Your First Experience is Everything - Music House
Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in music & entertainment but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Aaron Sizemore, Owner of Music House School of Music, located in Overland Park, KS, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I'm the Executive Director of Music House School of Music. We have three locations and approximately 800 students aged four through 80.
Tell us about yourself
My late wife, Katrinka, and I were both professional musicians who performed and taught on the side. We loved teaching but were frustrated by the limiting scope of private lessons. It's kind of impossible to teach music in a strictly one-on-one format.
Music has always been the by-product of humans trying to communicate. Words don't satisfy, so we create other ways, and music is one of those prime examples. Consequently, music is best taught within a community where students collaborate with their peers, followers, and heroes. It has to be experienced that way.
So that is what Katrinka and I sought to create — a community where the language of music can be experienced. Even before we're a music school, we're a community because that's where music happens. Perfecting and improving that mission keeps us all motivated every single day.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
That's a tricky question to answer. I'm just astonished and grateful that Katrinka and I were able to build something from nothing into a community that seems to have a life of its own — something that means something to many people.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Defining your boundaries. No one tells you when your work is complete. The danger of being thoroughly passionate about the business you've created is not knowing when enough is enough. I struggled with that for a while and overworked myself for years. Over time I learned to approach it more mindfully.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Write a thorough business plan before you start. You'll likely deviate from it in the long run. Still, writing it will force you to think of details and nuances you hadn't considered, which is an essential exercise. The business plan we wrote was about thirty or forty pages.
From day one, you need to obsess about documenting and systematizing all of your processes. Operate as if you're building a machine that needs to have its structure and logic — something that you could easily hand off to any competent person and expect them to know exactly what to do.
Expect the unexpected and accept it. You need always to know where you're going and stay pointed in that direction, but get that life doesn't move in a straight line. You're good if you constantly move toward a well-considered goal, even if that goal morphs and changes over time. That's the best you can do.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.musichouseschool.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MusicHouseSchool/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musichousekc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/musichousekc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-sizemore-53537a13/
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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