This content was published: November 30, 2022. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Client Success Story: Rock Dojo
Posted by PCC Small Business Development Center
is an award-winning, Portland-based guitar program for kids. Since 2015, more than a thousand elementary school students have learned to play guitar in ! Since working through the Advanced Small Business Management training program, co-owner Brian Parham has garnered increased student retention, additional business funding, and a new perspective on how to strategically grow his business. This is Brian’s story.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Brian! Tell us a bit about what inspired you to start the Rock Dojo.
I created the to share my passion for playing rock guitar with Portland’s kids. Learning to play the guitar changed my life. It taught me how to create a vision, set short and long-term goals towards that vision, and show up day in and day out to achieve those goals. That’s why I believe learning to play guitar is so valuable for today’s kids because those same skills鈥攙ision, goal-setting, and discipline鈥攃an help students succeed in music and in life.
Right now, I’m writing a metal meets martial arts musical for children. This story is about a pair of siblings in a dystopian future who must learn to work together to defeat a wicked god of metal music. In the process, they must brave three dangerous worlds to recover a magical book and save their ravaged homeland. I was one of eight Portland-based black artists to win an IFCC Artist-in-Residency, and this musical entitled Elijah & The Sacred Song will culminate my residency.
What challenges do you face in your business?
My biggest challenges are time management and marketing. I struggle with time management because I was wear so many different hats. For example, I was finishing my advanced professional certification at Berklee College of Music, writing this musical, teaching classes, and running the Rock Dojo as I worked through the SBDC Advanced Small Business Management training program. I also struggle with marketing because after-school providers cannot market directly to PPS students and families for equity reasons, which makes growing the Rock Dojo after-school program particularly challenging.
What types of services did you receive from the ?
I enrolled in the SBDC Advanced Small Business Management training program, which included one-in-one monthly meetings with Sean Harry and monthly Zoom classes, which were great! Since then, I’ve successfully relaunched the after a two-year break during COVID, launched a series of concerts to help market the after-school programs, and secured funding and space for the upcoming musical.
What have you done differently in your business since working with the ?
I focus on the most important tasks that bring me the biggest results. Plus, I changed the way I
communicate with the parents of my after-school, which has had a positive impact on student retention. This has helped us received funding to create a metal musical for kids, which I’m really excited about because it’s a great marketing vehicle. Plus, I’m creating a brand new genre of metal music that’s family-friendly, socially-conscious, and story-driven. In short, I can’t think of a better way to motivate kids to pick up the guitar.
What would you say to other small business owners thinking of working with the ?
The rocks! Contact your local office today and schedule a meeting.
Want to learn more about how the can help you start or grow your business?
The Oregon SBDC Network is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additional funding is provided by the Oregon Business Development Department and 海棠直播. Oregon SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language services are available for limited-English-proficient individuals.