I had to order more binders. That seems like a really strange start to a blog post by a music teacher. Let me unpack. But first, we have to go back a bit.
7 Years Ago
You see, 7 years ago, I was at a crossroads. My dad had passed away a little over 2 years prior, my mother who was starting to struggle with dementia had been living on her own for 40 years. Thankfully, she lived about 2 and a half hours from me, so once a month, I would go up for about 24 hours to check on her, do things for her, etc. I was also a full time church musician, with 10 and 7 year old daughters, a wife, and I was teaching about 15 private lessons a week for extra income. I was tired. Something had to give. So in January of 2020 (yes, before the world closed), I took a gigantic leap of faith after prayer and conversation with my wife. I announced to my church that I’d be resigning in June. To do what? I wasn’t sure. I was 43 with responsibilities. It was scary. But I knew that wasn’t what I was supposed to do.
Now What?
That was the question. My degree is in vocal music education. I had a failed year a choir director in a private school. I did do alright in a year of directing a private school in San Antonio part-time. Maybe that’s it? Or, I had taught private lessons full time. Maybe I go back to that? But was that consistent enough financially? Well, the pandemic helped direct things. I direct a choir at the private school my wife teaches at for 2020-21, taught lessons and continued part-time at my church through the end of 2020. I struggled along for a couple of years, delivering with Door Dash, taking on other opportunities to make money.
Things Start to Grow
Starting in 2022, my private studio started to take off. Things were going great! Word of mouth spread, and it was amazing. My younger sister was in a car accident, diagnosed with cancer and passed away in the span of 6 months. The families in my studio were so kind, gracious and understanding. This left my mom alone again, this time in Florida. So I had to travel every 6 months or so to check on her. The last time I was there was in January of 2024.Â
The Crash of Last Summer
Summers were typically a little less, but survivable financially. I’d have enough new students to offset those who took the “summer off”. But last summer? It was bad. Almost every student took off. I wasn’t expecting it, wasn’t financially prepared, and I was left with a question. Am I doing the right thing? I know, how does all of this go with getting new binders? It’s coming!
The Change
I made a policy change so that I wouldn’t experience that again. Thankfully, last fall, things picked up again, and solvency was regained. The policy change was that if you committed to lessons for August through July, you pay one cost. If you only commit to August through May, you pay another. Almost all of my families were on board with committing to the whole year! So I knew what I was looking at for the summer, and budgeted and saved accordingly.
This Summer
I had interested from a few new students starting over the summer, but not as many as normal. I had been a bit apprehensive regarding the economy and whether people were going to commit. Heading into June, things looked good, but it was still pretty tight overall. I’ve been through this before, I can do this, I thought.
The Blessings
After the first week of June, something happened. One of my piano students was interested in voice as well. I didn’t have another 30 minutes for her, so we moved her lesson to another day. Had another student interested in voice lessons. She took that other time. I had a consultation with an incoming junior in high school switching from band to choir. He starts today. An incoming 6th grader is starting trumpet in the fall and mom wanted him to start now to get a head start. He starts today. One of my families recommended the studio to their neighbor. She started yesterday. The chef at my wife’s school wants his son to get a music scholarship for voice. He started yesterday. I have another consult today and one more next Tuesday. The floodgates opened and I was in shock!
So….The Binders?
Since I don’t teach using method books, I print everything for my students and they receive a binder. Yesterday, I used the last of my binders on hand for new students. I had to order more to be delivered overnight today! What a great problem to have! In fact, my plan was to attempt to teach between 1-6 PM Monday through Thursday. Right now, that schedule is almost completely full!
It’s Not Because of a System or Plan
As you can see, it’s not because of a grand plan or system. I failed. A lot. But somehow, I got up and kept going. Does that mean that my schedule will be full for 2026-27? I sure hope so! I’m apprehensive about the fall, but all I can control is what’s in front of me right now. I’m truly grateful for the students in my studio, I pray for them daily, and I am praying for more students to come, so I can share the joy of music with them. In the meantime, I’m working as hard as I possibly can to make sure the families are enjoying their experience in the studio, enjoying learning music, and that will make them want to continue!