Ciao, Hola, Bonjour, my name is Garrett Strommen and I am the founder and president of Strømmen, Inc., LA’s highest rated language school.
Strømmen is a teacher collective that focuses on private and group language classes. We have hundreds of students learning over 30 languages with more than 80 teachers. We try to provide an affordable rate to our students and a living wage to our teachers. We are also highly involved in the entertainment industry with dialect coaching (recently Amy Adams on Arrival) and translation (Chef’s table France).
My father was the dean of a study abroad campus in Rome, Italy, for 25 years. I basically grew up on a university campus. When I started teaching Italian to students in 2006, my classes became very popular and I realized that there was a lot of demand and I only have so much time in a day to teach. Adding teachers and growing Strømmen into a larger organization happened organically.
It was just me and a few friends in Los Feliz offering 3 languages. Looking back, it was a fun time because I could sense the potential but it was still more of an informal hobby than a true business.
I am always surprised by the amount one needs to keep working to improve things and grow them further. There is a limitless amount of information out there, and a limitless amount of things you can do.
Our students always tell us how much they love their teachers, and that they love how much progress they are making. They also like that Strømmen makes learning languages fun.
I am proud to say that I have helped beginner students become fluent. Helping people to achieve life-long dreams is probably the most rewarding part of running a language school. Other than that, going to Sylvester Stallone’s house to teach his family Italian was definitely memorable!
The freedom it allows me to spend time with my family when I want to. I have a 5 month old and a 2 year old, and like everyone says, it goes by very quickly. I really enjoy making my own schedule for that reason.
We will be hosting a big party with food and music (played by some of our teachers that are also musicians) to fund raise for English classes for refugees. Sign up on our mailing list if you would like an invite!
My advice is to start small. Many people feel that they need to write a business plan and have everything figured out. That’s not the case per se. Just start by doing something small and inexpensive, then build on that. If you plan too much, you may never start.
Los Feliz feels like a small town. It is almost European in that you can walk to almost anything. I also like that everyone knows everybody. I’ve been living in Los Feliz for almost 15 years.
My favorite activity in Los Feliz is hiking up to Griffith park. It’s a wonderful park with lots of options for different hikes. I also enjoy golfing at Roosevelt and taking the kids to the Zoo and pony rides.
I love McCalls, Yuca’s, Mexico City, Casita Del Campo, Hyperion Public, The Friend, Home and Umami Burger, and Tropicalia.
It’s wonderful to support your neighbors and keep things local. It is a fact: When you shop local the money stays in your neighborhood. It’s easy to do when you live in a place like Los Feliz that has everything you need within walking distance.
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