A new music tuition business in Aberdeen has been enjoying success since starting out earlier this year.
One Lad Music Services is run by Barry Carroll from his home in Stoneywood, Aberdeen.
He offers one-to-one lessons on a wide range of instruments as well as online courses via his website.
After switching between jobs throughout his life, Barry feels that starting his own business has been his best career move yet.
“It’s the best thing that I’ve ever done,” says Barry.
“The reason that I’ve been in and out of other jobs in the past is because they’ve never suited me.
“Working for myself, I only have myself to answer to.”
Meeting Dave Grohl
Originally from the Republic of Ireland, Barry relocated to the north-east of Scotland with his wife seven years ago.
His music career has taken him all over the world and he met Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl while touring the US with an Irish folk band.
Upon settling in the north-east in 2014, starting from scratch initially felt daunting for Barry.
“Of course there was a music scene here in Aberdeen, but nobody had ever heard of me,” says Barry.
“Two years ago, I took a job teaching guitar in Inverurie whilst working another job at a nursery.
“I gradually kept on taking more hours into the music teaching then by April this year, I left that company and went out by myself.”
Going solo
Realising an opportunity for expanding by going solo, Barry set about creating One Lad Music Services.
Within the space of a few weeks, he already exceeded his expectations for the business.
“My goal was to aim for 20 students a week to allow me to have enough money to keep things ticking over,” says Barry.
“I started out with 14 students but I ended up with just over 30 by the end of the month. It got out of hand very quickly!”
Adapting to online lessons via his website meant Barry didn’t have students miss out on his services.
He still has a waiting list for his one-to-ones but is aiming to take on students for a new remote service in January.
“From January, I’m going to be trialing a new subscription-based style of virtual lessons with the idea of it being like a virtual personal trainer,” Barry explains.
New opportunities
With positive feedback spurring him on and new opportunities at Aberdeen’s Shiprow Village to look forward to, the year ahead looks bright for One Lad Music Services.
“I hope to give students the skills on their instruments that they can implement in real-life settings,” Barry explains.
“My philosophy is that a good teacher should make themselves redundant – that’s what I aim to do.”
Visit www.oneladmusic.com
