If you feel like you are constantly drowning in admin tasks and never actually have time to work on the "money-making" tasks in your studio, it might be time for you to streamline your systems and get organised.
I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of an efficiency nerd. I love trialing new systems which promise to streamline my work processes, and love finding the best, most effective, and easiest way to do those boring admin tasks, leaving me free to work on the bits of my business that I really love. It was the same when I ran my studio - I was always looking for tools that could make my workload a little easier to handle!
One of the best things about the internet (aside from hilarious memes of course) is that there are just so many amazing tools to help make running your studio a million times easier. One of the worst things about the internet (aside from terrible people), is that there are just so many amazing tools to help make running your studio a million times easier! It can be overwhelming to know what is good, and what is a waste of time.
I’m something of an online organisation connoisseur, and I’ve tried most things that the internet has to offer when it comes to systems and tools for organisation, and here are my top 3, tried and tested.
1. ASANA
Asana is the entire hub for my businesses.
Everything I need, from client details to my daily tasks and important information all lives on my CEO Board in Asana. It’s what I use to allocate tasks to my team and to get an overview of everything that’s going on across my different projects. This one tool has replaced so many for me. I no longer need to scribble things on PostIt notes around my desk, or scramble around Google drive to find documents I need. I have everything, for every project saved on Asana and it’s always the first tab opened on my laptop every morning.
In a studio setting, it's the perfect tool for keeping track of leads and trial students, communicating with your teaching and admin teams, planning your concert (or any event) and even documenting your studio procedures and processes. You can even use it as a personal To-Do list (I do!).
Best of all it's free! (there are paid plans available but the free version has heaps of functionality and will give you everything you need).
Asana is really easy to use, and once you’ve set it up to work for you, it can be a huge time saver. Feel overwhelmed by the idea of setting up an entire project management system from scratch? We can help set it all up for you - we even offer a Studio Handbook Asana template so you can start documenting everything that happens in your studio from start to finish. It's an essential resource for your admin team and an incredible value add if you ever decide to sell your studio. Get in touch with us today to learn more.
2. GOOGLE WORKSPACE
If you don't already have Google Workspace, it will be a game-changer for your studio. This cloud-based productivity and collaboration platform pretty much does it all - from email management and document creation to spreadsheets, forms, file storage and even a website builder.
In a studio setting, Google Drive is a great way to store and share documents with both your team and your families. You can choose who can see your files or folders and then share the link with them via email, a link posted to your Facebook page or group or even straight to an app such as Band or Team. When I ran my studio we had one Google Drive folder for our team and one for families where we stored everything from lesson plans to music to class notes, WHS documentation and - during Covid - all of our online classes. You can create as many sub-folder as your storage allows (storage ranges from 15GB for free accounts to 2TB for $AUD12.49 per month).
Other tools included with Workspace include:
Google Forms - another great tool for studio owners - use it to create online forms and surveys with multiple question types and analyse results in real-time and from any device.
Google Sites - we used this to create a student "intranet" where we posted weekly news updates, linked to important files and posted class photos and videos
Google Calendar - you can get parents to subscribe to your studio calendar so they're always aware of upcoming dates.
Google Docs - a word-processing program, studio owners can use Docs to create notes, lesson plans and just about anything else you normally do using Word.
Google Slides - similar to PowerPoint, we regularly used Slides to create training presentations for our team and even senior Certificate in Dance classes.
... and the list goes on. Google Workspace is a paid platform and starts at $AUD8.40 per month.
3. STUDIO MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
No matter the size of your studio, you absolutely need a good studio management software. Gone are the days of keeping track of payments on one spreadsheet, attendance on another and student details in an overflowing ring binder.
These days there are a number of platforms available and many also offer a Parent Portal so your families can keep track of their accounts, make payments, keep up-to-date with studio news and even book in make-up lessons - all without you having to lift a finger!
If you're in the market for software for your studio, don't make a rushed choice. Start by identifying, defining, and prioritising the functional requirements your studio expects from class management software. If you're already using software but are looking at changing, take note which features you use the most, which features are missing and what reporting features would save you time and enable you to make better strategic decisions.
The market for studio management software is certainly competitive so make sure you look at all of the available platforms in your area and compare costs and features. Many will offer a free trial period so you can see if it's the right fit for your business and some will also offer a free set-up service - perfect for saving you time.
So, if I had to choose three tools to keep your studio organised and thriving, it would absolutely be Asana, Google Workspace and a good studio management software. But this month I've also come up with a list of 60 of my other favourite online tools that will make studio life a little bit easier and it's FREE. Click here to grab your copy today.
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