Why You Shouldn't Teach Students You Don't Connect With

The High Value Music Studio, Part 3

There's a trend among private music teachers I find disturbing. Many feel that they must teach any student who comes their way in order to grow their studios.

They think being selective about which students they accept is a bad idea, no matter how difficult the student is to work with or how ill-suited they are for their studio.

Here's the truth: You don’t have to try to mold yourself as a teacher to fit every kind of student. In fact, your mental health and long-term business success depend on you NOT doing this.

In my experience, trying to teach students who aren't right for us is a recipe for burnout and resentment - neither of which contributes to long-term studio success. Instead, a sustainable business model depends on you knowing who you are as a teacher and seeking students who are a good fit for you.

Many teachers feel they can't afford to be selective. They believe there are a limited number of students available and they must accept any student they get. They worry about developing a reputation for being picky, resulting in fewer lesson inquiries.

Here are 3 truths I learned in my 25+ year teaching career:

1. Being picky makes your services more valuable. When you're selective, your lesson spots are harder to get, which makes them more desirable, which can actually increase the number of inquiries you receive over time. Throughout my career, the pickier I got, the longer my waiting list became and the more I was able to charge for lessons.

2. There is an unlimited number of students out there. A strategic recruitment plan and creative marketing can help you "cast a wide net" and attract dozens of potential students from which you can accept those most appropriate for your studio.

3. Teaching your ideal students allows you to offer a premium experience which translates into premium rates. Because your ideal students want what you have to offer, you can offer the students a great experience, which increases student satisfaction and lesson desirability, which raises your perceived value and allows you to charge more per lesson over time.

4. Redirecting students who aren't a good fit is the kind and responsible thing to do. It might feel unkind to not accept every student who wants to sign up for lessons with us. But as the experienced teachers, it's our job to make sure only those students we can truly teach well receive spots in our studios and redirect others to different teachers.

   
   

Teaching students who aren't a good match for you can be a disaster.

Let me tell you the story of a student I'll call "Brett".

I'll start by telling you that, early on in my career, I didn't know who my ideal student was or even think that finding ideal students was possible. I accepted whoever wanted to enroll and tried to make it work.

I now know that my ideal student is one who genuinely respects me and my time. They are also interested in learning solid fundamentals on their instrument and playing level-appropriate music to build these fundamentals.

Brett was not this student. Brett was a 13-year-old hell-bent on proving to me that learning fundamentals was unnecessary. (It is.) He was convinced he could learn any piece, no matter how far above his knowledge or skill level, if he just practiced it over and over. (He couldn't.) He refused to practice the music I assigned him even when I explained that his rhythm, notes, hand position, etc. were incorrect and holding him back. (They were.)

For many months, I tried to negotiate with Brett and win him over to my way of thinking. No dice. When I discussed the lesson issues with his parents, they said they wanted Brett to "just have fun" and wanted me to simply go along with whatever he wanted to do in lessons rather than teach him music basics or improve his skills.

Things went on like this for months, with me trying to convince Brett that my approach was the better one and him pushing back at every turn. Eventually things came to a head. We parted ways with ill-feelings all around, and all my efforts to "convert" him simply resulted in me feeling exhausted and ill-used - and I ended up losing him as a student anyway.

When we force ourselves to teach students who drain us and don't genuinely want what we have to offer, we waste valuable time and energy trying to make a fundamentally untenable situation work. This leaves us feeling drained and frustrated, and depletes the energy we need to teach the students who are genuinely eager to learn from us.

Teaching your ideal student, on the other hand, is a much more rewarding experience that fills you up and energizes you.

What is the definition of an ideal student? Ideal students/parents are those who really want what you uniquely offer and are well-suited to your personality, teaching style, and values.

With an ideal student, you, the parent and the student are in agreement about what the lesson experience should be. This reduces possible points of friction, which means fewer hassles over your policies and expectations and a more harmonious and satisfying experience overall for everyone involved.

If the idea of filling your studio with ideal students excites you but also makes you feel uneasy, don't worry - you don't have to simply dump current students who aren't a good fit for you and start from scratch.

I certainly didn't do that. But after trying to teach enough "Bretts", I did start thinking about what my ideal student looked like and how I could pivot my current student roster towards this ideal student over time.

If you'd like me to walk you through the step-by-step process I used to identify and recruit my ideal students, my online course, The High Value Music Studio, is just what you need.

The course, which will be released later this year, will introduce you to The High Value Growth Blueprint - the step-by-step growth cycle I used to identify my ideal students and build a robust recruitment and retention system that allowed me to recruit on auto-pilot and significantly raise my hourly rates.

In the meantime, sign up for the course newsletter here for sneak peaks of course materials, bonus tips, and an opportunity to enroll at the introductory price.

If you decide not to join me in the newsletter, no worries! I do hope, though, that you'll give some thought to how you can pivot your studio roster away from students who drain you and toward students who light you up.

If you're tired of feeling continuously frustrated by a handful of students who seem to take all your energy, it's time to rethink things. What I want for you is a recruitment and retention strategy that takes you in the right direction - a direction of personal satisfaction, studio growth, and business sustainability.

The High Value Music Studio online course will help you get there.

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