Getting Down to Business: Exploring Business Structures that Provide Creative Flow
Tuesday 25th February 2025, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
Many singers begin teaching voice lessons early in their careers, even while completing their own studies. After all, you’ve taken voice lessons with your own teacher(s) for years and you already have a pretty good idea of how to teach functional warmups, vocalizes, and basic repertoire in various styles. It is tempting to simply announce yourself as a voice teacher and begin accepting voice students—anyone who wants to learn to sing better. Unlike other fields of study, no license, apprenticeship, certificates, degrees, or minimum requirements are needed to establish yourself as an independent “professional” voice teacher. That means that anyone can teach singing. And they do. Your goal is to stand out from the crowds (and TikTok influencers) and build your studio or creative business with knowledge, integrity, intention, and business acumen.
Some new voice teachers invest time and resources into exploring independent voice teaching business models before they begin accepting students. Others dive in and begin teaching, figuring it out as they go—learning from their mistakes and successes. Many, however, find themselves overwhelmed with the realities of founding and running an actual business. The truth is that unless your creative business or other income streams are sustainable, it will affect your ability to maintain your art and performance, as well as the quality of your life.
In this brief workshop, we’ll explore some strategies for planning, structuring, building, and growing your creative business, beginning with Who/What/Where/How and most importantly Why you wish to become a voice teacher or other creative business owner. We’ll touch on Basics of Business including banking, taxes, policies, procedures, onboarding (and offboarding) clients. (Yes, you are a service-based business, and your students are clients whether you refer to them that way or not.) We’ll highlight a few different business models and payment structures.
Once you’ve established your business, your potential voice students must have a way to find you. We’ll discuss networking, word of mouth, social media, blogs, client-facing websites, and other ways to create visibility and credibility for your studio. We’ll explore high tech and low-tech resources for studio management, scheduling, client databases, invoicing, accepting payments, do-it-yourself admin and when to hire virtual or onsite assistants.
When your business is sustainable, you can spend more time on your art, family and friends, hobbies, travel, and life interests.
🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
🎥 Recording automatically sent to all who book (even if you cannot attend live)
▶️ Rewatch as many times as you like
📜 Certificate of attendance available
Cynthia Vaughn
Cynthia Vaughn is a respected teacher/clinician, author, and performer with over forty years of experience, currently based in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. She taught at universities (Colorado State University, Cedarville College) for a decade, and founded and directed a multi-teacher studio for fourteen years.

Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
Learn MoreSorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.

Tuesday 22nd July 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 29th July 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 5th August 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 12th August 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 19th August 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 26th August 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Certificated Public Speaking Coach qualification - with John Henny

John Henny
Would you like to be a certified public speaking coach? Join the renowned John Henny for this exciting new online course! This six-week online certification course is designed to equip voice teachers with the specialised skills needed to work with public speakers, corporate trainers, educators, and presenters. Unlike a general public speaking course, this program is specifically tailored to train-the-trainer, giving voice professionals structured methodologies, coaching techniques, and applied skills to enhance vocal delivery, confidence, and influence in professional speakers.

Thursday 24th July 2025
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
(London Time)
Transitioning From Soprano To Mezzo-Soprano - Pedagogical Approaches!

Dr Caitlin Moore
This workshop will explore the considerations for transitioning from soprano to mezzo-soprano. We will examine the history and vocal science related to voice classification as well as interviews with singers and voice teachers. Interviews feature singers who have experienced this Fach change themselves, as well as voice teachers who have helped singers navigate this shift.


Tuesday 29th July 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Towards a Jazz Pedagogy: Lessons from Legends and Educators!

Dr Autumn Griffin
Join Dr Autumn Griffin as she explores the foundational tenets of jazz pedagogy as both a conceptual and practical framework for teaching, in this two-hour workshop. Drawing from her research in “Towards a Jazz Pedagogy: Learning with and from Jazz Greats and Great Educators,” she’ll investigate how jazz (its historical and cultural legacy, structure, improvisation, and relationality) can be mobilized to inform dynamic, liberatory educational practice!