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

Melissa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

My best investments have always been in myself and my own continued learning. When I changed careers, I invested in education and earned my Piano Pedagogy certification.
Investing in myself has always created more opportunity, more understanding, more personal growth, more financial growth, more points of connection with clients.
When Covid and lockdowns hit, I knew it was a time to dream, re-invent, and invest in my business. I had some business savings, I applied for a PPE grant, and continued to save. But I also started to dream. What if everything was online for a long time? What tech investments would I have to make? What if online went away? What would I need to invest in to still teach safely? I sketched out a re-design of my studio space, made some initial lists of equipment and gear, did lots of research and sought advice from trusted colleagues, and then set a budget for the re-design. I knew that no matter what happened as a result of Covid, I forever more wanted to be able to easily and seamlessly move from in-person to online and back again with everything I did as a piano teacher, small business coach, online course creator, speaker, and more. I could have skimped on everything and ‘just gotten by,’ but I knew this was an investment and would have the power to help me earn more and continue to differentiate myself from other teachers in my area. Was there risk? Sure. I knew they payoffs could be slow or non-existent. At a time when most were scared, unsure, confused, and averse to risk, I decided to double-down and bet on myself and my business. I was also confident in my track record, and in my ability to see future trends. I worked my network, honed my budget, and after only 9 months I completed my version of my dream studio. That investment continues to yield higher than imagined returns.
Investing in myself and my business has always been a win for me. I believe in my abilities and talents. I trust in my training. I continue to hone my crafts and learn new things. I continue to invest in myself and my business.

Melissa, 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 piano lessons at about age 5. As I grew older and tackled harder music, I switched to a teacher who was able to push me harder and lean into classical training and competitions. I also picked up other instruments along way, playing clarinet in band, and a variety of things for church. By the time I was a Senior in High School, I was completely burned out on piano competitions and no longer had a desire to play for judges and was disconnected from the pieces I was playing. Much to the disappointment of my teacher, I quit in the middle of my Senior year after a competition. I stayed in music during college but focused on anything but piano. But while in college I was also exploring journalism because I had also excelled in debate and public speaking. I fell in love with Organizational Communication and that became my major. Music was a wonderful hobby and stress-reliever. Throughout that time, I was also actively involved in my local church and the campus ministries. Many people were encouraging me to pursue a Masters in Divinity and go to work as pastor because of my skillsets. Seminary never ended up working out, but I did spend 16 years working in 4 different churches in 3 different states in a wide variety of positions, many including music. The problem was that at every church I faced some type of inappropriate behavior or lack of ethical leadership. From sexual harassment to gender discrimination, then dealing with a pathological liar as a leader to professional sabotage from another leader, I finally gave up ever working for churches again. No amount of formal complaints, documentation, or modeling appropriate leadership worked.
So, with two young children whose needs were becoming ever more important, I chose to stay home, be a great mom and wife, and make a little side income teaching a few piano lessons. It was the pivot and breakthrough I needed. It was the beginning of my second career.
I went back to school and earned my Piano Pedagogy Certification and continued to get good coaching and professional development as a Piano Teacher. As I continued to learn and excel, my business grew and grew each year until I was teaching my limit of 46 students per week.
Soon, I burned out. But I learned from that and again made a pivot. I stumbled upon Differentiated Instruction strategies and figured out how to leverage those strategies for my own private music studio. It worked brilliantly! I continued to develop those ideas and eventually put together my own online course for other music teachers. I cut my enrollment to a more manageable size and the DI strategies created a 96% average retention rate year to year so I never worried about getting students.
The more I have continued to grow professionally, the more I have done to give back to the professional music teaching community. During the pandemic I was asked to coach a few people and that has grown into a love of using my educational background in Organizational Communication and Development, along with my experience and continued professional development in both piano pedagogy and Organizational Development/Leadership.

Now, I exist to Thank, Encourage, Grow and Support Creatives so Their Work More Profoundly Impacts Humanity. I do that in my studio through teaching piano, through my small business coaching, through my online course, through my podcast, Sounds of Encouragement, through my leadership roles in professional organizations, and through my writing.

What sets me apart is that I am a critical thinker (and good bullshit detector) who does not simply rely on other people’s templates or generic platitudes. I fully understand business and I fully understand music teaching. I customize everything for my students and coaching clients because that (along with good communication channels) is the hallmark of Differentiated Learning. I solve the problems of burnout in my piano students and my coaching clients. I help them find joy again in what they do.

I am most proud of the long tenure of relationships I have with music students and now coaching clients. Those who work with me know I have their best interests as a human being at heart, first and foremost. Wellness and wellbeing through our relationships come before learning and growing. That level of support, knowing one another, and being kindly honest and encouraging is what helps my clients grow in sustainable ways that are meaningful for them.

I am also most proud of constantly working to clarify and use my own voice. My leadership story involves going from a survivor of sexual abuse to becoming of beacon for others of safety, healing, and freedom. I continue to do the work of anti-racism and the intersectionality of justice for all groups of marginalized people – anyone who is ‘othered’ anywhere in the world. Like the USS Comfort, I am well-equipped to sail where needed and provide aid to those who need it.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

After reading Simon Sinek’s book, The Infinite Game, I tweaked some of his language and combined some of his thoughts about leadership with those of other wonderful Organizational Development/Psychology professionals. Through that synthesis I developed what I call my Worthy Cause, which is: I Thank, Encourage, Grow and Support Creative so Their Work More Profoundly Impacts Humanity

That drives everything I do. Out of that was born my umbrella company, MusicGro which houses the coaching, the online course, the podcast, the music teaching and the blog. And there is more to come. There is much within our Creative Industries that must change – some from within, and some by building new. To that end I am working toward a new way to experience professional conferences and a more collaborative and profitable online platform for Creatives.

Creatives are so undervalued and under-appreciated even within our own industries. And we have enormous work to do around racial and economic equity. Changing those dynamics is a big part of my life’s work and how I use my privilege and my voice.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Lesson: Remaining Silent is Dangerous at Best

For the majority of my careers in both the church and as a music teacher, I experienced a lot of gender discrimination and more.
My mother worked full time outside the home and I learned from her that success had little to do with talent or knowledge and more to do with how one ‘played the game’ of ingratiation. I understood that the best way to rise up was to beat the system by being the best at what one did (taking the lumps in stride). Many of us Gen X’ers were able to rise to the positions we had because of our mothers and grandmothers. Culturally, we were not in a time where rebellion could work well. If we (if I) tried to fight back I knew I was easily replaced and ‘blacklisted.’

But then, I had to learn my silence and playing that old game was no longer going to ‘cut it’ for my daughter’s generation.

As a Senior in High School, my daughter came home from her government class one day absolutely livid. She was so angry she could hardly recount the story. But she told my husband and me that her male teacher who had been using ‘endearing’ terms for the girls in his class all year (‘sweetie,’ ‘darlin,’ ‘cutie’) said in class that day that the only reason more women were not in congress was because women have babies. I was also now livid. I heard myself say to my family that night, “I did not survive sexual abuse and all the other discrimination just to have my own daughter have to go through it now too.”
My husband and I wrote a letter to the teacher and administrator. The teacher was quick to gaslight my daughter. But we persisted and he backed down at least while she was in class. It wasn’t exactly a huge cultural change, but we stood firm and spoke against that one local teacher – it was a start.

From that day forward, I committed to never being silent again. My voice about what affects us as women is clear, effective, kind, and helping us move forward.
That same voice applies to all who are marginalized.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.musicgro.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.slocum.92
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-slocum-35685662/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MusicGroLLC
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz6-UtRiOjSF39VTKJpMr0w

Image Credits
headshots by Chris Rugowski