Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Austen.
Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I graduated in 2015 with a degree in music education, and landed a job teaching private piano lessons. I had worked in the private lesson space all through high school and college so I had quite a bit of experience and had learned the hard way that the music studio business is either predatory or transitory and is often both. I worked for a studio in the area for about eight years and when it unexpectedly closed, I set out to build a studio from the ground up that would lead to a favorable experience for my teachers. I chose to avoid renting a studio space and instead traveling to our students homes because that would give me less overhead and put more money in my teacher’ pockets. I calculated pay scale based on being able to keep my proverbial doors open, but funneling as much of the lesson income as possible to my teachers. I built a contract that would let them have freedom to teach for me a little or a lot as their other jobs and performing life demanded and set out to find teachers who were looking for an entirely brand new type of studio experience. Three years and twenty-some teachers later, I have an environment where teachers feel good about the work they do and what they get paid for it, and seek Crescendo out from other studios. Happy teachers leads to happy students, and happy students lead to happy parents. Through the last three years I have come to enjoy not just the teaching and management that I do, but I have truly leaned in to business ownership and love the whole new field of learning that has opened up to me.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Opening Crescendo was a struggle by itself. I had a one year old and a three month old at home and no idea what I was doing. Along the way, everything has been a growth opportunity. At every turn, I’ve had to figure out how to step back from the business and trust my people to do the work that needs to be done without my fingerprints on everything. The small profit margin and my commitment to keep music lessons an affordable option for families has also been difficult. It is also always hard to keep a small business from being “the best kept secret” on the Main Line without having the ad-spend that bigger companies have to pour into Facebook and Google.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are a music lessons studio that has two offerings. Offering number one is that we send a teacher into your home to give one-on-one music lessons to your student. We give lessons on all instruments at all levels. Offering number two is that we partner with local private schools and supply them with a la carte supplemental music programs. We do not take the place of their current programs but work alongside them. Parents opt in to our programs for an extremely reasonable price and this costs the school absolutely nothing.
What sets us apart from other studios is also two things. Number one is highly qualified teachers. I will not be sending a high school student who enjoys playing the guitar to your house to teach your child. My teachers have degrees (often advanced ones) in music, and large amounts of experience both playing and teaching. If you’re wondering why I have these teachers and other studios do not, it’s because I pay two to three times the industry standard. The second thing that sets us apart is we can guarantee your student’s progress on their instrument and that after lessons with us they won’t have any serious gaps in their musical knowledge. How often do you hear that a student has been taking music lessons for four years and then find out they only know two pieces or that they’re doing everything by memory and can’t actually read music? In this business, the answer is often. I feel confident guaranteeing progress because of our Musical Milestones system. This is curriculum that I have a written and extensively trained my teachers in that makes sure all bases in a student’s musical education are covered. It looks like a series of checklists and functions as an ongoing report card that the teacher, student, and parents can all see at a glance.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Teaching music. Playing with my kids and my dog. Reading books. Writing novels with my husband. My obsession is and always has been stories. When I was younger I used to say that music was my life, but I think that what I was missing was that what really drew me to music originally is the storytelling. In my teaching, I make sure that my students don’t just know what notes to play, but how and why to play those notes. The greatest composers had stories in mind when they wrote their pieces, so it’s crucial to me to not just teach the piece, but to infuse storytelling into everything my students do. The best performances are when the performer can cast a spell on the listener and brings them to a greater understanding of the story that is being experienced..
Pricing:
- $90/hr for in-home lessons. No sign up fee, no driving fee. I will discuss lessons with you and we can decide how long of a lesson is appropriate for your student. (Hint: if they’re little, it’s 30 minutes so that’ll be $45 a lesson)
- $15 for a weekly half hour group lesson in our in-school programs.
- That’s it. No secrets, no hidden fees, no discounts except for an initial free trial lesson.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://crescendomusicacademyllc.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557292003764
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-austen-57bb08377/?isSelfProfile=true
