I learned fairly quickly that starting a business is a lot like learning piano. It takes lots of practice and dedication. You have to remember the steps, move forward, and of course, lean on the experts.
When I started teaching piano, I didn’t think that it would lead to something like my Cascade Method Training Program. I surely didn’t think it would lead to creating my very own piano reading tool either. Yet, here we are!
How The Piano Reading Tool Relates To All:
Every beginner can relate to starting.
I started to notice that the concept of “beginning” is actually pretty universal. It takes the same mindset for everyone and for anything- you just have to get started!
When I had this ah-ha moment with my student, Jonah on how to create NoteMatch- the piano reading tool for beginners- I didn’t just sit on it and keep it to myself. I got to work! If you’re interested to hear how NoteMatch became a reality, read my previous blog post The Piano Reading Tool: NoteMatch | From Paper to Reality.
When I decided I wanted to actually make something out of this “thought” I had, I sketched it out. That was my start. Putting it on paper made it become a real thing! That’s another reason why I chose something as tangible as this product because seeing something and holding it makes it feel more possible!
My students caught on quick because it wasn’t a matter of just knowing the notes on the sheet music, they could actually see the right notes and their location on the piano by using NoteMatch!
Every beginner can relate to failing.
Everything we do starts with a few rounds of trial and error. My first steps, my first bike ride, my first try at piano, and definitely my first try at making a marketable product involved a few (big) fails!
Trying to make NoteMatch a physical and tangible product had its fair share of trial and error. Once I had the paper version figured out, my husband and I looked for a company who could design an actual prototype of it. We found a company who helped us create what we thought was a prototype. Well, 5,000 dollars later and we never received an actual design that a manufacturing company could use. It was only an image which no one would accept. (FAIL)
So then, my husband (luckily, who has a design and architect background) was able to recreate the design in a 3D software. It took him a couple of months but we were able to get the correct file that a manufacturer would accept!
Moral of the story, I could’ve given up when it got hard and messy but I didn’t. I kept pushing through and we ended up taking a bigger leap of faith with our manufacturer, one of the biggest blessings in the end! (This is only one of the many fails that establishing NoteMatch entailed, but I’ll save that for a later date!)
Every beginner can relate to it being worth it.
Creating a reading tool for piano beginners was hard and exhausting (it took four years). In spite of it all, I am so pleased with how it turned out and being able to say, “I did it!”
When inventory gets low, I want to order DOUBLE the amount of when we first launched NoteMatch. We sell on Amazon and to instructors and students internationally!
I am humbled every day by this vision I had and I’m so glad I decided to just start. I can finally say I’m at the phase where I believe it was all worth it! My hard work paid off. Don’t give up if you haven’t made it to this part of the process yet! The other side is bright and it’s only as far as you make it!
Get your hands on your very own NoteMatch: Piano Reading Tool for Beginners!