New Business Advice

[creakins]

Hi,

 

I'm looking at starting my own private music teaching business over the next five months.  I've been researching the market and I can't find anyone doing what I'll be doing in the market of in home music education.  I am looking for some advice though.  I am looking at all the hidden costs and needs that I might be over looking.  I'd love to talk to someone who has been successful going out on their own as I have a few questions.  If anyone is willing to talk with me, let's connect here, but I'd also rather not get into the details of the small business over the forum.  I'm not looking for free legal advice, so if you feel that your time and advice is worth something, I would be willing to compensate anyone for their time.

 

C

[Berlin]

Hey,

 

just a quick one. I run my online marketing business for a living and the first thing i would look for if i were you is is there a good way to promote your product / course. That could be for example AdSense, targeted Facebook Ads, or local SEO. If you find something outside the box thats even better. Google "google keyword tool" and you come across this tool from google where you can check how many searches some terms have. Check out your potential search terms. Depending on the profit margin of your product / course you'll need more or less traffic. Then google these terms yourself and see if there is any competition in both Ads and organic results.

 

Don't have much legal advice sorry. except pay your taxes

[NumberSix]

I had 2 un-successful businesses.

 

Fail fast, meaning don't spend all your time planning, try an idea and see if it works.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nyuentrepreneurschallenge/2012/10/16/fail-fast-succeed-faster/

 

Screen your clients and look for “red flags”.  “Fire” any difficult ones.  Many clients have unreasonable expectations and/or treat you like dirt.  A difficult client will suck the life out of you.  Remember, just like a potential customer can choose not to do business with you; you have the same right.

[corpus mentium]

I had 2 un-successful businesses.

 

Fail fast, meaning don't spend all your time planning, try an idea and see if it works.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/nyuentrepreneurschallenge/2012/10/16/fail-fast-succeed-faster/

 

Screen your clients and look for “red flags”.  “Fire” any difficult ones.  Many clients have unreasonable expectations and/or treat you like dirt.  A difficult client will suck the life out of you.  Remember, just like a potential customer can choose not to do business with you; you have the same right.

 

I might phrase this a little differently. Do what you can not to fail, but if you do fail, learn as much as possible about it. Keep track of whatever you can, but don't let it consume all your time. A little spreadsheet training has immensely helped me out with this. I also maintain notebooks for every student I have. They can be very helpful to look back at progress made and encouraging to show your students how they've improved. Perhaps a decent sound recorder and microphone would be in order for you and your students in a similar way.

 

I agree about not spending all your time planning. I consider planning to be part of what I do when I'm on my way to or from work, and I don't mean planning for that day or the next, but planning for the long term. What can I do to improve what I'm doing overall? Implement any new ideas gradually in case they don't pan out the way you like. If they take off then great! You have a new tool in your toolbox. If they don't, you can revert back to what worked before and have minimal fallout.

 

I am also not so sure about just firing difficult clients. I would be worried about negative reputation from something like this. I have had "difficult" clients, but in my experience it only takes a little time to find some common ground to make things go more smoothly.

[NumberSix]

I am also not so sure about just firing difficult clients. I would be worried about negative reputation from something like this. I have had "difficult" clients, but in my experience it only takes a little time to find some common ground to make things go more smoothly.

Yes, you have to be diplomatic.  The easyest way to get rid of a client is to raise the price you charge them.

 

This site is full of bad client examples  http://clientsfromhell.net/

[Daniel Unplugged]

I run a successful small business. Here is some advice.

 

Profit is critical. Know your costings. Try hard to think all costs you might incur even the little ones like stationary, and especially the time you will need to put in. Always try to minimise your costs, but be careful not to sacrifice quality too much. You need to find the right balance.

 

Test the market before you jump all in. Talk to potential customers to determine if they would be likely to buy your product.

 

Minimise your overheads where you can. Working from home saves renting a shop, in the early stages this might help.

 

Running a low profit margin to ensure a low price in the early stages may help, since you need to increase your market share.

 

Make certain that there is a reason why people should purchase your product instead of buying from the other guy, and make sure they know that reason, but don't be pushy.

 

Your customers must walk away happy with their purchase. They give you free advertising that way, and are likely to come back. Word of mouth advertising from your customers is more effective than any paid ad.

 

Be aware that it takes time to build a customer base, so don't expect off the charts revenue straight away.

 

Customers love freebies, even if it is something as worthless as a cold can of drink after the lesson.

 

Know what your customers really want, not just what they say they want. For example a guy might say he wants to improve his music skills to play more pitch perfect, but in reality his actual motivation to to be more appealing to women, so try to incorporate that into the lesson.

 

Be in it for the long haul. Expect setbacks. Have a plan for dealing with setbacks before they come up.

 

Remember, you are probably on your own. Most people will not back you, and will come up every reason under the sun why you will fail. You have to back yourself.

 

Good luck

[corpus mentium]

I run a successful small business. Here is some advice.Profit is critical. Know your costings. Try hard to think all costs you might incur even the little ones like stationary, and especially the time you will need to put in. Always try to minimise your costs, but be careful not to sacrifice quality too much. You need to find the right balance.Test the market before you jump all in. Talk to potential customers to determine if they would be likely to buy your product.Minimise your overheads where you can. Working from home saves renting a shop, in the early stages this might help.Running a low profit margin to ensure a low price in the early stages may help, since you need to increase your market share.Make certain that there is a reason why people should purchase your product instead of buying from the other guy, and make sure they know that reason, but don't be pushy.Your customers must walk away happy with their purchase. They give you free advertising that way, and are likely to come back. Word of mouth advertising from your customers is more effective than any paid ad.Be aware that it takes time to build a customer base, so don't expect off the charts revenue straight away.Customers love freebies, even if it is something as worthless as a cold can of drink after the lesson.Know what your customers really want, not just what they say they want. For example a guy might say he wants to improve his music skills to play more pitch perfect, but in reality his actual motivation to to be more appealing to women, so try to incorporate that into the lesson.Be in it for the long haul. Expect setbacks. Have a plan for dealing with setbacks before they come up.Remember, you are probably on your own. Most people will not back you, and will come up every reason under the sun why you will fail. You have to back yourself.Good luck

 

I agree with and would like to add to what you have written. 

 

Time put in behind the scenes of a new business will likely often be more than we plan on, especially in the first few years. 

 

Very early on I felt that I was simply BSing my customers when I tried to sell them something. I hated it. The feeling changed when I started really understanding and believing in what I was selling. I think this comes with the experience of knowing your strong points and being able to recognize and fulfill a customer's needs even if they don't fully know them. I often offer a free preliminary meeting to learn a bit about potential customers and what their needs might be.

 

It is always very important for small businesses to keep their customers happy, even if it costs the business a little bit to do so. Saving a little bit of money at the expense of pissing off a good customer can cost you big time in the long run - especially if you are relying on word of mouth advertising. More than make it up to them.

 

One freebie I provide from time to time is an extended lesson. I might add  ~15-30 minutes or so when we both have some extra time available. 

 

On people not backing you: You really do have to back yourself in the face of any naysayers. Maybe consider and look into what they have to say, but in the end it's your great idea. You will have to form your own decisions. There can be a million internal reasons why a business similar to yours might have failed in the past. If you have the winning formula nailed down to offer people what they've been missing, then there is no reason why it shouldn't succeed.

[TheMatrixHasMe]

Maybe this will provide some info since there are people offering that type of service.

 

https://helpouts.google.com/home

[J-William]

Hey, this looks like a great topic! Thanks for the resources

 

I'm looking into doing life-coaching (Is there a difference between that and therapy except for legal usage of the term?)

I suppose that's a similar personal service type business.

 

What I'd think is that you need to find a way to reach the people who might be interested in your services, so for music instruction, you should get to know people at local schools (primary through university).

I took a guitar class at a local community college when I was in high school, they guy teaching it was not a professor or anything special. 

He also offered private lessons for students who were interested.

 

I'm teaching English in China, and most of my private clients have come from referrals from schools I have worked with. One came from a post to a local message board.

[LovePrevails]

focus on the frontline service and getting it out to people because that's where the cash comes in

 

 

if the cash is coming in you can afford to do everything else

 

 

I've been a piano tutor for 7 years and did it to get by while studing my degree but I don't know if that's similar or not