We recently connected with Quandrell Claybrooks and have shared our conversation below.
Quandrell , appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?
Believe it or not, I never wanted to teach or pursue this strand of my career. My goals were to become a successful opera and theatrical artist and entrepreneur. However, I was offered an opportunity to teach Voice privately at a dance studio, immediately after college in 2005. It was not something I really wanted to do at the time, but it was great side hustle to my career and my then full-time job as a college-administrator. It also allowed me to build my skillset and to connect with other creatives. That lasted about a year, and then I resigned and continued my journey as a budding artist and career man.
Then, about 3 years later, The Great Recession hit, and I was greatly affected. I lost my job, and I was forced to downsize, and pivot my career, which had me reconsider the idea of teaching privately again. So, I began taking on a few clients, which lasted about a year. However, there was just not enough consistency in the work, which left me frustrated and disinterested. Again, I walked away from the opportunity and moved forward with my life.
By this time, I had made decision to shift my career into public education, as an elementary teacher. This opportunity was a great career move, but it still had its demands and requirements of investment. So, as a way to supplement my income, I decided to consult with private teaching studios in 2012. I believe this was the beginning of Claybrooks Music Studios. Within about 18 months, I saw a dramatic increase in business. Business was steady with my partner studios. However, I began to attract and incur more business on my own, which eventually allowed me the opportunity to walk away to build and focus on my own brand. As much as I enjoyed consulting, I knew that I had something great on the horizon that was completely mine. Since then, Claybrooks Music Studios has been in business 10 years strong, and I look forward to many more!
Quandrell , 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 am Quandrell Claybrooks, the Owner/Executive Director of Claybrooks Music Studios out of Atlanta, Georgia. We have been in business since 2012, an our focus is developing artist of all ages. We specialize in private (in-person/virtual) instruction in the areas of: Voice, Piano, Musical Theatre, Music Technology/Composition, Woodwinds, and Strings. Our company also offers after-school programming, along with artistic consulting, and studio partnership programming.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
What I love about my business is that we are PEOPLE-BASED BUSINESS FIRST! Relationships and experiences matter! The service comes secondary. Anytime we onboard a new client, I tell them that the relationship takes precedent over the music and learning to this partnership. If we can win over a client’s trust, then teaching them how to make music becomes an overall inclusive experience, and an easy win for both sides. Not only that, the client then (1) wants to expand their musical scope, which extends our services, and (2) they begin to share their experiences with others, which creates new opportunities for us to touch more lives.
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?
In addition to our private one-on-one model (virtual/in-person), we do offer after-school enrichment for grades P-8 (in the areas of piano, voice, guitar, musical theatre, music technology/composition, theater), along with studio partnership residencies (i.e. dance studios, acting studios, etc.), and creative project consulting (i.e. stage productions, films, albums, etc.)
Contact Info:
- Facebook: Claybrooks Music Studios
Image Credits
Joe Carlos Photography