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skyline
Chatterbox
USA
143 Posts |
 Posted - 04/14/2005 : 12:31:56 PM
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I have a couple of questions. I teach a high school guitar class during the school year, but am looking to start giving private lessons as well.
1) How much do you charge?
2) How do you get your name out there? I'm sure I'll get a few of my students from school to join, but I was wondering on the best method to get my name out to the general public for this sort of thing.
Thanks! |
http://www.dmbforums.com |
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Zachmozach
Fluffy-Esque
USA
1534 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2005 : 1:08:57 PM
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| I have never taught consistently, but just a few lessons sometimes for people I know and I usually got paid in dinners or something because they were friends. The advice I got though for teaching was to get as many students as possible and make it cheap like $15-20 dollars an hour until you have your entire time filled up by students. Then raise the rate up and all but the serious students will drop if you're a good teacher and then you'll still make the same amount of do re mi. A lot of the rate will depend on your skills though and it might be a little different for each student. |
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rubylith
Fluffy-Esque
1915 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2005 : 1:33:38 PM
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make a website, but sometimes that isnt as effective locally. Good to have though, especially if it focuses on teach and includes music you have created. Cheap ads in newspapers, you can also doa press release which is free so there is an actual article. You just fax to them and they freely give out their fax numbers, just call.
good way to promote.
I charge $20 a half hour...you can also have them sign up for a month and if they cancel without 24 hr notice they dont get rescheduled. That might be something you might want to add after doing lessons for a little while. most importantly is getting students.
The high school will have a problem if you promote private lessons using their materials or school time. But every school is different, so I am just assuming that from working in both music and schools. People can be anal.
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Jiyra
Chatterbox
124 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2005 : 3:50:45 PM
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| I charge 16 for a half hour, and just like ruby some will sign up for a month and pay all at once, but I've learned the best way to get your name out is with your own students, I started with 3 kids and now I have 13, they just went out and told their friends how much they liked it. |
silly girl, sanity is for boys |
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skyline
Chatterbox
USA
143 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2005 : 08:50:47 AM
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Thanks guys! Very good advice all round 
I think I'll start off charging just 20/hr. to start off and try to get a decent studnt base that way. As I get plenty of students, and some drop and new ones come aboard, I'll probably up the price gradually for the new people, but keep my original students at the price I let them come in at.
The website idea is also a great one for me, personally. I'm very much into web design, so I'd enjoy doing that. Maybe I can even write some free online lesson types of articles. |
http://www.dmbforums.com |
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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2005 : 09:03:21 AM
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Quicken makes a piece of software called QuickBooks that's supposed to help with business budgeting and things. Might come in handy since technically you'll have to report what you make as income...
http://quickbooks.intuit.com/
And if business expenses count as deductions, as a guitar teacher wouldn't you be able to deduct the price of new guitar(s)?
hmmm.... |
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rubylith
Fluffy-Esque
1915 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2005 : 10:00:06 AM
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yea I use quickbooks at work and its pretty stellar.
expensive but worth it for tracking... |
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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2005 : 10:38:34 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by rubylith
yea I use quickbooks at work and its pretty stellar.
expensive but worth it for tracking...
The cheapest one I saw on the Intuit website was the "starter" version for $99. Not bad considering it could keep you from getting audited. |
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Any guitar teachers here?
