We were lucky to catch up with Jan Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jan , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Talk to us about building your team? What was it like? What were some of the key challenges and what was your process like?

Starting out, I was a one-woman operation providing vocal coaching and consultations to those artists who were clients at a rock-n-roll guitar school. Word got out to the music community that someone was catering to the vocal needs of rock. pop, and urban singers (versus strictly classical singers and stylists), and the numbers continued to increase. At that time (nearly 34 years ago), there weren’t that many folks doing what I was doing, so I got the referrals from record labels and voice doctors alike who were seeking help in either vocal condition and development for their artists, or rehabilitation for those artists who had undergone surgeries and vocal therapies for some kind of vocal dysfunction. I went from seeing one client to having 80 people waiting to see me and quickly realized that I would need to train someone else to help handle the demand.

It became an obvious choice for me to look to my own clientele — those who had already undergone my brand of tutelage and who would understand the vernacular of working with contemporary artists. And so, I trained one of my own clients to carry my handprint forward, and have continued to do the same ever since. All of the coaches and staff at Jan Smith Studios have all been clients of the studio in one capacity or another — it keeps us knit together as a team, and a family focused on supporting each other while we offer our best to provide excellent service to our clientele.

Jan , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started out in the music industry as an artist … I cut my first record when I was 15 years old and have never stopped creating music. As an artist, I had a pretty good run performing on stages and entertaining audiences while writing songs and recording music. During the process of me being in studios and honing my own skillset, I began helping other artists in their own production, writing, and recording. Ultimately, God was building a business through me to provide artist development services under the heading of being a “celebrity vocal coach.”

Today, Jan Smith Studios caters to the largest roster of charting artists of any vocal coaching/artist development facility in the country … or the world, perhaps. Our clientele includes artists such as Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson, Shania Twain, Rob Thomas/Matchbox Twenty, Usher, Drake, Jill Scott, Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson, Liam Neeson, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Jesus Culture, Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, The Band Perry, and even White House Correspondent John Roberts. In addition to established named talent, we also work with developing artists who are just making their way in the industry. Our purpose is to change the world one voice at a time by serving others with excellence and helping them to achieve the same, and in all things, glorify God.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

In my industry (music/entertainment) you live and die by your reputation. What that has meant to me as an entity and business owner is the importance of the integrity of my word. Being honest and always delivering excellent service has been the single best strategy for growing my business. Word of mouth is the best referral of clients and new business, and being a trusted name in the industry is not a “one time” thing … it’s about the continuous delivery of the excellence that people expect from your brand.

And so, learning how relational business (and the world) really is maintaining a good reputation will get you there, but delivering excellence is what has kept me in business. Let your work speak for you!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2010, I was scheduled to spend a week of rehearsals in an Atlanta arena, working with a new pop star on his upcoming tour. I had already taken cancelled that week of clients otherwise to make way for this tour prep week so my schedule was clear. Unbeknownst to me, I would end up spending that whole week in a hospital room with my father who suffered a brain-stem stroke and would die that same week. Suffice to say, it was a very unexpected tragedy for my family.

Two weeks after I buried my father, I was on an airplane to help kick off the Justin Bieber “My World” Tour and did 86 shows traveling in and out of the tour while coming home to handle business at my home studio and making sure that my newly widowed mother was doing all right. It was one of the most challenging times of my entire life, having to maintain my own emotional stability while serving the the needs of others in the middle of one of the largest and most successful tours on the planet. It gave new meaning to the adage, “the show must go on” … and so must life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jansmith.com
• Instagram: @MamaJanMusic
• Facebook: @MamaJanMusic
• Linkedin: “Mama Jan” Smith
• Twitter: @MamaJanMusic
• Youtube: @MamaJanMusic
• Other: Imdb: Mama Jan Smith

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Mil Cannon, Imagemil Creative