Hello! What’s your name and what do you do?
My name is Krystal Diaz and I help people who love music, but never had a chance to train formally, cultivate their vocal confidence and self-expression through the practice of singing.
Where does your passion for singing come from?
I was fortunate to have been brought up in a musical family. My mom is a well-known singer in Hong Kong and my dad is a multi-award-winning music producer, arranger and composer. Even my grandparents were professional musicians! So, I supposed it was inevitable that my brother and I both ended up following in their footsteps. As soon as we could walk our parents would bring us to watch their live performances and, eventually, they brought us up on stage with them too.
Growing up, our father always told us that we could choose any career we wanted as long as we loved it and were willing to be the best at whatever it was that we chose to do. So I really do have my parents to thank for my passion for singing.
When did you decide to turn it into a business?
In a way, the entrepreneurial life fell into my lap. After university, I stepped away from music and worked for an animation company for about 3 years. By that time my mother had become a very well-known vocal coach in Hong Kong and needed my help to run the coaching business. I was hesitant at first but as soon as I immersed myself back into the world of music I knew it was where I was meant to be. That was in the year 2008 and I’ve never looked back since.
In December of 2019 I launched the Online Vocal Academy, which is a group coaching membership – a totally different business model. This one was a little more challenging to get off the ground because it was essentially a startup that served an entirely different market. When my first members signed up for my membership, I remember feeling thrilled and grateful just knowing that this little idea that I had might actually be something that could make an impact on other people’s lives. I think that’s why I love the entrepreneurial life — it enables you to turn your passion into something that not only sustains you and your loved ones, but that also impacts other people in positive ways.
What’s your favourite part about running your business?
My favourite part is developing meaningful relationships with my students who are just as passionate about music as I am and getting to see their transformation through music. I also love that I get to carve out time for myself regularly to practice singing and call it “work”.
Do you have a team or are you planning to have a team?
Other than my mom, who is still a sought-after vocal coach and performer, we have three freelance vocal coaches who work with us. I also have two full-time virtual assistants. We are a small but mighty team!
Who are your customers?
I have two brands – the Christine Samson Music Academy (CSMA), which is based in Hong Kong and serves the local market, and the Online Vocal Academy, which serves people outside of Hong Kong.
At CSMA we are known to coach established pop singers, aspiring artists and those who want to sing their favourite songs at a professional skill-level.
At the Online Vocal Academy we mainly serve everyday people, such as working moms and dads, corporate professionals and entrepreneurs. These individuals don’t necessarily want to become professional singers, but they genuinely want to sing with confidence and to have more music in their lives.
I think the one thing they all have in common is their shared love of music and the knowledge that music can transform a person’s life in powerful ways.
How long did it take you to breakeven?
For the Online Vocal Academy, it was a combination of personal investment and investment using the funds from our existing company that we had been running since 2008. It was definitely more challenging to get up and running because I hadn’t realised that the online market would be so very different from the in-person one. I had to market to them differently, craft a different message and learn how to nurture them. I didn’t even have a proper email list!
But I’m a lifelong learner and really enjoy figuring things out. You can learn just about anything if you’re willing to try and ask the right questions!
Let’s talk about the digital side of your business. When did you establish your online presence and what made you do that?
I didn’t intentionally establish my online presence until about two years ago. I never really had to for our first business because we had gained most of our clients through word of mouth.
When I launched the Online Vocal Academy, however, I realised I had to play a different ball game entirely. I started testing YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and realised I had a lot to learn!
How was that change possible?
Since I was on a limited budget, I did as much self-learning as possible. Then when I realised I needed additional help, I started enrolling in different courses about entrepreneurship, digital marketing and building an online business. Through these courses I’ve been fortunate to have developed some great relationships with very intelligent and generous individuals who point me in the right direction whenever I get lost!
Today, how much of your business is traditional and how much of it is digital?
Right now the bulk of my business is still “traditional” in that I work with students on a 1:1 basis. However, my goal is to switch more towards the digital because my goal is to work with people from all around the world and to be fully location-independent.
Do you have a chief marketing officer or a dedicated digital marketing/tech team?
We are a small business so there’s a lot of crossover work between our non-coaching team. However, I am learning how to streamline as I realise that setting up processes and clear structures is the way to really scale.
What digital activities do you do to grow your business?
Currently, I just post on social media and I run Facebook ads.
What learning resources would you recommend to someone in your industry to get “more” digital?
Marie Forleo’s B-School
Stu McLaren’s Tribe
Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy
What tools do you use in your business?
- Clickfunnels
- Convertkit
- Searchie
- Mighty Networks
- Xero
- Stripe
- Booksteam
- Zapier
- Thrivecart
- WordPress
What’s your advice for someone in your industry who wants to modernise their business?
Get clear on why you want to modernise your business, what impact you want to make and who you really want to serve. Then find those people who are crushing it in their niches, reverse engineer what they’re doing, tap into your strengths and find people who can help you where you feel you’re weak. Be prepared to feel uncomfortable and ill-equipped but know that when you do, it’s likely a sign you’re doing something right!
Where can we learn more about you?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krystalvocals/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krystalvocals/
