Meet Elias Berlinger | Co-Founder and CEO of My Music Workshop

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

Hi Elias, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
As an entrepreneur, your business becomes a reflection of you. Your strengths, weaknesses, goals, and fears all play out in front of you through your company. The lesson this teaches you is to be very honest with yourself. It’s a blessing that you can see those parts of you playing out in front of you. It allows you to address them and learn from them. You get the chance to learn, develop, and grow, and hopefully improve your business while doing so.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My Music Workshop began in 2009. My wife and I (we weren’t married yet) both loved music and were teachers. We were living in L.A. at the time. I moved there to attend Musicians Institute and study music, and she had made it to Hollywood Week on American Idol. We loved performing, but we both had a passion for teaching.

In those days, I would stay up late working on a business plan for the music school I wanted to start. I had to convince her to come on board, but she eventually did. We decided to move to San Diego (home for me) to start our music teaching company. It started small, in schools as an enrichment class, but it grew quickly. We had a knack for making music fun for kids, and they took to our teaching style. Over a few years, we created a really cool and unique curriculum. We hired teachers and had nearly 1,000 students across the county. We were ambitious and wanted to reach more kids with music, so we franchised our business. It was going well, and we had a few franchise locations open outside of California, but then in 2020 the classes and the franchising came to a halt. COVID shut the whole operation down. After not running classes for a while, we didn’t think they’d ever come back. We were devastated.

So we did some soul-searching, regrouped, and started an online version of the program. We used our curriculum and methods to start making fun video lessons for kids. We quickly went viral on YouTube, and people started joining our online program. We kept going, day in and day out, growing the program, improving it, learning about running an online business, marketing, shooting video, editing, and so on.

Now, five years later, we’ve built a one-of-a-kind music-learning platform for kids. We have piano, drums, singing, ukulele, and lots of other music lessons. We teach in a way that’s fun and helps kids feel confident as their skills grow. It’s interactive and gives families a high-quality, affordable option for great music lessons. We’re so proud of it and of the dedication we both showed. It hasn’t been easy, but the reward has been enormous. We’re still growing and have so much vision for the future of our company.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is a great and tough question! I moved to San Diego as a boy in 1986, so I’ve been to a lot of spots in the city. What I love is how many amazing places there are. Here are some of my favorites.

I love going to Padres games at Petco Park, then finding a great restaurant in the Gaslamp after the game. I also love Balboa Park and the Zoo, and walking down Orange Ave in Coronado, where we’ll grab lunch at The Henry if it’s not too busy. I know a lot of those are tourist spots, but they’re still great.

I’ve got great memories in PB, where I first lived in San Diego. I really love Sail Bay in front of the Catamaran. A long walk or bike ride along the bay on a sunny afternoon is the best. I like Luigi’s Pizza in Mission Beach, the place with the giant slices I used to eat when I was about six years old, and they still taste the same. From there, I’d head up the coast through Torrey Pines into Del Mar, walk along Camino del Mar south of 15th Street, grab some great food at one of the restaurants, and end up at the beach park on 15th Street to relax in the sun.

Then I’d continue north through Solana Beach and Cardiff, head to Encinitas on Coast Highway, and grab dinner at Trattoria i Trulli, where my wife and I had one of our first dates, or coffee at Lofty Coffee. Then it’s on to Gelato 101, which is a 10 out of 10.

From there, I’d go inland through Rancho Santa Fe onto Del Dios Highway and take a walk on the path at Lake Hodges, where it’s usually so peaceful. Then I’d go to the original Stone Brewery in Escondido, which is still an amazing restaurant with an incredible vibe. From there, it’s the Safari Park (it’ll always be the Wild Animal Park to me!).

I’d finish downtown with a live show at House of Blues. I was a server on the opening team and first met my wife when we worked together there, so it’ll always hold great memories.

There are beaches, parks, bays, and trails: everything you could want, everywhere in San Diego. I’ve missed way more than I’ve mentioned, but those are some of my favorite places in the county.

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?
My family gets the main shoutout in my life. My wife, Lianna, our son, Jay, and our daughter, Lyra, are there for it all. Lianna is in this business with me, and the kids know how much we put into it and how much we care. They’re always there to help, celebrate wins, and support us through the tough times. Just having them close gives meaning to the whole thing. Running a business, at least for me, can’t be done in a vacuum; there has to be a reason beyond the business itself. I love music, I love teaching, and I love being an entrepreneur, but I love my family more. That’s what makes running the business worth it.

Website: https://www.mymusicworkshop.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mymusicworkshop/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elias-berlinger/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyMusicWorkshop/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MyMusicWorkshop