The Victoria Clark Show for Music Teachers

How to Raise Your Fees and Secure Your Studio For September Without The Guilt

Send me a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615075/fan_mail/new] If the idea of raising your fees makes you feel slightly sick, you're not alone. Most teachers I speak to have either avoided it for years, or they've done it once and vowed never to go through that stress again. But here's what I've discovered after doing this every year for the past 4 years: raising your fees and updating your studio policy for September, done properly, doesn't just protect your income; it removes the uncertainty of not knowing who's coming back in September, it eliminates the quiet disappearing act that happens when students drift away over summer without a word, and it actually strengthens your relationships with the families who stay. In this episode I walk you through the process I use every June: how I calculate my annual fee increase, how I check my studio policy wording for anything ambiguous, and how I communicate all of it to families in a way that feels professional and straightforward rather than awkward. I also tackle the three objections I hear most often: the fear of losing students, the worry about appearing too businesslike, and the worry that asking families to re-sign each year is encouraging them to leave. If you've been putting this off, this episode is your nudge to get it done. And if you do it this side of the summer holidays, you'll be able to start the new academic year safe in the knowledge that your studio is secure and all you need focus on is welcoming your students back. Resources mentioned: * Monthly Billing Transition Toolkit [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/monthly-billing] (includes the fee calculation tool) * Free Studio Policy Template [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/freebie] * Focus Sessions (one-to-one mentoring) [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/work-with-me] Connect with Victoria: * Instagram: @victoriaclarkpiano * Facebook: @victoriaclarkpiano * Website: victoriaclarkpiano.com Access the show notes here: Episode 5 Show Notes [https://www.victoriclarkpiano.com/podcast/how-to-raise-fees-september]

You're Self-Employed. So Why Does It Feel Like You Have No Choice?

Send me a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615075/fan_mail/new] If you work for yourself, you're supposed to be in charge of your own time. So why does it feel like your teaching week is something that happens to you, rather than something you've actually chosen?   In this episode, I'm talking about the gap between being self-employed and actually feeling like you have any say in when and how you teach. I share the story of how I restructured my teaching week so I could collect my son from school on Thursdays, and what happened when I told my students their slots were changing.  I also talk about why so many teachers end up teaching far more days than they want to, why the reschedule habit is quietly using up your evenings, and how attracting a different type of student can give you far more flexibility than you might expect.   This one is a mix of mindset and practical. You don't have to teach six days a week. You don't have to be available on WhatsApp at all hours. You don't have to fill every gap in your diary. But making the shift starts with realising you actually have a choice.   In this episode: * Why teaching music doesn't have to mean evenings and weekends, every week, forever * The story behind clearing my Thursday afternoons, and what actually happened when I did it * Why rescheduling is costing you more than you realise, and how to start pulling back * How to attract daytime students and why your website is the place to start * How to build your teaching week deliberately, rather than reactively * The lesson notes trap: how new teachers accidentally use up their evenings trying to prove their value * Switching off when your brain wants to keep going   Resources mentioned: * Free Studio Policy Template [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/freebie] * Focus Sessions [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/work-with-me] (60 min, £67) * Monthly Billing Transition Toolkit [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/monthly-billing] (£12): Connect with me: Instagram: @victoriaclarkpiano [https://www.instagram.com/victoriaclarkpiano/] Facebook: @victoriaclarkpiano [https://www.facebook.com/victoriaclarkpiano/] Website: Victoria Clark Piano [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com] Access the show notes here: Episode 4 Show Notes [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/podcast/take-control-teaching-schedule]

I Used to Refund Every Missed Lesson. Here's Why I Stopped.

Send me a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615075/fan_mail/new] You know you shouldn't refund it. You've told yourself that. And then the text comes in, and you feel the familiar pull, the guilt, the worry about how they'll react, and somehow you end up saying yes again. This episode isn't about what your cancellation policy should say. It's about why so many of us can't bring ourselves to enforce it, even when we know we should. For years I handled missed lessons on a case-by-case basis, making decisions based on how well I got on with the family that week, whether they'd seemed annoyed lately, or simply because saying no felt too uncomfortable. In this episode I get into the real reason that happens: the people-pleasing patterns that run deep in a lot of music teachers, the apology spiral that signals to parents that your policy is up for negotiation, and the fear of losing students that keeps so many of us stuck in the refund and reschedule cycle long after we know it isn't working. I also share the reframe that shifted everything for me around what students are actually paying for, what really happened in my studio when I stopped refunding, and why switching to monthly billing made the whole thing structurally so much easier. If you've listened to Episode 1 and thought "yes, but I still can't do it," this is the episode for you. In this episode: * Why refunding missed lessons costs you more than money * The key reframe: what your students are actually paying for * How people-pleasing shows up in your studio policies, and what to do about it * The apology spiral, and why it's working against you * The fear of losing students, addressed honestly * Why monthly billing and a no-refund policy work so well together Resources mentioned: * Monthly Billing Transition Toolkit [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/monthly-billing] (£12) * Free Studio Policy Template [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/freebie] Access the show notes here: Episode 3 Show Notes [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/podcast/stop-refunding-missed-lessons]

Why The Cost of Living Crisis Isn't Yours To Fix

Send me a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615075/fan_mail/new] Something happened on social media recently that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. I posted about why music teachers undercharge, and the comments that came back stopped me in my tracks: teachers who hadn't raised their rates in years, defensiveness, and one comment in particular that I keep returning to: "I think you live in a very different socioeconomic area to me." This episode is the extended version of that conversation. Because the cost of living crisis is real, and the financial pressure on families is real. But somewhere along the way, music teachers decided that pressure was theirs to absorb, quietly, alone, without anyone asking them to. And that decision is costing them far more than they realise: not just in income, but in resentment, unsustainability, and the slow erosion of the joy that made them want to teach in the first place. In this episode I get into where the guilt around charging actually comes from, why we're almost always wrong about what our students' families can and can't afford, and what your frozen rates are really saying about how you value your own expertise. I also address the fear sitting underneath all of it: that raising your rates means losing students, and why the evidence for that is much weaker than you think.   In this episode: * Why music teachers have been absorbing inflation long before the cost of living crisis * Where the guilt around charging comes from, and why it's costing you * The assumption we make about our students' finances, and why it's usually wrong * Why your value is not determined by how little you charge * The fear of losing students when you raise your rates, addressed honestly * What a sustainable, professional approach to annual rate increases actually looks like   Resources mentioned: * Monthly Billing Transition Toolkit [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/monthly-billing] (£12) Access the show notes here: Episode 2 Show Notes [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/podcast/cost-of-living-crisis]

I Had a Cancellation Policy. I Just Never Used It.

Send me a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2615075/fan_mail/new] You probably already know you need a cancellation policy. Most teachers do. The problem isn't the knowing; it's the doing: the awkward reply, the stomach-drop when the text comes in, the path of least resistance that ends with you letting it go again. In this first episode of The Victoria Clark Show, I'm talking about cancellation policies in practice: what a clear, fair policy actually looks like, how to communicate it to new and existing students, and what to do when someone pushes back. I also share a real moment from my own studio where I held my boundary, fully expecting the worst, and what actually happened. If you've been winging it on cancellations, or you have something written down somewhere that you've never quite managed to enforce, this is your starting point. In this episode: * Why cancellation policies are the issue teachers struggle with most * The real cost of not having a clear policy * What my policy looks like and how I put it into practice * How to communicate it without sounding harsh * What to do when a parent pushes back * The mindset shift that made it all feel more manageable Links mentioned: Free Studio Policy Template [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/freebie] Access the show notes here: Episode 1 Show Notes [https://www.victoriaclarkpiano.com/podcast/cancellation-policy]