Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Flores.
Hi Monica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In October of 2013, my father died suddenly and I had to take guardianship of my little brother and over night became a sister mom. During that time, I was working for a Music school that I thought I was going to be a lifer at, but the passing of my dad and now facing the need to have the freedom of schedule and time to properly care for my brother made it seem like staying at that Music school was no longer going to work for me. So, in January of 2014 I decided that life was short and that it was time to take a leap of faith and just start teaching privately on my own. I had $700 left in my account and found a small office space in a building close to my home for $350 a month and gave me first and last month’s deposit. I named my business Music Tree because I decided I wanted to have a place where I could plant the seeds of Music into my students and help them grow strong. I found an old keyboard that a school was getting rid of and put in that room and painted the walls and opened my doors. At the time, I only had three of my own private students, which was definitely not going to pay the bills, but I had faith that somehow some way, I was going to make this work. After all, I really had no choice since I needed to raise a ten years old boy and keep food and roof over his head. Opening Music Tree helped me heal and put my energy into something as I was grieving the passing of my dad. Some days I would sit at the piano, sing and cry because of the hurt in my heart at the time.
I would practice and people walking in the halls to other business’ would hear me and sometimes walk in. I began to offer one free lesson and my studio began to grow. Next door to me at the time was a group of other new business owners like me that owned a graphic design and website building business. So I went in there and asked if they would be willing to barter classes for their work. I got myself some business cards and a website. Any time that I wasn’t teaching, I would pass out my business cards and I began to grow.
After the first year, I decided it was time to hire another teacher to start helping me teach. As our student base began to grow, I wanted more space. Across the hall from me was a unit that was bigger and I would stare at it for a moment everyday and tell myself one day it was going to be mine. Eventually, the tenants moved out of it and I asked the landlord if I could apply for it. I got it! So Music Tree did its first expansion. We went from just one room to being able to offer three lessons at the same time. So I again hired another teacher.
Going into my 3rd year of business, I began to hit a lot of roadblocks with being a business owner. I was so used to being a teacher that I did not know how to really manage the schedule or people working for me. Our numbers began to drop and in January of our 3rd year, we were only at 36 students and I needed at least 50 to survive. I called a meeting with my teachers came up with a plan and also put my head down and decided to do everything I could to become a better business owner and leader. In one month, we doubled our numbers and by October of that year, we hit 100 students!
I then decided to expand and take the unit next door to the one I already had and added more space to teach. Six months later, I took the space across the hall and launched our first Musical Theater program. By year 5, we hit 200 students. The next thing that happened is that we were notified that our building was going to be sold. So at that point, I realized we needed to figure out what we were going to do next. I began searching and looking for locations and trying to figure out how I was going to make this work financially. We chose a space and in January of 2020 and began the process of getting plans and permits from the city to build the school of my dreams! Then in March of 2020 the Pandemic hit us in full effect and my school and my dreams all of a sudden seemed to come to a half. We were Shut down! Our school was closed and we had no way of teaching in person lessons. I called an emergency meeting with my team and we all got to work and pivoted right away in figuring out how to teach virtual lessons. We continued to try to teach as many virtual lessons as possible, we used social media as an outlet to meet new students and offered Free classes during the pandemic to bring community together and bring kids together to feel some sense of normalcy. During this time, my new studio just sat there. That March, I took another leap of faith and took a dance studio downstairs from the location I had just signed a lease for and decided to pivot also into the performing arts. We began to offer online lessons in acting, singing and dance classes. Ten months later, we finally got our permitting from the city and started build out. 2020 had to be the hardest year of my life as a business owner and single mother with a barely one-year-old at the time. But we continued to push and when things finally started to open with restrictions, we did all we could to keep going. We now have online and in person classes happening and I can proudly say with tears in my eyes that in seven years, I went from having almost nothing and only 3 of my own students to a team of 14 teachers on staff and over 250 lessons happening per week with a student roster of 700 students. Music Tree seems fitting, I planted my seed in good soil and the roots grew deep. We withstood the storm and continue to keep on going!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was definitely not smooth. The biggest obstacle along the way was learning how to manage and lead a team. Also having to get out of my comfort zone and learn to use technology for my business. Learning how to budget properly and hire the right type of people. The pandemic was the hardest challenge of all, I had used all my savings to make sure my teachers stayed afloat and we needed that money to build our new location. But somehow, we figured it out.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My Studio provides fruitful Music education for children and adults. I specifically specialize in Voice lessons and an intro to Music program that I call first notes and ABCs. We also offer piano, guitar, drums, saxophone, voice, dance and acting classes. I am most proud of our Intro to Music program because I know there are not many schools that will start students as young as three years old. We take an approach that is fun and with a background in teaching preschool as well, I was able to create a program that teach music in a way that allows it to feel like we are playing and having fun. Kids as young as 3 are able to learn how to read, write and play piano in a nurturing environment.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My advice is never be afraid to find someone that is further along than you and ask questions. For me. Networking just became about making other friends that were passionate about the same things as me. Also, once I had the chance I chose to invest in myself and hire a business coach. It has worked for me to surround myself with like-minded entrepreneurs, to keep myself accountable and to check in with a coach or mentor here and there.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Musictreeschools.com
- Instagram: @Musictreeschools
