Music students have a huge advantage in the business world. Whether in high school, college or an adult with a lot of spare time, music has the potential to make you a fair sum of money. The type of instrument doesn’t matter – Piano, guitar, saxophone, clarinet – they all have potential to make you money.
How? By giving music lessons to young kids and beginners! Many parents out there would love to have the next child prodigy, the next Mozart, Beethoven, or heaven forbid, Elvis. Yet many aren’t willing to fork over the money the real “professionals” charge. Some professional music teachers can charge up to $50 per lesson.
As a young amateur, you can offer your music services and instrument know-how for a much more reasonable rate, maybe $5-$10 per lesson, DOE. Parents, with your help, won’t have to pay large sums of money just to find out if their child is even interested in music. Great financial opportunities lie in wait for musicians willing to give their time to make some extra money.
So once you’ve decided that you want to teach music and instruct youngsters on how to properly play their instrument, how do you market your new business giving private lessons? Here are a few ideas to get you going in your music career.
*Ask your local music store if you can display flyers in their window or bulletin board.
Many stores won’t have a problem with this, and most won’t charge you a penny. In fact, many of the music businesses I’ve tried this at have a special bulletin board reserved for musical events and opportunities. Some stores will let you hang up a flyer in the window, others will allow you to put a stack near counter so customers can take a flyer home. Whichever the music store allows you to do, make sure your name, address, contact information, and times you can be contacted are on the flyer. For the life of you, make it creative. Pictures make an advertisement more interesting.
*Put those same flyers up in the local Jr. high and regular high schools
This may be the most effective marketing idea, particularly for those that want to teach a band or orchestra instrument. The young kids that have the desire to improve their skills will look at you flyers with lust. The determined kids will do anything to get first chair. When they see your flyer, they’ll begin to ask their parents for music lessons. Your services will become their first choice, because they saw your name at school!
*Do a tour of the Jr. high schools
Many music teachers will allow you to take their young students and give them a sectional lesson for the day. If your instrument is saxophone, take the saxophone section for some one-on-one lessons. You’re providing more instruction that the music teacher can give them, so he’ll probably be more than happy to let you do this for a day. Although you won’t earn anything, you will give your reputation a boost, increasing your chances of signing on some students. Make sure you let the students know you offer private lessons.
*Offer a free lesson or two
This gives potential students the opportunity to see if you’re worth the cost, free of charge. Free services go a long way, and will net you many potential clients. Display the free lesson offer on your flyers, or offer it to parents and kids when they call you up.
*Spread your music capabilities by word of mouth
Of course, the word of mouth. Telling about your business on flyers might get you a few clients, but talking about your music lessons will get you even more. Tell your friends, neighbors, the guy that walks his dog in front of your house in the morning, everyone. You never know who might be interested. Heck, you might even net an adult student or two this way.
Private music lessons have the potential to give a skilled musician a nice supplemental income. College and high school aged kids can always use the extra money, and stay at home moms may want something to do with their spare time. Whatever your drive is, using the ideas above are bound to net you a few students, whether you teach band instruments, guitar, or even music notation.
Good Luck!
