I want to select a Mentor that can help with...
Thomas Lorenzo
This business is on song
Renowned musician Thomas Lorenzo is on a mission to develop and portray the inner creativity of his clients, including music students, musicians, song writers and producers.
The award-winning guitarist, composer and music educator uses his skills to make, produce, market and teach beautiful music. He has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) and Barcelona’s Liceu Conservatory.
Thomas graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston under Grammy award winner Robert Freedman. He has released five solo instrumental albums in contemporary jazz, blues and Flamenco styles, and produced music for film and TV productions.
After 38 years in Spain, Thomas settled in Melbourne in 2012 to create a business based on his broad skills and expertise. Thomas Lorenzo Music Productions offers live entertainment, books, CDs, guitar lessons and song writing production in his studio.
Despite his technical prowess, Thomas keeps his lessons simple and tailors them to each student.
“My mission is to develop inner creativity, a personal voice thriving for excellence, and entertain Australian audiences with music that is a reflection of uniqueness and creativity,” he says.
Thomas offers exceptional music, products and teaching. But he felt he needed an expert to help him develop his business. “My business model was in need of expansion,” he says.
After finding the Small Business Mentoring Service (SBMS) online, Thomas worked with mentor Madalen Ross, who has run several businesses. They had five formal sessions, phone calls and emails over 12 months, and remain in contact.
Among other things, Madalen helped with the business’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP), fine-tuning product offerings and promotional activities, lead generation techniques, video marketing, upgrading his website and social networking.
Madalen says Thomas is humble and wasn’t reflecting his wonderful achievements to his best advantage. “It was when we spoke to each other that his passion for what he does emanated,” she says. “This needed to be reflected in his USP, and across all media channels.”
Thomas has since improved his online content and social media presence. He has also moved to expand internationally and introduced subscriptions and loyalty rewards. Sales and profits have increased by eight per cent, and new customers and enquiries by five per cent.
“Madalen has made me aware of my creative strengths but also the need to better engage on social media and collaborate with other professionals to increase service and product sales,” Thomas says. “I’m also collaborating more with targeted YouTube channels, Tumblr, professional associations, music blog writers and other musicians.”
Madalen says Thomas and his music are unique, and he loves to help others develop their creativity. “His guitar playing is stunning,” she says. “Grammy winning artists such as Alphonso Johnson and Walfredo Reyes perform his music.”
The mentoring also boosted Thomas’s confidence and awareness of marketing methods and tools.
“Thomas has more self-confidence, has improved his understanding in how to use digital marketing, increase social media engagement, collaborating with others, and increase traffic to the website,” Madalen says.
“He has been relentless in making improvements in all the areas we discuss. I think he has more confidence and accepts that he has indeed a remarkable background in music.”
The Small Business Mentoring Service (SBMS) is a non-government, non-profit organisation of volunteer expert mentors who give their time and experience to help small business. It is supported by Small Business Victoria, which refers clients to it. Website: www.sbms.org.au
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