Awarded the Singapore Outstanding Enterprise 2016/2017

Congratulations to us, Silversnow Music School! We were recently awarded the Singapore Outstanding Enterprise and was presented a trophy by Member of Parliament Dr Fatimah Lateef at a gala dinner at Shangri La Hotel.

Read on for our interview with SRA:

"Incorporated in 2016, Silversnow Music School offers music lessons catered to all ages for a wide range of instruments such as piano, violin, flute, guitar and singing. The school also doubles as a retail outlet for music instruments as well as books and is furnished with studio rental rooms for the public. Located in a cozy outlet in Roxy Square, the school is a venture by Ms Gresilda Tan who shares a vision to bring joy to the world through music.

The name Silversnow is a play on the direct translations of the characters in Gresilda’s Chinese name, “Yin Xue” which mean “Silver” and “Snow” respectively. For her, Silversnow Music School is a way to share her interest and passion in music by putting herself in a position to directly impact students who want to learn more about the craft.

At the age of 25, Gresilda is one of Singapore’s Outstanding Enterprise youngest recipients. Her position as a fresh graduate meant working with a limited amount of savings and capital; to make matters worse, young business owners entering the industry often get asked questions on their experience or credibility. As a result, Silversnow Music School faced a triple threat of challenges – low capital, perception of an inexperienced owner and the daunting task of building up a reputation from scratch.

Keenly aware of these issues, Gresilda set out to devise a business strategy that would tackle all of them within an acceptable time frame. The first step was to utilise digital marketing to its fullest in order to attract students. Lower costs associated with digital marketing and its potential outreach make it an ideal platform for new businesses looking for cost effective ways to reach out to more people. Once Silversnow managed to secure its first few students, the music school turned to referrals and testimonials to encourage word-of-mouth advertising. The benefits of positive word-of-mouth were twofold, it significantly increased student enrollment and established the brand.

In order to increase credibility, Gresilda registered Silversnow under the Ministry of Education and received both MOE and AMIS certifications. In line with her goal of bringing the joy of music to others, Silversnow also works together with People’s Association to provide music classes in community centres as a way of reaching out to the heartlands. Lastly, the school’s partnership with well-known music retail companies such as Casio allow them to bring in premium products like the Grand Hybrid digital piano which further adds to their credibility.

As a result of her efforts, Silversnow Music School increased their student enrollment from 0 to 40 within six months; remarkably, the business broke even just after nine months of operations. Gresilda credits this to the sincerity put into the conduct of her lessons. Rather than using strict teaching methods, she focuses on giving her students the best music education through patience and understanding. Her approach forgoes the rigidity of treating music like an academic subject in favour of promoting the learning of music as a journey to enjoy and a life skill.

Silversnow Music School’s curriculum also allows for greater interaction between students and teachers. The school is open from morning til night on an appointment basis, which gives clients the flexibility to choose time slots that fit their schedule. Whereas most other music schools tend to be strict on the timing of their lessons, Silversnow pride themselves on the affordability and flexibility of their classes, be it on a long or short term basis. Another area which the school differs from others in the industry is the even mix of young and adult students.

As Director, Gresilda exemplifies her commitment to her customers ensuring that Silversnow Music School delivers on their promises of service. Beyond providing quality and fun lessons to her students, she shares a vision to give back to the community by providing music scholarships to financially needy students, believing that nobody should be denied the chance to pursue music.

For budding entrepreneurs, Gresilda ranks hard work, passion and the ability to connect with people as qualities to possess to be successful in the industry. She finds inspiration in books that offer new perspectives on how to handle her business and life. Detailing plans for the next five years, Silversnow Music School is looking to expand, increase enrollment numbers to the hundreds and open more outlets to support the demand."