Meet Kyle Stolz | Brass & Woodwind Repair Technician

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

Hi Kyle, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I had three main thoughts that drove me into creating my own business: Growth, Money and Freedom…and not in that order. The Idea: When the pandemic hit, I was making a comfortable wage while repairing instruments for a big box store that was shut down for three months. Despite the closures, musicians were still playing/breaking their instruments. Fortunately, many of my customers had my personal number (as I was otherwise unreachable from the store I worked at) and I was able to go to their houses with a simple set of tools and fix their instruments on-the-spot. With a taste of this new way to run a repair business and speculation of how successful it could be, I “grew” the idea of outfitting a van. And growing this idea allowed me to grow a new business model for this very old and niche industry. When my job hired me back after the pandemic closures I was making a large percentage less every month because “company restructuring”. It pushed me over the edge, and I started Instru-Mend Mobile Brass and Wind Repair.
With this idea growing and getting better by the day, I realized just how ideal of a business platform this was. Not only was I turning profit (excluding my van payment lol) within my first year, with a SUPER low overhead I was saving MONEY everyday by not renting a brick and mortar location.
Finally, not having a storefront nor having to clock in to a job allows me to control a schedule that allows me freedom. I’m a musician and a member of the band ‘The Tens’ who travel and gig often. Being able to freely schedule shows with them without having to worry about a rigid schedule is an incredible feeling. Not to mention how liberating being your own boss is.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Instru-Mend is a Mobile Brass and Woodwind Instrument repair shop built in the back of a Ram ProMaster Van. It was such a fun project being able to design and build the first mobile instrument repair shop in California, and I’m very proud of how it came out. With that being said, one of my biggest challenges (aside from everything that comes with starting a business for the first time) is explaining to many of my customers about how this brand new concept works. For over 100 years, repair shops were in stores, shops, shacks, sheds and garages. So the idea of the technician coming to them and repairing their instrument on the spot can be tough to grasp sometimes, understandably. The idea is spreading like wildfire and I’m quickly becoming “that guy fixing horns in a van” to the musician communities.

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 like sharing with my friends places with great views or lots of people to watch. For my wife, we love going to shopping malls and the movies. For my out of town friends, we like to go to Hollyweird and look at Hollyweird as a whole, as it will never cease to amaze. I love taking friends to Brewyard Beer Company in Glendale for some great brews and for the views, anywhere that’s high in elevation around golden hour.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Aside from my wonderful wife Patty who called me “stupid” for having a great idea and not doing anything about it, “The Tens” have been the band that I’ve been a part of the longest. And performing live is a HUGE passion of mine, I love entertaining. I felt bad how many times I couldn’t make shows so I can definitely say that there was motivation to create this business to play live more often with my favorite people. The Tens are an original DIY band formed nearly ten years ago pumping out Rock and Roll, Funk, blues and folk that can surely make you tap your toes.

Website: www.instrumend.online

Instagram: @instru_mend and @kylesax

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/instru-mend-mobile-brass-and-wind-repair-los-angeles

Image Credits
Kyle Stolz