Skip to Main Content
HBS Online
  • Courses
    Open Courses Mega Menu
    • Business Essentials
      • Credential of Readiness (CORe)
      • Business Analytics
      • Economics for Managers
      • Financial Accounting
    • Leadership & Management
      • Leadership Principles
      • Management Essentials
      • Negotiation Mastery
      • Organizational Leadership
      • Strategy Execution
      • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
    • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
      • Entrepreneurship Essentials
      • Disruptive Strategy
      • Negotiation Mastery
      • Design Thinking and Innovation
    • Strategy
      • Strategy Execution
      • Business Strategy
      • Economics for Managers
      • Disruptive Strategy
      • Global Business
      • Sustainable Business Strategy
    • Finance & Accounting
      • Financial Accounting
      • Leading with Finance
      • Alternative Investments
      • Sustainable Investing
    • Business in Society
      • Sustainable Business Strategy
      • Global Business
      • Sustainable Investing
      • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
    • All Courses
  • For Organizations
    Open For Organizations Mega Menu
    • Corporate Learning
      Help your employees master essential business concepts, improve effectiveness, and expand leadership capabilities.
    • Academic Solutions
      Integrate HBS Online courses into your curriculum to support programs and create unique educational opportunities.
    • Need Help?
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Contact Us
  • Insights
    Open Insights Mega Menu
    • Business Insights Blog
      • Career Development
      • Communication
      • Decision-Making
      • Earning Your MBA
      • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
      • Finance
      • Leadership
      • Management
      • Negotiation
      • Strategy
    • All Topics
    • Free Business Lessons and E-Books

      Gain actionable skills and insights to advance your career.

    • Free Guide

      Learn how to formulate a successful business strategy.

  • More Info
    Open More Info Mega Menu
    • Learning Experience
      Master real-world business skills with our immersive platform and engaged community.
    • Certificates, Credentials, & Credits
      Learn how completing courses can boost your resume and move your career forward.
    • Learning Tracks
      Take your career to the next level with this specialization.
    • Financing & Policies
      • Employer Reimbursement
      • Payment & Financial Aid
      • Policies
    • Connect
      • Student Stories
      • Community
    • Need Help?
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Request Information
    • Apply Now
Login
My Courses
Access your courses and engage with your peers
My Account
Manage your account, applications, and payments.
HBS Home
  • About HBS
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
HBS Online
  • Courses
  • Business Essentials
  • Leadership & Management
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Finance & Accounting
  • Business in Society
  • For Organizations
  • Insights
  • More Info
  • About
  • Media Coverage
  • Founding Donors
  • Leadership Team
  • Careers
  • My Courses
  • My Account
  • Apply Now
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • HBS Online→
  • Business Insights→

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

 
Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up

Topics

Topics

  • Accounting
  • Analytics
  • Business Essentials
  • Business in Society
  • Career Development
  • Communication
  • Community
  • ConneXt
  • Decision-Making
  • Earning Your MBA
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Negotiation
  • News & Events
  • Productivity
  • Staff Spotlight
  • Strategy
  • Student Profiles
  • Technology
  • Work-Life Balance

Courses

Courses

  • Alternative Investments
  • Business Analytics
  • Business Strategy
  • CORe
  • Design Thinking and Innovation
  • Disruptive Strategy
  • Economics for Managers
  • Entrepreneurship Essentials
  • Financial Accounting
  • Global Business
  • Leadership Principles
  • Leading with Finance
  • Management Essentials
  • Negotiation Mastery
  • Organizational Leadership
  • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
  • Strategy Execution
  • Sustainable Business Strategy
  • Sustainable Investing
Subscribe to the Blog
RSS feed

Filters

Topics

Topics

  • Accounting
  • Analytics
  • Business Essentials
  • Business in Society
  • Career Development
  • Communication
  • Community
  • ConneXt
  • Decision-Making
  • Earning Your MBA
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Negotiation
  • News & Events
  • Productivity
  • Staff Spotlight
  • Strategy
  • Student Profiles
  • Technology
  • Work-Life Balance

Courses

Courses

  • Alternative Investments
  • Business Analytics
  • Business Strategy
  • CORe
  • Design Thinking and Innovation
  • Disruptive Strategy
  • Economics for Managers
  • Entrepreneurship Essentials
  • Financial Accounting
  • Global Business
  • Leadership Principles
  • Leading with Finance
  • Management Essentials
  • Negotiation Mastery
  • Organizational Leadership
  • Power and Influence for Positive Impact
  • Strategy Execution
  • Sustainable Business Strategy
  • Sustainable Investing
Subscribe to the Blog
RSS feed

CORe Inspired This Opera Singer to Trade Her Gowns in for Suits

Carla Canales singing opera on stage
  • 28 Jun 2022
Michele Reynolds Author Staff
tag
  • CORe
  • Disruptive Strategy
  • Student Profiles

When Carla Dirlikov Canales started her professional opera career at age 23, she considered herself purely a singer. She soon discovered she was a business without the necessary skills to run it.

Canales needed to start operating like a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). She realized it would have been easier if she understood some business concepts, like what a unique selling proposition is or how to do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis.

"Business acumen is fundamental to being an artist, and there's a huge lack of business understanding," Canales says. "Artists and entrepreneurs are two sides of the same coin. Both have a vision and a dream, and you work hard to make them a reality. Both also hope they'll have a social impact. The difference is, there's an enormous lack of business understanding and entrepreneurial skills among artists."


Free E-Book: A Guide to Advancing Your Career with Essential Business Skills

Access your free e-book today.

DOWNLOAD NOW

In the U.S., operatic soloists are independent practitioners. It's up to the singer to find a steady income and secure benefits. They typically have an agent who helps book engagements, but they run the rest of the business—and most are unprepared.

Being an opera singer isn't as glamourous as it sounds. Canales explains it's not unusual to have 20 auditions to land one part. You must learn to accept rejection and constantly audition to fill your calendar. With each audition, the earnings whittle away to pay the agent 10 to 20 percent, the pianist or coach 10 to 20 percent, a vocal trainer 10 to 20 percent, plus taxes.

Canales grew up in a culturally diverse and highly educated family. Yet, business was not their focus. Her father is a retired Ph.D. in chemistry from Bulgaria, and her mother is a lawyer from Mexico. They wanted a better life with more opportunities for their family, so they immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Michigan. Canales grew up speaking Spanish and Bulgarian. She learned to speak English in school and helped her parents refine their own.

"Because I was born into a state of cultural confusion with no clear ethnicity in my family, I gravitated to music," Canales says. "I grew up listening to opera and found it was a great place to celebrate my cultural diversity."

She started singing at age 14. She says she had a "big voice but not a good voice," so she needed to undergo a lot of training to become the refined mezzo-soprano she is today. She was fortunate to have early breaks as a teenager, singing at the White House and the Vatican.

Carla Canales working with four children
Carla Canales with young musicians from Yucatán, Mexico

She was most inspired and heavily trained by Shirley Verrett, a renowned soprano who had an illustrious career and made tremendous inroads for Black opera singers. Canales earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, where Verrett was her teacher and mentor.

Canales made her professional debut in 2003, between her undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan and graduate school at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Her first professional part was singing the lead role in Carmen in Toronto. It became her favorite role and the one she performed most.

She's celebrated nearly 20 years of singing worldwide and has won several awards. Since 2005, she has been an Arts Envoy to the U.S. State Department, a program that sends professional U.S. artists overseas to share their talent with communities that might not otherwise have access to the arts.

When the art world was forced to shut down in March 2020 due to COVID-19, it brought Canales's career to a screeching halt. It was a difficult adjustment to have no income suddenly. Yet, the time off allowed her to consider what she wanted to do after the pandemic.

"I realized I wanted to wear fewer gowns and more suits," Canales says. "I had started a nonprofit, The Canales Project, in 2016 to help form connections between organizations and artists to promote social and cultural change. I wanted to focus more on that."

Canales received help from individuals at Harvard Business School and the Harvard i-lab, which was her first exposure to Harvard. Those contacts helped her understand the value of formal business education and how entrepreneurial endeavors could have a social impact.

Canales was entrepreneurial from an early age, organizing a "Halloween in July" event and lemonade stands. With her newfound free time, she decided to explore that interest and take courses. She started with Harvard Business School Online's Disruptive Strategy program.

"I loved it so much, I applied to take CORe," Canales says. "I never studied accounting, economics, or analytics, so I decided to challenge myself. It was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I've ever done. The academic rigor was thrilling. What made it extra special was the people I met through the experience. That community stays with me every day."

She believes CORe should be required for every art student, encouraging the schools she's affiliated with in that direction "to open doors for other artists."

CORe motivated Canales to apply for a Harvard fellowship with the Advanced Leadership Initiative. She developed a project for social impact called "The Future of Cultural Diplomacy," focused on fostering community and bringing people together worldwide to collaborate. She says her inspiration came from HBS Online.

Credential of Readiness (CORe) - Master the fundamentals of business. Learn more.

She's slowed down her opera career, now only performing four to five shows annually. She's also starting a second fellowship; this time, at the Social Impact and Change Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School.

"I feel there's something else I need to do," she says. "I want to make a social impact by making arts play a central role in addressing cultural issues. Traveling around the world opened my eyes to different cultures. I'd like to connect business and the arts by building trust and teaching collaboration to make the world a better place."

So, what does the future hold for Canales?

"I don't want to know what I'll be doing in 10 years," Canales says. "I know I'll always be learning because there's always something new to explore. I've been offered a professorship recently and am looking forward to teaching. I'd also like to write a book someday, but embracing the unknown really excites me."

If you're interested in building your business acumen, learning the language of business, and possibly pivoting your career, explore HBS Online's CORe program.

About the Author

Michele Reynolds handles brand marketing and PR for Harvard Business School Online. Prior to HBS Online, she led communications for TripAdvisor and Gazelle and has been widely quoted in national media outlets, including CBS News, Reuters, and The New York Times. Michele earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University. Outside work, she spends time with her teenage daughter, plays tennis, and visits her enormous extended family.
 
All FAQs

Top FAQs

How are HBS Online courses delivered?

+–

We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

+–

No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

How do I enroll in a course?

+–

All programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly from program to program, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

After submitting your application, you should receive an email confirmation from HBS Online. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk email folders and double-check your account to make sure the application was successfully submitted.

Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your Dashboard. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

+–

No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

What are my payment options?

+–

We accept payments via credit card, wire transfer, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

We also allow you to split your payment across 2 separate credit card transactions or send a payment link email to another person on your behalf. If splitting your payment into 2 transactions, a minimum payment of $350 is required for the first transaction.

In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

What are the policies for refunds and deferrals?

+–

After enrolling in a program, you may request a withdrawal with refund (minus a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee) up until 24 hours after the start of your program. Please review the Program Policies page for more details on refunds and deferrals. If your employer has contracted with HBS Online for participation in a program, or if you elect to enroll in the undergraduate credit option of the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, note that policies for these options may differ.

 

Sign up for News & Announcements

Subject Areas

  • Business Essentials
  • Leadership & Management
  • Entrepreneurship & Innovation
  • Strategy
  • Finance & Accounting
  • Business & Society

Quick Links

  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Request Info
  • Apply Now

About

  • About Us
  • Media Coverage
  • Founding Donors
  • Leadership Team
  • Careers @ HBS Online

Legal

  • Legal
  • Policies
Harvard Business School
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College
  • Site Map
  • Trademark Notice
  • Digital Accessibility