Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Joslynn Cortes, Founder and Owner of Vocal Love, located in Sherman Oaks, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Vocal Love provides high-quality custom voice lessons for vocalists of all levels and styles! We focus on technique, confidence, and vocal health to ensure that all Vocal Love students are equipped with the proper tools unique to their voice to maintain their vocal health, whether it's on a worship team, school play, or professional production/tour!
Tell us about yourself
Hola, I'm Joslynn Cortes, founder, owner, and vocal instructor of Vocal Love! Vocal Love was born on May 4, 2020. It was definitely not in my plans to be a business owner, but God had other plans! Long story short, I had just finished a cruise contract as a specialty vocalist, and I was ready to come back to Los Angeles! I was ready to audition for any and everything, but 13 days after landing in Cali, the industry shut down. Still having plans to audition, I wanted to keep my instrument sharp, but I couldn't find affordable voice lessons.
I prayed on it and realized that I had sustained a very hard vocal track on an 8.5-month contract; I ended up teaching the other vocalists about vocal health so they could sustain their voices on the contract, I was teaching voice to other members of the cast who were not singers but wanted to be, and it just made sense to make "teaching voice" a more permanent thing.
My first lesson was a virtual lesson with a student in Dubai, then New Jersey, followed by Virginia, and afterward Hong Kong, and it just kept growing slowly but surely!! It's been almost three years now, and Vocal Love is better than ever!
My students are consistently booking work; whether it's a local musical theatre production, equity tours, cruises, you name it, they are thriving! Knowing that their custom routines are sustainable and they are living out their dreams with healthy voices really motivates me to keep teaching! At this point, Vocal Love has turned into a healing ministry, and it's so rewarding and such a blessing to be a part of!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is that I know for a fact that all my students have all the tools necessary to navigate their voices in a way that's stunning, healthy, technical, and unique to them! I'm super proud of my students' work and results, and I'm proud that Vocal Love has become a platform worth investing in for many vocalists worldwide!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Since Vocal Love is a one-woman show, running a business, being in charge of marketing and advertisement and office administration, and everything else that comes with a business are stressful and time-consuming, but I'm hoping to expand the team in the near future!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Take a business class.
- Do not underestimate your value as a business. Punto.
- Talk about/promote/advertise/bring up your business. Word of mouth is still a powerful tool!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.vocallove.shop/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vocallovexoxo
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vocallovexoxo/
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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