Meet Richard Green | Artist, Musician, and Teacher

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

Hi Richard, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I have an unconventional approach. I’ve worked for and with a lot of different people and they’ve always seemed intensely focused on the financial aspect of the business. Too often, I’ve seen this come at the expense of the customer’s experience. I keep my finances in mind but my real focus is firmly on my love of teaching, creating, and helping others see music as a special art form through which to experience life. I charge what I think is fair, but I’m also sensitive to people’s situations. I work with them to help them continue and make it up somewhere else. The bottom line is they don’t give up and I can keep sharing this thing I’m so passionate about with them. I’ve been in tight spots more times than I can count and sometimes it was only because of people who care about me that I was able to get through. I want my students to know I care about them. A lot of this approach comes down to faith. I have to believe that the passion for what I do and the connections I make with everyone who sits down to learn a tune are going to be contagious enough to overcome the challenges of such a competitive market. So far, that’s holding true. All of my students are long term, some over 5 years. If you treat people right and they continuously reach their goals, they stick around. The most important factor has to be integrity. Staying true to what you are, seeing individuality as a strength, and truly caring about making a difference.

What should our readers know about your business?
Green Key Music was kind of a blur getting started. I was teaching elsewhere and the stars just kind of aligned over the period of a couple of weeks. There wasn’t a plan for it. Sure, I had thought about what I would do to start up my own school some day, but this was very much a call to action. I went into a sprint and within a few days I had startup funding, supplies, a location, a roster of students, financial strategies, marketing help… the whole thing.

It’s proven to be a mixed bag as far as difficulty goes. The first month or two were the most stressful, mainly because I went from just doing my job and going home, to having people depend on me and my businesses well-being to think about. The uncertainty of the future was very taxing. I’d say the first big challenge was keeping my stress under control and tackling problems methodically and calmly.

I’ve heard a lot of other business owners talking about how much work it is and how stressful it gets and so on. It seemed very discouraging to hear those things. I have to tune it out and remind myself that it’s more than that. Yeah, it comes with stress, but so does everything else. I love spending my time and energy growing something that is my creation. I’m building a legacy and I’m changing peoples lives through music and that feels good, even with the stress and challenge. If you’re a new business owner reading this, I want to pass that message on to you. Let your passion take the lead.

One of the most important lessons that I teach all my students is that failure is inevitable and invaluable. Every failure should be taken in stride to learn and grow and finally succeed. I’ve had many failures and have them still, and I continue to learn and grow from them. Don’t be so adverse to failure that you put up a wall and resist it or grow frustrated to the point of self-detriment. It’s good to be wrong, sometimes. It means you’re human.

Right now, I’m only worried about bringing new faces to the school and seeing that growth continue. Not only for the benefit of my business, but for the opportunity to show more people what they are capable of, how important the arts are to society, and what a business can be for people. When I get to the point where there are Green Key Music locations spread all over, I hope to be an example of upholding integrity and demonstrating a little selflessness as good business practice that can yield results.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Little Elm beach is always poppin’. I used to go out there all the time to kayak around the lake. I’ve busked there a couple of times, as well. There’s a trail that runs all through Little Elm that is really nice, especially for biking. Arbor Hills Nature Preserve isn’t far and has some great biking and hiking scenery. I’m a big fan of the Meditation Trail in McKinney. You can catch me teaching Martial Arts to a small class in the local parks on Sunday mornings. You can see the student band, The Extremely Average, and myself play at places all around northern DFW. Some of those locations are Frisco Rail Yard, Silo Park Prosper, Killers Tacos in Denton, and many other venues. Speaking of Denton, I love the old book store there with the massive record collection. I enjoy shopping at the various international markets that are around. I love my time at home but when I do go out it’s usually to a park or bookstore, so I’m probably not the best source on this stuff.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to my teachers! It dawned on me years ago, as I was fumbling through a particularly difficult song, that your teachers never leave you. I can still hear their voices and the lessons they taught me in every situation where they apply. I was very much shaped by their passion for teaching and it’s forever an inspiration for me to make that impact in my students’ lives.

Shoutout to my early “fans.” When I was a kid, some of the best moments where playing music for people. The feeling of seeing others enjoy something I was putting out there was a light for me. The old rocker that came up to me at a show and had me sign his guitar in sharpie was one of the most impactful moments for me. Seeing my family rocking out at my shows, and friends that would come out to support my bands, all really positively reinforced my conviction to music.

Shoutout to my colleagues for being awesome musicians and helping us elevate each other. Shoutout to my alma maters for setting me up with great instruments and opportunities.

Shoutout to my students, for unknowingly being reminders of why I do what I do, and for impressing me so often.

Website: WWW.GREENKEYMUSIC.COM

Instagram: INSTAGRAM.COM/GREENKEYMUSIC

Facebook: FACEBOOK.COM/GREENKEYMUSIC

Youtube: YOUTUBE.COM/GREENKEYMUSIC

Image Credits
Green Key Music