How Becki Lewis Grew From Solo Teacher to an 18-Teacher Music School
Results at a Glance
What started with a few neighborhood piano students grew into a thriving music school. Learn how Becki Lewis of Lewis Music Studio uses My Music Staff to support approximately 350 students and a team of 18 teachers while keeping the personal feel that helped her studio grow.
From a Few Piano Students to a Growing Music School
When Becki Lewis first started teaching piano, building a music school wasn’t the plan.
She was still in high school when a parent in her neighborhood asked if she would teach their children. Becki agreed, picked up a few students, and discovered that she enjoyed teaching.
Years later, after working full-time, getting married, and becoming a stay-at-home mom, Becki returned to teaching when her family was looking for a little extra income around the holidays.
Her husband had a simple suggestion.
“Why don’t you just teach a couple piano students?”
A couple of students quickly turned into something much bigger.
A daycare where Becki had previously worked asked her to start a music program for their children. Parents began referring other families. More students signed up, and before long, her schedule was filling faster than she could manage on her own.
What started as a small side business eventually became Lewis Music Studio, a thriving music school outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Today, the studio serves approximately 350 students with a team of 18 teachers.
“I never thought it would get this big.”
When Growth Outpaced the Admin
In the early days, Becki managed her studio with the systems available to her.
Student information lived in paper folders. Attendance was tracked manually. Families paid through cash and checks. Every month, Becki sat down and handwritten invoices went out to her students.
With a small number of families, she could keep track of most of it herself.
As the studio grew, that became much harder.
“I don’t know how I kept track of who paid and who didn’t pay.”
Becki carried a physical organizer filled with student information and contact sheets. If a family changed a phone number or paperwork went missing, finding the right information could become a challenge.
Then there were the monthly invoices.
“I remember one of the most frustrating things that I got to stop doing was sitting down every month and handwriting all of those invoices.”
For a while, Becki could rely on her memory to fill in the gaps. She knew her students, their schedules, and which families had paid.
But there was a limit to how far that could scale.
“I can remember things pretty well up to a certain point. Once I get to a certain point of lots of people, I start forgetting.”
As Lewis Music Studio continued to grow, Becki needed a better way to keep everything organized.
Finding a System That Could Grow With Her
Becki wasn’t actually searching for studio management software when she discovered My Music Staff.
At the time, she was running a small music blog when someone from the My Music Staff team reached out and asked if she would be interested in reviewing the software.
She decided to give it a try.
What stood out wasn’t one individual feature. It was finally having the different parts of her studio connected in one place.
“I think just having everything in one place.”
Instead of juggling separate systems for schedules, attendance, student information, invoices, payments, and contact details, Becki had one place to manage the day-to-day operations of her growing studio.
And as Lewis Music Studio changed, the way she used My Music Staff changed with it.
Features that were useful when Becki was an independent teacher became even more important as she added students, hired teachers, and took on the responsibilities of running an entire music school.
Online payments made it easier for families to pay. Centralized student and scheduling information helped keep a growing team organized. Administrative tools gave Becki more structure as the studio became more complex.
She didn’t have to replace her systems every time the business reached another stage of growth.
Going From Teacher to Studio Owner
As Lewis Music Studio grew, Becki’s role changed too.
Teaching students was no longer her only responsibility.
She was hiring and supporting teachers, overseeing schedules, managing hundreds of student accounts, communicating with families, and making sure her team had the information they needed.
Managing a studio with 18 teachers and 350 students required a very different approach than teaching a few piano students on her own.
Having the right systems in place helped make that transition possible.
“We especially grew after the pandemic. But we wouldn’t have gotten to this point had we not had the system.”
For Becki, growth wasn’t only about bringing more students through the door. The studio also needed the infrastructure to support those students once they arrived.
With My Music Staff handling much of the administrative side of the business, Lewis Music Studio had a foundation that could support its growing community of teachers, students, and families.
Giving Families More Control
With hundreds of students, Becki couldn’t personally manage every routine request that came through the studio.
Families needed an easier way to handle everyday tasks on their own.
Through the My Music Staff Parent Portal, families can manage cancellations and makeups, review account information, register for programs, and access important studio information without having to contact Becki for every change.
That flexibility has been especially valuable for scheduling.
“A lot of parents, when they find out they can just cancel a lesson and reschedule it right then and there on their own, they really love that.”
Instead of coordinating every cancellation or makeup herself, Becki can receive a notification once the family has already taken care of it.
“They took care of it, delete it, it’s good.”
One schedule change might only save a few minutes. Across approximately 350 students, those small efficiencies can make a big difference.
Creating a More Professional Studio Experience
The transformation of Lewis Music Studio isn’t only visible in its size.
It’s also visible in the experience the studio can provide.
When Becki first started teaching, it was a side job that brought in some extra income. Today, families interact with an established music school with organized payments, consistent communication, accessible student information, and clear systems for teachers and staff.
“Now, I think my studio looks like a professional place.”
That professionalism helps create consistency as the studio grows, but Becki hasn’t lost sight of the relationships that helped build the business in the first place.
“I try to stay very personal and know as many of the families as I can.”
That’s where having the right systems makes a difference.
Instead of spending her time handwriting invoices, searching through paper records, or coordinating every routine scheduling request, Becki can spend more of it supporting her teachers, connecting with families, and continuing to grow the studio.
“We especially grew after the pandemic. But we wouldn’t have gotten to this point had we not had the system.”
What Becki relies on most
Building a Studio That Can Keep Growing
Becki never set out to build a 350-student music school.
What started with a few neighborhood piano students grew through referrals, new opportunities, and years of building relationships with families in her community.
But as the number of students grew, the business behind the lessons had to grow too.
My Music Staff gave Becki a central place to manage the administrative side of Lewis Music Studio as it evolved from a small teaching business into a team of 18 teachers serving hundreds of students.
Today, she has the systems to support the studio she’s built while keeping the personal experience that helped it grow in the first place.
And after years of growth, Lewis Music Studio still has room for whatever comes next.
Ready to spend more time teaching?
See how My Music Staff can help simplify scheduling, billing, lesson notes, and studio administration in one connected place.
English
French
Japanese
Spanish
Dutch
German
