Summarize the following:
Don’t spend all of your time outside of lessons making fully personalized lesson plans—instead, set up a lesson plan system and tailor it to your students as you learn more about them.  Have a library of materials such as chord handouts, songs, commonly used scale sheets, blank chord grids, and a set of fallback lessons.  Organize your system based on skill level. Teach your students some tips and tricks at the beginning to help them see progress early on. This will encourage them and give them the confidence to keep taking lessons.  For example, you could teach students basic scales so they can practice making up solo parts. You could also teach them a famous riff or the chords to their favorite song. Think of songs and riffs that people would play in a guitar store while checking out the guitars—songs that sound cool, but are deceptively easy. Group classes will cut down your hours and help you earn more money. A good group size is about eight people—with this number, you can make some extra money by charging per student, and you’ll still be able to give each student some one-on-one instruction.  Group lessons usually last forty minutes to an hour. Depending on the age range of your students, you may want to adjust the time for their attention span. Younger children tend to need breaks or shorter lessons. This style of class has a very different dynamic and may take some experience to master. Students may move along at different paces and become frustrated. Group classes generally work best for beginner or intermediate skill levels. Putting together a recital is a great way to motivate students, give them a goal to work towards, and reward them for their efforts. It also lets parents see what they’ve been paying for.  Tell the students about the recital several months in advance. Give them one or two songs to prepare and perform at the recital and consistently work on those songs with them. Invite your students’ families and tell students they can bring friends and extended family as well. Prepare some refreshments or ask parents to contribute some refreshments such as cookies and fruit beforehand. School auditoriums, churches, and senior centers are great location options for a recital. If you’re having a  hard time finding students in your area, try teaching through Skype. You can also use Skype when you take vacations or travel to maintain your current client base. Many guitar teachers feel like they can’t take a break or travel, so this is a great option to utilize. One downside to a career in teaching guitar is its unpredictability. Sometimes factors such as lesson cancellation, student turnover, and holiday lulls may mean that your income fluctuates from month to month. Start thinking of ways to supplement your income.  One option is to pre-record your lessons and then post them online and sell access to them. This will give you passive income and if it works, it will cut down the amount of time you’ll spend giving live lessons during the week.  You could also look for a part-time job as a contract guitar teacher at a school or college.
Create a systemized program. Help your students see progress quickly. Teach group lessons to make the most out your time. Arrange performances or recitals to motivate students. Teach online to expand your reach to potential customers. Consider ways to supplement your income.