When Julia Mitchell was 12, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. She didn’t realize, however, that this aspiration would lead her to become both a music teacher and a businesswoman.
“I never thought I would be a business owner,” Mitchell says. “I would have just worked for a music academy and continued doing what I’m doing without all the challenges of running a business.”
Mitchell is 23, and music runs in her family.
“My dad played electric guitar, so he bought me one for Christmas. I was seven, and I hated it,” she says.
Mitchell’s mother put her in lessons, and she didn’t like that either, but then her father became interested in classical guitar, and that caught her interest. Today, she is an award-winning guitarist who is primarily self-taught.
“No one was teaching classical guitar in Airdrie then,” she recalls. “Growing up in school, I think it was always weird for my friends. I had long nails on one hand, short on the other; it was sort of unique.”
Airdrie’s Solfeo Music Academy hired Mitchell to teach classical guitar when she was 16. She immediately fell in love with the connections she was making with her students.
“I’ve always loved kids, and helping another generation explore music, and classical guitar specifically, became a more rewarding way to grow my career than as a performer,” she says.
Unfortunately, the Academy shut down in 2024 when the owner retired. He encouraged Mitchell to keep her students, which effectively launched her business, Guitar Jules. But she didn’t have a studio.
“I was like, ‘Oh, what am I gonna do now? I really want to make a go of this, but I don’t have space to work out of my house,’” she says.
This is where Mitchell’s fiancé, Ethan Grollmuss, a web designer and videographer, surprised her. “He said, ‘I’ve already got you hooked up with Keely.’”
Keely and Gary Van Vlack own the Avodah Business Centre on Edmonton Trail N.E. Intended as a place for entrepreneurs to build their dreams, Keely says she loves what Mitchell adds to the centre.
“Music brings community, connection and artistic expression,” she says. “It’s thrilling to have these budding artists learning their craft within our facility.”
For Mitchell, the relationship with Avodah was a perfect fit.
“My biggest fear was finding a place that would be okay with a music studio,” she says. “But Keely said, ‘You’re a young female entrepreneur, and you’re starting out, and I want to give you a space for you to do that.’”
With the help of her fiancé and Avodah, Mitchell says Guitar Jules as a business is fulfilling her dream of being a teacher. Many of her students have won provincial and national awards.
“For me, it’s not just a matter of building a business and being successful at it. It’s also about creating awareness in Airdrie for classical guitar,” she says. “Honestly, the best part is seeing students accomplish their goals.”
