EmailJacques Hopkins was a frustartred electrical engineer.
He went into electrical engineering because he thought it would be a safe and steady job - which it was. But his real passion in life was the piano.
The piano had always been his hobby but he never really thought he could make a living from the piano.
He was also entrepreneurial, and tried several online start ups, all of which failed. For an online start up to work,you have to have a real passion for the product. For Jacques, his passion, as it turned out, was the piano.
His string of failed start ups showed him that seling physical things online was a dead end, particulary in the world of Amazon. But experiences was something that Amazon could not offer. So Jacques married his passion for the piano with the idea of teaching the piano online - via video.
He launched Piano in 21 Days.
And it worked.
It worked so well that he quit his 9-5 job to spend all his time on the website.
Hopkins, his wife Louisa and their infant daughter live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But with an online business you can live anywhere. And, with Louisa expecting, being able to work from home was even more important.
What makes the site work is video.
The lessons are all video.
Only a few years ago, just producing the videos would have bankrupted Jacques before he started. But today, anyone can produce broadcast quality videos (with a bit of training!) and start and run their own business from home as well.
That's why at TheVJ.com we are such great fans of video literacy.
A few simple lessons in shooting and editing.. married to your own personal passion or hobby - and you can be there too.
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