Life-Work Balance:
Is it Time to Hire an Assistant?

Andrea Miller

MTNA Business Digest, Volume 3, Issue 3

April 2024

As music teachers and studio owners, we often wear many hats. We plan lessons, research new music, answer phone calls and emails, maintain our websites, do bookkeeping, keep up with social media, promote new programs, practice, attend conferences and workshops, plan recitals and more. Overwhelmed? Overscheduled?

When we start building our studios, we often have to do everything ourselves because if we don’t, it doesn’t get done! We become very capable at doing all the tasks required to keep our studios on track, and we may even enjoy the variety of work.

Even still, sometimes it gets to be too much.

How I Decided to Hire an Assistant

For me, I knew it was time to hire help when my days were filled to the brim managing the day-to-day routine tasks and I couldn’t make progress on the activities and projects that would really drive the business forward.

I had done all I could to “work smarter” and optimize my time. I found myself working on weekends instead of enjoying other activities. I saw vacations as opportunities to get caught up (or do the work I couldn’t cram into normal weeks) rather than taking a much-needed break and being refreshed.

Eventually I realized that no amount of working “smarter” would change my situation, and I needed to fundamentally change my approach. I needed to find someone to help.

Maybe you can relate.

When to Hire an Assistant

Do you feel like you’re managing your time well and things are still piling up or creeping into your personal time, and you’re beginning to feel burnt out?

Have you been telling yourself you’ll do that (fill in the blank) project “when you find the time” and months or even years have gone by and that elusive “free time” has never surfaced?

Maybe you prioritized the big projects, only to have the routine tasks pile up because you just don’t seem to have time to keep up with both?

Or (you can be honest) maybe some responsibilities are piling up because you’d simply rather not do them at all!

If so, it may be time to hire an assistant.

What an Assistant Can Do for You

Assistants can help with a myriad of tasks and projects. These are just a few ideas to get your delegation juices flowing!

Administrative: onboarding new students, collecting testimonials, ordering music and lesson supplies, responding to new student inquiries, scheduling lessons.

Finance: tracking income and expenses, setting up auto-payments for new students, collecting payment information for expired credit cards, regularly auditing studio expenses to find potential cost savings.

Social media and website: creating graphics, writing captions, scheduling content, maintaining studio website.

Seasonal: producing the schedule for the school year, organizing recitals, creating programs, booking venues for performances.

Imagine a world where you no longer had to do these tasks!

Where to Find an Assistant

Hiring an assistant may seem daunting at first, but a qualified candidate might be closer than you realize.

Family and friends. I almost always start my search for assistants with family and friends. This has worked well for me, but it’s not for everyone. When hiring any assistant, keep in mind that, during the course of your working relationship, you will likely need to provide feedback or have uncomfortable conversations with this person. If the idea of navigating these mixed personal/professional relationships makes you nervous, you might want to look elsewhere.

Current or former students. A high school or college-age student from your studio can also make a good assistant. These students are already used to seeing you as an authority figure, so even though you have an existing relationship it’s usually not hard to have the professional rapport you need for a good working relationship.

Social media. Posting a job listing on your own social media networks and in online groups can produce high quality candidates because you’re advertising to an audience that is probably already familiar with your business and cares about your mission.

Local job boards. Colleges, libraries and community centers often have physical job boards where you can post a job listing. This can be an especially good option if you prefer someone who is local to your area.

Online marketplaces for freelancers. You can find generalist and specialist assistants at every level on websites like Upwork.com. Upwork also takes care of the required tax filings for contractors who are paid through the website, which simplifies the tracking and paperwork you would otherwise need to do on your own.*

What to Look for in an Assistant

The skills to look for in an assistant will depend on what tasks you want them to handle. Before considering candidates, make a list of all the tasks an assistant could take off your plate and think about the skills they will need to do those tasks.

I generally look for someone who is organized, can be trusted to manage their own task list and communicates professionally both verbally and in writing. (This last one is especially important for an assistant who will interface with students or clients). You might also look for someone who is familiar with the tools, software and apps you use to run your business or someone who has specialized skills in social media, bookkeeping, copywriting, etc.

When choosing an assistant, I also pay attention to the skills and expertise the individual has that I do not have. Someone with a complementary skill set might approach problems differently, and that’s not a bad thing. Often these unique skills allow the assistant to contribute and move the business forward in ways I could not do on my own.

How to Train an Assistant

To prepare for your new assistant, make a list of all the tasks you want them to take on and create processes, checklists, or training videos for how to complete the tasks.

Keep in mind that even the best assistants are not mind readers. The more specific your instructions, the easier it will be for them to understand what you want and produce the desired outcomes.

When you first start working with an assistant, don’t be surprised if you end up spending significantly more time training them on tasks than it would take for you to do the task yourself.

The assistant will have questions you didn’t anticipate and there will likely be misunderstandings. Take the time needed to clarify your instructions and coach your new assistant through the process to get the results you want.

This is a normal and vitally important part of developing an assistant. It can be hard to set aside this time when you already feel maxed out, but it is an investment that will generate dividends well into the future.

Expect it to take 3–6 months for an assistant to be fully competent in their work, depending on the quantity and complexity of tasks you’re asking them to do. Not only are they learning to be your assistant, but you are also learning to be their manager. It usually takes some time to get the communication figured out and that’s O.K.

Finally, once your assistant is trained, don’t abandon them! Setting regular times to check in on their work, answer questions, do additional training and, most importantly, keep a pulse on how satisfied they are with their work will increase the likelihood of developing a mutually beneficial long-term relationship.

Benefits of Working with an Assistant

While hiring and managing an assistant is not without its challenges, it also brings many benefits:

More time to do revenue-generating activities. Taking on more students or developing an additional revenue stream!

More time to do other things you enjoy. Mentoring other teachers, pursuing personal hobbies, spending time with family and friends—even taking time off without returning to a backlog of work!

Increased hourly rate. This one may come as a surprise. While you will spend money paying an assistant, your hourly rate across all your work hours (teaching and administrative) will go up if your assistant is truly taking responsibilities off your plate. Here’s how:

• Scenario A. Let’s say your hourly teaching rate is $100/hr. If you spend 20 hours teaching each week and 5 hours on administrative work. You earn $2,000 for 25 hours of work (or $80/work hour).
• Scenario B. Now consider you teach the same amount, but you have an assistant who works 5 hours/week at $20/hr. (for a total of $100/week). You still have 1 hour of administrative work each week.
• Now you are netting $1,900 for 21 hours of work or $90.48/work hour. You’ve just given yourself a 12% raise and reduced your work hours by 15%!

Establishing a stronger business. Stepping back and empowering an assistant to be effective in their role will naturally force you to systematize your business so it doesn’t rely solely on you to make things run.

Personal and professional growth. Learning to delegate and work through an assistant will help you grow as a leader and communicator. If you approach the manager/assistant relationship with openness and curiosity you will be both humbled and enriched.

Conclusion

Trying to do everything yourself can be frustrating and exhausting. If you feel like you’re stuck in a cycle of overwork, hiring an assistant is a solution to consider.

It’s worth investing the time upfront to carefully hire, prepare for and train a new assistant. A well-trained and supported assistant can reduce your workload, help reclaim time to work on other things, improve the monetary return on your work hours, promote your personal growth as a business owner, help you build a stronger business, and enable you to explore new opportunities.

While you might initially hire an assistant to lighten your workload, it can end up being rewarding on many levels. Who knows what opportunities await you and your business on the other side!

*Disclaimer: When hiring an assistant, you’ll have to decide whether to classify them as an independent contractor or as an employee. Regulations on worker status are nuanced and vary widely by state. Consult with an accountant or lawyer about how to structure the legal arrangement with your assistant.

Andrea Miller is the piano teacher and entrepreneur behind the Music Studio Startup podcast and blog. She talks about all things business and coaches musicians who want to build financially sustainable studios.