7 years of Musika

Well, this is my first ever blog post to go with my new website so be kind.

I started Musika almost exactly 7 years ago (1st Nov 2010). It was possibly one of the worst times to start a new business. The banking crash was still very much going on, and I had just become a father for the first time so taking a gamble on something like preschool music classes was, well, a gamble. I had already been a Colourstrings teacher for 6 years, working for Kent Music. However, the organisation was changing and I felt that my particular field was being side-lined for other areas of music teaching which seemed to be attracting more grants. So I decided to go it alone. I named my new classes Musika, firstly because of a song I had learnt during my training called 'Viva la musica' and secondly because it just seemed to feel right. like it was the only possible choice. I didn't want it to sound too kiddified (is that a word?) as a lot of children's music classes do. I wanted it to reflect the fact that although the classes are fun, I take the delivery of them very seriously. The quality of the songs has to be right and the flow of the lessons is almost as important, maintaining the energy levels and enthusiasm of the children and adults. Well anyway, the gamble paid off. I set up lessons in Ashford and Maidstone initially while also teaching in London 3 days a week. Over the years I have managed to tailor my work to fit with my family life (I now have 2 children), and so all of my work is now in Kent and 75% of it is within 5 miles of my home. I now run classes in Ashford 2 days a week and in Tenterden 1 day a week as well as teaching in schools and nurseries which probably accounts for 50% of my working time. The advantage of being self-employed is that for the last 6 years I have worked 4 days a week, allowing me to have Thursdays as 'Daddy day' with both my son Finlay and my daughter Esmé. That will change next September when Esmé starts school so I am starting to think about how I can fill my Thursdays. I'll try and blog occasionally when I'm feeling inspired. It already feels like it might be a good thing, if nothing else but to remind me why I love this job (even when things aren't going too smoothly).