Writing · for studio owners
The back-office reading list.
Essays and how-to guides on scheduling, policies, invoicing, and the small-business side of teaching music. Written by people who’d rather be teaching too.
- 9 min readpricing, payments, studio ops
Why Stripe is the wrong default for a 6-student studio (and what works instead)
The first thing every billing tool aimed at independent music teachers asks you to do is connect Stripe. Segnoly is no exception in the abstract — lib/stripe-connect.ts exists and is the path most…
Read → - 10 min readpricing, studio ops, billing automation
When Studio plan beats Pay-as-you-earn — the break-even math on a 17-student studio
I get a version of this email about once a week from teachers on the Segnoly waitlist: "I'm at 14 students, growing toward 20 by September. At what point should I switch from Pay-as-you-earn to…
Read → - 9 min readstudio ops, cancellations, billing automation
Why one vocal coach makes $300–400 a month from cancellations — and most music teachers don't
In September 2018, a vocal coach named Brittney T. left a review of the Fons billing app on Capterra. One sentence in it has been doing more work in my head, for longer, than any other line in the…
Read → - 11 min readstudio ops, late payments, billing automation
I read every public music-teacher forum thread about late payments. The one from 2008 designed Segnoly's reminder schedule.
In September 2008, a piano teacher posting on the Piano World forum under the handle Dark Dragon wrote this: "I currently have one former student who owed me $630+ since April. I'm owed between…
Read → - 9 min readpolicies, studio ops, cancellations
The 2026 music teacher cancellation policy guide (with a free template)
Every music teacher I've ever talked to has had the same bad week. A parent cancels their kid's lesson an hour before it starts. You've already turned down another student for the slot. The week…
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