Teaching voice lessons is a very flexible and lucrative option for singers because it allows singers to continue performing or go to school while making money. It's one of our best options: you can make good money during a short period of time, and you can easily reschedule or cancel lessons when you have a conflict or gig.

Though there are many music studios where you can teach, creating your own private studio allows you to make more money and have more control over your schedule. Of course, starting your own studio requires you to find students, deal with payment, and handle difficult students and/or parents, so a private studio is a bit more work than showing up to a studio as an independent contractor.  However, it is an option worth considering!

Approximately one year ago, I moved to Los Angeles from out of state. I had been working at music studios throughout my graduate degrees and wanted to continue teaching in SoCal. Even though I had always considered it, this move is what really inspired me to start my own studio. Here is what I learned, and am still learning, along the way:

Build a website

This is perhaps step number one as most people turn to the internet first when searching for a voice teacher. To get started you can use a website builder, build a website from scratch, or hire a web developer. But it all depends on your skills and your budget. For the average joe, I recommend a website builder. It will cost a little bit of time and money, but you end up with an attractive and high-quality product. I use wix.com, but other popular and user-friendly builders are squarespace.com and weebly.com, among many others. Include as much information as you feel comfortable sharing on your website including prices, contact information, a teaching philosophy, and lesson etiquette. Include your education and teaching experience as well as some photos or videos of your teaching and performing. These elements are important for potential students who may come across your website as it will help you stand out from other teachers.  As you are building your website, think about what you would want to see or know to help you choose a new teacher and add those details.

Be sure to pick and buy an easy and memorable domain name. If a future student can remember your domain name without having to write it down, then you may be able to get more business. Also, feel free to connect your artistic website with your studio website.  Students like to see your success as a performer!

Find your teaching space

When creating your private studio, you'll need to decide where you’d like to teach. This does not mean you have teach at only one location. You can offer in-home lessons, teach at home, and/or rent a space at a church or school, as long as there is a working and in-tune piano at the location. Whichever you decide, consider the costs that each option may require. For example: teaching in-home lessons requires driving from house to house, so you may want to add a travel fee or raise your lesson prices to help off-set the price of gas and the time spent driving. If you’re teaching from home, you will want your home to be clean and comfortable for your students. This will mean offering water, internet, and comfortable seating to your students and their parents, keeping your space at a comfortable temperature, and making your restroom available. If you can find a space to rent at a church or school, you will probably have to pay to rent this space by the hour or day, so factor that expense into your lesson prices. Whichever space you choose, you ultimately need to find what works best for your lifestyle, budget, and business.

Scope out the competition

Determining your lesson prices primarily depends on your competition and area. Research the other local music studios and find out what they’re charging for similar services. When first starting, you may want to offer slightly lower prices than the competition or offer discount specials. Sometimes getting those first students may require some incentive. You can always raise your prices once things take off, but right now it’s about getting students in the door. Even music studios offer specials or a free introductory lesson to inquiring students. Discover what works for you and your budget, and if you are not able to offer discounts or less expensive lessons, don’t!

Advertise

Once your website is up and running, start advertising. Connect your website to Yelp, Google Business, Facebook, Thumbtack, TakeLessons, and any other site you can find. Some of these options either require a financial commitment or offer ads for purchase. Do your research and start with the free options: Yelp, Google Business, and Facebook. I personally love Yelp - most of my students find me through Yelp even though I do not pay for ads. Try to get some glowing reviews on any of these sites, and potential students will start contacting you.

For the more traditional route of advertising, make some flashy flyers and put them up in schools, churches, campuses, coffee shops, and music stores. Try to make your flyer appeal to both students and parents by adding fun and colorful graphics, and only the necessary information: website, location, phone number, age range, and ability level.

Make connections

Another free form of advertising is making connections. Try meeting and introducing yourself to other local musicians to get the 411 on the area. You may consider contacting the choir director at nearby schools and ask to be put on their private voice teacher list, as well as offering a masterclass for the choir class so you can advertise your teaching abilities. Also try to connect with church choirs and local theaters in a similar manner. Furthermore, connect with your fellow voice teachers, and you may receive some students they are unable to teach. When my schedule became full, I directed inquiring students to other local voice teacher friends. Making good connections is important in both teaching and performing, and you never know how it can help further your career or business.

Contracts

Deciding whether you’d like to use student contracts or not can be decided before or after you teach your first student. My advice to you is this: do it! I recently distributed contracts to my students, and I wish I had done it sooner. Even though your students will love coming to voice lessons, there will be instances where they may cancel five minutes before their lesson or not even show. Sometimes students may even forget to pay you! Your time and their time is valuable, so contracts will keep you both happy. Most importantly, contracts will protect you and your business while making it appear more professional and legit. 

In your contract, be sure to include details about payment, cancellation, and rescheduling along with anything else that is important to you. You can also hire a lawyer to either help you formulate or review your contract, which will protect you the best. But if you’d like to make your own contract, be sure to ask another professional to edit and review it to make sure there aren’t any major loopholes.

Manage your studio

Depending on how busy you get and how organized you are, you may want to consider subscribing to a studio management program. For a monthly fee, studio management programs can help you schedule and invoice students, accept online payment, track income, note lesson progress, and parents and students can access it and keep track of everything, too. Check out mymusicstaff.com and musicteachershelper.com. My Music Staff seems to be the more popular choice as it’s cheaper, but check out both programs as well as others that are available online.

Become legit

Consider registering your business as a sole proprietor, LLC, or Corporation. If you are a one man company, a sole proprietorship is probably the way to go. As a sole proprietor, you can start-up quite easily, but depending on your state, you may need to register, obtain a business license, or comply with permit laws to be legit. Here's a handy website that tells you what to do in every state to establish a sole proprietorship. An LLC or Corporation is better suited if you have employees or are considering teaming up with other teachers to run your business. Here's a guide to help you choose between an LLC or an S-Corp if you're wanting to go that route.

Whichever way you choose to register your business, be sure to keep track of your earnings and declare your taxes. Here is some info on how sole proprietors are taxed, check here for LLC tax info, and here is some tax info for corporations. If this is all gibberish to you, then talk to a business accountant about taxes and your options as a business owner.

Have patience

Lastly and most importantly, have patience. It may take some time to get students, so stay positive and try different advertising methods. Once you have your first couple of students, you will find referrals are the best advertisements, and the students will be knocking down your door.

Good luck with your new studio, and happy teaching!