[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Less than a week before news of the COVID-19 pandemic and its severity reached North America, Sharon Ransom – owner of Ransom Drum Lab, a percussion teaching studio – decided she wanted to expand her business to include online teaching. Of course, mere days later, fellow small business owners around the globe would soon find out that they too would have to adopt a similar pivot.
“I just had the idea,” she recalls. “I thought, ‘Oh, it might be really cool to start doing online lessons.’ It’s funny looking back. I thought I was making such a small shift. I had no idea what was coming. I went from thinking I was going to test it out to the world saying, ‘So, actually, you have to go online.'”
Today, Ransom is able to laugh about the coincidence, but at the time, this drastic shift to her business – which, to that point, relied entirely on in-person lessons – was a daunting obstacle. Of course, she wasn’t alone. Many struggled to keep their livelihoods afloat amidst a series of lockdowns. Yet online solutions allowed for Ransom and fellow small business owners to continue to survive.
According to the “Global State of Small Business” study conducted by Meta in January, which includes insights from 166 Canadian small business owners, “80 percent of small businesses using the Facebook platform reported that they were operational or engaging in any revenue-generating activities.” Yet, even small businesses that managed to pivot, like Ransom Drum Lab, faced continued challenges. As of January, 43 percent of those businesses reported that their sales were lower than the same month the year before. Luckily, Ransom has managed to avoid these losses through her reputation for exceptional teaching and her unique, personal approach to her classes.
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“Going remote has been a challenge in a lot of ways, but I feel like my teaching style was equipped to handle it,” says Ransom. “I’ve developed new strategies to keep my students’ attention through a computer screen, especially the young ones. It’s hard for them when they’re new to the instrument. But I think it helps that, for me, it’s always about connecting with my students on a personal level. I might warm them up with some musical games or just connect with them in conversation. Everyone’s different, but I’ve really gotten to learn how to teach in a dynamic way.”
Now, with the help of Meta, Ransom will be able to reach more students than ever before. Through the pandemic, the platform has established itself as being in the business of small businesses. More than 200 million businesses use Meta’s apps each month to create virtual storefronts and reach customers. But, today, Meta is taking an extra step to help amplify its small businesses by launching its latest ad campaign featuring owners, such as Ransom herself, who is featured in a new series of ads aimed at emphasizing how good ideas (and businesses) deserve to be found.
“The platform has just been so helpful in terms of amplifying Drum Labs,” she says. “So many people have found me through Facebook and Instagram that it just gives me back so much time. It’s my primary marketing tool, honestly.”
As for Ransom Drum Lab’s next evolution, its owner is more-so focused on delivering the best possible service to her customers, like most Canadian owners. But whatever challenges and opportunities they will face in 2022 and beyond, Meta will continue to do all they can to help them find success online.
Further information on Ransom Drum Labs and Ransom’s advice for fellow small business owners can be found here.
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