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Do You Qualify?
Record Label Realities
Lifestyle of Freedom
Income Streams
Music Business & Money
How Much Money
Getting Started
Pro or Amateur?
Common Pitfalls
Do You Qualify?
Record Label Realities
Lifestyle of Freedom
Income Streams
Music Business & Money
How Much Money
Getting Started
Pro or Amateur?
Common Pitfalls
 |
Inch by inch, life's a cinch I am ready to play music full time. What do I do now? Step 1 Know what you want What should I do with my music business? Step 2 Set your goals I want to play shows. I want to sell music. I want... Step 3 Formulate a 30 day plan How do I get started playing music full time? |
| Step 4 Take action...Just do it! Why can't I book gigs? Step 5 Analyze your results How do I play more gigs? How do I sell more music? |
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Inch by inch, life's a cinch
These 5 steps are basic principles that will help you achieve your freedom and become a full-time musician.
Most musicians or vocalists can apply them to any type of income stream and succeed. (In my opinion vocalists are musicians...they just carry their instrument inside of them)
This information is meant to propel you quickly in your music business. There is no way I can guarantee you success... duh...but I can guarantee that skipping one of these 5 steps will either slow you down severely or cause you to fail completely.
Success principles work for everyone. Principles are what you must follow step by step. They do not change from person to person. Techniques, however, how you go about applying the principles, are as unique as the individual using them.
That's why I always separate the two. When you read the specific techniques that others use, just consider it as you would a buffet...take what you want and leave the rest for someone else. But when you learn a principle use it!
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.
-John Barrymore
Step 1 Know what you want
It is imperative that you get a vision of what you want. You MUST know what you want to accomplish in your music business before you make a plan.
We currently have a vision of our future and T's career that will take us through the rest of our years. But it didn't start off that way. It started with a smaller vision and grew.
You need to sit back and think about your vision first. What changes do you want to make now? Do you just want to make an extra $500 per month? Do you want to leave your job?
How much money do you need to do that? What income stream will you focus on first? Your vision, once it is clearly in mind, will guide you in your decision making. With a clear vision of where you want to go, you won't waste time on things that are not going to help you get your desired results.
Once you know what you want, write it down. Then read it over and imagine how great it's going to be. Then go tell someone!
Hopefully they will be supportive. If not, then prove them wrong and find someone who 'gets it'!
Belief creates the actual fact.
-William James
Step 2 Set your goals
I've been in sales since I was 17 and have been taught sooooo much on this subject of goal setting. Many of these 'goal setting' techniques just ended up frustrating me because of a common flaw in the theory.
The common flaw is setting 'result' oriented goals.Then they say put a date on your results?! This rarely succeeds and can cause people to give up entirely. Worse yet it can do irreparable damage to your self esteem.
The best way to set goals
My goal setting insight helped me to always be in the top 5% of salesman Nationally no matter what company I was with. I worked at the activity goals and my results (sales) always followed.
I have practiced this goal setting stuff all my life. I have had sales training by 8 major corporations over the last 20 years. Here is what I (and many other business people I work with) believe works best.
Know the ultimate RESULT you want...but make your goals tasks & activities. The result may be to replace your $40,000 per year income. But since you can't predict the future be willing to work at it as long as it takes.
When you set a task oriented goal you will more than likely achieve it because you can control your actions. Since you can't control results, you have to be flexible about them. But you should never be flexible on your tasks...just focused on getting them done by your deadline.
If this goal setting stuff is new to you, start with something simple like "I will read this entire website in one week". When you utilize discipline to accomplish a task, it builds your self confidence a little more.
I think people over-complicate something as simple as goal setting just to sell books. When people get confused...they do nothing! So keep it simple.
People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.
-Brian Tracy
Step 3 Formulate a 30 day plan
When I have to develop a business I have to think 5-10 years ahead. If I looked at the entire plan of action for those years it would overwhelming. Besides in 2 years the plan may be different than I had originally expected.
That's why I like 30 Day plans. 30 day plans are easy because you can do almost anything on a 30 day commitment. You can apply these principles in all areas of your life...finances, health, relationships, etc.
You know best how much time you have, what skills you have, how much money you have to invest and your limitations. That's why you are the best one to develop your 30 Day Plan.
I detail our initial 30 day plan of action of getting gigs in the email training series called BOOKED SOLID IN 30 DAYS! This booking system works in each town of each state we have tried it in.
It is easier for all of us to act on our own ideas than on the ideas of others. Our plan of action may be different than yours because our desire is different than yours.
Or maybe you are a different style of musician. So, although you may change some of the techniques we used, it can serve as a good guideline of principles to follow for your own plan.
However, we have a lot of 'action' in our plan. Getting gigs is, indeed, the toughest part of the job. TMoody is a master at selling gigs but he still has to do the tough part when seeking new gigs in new towns.
Your 30 day plan should have enough activity to match up with the results you are trying to achieve. It should also contain tasks that seriously move you out of your comfort zone. When you can do these things you will be impressed with your own results.
You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.
-Brian Tracy
Step 4 Take action...Just do it!
This is what separates the 'men from the boys'. You can only be a failure when you stop trying or worse...don't try at all.
It will feel uncomfortable at first. But after a few attempts at action it gets easier and easier. If you do nothing you will get nothing. If you do a little you may get a little.
But if you do enough of the right things you will find yourself one day living your dream.
Having a tough time sticking to your plan? If you are weak in the area of discipline, it's okay. Just find an Accountability Partner.
Accountability Partners need to be supportive and encouraging, so pick someone who believes in you AND has some accomplishments of his/her own.
Then simply report weekly about what you got done on your plan...even if it is nothing.
A good Accountability Partner will not accept your excuses but encourage you to try harder next week. He/She can also provide valuable insight to help you in executing and adjusting your plan based on your results. It's not their place to 'pet' you, but to 'perfect' you.
But remember...it's still up to you. If you choose a good one, you will stay on track just so you won't have to make up excuses to them.
Two of my motto's I preached to my children when they were growing up were Yoda's famous "Do, or do not do...there is no try!" and my own, "I don't make excuses, and I don't accept them."
So TMoody never attempted to make excuses to me while building our business. He knew he'd always get the truth (good or bad) from me. He also knew I wanted this for him, as much as he wanted it. Therefore I made a perfect accountability partner for him.
Jill's definition of an excuse: The skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.
If you find that you are not carrying out your own plan of action that you made for yourself, then you simply do not have the desire to play music full time like you thought.
That's okay because now you know the truth about yourself. Times may change for you and your desire may grow strong enough to motivate you or simply fade away altogether.
Never confuse motion with action.
-Benjamin Franklin
Step 5 Analyze your results
Now you have something to evaluate. If you meet your goals before the 30 days are up, simply start a new 30 DAY PLAN.
Make fresh goals that reflect the progress you made. Then capitalize on the momentum you have developed by having accomplished your last goals so quickly.
If you find that your level of activity is not giving you the desired results then you can adjust your plan as you go along. If you can, get your Accountability Partner involved.
Is it the quantity of your activity or the quality of your activity that needs adjusting? Do you need marketing tools to help you along in your music business?
Make a new 30 DAY PLAN based on your findings from last month. This gives you a fresh start every month no matter which stream of income you are trying to develop.
You will not always have to make 30 DAY PLAN. Usually after 2 sets of them your activity momentum is so high you just keep on doing what you are doing.
Follow these 5 steps any time you need to focus on a different income stream, CD recording project or boost your current income stream, etc.
It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going.
-Brian Tracy
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