Today we’d like to introduce you to Art Villarreal.
Art, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I opened The Music School of Universal City in 2006, while bringing along two other music instructors I had worked with at a national chain music store. After about a year contemplating the idea of setting out on my own to open a private studio, Istarted looking around for some business space. I had no experience or knowledge of opening a brick-and-mortar business location, but I had a solid clientele. So I knew it was a viable option. After a bit of perusing some properties, I took a consensus of my students to find out how they’d feel about moving to a different location. Their responses gave me confidence. With two other instructors on board with me, I just had to make the final call on the location, and then work out all of the other details from there; lease agreements, construction requirements,
advertising mediums, inspections, etc. Much of the build-out was DIY with myself and the other guys, one of which was very handy with that kind of thing.
It was hands-on, laying out carpet, building frames, and soundproofing, painting, ensuring local codes were met, etc. The thing that made the situation unique is that I didn’t have confidence in a conventional contractor knowing our needs with regards to soundproofing. So, I took it upon myself to embrace the learning curve, and put my hands on the construction. I come from a musical family. My mother was a great singer, on the rise in 1940s New York, as a matter of fact, sharing the same vocal professor with legends like The Andrews Sisters. She sang various showcases in front of big names such as Bing Crosby, who was actually interested in sponsoring her. Anyway, she loved music, all types, there was always somebody rehearsing in the house as far back as I can remember. Eventually my bands were rehearsing in the house as well . She was endlessly supportive and encouraging of my musical endeavors. She was a wonderful mother.
My older siblings all played instruments. The oldest one being a lifelong musician. The others were serious as well, even majoring in music before moving on to more pragmatic pursuits. My career started straight out of high school as I went into a recording studio the summer after graduation. College would come later. But throughout my 20s I was in a number of musical projects ranging in styles from Metal, Blues, Latin Pop, local theater productions, and even a Jazz gig or two. Actually the Latin Pop came later, when I joined up with a powerhouse male Latin singer, backed by a major record
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Having never signed a business lease, I was unfamiliar with and a bit stressed out by the process. So, naturally there was a learning curve and some choices to make; length of the lease, how to leverage the build-out expense against the first couple of month’s rent, obtaining pertinent information from the city hall, figuring out code compliance and the build-out,
advertising mediums, what to name the place! That was a tough one. Signage, website creation, promotion, billing, and POS systems, all presented new challenges during the early months of operation. Since we had a built-in clientele, we didn’t have to start cold, fortunately. Surprisingly, word of mouth helped us obtain new clients for the first couple of years, while our online presence was still optimizing. But, we did have the service itself already well mastered. So, it was really just most of the business processes that I had to navigate.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been teaching guitar students, preteen to retirement age for 30 plus years.
My clientele is made up of primarily beginning students, but I have some more advanced players taking master classes.
The foundation of my instructional methods is built from experience as a performing and recording musician and also my trial and error experiences as an instructor.
I ensure that my students get a good solid fundamental skill set as they develop into more advanced players, while instilling an extensive knowledge of live performance, and the technical aspects of using musical equipment.
I’ve had my own studio since 2006. We are known in the community for teaching guitar, but also wind instruments, piano, strings, and drums. My niche is electric and acoustic guitar, and electric bass. Our in house multi instrumentalist, Tom Lopez, handles band, orchestral, drums, piano and some first year guitar.
I would say I’m most proud of the positive impact I’ve had on young students, helping them develop confidence through maintaining goals, routines, teamwork, performing under pressure and believing in themselves. It’s also very rewarding to help older students enjoy music as a means of therapy and relaxation.
At the end of the day, I think that translates into something that contributes to the community by way of helping people, youth and adult alike, achieve a skill they can treasure for a lifetime.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Based on 20 years of running a small business, and also having previous retail experience, I’d pass on the advice I learned at a business conference; don’t open a business to get rich, do what you love to do and avoid having a business partner. Also, something I learned from a very good company owner I once worked for; when in doubt, always decide in favor of the customer, that’s always the right decision. And one great manager I worked for, not very concerned with company protocols or minutiae, but instead focused on profits, always told us to just “”get the money.” My take away from that is to treat your employees well, and don’t harp on them so much about unimportant details and steps, in the process of selling. Allow them to do what they are there to do. My final piece of advice would be, to believe in what you’re doing, and make sure you’re putting your best efforts into your work every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ucmschool.com
- Email: lessons@ucmschool.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ucmusicschool
- Other: The Music School of Universal City – (210)-415-8350 (210) 748-7054
