Monday, May 26, 2008

Teaching Music As A Home Based Career: The Next Phase

I've just gotten one step closer to my goal of teaching piano authentically and profitably.


For me, being authentic and being profitable are equally important in starting and sustaining a home based business.


Being authentic is about passion and principles, being true to what I believe in, and having the courage and confidence to communicate those beliefs.


It's about translating the love for music into material and methods that any beginner can relate to, get excited about and start using right away.


A Diploma in Piano Performance is a good first step, but I believe it takes so much more than a paper qualification to make the leap from musician to teacher.


At the same time, when you're in business, it obviously has to be profitable, otherwise you might as well call it a hobby.


That's taken me a long time to get my head around. I confess I'm guilty of feeling that creatives shouldn't get mixed up with money and materialistic pursuits. Weird, huh?


Recently, a good friend sent me the URL of a US-based piano teacher/TV presenter who has created his own system of teaching piano teachers how to make lessons fun, inspiring and relaxed.


I liked what I read on the site so much that I signed up for the Teacher Certification track right away and sent off for the materials.

Waiting for the package to arrive took on the dimensions of much more than another parcel from abroad. I had just taken a firm step towards my goal of teaching music as a home based career, and the parcel's arrival would help make that a reality.

I took to checking the mailbox every day.

Finally, it arrived.

As I unwrapped the package and started looking through the binders and books, my friend and I started batting ideas back and forth.
How should I use the material?
How soon can I get through the material so that I can start teaching?
How can I leverage on my experience + my knowledge + the knowledge and ideas of others to create my own successful home based music business?

Can't wait to enrol my next student. :-)

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