arts Center, and despite being in a small town, she has taken her studio from just 14 students to over 100 students and growing! 

Here's her story...

The Beginnings...

While living in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina is an EXCELLENT place for kids to grow up, "there isn't much for kids to do, especially when I started my business," Courtney said.

"My husband is the band director at the local high school and he was talking to me one day about the lack of lesson opportunities for kids and how it was very apparent at places like All District band which students lived in the urban area of Asheville(about an hour away) and which ones lived in the rural parts of our state. This lit a fire in me and I decided to set out on starting a small music school where kids could come and take lessons on just about any instrument. Nothing like this had been done in my area, so I didn't even know if it would work or not."

Courtney took the plunge and opened  her school in June 2012 starting with four students: two piano students and two voice students.

"It was just me and I was renting dance rooms at a local dance studio. Of the four that started, only two continued for the year(I had no idea what I was doing!)."

When the school year started, Courtney was renting space at the dance studio, renting space from a church across the street, using the high school band room, AND doing home visits! By the end of the 2012-2013 school year, Courtney had about 14 students. 

The Struggles...

When Courtney was trying to grow her school, she had two major struggles:

​Finding a commercial space, and continuing to operate a growing studio amid life changes. 

"Commercial rent is VERY expensive where I live compared to what people normally charge for lessons," she said.

"We are a touristy town so everything is more expensive than normal. I would quickly outgrow a space but wouldn't really be able to afford the next step up." 
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Courtney said she finally found a budget friendly commercial space in 2018 that allowed her to continue to grow.

"The center grew rather quickly from 2013-2016. We went from my 14 students in May of 2013 to 80 in May of 2016 with five teachers! It was then that I decided things were going well enough for me to quit my part time music teaching job at a charter school and just do the studio full time."

Courtney said things were going really well, but of course, life happened.
 
"I got pregnant. And then, every single one of my teachers had a major life change. Two had to quit due to the fact they were moving away and two had to majorly step back. This cost us about 25 students and a youth orchestra we were starting but couldn't continue because the director didn't have time for it. I couldn't find anyone else to run it. I was scared to death.

​I now had to support not just me and my husband but also a child and my income had pretty much just been cut in half.

However, we were able to turn it around with some elbow grease and love. I often say it happened at just the right time cause....I honestly couldn't have done any more growth and paid attention to a baby."

Where she is NOW...

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Today, Wonderworks Learning and Arts offers tutoring and art classes in addition to music lessons. 

Wonderworks was up to 135 students before COVID, but despite the pandemic and well, being in a small rural town, Courtney has managed to keep 110 of those students! 
Wonderworks has also also recently gone from rural to international, as they were accepted as an organization on Outschool! 

"My goals now are to really beef up the art program and get a streamlined way of registering students. Before, we had a bunch of options for each age level and our group classes never grew. Now, we are only doing groups for 10 and under. So far, it seems to be going really well and people seem very interested. I also want to work on make myself not as needed as a teacher at the studio so I can be home by 5:00 everyday."
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We asked Courtney if she could go back in time, what ONE piece of advice or encouragement she'd give herself...

"Advice: Don't let people control you. You are in control of your business. If it doesn't work for you, let them know. Be firm in your policies, no matter how convincing someone might be.

Encouragement: You are always going to have low points and high points. Ride the excitement of the high points. It's ok to feel excited about that. But, when you hit a low, know that, as long as you keep working, it isn't the end. I honestly thought my business was going to end when COVID hit, but there is always a way!"



The biggest thing Courtney wants YOU the reader to know: 

"It's easy to see people who have outstanding growth when they first open and wonder "what am I doing wrong?" But, know that isn't the norm. It does take work to get the word out but once its out, you won't be able to contain it!

Be the teacher you want to be. If something isn't working for you, don't be afraid to cut it or change it. You went in to business because you wanted to do something cool. Keep doing your own cool!"

Thank you SO MUCH, Courtney, for sharing your story with us and leaving us all with some encouragement to keep on moving forward with our studios and our passions! 
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If you would like to receive some help growing and scaling your studio, make sure you join us for our 5 day challenge beginning August 24th! 
Register for Free
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Simplify (Free Marketing Template!)

8/4/2020

2 Comments

 
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You have a TON of stuff to do and create for your studio...

But you don't need to spend all day, every day working to the bone to make money. 

I'm serious! 

I hear way too many studio owners talking about how they teach/ work 70+ hours a week as though that's just how life is supposed to be. 

Hear me out:

YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR STUDIO,
and there's a better way! 


Some quick tips on how to SIMPLIFY things so you don't overwork yourself:
  1. Create a content library and store student pictures, reviews, marketing templates, etc. If you have a hub where you can pull all of the things you've created from, it will dramatically lessen the amount of time and effort it takes to post new ads and social media posts. We recommend using trello or dropbox. 
  2. PRIORITIZE your tasks each week!!! What do you absolutely HAVE to get done? What do you WANT to get done? What do you NEED to get done, but not immediately? Write these things down BEFORE you get to work. Get what you HAVE to do done first, then you can choose what you want to spend time on next. (PS: There is a great weekly planner available in the Music School Business Kit! Grab yours here.)
  3. Cut out what IS NOT working. This is a hard one, but it needs to be done in order to focus on what IS working in your studio. Is there a program you cannot get off the ground? Are you spending a lot of time trying to get new students in a certain class without results? Are you spending more time and money on something that is NOT making you money in return?     Get rid of it and invest more time and money into what your students WANT. 

​We are BIG advocates for simplicity around here and are constantly challenging our Studio Challenge Members to stay simple. 

One of the ways we help teachers and studio owners is by providing templates for marketing and emails. (Because you already have to create SO many things in this business, right!?)

And because we like you, we have designed a marketing template you can edit and use to advertise YOUR studio's availability NOW on Facebook and Instagram! 
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To Edit and Use the Above Template:
  1. Sign into your canva account or create one for free. 
  2. Click HERE to view the template. 
  3. Make a copy of the template for you to personalize and edit. (PLEASE don't edit the one attached!)
  4. Insert your customized picture, and edit the classes to show your studio's available lesson times, or classes along with how many spots are left in each class. (Even if the class is completely open, by putting a number on it helps get people to sign up!)
  5. Download your image and post to Facebook and Instagram, along with the link to your website or Studio Page to sign up for lessons! 
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Mark Your Calendar...

The "5 Students in 5 Days" Challenge Begins August 24th!

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The global pandemic has affected us ALL as music teachers and studio owners. 

What will the Fall semester look like?

Will you be able to fill your studio with new students? 

Will you be able to get new students if you continue to teach online? 


We are in this together, and we CAN still make a difference and bring NEW students into our studios this Fall (in person or virtually)! 

Join us from August 24th - 28th for our 5 day challenge.
This is a FREE challenge for all music teachers and studio owners! 

(The challenge will be hosted through the Studio Challenge Facebook group. Join our mailing list for more details!)
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