Hannah Best Interview with The WiMN

At Music & Arts, our mission is to inspire people of all ages to pick up an instrument and learn music. We teach over 1.5 million lessons each year in our facilities across the nation, and we couldn’t do it without our team of dedicated and talented teachers and store associates. Hannah Best, our Regional Lesson Manager, was recently featured on The Women’s International Music Network website. Here’s a selection of our favorite questions and answers from the piece. You can read the entire interview here.

WiMN: Can you share a bit about your job and what your favorite aspects of it are?

HB: My job is a sales position. I’m responsible for finding ways to recruit and retain more students who want to learn music so that we are able to further grow and develop our business. I’m also responsible for finding ways to recruit and retain private music teachers who want to share their love and passion for music in one-on-one private lessons with students of all ages. This involves everything from deciding what instruments we need for each store, to teaching employees how to speak with customers about lessons, to handling questions about paychecks for teachers and what studio equipment we will order for each new store we open.

I am a very lucky person, because I get to interface with our employees and teachers every day. The best part of my job is teaching employees how to connect with students and their families so that more people can be involved with music. I was not able to take private lessons until I went to college and I want more people to have this opportunity.

WiMN: What is a typical work day like for you?

HB: I start the work week in the office at 6 AM, answer emails until 10 AM. By this time, many of our retail locations are open and I begin to make phone calls to members of the sales team. This could be employees in stores, district managers, directors, or teachers. I also travel to visit our stores. In 2017, I spent over 70 days on the road and visited over 60 retail store locations. The goal of each visit is to teach employees how to become stronger at selling lessons to customers and growing their lesson programs so that more students will begin to learn music in our stores. I finish my day in the evening and this time may vary if I’m out on the road.

WiMN: Do you see more girls and women taking lessons now than in the past? How have music lessons evolved?

HB: Over the past five years, we started seeing more women in the stores signing up for lessons for members of their families and for themselves. I believe this stems from having more positive (female) musical influences in the media. When girls and women are empowered by other women, they’re inspired and this has translated into our lesson program.

WiMN: I know in the past women have encountered challenging situations when they enter a music store. Does Music & Arts have any guidelines to ensure that all customers are treated with respect? Do you have any other thoughts on this issue?

HB: Music & Arts treats all customers fairly regardless of their background. Music is for everyone, and we engage all customers with this mindset. We’ve also hired and promoted more female employees in our stores in the last five years. It’s not uncommon for women or girls to be able to interact with more women in our stores during their shopping experience.

WiMN: What are some tips for students looking at joining a music lesson program?

HB: I’m full of tips! For students that want to join a music lesson program, my best advice is to start now. Don’t wait! For younger students, speak with a member of your family to let them know you’re interested and that you want a chance to explore the world of music. For adult students, you’re not too late to start! You can begin an instrument at any age. Next, do some research! Contact any M&A store and let them know what type of music you want to learn. Chances are, we have an expert teacher ready to go and we’re ready to teach all ages, all styles, all levels and we want more people to love music as much as we do.

It goes without saying, but we love having Hannah on our team! We just wanted to say “thank you” Hannah for everything you do for Music & Arts. We wouldn’t be the same without you! Leave some love for Hannah in the comments!

And if you’re interested in being taught by the likes of Hannah, check out The Lesson Studio and sign up for lessons today!