Meet Richard Freeman | Guitar Instructor & Music Mentor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Richard Freeman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Richard, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve always been fascinated with music, particularly the guitar. I’ve held several jobs throughout my life, and prior to starting my guitar teaching business, there were almost zero jobs that actually captivated my personality or interest. They always felt like place holders. The closest thing to the “best job” I ever had was from 2006-2009 when I worked for Hoshino USA, which is better known as “Ibanez Guitars”. That was the first job I held in the music industry, and I worked as a guitar tech at their USA Factory in Pennsylvania. Being surrounded by musicians day in and out was simply fun and something I always yearned for. Being around creative people is a must for me! I had always taught guitar on and off since I was in high school. Fast forward to 2013, I was married 3 years and saving for a home, while working as a manager for a Process Serving company in Doral, FL. One day I had to lay off roughly 70% of my employees and watched the company strip down to a skeleton crew. That point was when I finally decided that I needed to take my income into my own hands. I had roughly 10 guitar students at the time that I taught out of my apartment. I remember coming home one day to speak with my wife and tell her I was going to quit my job and focus 100% on building my own teaching business. She supported me 100% and encouraged me to do it. Guitar and music was the only thing I thought about ALL day long, and my passion for teaching had matured to a level where I became obsessed with helping my students get as good as they physically could. Creating my own teaching business was my way to develop an artistic/creative career that I thought was fun and that I could love doing every day. It also enabled me to work on writing my own music regularly. I also knew that there was no cap on the income I could make, or the size I could grow it.

What should our readers know about your business?
When most people think about a guitar instructor or guitar lessons, they almost always default to sitting in a boring, quiet, small room with a guitar teacher learning something like “Michael, row the boat ashore”. I must admit, those types of classes still exist today, and they did when I took lessons. I hated guitar lessons when I was a kid. I never made it far when I was 9-11 in guitar classes. I almost couldn’t wait to get out of the class honestly. What I think sets Tuned In Guitar Lessons apart from other guitar instructors is that “I purposely created the complete opposite program for my guitar school”. Nothing I do is like other guitar instructors. We have a community where students know each other, they play together regularly, they laugh, they learn and they get really good. This is accomplished through many formats including in person classes, concerts, games, training sessions, special guest masterclasses and the list goes on.

At the moment I’m most proud/excited about a new product I released called the “Fretboard Memorization Deck” which is now sold on Amazon. The “Fretboard Memorization Deck” is a set of 52 guitar flash cards that are designed to help guitar players memorize their fretboards and music theory as it’s applied to the guitar. I spent roughly 1.5 years designing the deck before releasing it, and it has been a huge help to thousands of guitar players already.

Business-wise, I’ve gotten to where I am today through sheer determination, relentlessness and time management. I think most things in business “look easy” from the outside, but really there are many moving parts that have made my business push to the point it’s at now. As an individual business owner, I currently don’t have any employees, I run all aspects of my business. I teach all students, I’m the marketer, the accountant, the content creator etc. Regular goal setting, having a plan and making a schedule is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about how to run a business. Also, just being a great person with a great attitude who wants to help can do amazing things – People feed off positive energy and if you can convey that to your clients, you’re lightyears ahead.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I have two kids, my son is 4 and my daughter is 6. When friends come to visit, I’m loaded with places to go, sadly lots of them are based around kid stuff! The obvious spot is Miami Beach, because friends visiting always want to go there. I love animals, so I’m always game for Miami Zoo, The Everglades Alligator Farm or Frost Science Museum. If they want to shoot some guns, I’ll take them to Stoneharts. I love the Comedy Club in Doral. I’m not really a drinker, so I don’t have much to recommend in that area. I enjoy visiting different parks in and across Miami. Live music is always great as well!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My wife Yesenia, who has shown endless support for my business endeavors.

Website: www.tunedinguitarlessons.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tunedinguitarlessons/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tigl1

Other: My Product On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YB9NPRS?ref=myi_title_dp