Music teacher Kay Charlebois spends her summers providing private music lessons to elementary through high school students. She began offering the lessons to just a few of her public school students who wanted to continue to work with her over the summer. By the second year, Kay realized that tutoring could provide her an excellent opportunity to supplement her public school teacher's salary while continuing to do something she loved.

That second summer, she printed flyers on her home computer advertising her services which she hung on community bulletin boards, and passed out after her church choir practices. She even had them included as bag-stuffers in a local instrument repair shop. She doubled the number of regular students she had that summer, but she knew she could do better. By the time the school year started, Kay had a number of regular clients who continued their sessions one evening per week.

As the school year ended, Kay received several calls from former students who wanted to begin their summer sessions again. Kay knew she could almost teach full-time during the summers, if only she could fill her schedule. A friend suggested that she engage a telephone answering service to help her.

"An answering service," Kay recalls, "seemed so far-fetched. I mean, I just teach music lessons out of my house. I didn't really see a need for it." Fortunately Kay's friend, an office manager, convinced her to give it a try. "I had no idea how many people I was missing," Kay said.

"If I went to the store, or out to lunch with a friend, I missed calls. I just assumed that people would leave a message. But they didn't. I know that to me, it was just music lessons from my home. What I learned later was that people liked the atmosphere, but when they called, they expected somebody to be there, like a business. They expected that first call to be business-like. They came to appreciate the hominess of it later. I never really considered those things when I got started."

That third summer, Kay was able to fill her entire schedule - thanks to the answering service. She earned about a third of her total year's salary during her summer ‘vacation’ from her home.

"I would never have believed that something that seemed so 'professional' to me could have made such a difference. I've got enough business now that I can limit my students to elementary-aged kids. I've enjoyed all my students, but the young kids have such an enthusiasm when things start to click. I just wish I'd tried that answering service sooner. If it wasn't for my friend's advice, I don't know if I'd have ever been able to be this successful."

Learn more about telephone answering services and discover how the might be able to help you.