Unlock Your Unique Musical Voice

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in music education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Gabrielle Krieger, Founder of Passion Studios, located in Ankeny, IA, USA.

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

Passion Studios is a playing-based music lesson studio located in Ankeny, Iowa, offering piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, drum, and early childhood music lessons. Our multi-sensory approach through the Simply Music method has students playing 30-50 songs with both hands in their first year so that every student experiences a unique sense of discovery, accomplishment, and companionship.

At the core of all we do, we believe everyone has their own unique musical voice, and we exist to unlock it. Our families value music and its role in their lives. It's valued internally, so they take ownership of it on their own before they get to us. We help facilitate a quality, simple, self-affirming experience so that their music lives inside them for the rest of their lives.

Tell us about yourself

I have been playing piano since I was six years old. My parents always told me, "This is a priority for us, so you'll always take piano alongside your school. When you're 18, you can decide if you want to continue." It was one of the best decisions they ever made for me; it taught me commitment, integrity, and a friendship with the piano. Music has always been around for me during my highs and lows, and I wish more people saw the value in instilling a love of music in their children.

My instructors always taught me classical music throughout my childhood. In my early teens, something clicked for me, and I was getting to a place where I could read music pretty easily, so I wanted to branch out and start working on Jazz. Jazz piano is very much built around structure AND free flow, a basic pattern while knowing the keyboard, and a variety of pattern layouts intimately that harmonize with the song. I wanted the confidence to be able to improvise in that way. When I asked my teacher to expose me to this genre, he said, "Sure!" and brought back a fully transcribed jazz book the next week, having me read it just like my classical music.

I hit a wall, and I didn't want to play at all anymore. Even though that feeling lasted two years, my parents had me push through it and find something that inspired me. It was around that time my mom came across the Simply Music method. Reading about how students played 30-50 classical, Jazz, blues, accompaniment, and contemporary pieces in their first year had me floored. That was always what I wanted as a musician, breadth, and depth. I was 15 when I resolved that I would start my own piano studio. In 2014 I officially filed for Passion Studios. My dad was really worried about me launching into entrepreneurship at 20 years old, so since we have family in Costa Rica, he encouraged me to stay there in an effort to deter me. When I came back, I had 4 students lined up.

Passion Studios now has over 270 students in the Des Moines metro area, serving families aged 0-99 through our piano, guitar, drum, ukulele, and early childhood music lessons. Our vision is: "To reawaken creativity, simplicity, and joy as the core of learning, instilling a lifetime passion for music that impacts the lives of others." When the halls are filled with laughter and music from everyone, young and old, it's easy to do what I love.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

With over 270 students, we are proud to be among the top 1% of instruction schools for Simply Music students internationally, and we hit that mark three years ago. When you come to Passion Studios, you aren't just getting "musicians" as teachers. You are getting highly trained, highly skilled, knowledgable, intuitive, caring instructors who actually understand the student's pacing needs, enjoyments, opportunities for growth, etc., in a small, shared lesson environment, which creates camaraderie, inspiration, and observatory learning for everyone involved. I'm very proud to have a sustainable business model before the age of 30 sans degree, without any debt or business loans.

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

Being strong for everyone involved in the business. Regardless of the business industry, everyone at any point in time will fall back on the emotional stability, grounding, and vision of the owner to carry through any conflict or perceived conflict of any kind. When there are so many flashing lights through social media, capitalizing on any amount of attention from us, it's hard to have the vision to inspire people, let alone carry it through all the negativity. I think that people are looking for that stability these days.

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

They're probably cliché, but I don't care. Ha!

Know your "why." If you don't have one, no one else will care about you. Conversely, if you know exactly who you are and what you have to offer, what you do will sell itself.
Manage well. Get your processes down early, and figure out what works and doesn't so that you can find quality people. I repeat, find quality people, don't get desperate. Train those people who back your vision and get out asap so you can manage. Don't bite off more than you can chew - workload, loans, etc. If you're burned out, your business will burn out.
Don't give up; stay the course. I would imagine most start-ups take those really bad days pretty personally. It's hard not to. I still do sometimes. But ultimately, people are either upset because you have an opportunity to improve your model, or they're upset with themselves and taking it out on you. Use it as an opportunity to be kind and grow. But don't give up.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.passionstudiosmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/passionstudiosm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passionstudios_music/

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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