HATTIE: (Voiceover) Barbara Granneman grew her home based business with direct marketing and it teaches children in their homes.
BARB GRANNEMAN: The Midwest School Of Music was formed in '98 to give parents an option for music lessons. So I decided that if we targeted a specific demographic in Indianapolis that it would really shortcut the time it took to get a studio running. So we -- my husband and I drove around neighborhoods that had obvious numbers of children in them, swing sets and you know, numerous suburbs and we sent out postcards and had a very good response.
HATTIE: How did you get the list for that neighborhood?
BARB: We just addressed them as a current resident and -- we copied down addresses. We drove through many…
HATTIE: You didn't buy a list that was spit out of a computer somewhere. You created the list yourself by hand, by driving the neighborhoods.
BARB: Well and using a tape recorder for just speaking the names of the addresses into it. It was simple. My philosophy is you don't have to put a lot of money into something to get started.
HATTIE: Do you remember how many pieces you mailed in your first mailing?
BARB: We mailed approximately 500, and we consistently received a 1% return.
HATTIE: Tell me where you are now. How many students and teachers today?
BARB: We have about 450 students and about 45 teachers. We teach primarily in the student's homes, but we also teach in after school adjunct programs. And that's a very popular thing.
HATTIE: And it all started with a postcard.
BARB: With a postcard.
In the Studio:
HATTIE: The new business infrastructures that have emerged with the advent of digital workflow and digital communications has disinter mediated space and time. We're being given license to return home and make a private workspace that can readily blanket the world. I'll see you next time.