Feeling stuck in the 40-student grind?

That was me, too.

In 2022, I was maxed out—teaching a full roster, juggling a music ed degree, rehearsals, coaching, and driving to lessons.

Teaching was just survival, and I lost the passion that brought me into music in the first place.

I thought burnout was just the reality for music teachers.

But then, I saw the same burnout in my clients, too.

Teachers hitting 30-40 students, feeling maxed out, thinking, “I can’t grow anymore.”

The “traditional” model had us all locked in.

Every hour full. Every week stretched thin. Every income cap feeling permanent.

I knew there had to be a better way.

And that’s when the Lifestyle Music School started to take shape.

I began helping teachers create unique paths—online courses, group programs, a hybrid of both.

With each model, the same truth emerged: you can build a...

If you’re in a season of transition with your music school…

Remind yourself:

“My students want me to win”

Your favorite students will stick around because they want to work with YOU.

Not solely because you offer private lessons

This is what’s helped me and my teachers break out of the traditional path.

40+ student = success → A business I enjoy = success

Free trials → Content that pre-sells for you

Weekly private lessons → An experience so good students don’t wanna leave

But transitioning towards your dream music school only becomes faster & easier when you stop searching for another course to solve your problems…

And towards real conversations you need to have.

Like “Who are you going to be when you’re in a slow season of growth?”

“Do I actually enjoy the way I’m growing my music school?”

...

Your dream students are out there. When are they going to see you?

I see it all the time.

Stop holding back in your content, wondering if your dream students are even out there.

Because whether they’re following you or not… it shouldn’t matter.

You create music school content whether it gets the likes or not.

Just like you make music, fame or no fame.

If you want more dream students to be drawn into your world, then share your message—whether anyone’s listening or not—because it’s your truth.

If they’re not gravitating toward you, it’s because they’re busy looking for the teachers who show up real and unfiltered.

When you speak from the core, that’s when the right students start paying attention.

I felt it myself.

When COVID hit, I was gearing up for my biggest performance with the SDSU Wind Symphony. TLDR: I never got to perform.

And since...

You might get more students from finding the right answers.

But you’ll build your dream music school by asking the right questions.

Last week, we had a conversation in our mastermind that almost every teacher has asked themselves.

It started with a question about social media.

Should she put her business and personal brand on one page? Or keep them separate?

On the surface, it sounded like a strategy question.

One page vs. two.

But as we went deeper, the real question came out.

It wasn’t about social media at all.

It was about her. Who she’s becoming.

What she wants her business—and her life—to reflect.

As we talked, the shift happened.

She realized it wasn’t about which strategy would bring in more students.

It was about stepping into a new level of herself.

With clarity and conviction in her choices.

It was about whether having the same or...

For most of my life, I never knew what makes the good musicians stand out from the ones I looked up to.

I use to think “greatness” in music meant hitting the big milestones.

How fast can you play?

How high can I sing?

Playing on the biggest stages.

You probably know the real answer though.

What separates good musicians from the greats isn’t just skill—it’s connection.

It’s how deeply you resonate with your audience.

How well you can send a message through your music and make people feel it.

And that’s the bridge from you now to the version of you who runs their dream music school.

Burnt out → Free

Offering lessons → Creating experiences

Complexity → Simplicity

If you wanna create a Lifestyle Music School, that’s the same approach we need to bring to our brand.

It’s not about getting 10k IG followers before you can profit.

It’s not...

When are you moving past the traditional way of teaching?

Our music ed world is moving fast.

COVID got online lessons just as popular as in-person. Now AI is reshaping everything—including the way we run our music schools.

For teachers still sticking with the traditional way, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind.

Packed schedules, low rates, burnout… those old methods don’t fit a world that’s moving forward.

Yesterday, I shared a private training with my clients—the 7 trends I’m seeing with the New Era Lifestyle Music Teacher.

These aren’t your usual fixes that everyone’s told you before like:

“Oh just raise your prices.” “Do group lessons!”

They’re focused on helping you build a biz that’s fully aligned with WHY you started it in the first place.

Teachers making these shifts are waking up energized, with time for...

Is Your Music School Brand Too ‘Polished’ to Connect?

I remember when I first started my piano studio.

I thought “professional” was the answer.

So I spent weeks on the logo, polished my socials, got it looking just right.

But something felt… hollow.

I’d post, waiting for those dream students to reach out.

But all I got were students who showed up because they were supposed to.

Students who didn’t feel the connection with music the way I did.

Every time I posted, it felt like I was just throwing something out there.

Trying to seem “legit,” but it didn’t feel like me.

In my experience, when you focus on looking too “polished,” I attracted students who wanted a service, not a connection.

They were there for the lessons, but not for the love of music.

Then I tried something different.

I started sharing the moments that made...

Are you teaching just “lessons”… Or are you building musicians?

For years, I taught the way I learned music.

Sticking to the method books, showing students how to play songs by rote, and hoping it would inspire them.

But something was off.

My students could play the notes... but they weren’t feeling the music.

It felt like a chore to them just like it did for me.

And some weren’t as fortunate and decided to quit.

I see so many music teachers stuck in this cycle.

They teach a certain way because it’s “safe” or because it’s how they learned.

But when they do this, they’re just teaching songs—not creating musicians.

This is NOT why we chose a life in music in the first place.

The real magic? It happens when you bring students into the experience of being a musician.

One of my clients, Emily, recently made this shift. She rebranded her...

You have your own “special” way of teaching.

The energy in your lessons that you can’t replicate with any other teacher.

But when it comes to your content?

I don’t see that same spark.

Instead, I see the “professional” version—the “big name music school” they feel they need to present.

I totally get it.

You don’t want to look “too salesy.” You don’t want their students to feel like they’re being marketed to.

But here’s what happens:

When you show up online in a way that’s different from who you are in lessons, students can’t see why they should choose you.

So they just see… another music teacher.

Anyone can offer lessons. Anyone can say, “I teach music.”

But when you let your audience see the real you?

When you bring your unique style and passion to your brand?

What you do...

Creating a 6-figure music school brand is much more than slapping on a new logo and expecting dream students to flood.

Because for one of my clients, Emily…

She didn’t just rebrand her music school… she rebranded her life.

For a long time, Emily thought she had to do what every other music school owner was doing.

She named her school after herself, hired more teachers than she could manage, opened a physical location, and spent more time running the business than teaching.

Because, according to those music teacher FB groups, that’s what success looked like, right?

But here’s the thing… none of that felt right to her.

She wasn’t enjoying it. She was teaching students she didn’t feel aligned with, dealing with families that drained her energy, and the business she once loved started to feel like a burden.

Then she realized—she didn’t have to do it the way others told...