This month, I am participating in the #MusicTherapyBlogger challenge in order to help jumpstart this blog. For this week’s challenge, I will be kicking off an FAQ series on my business and the services I offer.
Working in a lesser known field, you get used to answering a lot of questions. Of course one of those questions is ‘What is Music Therapy?’ (which I will tackle later in this series), but living in a very rural area, I often get this compound question- ‘Why would I start that kind of business there, and how can that be profitable?’. Today, I’ll tackle the first part of that question, the ‘Why?’.
So, I run my private practice in a little bitty Indiana town. I’ve heard other music therapists talk about their “small towns” of, say, 15-20,000 people. How about 2,500? We have one stoplight. Now that’s small.
I chose to have my private practice here because it’s my hometown. And I’m stubborn. I come from a family of entrepreneurs (also very stubborn people, but that’s beside the point). My grandmother opened a restaurant back in the late sixties and my parents opened their own restaurant when I was kid (check out this blog post I wrote a few years ago if you want more family/restaurant backstory http://rhythmgardenmusic.com/2012/02/29/work-hard-and-follow-your-dreams/ ). Given that, it’s not a huge stretch that I would also open some kind of business. But, in all honesty, I never in a million years would have imagined that I would come back and have a business in my hometown. It’s funny how life works out sometimes.
My studio started as a very part-time gig teaching a few early childhood music classes while I worked full-time in the child & family services sector. My degree was in psychology, but I loved teaching the music classes and saw how much of a positive impact the music made on the children’s learning and behavior. Long story short, I stumbled onto a music therapy program while exploring options for a Masters Degree in Counseling, decided to go back for a second degree in Music Therapy instead and never looked back. I continued to teach the music classes part-time with the goal of eventually converting my studio into a full-time private practice. Of course, I had a lot of people tell me I was crazy for trying to do any kind of music-related business here, which made me work even harder just to prove them wrong 🙂
Seriously though, I find it very frustrating to hear people complain about my town and the area in general. I am a firm believer that you have no right to complain about where you live unless you have done everything you can do to try to make it a better place. My town may be tiny and need some work, but I see potential. I have chosen to keep my business here to support and invest in this town, and hopefully that investment will help make it an even better place to raise my family.
Now, 10 years after beginning my journey into business ownership, I was finally able to leave my other job just last week (coincidentally, my son’s 1st birthday was the same week) and jump into full-time private practice ownership. I am very excited to see where this adventure takes me.
What an exciting adventure!
Awesome!! Best of luck as you get things started! I’m from an itty bitty town as well and find that while sometimes resources can be few, there is also an incredible sense of community support. Looking forward to reading more about your journey!
Thank you, Megan!
Reblogged this on Just This Crazy Life and commented:
Today, I’m sharing my space with Morgan May Sparks. She was a year ahead of me at DePauw – and she has led an adventurous life since she graduated 10 years ago. I’m such a firm believer in exposing children to the arts – and she proves, once again, how valuable and needed it is. I’m so proud of her. I admire her stubbornness, intelligence and drive to make her community a better place for all. I only wish she was in my small Indiana town so I could take my children!