If you think about a business as a song, Manchester Music Mill started as a basic three chord ditty that has grown into a grand orchestral production. The retail music store has gone from $30,000 in revenue in 2005 to nearly $5 million in 2014.
Joseph Lacerda and his wife Dawn started the business as the only employees in an 800-square-foot space in a rehearsal complex they shared with 50 bands. The first year they sold a dozen guitars and amps with accessories. As they grew, they've hired many local musicians. “It’s a very personal experience; we’re all musicians here, and we understand what people need,” says Lacerda, who, in addition to playing tuba in the Army National Guard Band in Massachusetts for six years, has also has been a guitarist for almost 30 years. The Lacerdas now have nine full-time employees and 11 teachers. The Music Mill owns a 22,000-square-foot building on Elm Street in the Queen City, where it occupies half and rents the other half to Van Otis Chocolates. It has 10,000 customers in its database, and sees 200 to 500 of them in the store per week.
Lacerda says providing a personalized experience is what keeps customers coming back despite the online competition. Musicians, he says, want to know how a guitar neck feels before they buy it. Manchester Music Mill is focused on buying and selling instruments but also provides lessons and rentals. Guitar and piano are most popular.
The store offers about 300 music lessons a week in areas including voice, guitar, piano, woodwind, drums and strings.
“Most people who play as adults are very passionate about it and for many, it defines who they are ... I really believe everyone should have the opportunity to find out how music moves them,” Lacerda says.
Through the recent recession, the business made adjustments. For most customers, musical instruments are a hobby, Lacerda says, so there were fewer new instrument sales but more used instrument sales. Despite those challenges, the store managed to grow.
“We have kept our customers in focus from day one and have grown about 50 percent every year since we started,” Lacerda says. “I want to make sure we get the right product in our customer’s hands at a fair price.”
Cameron Wright is a participant in the Young Reporters Project, a partnership between Business NH Magazine and University of NH Manchester.
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