I took a hiatus from my music/performing arts career a few years ago due to burn-out from working in the field for so many years. However, when I missed music and decided it was time to get back into it, I wanted to go into teaching again, believing it was time to give back. I sent my resume out to local music schools and applied for piano teaching positions. I remember going into one interview and playing the piano for the director, going over my schooling, experiences and accomplishments with her. The interview room was dirty, filled with boxes and a dusty piano. The director told me that this would be the room I would be teaching in. She said that after she hired me, I would need to advertise on my own for potential students and do my own marketing. In addition, she would take half of what I would make for each lesson. After I left the interview, I remember getting into my car, highly insulted and thinking, "What am I doing?" "After all of my experiences and education, why am I trying to impress this person who, quite frankly, didn't even have a fourth of my experiences and education?" "Why am I selling myself short?" "Why am I settling for this?" "If I have to do my own marketing and then turn around and give her half of my earnings, why don't I just work for myself?" That was it! All of this stimulated me into thinking, "I can do better!" From there, I decided to take a leap of faith, rent a space of my own and go into business for myself. The first step for me was finding a space that would tolerate someone playing the piano daily, this was not easy. I would say this was probably the biggest challenge in the beginning. Fortunately, I found a wonderful space in Historic Downtown Upland. In addition, I would need to focus on advertising and marketing. I started out with 1 student, then 2, and then so on. Now, about a couple of years in, the business is thriving, growing and I'm enjoying it. I'm glad I went on that disastrous interview. It caused me to shift my thinking and almost force me to believe that I can do better!