Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Anderson.
Hi Michael, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was no different than most musicians working hard at getting a record deal, selling out concerts and writing great songs. I’m a guitarist/songwriter who had a great run working with some really talented musicians and bands. Throughout the 90’s, I performed across the country with Tina Yothers from the TV show Family Ties. That was a ton of fun and it really helped me develop as a performer and songwriter. We performed live regularly at the Key Club in Hollywood, selling it out every time we played. Our big moment was performing live on the Howard Stern Show. Nothing but great memories and friendships came out of that time.
Soon after, I started working with Adam Kowalczyk, whose brother is the lead singer of the band LiVE (multi-platinum rock band out of the 90’s). Our band, Adam and the Weight toured internationally and recorded an amazing album titled “Looking Up From The Ground.”
One of my last projects was performing and recording with the band Anna’s Brother, featuring Tony “Montana” Cardenas, bass player from the band Great White.
When I turned 40 years old, I felt I was past my prime and I found it hard to continue trying to make it “BIG” as a performing musician. It was tough to accept, but I’m not stupid. I knew I had to make a plan and figure out my next chapter in life. I had a solid day job working for a printing/graphics company for about 20 years. During that time, I decided to start teaching guitar out of my home. At this point, I never planned or thought that my guitar lesson program would evolve to what it has become today. It didn’t take long – maybe three years – and my house was filled with about 150 kids every week. My wife would come home from work and go straight upstairs as me and three other guys (Chuck Jackson, Jericho Law and Johan Acu) were occupying the family room, living room, home studio and backyard, teaching music. It was nuts and a ton of fun!
Knowing that my neighbors were not happy with the endless traffic I was creating in my cul-de-sac (I can only imagine what they thought was going on in my house), I knew it was time to open a music studio of my very own. This was very scary and exciting at the same time. I remember taking my wife to dinner and letting her know that I was going to quit my day job of 20 years and open a music school. While she was happy to see it get out of the house, she was even more scared of me being on my own as an entrepreneur.
We found a location in Norco, California to build the studio. We designed it to look like the house so everyone would feel at home in the new space. I believe that was one of the best decisions we made. Keep in mind, we didn’t have your “everyday” decorated home, it was more of a mash-up between Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion and The House of Blues. This ended up becoming the look of all of our studio locations.
Our new studio quickly grew to nearly 300 students per week causing us to have to move to a new location down the street into a space almost three times the size. This also gave us the opportunity to build a studio complete with our own performance theater and recording studio (the vision is coming to life).
While working for the graphics company, I watched and developed marketing for another franchise brand (completely different industry). Over the years, I saw that brand go from 1 unit to over 1000. I’d go to their conventions and I swear, the founders seemed like bigger Rock Stars than Metallica. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Little did I know that a seed was being planted.
Around 2014, I decided I wanted to franchise the Rockstars of Tomorrow concept. We had a great look, a stage, a recording studio, and lesson concepts that were completely different from everyone else. We knew what we were doing was working when we had five year old musicians performing live on stage and the community losing their mind at the ability of our students.
We spent about two years developing our systems and brand. I hired a friend to follow me around that entire time, documenting everything I did and said. This ultimately became our franchise training manual.
It didn’t take long before we sold our first franchise in Rancho Cucamonga, California. I couldn’t believe that we built my little guitar lessons concept from the house into a franchise with 2 locations! It was surreal and so exciting.
Over the next few years, we sold more locations creating Rock Stars in the communities we entered. The same public reaction was happening over and over. We’d help kids and adults live their dream of playing an instrument and then perform on stage in their very own band. To this day, it is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever seen. New musicians who learned how to play music in one of our studios are now getting up on stages performing, writing music, recording and producing songs, touring and more.
During the Covid pandemic, we doubled down and made a solid effort to come out on the other side bigger and better. We managed to sell our first out of state franchise in Frisco, Texas in July of 2020. I knew right then that we were going to be okay.
On top of that, we developed a brand new website that included a private student portal filled with the tools needed to help our students reach the next level of their musical journey, and also started live-streaming concerts from our Norco, CA theater which was the perfect solution to keeping our students performing on stage to an audience while all the music venues were closed down. CNN aired a wonderful story about us and our live-stream concerts. (https://www.cnn.com/videos/entertainment/2020/11/10/performing-live-music-in-the-pandemic.cnn) That story is available to watch
We believe that we have a responsibility to not just educate the next generation of musicians, but to also introduce them to the players that paved the way before them, so we created a new video series filled with more than 25 hours of exclusive video content just for registered Rockstars of Tomorrow students. Some of the top musicians who play or have played in the bands we love participated in this series.
In addition to creating amazing content for us, most also became great friends.
Today we have 6 locations and are growing. We’re actively working to expand into Orange and Los Angeles Counties as well as everything in between the West and East Coast. I’m convinced that our little homegrown music school is not just ready but will be the immediate thought when it comes to where to go when wanting to learn an instrument. We’re different, our intent is ONLY good, and we do what we do for all the right reasons.
I’m one of the luckiest people on the planet to have the greatest team of friends working with, for, and around me. I’d do anything for these guys as they do for me on a daily basis. I really can’t even call this a job. It’s a lifestyle and I feel like more of a Rock Star today than I ever did slinging a guitar on stage!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I feel the hardest part was giving up control as the company got bigger. I knew how I wanted things done and always felt it was easier to just do it myself rather than ask someone or even have to teach them how to do it. I ultimately figured it out and now have a better team because of it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’d say that I really like people. I was a total social butterfly in high school. I never hung out with one group, I’d spend an equal amount of time during the day or lunch break with my immediate friends, jocks, punk rockers, nerds and smokers. It would drive my friends nuts but it was how I was wired.
That I believe helped me with my business as I would always stop to talk with every customer. I would never let a single person walk in or out of my studio without me saying hi or bye. I’ve even chased people down in the parking lot because they got away before I could say something.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I strongly believe in risk-reward. Quitting my job of 20 years to start my own business was one of the riskiest things I’ve ever done. I had a steady income and it was good.
It’s like gambling, you can bet a dollar and win two or bet everything you got and be set for life. I’m not saying to go into it blind and not weigh the odds, that wouldn’t be too smart. You should educate yourself on what you’re about to do, talk to your peers and stack the deck in your favor. Nothing is a guarantee and looking back, some of my greatest victories come on the heels of a real risky decision.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.rockstarsoftomorrow.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockstarsoftomorrow/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockstarsoftomorrow
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rockstarsnorco
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RockstarsofTomorrow
