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Hi there SM Teachers, What platforms do you recommend for automating piano tuition payments? I’m considering setting up recurring monthly billing for my studio and would love to hear what systems other teachers use. I use SquareUp. I know some folks that use Fons. Amy…

• Last updated 2 months ago
• automatic, automatic payments, collecting tuition, Fons, Laurie Richards, monthly lessons, PayPal, recurring payment, recurring payments, Square, SquareUp, Stripe, tuition, Venmo, Zelle

Here’s a first! For those who have an initial or annual enrollment fee, have you ever had anyone ask you to “explain the enrollment fee and what that goes to?” How did you answer? I feel kinda weirded by it. I’ve signed up my son…

• Last updated 9 months ago
• admin fee, admin fees, administrative fee, administrative fees, administrative help, annual enrollment, annual enrollment fee, annual enrollment fees, annual fee, annual fees, annual payment, answering questions about fees, business expense, covering expenses, enrollment, enrollment fee, enrollment fees, expense, expenses, fee, Fee increase, fees, flat fee tuition, initial fee, initial fees, lesson fees, outside lesson time, passing along fees, raising fees, registration fees, scheduling administrative work, setting fees, stating fees, work outside lesson time

Do other teachers have rules on strong scents in their studios? I have an adult that swims ahead of our lessons and the chlorine smell bothers me. She seemed upset that I prefer she swim on a day other than before our lessons. What would…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• air, aroma, aromas, boundaries, boundary, chlorine, claiming territory, cologne, enforcing your policy, environment, explaining claiming territory, explaining policies, odor, odors, perfume, policies, policy, reclaiming territory, scent, scents, sensitive, sensitivities, sensitivity, sensory issues, sensory processing disorder, setting policies, smell, smells, studio policies, studio policy, writing a studio policy

Question for you social media whizzes. I am just starting to be visible on social media and am trying to post regularly. I posted a video today of a student playing and FB, or instagram or both, suggested I also post as a “Reel” to…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• facebook, Facebook marketing, Facebook Reels, Instagram, Instagram marketing, social media, taking videos, video, video marketing

Is there a way to get rid of the markings on the sides of the page (besides upgrading to Adobe acrobat Pro)? They also show up in the business cards of the teacher design suite. There are ways, and it depends on what software you’re…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• Adobe, Adobe Acrobat, Canva, design suite, graphics, images, JPG, marketing, Microsoft Word, PDF, PNG, Preview, raster graphics, raster images, teacher design suite, TIFF, vector graphics, vector images

Facebook, Yelp or Google Reviews? How important are they? Well… I had a meeting from my business advisor from a company called Cultivate Advisors who said that any company with a yearly revenue of less than $1M should refrain from paying for google/facebook ads. This…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• advertising, advertising fees, advertising ideas, advertising online tips, client reviews, client testimonials, coach reviews, coach testimonials, customer reviews, customer testimonials, facebook, Facebook ads, Facebook advertising, facebook business page, Facebook marketing, Facebook private page, Facebook reviews, family reviews, family testimonials, free advertising, getting reviews, google, Google ads, Google advertising, Google Adwords, Google business listing, Google listing, Google reviews, google searches, IG, Instagram, Instagram marketing, low budget advertising, low cost advertising, marketing, marketing online, online advertising, online searches, parent review, parent reviews, parent testimonials, referral, referrals, review, reviews, student reviews, student testimonials, testimonial, testimonials, TikTok, TikTok marketing, video reviews, web advertising, web based studio info, website, Yelp, Yelp reviews, YouTube, YouTube marketing

I’ve read in Kat M.’s post about travelling. So, here’s a question to all INTERNATIONALLY travelling teachers. I’m travelling in Europe for a month in the summer and the airline charges an arm and a leg if I took a keyboard. How do you travel…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• folding keyboard, foldup keyboard, key pads, keypad, keypads, portable instrument, portable piano, practice pad, practice pads, teacher travel, travel, travel instrument, travel keyboard, travel piano, traveling, using practice pads

I’m in the process of enrolling my first student and I’m wondering who of you is using the SM enrollment form. I’ve seen two different versions of it. The current one with the teacher’s notes and an older version that has some policies on it.…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• Airtable, digital enrollment, electronic enrollment, enrolling students, enrollment, enrollment forms, forms, Google Forms, Laurie Richards, managing forms, online enrollment, web based studio info, web enrollment

I have a traditional student who is at the end of her book and I gave her the choice to go the the next book or Simply Music. The mom replied that it was up to me. I am not sure how to do this…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• Neil Moore, Neil's Responses (YouTube Videos), SM transfer students, SM vs traditional, starting SM with traditional students, traditional and Simply Music enrollment, traditional background, traditional experience, traditional lesson prices, traditional student, traditional students, traditional students to SM, traditional studio, traditional to Simply Music, traditional vs. Simply Music, traditionally trained, transfer, transfer students, transferring simply music students, transitioning into SM, transitioning students, transitioning to SM, transitioning traditional students

I’m looking to make the switch from my big binders full of my SM materials to something digital. I’m hoping to find a fairly large tablet that would allow me to have all the materials as PDFs and that would have a pen I could…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• Apple Pencil, digital materials, Forscore, handling paperwork, Henle, iPad, iPad app, iPad apps, iPads, managing materials, Newzik, organization, organizing a notebook, organizing lesson plans, organizing materials, organizing SHMs, organizing teacher notes, organizing TTMs, paperwork, reMarkable, staying organized, tablet, using iPad in lessons, utilize ipad, white board, whiteboard