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Hi Brandy!
I totally considered you an Okie, but I stand corrected now;) I second what Erika said! P.S. There is nothing wrong with being an “Okie”:)ParticipantI can’t decide if this post should be under “MISC” or “Self-care”. I guess I’ll go with MISC although, it is about caring for yourself! Last week, I was sick with a bad cold. I haven’t been that sick in a long time. I am still getting over it! I had to cancel 70% of my lessons/groups, which meant I lost 70% of my income from last week. My business is just me right now, and I don’t have anyone else to cover for me.
As a business owner, how do you plan for sick days? My experiences last week made me really think about needing to add “Paid sick leave” or “Paid time off” to my budget even though it is just me. What do you do when you have to cancel because of illness, vacation, etc? I was also thinking about trying to find someone who could step in at the last minute if I needed to cancel.
What do you think?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
ChristineParticipantHi Kate,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re frustrated. I became a Sprouting Melodies Provider in February 2014 and didn’t have my first paid family until June 2014. For one month, I had just one mom/baby. The class was at an independently owned baby store. In July, the group had three moms/babies. Two of those moms (one a friend, the other an acquaintance) I contacted personally. Do you have any friends/acquaintances with babies/toddlers? My first mom was a part of a moms Facebook group. She hasn’t been able to come much but actually advertises for me some times on the Moms Group Facebook page. Since then, 90% of my “drop-ins” have head about SM because of that moms group on Facebook.I have had many “free” demo classes and have become annoyed by the people who come just for something free and who are not interested in SM. I started charging $5 for a demo class and have still had people come! However, I have not received any new signups recently. I am thinking about having a demo class every 2-3 months and putting up flyers everywhere advertising for the demo class. My current classes are at a local kids play place called Connect 5 Family Center. They print flyers for me and tell new families about SM classes. I also offer SM classes through a neighboring town’s Park and Rec Department.
Hope this helps!
ParticipantI think it’s better to keep going! Last Fall, I had a class that was really growing. The second week of December there were 7 or 8 moms (and babies!) I had to cancel the next three weeks because of traveling. Now, I’m down to 3 🙁
For the library, I would try to base it off what you expect to receive in a full private pay class. Let’s say 10 private pay families would equal $10 for the same time period. I would quote the library maybe $8-$10 depending on their available funds. I actually tried this with a library, but they had no extra money. Good luck!
ParticipantThat’s awesome, Brandy!
I think that the library would pay you and then you would pay the percentage to SM just like normal. Does that answer your question? I am assuming you would be an Independent Contractor. Will you have a contract written up for them? In thinking about possibly doing this in the future myself, should we write up a contract just like we would for an MT contract? I guess I’m answering your question with more questions:) You had a great question!ParticipantDo you have questions about how to market your Sprouting Melodies program? Ask them here!
ParticipantDid you know that Beth regularly posts “Sing at Home” videos on the Sprouting Melodies website? I love these videos! I have found the songs and explanations very helpful. You can also share them with your Sprouting Melodies families. Here’s the latest: http://sproutingmelodies.com/2015/01/18/hows-weather-today/. Enjoy!
ParticipantDo you have a question that doesn’t quite fit into one of the other categories? Do you have a new topic suggestion? Join us here!
ParticipantHey SMP’s! Do you have a blog you would like to share with us? Would you like to know what Beth has recently posted on her blog? Join us here!
ParticipantHi All,
I’m sorry I’m so late to the party;) I really struggled with what to charge. I still do. I charge a lot less than I should, but I do have about five moms now who are very consistent and tell others about Sprouting Melodies! I do wander if I held out with higher prices would these moms still eventually have showed up;) My thinking was that I’d rather charge less and have more moms sign up than charge more and just have one or two. At the same time, I definitely feel I should be charging more. Here in Chandler (near Phoenix), Kindermusik charges $16.25, Music Together charges $17, and Musicology (a similar program) charges $18. I actually charge per month. I do have a drop-in option and usually have one or two. The drop-in rate is a little higher per class than the monthly rate. I would really like to raise my rates, don’t know how best to do that. Any ideas?
🙂 ChristineParticipantHi Erika!
My first demo class went well, but I didn’t get any signups. It was for a mom’s group who didn’t want to commit for six weeks and thought the price was too high. I think they were right about the price, so I have adjusted it a little bit. I do have one class going at local kids play place/gym, but only one family has signed up. I’m going to try to schedule two more demo classes at two different places in the next couple of weeks:) Did you (or anyone else) have difficulty getting the classes started? Any tips?It has been so much fun getting to finally “do” what I’ve been learning about! I have also really enjoyed seeing the moms and babies interact.
ParticipantHi Erika!
My first demo class went well, but I didn’t get any signups. It was for a mom’s group who didn’t want to commit for six weeks and thought the price was too high. I think they were right about the price, so I have adjusted it a little bit. I do have one class going at local kids play place/gym, but only one family has signed up. I’m going to try to schedule two more demo classes at two different places in the next couple of weeks:) Did you (or anyone else) have difficulty getting the classes started? Any tips?It has been so much fun getting to finally “do” what I’ve been learning about! I have also really enjoyed seeing the moms and babies interact.
ParticipantHello SM Community!
My name is Christine Heaps. I’ve been an MT-BC since 2005. In the last couple of years, I have been mostly teaching piano. Last Spring, I attended the first live SM training and loved it! It’s taken me a year, but I am finally ready to start adding SM classes to my business. I am so excited! My first Demo class is tomorrow (March 24, 2014)! -
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