I still haven't thought of a cool musical greeting, so you'll just have to put up with me saying Hi.
When I first started taking on private piano students, I would teach any day, whenever it suited the student. This put a huge pressure on family life and the kids kept complaining that they never saw me. It was also hard on my husband because he would need to come home from work early to mind the kids while I taught.
Last year, my husband and I made a decision. I would only teach on a Saturday and I would put up my rates. My husband would take the kids out while I taught so the house would be quiet and I could focus on my students. We were a bit nervous about this as I was scared that I would lose students, instead it's had the opposite effect. I did lose a few students who had other commitments on a Saturday morning, but most stayed. I also find it easier telling new students that I teach on a Saturday morning and give them my rates.
Having a set time to teach is making my piano teaching business more profitable and makes home life run a lot smoother, especially at times when I have parent teacher interviews at the school I teach, or their end of year music concerts (it's just been the concert season).
I do any bookkeeping and other administration in the evening after the kids are in bed. I've found that having a regular teaching time means that I need to spend less time on admin tasks, or at least it feels like it.
Yours in music, Rani
