4 Things You Must Know If You Want to Grow Your Music Business
Are you ready to grow your music business and take your venture to the next level?
All music schools open with the hopes of sharing their passion for music with their students. But while they may fill their classrooms with talented music instructors and the best instruments, they still may not see the growth they desire.
So what does growth actually look like?
- An increase in the number of students that you have at your school.
- An increase in the amount of money you receive from your clients.
In both cases, you need to take steps to ensure that your school stays relevant, engaged, and in touch with your students.
There are four major factors to keep in mind if you want to grow your music business:
- Have a clearly defined purpose & a growth mindset.
- Know your clients.
- Know how much you want to grow.
- Know how to market your music school the right way.
It’s that simple and complicated!
We’re going to break it down for you. By the end you’ll understand that music schools don’t succeed because of a “lucky break”. They grow and they prosper because they had the right system in place to encourage success.
1. Have a Clearly Defined Purpose & a Growth Mindset
Before you make a plan to grow your music business, there are some questions that you should ask yourself.
Why do you want to expand? What is your endgame?
These are very important questions because they speak to the personal and professional motivations behind the goal to grow your music business. Do you want to expand because everyone else is doing it? Do you want to make more money? Or do you want to reach more people?
Everything starts with intention. So if you are clear on what you want from the start, that’ll prevent you from having to start over every time you hit a hurdle. Because as a business owner, there will be a lot of hurdles. But if you have a solid vision to keep your eyes on, you’ll make it!
What will music school expansion do for you professionally and personally?
Expanding your music school will stretch you professionally — that’s a given — but have you thought about what it will do for you personally?
This comes back to the idea that everything starts with intention. What are your professional goals? What are your personal goals? Before you jump head first into your plan to grow your music business, set your boundaries, and master your work-life balance.
Is there anything else you’d rather have in your life – professional or personal – more than to grow your music business?
Some people start a business to provide for their family. But as admirable as that is, it often means that they aren’t as hungry to run the best music school they are capable of, compared to those who start their music school because that’s their calling.
How much do you want it? Do you want it badly enough that you’re prepared to face the ups and downs that come with being an entrepreneur? Do you want it badly enough that you’re prepared to face sleepless nights pouring over business strategies and hiring the right music instructors? What do you truly want?
How much do you want to expand?
Do you want to move to a bigger space? Or do you want to branch out into multiple locations?
When deciding which scenario works for you (and maybe it’s both) you should have a serious moment of reflection about what you think is possible for your school and the members of your team. Both scenarios take a lot of work and they require a lot of self-sacrifices. And that leads us to the last question…
Do you have the support system necessary to expand, professionally and personally?
When you decide to grow your music business, you have to ensure that you have all the systems and people in place to be successful.
On the professional level, it’s a good idea to look at the masters before you to give you some advice. Study up on successful music school entrepreneurs, reach out to other business owners, get involved in online forums…whatever it takes to get out of your own head.
Another part of professional planning is business management software. If you’re looking for a solution that will keep you organized and offer you in-depth and advanced reports, then you should consider making WellnessLiving a part of your success story. WellnessLiving is an all-in-one music business management software designed by business owners, for business owners. To learn more about our easy-to-use scheduling system, automated marketing feature, Google promotion, and more, book a demo with our product specialist today!
On the personal side, you need to set boundaries for yourself, and your friends and family. How many hours are you going to dedicate to work every week? How much time are you setting aside for yourself and your loved ones? When it comes to executing a plan to grow your music business, it’s important to strive for a healthy work-life balance, lest you burn yourself out.
2. Know your Clients
Before you can truly grow your music business and take it to new heights, you have to know who you want to target.
When you first opened your music business, you might’ve been a one-size-fits-all kind of school. And while that’s a great way to get your first students, to take your venture to the next level, you have to find a focus and zero in on it.
Some music schools cater to an older clientele, some to elementary and high school students, and some work with people who want to pursue music as a professional career.
By all means, we’re not saying you should drop the students that don’t fall under your “target category”. Rather, we encourage you to start right where you are, and establish a vision. What do you want to see at your music school in two years? In five years? In ten?
Having a general idea of what you want will help you in future music school branding ventures, lesson planning, ad-strategizing, and so forth.
3. Know How Much You Want to Grow
Speaking of having a vision of what you want for your client roster, the same logic applies for your actual music school business. How much do you want to grow?
This is such an important question to ask because it will set the tone for how you manage your expansion, and it tells your clients and prospective leads what they can expect from you.
You should also ask yourself these questions:
- Are you looking to expand your current school or do you want to branch out into multiple locations?
- Are you going to continue to offer the same classes, or are you going to expand into other musical disciplines?
- If you are looking to open new branches, would they all offer the same classes or a variety depending on location?
Once you’ve answered all of these important questions, then you can look towards marketing effectively!
4. Effectively Market your Music School
Now that you know your objective, let’s delve into some basic marketing strategies to grow your music business!
Word of mouth
This is a great way to get the ball rolling and start gaining momentum. Get your family, friends, staff, and current clients to help spread the word about your music school!
Tip: to incentivize your students to bring their friends, offer a bring-a-friend discount or award rewards points.
Business Cards
Traditional networking is still important because music can come up in conversation at any time. Business cards are essential to keep in your back pocket (literally!). Design one that’s simple and on brand. Make sure to include your name, email, school address, and phone number.
Posters and Flyers
Despite how digital the world has become, traditional posters and flyers are still useful. Think of the kid who walks to his mailbox – because his mother gave him the key to check the mail – and he finds a flyer stuck to the side of the mailbox that reads “GUITAR LESSONS, 25 FOR HALF AN HOUR!” Don’t you think he’s going to tear off a copy of your number and rush home to tell his mom what he found on the mailbox? I do!
Have the right marketing software
A lot of music teachers and music school owners find it difficult to manage the marketing and nitty-gritty details of running a business. You opened your school because you’re a talented musician passionate about spreading the love of music, but it takes more than just talent to soar in business these days, it takes a calculated effort.
And that’s why we’re here: we offer a solution to that very common problem. With WellnessLiving’s all-in-one management software, you can organize your schedule, track client profiles, automate email and SMS marketing, offer a rewards system, utilize staff and client apps, and more!
Looking for more ways to stand out from the competition? Check out 5 Unique Ways to Promote your Music School.
The Solution is Clear
At the end of the day, the things that make a music school successful are the same things that make any other business successful. You need to run your business on heart, passion, drive, and a relentless hunger to succeed.
Even though in part it comes down to choosing and having the right people around you professionally and personally, it also goes comes down to having certain systems in place to help you along the way.
WellnessLiving offers you an all-in-one management software that is effective, easy-to-use and loved by music business owners!
So, the question is…
Are you ready to grow your music business?
