I have a 14 year-old cousin.
My cousin's mom was wanting me to tutor him once a week for 30 min or 1 hr. Not sure when we would start, but she said she would pay me. He's just beginning, though he does know a few chords. What should I charge in case his mom asks me? I don't wanna charge too much, but not too little either. They are family and it would be fun, I think.

Suggestions? I use USD.
Thanks.
Brandon

Transfered from european currency , here it starts around 15 usd an hour to 40 usd an hour

It's always a difficult call when family and charging for certain things is involved.

I guess it would depend on how close you are to those particular family members...

I think typically when you have an aunt or uncle offer to pay your for something that they know nothing about (assuming that the do not) then I'd honestly say your aunt is expecing you to say "oh no that's cool, I'll just show em some stuff" ....

HOWEVER, unless they've gotten really serious about the prospect of your little cuz learning guitar and looked into paid lessons........, then figured.... Hey, rather than pay a stranger... I'll just pay Brandon. If that's the case, then ask where/if they've looked into it and get a local rate then cut em some slack.... just so as to keep the peace, and not to offend anyone....

Definately though, I would first figure out how serious they are, versus just something to them is just passing the time.

Hope this makes sense and helps...

Excellent point of view. This is what makes it difficult. It's your time, your knowledge but it's difficult when it's a friend or a relative. In this cases the best is to follow mroberts thoughts. I have a similar situation nowadays and I charge him half what I would charge a normal private lesson.

your time is the most valuable thing you have don't sell yourself short, be a good steward
I would think about 20 per half an hour( with the fifth lesson of the month for free if you want )

If your Aunties Wealthy...charge 100 USD an hour minimum booking 10 lessons If she's not...then tell her you aint got time!!

Seriously...Its a difficult one...You are being put on the spot a bit...

€20.00 per hour for 'family'.

Haahahaah !

The old rule is: with the family you can eat and drink, helping each other, but don't do any business !!

Top Answer! The God Father is wise indeed!

Thanks guys. I'm not really close with my Aunt, but I am with my cousin. He comes over all the time and we play Minecraft together. She IS wealthy. haha they have several rent houses and a nice house and pool, BUT i don't wanna come across MONEY MONEY MONEY! haha i hope she will just tell me and ask if that's okay, but I fear that may not happen. She has mentioned lessons before (last summer). She brought it up again, and my cousin told me, after she watch my latest video, Mount Kilimanjaro.

Sinisa's and Mark's perspectives are to be payed attention to!

If you decide to work with the lil' dude:

- people that don't pay for something, don't see the real value of that, be it a product, service or the likes
- your time is the most precious resource you have - use it wisely!

I started working with a friend's brother in teaching him guitar and my friend was a bit upset - 'Hey man, how come he has to pay?'

'It's simple' I said - 'He will value what he learns here 10 times more and pay attention ten times more, because he gives something for it. If you really want him to learn, it's the best way'

The brother is working and he doesn't get the money from his parents or anything, so it's not a problem, but you know how people usually run after free stuff

My Sensei has the same approach - we usually pay 20 bucks for the trimestrial seminar/ exam routine. He told me the same thing - if it were free, you guys wouldn't pay that much attention, but when it's something you pay for, you are there body and soul. It's how the westerners function.

On the other hand, Iwami Soke - the master of our school in Japan, DOES NOT charge anything for his training sessions, BUT he doesn't accept just anybody

Brandon - in the end, you must see that your time and skills don't go to waste and I am sure you will take the right decision

Tell him that bring you beer package or smoked Ham every class...

I'm glad you said that Cosmin...I deleted a bit in my post about people and freebies....so that's why I changed it to being put on the spot.

Hard task. Working with family is always something that...can go wrong I've got my personal rule. Make Your family same price as anyone else...and pay them same as You would pay anyone else for other services. The thing that You let to give cash to Your family or friends is worth more than giving it to some stranger. It's already a profit and the one next is...You can always trust more that the job will be done 100% like it should be.


Things like " do it for less money cause I KNOW YOU or YOUR MY FAMILY" works like..."man...I'll do it later...I have to make my regular jobs first of all...". So...when I go to my friend to make me any service...I give him his regular cash amount...and I would appreciate if He will do the same with me

I agree with Cosmin but if it's his mother that's paying you, then he isn't sacrificing anything for the lessons. I'd go all Mr Miyagi and get him to do chores for you in return for lessons, if he can free up an hour of your time, he gets an hour lesson. Also put something in place to check he is practicing, there is nothing worse than someone coming back each week and still not progressing due to lack of practice (just ask any of my previous teachers!)

You're absolutely right man!

thanx Cosmin !

No money but once a month some fine meal together and having fun !

I remember when I talked with my parents about this and I was saying $20/hr, my mom said that's not very much. So maybe double that? $40/hr? Seems fair - and he lives just a few minutes down the road. That would take care of gas - my car gets 27 mpg. But I hope she will just come right out and say $50/hr or something! Seriously, my cousin is always telling me new things he is going to get. His mom spoils him, and to just simply say spoil is an understatement. So i know they have money. It will just put me on the spot if she asks me. Surely she knows that though.

I think a person can be serious if they aren't paying though. I was taking piano lessons with my Dad, and he was the one who payed. But he still made sure I practiced. I'm sure I could get my aunt to make sure my cousin practices. I do wanna make it fun, but there does need to be the obvious structure. Though I don't know a whole lot of theory, I think we can make it work. I can teach him what I know. I can play, and I started just where he is. He's going to have to get his guitar first though. He's supposed to be getting a paint job on it.

My dad did say, don't commit until you start your new job. True, in a few weeks I will be starting my first full time job.

Thanks for the advice.

That's mainly the reason I said before that it really depended on how close you were to the family member. Sometimes we have those ones we don't see often unless they want something and those are the ones I would charge full price or more so they get the idea....

Whatever you do, don't ever sell yourself short. That should always be your first rule for yourself!

As far as what any of us have advised here....., well that's just it, it's just advice. Only you can gauge what needs to be done. If I had that spoiled cousin who got whatever they wanted at the drop of a hat, then I'd make it known that my time was just as valuable.

Good luck and congrats on the new FT job...!

I would second this. Honestly, this sounds like a situation that I would most likely avoid in most cases.
It often just doesn't work out and it can lead to unpleasant situations when friends/family are involved...

Regarding the price : check out how much local teachers charge in the area (there are lot of factors that go into price forming like your overall availability, how much experience you have etc so it can be tricky setting one).

Ask yourself to see if this is something your really want to get involved and if so why (getting into teaching, financial reasons etc...) - that should help you make a decision and when you do stay behind it fully.

I think your Dad is right - you should see how it goes with your new job first and then wage the situation.

Brandon, when I read 40$, I was like 'wow' I know we are talking about different countries and different prices based on the economical situation, but in here there is absolutely NO ONE in Romania that would charge 40$ on a guitar lesson... simply because it's too much.

Indeed, Bogdan's suggestion is good - how much do the guys in your area charge?

I agree Cosmin. I have a mate in the UK and he charges GBP15 for half an hour and GBP 30 for an hour which is $22/44.
It sounds expensive...but he has played with Ronan Keating/Lulu and other famous people...he knows his trade and can probably justify that price...I wouldn't pay him that though ....although he's a top notch Guitarist....taking that into account, I am sure any of the tutors here at GMC are equally as good if not better and anyone has the opportunity to learn from them....That begs the question, why doesn't your Auntie pay for him to get on GMC? (I realise the benefits of direct teaching...but internet learning is just as good IMO).
I think price should reflect experience as somebody else mentioned earlier in this thread.

Yeah Dieter, you're the only communist here besides me, i see

Great thread & tons of great advice in it.

As Bogdan said, do some "Market" research. Check what other teachers are charging. Make anonymous calls or if the shop you use alot also has instructors, I'm sure they would be happy to tell you. I also like Jstcrsn's idea, charge the market rate & give him the 5th week free as a family discount.

I really like the point about if this is a path you are interested in going down. If so, this is your first student. When word gets out, there could possibly be more. This could be a good experiment to see if this is something you like. Then again, great guitarists don't always make great guitar teachers or you may find you don't really like the teaching aspect of guitar.

I also like the point regarding the Aunt paying for it. Is he really interested in actually learning to play, or does he really just love hanging out with Brandon. Will he be focused during the lesson or will he cut up like when playing video games? My first instrument was trumpet. My Dad played & my brother both played trumpet. My brother found a good friend of his to teach me, my parents did pay for it & I took it serious. My Mom tried to teach me piano & it didn't work.

Always remember that your time is still a limited resource, no matter if we're talking family or friends. When you are committed to a specific time every week, that's time you can't spend doing something else.

My vocal teacher charges around €50/ hour. She teaches me for free cos I'm awesome!

I would imagine good guitar teachers are around €30+

I will be talking with him to see if he is really interested or if his mom just wants him to. but in any case - i can't believe i forgot about GMC! yes! I can tell him about GMC! Then we could connect and he could practice when he wants. you guys would be here to help him and everything. But we'll have to see how it goes. my mom read this thread last night and she said, "Good advice Brandon - you should listen to them."

Best of luck in this endeavor mate Who knows how word will spread and you will have more students in your region?