Rachel Lipson, Founder of Blue Balloon Songwriting for Small People
Name: Rachel Lipson
Founder: Blue Balloon Songwriting for Small People
Who is Rachel Lipson?
Rachel Lipson, the “matriarch of modern music education” is an accomplished educator, prolific songwriter, performer, multi-instrumentalist, business consultant, advisor and entrepreneur.
What began as a one woman music school in Rachel’s studio apartment in 2008, has developed into what Blue Balloon is today: a network of 75+ amazing and talented independent teachers, teaching over 400 students a week on many different instruments all over the world.
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
Blue Balloon offers incredibly unique private and small group instrument lessons through songwriting. The highly talented and passionate teachers in our network have a fun, creative, and engaging approach to music lessons, and can tailor lessons to each student’s individual goals. Founded by former Saint Ann's teacher and “modern matriarch of music education” Rachel Lipson, Blue Balloon is widely regarded as one of the most sought after music schools in the country!
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
I’d be thrilled to be a part of this community as a speaker and not just a listener!
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
I coach entrepreneurs looking to start or scale a business and have primarily worked with other female founders.
I have a strong crew of other female entrepreneurs that support and uplift one another.
At what point did you make your company a full time gig? How did you know the time was right?
In 2010, with a full time and 40 private music students in the after-school and weekend hours, I quit my job and officially launched Blue Balloon.
I had a choice - to continue to make 29k a year as a teacher or go off on my own and try to make the music lessons into something bigger. Nearly 15 years later, we’re in multiple cities and have taught thousands of students!
What lesson or skill did you take with you from a prior job to help you succeed in your role today?
Every job and role I ever had shaped me as a business owner and an entrepreneur. All jobs teach you about leadership, detail and give you skills you can take with you into anything you do.
Let’s talk social media—who handles it for your company (you, an internal team member, an outsourced solution?) and what is the secret to making it successful? What is the biggest challenge?
I solely handled my social media for over a dozen years but in the past year, I’ve hired a social media coordinator who has taken that off my plate. Social media is a place to tell your story and show your community who you are. Successful businesses all have a story behind them and telling that story is a big part of their continued success.
Did you raise capital? What was the process and avenue you chose to take?
I raised about $4k on the crowd funding site kickstarter when I started my business and have bootstrapped the company over all these years.
What would you do differently if you were starting your business today?
Hire the right people before you think you need them.
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