I have to take a quick break from the podcast to move Music Studio Startup HQ (and the rest of my life) from Maryland to Missouri!

If you haven't heard the earliest episodes the podcast, now is a good time to catch up. If you want to read about the steps I've been taking to close and transition my studio in Maryland, you can check out those details on the blog!

Moving - Part 1: Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Moving - Part 2: Making & Communicating Plans

Cindy Hsu is from a slightly different category of entrepreneur than my usual guests, but she has such a great sense of hustle and so many insights to share on building an audience. I know I picked up some gems to apply to my business endeavors!

Full show notes available at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode020/

A lot of entrepreneurial stories have meandering starts, often with setbacks and challenges that test a founder's dedication and perseverance as much as the business idea itself. Today's guest has one of those stories, but she stuck it out and made it to the other side. Here's our conversation!

Full show notes available at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode019/

Last week we heard from Jolene Madewell, who used Instagram and other social media to build her online flute studio, so I thought talking to a full-time digital marketer would be a great follow-up.

Today I'm talking to Molly Marshall about how local businesses like music studios can set themselves apart on Instagram. She talks about using hashtags, geotags, video, and good ol' fashioned networking to establish a presence in our local communities.

Full show notes available at https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode018/

Lots of teachers transition in-person students to Skype students out of necessity when someone has to move, but today I'm talking to a flute teacher who has done the opposite.

When Jolene's local studio wasn't gaining traction, she decided to focus on teaching virtually. She ramped up her social media presence and built her studio of mostly online students. After a couple of years, her local community started taking notice of her work online and she started picking up more in-person students as well!

There are a lot of gems for traditional and online music teacher in this episode.

Full show notes available at www.musicstudiostartup.com/episode017/

Today Lance LaDuke of Carnegie Mellon University shares the story of his winding career and how he created his dream job encouraging and mentoring music students who want to pursue entrepreneurial ideas.

Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode016

Dr. Joel Pierson, founder of Sadsap Music and creator of the "You Suck at Piano" series, gives us an honest, behind-the-scenes look at how he raised $85,000 in his first Kickstarter campaign.

Joel tells us about the thought process behind setting a good Kickstarter budget, what it was like working with a PR firm, how crazy expensive international shipping can be, and some of the other surprises that came up along the way.

He also talks about his experience trying to get a publisher, being turned down, and then being pursued by a publisher after the early success of his Kickstarter and eventually working with them. Through all this, Joel shares his skepticism for the value of traditional music publishers in the 21st century.

Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode015

Shawn Bartley is a business lawyer in Maryland. In our discussion, he shares practical steps we can take to protect our music studios, collect payment, and minimize our tax burden. We discuss what to include in teacher and student contracts, what records we should keep in case we need to defend our businesses in a tax audit or in court, and we discuss some of the hard choices teachers have to make.

Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode014

Ashley's own journey as a church musician led her to start a blog and create resources for others who have found themselves in similar roles.

Last year she began to monetize her blog by creating and launching two online courses. In our conversation, Ashley shares tons of practical advice on the steps she went through to validate, create, and market her courses.

Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode013

Andrea Yahr, accountant and tax preparer, explains the different business structures (sole-proprietorship, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp) music teachers can choose from, and when different structures might make sense.

She also clear up some often misunderstood information around self-employment taxes and shares loads of resources.

Full show notes available at musicstudiostartup.com/episode012

Webinar

The Nice Teacher's Guide to Tough Conversations (or, how to enforce your studio policy and still be a nice person :) )

Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018 at 1pm (Eastern)

Register here: musicstudiostartup.com/webinar