May 26, 2025 • 21 mins
In this episode, Jaclyn Mrozek discusses the importance of implementing flex weeks in teaching to promote work-life balance, a PTO for independent music teachers, as well as mental health.
She emphasizes the need for clear communication with families, along with examples, in regarding changes in studio policies and tuition.
The discussion also highlights the significance of taking time off without guilt and creating a sustainable studio model that supports both teachers and students.
Visit www.scappypianoteacher.com for free resources and more!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
Hey friends. Real quick before.
We dive in. Around the time that.
I recorded this. Episode I had done a.
Post on Instagram. About flex weeks.
And I. I've got so many questions about
this topic so. At the end of.
This episode I want to jump back.
On to answer a few. Of the most common questions I
(00:28):
was hearing from teachers in response to that post, how to.
Communicate these changes. To your studio and whether you
can start using Flex Week's. Mid year, so stay tuned.
After the main episode for the bonus segment and now I'll get
started. Hello and welcome to the Scrappy
Piano Teacher Podcast, the show for independent music teachers,
(00:49):
primarily piano teachers, who are building studios with heart,
grit, and a whole lot of coffee.I'm your host, Jacqueline
Rosick, and after 27 years of teaching, homeschooling and
running my own studio, I know that the path to a successful
teaching life is not always polished.
But it is possible, and this podcast is here to give you real
world strategies, honest encouragement, and the
(01:11):
occasional messy story from the trenches because you don't have
to have it all figured out to build something great.
And boy, do I have a messy storyfor you today.
Literally a messy story. So we're going to dive in.
Today's episode is called the kind of raise you Did not Know
you Needed. And we're about to get into one
(01:32):
of my absolute favorite scheduling strategies for studio
sanity, income consistency, and real life flexibility.
I'm not even kidding. This is a total game changer.
But first, I need to tell you a little bit about my cat Swiffer.
OK, Swiffer is a Himalayan cat. And if you don't know anything
(01:52):
about these kinds of cats, I want you to remember those old
Fancy Feast commercials with theSuper fancy fluffy squishy Kitty
cats that would come out and they were so fancy, which was
perfect for Fancy Feast. Well, that is kind of like
Swiffer. He is a Fancy Feast kind of cat
and his name also gives things away too.
(02:14):
He is so fluffy that he pretty much cleans the floor as he
walks, hence why we named him Swiffer.
Anyway, last weekend I finally had a Saturday free, which
really rarely happens and my bigplan was painting the last two
walls in a room. I haven't had any time to finish
for a few weeks and I am saying like 2 of the walls were
(02:35):
painted, the other two sat unpainted for weeks.
I don't know who starts a room to paint and then doesn't finish
it. But wait, no, I do Me, me, I'm
that person. Anyway, it was a great day.
I had a creepy audiobook in my headphones and it was actually
kind of therapeutic to just paint and listen to my
audiobook. And things are going good.
(02:56):
And at some point I must have left the door open to use the
bathroom or whatever. And the cat must have gotten in
because a few hours later I walkout and I see Swiffer and he is
hovered in dry paint like it's stuck in his pocket was like
globs of it were just dried and stuck.
It was all over his fur. I mean, completely covered.
(03:17):
I should have gotten a picture, but in the moment I was not
thinking about that. But it was in his whiskers.
I mean, it was it was horrible. It was horrible.
So I tried to give him an emergency bath, which involved
him climbing on my head. He's yowling all kinds of bad
Kitty cat words. My kid kind of tried to help me.
My husband definitely was not wanting to help me.
(03:40):
It was just, it was a mess. And then, you know, I'm giving
him a bath. He jumps out, soap and water
goes everywhere. He runs and hides underneath the
bed. And as I'm trying to get him
out, I throw out my neck. It was pretty much like a
sitcom. So Long story short, I called a
groomer and then we're talking like 4:00, 4-30, something like
that on a Saturday. And I'm thinking to myself,
(04:02):
there's no way I'm going to finda groomer, but I found one.
God bless her. And I drive over and at this
point, there really was not muchmore that she could do other
than just completely shave him into a lion's cut.
And for those of you who are watching this podcast on YouTube
or on the video podcast, I'm going to grab him.
Hold on, look at him. Look, he's.
(04:24):
Got little booties and everything and oh wait, hold on.
Let me show. You his tail.
See, now you're going to have tolook.
I just want you to know, know that he's like super floof,
sorry, showing his nakedness, OK?
Anyway, he actually loves being naked, just to let you know.
They say that. Animals get really embarrassed
or whatever. He's not embarrassed.
(04:45):
He thinks it's like the best thing ever.
Maybe he got into the pain on purpose.
So why am I telling you this? And who really cares about my
cat on a piano podcast? Well, I'm so glad you asked
because that was one of those days.
I had totally normal day and then it completely went sideways
and I had to pivot and change everything.
(05:05):
And if I had had lessons scheduled at any point, which
who really paints on the same day as they're teaching?
Well, you might, but it doesn't matter.
If I had had lessons scheduled at any point, I would have had
to cancel. I would have had to scramble to
reschedule or issue credits, allwhile maybe not looking quite so
professional. And I don't do that anymore
(05:26):
because I build flex weeks into to my studio calendar.
And you guys, flex weeks could quite possibly be the raise that
you did not know you needed because sometimes a raise is not
necessarily a financial reflection in your bank account.
Flex weeks are like your personal PTO.
They are baked right into the year, not added on, not made-up
(05:50):
later. Oh gosh no, not made-up later
and not refunded. We are not refunding them.
Think of it this way. People with salary jobs get sick
days and vacation time, their average advertising for the job
they are on Indeed saying, hey, this is a great job.
Look at this benefit package that you could get.
That's part of it. Why not us?
We deserve some benefits too, right?
(06:10):
We work hard. So as the CEO of your studio,
you absolutely can do this. There are different ways of
doing this, but. This is what?
Works for me in my studio. So my studio I use a 12 month
billing model and I teach about 40 weeks per year.
I have one week for fall break and I'll October, which is
(06:31):
beautiful. I've never had a fall break
before, but I did this year and it was glorious.
I had two weeks for winter break, which might become three
weeks because winter depresses me.
Two weeks for spring break, which was awesome because one of
the weeks I got to go to the MTNA conference and then I got
to come home and just relax. That was wonderful.
I then have two weeks off beforesummer starts, which is
(06:54):
happening right now for me. Actually, I will have two weeks
off before fall starts. And then I also have two
floating flex weeks that are reserved for sick days, for
health days, conference weeks. You could do it for conference
weeks, really shaved cat emergency weeks, you know, the
the list goes on and on. These are the weeks that I have
(07:16):
reserved. They're not scheduled in the
calendar, but they're there in case I need to take it.
Also something else that might be a little controversial.
Actually, I know this is controversial, but this is what
I do and it makes me happy and it makes my studio families
happy. But each student receives 2
built in flex credits per year for them.
But it's built in, so that meansthat if a student needs to miss
(07:38):
a lesson due to illness, vacation, or whatever, it's
already accounted for. It's like a built in makeup
lesson. So if the student attends all
scheduled lessons, it's like receiving 2 bonus lessons for
free. Which is where the controversy
comes in. But like I said, it makes me
happy. It makes my students happy.
I almost feel like that can be acompletely other podcast for
(07:59):
another day. Not today anyway.
Those 10 weeks for me, they're off OK?
And they're still paid for because tuition is based on a
yearly value, not per lesson pricing.
I have time off to look forward to, plus the security of knowing
that if something comes up, I amcovered for at least two weeks,
just like if I was working a corporate gig.
(08:21):
The only thing about this cat ishe gets really, really cold.
So we're going to make him warm,keep them warm.
All of that on top of four performance class weeks.
And it's a pretty sweet schedule, if I do say so myself.
So what you would do is you would take what you would charge
for lessons for an entire year, divide it by 12 months, and that
(08:43):
gives you the monthly tuition for your families.
Now, if you run a school year model, say September to May, you
can still do this. You might offer 34 weeks of
lessons, include two to four flex weeks throughout the year,
and divide the tuition over ninemonths.
Then that way you can run summeras separate flexible, offering
whatever you want to do. The key is you need to plan your
(09:05):
flex weeks upfront, communicate them clearly, and you need to
stop feeling like you have to earn every dollar by cramming
more lessons into an already. Full life.
So yes, this is a raise. It's just not about charging
more per lesson. It's about working fewer weeks
and still bringing in consistentmonthly income.
But you know what? You can raise your rates and
(09:28):
build in a flex week or two and because it's spread over 12
months, the monthly tuition might stay nearly the same.
Actually, that is what I do I, So I'll just tell you right now
in the fall, I do plan on doing a 10% raise tuition raise, but I
am going to be adding another flex week.
So what happens is the tuition is really not going to change
(09:52):
monthly for the family. So to them, yeah, my, the rates
are raising, but they're not paying more per month.
And no, you don't have to be sneaky about it.
I don't plan on being sneaky about it.
I'm never sneaky about it. I'm completely upfront.
Just explain that you're refining your calendar and
tuition to support sustainability, reliability, and
your long term ability to serve your students.
(10:13):
Well, most families appreciate clear communication and
thoughtful planning. Because you deserve not to beat
in a dead horse, but you deservesome build in rest too.
You deserve some buffer room. You deserve to be able to
breathe. And you don't owe anyone an
apology for that. Stop apologizing.
One of the biggest shifts for mewas realizing that I don't have
(10:35):
to apologize for taking time off.
I run a professional studio and just like any salaried position,
I'm allowed time to rest, reset,or deal with a last minute paint
covered cat emergency. So if you've been looking.
For a way to work smarter 8 sustainable income and protect
your peas. I hope that this episode got
(10:56):
your wheels turning as you startthinking about your 20252026
calendar. Yeah, Can you believe it?
Can you? Like, are we really thinking
about that right now? Yeah, we are.
Anyway, as you start thinking about your 20252026 calendar, I
do have a free editable Canva calendar available at
www.scrappypianoteacher.com website.
(11:17):
Yep, I got a website up. It's pretty modest, but it's up
there. And the resources there too, and
it's completely free and there are other resources on there as
well. And as I continue, I'll be
adding more and more, so be sureto check it out.
If you're looking for some studio help, you can subscribe
as well. And I always send out all my
freebies. So keep teaching, keep learning,
(11:38):
keep building that studio that works for you, and get in those
flex weeks for next year. And with that, thanks for
hanging out with me and so for today and take care.
OK guys, you thought we were done, but we're.
Not done. So as I was telling you at the
very beginning of the episode, Ihad posted something on
Instagram about flex weeks. And.
(12:00):
I wanted to respond to a few of the most common we asked
questions that I was getting I had posted around the.
Time. That I had recorded this, I
don't remember if I did it before or after, but I had
posted something on Instagram mentioning flex weeks and I got
quite a few responses and questions and I really wanted to
(12:21):
address these. And yes, I am in my husband's
truck on a racetrack recording apodcast because that's what I'm
doing. But that's OK, Don't judge me.
We're scrappy, remember? OK, so back to your responses
and questions about flex weeks. They were so good.
They were so good. You guys always have all these
wonderful, juicy thoughts that Ihave to really, they really
(12:44):
challenged my brain. There was three of them that
really stood out that kept coming up.
So I wanted to address them. The first one was on
communicating this change to your studio, especially without
pushback. And I think this is a really,
really great question because it's such a real issue.
So here's my take on this. You need to communicate changes
(13:06):
as clearly as possible. I think that we all know that,
but it also needs to be as confidently as possible.
And I think that's some at timeswe tend to follow up with
questions like we'll make a statement such as this year
we'll have a flex week. What do you think about that or
(13:27):
does that sound OK to you? You know those.
Kind of clarifying. Questions.
And we really don't need them and we really don't want them.
So keep it short. Make it a.
Statement. This is what's happening.
And don't ask for permission because once we say things like
let me know what you think or I hope that's OK, it's going to
invite negotiation and it's yourbusiness.
(13:49):
We're not negotiating. It.
And even the kindest of your families that love you so much,
they will always lean toward what benefits them the most.
Because guess what? That's just human nature.
It's what we do. OK, What I do is I send a
beginning of the year e-mail. So I.
Include my updated. Philosophy, my studio calendar
(14:10):
and my policies. This is not the only place that
I put them, but there is like anactual here's an e-mail with all
the goodies. Save this e-mail for the year
and I will say something like you will note it if I'm if I am
increasing my tuition, I'll say you'll notice an increase in
tuition this year and we've alsoadded a flex week to the
(14:32):
calendar. This means the calendar reflects
one more week than what you're being charged for.
If I need to cancel due to illness or an emergency, we'll
use that flex week. No rescheduling or tuition
changes needed. Period done.
No apology, no over explaining. Just a professional update, when
you present changes like a confident leader like you are,
(14:56):
your families will follow your lead.
OK, Question 2, what you want tosay when you need to use a flex
week? This is such a real question.
I want you guys to imagine that it's February or March, let's go
to March and you have not used aflex week yet.
(15:18):
Look at you. Not getting sick for the whole
year, but your brain is kind of melting because you you really,
really, really just need a mental health week.
I want you to think about that because let's be honest, most of
us will cancel lessons without question if we have a fever or
if we are physically unable to teach again.
(15:41):
That's what flex weeks are for. OK, but going back to that, it's
March and you're just exhausted.Most of his teachers we're going
to try to push through. So here's my personal soapbox
moment. Your mental health matters.
Your capacity matters. You do not have to be.
Falling. Apart to justify taking a flex
week. Of course.
(16:01):
It's there for when you're sick or you have the flu, but if
you've built it into your calendar, you got to use it.
OK, use it. We're not giving away that week
for free, and when you do, again, keep it simple and keep
it a statement. I send a message similar to
something like. Hey, families.
(16:23):
This week's lessons will be cancelled and we'll be using one
of our reserved flex weeks. No need for tuition adjustments
or rescheduling. Keep up the great practicing and
I'll see you next week, OK? I never give them reasons.
I don't need to. And I'm very close with a lot of
my families. I mean, like my kids play with
their kids, but I don't need to give them a reason for why I'm
(16:44):
taking a week off. I don't need to give them an
explanation. And honestly, the more that you
normalize this, the easier it becomes for your families to
respect it too. And every now and then I will
get families say like, oh, I hope everything's OK, you know,
and I'll text back and be like, oh, yeah, it's great.
It's just, you know, I just got something's going on.
And that's not, I mean, it's nota big deal.
And then finally, the last thingthat I really wanted to talk
(17:08):
about was implementing Flex. Weeks mid year.
Or do you have to wait until fall?
I think this is a fantastic question actually.
Got me thinking about what I do because I'm like what do I do?
I always do fall personally. That's when I roll out big
changes like this at the start of the year.
I follow a 12 month calendar andI like everything to be clear
(17:30):
and consistent from the beginning.
So I like my calendar, tuition, policies, philosophy, all of it.
Some families are flexible, but others really value knowing what
to expect. That said.
If you're halfway through your. Year and just learn learning
about this concept so this podcast is airing in what month
is this May May of 2025. Let's say that you just listened
(17:51):
to this in November of 2025 and you're like, well, shoot, miss
that one, I mean. I don't think you have to.
Wait a whole year to try it. Here's what I think you can do.
Look at your remaining teaching weeks.
If you want to build in a flex week, now you.
Can but. I recommend being very
thoughtful about this. Ask yourself some questions like
(18:14):
will you keep tuition the same and teach one less week?
If so, you want to be transparent about that shift and
let families know that they're gaining a new built in benefit,
but they're paying the same. So in a way you just raised
rates. You don't want to be sneaky
about it. Remember, just be very
transparent about that. Or do you want to slightly
(18:36):
adjust tuition to reflect the reduced number of lessons?
So it will reduce reduce the monthly amount that you get, Not
by as much as you might think when you spread it out over the
course of the year, but that does give you time back without
feeling like you're taking something away from the
(18:57):
families. And it might not be a financial
raise, but remember the name of this podcast is the raise you
didn't know you needed because it's a raise in time, energy and
confidence. And remember, it doesn't have to
be permanent. You can test it mid year, then
roll out your full flex week andtuition model the next fall.
Does that make sense? I think that makes sense.
(19:17):
I just did a clarifying question.
Did you hear that? Don't ask clarifying questions.
So whether you are planning for next year or trying to make most
of the year you're in, guys FlexWeeks could be a total game
changer. I love them.
I love them so much. I hope that answering these
questions and answers helped youfeel a little bit more confident
(19:39):
in building a studio that works for you because I love you guys.
And you all deserve time. Space and systems that support
your real life and not just yourlesson schedule.
If you're going to work on your calendar now, don't forget
there's a free, editable Canva calendar over at my new website,
itsscrappypianoteacher.com. I'm slowly.
(20:01):
But surely transferring? Over.
All my resources. From my piano studio website,
whichispianocats.com, that's Cats with AK.
I'm trying to move those resources over to the scrappy
pianoteacher.com so it's easier for you guys to find them.
Lastly. If you're looking for a
collaborative partner to help you revise or rebuild a studio
model that fits your actual life, not just the look, not
(20:24):
just what looks good on paper, I'd love to help.
I'm putting. Together collaborative partner
packages. So if you're interested, let me
know and I will be more than happy to help you out.
In the meantime, keep teaching, keep learning, keep building the
city that works for you. And yes, get those flex weeks on
your calendar building yourself later.
(20:47):
Thanks for hanging out with me. At the race.
Car track. Today and.
With Swiffer in the main part ofthe podcast and take care.
I'll talk to you guys later.
Hey friends. Real quick before.
We dive in. Around the time that.
I recorded this. Episode I had done a.
Post on Instagram. About flex weeks.
And I. I've got so many questions about
this topic so. At the end of.
This episode I want to jump back.
On to answer a few. Of the most common questions I
(00:28):
was hearing from teachers in response to that post, how to.
Communicate these changes. To your studio and whether you
can start using Flex Week's. Mid year, so stay tuned.
After the main episode for the bonus segment and now I'll get
started. Hello and welcome to the Scrappy
Piano Teacher Podcast, the show for independent music teachers,
(00:49):
primarily piano teachers, who are building studios with heart,
grit, and a whole lot of coffee.I'm your host, Jacqueline
Rosick, and after 27 years of teaching, homeschooling and
running my own studio, I know that the path to a successful
teaching life is not always polished.
But it is possible, and this podcast is here to give you real
world strategies, honest encouragement, and the
(01:11):
occasional messy story from the trenches because you don't have
to have it all figured out to build something great.
And boy, do I have a messy storyfor you today.
Literally a messy story. So we're going to dive in.
Today's episode is called the kind of raise you Did not Know
you Needed. And we're about to get into one
(01:32):
of my absolute favorite scheduling strategies for studio
sanity, income consistency, and real life flexibility.
I'm not even kidding. This is a total game changer.
But first, I need to tell you a little bit about my cat Swiffer.
OK, Swiffer is a Himalayan cat. And if you don't know anything
(01:52):
about these kinds of cats, I want you to remember those old
Fancy Feast commercials with theSuper fancy fluffy squishy Kitty
cats that would come out and they were so fancy, which was
perfect for Fancy Feast. Well, that is kind of like
Swiffer. He is a Fancy Feast kind of cat
and his name also gives things away too.
(02:14):
He is so fluffy that he pretty much cleans the floor as he
walks, hence why we named him Swiffer.
Anyway, last weekend I finally had a Saturday free, which
really rarely happens and my bigplan was painting the last two
walls in a room. I haven't had any time to finish
for a few weeks and I am saying like 2 of the walls were
(02:35):
painted, the other two sat unpainted for weeks.
I don't know who starts a room to paint and then doesn't finish
it. But wait, no, I do Me, me, I'm
that person. Anyway, it was a great day.
I had a creepy audiobook in my headphones and it was actually
kind of therapeutic to just paint and listen to my
audiobook. And things are going good.
(02:56):
And at some point I must have left the door open to use the
bathroom or whatever. And the cat must have gotten in
because a few hours later I walkout and I see Swiffer and he is
hovered in dry paint like it's stuck in his pocket was like
globs of it were just dried and stuck.
It was all over his fur. I mean, completely covered.
(03:17):
I should have gotten a picture, but in the moment I was not
thinking about that. But it was in his whiskers.
I mean, it was it was horrible. It was horrible.
So I tried to give him an emergency bath, which involved
him climbing on my head. He's yowling all kinds of bad
Kitty cat words. My kid kind of tried to help me.
My husband definitely was not wanting to help me.
(03:40):
It was just, it was a mess. And then, you know, I'm giving
him a bath. He jumps out, soap and water
goes everywhere. He runs and hides underneath the
bed. And as I'm trying to get him
out, I throw out my neck. It was pretty much like a
sitcom. So Long story short, I called a
groomer and then we're talking like 4:00, 4-30, something like
that on a Saturday. And I'm thinking to myself,
(04:02):
there's no way I'm going to finda groomer, but I found one.
God bless her. And I drive over and at this
point, there really was not muchmore that she could do other
than just completely shave him into a lion's cut.
And for those of you who are watching this podcast on YouTube
or on the video podcast, I'm going to grab him.
Hold on, look at him. Look, he's.
(04:24):
Got little booties and everything and oh wait, hold on.
Let me show. You his tail.
See, now you're going to have tolook.
I just want you to know, know that he's like super floof,
sorry, showing his nakedness, OK?
Anyway, he actually loves being naked, just to let you know.
They say that. Animals get really embarrassed
or whatever. He's not embarrassed.
(04:45):
He thinks it's like the best thing ever.
Maybe he got into the pain on purpose.
So why am I telling you this? And who really cares about my
cat on a piano podcast? Well, I'm so glad you asked
because that was one of those days.
I had totally normal day and then it completely went sideways
and I had to pivot and change everything.
(05:05):
And if I had had lessons scheduled at any point, which
who really paints on the same day as they're teaching?
Well, you might, but it doesn't matter.
If I had had lessons scheduled at any point, I would have had
to cancel. I would have had to scramble to
reschedule or issue credits, allwhile maybe not looking quite so
professional. And I don't do that anymore
(05:26):
because I build flex weeks into to my studio calendar.
And you guys, flex weeks could quite possibly be the raise that
you did not know you needed because sometimes a raise is not
necessarily a financial reflection in your bank account.
Flex weeks are like your personal PTO.
They are baked right into the year, not added on, not made-up
(05:50):
later. Oh gosh no, not made-up later
and not refunded. We are not refunding them.
Think of it this way. People with salary jobs get sick
days and vacation time, their average advertising for the job
they are on Indeed saying, hey, this is a great job.
Look at this benefit package that you could get.
That's part of it. Why not us?
We deserve some benefits too, right?
(06:10):
We work hard. So as the CEO of your studio,
you absolutely can do this. There are different ways of
doing this, but. This is what?
Works for me in my studio. So my studio I use a 12 month
billing model and I teach about 40 weeks per year.
I have one week for fall break and I'll October, which is
(06:31):
beautiful. I've never had a fall break
before, but I did this year and it was glorious.
I had two weeks for winter break, which might become three
weeks because winter depresses me.
Two weeks for spring break, which was awesome because one of
the weeks I got to go to the MTNA conference and then I got
to come home and just relax. That was wonderful.
I then have two weeks off beforesummer starts, which is
(06:54):
happening right now for me. Actually, I will have two weeks
off before fall starts. And then I also have two
floating flex weeks that are reserved for sick days, for
health days, conference weeks. You could do it for conference
weeks, really shaved cat emergency weeks, you know, the
the list goes on and on. These are the weeks that I have
(07:16):
reserved. They're not scheduled in the
calendar, but they're there in case I need to take it.
Also something else that might be a little controversial.
Actually, I know this is controversial, but this is what
I do and it makes me happy and it makes my studio families
happy. But each student receives 2
built in flex credits per year for them.
But it's built in, so that meansthat if a student needs to miss
(07:38):
a lesson due to illness, vacation, or whatever, it's
already accounted for. It's like a built in makeup
lesson. So if the student attends all
scheduled lessons, it's like receiving 2 bonus lessons for
free. Which is where the controversy
comes in. But like I said, it makes me
happy. It makes my students happy.
I almost feel like that can be acompletely other podcast for
(07:59):
another day. Not today anyway.
Those 10 weeks for me, they're off OK?
And they're still paid for because tuition is based on a
yearly value, not per lesson pricing.
I have time off to look forward to, plus the security of knowing
that if something comes up, I amcovered for at least two weeks,
just like if I was working a corporate gig.
(08:21):
The only thing about this cat ishe gets really, really cold.
So we're going to make him warm,keep them warm.
All of that on top of four performance class weeks.
And it's a pretty sweet schedule, if I do say so myself.
So what you would do is you would take what you would charge
for lessons for an entire year, divide it by 12 months, and that
(08:43):
gives you the monthly tuition for your families.
Now, if you run a school year model, say September to May, you
can still do this. You might offer 34 weeks of
lessons, include two to four flex weeks throughout the year,
and divide the tuition over ninemonths.
Then that way you can run summeras separate flexible, offering
whatever you want to do. The key is you need to plan your
(09:05):
flex weeks upfront, communicate them clearly, and you need to
stop feeling like you have to earn every dollar by cramming
more lessons into an already. Full life.
So yes, this is a raise. It's just not about charging
more per lesson. It's about working fewer weeks
and still bringing in consistentmonthly income.
But you know what? You can raise your rates and
(09:28):
build in a flex week or two and because it's spread over 12
months, the monthly tuition might stay nearly the same.
Actually, that is what I do I, So I'll just tell you right now
in the fall, I do plan on doing a 10% raise tuition raise, but I
am going to be adding another flex week.
So what happens is the tuition is really not going to change
(09:52):
monthly for the family. So to them, yeah, my, the rates
are raising, but they're not paying more per month.
And no, you don't have to be sneaky about it.
I don't plan on being sneaky about it.
I'm never sneaky about it. I'm completely upfront.
Just explain that you're refining your calendar and
tuition to support sustainability, reliability, and
your long term ability to serve your students.
(10:13):
Well, most families appreciate clear communication and
thoughtful planning. Because you deserve not to beat
in a dead horse, but you deservesome build in rest too.
You deserve some buffer room. You deserve to be able to
breathe. And you don't owe anyone an
apology for that. Stop apologizing.
One of the biggest shifts for mewas realizing that I don't have
(10:35):
to apologize for taking time off.
I run a professional studio and just like any salaried position,
I'm allowed time to rest, reset,or deal with a last minute paint
covered cat emergency. So if you've been looking.
For a way to work smarter 8 sustainable income and protect
your peas. I hope that this episode got
(10:56):
your wheels turning as you startthinking about your 20252026
calendar. Yeah, Can you believe it?
Can you? Like, are we really thinking
about that right now? Yeah, we are.
Anyway, as you start thinking about your 20252026 calendar, I
do have a free editable Canva calendar available at
www.scrappypianoteacher.com website.
(11:17):
Yep, I got a website up. It's pretty modest, but it's up
there. And the resources there too, and
it's completely free and there are other resources on there as
well. And as I continue, I'll be
adding more and more, so be sureto check it out.
If you're looking for some studio help, you can subscribe
as well. And I always send out all my
freebies. So keep teaching, keep learning,
(11:38):
keep building that studio that works for you, and get in those
flex weeks for next year. And with that, thanks for
hanging out with me and so for today and take care.
OK guys, you thought we were done, but we're.
Not done. So as I was telling you at the
very beginning of the episode, Ihad posted something on
Instagram about flex weeks. And.
(12:00):
I wanted to respond to a few of the most common we asked
questions that I was getting I had posted around the.
Time. That I had recorded this, I
don't remember if I did it before or after, but I had
posted something on Instagram mentioning flex weeks and I got
quite a few responses and questions and I really wanted to
(12:21):
address these. And yes, I am in my husband's
truck on a racetrack recording apodcast because that's what I'm
doing. But that's OK, Don't judge me.
We're scrappy, remember? OK, so back to your responses
and questions about flex weeks. They were so good.
They were so good. You guys always have all these
wonderful, juicy thoughts that Ihave to really, they really
(12:44):
challenged my brain. There was three of them that
really stood out that kept coming up.
So I wanted to address them. The first one was on
communicating this change to your studio, especially without
pushback. And I think this is a really,
really great question because it's such a real issue.
So here's my take on this. You need to communicate changes
(13:06):
as clearly as possible. I think that we all know that,
but it also needs to be as confidently as possible.
And I think that's some at timeswe tend to follow up with
questions like we'll make a statement such as this year
we'll have a flex week. What do you think about that or
(13:27):
does that sound OK to you? You know those.
Kind of clarifying. Questions.
And we really don't need them and we really don't want them.
So keep it short. Make it a.
Statement. This is what's happening.
And don't ask for permission because once we say things like
let me know what you think or I hope that's OK, it's going to
invite negotiation and it's yourbusiness.
(13:49):
We're not negotiating. It.
And even the kindest of your families that love you so much,
they will always lean toward what benefits them the most.
Because guess what? That's just human nature.
It's what we do. OK, What I do is I send a
beginning of the year e-mail. So I.
Include my updated. Philosophy, my studio calendar
(14:10):
and my policies. This is not the only place that
I put them, but there is like anactual here's an e-mail with all
the goodies. Save this e-mail for the year
and I will say something like you will note it if I'm if I am
increasing my tuition, I'll say you'll notice an increase in
tuition this year and we've alsoadded a flex week to the
(14:32):
calendar. This means the calendar reflects
one more week than what you're being charged for.
If I need to cancel due to illness or an emergency, we'll
use that flex week. No rescheduling or tuition
changes needed. Period done.
No apology, no over explaining. Just a professional update, when
you present changes like a confident leader like you are,
(14:56):
your families will follow your lead.
OK, Question 2, what you want tosay when you need to use a flex
week? This is such a real question.
I want you guys to imagine that it's February or March, let's go
to March and you have not used aflex week yet.
(15:18):
Look at you. Not getting sick for the whole
year, but your brain is kind of melting because you you really,
really, really just need a mental health week.
I want you to think about that because let's be honest, most of
us will cancel lessons without question if we have a fever or
if we are physically unable to teach again.
(15:41):
That's what flex weeks are for. OK, but going back to that, it's
March and you're just exhausted.Most of his teachers we're going
to try to push through. So here's my personal soapbox
moment. Your mental health matters.
Your capacity matters. You do not have to be.
Falling. Apart to justify taking a flex
week. Of course.
(16:01):
It's there for when you're sick or you have the flu, but if
you've built it into your calendar, you got to use it.
OK, use it. We're not giving away that week
for free, and when you do, again, keep it simple and keep
it a statement. I send a message similar to
something like. Hey, families.
(16:23):
This week's lessons will be cancelled and we'll be using one
of our reserved flex weeks. No need for tuition adjustments
or rescheduling. Keep up the great practicing and
I'll see you next week, OK? I never give them reasons.
I don't need to. And I'm very close with a lot of
my families. I mean, like my kids play with
their kids, but I don't need to give them a reason for why I'm
(16:44):
taking a week off. I don't need to give them an
explanation. And honestly, the more that you
normalize this, the easier it becomes for your families to
respect it too. And every now and then I will
get families say like, oh, I hope everything's OK, you know,
and I'll text back and be like, oh, yeah, it's great.
It's just, you know, I just got something's going on.
And that's not, I mean, it's nota big deal.
And then finally, the last thingthat I really wanted to talk
(17:08):
about was implementing Flex. Weeks mid year.
Or do you have to wait until fall?
I think this is a fantastic question actually.
Got me thinking about what I do because I'm like what do I do?
I always do fall personally. That's when I roll out big
changes like this at the start of the year.
I follow a 12 month calendar andI like everything to be clear
(17:30):
and consistent from the beginning.
So I like my calendar, tuition, policies, philosophy, all of it.
Some families are flexible, but others really value knowing what
to expect. That said.
If you're halfway through your. Year and just learn learning
about this concept so this podcast is airing in what month
is this May May of 2025. Let's say that you just listened
(17:51):
to this in November of 2025 and you're like, well, shoot, miss
that one, I mean. I don't think you have to.
Wait a whole year to try it. Here's what I think you can do.
Look at your remaining teaching weeks.
If you want to build in a flex week, now you.
Can but. I recommend being very
thoughtful about this. Ask yourself some questions like
(18:14):
will you keep tuition the same and teach one less week?
If so, you want to be transparent about that shift and
let families know that they're gaining a new built in benefit,
but they're paying the same. So in a way you just raised
rates. You don't want to be sneaky
about it. Remember, just be very
transparent about that. Or do you want to slightly
(18:36):
adjust tuition to reflect the reduced number of lessons?
So it will reduce reduce the monthly amount that you get, Not
by as much as you might think when you spread it out over the
course of the year, but that does give you time back without
feeling like you're taking something away from the
(18:57):
families. And it might not be a financial
raise, but remember the name of this podcast is the raise you
didn't know you needed because it's a raise in time, energy and
confidence. And remember, it doesn't have to
be permanent. You can test it mid year, then
roll out your full flex week andtuition model the next fall.
Does that make sense? I think that makes sense.
(19:17):
I just did a clarifying question.
Did you hear that? Don't ask clarifying questions.
So whether you are planning for next year or trying to make most
of the year you're in, guys FlexWeeks could be a total game
changer. I love them.
I love them so much. I hope that answering these
questions and answers helped youfeel a little bit more confident
(19:39):
in building a studio that works for you because I love you guys.
And you all deserve time. Space and systems that support
your real life and not just yourlesson schedule.
If you're going to work on your calendar now, don't forget
there's a free, editable Canva calendar over at my new website,
itsscrappypianoteacher.com. I'm slowly.
(20:01):
But surely transferring? Over.
All my resources. From my piano studio website,
whichispianocats.com, that's Cats with AK.
I'm trying to move those resources over to the scrappy
pianoteacher.com so it's easier for you guys to find them.
Lastly. If you're looking for a
collaborative partner to help you revise or rebuild a studio
model that fits your actual life, not just the look, not
(20:24):
just what looks good on paper, I'd love to help.
I'm putting. Together collaborative partner
packages. So if you're interested, let me
know and I will be more than happy to help you out.
In the meantime, keep teaching, keep learning, keep building the
city that works for you. And yes, get those flex weeks on
your calendar building yourself later.
(20:47):
Thanks for hanging out with me. At the race.
Car track. Today and.
With Swiffer in the main part ofthe podcast and take care.
I'll talk to you guys later.
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