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

Amber, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?

Running Rose City Guitar Company with my wife has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. We set out to create a space that truly fosters community—a place where musicians of all backgrounds feel welcome, supported, and inspired. Seeing that vision come to life, watching students connect and grow, and knowing we built this together has been incredible.

That said, juggling life, business, and our own careers as working musicians is a constant balancing act. The lines between work and personal life blur easily, and it takes real effort to make space for ourselves outside of running the business. Some days, it feels like there aren’t enough hours to manage students, events, and the shop while also finding time to write, practice, and perform. We have to be intentional about stepping away from the business mindset and just enjoying life together.

Despite the challenges, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The joy of building something meaningful with my partner—something that brings people together and strengthens the music community—is worth every late night and every tough decision

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve been playing guitar for as long as I can remember, but for years, I never considered myself a “real” musician. I never had formal lessons, and the idea of truly mastering the instrument felt out of reach. That changed when I discovered fingerstyle guitar. The freedom of open tunings and percussive techniques opened up a whole new world for me, and I became obsessed with exploring my own sound.

My journey has taken me through countless odd jobs, late-night gigs, busking on the streets, and connecting with an incredible community of musicians who share the same passion for the instrument. Eventually, I released an album and built a career that revolves around teaching, composing, and performing.

In 2020, my wife and I opened a guitar school and retail space with the goal of creating a welcoming, inspiring place for musicians to grow. While building a business has been its own adventure, starting a business during the Covid Pandemic added a lot of difficulties. Once we were able to go back to in person lessons, we were able to build the program we had planned for years.

When my wife and I discussed the future of our guitar school, we didn’t want it to feel like a typical lesson program or a sterile, corporate music shop. We wanted to create a community-driven, inspiring space—somewhere musicians of all backgrounds could come to learn, create, and connect without intimidation or pressure. Being the only queer woman owned guitar retail store and school in Portland has brought a lot of excitement to our little city. Our school is built around flexibility, creativity, and collaboration. Whether someone is picking up a guitar for the first time or diving into advanced techniques, we focus on personalized learning—meeting each student where they are and helping them develop their own unique voice on the instrument. We offer lessons in fingerstyle, metal, rock, blues, acoustic, songwriting, theory, and recording, and we bring in touring musicians for workshops and masterclasses.

What I love most is seeing students gain confidence—whether it’s playing their favorite songs, writing original music, or getting comfortable jamming with others. Music should be fun and expressive, not just scales and drills. That’s the kind of environment we’ve built, and I’m so proud to see our students thrive in it.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Through a lot of hard work and sacrifice. It’s cliché to say but it’s true. We downsized our lives massively. Into a few months of quarantine, we realized our business would be doomed unless we downsized our lives and pivoted our business approach. We took inventory of our lives and looked at what were the essentials and what was excess. After that we sold the excess – extra instruments, furniture, and both of our cars – we were able to buy a 1992 Damon Ultrasport motorhome. We spent three weeks renovating it, canceled our lease at our apartment, and hit the road with our pets. We traveled through various parts of the west coast and southwest all while running Rose City Guitar Company from the RV. So long as we could grab a WIFI connection, we could run our guitar lessons online. All of the money we made from building our student list could then be funneled straight back into the business rather than being used to fund our lives and survival. Living in the RV allowed us to either live rent-free at times or for $400-600 a month if we parked long-term. If we stayed in Portland in our apartment it would have easiest cost us four times that to maintain the lifestyle we had. For the first 3 years of our business, we took out no loans and received no grants – we self funded everything by saving and investing all of our money back in to make it bigger and better. Eventually we got a studio space we knew we could afford once the quarantine lifted and this allowed us to work closer to our original goal of building an in person music community and education space. While in that studio we searched for a storefront location for about 2 years making sure we’d find the best spot and at the best price for us knowing that we could continue to be successful. We found the perfect spot and in the last year of being here, we’ve poured our heart and soul into it.

Have you ever had to pivot?

One of the biggest pivots I’ve had to make in my life and career came when my wife and I decided to open Rose City Guitar Company. At the time, I was deep into my music career—performing, recording, and touring—and I had spent years building my name as a solo artist. But when the pandemic struck, it’s seemed like the perfect opportunity to start the business, it felt like the right time to take a leap and create something that could have a broader impact.

Opening a business, especially a music school and guitar shop, was a huge shift. The pandemic hit just as we were getting started, and suddenly everything I had planned—performances, touring, and even local events—came to a halt. It was a tough decision to step back from performing and focus on building the shop during such uncertain times.

But that pivot ended up being a blessing in disguise. It allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in growing the business, creating a space for our community, and building something that was about more than just our music careers. It was about helping others connect with music, teaching them not just how to play, but how to create and feel inspired.

Now, after a couple of years of hard work, the business is thriving, and I’m finding a way to balance running the shop with returning to my love for composing and performing. Pivoting wasn’t easy, but it led to so many rewarding experiences, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amberrussellmuzic.com/about
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amberrussellmuzic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amberrussellacoustic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo78Jn-l3hi-u0YapeSXjRA
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/5o7hES5i8ywXzsnHfRHQvv?si=Mj1Eku7cT1yDdXLH1Iobpw

Image Credits

Nick Blair
Instagram: @pixelnickphotography