Simpedia

Jy Gronner

Jy G. (USA)  Thank you for coming and for all the questions sent to me privately before today. I will do my best to answer as many of those as I can first, and then I will answer any other questions live.

I opened with 44 students over two years ago — I have about 160 now, roughly 2/3 kids and 1/3 adults, and mostly in shared lessons of two-six students each.

First of all, I need to make a few things clear to everyone. I do not teach this many alone; Josh G. (my amazing nephew!) also has been teaching, since September. Not only that, but I have hired someone to take care of the finances, the materials orders, some of the scheduling, etc.

However, it is possible to teach this many alone, though after about 150, you may want to get some help. I made a decision to work long hours so that I could build it quickly, but of course everyone has their own pace and situation in life.

There are advantages to building quickly (and it certainly could be done more quickly than I did): I have more ease in getting shared lessons started initially, mixing and matching on account of starting several groups at once, etc. It seems that the more students there are, the more things sort of “work out” with the juggling of schedules, learning paces, etc.

That being said, for those of you who do not have the time to build your business in this way, I would suggest doing periodic advertising campaigns, designed to focus your inquiries to specific seasons or months of the year. This does not have to cost much.

For me, it has been a matter of simply making a “deep decision” that I am ready for the growth. Decide on a period of two or three weeks where you will schedule at least three or four FISs, talk to everyone you know (again), talk to everyone you meet (go “out of your way” whenever you can), and just have the attitude that your plan will work.

Go to the local schools, or better yet, give an incentive to the parents whose kids attend nearby schools. You may have a parent who could use some extra money — you could give a referral gift for each new student s/he brings in. Make a plan and share it!  Word-of-mouth advertising is the most powerful, so the more students you have, the more calls you will get from prospective students. It seems to accelerate noticeably at around 70 and again around 120.

Recitals can also be used as “publicity” events. A teacher asked how I handle recitals with large numbers of students: I have four events scheduled on two different Saturdays, a weekend or two apart, and I do this twice a year.

And to answer a few other questions…

To keep all the details organized, I use QuickBooks for all the finances and PalmOne for scheduling. I am currently looking for new scheduling software though. I have Word and Excel documents for all other records (enrollments, prospective students, quarterly stats, etc).

I do not yet circulate a newsletter, though I think it is a great idea, and plan to implement this.

As for the “spreading of teaching hours I find works best”, I think this is a personal decision. I prefer to teach back-to-back lessons, as I find that my non-teaching hours are more focused.

There were a lot of questions regarding time management… I find that when enough of the same “issue” arises among students, I can implement a change to address it, and it disappears. Creating policies and procedures documents helped me immensely. I get clear, students get clear; a lot of explaining on phone calls is replaced with simply collecting signed documents, and periodically emailing them out for reference (a good time to do this is prior to school breaks.)

More questions were asked:

“What do I think are the most successful things I do as a teacher of a large shared lesson studio?”

• I think the most successful thing I do is follow the program – live it, breathe it, embody it! Neil’s program produces UNPRECEDENTED results, so we have a simple job: just follow it! Teachers have also extensively shared what works, on Simpedia.
• I have FUN teaching so that my studio is a fun place to be, a place where people look forward to coming each week.
• I read all my evaluations and make changes where needed…
• I ask for feedback a lot. I seek to exude warmth, kindness, confidence, patience, and care in any situation, and I think that contributes to my success as well.
• There is ALWAYS more to learn, but it’s important to know that we are doing the right thing for right now, and that we must continually be in a “learning mode”.

“What are the most important things you do to ensure a high student retention rate?”

• I think the last chat that Samali hosted was right on – parents are our best allies, and starting out on the right foot with them helps a lot, although it is never too late to start being effective with parents. (Her chat is posted on the website.)
• As for adults, constant reminders about where they are headed, how well they are doing, the process itself as it unfolds – all this helps a lot. A lot of communication for adults seems to be an important key.

“What things have I done to successfully manage my time?”

• I find myself in a mode of constant prioritizing – is this task the most important thing I could do at this moment? It is a good idea to set down goals, and to make them reasonable…
• Start with long-term goals, and from there set short-term ones, and finally, boil those down to what you will do TODAY. Don’t forget to include those things that keep your life in balance.

OK, what else? Any questions?

Mary  How many hours a week do you teach? What is the range of your group sizes?

Jy G. (USA)  Group sizes run from 2-7.

Sue D. (USA)  You work out of a separate location from your home, right? What features did you look for in an outside studio?

Jy G. (USA)  I looked for a good central location, good parking, room for growth.

Debbie  Do you do any advertising? Newspaper etc.

Jy G. (USA)  I do a little advertising, and get most of it for free on craigslist.org, which has expanded to many cities.

Mary  How do your students breakdown children versus adults? Do you have any teen classes?

Jy G. (USA)  I have teen lessons; I have about 1/3 adults.

Sue D. (USA) How many students did you feel you needed in order to make the rent of an outside location a good business decision?

Jy G. (USA)  I think that is something to just sit down and figure out with your budget, rent prices, etc.  We teach about 40-45 hours a week…

Debbie  How did you start with 44 students?

Jy G. (USA)  How did I start with 44?…I held FISs several times a week while I set up the studio, prepared to teach, opened a bank account, etc…I talked to everyone I met, and decided on an opening date about two months down the road from my first FIS.

Sue D. (USA)  Do you have separate “rooms” for different groups to run at the same time, or do and your nephew not teach at the same time?

Jy G. (USA)  We teach at the same time quite a bit; we have two rooms.

Sue D. (USA)  Do you work weekends and evenings?

Jy G. (USA)  Yes I do

Laurie R.  What has been your most successful mode of advertising?

Jy G. (USA)  Word-of mouth…

Laurie R.  How about initially?

Jy G. (USA)  My own mouth! The more students one has, obviously, the more opportunity.

Mary  Do you offer incentives for students who refer friends?

Jy G. (USA)  Yes, I give a gift of $50 with a card.

Anything else anyone would like me to discuss? It may just take time for me to type.

Sue D. (USA)  Do you have any other Simply Music teachers teaching in your area (other than your nephew)?

Jy G. (USA)  Yes, one who is building a large studio, and others who are in the process of deciding how to go about starting.

Sue D. (USA)  Do you cooperate together, or work very separately?

Jy G. (USA)  Cooperate as much as possible.  We will NEVER saturate the market …It seems as if almost everyone, if you talk to them long enough, has a secret dream to learn to play the piano.

Carol B.  Had you taught piano before SM?

Jy G. (USA)  I’ve taught off and on, traditionally, to advanced teens and adults.

Sue D. (USA)  No. Just to PLAY the piano.. : )

Jy G. (USA)  Of COURSE!

Wayne  Is it possible to see a copy of the ad that you run on Craigslist?

Jy G. (USA)  Sure! The heading is:

BREAKTHROUGH Australian Piano and Keyboard Program.

And the body is:

“Simply Music” has students of ALL ages — children, teens, adults, and seniors — playing great-sounding pop, blues, classical, and accompaniment pieces immediately — from their very first lessons! This unique ‘playing-based’ approach produces immediate and unprecedented results, and is not only becoming the new standard in entry-level music education, but is redefining music learning. In contrast to traditional learning, this breakthrough program is tactile, experiential, and multi-sensory, with students being physically, visually, and aurally fully absorbed. FREE INTRODUCTORY SESSIONS in._________ through February. Call (or email) The Piano Studio – 415.000.0000

Sue D. (USA)  Do you get many referrals from that?

Jy G. (USA)  Yes, and I think when people do a search, craigslist comes up, and my ad.

Carol B.  Do you think your location is an advantage over teaching in your home (if it were legal)?

Jy G. (USA)  Yes, I think location is a great advantage.  Also, there seems to be a sort of “respect” for a place that feels “established” I guess.  But there are always those who ask if I/ we come to homes…

Erika W. (USA)  Do you find you do much teaching during the daytime hours, meaning until say 3 pm? Because it seems like the best teaching times are 3pm -7pm, and I’d like to teach during the day.

Jy G. (USA)  I teach adults in the mornings and evenings.

Mary  Will future growth come from combining existing groups to create more available teaching hours, adding teaching hours or adding teachers?

Jy G. (USA)  Adding students and adding teachers, and adding locations.  I am always looking for ways to combine, or ways to break up even, according to the needs of the individual students.

Laurie R.  I’m curious…are your rooms not able to accommodate larger groups, or do you prefer limiting classes to 7?

Jy G. (USA)  My rooms have limited space.

Mary Do you offer any private lessons? Do you charge a premium?

Mary  Where do you hold your recital events?

Jy G. (USA)  I hold my recital events at a beautiful church nearby

Erika W. (USA) This may be too personal, but do you feel that the income you’re making is worth the long hours, even after taxes and all the fees and such?

Jy G. (USA)  YES YES YES YES YES

Mary  Has your per lesson fee increased as your studio has grown in size and reputation?

Jy G. (USA)  My lesson fee has never changed and will not for quite awhile.  I started with a fee that would work for awhile too.

Laurie R.  How long have you taught SM?

Jy G. (USA)  I have taught for a little over two years.

Helen H. (AUS)  How do you manage students in a larger lesson where the ability to learn is wide, do you give them additional arrangements, for example, or match them with other students different classes?

Jy G. (USA)  I usually match them with other students when I can, but it is possible to keep everyone together; it’s all in how you manage the situation.  If you think it’s a bad idea, you will convey that to your students.  If you think it is perfectly fine, it will work.  Of course, you need to know how to implement the arrangements/variations…

Sometimes, I will give them over the phone, which is quite easy actually, and takes only a minute usually.

Sue D. (USA)  I often feel that students desire to play entire pieces they’ve been working on to “show” you what they’re achieving. I know recitals could be the place for this, but does this issue come up much in larger groups where you can’t have them all play at length?

Jy G. (USA)  Yes it does – well, it used to – but I take care of that in the second or third lesson. And I repeat myself in any conversation where I think there may be a different expectation.

Mary  How do you teach one or two people a variation without the rest of the group getting bored/feeling inferior? I’d LOVE to learn that!!!

Jy G. (USA)  I explain from the very beginning that the arrangements/variations are learned at their own individual pace…

Laurie R.  Mary, I asked Neil that question once.  He asked if I had ever heard a really accomplished pianist at a concert and how I felt afterward (I wanted to go straight home and play the piano!).   His point being it is inspiring to watch others learn more challenging pieces. Maybe even motivating for them to push just a little harder themselves.  Plus they are seeing for themselves the possibilities that are there for them.

Jy G. (USA)  That’s great, Laurie, exactly! We can use every opportunity – is in how you work with each INDIVIDUAL within the group

Mary  All excellent points—thank you, Laurie!

Laurie R.  I do still struggle sometimes with worrying about others feeling left out or bored, but I’m trying to get over it.

Jy G. (USA)  TALK to them.  Ask them how they feel; they will cue YOU as to how to discuss it and help them if they need it. They may not; it may be your worry.

Laurie R.  Agreed…be up front and honest.

Jy G. (USA)  The only way to get over it is through it : )

Laurie R.  Amen, sister.

Jy G. (USA)  It never fails to help, even if you’re the only one who learned from it!

Debbie  I have a group of four adults. Two are very fast learners, one is average, and one still can’t play dreams after six weeks. She has to start over each week. I don’t want any more private lessons. What do I do with this one VERY slow learner?

Laurie R.  Debbie, when I have had that situation (1 way behind the others in a group) I have tried to move the slower learner to a different group.

Mary  Just underscores that it’s really all about the PEOPLE–making them feel GOOD–about themselves, about their musical journey etc.

Jy G. (USA)  If there is another group for them, yes, that is what I do as well, and they can come to as many lessons a week as they like. I had a student do that regularly.

Debbie  Unfortunately, I don’t have another group that would work.

Laurie R.  What do you charge for extra lessons, if you don’t mind my asking.

Jy G. (USA)  Why don’t you want to teach that student again, sorry.. I charge the private lesson rate, per “extra” lesson.  I assume you all have two different rates…?

Sue D. (USA)  Yes.

Carol B.  Yes.

Jy G. (USA)  We only have a few minutes – any last questions?

Carol B.  You’ve done a great job. Thanks.

Sheri (USA)  I have never had anyone do this but when I tell people the “no make-up” policy I let them know of a few ways around it, one being they can come to another class that week. I have had people take advantage of that but I also tell them even if they don’t miss a class they can come to extra classes if they want at no charge.

Tim W. (USA)  I am a new teacher in Jy’s studio, licensed for about 6 weeks. There is so much I learn about managing relationships throughout a group lesson. Students come with such a variety of learning styles and issues. I hope to be able to recognize the variations and be prepared to deal effectively with them by having Jy observe and critique me.

Jy G. (USA)  It just takes experience, with or without critique, you will learn…

Mary  How many teachers do you have Jy? Do you also have administrative support?

Jy G. (USA)  I have one teacher who started in Sept, and Tim, who is starting now.

Laurie R.  Sheri, I like your option of attending another group with no extra fee.

Sheri (USA)  It takes the sting out of the attendance policy I think Laurie.

Jy G. (USA)  Yes, I do as Sheri does.

Sue D. (USA)  Thanks Jy. I can tell how much good info you give to your students by your detailed instructions of how to get on to this chat room, sent in plenty of advance! Thanks for that as I hadn’t done it before and that helped a lot. Thanks for all the info you generously shared tonight.

Jy G. (USA)  Thank you for coming Sue, and for your kind comment

Helen H. (AUS)  Jy, how many hours a week do you need your administrator to attend to that side of the business?

Jy G. (USA) Helen, just keep track of the hours you administer your business, and you’ll know what you need then.

Helen H. (AU)  Okay, thanks Jy, and for answering my questions

Mary Thanks, Jy-great job! Keep blazing the big studio trail for us!

Jy G. (USA)  Goodnight and Goodday : )