Pandemic Business Pivot
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit early this year, businesses were left figuring out what to do in real-time. They had to circumvent all their carefully planned processes and procedures for implementing changes to making changes happen immediately so work could continue. And they had to think ahead in new ways.
Making this pivot succeed in a short time takes great leadership and ingenuity.
Those are traits DuMarkus Davis and his team at Musicbuk have in abundance. DuMarkus, who serves as CEO, had a vision for the company when he was a music student asking himself why no one had built an Uber for music teachers. The team’s complement of skills and perspectives propelled Musicbuk’s success from the start.
Musicbuk initially launched in September 2019 as a platform that allowed music students and instructors to find each other, schedule in-person lessons and communicate in a safe and focused environment. Utilizing Watson AI, the company matched students with vetted instructors in two geographic areas, San Francisco and Atlanta.
By early January 2020, Musicbuk had over 205 instructors and more than 1000 students. The company’s growth came mainly through DuMarkus’s old-school, in-person networking at various school and community music events.
Then Covid-19 hit. Against all probability, through a combination of drive, tenacity, humility and sense of purpose, Musicbuk was able to keep things running, stay profitable and even grow in the midst of the unprecedented disruption of the pandemic. What they accomplished in a matter of months is impressive.
A Head Start on the Pandemic
One of the factors the company had on its side was a large number of Asian instructors at its San Francisco location. As early as December 2019, DuMarkus began hearing them discuss rumors about China’s Covid-19 epidemic and its possible spread to the U.S. The instructors, who were genuinely concerned about the potential threat to the U.S., quietly began to prepare. The students, listening to their instructors, did the same.
DuMarkus and his team did too. They began by looking at what other arts organizations were doing. As a result of their research, they realized that Musicbuk would not survive unless it became completely digitized. They were less clear about the path for accomplishing that goal.
We are all shaped by our experiences, and Musicbuk’s founder is no different. A child of the 2007 recession, DuMarkus recognized that the company had to be prepared for a worst-case scenario. The planning began. By early March, when most businesses were still processing what needed to be done, Musicbuk’s instructors were told the company went completely remote.
The Challenge of Going Remote
To DuMarkus and his team, the challenge was making the company resilient and sustainable for the long term. As they had when they first started Musicbuk, the partners drew on the three key foundations of the company’s overarching business strategy:
- creativity
- expect the unexpected and
- always be prepared for the worst.
Musicbuk had another important advantage from the outset of the transition to digital. The company did not have to scramble to find the right software. Due to the team’s expertise, the company’s software was already capable of handling in-person and remote lessons. This agility allowed the company to move quickly to a digital platform.
Next, DuMarkus and his team turned their attention to solving the related issue: security. The platform needed to be safe and secure enough for both instructors and students. They did that quickly too.
That was the easy part. The hard part was rethinking their marketing and business development strategy. With the in-person meetings that were the basis of their pre-Covid efforts off the table, they knew their best and the only option was creating a digital marketing program from scratch.
Finding the best path for marketing the company was not readily apparent so DuMarkus and his team got creative and began developing as many different methods to reach their audience as they could think of. Testing four to five ideas a week, they systematically went through 50 to 60 ideas and eventually found what worked best for Musicbuk.
It was an arduous project. Testing for each marketing approach lasted about a week to 10 days. The results were noted and evaluated at a granular level for each idea. Every test was adjusted based on these results and the test was sent out again. The process was repeated again and again until they achieved the results they were seeking.
Seeking Experienced Advice Gave Them the Leverage They Needed
Another clear benefit separating Musicbuk from other companies shifting to remote operations is this: Musicbuk was supported by Techstars, a seed accelerator that accepts fewer than 1% of its applicants each year. As part of Techstar, Musicbuk had access to a team of successful business people who serve as mentors.
DuMarkus and his team had the humility to recognize that accepting help and guidance from others with more knowledge and experience is powerful. As Musicbuk moved through the testing process, they relied on their mentors for advice about how to tweak their testing processes until they got to the result they needed.
Evolving a Successful Marketing Strategy
As their new marketing strategies evolved, the company kept building on the same metrics they used pre-Covid-19. For example, as DuMarkus handed out printed flyers at live events he had the opportunity to interact with potential clients, if only for a few fleeting seconds. The goal was to replicate that personal interaction on a digital platform. To do that, Musicbuk had to drill down and define their customers so they could determine how best to pique their interest and gain traction. By repeatedly testing, refining, and retesting, the company was slowly able to increase the conversion rate on its digital platform. It was a painstaking process for which there were no shortcuts.
What Would Change if You Had a Do-Over
For the most part, DuMarkus is happy with the path they took to transition to a fully digital model. There were, however, a couple of things they would have done differently from the outset.
First, they would have paid for customer acquisition channels sooner instead of reinventing the wheel and learning through trial and error. The lesson, according to DuMarkus, is that no matter how frugal you tend to be, the more cost-efficient option may be to bite the bullet and make a necessary capital investment. For Musicbuk, paying for customer acquisition channels sooner than they did would have yielded better results.
The experience taught DuMarkus that no matter what its size or stage of development, every decision about bringing in expertise or making capital investments must be evaluated on its merits rather than solely on its price. Not taking the time to do carefully weigh the pros and cons can result in even more costly mistakes and missed opportunities.
Second, recognize that you do not know everything about the product or service you are offering and that you might need help. Entrepreneurs often have a high level of confidence and belief in their product or service. That usually is what drives them to achieve what others think is impossible. But changes in the market, economy or technology can change that very quickly, just as the Covid-19 pandemic did.
Before Covid, DuMarkus, like most entrepreneurs, thought they had all the answers. Now, when facing a difficult dilemma, he routinely asks for help. He does this in an unbiased way, keeping their thoughts and ideas to themselves when asking questions and gathering answers.
He has learned that involving others provides a different perspective, which can be invaluable. The insights gained from others is factored into their decision-making process. This lesson has become a key strategy for Musicbuk, and an important contributor to its success.
Entrepreneurial business startups are a different breed of business. Their founders’ passion and devotion are core to the business. Cash and assets generally are in short supply. But if the founders are open to help from others with more business experience and knowledge, they can succeed even in the face of great adversity. As was the case for Musicbuk, the advice of their mentors led them to an agile and resilient business model that will endure long after the pandemic passes. They will never again market in-person music lessons or go back to handing out flyers as a marketing strategy.
