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The school year is drawing to a close. If you have kids, you’re probably planning for their summer activities. But have you looked further into the future—to the day when your kids say “goodbye” to home and “hello” to the college dorm? And when that day arrives, will you be financially prepared to pay for their higher education? For the 2013–2014 academic year, the average cost (including tuition, fees, and room and board) was $18,391 for an in-state student at a four-year public college or university and $40,917 for a private school, according to the College Board. These costs ma

What would you say if I told you that you could bring in more customers for as little as $250? If this sounds like a good investment, you should consider hosting a themed recital. In the past few years, we’ve hosted dozens of themed recitals, and they’ve brought us solid—and often exciting—results. These events have flooded our store with people and rapidly boosted our reputation as a local center for music. In the process, we’ve helped build lasting customer memories, and our relationships with key community leaders have been strengthened. It’s become a win-win for our customers,

Don’t miss out on your next big seller! This fast-moving Breakfast Session features a roundup of the best products and services at Summer NAMM. Join Frank Alkyer, publisher of Music Inc. and UpBeat Daily magazines, and a panel of music retail experts as they reveal the best and brightest releases at the show. Find out about the gear that’s sure to be a big deal this holiday season, so you know what to check out before you leave Summer NAMM.

Susan Pascale is the founder and director of Pascale Music Institute, a nationally recognized children’s music lesson program and home of the Los Angeles Children’s Orchestra. In this series, she shares her proven ideas for building a successful lesson program. If you’re interested in growing your program, or starting one, learn from these tried-and-true best practices. They’ve worked for her. Find out how they can work for you. Step 1—Start Kids Early on Piano Step 2—Launch a Strings Program Step 3­—Create an Orchestra, and Why You Need One Step 4—Attract More Students ​Step 5—Ad

Whether the economy is strong or sluggish, it’s wise to keep a fiscal tight rein on your business. This will protect you during downturns and maximize your profitability in more stable times. Establishing a fiscally sound operation requires simple and long-term changes, but rest assured: There are steps you can take today to get started. Eat the elephant one bite at a time, so to speak. 1. Adopt an austerity mentality, where every penny counts. In his book “Retail Truths: The Unconventional Wisdom of Retailing,” Chip Averwater mentions that a retailer’s net profit after all expens

1. Prepare a budget. My favorite saying is “Hope is not a plan!” Just as you can’t build a house without a plan, you can’t build a profitable music retail operation without a roadmap. Learning to estimate revenues and expenses doesn’t have to be an overwhelming, complicated process, and it’s important in setting expectations for your staff, holding managers accountable and making sure you reach your financial goals. 2. Do a monthly, timely bank reconciliation.Even if you don’t prepare them, having accurate and timely bank reconciliations is important for maintaining good financial

In less than one minute, Tracy Leenman of Musical Innovations shares her big idea: Get involved in your local chamber of commerce. Leenman hosted a business after-hours event through her chamber of commerce in August 2012. The event brought 200 people to her store’s parking lot. “One band director ended up bringing his whole marching band,” she says. Her instrument rentals were up 20 percent from the previous year. “People have already asked us to schedule another business after-hours for this August.” ​Watch the video.

With 89 billion business emails sent each day, it’s tough to guarantee that any one email gets read—even one that has great content like yours. What’s a music retailer to do? At the 2014 NAMM Show, small-business guru Barry Moltz offered 10 ideas to help music stores stand out and ensure their emails get seen. Here are those 10 tips. Also, check out the video of the session for more specifics. 1. The title of the email. “My most popular email from last year was, ‘My wife thinks I’m having an affair,’” Moltz said. “That was the title. “The punchline to this was, ‘My wife thinks I’m

When was the last time you did a mirror test to make sure your business was still alive and breathing? With the rising influence of e-commerce and economic pressures, how do you keep your business relevant and focused? ​At the 2014 NAMM Show, Jeffrey Hayzlett—global business celebrity and host of Bloomberg Television’s “C-Suite”—offered no-nonsense marketing, management, sales and customer engagement techniques to help you surge ahead in today’s changing business climate. He asked the tough questions most business owners are afraid to ask and gave the answers you need to hear.

When was the last time you did a mirror test to make sure your business was still alive and breathing? With the rising influence of e-commerce and economic pressures, how do you keep your business relevant and focused? ​At the 2014 NAMM Show, Jeffrey Hayzlett—global business celebrity and host of Bloomberg Television’s “C-Suite”—offered no-nonsense marketing, management, sales and customer engagement techniques to help you surge ahead in today’s changing business climate. He asked the tough questions most business owners are afraid to ask and gave the answers you need to hear.

The opening session at the 2014 NAMM Show, Breakfast of Champions, explored the latest music industry breakthroughs. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond kicked off the session by urging everyone to continue seeking breakthroughs at their businesses in 2014. Highlights from the video: “Big changes can come along, often without any warning, and disrupt our way of doing business,” Lamond said. “I think it begs the question: What are the big breakthroughs of today? What are the changes that are altering the way we see and do business in 2014. “So this morning, I thought we’d explore tha

Surprise guest Smokey Robinson joins NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond during Breakfast of Champions at the 2014 NAMM Show. What follows is an up-close discussion about Robinson’s early musical life, the importance of music in the schools and why he still performs live. Robinson, a legendary singer, songwriter and producer, also received the music products industry’s highest honor, the Music for Life Award. Highlights from the video: “I grew up in Detroit,” Robinson said. “And I grew up in the hood. I grew up where it was hard-core. For me to be sitting here today with you and tal