#41 Jay Maurice – From Customers to Guests

Jay Maurice, CEO of Lessons In Your Home, discusses his business experiences and successes.

Key Takeaways

– Lessons In Your Home provides in-home music lessons across 9 major metro areas, with plans to expand to 30 cities

– Jay emphasizes creating a family-like culture, prioritizing teachers and regional directors over “customers”

– Key business lessons: invest early in technology, formalize partnerships, delegate responsibilities, and “go for it” without overthinking

Topics

Lessons In Your Home Business Model

– Provides in-home music lessons across 9 major metro areas

– Uses “owner-manager” model with regional directors overseeing 50-100 teachers each

– Shifted from solo entrepreneur to scalable business model over several years

– Emphasizes creating long-term relationships with families, not just transactional “customers”

Business Evolution and Lessons Learned

– Started as a side hustle teaching piano, grew organically through word-of-mouth

– Key inflection point: custom-built software to streamline operations (estimated $50k initial investment)

– Regrets: Not investing in technology sooner, letting valuable team members go due to cost concerns

– Advice: “Go for it” without overthinking, make decisions and improve as you go

Culture and Leadership Philosophy

– Focuses on mentoring regional directors to create a ripple effect through the organization

– Prioritizes teachers and staff over customers, believing this leads to better family experiences

– Shifted vocabulary from “customers” to “families” to reinforce relationship-focused culture

– Emphasizes allowing team members to solve problems and learn from mistakes

Personal Growth and Learning

– Recommends “Rich Dad Poor Dad” as essential reading for entrepreneurs

– Participates in mastermind groups and constantly seeks learning opportunities

– Committed to helping music teachers realize their value and impact

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