While speaking with Lee Cantor from Franchise Marketing Radio, Magi Kapllani, the founder of Staten Island-based DEA Music & Art School discusses the company, what they offer students, how they navigated through COVID-19 and their plans for growth and development for 2021.
Kapllani started DEA Music & Art School in 2004 because she had a passion and desire to share music and the arts with younger generations. Recently, the brand started franchising and is working on growing in New York and New Jersey.
“We offer almost everything in the performing arts,” she said. “We are an education space, but we also have a lot of fun. We offer almost anything related to the performing arts.”
When COVID-19 caused schools to shut down, Kapllani and her team knew they had to figure out a different way to do what they love and share music and the arts with their students. They quickly pivoted to offering lessons and classes virtually on Zoom.
“The majority of our students jumped to our online programs and continued with their lessons and classes. We reinvented ourselves,” said Kapllani. “The online department is going to stay with us. We are continuing with that and are expanding it and now enrolling students not just locally but from all over the country.”
Right now, Kapllani is looking to grow the brand in New York and New Jersey, where she can provide new franchisees with strong support from the start. Kapllani says potential franchisees do not need to have a background in music or performing arts. What she’s looking for are people who love working with children and have a passion for music, the arts and creative spaces. They can come from all paths of life, but those are the two most important factors.
You can listen to the full interview here.