8 Steps To Build A Recession-Proof Guitar Teaching Business & Make Money Teaching Guitar

Is it really possible to make (a lot of) money teaching guitar in a recession?

Most guitar teachers would say no.

This is why in 2020, many people teaching guitar went out of business.

But some guitar teachers were able to continue to make money teaching guitar even in the slow economy with everyone staying at home.

(Like, for example, almost all guitar teachers in my Elite Guitar Teachers Inner Circle program.)

And this wasn’t just the case during 2020.

Guitar teachers who understand how to make money teaching guitar have been able to thrive through every recession in modern history.

If you want to be one of those guitar teachers with a thriving guitar teaching business, this guitar teaching article will show you how.

Below are 8 simple steps to recession-proof your guitar teaching business and make money teaching guitar in any economy:

 

Most teachers stop advertising when a recession hits (or when their guitar teaching business slows down during the summer months).

This is a mistake, because:

In every economy, there are always people looking for someone to teach guitar to them. (Just like there are people who are still spending money on vacations, new cars, new smartphones and eating out at restaurants.)

So, when you have fewer guitar teachers advertising and guitar students who are ‘still’ looking for someone to teach guitar to them…

… this creates a unique opportunity for you to make money teaching guitar.

This is why I tell all my Elite Guitar Teachers Inner Circle members to advertise MORE during the slower months – not less.
 

Yes, you read correctly. If you want to make money teaching guitar – increase your marketing budget.

This is the exact opposite of what most people who teach guitar do.

But hey – you want to get different results from other guitar teachers, right? That means you have to act opposite to how they act.

Increasing your guitar teaching marketing budget during recessions is no different than investing money in the stock market.

To build wealth, you ought to invest into the market during the good times… but invest even MORE in the bad times

(While most people are pulling their money out).

Why do this?

Because each dollar you invest buys more shares of stock than before. And when the economy recovers, you (the investor) build wealth faster.

Investing into your guitar teaching marketing budget is just like buying stock in ‘your own’ company.

Only instead of “stock shares”, you capture guitar teaching business market share in your town.
 

Most guitar teachers think that to grow a guitar teaching business and make money teaching guitar all they have to do is attract new guitar students.

But that is just one of many ways to increase your guitar teaching income. (And it’s because many guitar teachers ‘only’ focus on attracting more guitar students that they struggle to make money teaching guitar… especially during recessions.)
 

Here are some of the other ways to increase the income of your guitar teaching business:

• Increase the number of people who contact you for guitar lessons.
  
  (This comes down to publishing more guitar lesson ads, using a variety of advertising mediums and publishing guitar teaching ads everywhere your guitar students are likely to see them.)
   
• Convert a higher percentage of those guitar students into becoming actual guitar students in your guitar teaching business.
  
  (This is about what you say to guitar students who respond to your guitar teaching ads: how you to talk to them on the phone, how you conduct the 1^st (trial) guitar lesson and how you excite them to begin guitar lessons with you.)
   
• Get more of your guitar students to come multiple times per week (and pay you for each time!).
  
  Some of the guitar teachers I train have their guitar students take guitar lessons from them 3-4 times per week. Imagine how simple it is to make money teaching guitar when your guitar students are coming several times per week!
   
• Get more referrals from your current guitar students.
   
• Keep your students longer (more on this below).

“Geometric” growth means: growing in several areas of your guitar teaching business at the same time. (vs. Trying to make money teaching guitar by only improving 1 area of your guitar teaching business at a time.)

And guess what?

It’s much easier to make money teaching guitar by growing even a little bit in all 5 of the above areas than to grow A LOT at just 1 or 2 of these guitar teaching areas.

When you focus on ALL the key parts of your teaching business, your income stays stable (and potentially can even grow during recessions). Plus, of course, your guitar teaching business grows much faster when the economy is healthy.

 

Here are some of the key reasons why you want to put HEAVY focus on keeping your guitar studying with you in your guitar teaching business (especially during recessions):

Reason 1: It’s far easier to keep your existing students longer than to get new ones – especially in a recession. The longer your students stay, the less vulnerable you are to recessions.

Reason 2: Your guitar teaching business (and guitar teaching income) grows a lot faster. (For example: when you double the amount of time your guitar students stay with you – you’ve doubled your income with zero extra work.)

Reason 3: You won’t have to work as hard to attract new guitar students just to keep your guitar teaching business (and guitar teaching income) from going backwards.

Here is an assignment that will help you make money teaching guitar and grow your guitar teaching business:

Sit down and brainstorm a dozen (or more) ways to change how you teach guitar to get your guitar students to stay with you longer.

Simply doing this will go a long way to improve retention in your guitar teaching business. (Most guitar teachers never do this.)

And if you want some specific help with what to do to get your guitar students to stay longer, get training for guitar teachers.
 

The better results you are able to help your guitar students achieve, the easier it is to attract more students and charge more money (even during economic downturns).

Your ability to teach guitar is what will set your guitar teaching business apart from other guitar teachers (and what will enable you to make money teaching guitar in a recession… while other guitar teachers struggle).
 

No matter how good you are at teaching guitar and running your guitar teaching business…

… sooner or later your guitar students will quit.

However, this doesn't mean these guitar students now hate you or have no interest in ever coming back to take guitar lessons from you again.

In fact, in most cases, the reason why your guitar students quit have nothing to do with you. And your guitar students are often more than willing to return to your lessons and have you teach guitar to them when the time is right.

Because of this, it’s very important to stay in touch with your former guitar students, as it’s much easier to get them to come back to take guitar lessons from you again than it is to get new guitar students.

How do you this? Simple:

Make them a special offer they can’t refuse and many of them will continue taking guitar lessons with you again.
 

Be willing to do things that your competitors won’t or can’t.

Here are a few examples of what this means and how it relates to your guitar teaching business:

- have cash reserves in your guitar teaching business bank account (not your personal account) set aside specifically for taking your guitar teaching business through a recession.

- treat your guitar teaching business like a business.

- be willing to work more and harder to guide your guitar teaching business through a recession than anyone else.
 

This is another perfect example of doing something most guitar teachers are not willing to do to even when they say they want to make money teaching guitar.

Few guitar teachers ever do anything to upgrade their guitar teaching (and business) skills. When you are one of those who do, it becomes easier to grow your business even during recessions.

You now know how to make more money teaching guitar during recessions. The next step is to learn how to get guitar students to start taking lessons with you in any economy (and be excited to do it!) I can show you in my free eGuide Do THIS And You’ll Get A Lot More Guitar Students. Download it today and discover the guitar teaching secrets most guitar teachers will never know.

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About Tom Hess: Tom Hess is a guitar teacher, music career mentor and guitar teacher trainer. He trains guitar teachers from all over the world how to earn 6-figures per year teaching guitar, while working less than 40 hours per week. 

Get started teaching guitar as a profession and earn a 6-figure annual income.