The podcast about all things business for music teachers and studio owners. Learn how to brand, market, and grow your music studio. Hear stories of creative music teachers who are taking on other cool entrepreneurial projects. Get answers to your self-employment questions from experts. Hosted by entrepreneur, business coach, and piano teacher, Andrea Miller.
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Musicschool Podcasts

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170 - How One Teacher Built and Managed a 100-Student Program with Leah Drake
54:01
54:01
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54:01Today I’m talking with Leah Drake of Vibrant Valley Music Studio—a solo teacher running a 100-student group program in San Jose. Leah walks us through the messy middle of a major model shift: how she transitioned from private to groups over a year, navigated COVID, survived multiple space moves, and ultimately signed a long-term lease that forced c…
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169 - Turning a Rate Increase into Stronger Parent Partnerships with Carissa Pitkin-Cox
30:30
30:30
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30:30As a new school year begins, it’s natural to step back and think about where our studios are headed. Maybe you’re updating policies, setting fresh goals, or just imagining what you want this year to look like for your students and yourself. This is such a good moment to pause, get clear on your vision, and make sure the choices you’re making now ar…
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168 - Daniel Matthews on Functional Fitness for Music Teachers
37:01
37:01
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37:01In this episode, fitness professional Daniel Matthews shares how functional fitness can help musicians and teachers prevent injury, improve posture, and build sustainable careers. He reminds us that just like music, health doesn’t have to be about elite performance—small, consistent habits matter most. As we head into a new school year, Daniel’s in…
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Hey everyone, it's Andrea with Music Studio Startup and I'm excited to share what we've got coming up this school year. We are back to our regular interview format. And I've got some great episodes lined up, including chats with fitness experts for musicians, group studio owners, and more amazing teachers and entrepreneurs. Over in The Hub, our mem…
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Studio Snapshot 043 - Arielle Sukhram-Ziemer
13:54
13:54
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13:54Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
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Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
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Summary Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration …
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Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
…
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Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
…
continue reading
Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
…
continue reading
Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
…
continue reading
Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
…
continue reading
Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
…
continue reading
Welcome back! We’re doing a special series on the podcast this summer called Studio Snapshots. Rather than the in-depth, process-oriented interviews you’re used to hearing, these rapid-fire interviews give us a glimpse in a guest’s studio at a moment in time. They’re part reflection, part anticipation of the future, and fully a celebration of where…
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167 - Mimi Zhang on Being a New Teacher in a New City
31:01
31:01
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31:01A new cohort of our Business Building 101 course is starting this week! If you’re launching a studio, rebuilding after a move, or just want to build a more intentional, financially sustainable business, this course is designed to help you do exactly that—with clarity, structure, and support. And today’s guest is a perfect example of what can happen…
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166 - Sam Reti on Starting Muzie.Live (Part 2)
30:33
30:33
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30:33Today's episode is part two of a super interesting two-part conversation with Sam Reti, a music teacher and a visionary behind the popular online music lesson platform Muzie.Live. If you haven't listened to the first part, I highly encourage you to go back and listen to that one too. In this episode, Sam shares how a college class at Berkeley, coun…
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165 - Sam Reti on Starting Muzie.Live (Part 1)
39:52
39:52
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39:52Today's episode is part one of a super interesting two-part conversation with Sam Reti, a music teacher and the visionary behind the popular online music lesson platform Muzie.Live. In this episode, Sam shares how a college class at Berkeley, countless Uber and Lyft rides, and a whole lot of Chipotle burritos helped launch his first business. And w…
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164 - Andrea Miller on Business Insights from Tax Returns + Workshop Invite [REBROADCAST]
10:12
10:12
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10:12This time of year I get a lot of financial questions from teachers. We’ve just gotten through the holiday spending spree, new year’s might have inspired some financial goal-setting, and then there’s the looming tax deadline in April, so there’s a lot to think about. Sometimes the questions I get are really specific to an individual, but lately a bu…
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163 - Rebekah Trevelise on Starting a Multi-Teacher Studio from Home
47:40
47:40
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47:40If you’ve ever thought about expanding from being a solo, independent teacher to hiring teachers and assumed your first step would be to rent a commercial space, think again. Today’s guest shares how the studio she started with a few students in her living room eventually grew to serve 200 students and took over her family’s entire home. A full tra…
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162 - Business Travel and Conference Deductions for Music Teachers with Charles Harris, CPA
15:55
15:55
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15:55With the MTNA conference right around the corner, we got Charles Harris, CPA back on the podcast to discuss tax deductions for business travel and attending conferences. We talk about common expenses associated with business travel, which ones are deductible and which ones aren’t. We answer questions like: Are meals 100% deductible when I’m traveli…
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161 - Christina Whitlock on Embracing the Flexibility of an Independent Teaching Studio
40:05
40:05
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40:05Today I’m talking to the Christina Whitlock - an independent piano teacher whose studio has flexed and changed many times throughout her career to adapt to what she wants and needs out of life and business in different seasons. If you are familiar with Christina and her podcast, Beyond Measure, you know she is a huge encourager for music teachers a…
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160 - Alison Weiler on Not Teaching in the Evenings
36:09
36:09
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36:09We’ve had a lot of tax talk on the podcast lately and I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I get it. I promise we’ll keep it to a minimum today, but I do want to let you know about an upcoming webinar that I will be co-presenting with our CPA, Charles! Join us on Thur, February 6 for our Self-Employment Tax Crash Course. You can register for th…
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159 - Tax Prep Service for Music Teachers - Q&A with Charles and Andrea
17:26
17:26
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17:26Charles and Andrea sit down to answer some of the questions we’ve been getting about our new tax prep services for music teachers! Can I self-file taxes? What are the tax deadlines I need to be aware of? What is the mileage deduction? How does the mileage deduction work? A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioS…
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158 - Charles Harris, CPA on Tax Prep Tips and FAQs for 2025
25:39
25:39
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25:39Happy new year! For a lot of studio owners, January represents the beginning of tax season so I’ve got Charles Harris, a CPA, as our guest today to talk about all things self-employment taxes. We’ll cover a bunch of things including the earning thresholds for when you need to earn to start filing taxes and what to do if you did not earn a profit in…
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