Organized??

There has been a lot of talk about being organized. Pinterest bubbles over with tips-and-tricks and the next best-thing-since-sliced-bread approach to being more organized. But what does it mean to be organized for a private music teacher? Do you have all your books organized in alphabetical order or can you rattle off your weeks schedule without a glitch? I don’t think so. I feel that there is a fundamental truth that is needed for any and all private instructors who want to be successful. And that is they need to be organized. Before we get to far ahead in this topic let’s define what I mean by organization.

Simply put; plan ahead.

What does that look like?

That can be fleshed out in a lot of different ways for different people. Not everyone is going to jump on the bandwagon of having every detail of their studio organized; Every slip of paper, all of their books, lesson plans in folders by topics, but that’s not what I mean. The ultimate goal of being organized is to have a more smooth and successful studio business. And one of the best way to move the needle for your business is to have a plan. That means, know where you are going with your short-term and long-term goals. Ask yourself the question: what do you want your studio to look like in 6 months, 2 years, 5 years, even 10 years.  Once you have the vision in place of what things are going to look like down the road, that’s where the excitement can take flight. It is a rare-bird, for someone to get excited about being organized, but it is much more common for people to get excited about their dreams becoming a reality. And that is what an organized plan can do; bring a pipedream into the realm of the real. 

Let’s get real

Ok, now for some practical stuff. What are areas in your studio that can benefit from being organized? Take a look at your studio as a whole and see if there are any recurring tasks, or due dates that need to happen. Look at your week, your month the entire year and see if there are things that happen on a schedule. For example, taxes, concerts, recitals, auditions, invoices, payments, scheduling lessons. Look at every aspect of what you are responsible for your business and map it out on a calendar. 

From there, pull out the details that you can plan ahead on, lets talk about being organized for an upcoming audition. If you know that there is an audition coming for one or multiple of your students, you need to gather to proper information needed to have them participate. That needs to happen well in advance so they can be prepared musically as well as with the specifications for the particular audition. You may need to do some research, find out what details are being critiqued. Then you can present that to your students several lessons ahead of time and work on a plan of action to be successful during the audition. That is being organized. 

Seriously, lesson plan?

Another common area that needs planning is the actual lesson time with a student. Thinking about the individual needs of your student, where they are at and where they are needing to go, is crucial for having a meaningful and productive lesson. Some teachers need to write out a lesson plan with every detail manicured for their next student. Other teachers need only a minute or two, to ponder over some specifics and craft a tailored lesson that their student can find great benefit from. There is no right or wrong methodology in planning a lesson. As long as you plan ahead, you will be organize. 

Let me know what ways you bring organization to your studio business. I would love to hear!

Thanks and take care,

John