Rock Camp USA Hits Grand Stage

Biz Journals:

Dave Sebree teaches Austin how to rock.

Soon enough, the rest of the country will be ready to follow suit. A professional guitar player and performer, Sebree took out a $35,000 Small Business Administration loan in 1995 and opened the Austin School of Music. In 1996, the school posted total gross profit of $210,000.

Eleven years later, the Austin School of Music has grown to two locations, with Sebree’s 50-plus instructors teaching about 2,000 students a week. Last year, the schools brought in about $2 million in gross profit. Within the next year, Sebree plans to open a branch in Hutto and a smaller satellite location in the Bee Caves area.

In addition to the schools, Sebree operates a summer camp that kids actually want to attend.

The camp has been so successful that it’s now getting some amplification.

With the help of friends and fellow musicians, Sebree plans to franchise Rock Camp USA this summer in Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City and Davenport, Iowa. He chose those cities because musicians who have worked for Sebree have moved there and want to continue supporting the business.

Sebree says he was inspired to franchise the concept by his business mentor, Gary Keller of Keller Williams Realty Inc.