Teachers Running Small Groups
Found in: Studio Management
Mark M. New York
I run small groups in my studio. A few private lessons, but mostly groups of two to threes. They mostly start at three, and over time someone may often drop out, leaving two. This is in part because I still teach out of my home with limited space and also because I live in a somewhat rural area where enrollments are not frequent enough to form large groups easily. Indeed, that’s primarily why I want to continue to teach out of my home — because I don’t see a studio space being worth it in my market.
I’ve combined ones and/or twos into twos and/or threes on occasion, but more often than not things seem to run the other direction, with attrition making three’s go to two’s and either sometimes to one. With infrequent group/lesson starts and often significant differences in student progress between groups, it seems difficult to regroup efficiently. My schedule seems to have not as many spots available as I’d like, and the spots that are taken seem to have not as many students as I’d like due to attrition. Things are spreading thin.
I tell private students that I’m willing to give them a slot as long as they understand that I would have to give priority to a group that needed the slot. As of yet, I’ve never had to fire a private student simply because I couldn’t find a slot for them, but I can imagine having to do so. Of greater concern, I can imagine having a schedule full of many groups of two and not being able to combine to free up slots. I’m not at all comfortable with the idea of telling a group of two that I’d give up their spot to replace them with a group of three, but I can imagine that I may end up faced with just such a situation.
I’m curious to hear from other teachers out there who also run a studio based primarily or wholly on small classes like these, especially from those who’ve been doing so for longer than my own three years, and especially from those whose circumstances also result in relatively infrequent enrollments rather than personal preference leading to those small classes. Any advice on keeping your schedule from being spread too thin?
Cindy B. Illinois
My situation is nearly identical to yours. I do have more generous studio space, but am weak in the area of self advertisement and promotion, so all of my groups are two-three. I had gotten spread too thin, and, wanting to devote more of my time to other pursuits, decided to limit the number of days I teach. It has worked really well, though I have had to change teaching days once, and offer makeup lessons occasionally on a non-teaching day.
Barbara M. New Jersey
I am in your situation. My inquiry rate is often not high enough to have a group of three or even two. More and more I find myself having individual (or private) lessons. It is not my preference, but it is reality.
I do talk up the efficiency and superiority (for most students) of groups ALL THE TIME from the FIS on. When I have been able to combine two private to a shared, people are all for it because they have heard so much from me about it. It is a bit tricky because you don’t want to diminish the value of the individual lessons with the student.
Because I find individual lessons so much easier for me, (though not as enjoyable!) I don’t mind having some in my schedule. It is like a break – not nearly so much psychology to manage and little prep, especially with the early levels. I also charge more for individual, of course – $30 vx. $22 for shared. I do avoid scheduling individual lessons during prime time – 4–7PM – when I can.
Carla R. Texas
I’m in the same situation as Barbara. How many of you give discounts for shared lessons? I have been charging the same for both group and private, explaining to the private students that if it works out to where their schedule fits with a group in the same level, I will transition them to the group. I haven’t offered a discount for shared, because I find the value is the same. Am I a lone duck in this? Is it wrong?
Mark M. New York
Don’t be afraid to be a “lone duck” and have a policy that’s in the minority. For almost every common policy, there are counterarguments.
Private lessons seem to have only two real advantages over shared. The first is that the pace of progress can always be tailored precisely, as opposed to needing to accommodate a group which will almost always mean not being precisely on target for all members. The second is that it’s easier from a scheduling standpoint, both for teacher and student, not having to coordinate with anyone else. There may be other circumstances when benefits creep in, but on the whole the scale does seem to tip strongly in favor of group lessons.
I think you’ll find that the vast majority of teachers have higher private rates. My private rate is about 50% higher than my shared lesson rate. You can defend a higher private rate if for no other reason than that that time could have been spent with a group, even of just two, instead of a single person, and you’d have made more money in that time as a result. Of course, that argument can be extended to suggest that groups of two should pay more than groups of three, groups of three more than four, etc., and few or none of us do that. So again, craft your policies based on a balance between what you think makes sense to you and what your market will bear.
Emily D. Ohio
I’m also in a similar situation. I do charge more for private, but I’ve only had three weeks of lessons and have only seven students right now (plus 1 starting soon via Skype). Only two of these are kids, but they aren’t grouped together because I have a mother-son group that seems to be working really well. The other boy has tried to get a friend to join him, but it hasn’t happened yet. In my group of three adults, 1 just emailed me saying she didn’t think the group was working for her. I asked her to give it more time, because for one thing, I don’t have another group to put her in. This is my dilemma. Even if I do have someone else sign up at my next FIS (Saturday), by the time they get their materials, they’ll be at least five weeks behind everyone else. How do you group people when they’re that far behind and you don’t have many students?
Sue C. AU
Sometimes I have someone paying a shared lesson price but having a private lesson due to someone else leaving or changed circumstances.
When you don’t have someone else to share with that person you have to do the best thing for you and your business. Sometimes it is to keep them on at that shared rate but letting them know theirs is a shared lesson just with no one to share at present OR increase their fee to full private rate with possibility of losing them even for a time until you have a person to share.
It is difficult when this situation goes on for a long time so it could be good to say to keep it at current rate for a term or this year and then review it.