Building a business on making dreams (of learning guitar) come true

I have this theory that many of us harbor a secret illusion that maybe we really could be the next Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell or Ali Farka Toure (check out the 8,922+ folks who want to do this on 43 Things). Maybe that’s what makes the guitar the most popular instrument in America to learn? And I’m almost certain that that’s why Guitar Hero is an even bigger craze than DDR.

Entrepreneur, musician and guitar teacher John Paul Shields of Seattle, WA was kind enough to take a few minutes to chat with us about his experiences teaching guitar to the next generation of Jimi’s and Joni’s.

(Lest you be confused, this is Jimi Hendrix, not John Paul Shields)

TeachStreet: What made you decide to become a professional guitar instructor?

John Paul Shields: I’ve have always enjoyed teaching in various degrees, whether it was helping my sister with math (which used to be my favorite subject, her least), organizing a soccer team of novices, or showing friends how to ski. It’s just fun to share something I love to do.

But it took awhile to realize my career in music. After a couple years of studying engineering, I realized I was miserable. I decided to switch gears and transferred to the University of Washington, where I enrolled in the music program. One of the courses I took was guitar pedagogy where we had students to teach and work with. I was absolutely enthralled. And that, as they say, was that!

This is John Paul Shields – happy to be playing guitar.

TS: What do you love about teaching?

JPS: I love sharing my passion for the subject. But I also enjoy the opportunities for learning teaching provides. Not only do I learn more about the subject by seeing how other people approach it, but I also get to learn about the students themselves. I have met so many wonderful people and personalities through teaching. I feel really quite lucky.

TS: What types of students do you teach? How do most people find you?

JPS: I work with all styles of guitar—from classical, to rock, to jazz, to various folk music, etc.—so I get all kinds of students. I’ve worked with aspiring professional guitarists, to adults looking for something fun to do in their spare time, to teenagers, to adolescents, to even kids as young as four years old. I love the diversity of students that teaching guitar privately offers, and I see it as my job as their teacher to help make their goals (whatever they might be) become a reality.

TS: How do most people find you?

JPS: I’ve been teaching full time for more than 6 years now, so a lot of my students are repeat students or come from referrals. The only advertising I really do is on craigslist, outside of my website. My website is helpful in letting folks know that I’m a serious instructor, not just a kid teaching a few chords out of their parent’s basement or something.

TS: As a full time teacher, you’re running your own small business. Tell us a little bit about some of the challenges you face.

JPS: The biggest challenge for a small business owner is getting your name out, which I think is true for any business, but it is especially true for an independent guitar studio that isn’t affiliated with a music store. The internet is a mixed blessing for advertising, in that there are lots of chances to get exposure, but there is so much for people to sort through that it can be overwhelming.

Once you start to get the exposure you need to maintain a clientele, you then have to be prepared to administer your business and the appropriate licenses, taxes, scheduling, etc. It can be a daunting task some days to sort through all the emails, but that is what has to be done.

Of course there is also the challenge of implementing business policy. People are busy, and often the first things for them to put aside in times of stress are activities of leisure, which new guitar lessons can fall under. The challenge for me is to maintain a “no show” policy that allows for a mistake or two once in a while, yet still protects my time as a business owner trying to make a living. People tend to forget that someone else would readily use the lesson time they are skipping.

TS: Do you think these challenges are common to music teachers or even all types of teachers starting their own business?

JPS: Absolutely. Especially when the teacher is forming a private studio. It’s hard to strike your own path, though the rewards of freedom and individuality are worth it.

TS: You teach most of your classes from your home studio? What are the pros and cons for this as a teacher and for your students?

JPS: The cons, as mentioned before, are dealing with the challenges of running your own business. But the benefits are having a studio where you can control lesson times and lengths, fees, curriculum, as well as recommendations for instruments and music. I have no conflicts of interest, in turn allowing me to give lessons and information that is tailor to the student, and that makes me happy.

TS: Any favorite or funny moments from class?

JPS: There are too many to count, really, but I guess my favorite thing is watching someone truly acquire a piece of information. It’s so exciting to watch people’s eyes light up as they “get it.”

TS: You have a great website that talks about your teaching services and performances. What do you love about the internet in general? What limitations do you think it has?

JPS: My website is great for helping potential students learn a little more about me and my teaching philosophy. It also allows potential students a chance to hear samples of what I have worked on, as well as see when I—or my students—are performing. It’s amazing the things that you can do with websites these days. It’s a great way for people to gather information and stay in touch. I think most of us would be lost without email.

Of course, as I mentioned before, there is so much information on the web that it can be overwhelming to the looker, which is why sites such as TeachStreet can be such a help.

TS: Any advice for TeachStreet?

JPS: I’d love to expand my teaching business, especially to do more work with younger school-aged students. That said, the idea of mass marketing myself and my business is a little daunting, so keeping things easy and cost-efficient is going to be a priority for teachers like me. I’d challenge TeachStreet to think of ways to reach out to parents in a way that a) markets teachers, and b) helps parents feel really good about where they’re sending their kids. A typical classified ad in a newspaper or online doesn’t give people enough information to really make a good decision. This is something that I’d love to see improved.

Also, a lot of young folks look at craigslist, which is great. However, parents are the ones who are usually paying for lessons, so TS will need to find places and ways to reach out to parents as well as potential young students.

Lastly, it would be useful to help arrange for payment by credit card, if that’s what parents preferred.

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John Paul Shields has taught guitar through the Renton H.O.M.E. program, the Boys and Girls Club in Kirkland, and as a substitute guitar teacher at the University of Washington. He currently teaches out of his private studio, click here to listen to his music samples. JP resides in Seattle, where he continues to perform and teach guitar, play recreational soccer, and work seasonally as a ski instructor. If you’re interested in taking lessons with JP, contact him at
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A few questions to the peanut gallery…

• If you’ve taken a class with the John Paul, leave a comment and let us know what you loved.
• If you’ve always thought about starting music lessons, what would give you the extra push to start now? Extra time in your schedule? Knowing the right teacher? A friend taking classes with you? A promotional first class?