Thinking about starting a instructing business

labbadabba

labbadabba

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labbadabba
Two things I love, Music and Flying.

Opening a music learning studio (voice, piano, guitar, winds, strings) with a side business as a CFI. There isn't a huge cross-over but the nice thing is music lessons are hot and heavy during school months and flying is hot and heavy during the summer months.

I ran a music center before and we always got killed in the summer time. Figure I could find a retail space close to a GA airport so I could do my ground instruction and maybe have a non-certified Flight Sim on the premises.

Like I said there isn't much cross-over between flying students and music students but it would be a way of off-setting some of the costs. The margins in the music lesson business are actually pretty high since there's not much overhead.

Stupid idea? DOA business proposition?
 
No crossover between aviation and music? Have you never heard a big radial sing?
:D
 
Is your goal to actually make money and support yourself? If so, part-time instruction isn't going to do it. If your goal is to bring in a few extra bucks every month that you don't really need to rely on to live, good gig.

The real money in instructing comes from doing "specialty" work, like mentor pilot gigs and insurance checkouts in high-performance types. You'll struggle to make much doing vanilla primary instruction on a part-time basis.
 
If you pull it off, let me know and I'll come "retire" with you. B.A. in vocal performance and aspiring CFI.
 
Are you sure there isn't any crossover?

In my big band trombone section, two of us are regular pilots, a third is lapsed (and a former FBO ramper) but expressing renewed interest, and a regular sub is a retired tower controller.

I've often compared learning to fly to learning a musical instrument. There is a big difference in the cost of practice, but it's otherwise rather similar.
 
I know a gentleman who runs a flight school and a dance studio. Similar seasonal dynamic as the music lesson business.

I started the conversation with my wife with 'honey, I finally found a dance instructor'.
 
bradg33 said:
Is your goal to actually make money and support yourself? If so, part-time instruction isn't going to do it. If your goal is to bring in a few extra bucks every month that you don't really need to rely on to live, good gig.

The real money in instructing comes from doing "specialty" work, like mentor pilot gigs and insurance checkouts in high-performance types. You'll struggle to make much doing vanilla primary instruction on a part-time basis.
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Well, hopefully the idea would be to instruct full time whether it's music or flying.

Getting tired of the desk job....

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk
 
labbadabba said:
Well, hopefully the idea would be to instruct full time whether it's music or flying.

Getting tired of the desk job....

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk
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Why don't you start a flying music business :D

I totally understand about the desk job....It's not made for humans!
 
I have looked into a lot of aviation businesses and their inner workings. I currently own my own company now (non aviation related) I and know in a few years (if not sooner) will be ready for a change...and have developed a passion for aviation as well and would love to merge the two.

It is a bit of a supply and demand issue. I have yet to see any GA aviation businesses that aren't always on the brink or close to it...mainly cuz there is a diminishing demand of new pilots and there is an increasing supply of people like you and I who would like to make aviation a business.

To be successful you need to find a need that is not currently being met or get into a specific specialty filed that is not already being serviced. Doing ground schools and sims is easy...if there was a high demand for those services, existing FBO's would probably already be doing them.
 
Shawn said:
I have looked into a lot of aviation businesses and their inner workings. I currently own my own company now (non aviation related) I and know in a few years (if not sooner) will be ready for a change...and have developed a passion for aviation as well and would love to merge the two.

It is a bit of a supply and demand issue. I have yet to see any GA aviation businesses that aren't always on the brink or close to it...mainly cuz there is a diminishing demand of new pilots and there is an increasing supply of people like you and I who would like to make aviation a business.

To be successful you need to find a need that is not currently being met or get into a specific specialty filed that is not already being serviced. Doing ground schools and sims is easy...if there was a high demand for those services, existing FBO's would probably already be doing them.
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To this point, for the OP, I'm not sure the Lawrence and/or Kansas City-area market has much in the way of unmet demand. At least one local flight school closed in the not-too-distant past, and I don't think the others are going gangbusters by any means.
 
Looking at the bills for my kids music lessons, I'll get in on that racket before I start a flight school ;-)

Oh, and a ballet academy :rofl:
 
I guess I'm really just trying to justify buying an airplane with a SBA loan...

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk
 
John Denver was a pilot. And some guy named Bruce Dickinson has been known to fly some little planes....:)
 
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Sure you can make money doing it, try not to buy anything until you have proof of concept.
 
labbadabba said:
Two things I love, Music and Flying.

Opening a music learning studio (voice, piano, guitar, winds, strings) with a side business as a CFI. There isn't a huge cross-over but the nice thing is music lessons are hot and heavy during school months and flying is hot and heavy during the summer months.

I ran a music center before and we always got killed in the summer time. Figure I could find a retail space close to a GA airport so I could do my ground instruction and maybe have a non-certified Flight Sim on the premises.

Like I said there isn't much cross-over between flying students and music students but it would be a way of off-setting some of the costs. The margins in the music lesson business are actually pretty high since there's not much overhead.

Stupid idea? DOA business proposition?
Click to expand...

Get a place big enough to rent as rehearsal space.
 
labbadabba said:
I guess I'm really just trying to justify buying an airplane with a SBA loan...

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I spend an inordinate amount of time doing this. More trying to make it a tax deduction than the SBA loan, though.
 
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