Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Pakizer.
Katie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started playing the flute at age ten and fell in love. Music conveys every kind of emotion, and I would practice constantly as a means of expressing feelings of joy, love, sadness and frustration. At age fourteen I decided to pursue music as a career – I had the dream of teaching private lessons out of my home while raising a family.
Next, I pursued a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music performance where I was blessed to graduate with summa cum laude distinction and zero debt. I attribute these successes to hard work, scholarships and most importantly, God’s grace and provision. During my undergrad, I got an entrepreneurship minor with the intention of learning how to start my business. As part of my master’s, I was selected for the Teaching Assistantship and gained experience teaching the craft that I had practiced so many thousands of hours.
I started my business during my master’s (2012) and have continued it ever since. In 2016 I quit my day job and pursued my business as a full-time career. This was a monumental step of faith because I had recently moved to Houston and was starting from scratch with only eleven students. But God is faithful, just one month later I gained seventeen students and eight months later I had seventy students. This fall is my third year teaching in Houston and I am at full capacity. On the side, I perform around town with my quartet and as a soloist.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
To be honest, I have been blessed at every point of my journey. There have been challenges, but every step of the way has been rewarding. One thing that comes to mind is that I needed to have surgery during my undergrad. I was unable to play for almost an entire semester. However, the silver lining is that a fellow flutist broke her arm and we would sometimes practice together on one flute where she would provide the air and I would move my fingers.
The other challenge was when my studio changed locations from Lubbock to Houston. I had zero students and did not have any network connections in the area. I sent out 100+ emails offering my services, and only one person responded. During my first seven months, I only had eleven students, and my retail day job was draining the joy out of my life. I was afraid to quit because eleven students did not provide enough to pay my bills and I remember my entrepreneurship professor telling us not to quit our day job while in the beginning stages of the business. However, I did just that and within eight months I had seventy students. Nothing short of a miracle and beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
Please tell us about Triple Point Flute Studio.
I am a flutist and most of my work is teaching private lessons. I also teach sectionals and chamber ensembles as well as perform with my quartet and as a soloist. I love that my “job” is flexible in that I create my own schedule and set my own rate of pay.
The best thing is that I love what I do! I pour out all that I have for my students. I have a nurturing personality and find great joy in teaching and caring for my students. I approach each student uniquely according to their learning style and what excites them about music. For those students who are perhaps required to play by their parents, I relate music to their passions and create analogies to their other hobbies.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
From when I was born until I was seven, we lived on three acres of woods where one of our property lines was divided by a creek. I have countless memories of running free, exploring, tree climbing and creek jumping. One day, in particular, I remember exploring past our property line — crawling under the neighbors rusted barbed wire fence, past a sign that said no trespassing. We crossed fields, creeks and a herd of cows. As a five-year-old, this was a great and scary adventure! To this day I deeply enjoy being in nature and the outdoors brings such life to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.triplepointflutestudio.com
- Phone: 614-961-8284
Image Credit:
Echo Creative Photography
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