We were lucky to catch up with Kathi Kerr recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathi, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I always knew the piano would be my life from a young age. While other kids were playing around, I was playing the piano (much to the annoyance of my sister). I imagined my life as a famous performer (and did perform growing up).. Then, as a broke college student, I decided to teach private piano lessons, telling myself it’s better than flipping burgers. I suddenly realized there was something greater than performing, and my new passion turned to teaching. It felt good to watch someone learn and grow because of my mentoring. So I began pursuing a roster of students. That was before the internet, so I did a lot of foot advertising, hanging up flyers on telephone poles, and teaching at a local music store. Then another idea hit me, to put an ad in the yellow pages. For readers who don’t know what that is, it’s basically the internet in a book! However, by the time the ad came out (and it wasn’t cheap), my roster of students was full! I was stuck with paying for an ad for a year that I couldn’t use. That’s when the music store owner flippantly suggested I hire teachers to take the students. That one sentence changed my life. I began by hiring one of my intermediate adult students to take on beginners. And thus Melody Music Studios was born. I started by hiring piano teachers, then expanded to all instruments, and then, in 2001, expanded to cities across the country. I’m now in over 40 cities with a staff of fantastic music instructors.

Kathi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I come from a musical family on both sides of my parents. My dad played the upright bass in a jazz trio. As a kid, they sometimes practiced until 2 in the morning while my sisters and I fell asleep on the floor. But we didn’t mind. We were all too immersed in the sound of the music to care. It felt like a warm bath. Listening to my mom sing in church or at the local theater made me feel special, like we had a gift that most people didn’t possess. When I discovered my love for the piano, I knew it would be my life. I’m so grateful for the musical gene they passed down to me, along with the love and support for my dream to pursue music. I can still hear my mom yelling, “F sharp” from the kitchen while I was playing the piano.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I love my staff of music teachers! They know I always have their back. Before they join my staff, they go through a rigorous process, so I have the best of the best instructors. This is the service I provide for the students: they’re getting a thoroughly vetted instructor. But for instructors, they have a “boss” who believes in them and who will maintain policies that are fair. Too many studios treat the instructors like their time and income don’t matter. However, since I come from a teaching background, I know how important it is to have policies that are fair, not just to the student, but also for the teacher. Because of this, I have instructors who have been on my staff for decades. We are loyal to each other. Along with fair policies, I also let them know continually how much I appreciate them. I never take their hard work and dedication to teaching for granted. In a society where teachers are not always appreciated, they know they are with my company.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first started Melody Music Studios, lessons were given at the student’s home since I hadn’t set up a physical studio yet. Then, as my company grew, I opened a studio where teachers could come and teach, which is the traditional way of teaching. However, when I decided to expand to cities across the country, I knew that having a physical location wouldn’t be time and cost-effective. That’s when I changed my company model to having instructors set up their own personal studio, either a professional or a dedicated home studio. Modeling my business this way meant I could pass the savings on to the students to keep tuition affordable to anyone who wanted to learn to sing or play an instrument, which is my goal and passion. Then, in 2020, when the pandemic hit, my staff quickly improvised to teach most of their students online. I had already offered that as another option when student and teacher lived too far for in-person lessons, but this brought it to another level. Most teachers who wouldn’t have considered teaching this way were forced to and had to adapt to this way of teaching. Now, I have a full staff of instructors specializing in online teaching. This is wonderful because it allows students to choose an instructor, not just for their location, but on their merits and what they offer, making it a perfect match between student and teacher. As my saying goes, “Now you can choose the right instructor, not just right next to you.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://MelodyMusicStudios.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melodymusicstudios/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melodymusicstudios
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melodymusicstudios/
• Twitter: https://x.com/MelodyMStudios
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnzBCBFFUX56r0brQZLjpVA
• Other: https://www.bbb.org/us/tn/parsons/profile/vocal-lessons/melody-music-studios-0573-2137358#bbbseal