Talent to Treasure: Transform Your Musical Skills into Extra Income (Day 30)

Talent to Treasure: Transform Your Musical Skills Into Extra Income!

[Today’s article was written by Marcia Washburn and is part of the 31 Days of Music in Our Homeschool Series.]

Have a heart for music but no head for business? Transform your musical skills into extra income. Talent to Treasure Building a Profitable Music Teaching Business shows you how.

Talent to Treasure targets the woman who wants to share her love of music with others while continuing to serve her family at home. It addresses the whys and hows of building a home business that blesses others without negatively impacting her family.

A valuable resource for rookie and veteran teachers alike—how to find students, what to charge, keeping business records, practicing issues, special needs students, and much more.

Marcia Washburn, BA, MME, is a seasoned piano teacher, writing with authority about a subject she knows intimately and loves passionately—connecting people with music. Her warm and personable style immediately draws in the reader.

In the pages of Talent to Treasure, you will learn:

• How to prepare your heart and your home for your business
• How to recruit and retain students
• How much to charge for lessons (& how to be sure you get paid!)
• How to select a “balanced diet” of music for your students
• How to teach using learning styles—how to be a people teacher first!
• Great practicing tips—& strategies for dealing with students who don’t!
• How to deal with memorization, performance jitters, & more
• Reaching & teaching special needs students—from challenged to gifted
• And much, much more!

What others are saying about Talent to Treasure Building a Profitable Music Teaching Business:

“I’ve taught piano for the past five years and this book is timely in encouraging me in the way I teach as well as offering new approaches to common problems that I frequently encounter. Thank you, Mrs. Washburn, for sharing your insights from years of teaching and bringing it from a distinctly Christian perspective.” ~Anna Storrie, piano teacher

“Talent to Treasure filled a void in the sphere of piano teaching resources. It’s more than a business manual, more than a pedagogy text — it is an inspiration to serve and an invitation to ministry. In her typical gracious manner, Mrs. Washburn provides reassurance, exhortation and practical advice for music instructors with all levels of experience. Even her smallest tips help in a big way. She offers useful techniques that most of us would never think of, yet make important contributions to the success of any studio.

“In-home studios have their own set of issues. In Talent to Treasure Mrs. Washburn showcases business and hospitality in a special combination that could come only from a heart fully devoted to Christ. Before my children started their own music teaching businesses, I required that they read a pedagogy text. I wish Talent to Treasure had been available then. No great loss, though — I didn’t have to require them to read this one; the book drew them like a magnet.”
~Mary Beth Akers, homeschooling parent

About the author: Marcia Washburn holds a Master’s in Music Education and taught public school music prior to the birth of their oldest son. She has operated several businesses including a profitable piano studio. She and her husband homeschooled their five sons in rural Colorado for nineteen years. Visit her website at MarciaWashburn.com for resources, articles, and more.