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

Phil, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

As a songwriter, I was always aware that my style was somewhat eclectic or at least very unique. I embraced this early and over the years it became what set me apart. It became something other musicians admired. This gave me confidence as I embarked on my career in teaching. I was comfortable with seeing things differently. I was fine with doing things in a way that sat well with me.

As a private instructor, it didn’t take long for me to recognize some common shortcomings in the approaches being taken with teaching music, especially where adults are concerned. I began to work hard at inspiring adult students and helping them find ways to stay engaged in their musical pursuits. This led to a method. I didn’t plan it. It just emerged over time.

What I came to realize was that adult music students can’t be taught the same way kids are. And yet, that’s what the bulk of the music education industry does. You see, adults already understand how they, as individuals, learn. And they need a reason to continue down a path. By giving my students an outcome (getting on stage in a professional venue or writing and recording songs), they easily extend themselves beyond hobbyists. Even if it is a hobby, you want to be good at it. You need to share it. These are essential to experiencing the joy of creating music.

As a result of applying this principle for teaching adults, of treating them like professionals with a belief in their unlimited potential, I’ve watched many students create successful careers in music. Sometimes it’s their second career or their side hustle.

Just before I moved to Los Angeles last year, I did a student performance for my school in Chicago. At a popular music venue, along with several other students, I had one guy who had only been playing a little more than a year. He was singing and playing like a pro. He was retired from a longtime career in sales and had never before played guitar or sang. This wasn’t a recital, mind you. This was a proper live show in Chicago, one of the greatest cities for music.

This is what I do. It all comes from a drive to see every student enjoy music as much as I do, and the understanding that music is a cultural universal. That means everyone has access to it.

Phil, 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’ve been a working musician since 1989. I’m a singer-songwriter-guitarist. I’ve toured the U.S. several times. I’ve also been a writer for music zines for most of my career and publish regular articles about the art and business of music as someone in my shoes experiences it. In 2017 I published a memoir-so-far about my journey as an independent musician. It won a Readers’ Choice Award for Non-Fiction. In 1993 I started teaching general music in the Chicago schools and that led me to a degree in music composition and performance at Columbia College Chicago. By the time I graduated in 1997 I was teaching private lessons along with the classroom. In the midst of this, I also founded Guilt By Association Records to produce and distribute my own music.

Teaching led me to eventually start my own teaching studio. Just before the pandemic lockdowns hit Chicago, I began developing my studio into a proper school for music, specializing in adult music education. Phil Circle Music was officially born. I brought in other working professional musicians as coaches. When I moved to Los Angeles in 2022 to join my wife the actor, I partnered with two of my Chicago teachers to keep that school up and running. I founded Phil Circle Music Los Angeles in August 2022.

Throughout my career as a teacher, I’ve used my own experiences to draw examples for my students. This means that as I continue to grow artistically, so do my students. It’s the ultimate cure for stagnation. I’ve also developed a strong niche in breaking people of creative blocks. I’ve been able to discover why musical artists run into walls and work them through it, almost without fail. I’ve also broken songwriters of writer’s block and been able to teach countless musicians how to write music. In fact, so far there’s been nobody I haven’t broken through. As long as they’re willing to do the work, I can get them there.

I’m really proud of the work that I do and nothing makes me happier than seeing other musicians enjoying music at the level that I do when I hit the stage. This is really the ultimate goal, isn’t it? We want the next generation to excel. We want them to suffer a little less. We want them to learn from our mistakes and enjoy the benefits of the skills our victories have brought us.

That’s what I do. My favorite thing in the world is being on the stage, closely followed by getting others up there, too. I know it’s just a bunch of skill sets. Very challenging ones to develop. But anyone who’s up to the task, I’m up to walking them there.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

There’s a wealth of information about how to build your audience on social media and it can get kind of loud or overwhelming. It took me some time to find my groove, but I’ve always been fairly comfortable with sharing through any platform. The challenge was finding my voice, my style.

That happened when I stopped over thinking and started communicating.

If someone walks into your brick and mortar store, you don’t worry about exactly what you should say. You greet them and ask how you can help. Then you answer their questions and begin working out how you can be of service.

That’s the bulk of what I do. I look for ways I can create value and be of service. And I do it all as me, Phil. Just as if I was in the room with someone.

We’re all communicators. We all have our own ways of communicating. Just communicate what you want to share. We hear a lot about being authentic. I think a lot of people worry about whether they’re accomplishing this. But if you have to think about whether you’re being real, then you aren’t being real. Embrace your quirks, your dry sense of humor, your goofiness, your shyness, your interest in your work and why you do it. Whatever. Then share it. Freely.

Once I stopped over thinking, my social media platforms grew naturally. They continue to.

Oh, and be sure to respond to folks when they comment or message you. Do it right away. Again, if they walked in your brick and mortar store you wouldn’t ignore them. You’d walk up to them and engage.

Have fun.

Any advice for managing a team?

My team of teachers and business partners are a wonderfully diverse group of people. That makes for a wider array of ideas and experiences.

I’ve been in many positions of management and leadership over the years across many different circumstances. I’ve always sought to learn from each one.

Here’s my straight forward approach to managing a team and maintaining high morale.

Don’t manage them. Lead them. And leadership isn’t jumping out front and yelling, “let’s go!” unless that’s exactly what’s called for. True leadership is a supportive role. Most of what I do is look for ways to support the efforts and encourage the ideas and actions of the people I work with. Also, their diverse backgrounds are a great source of perspectives I might not have. So, I depend on them to speak up and take actions. We’re all creative people. So, it’s a little like having a band. I let each musician in the band make their own choices with the music I bring and then we decide if it’s working over all. If my band isn’t spot on, I take responsibility. I do the same with my team.

If you trust this process, you’ll know when you need to jump out front and charge up that hill and when you need to let your team run ahead.

Lastly, show gratitude. It’s one of the most powerful emotions we have.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://philcirclemusic.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/philcirclemusic
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/philcirclemusic
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/philcircle
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/philcircle
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@philcircle

Image Credits
Natalia Hernandez Megan Corse