Meet Sarah Groh | Professional Singer, Teacher, Business Owner, and Real Estate Appraiser Trainee

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Groh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, how do you think about risk?
Risk plays a big role in my professional life and decision making. Rather than understanding risk as a situation involving exposure to danger, I see risk as a way to get what I need and want in the progression of my career. I tell students in my music studio and college class to take any action in the face of fear to get into what you want. That action can be as small as opening a chemistry book while scared to do chemistry homework or asking for a promotion at work. The actions we take in the face of fear, procrastination or success is a risk. To me, I think about risk as a vehicle to getting what and where I want to be.

My favorite quote is from Esther Perbandt, a fashion designer in Berlin. She said, “Everything I want is on the other side of fear.” It is up to me to navigate that path to the success I want and discover and exhaust all the potential I have. So, in doing so, I take risks.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a singer and I am a successful creation of how I see my world and put it together. Every artist or person sees themselves, whether in a bad light or a good light, and this informs how they contribute to their world. For a long time, I was a cog in everyone else’s wheel. I was a fixer or sidekick to all my relationships. Then I came to understand that my life and skills as a musician were unique and worth valuing. Through a journey of exploring myself, I am most proud of my ability to learn anything I need to learn, natural talent, and my ability to tell a story in everything I do.

I believe I got to where I am professionally because I made choices to follow my gifts, get an education in those musical gifts, build a huge resource of people, listening, and understanding in the field of music, and staying open to any opportunity that would support my goals and career. Some things were easy and some things, relating to the dark ways I saw myself, were not easy. I would like to believe we all have filters and hang-ups in how we understand ourselves and these can be hard to get through. Because of that, I don’t think I have made it as far in music as I could have, but I am doing it now.

I have overcome by changing my mindset and by valuing myself first. I am now free to give others space to be themselves. The lessons I have learned along the way are, stop living small to make others feel comfortable, music doesn’t make a lot of money so plan accordingly, don’t sacrifice yourself for others if they are not also willing to work, and enjoy yourself first.

My brand and story have always begun with story. I tell stories as a singer and contribute to a story as a fellow musician in every collaboration. My studio is about teaching others to listen to their “voice” and find a way to accept their own story, be it good or difficult.
Growing up, I didn’t like my given last name of Groh. As an adult, I re-created it in my own mind and it has become a part of everything. It is my professional name, business name, and story. My brand is one that asks: Who do you want to be? What do you want? And what is your story?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would offer a mix of history and new so that my city could be fully understood and enjoyed. I would do this in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and for my hometown area of Kansas City.

In the Springs, I would show them landmarks, the Pioneer’s museum, take a hike in the local foothills, and talk about how the downtown and expanding areas were planned and created.
I would take them to The Wild Goose Meeting House, Epiphany COS, Poor Richard’s Books, Briargate Shops, Fine Arts Center, and drive around the Old North End.
I would show them Old Colorado City, Manitou Springs, and drive them up Hwy 24 to Woodland Park to pretend we were in the mountains.
These are the places I spend my time and find identity.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My success is a combination of luck and hard work, positive and negative influences, and grit and choices. Those who most shaped my path include my teachers in dance and music. Also, my mom, who is herself a professional singer and musician, as well as a pioneer in the path of professional women. My dad who was a 4th generation apple farmer, taught me how the seasons of farm work shape time management, organization, business relationships, priorities, and the care for a final product.

The organization, SCORE and the book, The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber, were both formidable as I first began as a business owner and entrepreneur. SCORE is a national non-profit of retired entrepreneurs who volunteer mentoring time to new business owners. Finally, the OnCourse book by Skip Downing that I teach to college students has been a huge influence on how I have changed my Mindset about myself and therefore relationships.

Website: www.sarahgroh.com

Instagram: sarahgrohmusic – or – sarahgroh_quartet

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-groh/

Twitter: sarahgrohmusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahgrohcorrea – or – The Sarah Groh Quartet

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ6_FeBsEOVPWPrD9pqTcOg

Image Credits
Brian W Tryon