Hi, I'm Jonathan Roberts

My Story

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved teaching private music lessons. The joy of sharing my knowledge with students warmed my soul and made me a better person. 

After 10 years of college, my wife and I taught at a nonprofit community music school near Boston. It was a tight-knit community that we loved. I built programs and became piano department chair over these five years. It felt like home.

But, I was always yearning for something more. Higher pay, for sure; it’s hard to give yourself to your students when you’re up at night worried about how you’ll provide for your family. And I was aching to be in a position where I could give teachers what they need to be able to do their best work.

In 2017, we made the decision to stop using credit and begin living on a cash budget. That was when I came to the harsh realization that I was only making about $32,000 a year putting in over 40 hours a week at my job.

When my boss at the time left for another job in the spring of 2018, I thought my golden opportunity was finally here to move up in the organization. To increase my income. To have the ability to make lives better for the students and teachers.

“You’re not ready for a position like this.”

My heart sank to the floor hearing these words from the administration so matter-of-factly. Not bothering to look at the materials I submitted outlining my love of the organization, the programs I built up over the years, and how I fit everything they were looking for based on the job description.

With a second child on the way, I came to the sobering realization that I was looking at a $32,000 annual income for the rest of my life if I stayed.

I tried teaching a couple days a week at home to boost my income. All this did was land me a harsh meeting with my administrators about how this was a conflict of interest. 

I was given an ultimatum. I would have to close up shop or lose my department chair position. Both choices were financially damning.

I was faced with two life-changing choices. I could continue working where I was, knowing that I was employed but would always be struggling financially and emotionally. Or, I could take a leap of faith and strike out on my own, knowing there was no guarantee of success.

I reflected on what I wanted out of life. I wanted to be able to take care of my family comfortably. I wanted to be able to pay for my kids’ college. I wanted to be able to retire with dignity. This made the choice easy; I decided to turn in my resignation notice.

For several weeks, I was severely depressed. After all my schooling and work, here I was unemployed. I wondered whether I chose wrong.

Before I could get too down on myself, I started working for a larger purpose. I wasn’t going to just build my own teaching studio for myself. I was going to create a new school entirely. A school where I could at last create the positive change I always wanted to, for both students and teachers.

That first year self-employed, I read over 100 books on entrepreneurship, marketing, leadership, and culture. I was obsessed with learning and creating a new business that would take care of teachers and students as they deserved.

In Fall of 2019, I hired two colleagues to teach with me part time, and we made the announcement to the world that a new music school was born: The South Shore Piano School.

I could feel the exhilaration of freedom and the fear of epic responsibility in those first few months. In addition to being a teacher, I had to become a marketer, HR representative, bookkeeper, and customer service representative all at once.

We only had 37 students to start, but we were fueled with the passion to create positive change for our students by prioritizing what mattered most: the education.

I did things differently from the schools I had worked in the past. I worked the cash flow to be able to pay my teachers 50% higher than anyplace around. They also received health, dental, and a retirement plan. All without debt, too. 

In a world where so many community music schools treat teachers like cogs, the satisfaction of being able to at last provide this level of service was breathtaking.

To my excitement, our enrollment steadily grew, even during the COVID pandemic.

A year and a half later, we have an enrollment of nearly 140 students and at long last I have the freedom and impact I’ve always wanted.

And now, I want to share all I’ve learned with you.

What is Musiciative About?

To become the most highly effective music teacher you can be, you have to develop your entrepreneurial skills. Musiciative is about everything you need to become financially secure and build successful programs that will change lives.

Without sacrificing your sleep or your health in the process.

There are four things you need to thrive in your work and personal lives: financial wellness, productivity, solid marketing, and an audience.

Financial Wellness - You can’t teach with all your heart if you’re worried about how you will make ends meet, what retirement is going to look like, or how your kids are going to go to college.

Productivity - Without solid productivity practices, you’ll easily work 60 hours a week and never move your most important projects forward.

Marketing - You could have the most life-changing program in the world. It won’t matter if your website is unclear, your audience is fuzzy, and you can’t communicate the value you provide.

Audience - There are students and families out there whose values resonate with yours. You need to do the work to communicate these values to the world so they can find you and you can lead them. Otherwise, you’re just another music teacher offering the “best lessons.”

However, tools and techniques are not enough. Becoming an effective music teacher requires developing the character, mindset, and work ethic of a successful entrepreneur.

That’s why on this site, I also cover the “character aspect” of developing these important skills.

What’s Next for You?

Do you want to change the world? Do you want to enjoy the career and comfort of the teaching career you thought you’d have when you started music school? Are you ready to get to work?

It’s all about practice. I continue to learn and grow myself in this exciting world of real-world skill development as a music teacher. 

Part of my practice is teaching this to others. If you’re looking for a change, for a career to be proud of, and greater impact on the world, you’ve come to the right place.