The music industry is notable for producing celebrities and “overnight” millionaires on a global scale, but one thing about this industry is that it appears that we have less numbers of music schools to cater for the growing number of people who are choosing music as a career. If you are music inclined, then you should start thinking of ways to benefit from the booming music industry, and one of the ways you can benefit from this industry is by starting your own music school.
Depending on the picture you have in mind before considering starting your music school, you would require hard work, moderate capital and various training and certifications before you can successfully establish your own music school. If you intend issuing a certificate or diploma that will be recognized by the government, then you should apply for licensing and approval from the government agency responsible for regulating the education industry in your country.
But if your aim is just to run a music school where you would just train people to acquire the basic skills of playing any musical instrument of their choice, then you need not bother to go through the stress of applying for license; in fact you can even start the music school in your house.
It is important to state that to be able to start a music school, you should have been trained and also you should be able to play couple of major musical instrument. As a matter of fact, in the bid of raising capital for your music school, you should first start with home tutors and then save up cash to rent a facility and buy all the required musical instruments.
Now if you have decided that starting a music school is the right business for you, then you should follow these 7 steps to establish your music school from the scratch and build it to profitability.
Starting a Music School – Sample Business Plan Template
1. Draft a Business Plan
Now that you have decided to start your own music school, it is important that you sit back to create plans on how to raise start – up capital, how to attract clients, how to generate profits and how to run the business. These are the questions your business plan would help you answer. Your business plan should be the working document with which you can use to run your business – it is the blueprint of your business.
2. Raise Your Start – Up Capital
After you must have been through with drafting your business plan, you would have an idea of the capital required to start and manage the business (administrative cost). Once you have an idea of the capital required in starting your business, then you should go out there to raise the capital.
There are various ways you can raise capital to start your business. You can get a loan from your bank, you can talk to investors, and you can as well obtain soft loans from your family members and friends. But, if you choose not to adopt any of the above means of sourcing for capital to start your business, then you can build your capital base from the scratch by starting with special home service (Visiting people’s home to train them on music and how to play musical instruments). This process might be slow, but it is probably the best approach to follow.
3. Secure a Facility
If you intend starting your music school with the view of getting it accredited so that you can issue certificates and diplomas, then you should rent a facility that can accommodate the numbers of students you would want to train per time and your faculty members as well. However, if you want to run a small music school where you want to just teach children and adult on how to play various musical instruments, then you can as well choose to operate from your sitting room or even you from your garage.
4. Apply For License and Approval
As was earlier stated, if you want to operate a standard music school where grandaunts are issued certificates or diplomas, then it is necessary that you apply for license and approval from the government of your country. Although you would still need accreditation a long the line, but you must first start with securing approval to start.
5. Purchase Your Musical Instrument
One of the major areas where you would have to spend over 70 percent of your start – up capital is in the purchase of various musical instruments. Depending on the kind of musical instrument you play and the ones you are willing to teach people; you can start with guitars, Key Board (Piano, Organ et al), Flute, Drum Set, Talking Drums, Saxophone, Trumpet, et al. No doubt these equipment are expensive, but don’t worry you can make your money back within a short period of time if you are diligent and hard working. Renting the instrument is another way of recouping your money.
6. Design Your Curriculum
Operating a standard music school requires that you work with a curriculum. You don’t need to crack your head that much in designing a curriculum for your music school, you can apply to the education board in your state and they will give you the curriculum for music education. The good thing is that you are allowed to tweak it to suit your expectation.
7. Market and Advertise Your Music School
You have to go out there to market and promote your music school if you want to attract students. Part of what you need to do to market your music school is go to places where you will meet parents, you will be surprised to know that there are loads of parents who would want their children to know how to play one or two musical instruments. You can also print and distribute handbills in your community.
There you have it; the 7 steps needed to start a music school from the scratch and build it to profitability.
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