Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John Krause. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, John thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

For nearly a decade I was a professional actor working mostly in musical theater. In about 75% of the shows I was in I was also playing the guitar. That was case for my role in “Hadestown” on Broadway. “Hadestown” won the Tony and Grammy Award for best musical. And in 2020 I was enjoying a long run as a member of the original company in the ensemble and covering the lead role of Orpheus. For nearly an entire calendar year I waited for my opportunity to go on for that role. But the lead actor never missed a show. For nearly 52 weeks straight. But it was finally scheduled to happen… on March 12th, 2020. My parents were in town. Many other friends and family had tickets to see me in all 5 shows in the upcoming weekend. But Covid had other plans. Broadway was shut down that night. The night I was to make my principal Broadway debut. And it wouldn’t open again for another year and a half.

So, I decided to head home to Los Angeles and wait out what I thought would be a short hiatus and then return to finish my contract. But when we realized the world wasn’t going to reopen when we thought, my wife and I decided to stay in LA. Thats when I had my idea. Everyones sitting at home with a ton of time on their hands. I bet some people would love voice and guitar lessons. And thus, the John Krause Studio was born.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been playing guitar for 20 years and performing in professional theater for over a decade. I studied music and theater at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music and graduated in 2012. Since then I’ve performed in the national tours of Green Day’s American Idiot: the Musical, Wicked and Hadestown. I lead the company of Rock of Ages in Las Vegas. And was fortunate enough to make my Broadway debut in Fun Home in 2016. I also make music under my own name and with my band “Birds At Night.” I’ve also contributed my voice to many commercial jingles for businesses all over the country as well as the upcoming movie, Tapawingo starring Jon Heder. Recently, I was also the vocal coach for actress Judy Greer in film that is currently in production. Additionally, I have had the great honor of coaching numerous Broadway stars such as Taylor Iman Jones, Christine Dwyer, and Carrie St. Louis on guitar for past and upcoming productions.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I used to to have massive imposter syndrome. Some times I still feel that demon rear its ugly head, but I’ve gotten better at ignoring it. I think it’s easy in the creative world to doubt yourself and compare. But as soon as I started really putting myself out there and performing and training at the height of my ability, I knew I could trust myself. Even if someone is technically more proficient or has bigger credits, that doesn’t mean that I’m inferior. So I’m constantly unlearning the comparison game. And that’s what I try to instill in my students. We’re all on our own path and trajectory. Stay focused. Your journey is yours. Own it.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I did start this guitar and voice teaching business as a side hustle. Really as a main hustle during the pandemic when there was zero potential for the work I was used to doing. But I quickly found out how much I love it and how much my students were getting out of it. It became my main career in a matter of months. Even when performance opportunities opened up and I returned to Broadway, I never stopped teaching. Some of my students have been with me for 3+ years and I couldn’t be more grateful. I’ve tried so many things to build a client base. I made a website, paid for google and yelp ads, offered my services on a Groupon type platform. But the main way I attain clients is word of mouth. My students tell their friends and family and refer me. Virtually all of my students have come from a recommendation. Which makes sense. It’s hard to trust someone you’ve only seen on the internet. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Im so proud that my students have enjoyed their time and gotten something out of our lessons enough to want to share that with their loved ones. It’s a terrific feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://johnkrausestudio.com
• Instagram: @johnakrause
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-krause-03300b126
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/john-krause-studio-guitar-and-voice-lessons-los-angeles

Image Credits

Zak Cassar

Claire Leahy

Cherie B Tay