We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Chin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Melissa , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I’m forever grateful for my mother. She set a high standard of excellence for me and helped me develop a confidence that I could achieve ANYTHING. I didn’t know at the time, but she was planting seeds of faith in God and a certainty that whatever I wanted, I could pursue and have. All throughout my life, this was confirmed through high school achievements, college scholarships, job opportunities etc. My faith afforded me so many opportunities. Not to oversimplify it but, I believed, and I achieved.

Fast forward to adulthood and life gets real. I mean, real-real. We relocated our family and I was no longer getting the jobs I applied for. Nothing came as easy. And when multiple doors closed, my confidence shrank. I began to question decisions that I made. I even asked my mom, “Why did you let me pursue counseling psychology? Why didn’t you encourage me to be a doctor or a lawyer or some other high paying career?” She said, “Because I wanted you to do something you loved.” That’s when it all began to make sense. Those closed doors weren’t a sign of failure; they were a sign of a change in direction and an opportunity to strengthen my faith muscle even more!

I always knew my first love was music. Why else would I be bold enough to pursue this entrepreneurial journey and open a music school unless it was something I loved? My mother taught me to love God, believe in myself, and pursue my passions. And for that, I am so grateful.

This has been something on my mind for the past few weeks because I have been exploring what it really means to believe in myself and to have faith. As I’m expanding the business, there are some risky things to be done. Im constantly having to go outside of my comfort zone and face fears as I pursue what I love.

This lesson my mother has taught me doesn’t stop with me. I not only teach this same lesson to my own children, but my students at Melissa T Music Lessons as well. I tell my students to envision what they want to be. And then I tell them to believe that they already are what they want to be. Last step, act like it. That’s faith…to behave in a way that doesn’t reflect their immediate circumstance but knowing that it will be someday soon. I encourage you to do the same!

Melissa , 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?

My name is Melissa Chin. I am the owner of Melissa T. Music Lessons. I teach voice and piano lessons. We have a collective of teachers who teach voice, songwriting, piano, guitar, drums, trumpet, French horn, music production and more.

What makes the music school so special is our unique ability to make virtual music lessons accessible, productive and fun. Our teachers have mastered making virtual lessons a success from the comfort of your own home. Parents love that they don’t have to travel for their child’s lessons. We provide private and group lessons.

Our teachers are from all over the country. We even have teachers located in Europe. I am so proud of my teachers because they connect with their students on a personal level. They learn about the students’ goals and interests and incorporate them into the lessons. We run the school like one big family. When we all get together for recital time, it feels like one big family reunion.

Have you ever had to pivot?

COVID-19 really caused me to pivot in the business. Prior to the pandemic, I rented a space in a church to hold my lessons. Once everything shutdown, I was no longer able to teach in-person lessons. I had NO experience in teaching music lessons online…at all. I dug deep into the trenches of google and YouTube and figured it out. I got cameras, backdrops, and microphones and what I thought was a temporary fix actually became the new foundation for our music school. Being a virtual music school has allowed me to teach students from all across the country. I was able to grow the business by hiring teachers from all over. I was no longer bound by location. Today, we provide in-person lessons in the Baltimore area and virtual lessons held on Zoom.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

In addition to in-person and virtual music lessons, I have a piano lesson book. The book is entitled “My Journey, My Music: Beginner Piano Lessons for Kids.” The book was created for my students. I noticed that most piano lesson books lacked diversity in illustration, content and musicality. I created original music that honored many African Americans who’ve made an impact in American history. The book includes tributes to Nina Simone, Beyonce, Lebron James, John Lewis, Oprah and many others. The hope is that as students learn to read music and play the piano, they see images and read of African Americans who made a difference in society. Ultimately, I hope children learn that they, too, can make a difference. The book can be found on my melissatmusic.com and Amazon.

Contact Info:

• Website: melissatmusic.com
• Instagram: @melissatmusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaTMusicLessons/

Image Credits
Photo Credits: T. Chin Solutions