This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Strumming Into Silence. Welcome, friends. Welcome to Side Hustle School. This is Chris Guillebeau. Today's Failure Friday episode, we're going to tune into a venture of online guitar lessons.
As noted, it's called Strumming Into Silence. This post-pandemic digital adaptation missed its mark with beginners and then faced a tough lesson on irreplaceable value of in-person instruction. If you're new here, you might think, well, this doesn't sound like a very exciting business case study. How am I supposed to get inspired by this? I'm going to hear about a business that failed.
Well, actually, that is what you're going to hear about. You're going to hear about an idea that didn't work out, and part of why we do this once a week, once a week only, is to offer a model of thinking differently about ideas, first of all, so that you come up with better ideas or you understand what makes for a profitable idea. Also, just as importantly, that you understand that if you do pursue an idea that doesn't work out, it's okay, like you can recover, you can go on to do something else. I think a lot of times we get stopped or we get stuck, we just prevent ourselves from moving forward because we try something and it doesn't work. Then we're thinking like, well, we're a failure and you're not a failure, it's just sometimes something doesn't work.
Failure Friday is a collection of short stories about mistakes, missteps, disasters, and of course, failure. You get to hear directly from a side hustler. Today's short story features Kevin from Reno, Nevada, as you might guess, his business has had a couple of challenges. Let's hear from him about this idea, the strumming into silence idea. Well, his idea was not to strum into silence, that's just what happened. Let's hear the story from Kevin.
I'll come back at the end with a couple brief comments. >> Influenced by Jake Posko success story of providing the most awesome guitar lessons in the universe. I ventured into the world of online guitar teaching with a high note of optimism. My name is Kevin Harper and I was determined to transpose Jake's successful model to the digital stage targeting young beginners across the globe. The plan was straightforward, leverage the Internet to offer accessible, engaging, and flexible guitar lessons.
However, the journey struck a chord of unforeseen challenges that ultimately led me to restrum my career path. The initial setup was promising. I invested in high quality recording gear, meticulously planned my lesson structures, and launched my online platform, Strum Right. The idea was to capture the essence of learning guitar in a fun and interactive way, believing that the convenience of online access would be a major draw for students and parents alike. However, reality quickly detuned my expectations.
Young beginners, enthusiastic at first, found themselves entangled in the basics of guitar mechanics. How to properly hold the guitar, position their fingers on the fretboard, and master the coordination needed for strumming. My video lessons, though detailed and professionally produced, couldn't offer the on-the-spot adjustments and real-time feedback that only in-person teaching could provide. Feedback from frustrated students and concerned parents began to echo through my inbox. The realization was sharp and dissonant.
The very beginners I aimed to inspire were the ones who needed in-person guidance the most. This revelation was a turning point, prompting me to pivot Strum Right towards intermediate and advanced players who, theoretically, could benefit more from the online model. Yet, this pivot struck another sour note. The market of self-taught musicians seeking advanced lessons was significantly smaller and less willing to invest in online instruction. A stark contrast to the beginner market.
My attempts to attract this new audience faced flat responses, and it became clear that the scale and scope of Strum Right were diminishing rapidly. Faced with these harmonic obstacles, I had to acknowledge the limits of my online venture. The business model I had envisioned, inspired by success stories like Jake's, was not resonant in the reality of online music education, at least, not for the audience I had initially targeted. This realization led to a difficult decision, to close down Strum Right and explore new horizons. The venture into online guitar lessons, though not successful, was far from futile.
It honed my skills in digital content creation, marketing, and the intricacies of online business management. Skills that I have since redirected into a career in digital marketing consultancy, where I help other entrepreneurs amplify their online presence. Looking back, the Strum Right endeavor was a valuable composition of lessons in entrepreneurship, the importance of market research, and the acknowledgement that not all successful models can be seamlessly adapted to different contexts. Hey, thanks so much for sharing the story. I really appreciate it.
This helps our listeners, it helps me, you know, helps all of us understand, you know, as I said, how to get better about thinking about ideas in the first place, and then how to recover, how to pivot and adapt and move on. You know, I really like that concept of changing and adapting and like, "Okay, I'm not going to do that anymore, but there's something else I can do." And that is my message every single day for all of our listeners. There is something you can do. There is an idea you can take action on that's going to change your life. And I know that might sound kind of hokey, but it's true, right?
There are ideas you can take action on that will change your life. And I encourage you to find these ideas and take action on them. Okay, that's the soapbox, but I just believe in it so much. That's why I keep sharing it. If you have a question or an update for us about your hustle, www.sidehustleschool.com, today's notes, episode 2,645.
So you just go to the website and type in 2645, www.sidehustleschool.com. And of course, new episodes on the way, seven days a week, always completely free. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is SightHustle School. From The Onward Project.
