Chrissy Ricker
  • Home
  • Publications
    • Piano collections
    • Pop & rock arrangements
    • Video game arrangements
    • Vocal music
    • Instrumental music
  • Search
    • Search my catalog!
  • About
  • Blog
  • Free Stuff
  • Contact

On Travel Teaching, Part Two

7/15/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
In my last post HERE I discussed the pros and cons of travel teaching and why I decided to become a part-time travelling piano teacher. Today, I will be sharing tips from my own experiences as a travel teacher that will help you to maximize your time, your income, and make both you and your piano families happy with the in-home lesson experience.

Tip #1: Set your price to take into account travel time. 

Like I mentioned in my last post, you most likely won’t be able to see as many students in a day of travel teaching as you would at a studio. I plan on 10-15 minutes of travel time between houses so that I have a buffer in case of traffic. This also gives me time to pack up my materials and chat briefly with parents about what we covered in the lesson on my way out the door.

However, this doesn’t mean that you have to take a pay cut in order to travel teach! My advice is to decide how much income you would like to bring in for a typical day of teaching, and divide by the number of students you would reasonably be able to travel to in one day. For example, if you charge $25 for a 30-minute lesson at your home studio, and you can see 10 students in one afternoon of teaching at your home, your target income would be $250 per day. In an afternoon of travel teaching, you may only be able to fit in 7 or 8 students, taking into account travel time between lessons. That means you would need to charge $30-35 per lesson to make an equivalent amount for a day of travel teaching. 

Don’t be afraid to charge what you are worth! Parents appreciate the convenience of having a teacher come to their home for lessons, and you are saving them time and gas money by travelling to them. Many years ago, when I was new to travel teaching, I apologized to a parent for having to increase my fee to cover travel expenses. She replied, “Don’t be silly! I would spend more than that in the drive-thru at McDonald’s if we had to drive somewhere else for piano lessons after school!” For this mom, the convenience of being able to come home and cook dinner while her kids had piano lessons in the next room outweighed the difference in cost.

Tip #2: Group your students according to location. 

This is the best way to maximize your income and make travel teaching the most efficient. In my case, I travel to two specific areas--one on Wednesdays and one on Thursdays. I tell parents that I will only travel to a neighborhood if I have at least 3 interested students (4 or more is even better!). I have found parents are more than willing to spread the word by advertising on their neighborhood Facebook page or on the Nextdoor app so that I have enough students in one area to make it worth my while to travel there.

Tip #3: Keep track of your mileage when you travel teach. 

In my case, business travel to my clients is tax deductible, and those miles really add up! I have found that by keeping records and deducting my mileage as a business expense it completely offsets what I am spending on gas for the days I travel teach. (Disclaimer: I am not an accountant--so check with a CPA where you live to see what rules would apply in your situation!)

Tip #4: Use a dedicated travel bag to organize your teaching materials. 

I use a large tote bag with lots of pockets, and I keep it stocked with pencils, highlighters, extra assignment sheets, a binder with extra worksheets, stickers, tissues--anything that I think I might need on the days I travel teach. I keep a second set of these items in my home studio so that I don’t have to worry about forgetting anything essential on the days I travel to lessons. I also have an iPad with lots of apps and digital sheet music--which saves me from needing to carry extra books or games to my lessons. (I blogged about how I use my iPad in lessons HERE.)

Tip #5: Have a firm policy regarding make-up lessons and no-shows. 

While you might have a generous make-up policy for your home studio, make-ups become a trickier issue when you travel to teach. It usually isn’t practical or efficient to drive out to do a make-up lesson for one student. Come up with a clear policy that details how you will handle cancellations and what you will do if you arrive at a home and the student isn’t there (which happens!). In my studio, I offer group make-up classes at my home that are regularly scheduled throughout the year, so both my travel students and my home studio students have a chance to attend whichever classes fit their schedule. If a student isn’t home when I arrive for a travel lesson, I text the parent to confirm the lesson time, and I wait a maximum of 15 minutes for the student to show. There are no refunds or rescheduled lessons if a student isn’t home at their lesson time.

Tip #6: Communicate your expectations regarding potential distractions and parental involvement during lessons.

One of the pros of teaching from your home studio is that you have control over the environment and can set up your studio in a way to minimize distractions. Unfortunately, when you travel to teach this isn’t always possible. The piano may be in the same room as the TV, or there may be pets or siblings in the home that want to be part of the lesson--even when they aren’t particularly welcome! Make parents aware that students need to be ready for their lesson at the appropriate time, with no distractions from electronics. Siblings should ideally wait in another room during the lesson. 

At the conclusion of the lesson, I like to communicate with the parent to let them know what we covered in our lesson--and to make them aware that I am leaving their home so that young students aren’t left unattended. You might also want to address in your policy whether or not you are comfortable teaching a child in their home without a parent or other adult present.

What do you think? Do you currently travel to students’ homes for lessons? Any tips you would like to share on travel teaching? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Chrissy Ricker is a pianist, teacher, and composer from North Carolina. These are her thoughts on teaching, composing, and all things music.


    Looking for teaching ideas related to a specific topic? Use the "search" feature or scroll down to see blog posts organized by category!

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016

    Categories

    All
    2 Minute Teaching Tips
    Active Listening
    Composer Focus
    Composition
    Duets
    Ear Training
    Easter
    Fall/Halloween
    Free Stuff
    Friday Funny
    Games
    Group Classes
    Holiday Music
    Lesson Planning
    Living Composers
    Memorization
    Music For One Hand
    Music History
    Musicianship Monthly
    NFMC Selections
    Online Lessons
    Patriotic Music
    Performing
    Pop Arrangements
    Practicing
    Professional Development
    Repertoire
    Rhythm
    Rote Teaching
    Saint Patrick's Day
    Sight Reading
    Sports Themed Resources
    Summer
    Summer Challenge Calendars
    Technique
    Technology
    Thanksgiving
    Theory
    Tips For Teens
    Transposition
    Travel Teaching
    Valentine's Day
    Wedding Music
    Young Beginners

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe to my monthly newsletter to stay informed about my latest publications and free teacher resources. Once you subscribe below, a fresh newsletter will be delivered to your inbox on the first of each month!

    *Your email will never be shared or used for any other purpose besides this once-monthly newsletter, and you may unsubscribe at any time by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of your newsletter email. 

Subscribe
 © ​Copyright 2016-2025 Chrissy Ricker. All Rights Reserved.
Photos from hyekab25, Giancarlo - Foto 4U, geraldbrazell, djordjemiladinovich, Rosmarie Voegtli, barnimages.com, brownpau, magicatwork, wuestenigel