Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in music education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lauren Bateman, Founder of Lauren Bateman Music, located in Medford, MA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is bringing music into the life of others through one-on-one instruction at my brick-and-mortar music schools or online via my digital guitar courses. At the brick-and-mortar, we help clients as young as five years old start learning and having fun with music, whether it's piano, guitar, singing, violin, drums, or ukulele. Our online programs are developed more for adult learners. We have a very large student body in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, just starting to learn about music!

Tell us about yourself

I first started my business teaching privately out of my home. I quit my job working for a pharmaceutical company because music was my passion. I didn't know what I was going to do with music, but I knew that's what I had to do. I needed to make money, so I started teaching out of the office in my apartment. Turns out, I was pretty good at it. Eventually, my schedule filled up, and I hired my first teacher and then opened my first commercial location in my hometown of Medford, MA, in November of 2012.

As the business grew, my available teaching time became less and less. I missed having interactions with students, but my life was so busy that I needed something with more flexibility. In March 2017, I started teaching guitar on YouTube and developed my own line-up of digital courses to help others learn to play guitar online.

I absolutely love teaching. It's what keeps me going. I get emails and messages all the time from students about how I helped them out of depression or even from committing suicide. When you get emails like that, you want to keep impacting the world in a positive way. I believe music has the ability to heal, and that is why I keep teaching. I believe everyone needs music in their life.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

There have been many accomplishments over the years. Nothing beats the smile after a student finally gets something that was very hard for them. I think one of my biggest accomplishments was actually keeping the business running and functional after a car drove through the front of our building. It was the first crisis situation I had ever been through with the business. I knew I had a lot of people counting on me. Not just students, but now I had employees who were wondering what was going to happen to their paychecks.

I worked really hard and learned a lot about dealing with and handling stress. The fact that we survived and grew the business during this time period was a huge accomplishment for me. I didn't know it at the time, but it also prepared me for the pandemic shutdowns in 2020. I am very proud to still be in business, helping students in our communities and online learn music.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

In the beginning, it's having to wear all of the hats. You're the boss. You're the bookkeeper. You're the marketer and sales director. You do everything yourself in the business, and I don't think people realize that when they start a business. There's a lot that goes on behind closed doors to keep a business running. As you grow, delegating those tasks to people you train and trust become the hardest part. It's very hard to let go of something you have built from the ground up. Delegation is the only way to free up your time as a business owner so that you can focus on the big-picture items that will grow your business to the next level.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Trust your instincts, and don't focus on a business plan. There is no perfect plan, and you can't predict every single thing that will happen in your business. I would have never put in for a car crash or a pandemic in my business plan. I think it's better to have a vision for where you want to go and adapt each play and move you make based on the trends in your business.
  2. Constantly be learning and reading, especially in the beginning. Like I said, you will wear every single hat in your business at first. Learn how to create good marketing. Learn how to sell your products and services. Eventually, you will hire people who can do these things better than you can, but in the beginning, you need to absorb as much knowledge as possible so that you can make better decisions. I was horrible at sales until I learned how to do it.
  3. Focus on delegating as much as possible. I was someone who was always willing to make a little less money in the short term to have a lot less stress in the long term. Yes, it's going to take a new hire a little bit longer in the beginning to do the same task, and you may be tempted to jump back in just to get it done. I encourage you to let your people grow into their positions. Let them make mistakes and learn from them. That's how I became better at business. I made mistakes and learned lessons. The sooner you learn what your unique strengths are and dig into those, the sooner you can delegate all the stuff that you don't like doing to someone else that is strong at those skills. Your dream job is doing all the things you love doing and excel at. If you hate doing something, delegate it. If you like something but know there is someone else who could knock it out of the park, delegate it. You can still keep an eye on things. It's your business. But the sooner you trust other people to help you, the faster your business will grow in the long run.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website:
https://www.lbmusicschool.com/
https://www.laurenbateman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelaurenbateman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelaurenbateman/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lauren_Bateman
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thelaurenbateman/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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