208: Success online with flute teacher Dr. Katherine Emeneth

Have you met Dr. Katherine Emeneth online or in person? She is the founder of KE Creative, a digital company that focuses on the business education and empowerment of classical musicians. She and her team coach classical musicians on how they can create a full time living by staying in the craft through understanding finances, learning music entrepreneurship skills, and how to effectively build a network. Katherine teaches privately through her studio, the Georgia Flute Academy, and enjoys performing with various ensembles in the southeast. A few links for you: Book a Call with Jaime http://callwithjaime.com Connect with Jaime on Instagram https://www.Instagram.com/jaimeslutzky/ Connect with Jaime on Facebook https://m.me/jaimeslutzky/ Connect with Katherine on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/katherineemeneth/ Connect with Katherine on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/katherineemeneth Classical Musicaneer FB Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/classicalmusicianeer Katherine’s Website https://www.katherineemeneth.com/ Katherine is one of the OGs in the online music education space… she continues to provide in person lessons, play professionally AND has a thriving online business. This should be a reminder that online business is viable for a lot of music teachers and that we don't have to stop doing one thing in order to do something else! Katherine’s aha moment came from the realization that as long as she was playing, volunteering, and teaching flute, then that was all she really needed to make an impact on the world. She didn’t need a tenure position, like she had thought. And one of her gifts is being able to get a music studio off the ground – she did it in her hometown and she’s done it again after moving. She’s become a pro at this… which is good because as she says: “My number one favorite thing is teaching kids.” Katherine’s online course The Music Teacher’s Playbook is a 14-week class where she teaches people how to grow a successful private studio from nothing, just as she’s done. She’s been teaching this course live online for the past 6 years. It's great that we have teachers like Katherine who are creating opportunities for other teachers to be able to follow in their footsteps… the business side of the music education space is one of the least taught and most needed aspects of the industry. (Check back next week for another great episode that touches on the business side too!) And just like everything in business, Katherine has evolved what she offers online, how she shows up and her approach to working with her students. Katherine also shares with us some super helpful exercises and tips to get you thinking about why now is the right time to act on your ideas and get your online music course going – this part is a must-listen! Can I make you think for a couple of minutes? You have so much talent and skills that are needed for the next generation of musicians and as next step for musicians already on their paths… What are you the expert in? What topics are your students interested in? Draw up an outline – and act on it! Katherine says, “If you're ready to do it then just do it, just get it out there and see what happens because the longer it stays in your head then the more time you're allowing you to talk yourself out of doing it.” Just as we need to act on the ideas, we also need to be okay with being uncomfortable putting ourselves “out there” online… Be exclusive and not inclusive, because you're not going to please everyone! And that's okay! I’ll leave you here with the same statement that Katherine leaves on the podcast: You can do whatever you want in your life. There are no rules. There are no boundaries. Whatever you think you were taught in school about, you can't do this until you do this or you can't charge this until you do that. That does not exist. That is not a thing. You create your own rules in your own endeavors and you decide what you're going to do based on what you want to do if you want to go for it and put something out there and you know, be vulnerable, then you should do that for sure. And I find that, you know, a lot of people don't put things out because they're scared of what other people will think. But my big advice for that is if you believe in it strongly enough, it doesn't even matter what other people think because you're 100% behind it. So do it anyway. Make it exclusive instead of inclusive. Help me thank Katherine for her time by leaving a rating and review for this episode and sharing it with your flute and music teacher friends! It's time! Round 3 of the Online Music Course Accelerator is open for application. Click here for details.