Table of Contents
- When did you decide to start your own business?
- So, did you quit your job straight away?
- Did it feel risky going into business with someone else?
- How did the two of you turn your dream into reality?
- Did you finally quit your office job?
- You’ve grown from a team of two to a staff of 25. How did that happen?
- Has the business consistently made money?
- Was there a moment when you felt like ‘I’ve done it’?
Entrepreneur: Chris Mansbridge
Age: 39
Business Name: Rhythm Room Music School
Industry: Education / Music
Location: Bletchley, Milton Keynes
When did you decide to start your own business?
In 2017, I had quite a bad car accident, and that was the catalyst. I don’t know how I got out of the car to be honest, and over the next couple of days, something clicked.
I’d been working in office jobs since 2010, when I finished music college in London. I knew that the corporate world was not for me, but I went full-time in a customer service role because I wanted to move out and get a flat. My job took up so much time that it choked everything else that I was trying to achieve.
The only thing I really wanted to do was music. I was gigging and teaching a handful of students on the side, from the garage of the house I rented. I realised that I had to make music the main thing that I do.
I already had the concept of Rhythm Room in my mind. I had the logo, and the ethos, but I just didn’t know how to get there.
Another drum teacher, Kev, had already helped me work out how many students I’d need to make the same money I was earning in my office job – in terms of hours, it worked out at about a third of the time I spent sitting at a desk. After the crash, I thought, ‘I just need to do it, because I could have easily died last week’.
Kev was already making a living as a drummer. He told me I had to just dive in. With no safety net, you’ve got to sink or swim.
So, did you quit your job straight away?
Not quite – I went part time. A lot of people get caught in the fear of making the jump – they think it’s all or nothing. But I realised I could move gradually towards going self-employed. I didn’t do a complete free-fall jump, like Kev. Mine was more of a stepping stone.
I spoke to my manager and explained I was starting my own business, and wanted to finish work at 1pm. I was in the fortunate position where I was the only employee who knew how some of the systems worked, which made it easier to get the flexibility I wanted.
Keeping that regular income made me feel more confident that I would be able to afford to live. I took a cut in wages, but I knew that even if the business failed, I could say that I’d tried.
Did it feel risky going into business with someone else?
I’ve been incredibly lucky. I first met Kev in 2015 at a rehearsal studio we both used, and I’d only really got to know him a few months before we started our business. I didn’t know him well, but we had lots of conversations whenever we bumped into each other in the corridors.
We both wanted the same thing, but lacked skills in different areas. Kev filled in some blanks for me, and I offered things he was missing. He handles more of the admin, and I deal with the practical side of things. In 2024, we took over the rehearsal studio where we met and rebranded it in line with Rhythm Room music school. We’ve been on this journey together for nearly ten years.
Having trust is the main thing. I felt it was important to have an exit plan and mutually agree what would happen if it didn’t work out. I went with my gut feeling and we decided to go in 50:50.
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How did the two of you turn your dream into reality?
We both had £2,000, so we registered the business, opened a business bank account and got an accountant, all in the same day. Rhythm Room Limited was born.
We’d been calling around looking for premises, but landlords weren’t interested in leasing to us because we sounded risky and noisy. It was frustrating to hear ‘no’ so many times. Then I found a place advertised by an old chap on Gumtree. We clicked with him straight away, and he said, ‘It’s yours.’
We had two rooms, one each, plus the reception area, kitchen and toilet. Kev and I started teaching six or seven days a week to launch the company, and after doing a promotion on Groupon, we managed to retain a lot of students. I went from teaching five people a week to 40.
Did you finally quit your office job?
It wasn’t long before the money started coming in through Rhythm Room. I’d set myself a number that I needed to reach financially, and as soon as I reached that point, I gave my manager two weeks’ notice.
I remember it so vividly: I had my door pass, I wrapped it up, gave it to the lady on reception and said, ‘I won’t be back’. It was the best feeling in the world.
You’ve grown from a team of two to a staff of 25. How did that happen?
Kev and I had to stop teaching round the clock because we were both gigging as well, and we were burning out. We agreed that as soon as there were gaps when the rooms weren’t in use, we’d start looking for other music teachers to earn off the dead time.
We took on Ali, a guitar teacher, as an employee, but the rest of our teachers are self-employed contractors. They use Rhythm Room, and some also teach music in schools. We also employ Moe, our business manager. She’s helped us grow and firefights every problem Kev and I don’t have time for.
Has the business consistently made money?
In the early stages, we watched the graph on our accounting software, Sage, go up and down, and found it really confusing. A big part of our income comes from lessons in schools, which only run in term time. It took us a while to understand the patterns. Payments came in per term, and suddenly we’d have plenty of money, then we’d pay the teachers and have no money. It was really difficult, and there were a few moments when Kev and I would wonder, ‘Are we going bankrupt?’
But as each year has gone by, we’ve looked at the pattern and realised that amid the peaks and troughs there is a straight line in there somewhere. We’re used to the dip when people go on holiday in the summer, and the spike in new signups in January. Come April, they’re all gone. It can be difficult, but we know that’s how it goes.
Was there a moment when you felt like ‘I’ve done it’?
I was sitting in Rhythm Room’s reception, and the phone rang, and for the first time ever, I answered, ‘Hello, Rhythm Room, how can I help you?’ It wasn’t a prank call or someone trying to sell me something. It was somebody wanting a lesson. That was the moment.
I also found the personal statement I wrote when I left school in 2001, at 16 years old. It said something about teaching drums, and that one day I’d like to take on some students of my own. I read that and thought, ‘I’ve done it’. That is the best bit about turning my passion into something that pays me – I get to share it with other people. There’s nothing I would rather do.
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Image credit: Chris Mansbridge & Kev Hickman