170 - How One Teacher Built and Managed a 100-Student Program with Leah Drake

Today I’m talking with Leah Drake of Vibrant Valley Music Studio—a solo teacher running a 100-student group program in San Jose. Leah walks us through the messy middle of a major model shift: how she transitioned from private to groups over a year, navigated COVID, survived multiple space moves, and ultimately signed a long-term lease that forced clearer systems and smarter decisions.

We get into Leah’s why behind group teaching, the structure of her classes, and the operations that make a 100-student studio work—onboarding/offboarding, a VA, and digital tools that help families actually practice between lessons.

We had so much to cover that we actually split our conversation into two parts. Today’s episode focuses on Leah’s transition and systems, and in our next episode we’ll delve into the realities of space rental.

A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com/episode170.

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