Time to let the cat out of the bag...

Chris, the "standard" hours are 3-9PM M-F, and 9-5 Saturday, for exactly the reasons you mentioned. But in my area there are a lot of home-school kids, so I've personally started anywhere between noon and 2, and I intend to keep doing that. I'm just not publishing the extended times as "open for business" hours, because they're not the same every day - I think people would be put off by hours that are different every day of the week... and I don't want to simply publish the earliest time, because I don't want to have to be there staring at the phone when there are no early lessons that day... or pay somebody else to do it!

But what's peak in music depends on the market. The space I rent in Naperville is an early childhood music center - I'm a good fit for them, because the mom & infant music stuff happens early in the day. So I rent her space in the afternoon and evening. And we're starting to talk about the possibility of her doing the same thing in my new place.

The space I rent in Naperville is an early childhood music center - I'm a good fit for them, because the mom & infant music stuff happens early in the day. So I rent her space in the afternoon and evening. And we're starting to talk about the possibility of her doing the same thing in my new place.

Perfect! :D

The music 'school' in the town down the hill from here has a music shop at the front, and half a dozen or so teaching rooms out the back. That seems quite a good fit too, as one helps support the other - both by supplying each other with customers, and also by keeping things ticking over throughout the day. But, as you mentioned before, it can get complicated when you have too many strands to manage at once. You can lose focus and find that things are getting a little blurry.... :shock:

It sounds like you have got all the angles neatly figured and positioned - which is exactly what I'd expect from reading all your posts here. So I'm sure that it will be a great success. The aspects that you mentioned - mentoring teachers - and generally working on developing both the teaching and the business model sound VERY absorbing indeed. Heaps of potential to combine some fun with some fascinating and rewarding brainwork too. All the very best with it. :note1: :note2: :note1:

Cheers,

Chris

Thats awesome, congratulations 8)

Good luck! 8)

Dan

Best of luck. Seems like a natural progression for you. :note1: :note2: :note1:

sounds great!
good luck, tho i doubt you'll need it.

Best of luck!

A good local music school can last for many years.

Tom,

Congratulations and best of luck! I've learned a lot from your book, and I am envious of all the people in your area who can take advantage of your knowledge in person. Too bad I live couple of thousand miles away, it'll be too much of a commute :-)

It's hard to believe, but today marks the fifth anniversary of opening the music school.

It's among the most fun things I've ever done :)

Tom, let me join the group in congratulating you and wishing you the best success. I hope it's enjoyable, profitable, and that you make the world brighter by bringing new musicians into the world.

I remember my music teacher as a person who changed my life for the better. I'm sure you will have the opportunity to change many little lives for the better.

Bob

+1. It was great to meet you and play with you last month. Best of luck going forward.

Thanks guys!

And Dan, it was great to meet and play with you too - and I'm glad I had the chance to show off our little school. It'll be bigger and better the next time you visit :)

It's amazing how time flies. Nine years ago today we opened our doors, and since then we've provided tens of thousands of music lessons to hundreds of students. Dozens of our students have been recognized as being the best young musicians in the state by the IMEA (Illinois Music Educator's Association).

It's been quite the ride so far. I'm looking forward to the next nine!

10 years this year, Noteboat.

Hope everything is going better than planned. 8)

Yeah, it's going to be 10 years on August 18th since we opened our doors.

We've had quite a few ups and downs, the worst one being the reconstruction of the road we're on right after we moved to larger quarters, which took over 3 years to finish. That was pretty rough on us. But now that it's done we're in a good location - and on historic Route 66 no less!

So we've survived probably the worst the world can throw at us. And dozens of our students have been named the best in the state by the ILMEA (the Illinois Music Educator's Association). I think about five are now full-time professional musicians, and many more who perform publicly as amateurs or semi-pros. We've had a vocalist make the national semi-finals for X-Factor, and another vocalist chosen as the single soloist for a Choirs of America performance at Carnegie Hall (from a group of hundreds of singers, representing the ten best High School choirs in the country), so I think we're still doing what we set out to do.

Thanks for remembering!