Guitar Lessons in Tulsa | Teaching Lessons with a Family
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Today we’re going to be talking about what it is like to have a family and work full time as a private music instructor. And one of the things that almost every one of my students mention as we take guitar lessons in Tulsa is a lot of students talk about how much they wish that they had been around music as much as my kids are when they were growing up. And although it’s true, my kids are around music all the time, it’s just something that they’re used to.
So they’re not thinking that it’s anything weird. They don’t think it’s anything strange to be in the house when guitar lessons in Tulsa are being taken. And with my kids, they really like music. They bounce around and they dance around when I’m playing music, which is always really fun, but it’s not anything that they’re not used to. Um, so certainly the benefit is the fact that they are just around music all the time. They like music, they enjoy taking lessons and hearing those lessons as they go through and do that. So with that being said, many of our instructors have met my kids.
They have met my wife and as the instructors come and they greet my kids, they think it is awesome. My kids smile and are always excited to see our instructors. In one of the previous articles that we had written, we described how much our instructors are awesome people and how they really do a great job at just being personable and interested in others. And so that even translates to not only their students but also to my kids. And so when we have our team meetings, our kids are there and it’s always exciting for my kids to come and meet the instructors and kind of hang out. So anyway, as far as the actual logistics of teaching guitar lessons in Tulsa around my kids, it’s a great experience for them. It’s great to see that their dad is able to impart music into others and they get to see that on a daily basis.
So that’s the benefit of teaching private lessons. I would say the biggest downside to teaching private lessons is that the hours are terrible. If you are planning to teach guitar lessons in Tulsa as a full time job to produce 100% of your income, then you are going to need to work a lot of different hours. So the majority of students are going to request a time between three 30 and six that’s only it, two and a half hour slot and so because of that you’ll pretty much have three 30 to six booked Monday through Friday and then you may be able to book in some adults after six or even some older kids, maybe middle school or high school age because younger kids are not going to be energetic enough and they’re not going to be able to pay attention if they’re guitar lesson. Tulsa is after seven o’clock that’s just because that’s typically their bedtime.
So the hours are not the best because if you, if you’re used to a nine to five job, then this is going to be very difficult for you. Not to mention I have never in my life worked eight hours straight from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM or 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM it just doesn’t work that way. You have some students in the morning, you have a break around the lunch and then you’ve got your afternoon lesson since and it just kinda depends on what your student body is like. If your students are all older, you may be able to have many more students in the morning and daytime, but the majority of people are either getting off of work, getting off of school, which means you will be working well into the evening. For about three years. I have worked until nine 30 on Mondays. I don’t get home until nine 30 on Mondays.
On Tuesdays I get home at eight 30 on Wednesdays I get home at eight 30 on Thursdays I get home at nine 30 or 10 but that’s also because of our weekly team meeting. And so during that weekly team meeting, my parents, sorry, my kids and my wife come to that team meeting. So at least I’m able to see them for a little bit. And then Fridays I’m usually done teaching around seven so seven o’clock is the earliest that I’m done in the entire week. Now Saturdays, we also do teach on Saturday and I work from 8:30 AM until three 30 so that is perhaps one of my longest stretches of music lessons. And that would be, that would be seven hours straight of teaching guitar lessons in Tulsa. And that’s great. It’s really not that bad. Um, especially because on a Saturday it’s kind of Nice to get done with work at three 30 and then I’ve got the whole weekend to hang out with my family. So really it’s, it is a downside. It’s a sacrifice that you will have to be willing to make if you decide that private lessons is indeed what you want to work on for the rest of your life. However, it’s a great job. You, you get many experiences with other people and I really do enjoy it. My kids love it. And furthermore, the American dream, if you will, is to work 40 hours a week, Monday through Friday and then have two days off on the weekend. And although that’s great, it really does set America up to be pretty lazy in my opinion.
I don’t think there’s any reason why we shouldn’t be willing to work six days a week. Now it doesn’t have to be a 60 hour week. But you know, by working six days a week you are able to provide more for your family. You are able to reach more students because not everybody is going to be able to fit within your timeframe of being able to teach guitar lessons in Tulsa. So working on weekends is one option that you may want to explore if you are interested in teaching lessons as a potential job. Not to mention a lot of people have multiple jobs. When I was growing up, my dad had his full time job where he works 40 plus hours a week and then on the weekends he would be a pizza delivery guy because he worked his butt off to provide for my family and he was willing to work more than five days a week. So if you’re planning on making private lessons, your job, I would encourage you to consider working six days a week.