The Music School Flip: Tong Liu on Buying, Growing, and Selling Music Schools

The Music School Flip: Tong Liu on Buying, Growing, and Selling Music Schools

Tong Liu's path into music school ownership was anything but conventional. Raised in China, Tong spent years homeschooled and practicing piano 8 hours a day before moving to the U.S. at 17. She started teaching lessons out of her townhouse to fund graduate school, got reported to the city by a neighbor, and eventually rented her first commercial space. What followed was a series of deliberate decisions to build, grow, and sell music schools in a way few owners ever attempt: buying undervalued schools, systematizing operations quickly, and scaling enrollment before moving on. In this episode, host David Martin sits down with Tong to unpack her unique model of buying, growing, and selling performing arts schools. From negotiating a $180,000 asking price down to $32,000 to running a school 12 hours away, Tong shares hard-won lessons on marketing, teacher hiring, SOPs, and the financial metrics that actually matter. Her perspective is refreshingly direct, and her story is one of the most distinctive entrepreneurial journeys the podcast has featured.

Roll-Up Revolution: Jeff Homer on Acquiring and Scaling Music Schools | Ep. 21

Jeff Homer didn't grow up in music education. He came from 10 years in finance, investing in small and mid-size businesses, before a job in Denver led him to a music school owner looking for a business partner. That chance encounter sparked something he couldn't let go. Today, Jeff is the founder of Ensemble Performing Arts, a national roll-up of music and dance schools with an audacious goal: 250 locations by 2030. In this conversation, host David Martin sits down with Jeff to unpack the business model behind Ensemble's growth, what Jeff looks for when acquiring schools, and why an outsider's perspective turned out to be one of his biggest assets. From valuation methodology and acquisition process to teacher retention, marketing strategy, and the power of follow-up, Jeff brings a clear-eyed, data-driven lens to an industry he has come to deeply admire. In this episode, you'll learn: * An outsider's advantage. Jeff came from finance, not music, and turned that into a strength. While music school owners excel at teaching and student experience, many struggle with HR, marketing, and financial operations. Jeff built Ensemble around centralizing exactly those back-office functions so schools can focus on what they do best. * What Ensemble looks for in an acquisition. Jeff uses three primary screening criteria: geographic fit (major metro markets where they can eventually own multiple schools), size (typically $750K or more in revenue as evidence of product-market fit), and culture (schools built around joy and individualized learning, not rigid conservatory models). * The onboarding moment is the most vulnerable. Jeff describes the post-acquisition onboarding as the highest-risk period. His approach: keep messaging simple, emphasize continuity, validate what the team has built, and hint at career growth opportunities rather than leading with change. Increasingly, he sends regional managers who joined via acquisition to deliver that message firsthand. * Growth beats cost-cutting every time. Ensemble's primary lever for improving school margins is enrollment growth, not expense reduction. Because fixed costs are already covered, adding a single student can carry a 50% incremental margin. Going from 200 to 250 students can, in some cases, double profitability. * How music schools are valued. Jeff walks through the concept of seller's discretionary earnings (SDE): stripping out personal expenses, estimating the cost to replace the owner's time, and then applying a market-rate multiplier. For most schools, that multiplier lands in the 3 to 3.5x range, with larger schools trending toward the higher end. * Teacher retention drives student retention. Jeff is clear that retaining great teachers is the real engine of long-term student retention. Ensemble monitors teacher pay as a percentage of revenue, invests in career progression, and treats compensation growth as a strategic priority rather than an afterthought. * Follow-up is the biggest unlock most schools are leaving on the table. Jeff describes the gap between the average school's approach to a new lead (a single thoughtful email, then forgotten) and a system-driven approach with speed, sequence, and multi-channel outreach. In his experience, systematizing follow-up is the most accessible and impactful improvement any school can make.

The Rock School Secret: John Kozicki on How Community Drives Music School Retention (Ep. 20)

John Kozicki has one of the more unconventional paths in the music school world: corporate marketing background, punk rock touring years, two music schools built and sold, and now co-host of the Rock School Proprietor podcast. In this episode, John joins David Martin for a wide-ranging conversation about what it really means to build a music school around community and purpose. John shares his philosophy on what he calls "the rock school secret" (why students in band programs stay longer and engage more deeply than those in private lessons alone) and makes the case that the instrument is really just the conduit for something much bigger. He also gets candid about brand identity, the importance of knowing who your school is actually for, and why copying another studio's marketing is a fast track to churn. In this episode, you'll hear: * How a bad experience with piano lessons as a kid shaped John's entire approach to running Michigan Rock School today. * The origin story of John's first music school: quitting a corporate PR job without another one lined up, stumbling into guitar teaching to pay for a wedding, and gradually realizing this might actually be the thing. * The "rock school secret": students participating in band programs have significantly higher retention than those in private lessons alone. John explains why community and performance create a deeper connection to music, and why that keeps students enrolled longer. * Why John believes the instrument is just the conduit. His firm belief: everyone comes to music for a reason that runs deeper than wanting to learn guitar or piano, and great instructors and studio owners tap into that. * How Michigan Rock School's marketing leads with community, socialization, and belonging. John explains why the benefits that keep kids in team sports are exactly what a well-run music program can offer. * John's hiring philosophy: he looks for instructors he'd want to be in a band with. The reasoning goes deeper than culture fit, it's about whether that person can build the kind of trust with students that feels different from every other adult in their lives. * His candid advice on brand identity for music school owners who don't have a marketing background: identify the two or three current families you always have the best conversations with, figure out what you talk about, and build your marketing from there. * Why copying what a competitor is doing will attract the wrong students and drive up churn. Your marketing has to match who you actually are. * The evolution (not transition) from teacher to manager, and how COVID was the unexpected moment that forced John to fully embrace his role as the person steering the ship. * What's next: John's plans to make Michigan Rock School's rock band curriculum available to other schools, an ongoing songwriting book project, and continued work on the Rock School Proprietor podcast with co-host Mandy York. Learn more about how Opus1 helps performing arts schools build community and retention: opus1.io [http://opus1.io/] Explore all episodes of the Performing Arts School Entrepreneur Podcast for more stories, strategies, and insights from leaders across the industry.

What's Working in Music School Marketing: Kaena Miller on Ads, Creative, and Optimizing Your Budget

In this episode of the Performing Arts School Entrepreneur Podcast, host David Martin sits down with Kaena Miller. Kaena is the founder of Red Blind Media, a digital marketing agency that has developed a specialty working with music schools across North America. What started as a COVID-era project quickly grew into a full-time agency, and Kaena brings a rare, data-backed perspective on what's actually driving enrollment growth today: which ad channels are working, what creative performs, how to measure results, and what most school owners are getting wrong when it comes to their websites. Show Notes: This episode features a practical conversation with Kaena Miller, founder of Red Blind Media, about the digital marketing strategies that are driving real enrollment results for music schools right now. Host David Martin and Kaena dig into the platforms, creative formats, and budgeting frameworks that Redline has tested across more than a dozen school clients, offering school owners a clear-eyed look at where to invest their marketing dollars and how to evaluate whether those dollars are working. * Why Google and Meta remain the core channels, and why chasing newer platforms like TikTok rarely pays off for local music schools * Where to start if your budget is under $1,000 a month, including why Google is the lower-lift entry point and when Meta becomes worth the added investment in creative * What's working on Meta right now, from studio tour videos and elevator pitches to always-on offers, and why letting the creative do the targeting outperforms manual audience-building * The role of offers in driving conversions, and why you should always be running some kind of promo, even if it's not tied to a holiday or seasonal event * How to think about cost per lead and customer acquisition cost, including real benchmarks Redline sees across their client base and how to evaluate ROI against student lifetime value * Why tracking is everything, and why most school owners shouldn't try to set it up themselves * The attribution challenge, and how to triangulate between ad platform data, Google Analytics, and simple survey questions to get a clearer picture of what's actually driving leads * What makes a high-converting music school website, including the value of real photos, recital videos, and making your offer immediately obvious to a first-time visitor * The biggest website mistakes Kaena sees, from keyword-heavy walls of text to outdated designs that undermine first impressions before a family ever picks up the phone 👉 Learn how Opus1.io helps performing arts schools simplify operations and grow with confidence: opus1.io [https://opus1.io/] ✨ Catch every episode of the Performing Arts School Entrepreneur Podcast for real-world insights from school owners shaping the future of arts education.

Premium Pricing, Strong Retention, and the In-Home Advantage — Nicole Kovar on Building Piano & More

In this episode of the Performing Arts School Entrepreneur Podcast, host David Martin sits down with Nicole Kovar, founder and executive director of Piano & More, a Northern Virginia–based in-home music school, and creator of the nonprofit initiative Play It Forward. What started as a side hustle after grad school quickly turned into something much bigger. Nicole didn't set out to build a school. She simply filled her own schedule with in-home lessons, and, when her waitlist grew, it was parents who encouraged her to hire and train other teachers in her approach. Today, Piano & More serves families across Northern Virginia with a premium, highly structured in-home model and strong student retention to match. In this conversation, Nicole pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build a scalable in-home studio: 🎹 From "accidental entrepreneur" to structured operator — the mindset shift required to move from solo teacher to school owner. 💰 Raising rates from $25 to $100 per lesson — why underpricing causes more pain than most owners realize, and how premium pricing filters for better families and better outcomes. 📊 Tracking what matters — how implementing stronger systems and weekly metrics changed how she views retention, margins, and long-term growth. 📅 No makeups, clear policies — why structure protects both profitability and professionalism. 🤝 Building teacher culture without a physical location — monthly meetings, social events, and why teacher retention (not student retention) is her biggest focus. Nicole also shares how adopting modern studio management software exposed weak policies, forced operational clarity, and ultimately strengthened her business foundation: a reminder that growth requires structure. And beyond the business, she talks about Play It Forward, her nonprofit program partnering with Title I schools to provide free keyboards and weekly lessons to students who otherwise wouldn't have access to piano education. If you've ever considered an in-home model, struggled with pricing, or felt stretched too thin by loose policies and inconsistent systems, this episode is packed with practical insight and honest lessons from a school owner who built it step by step. 👉 Learn how Opus1.io helps performing arts schools simplify operations and grow with confidence: opus1.io [https://opus1.io] ✨ Catch every episode of the Performing Arts School Entrepreneur Podcast for real-world insights from school owners shaping the future of arts education.