The $100 Startup - My Thoughts

100startup.com

I just finished reading Chris Guillebeau's The $100 Startup. Full of real examples and even one related to us musicians (Music Teachers' Helper), I'm inspired and motivated to keep working on my own microbusiness.

Thanks to this book, I've realized a lot of my inaction is due to fear and perfectionism. One of my project interests at the moment is creating products to sell online, but what do I sell as a musician? I'm exploring this by looking at various options, but I want them to all relate to who I am and what I'm doing at any given time. This book has inspired me to jump in, and I'm writing my first ebook and giving myself only 7 days to do it.

At this transitional point in my life, I have the freedom and ability to just go for it. Like I said in my post last week, resources like this book and Lea Woodward have come into my life at just the right time for me to start working positive changes into my life and my business.

The $100 Startup also helped me realize that if I say I'm running a business, then I have to focus my actions based on making money. Focusing my time on 50 percent creation and 50 percent connecting is a relevant formula to take as a musician and begin tweaking your business. Whether you want to bring in more students, begin utilizing a secondary skill to draw more business or you want to introduce an array of products on your site, focusing your time is essential and can be tricky especially if practicing your instrument doesn't do a lot for income generation at the moment.

I highly recommend this book. It's an easy read. You can either read through it, or you can work through the book chapter by chapter. The accompanying website, 100startup.com, is a great free resource with downloadable PDFs to help you launch a product, a business, or you need marketing help. Everything is broken down into plain English and easily actionable steps.

The beauty of microbusiness is that it's often just one person. You can accomplish much by getting rid of the organizational red tape, and working for yourself. It's a powerful motivator. If you're looking for something to inspire and move you forward, read this book.

What and how many income streams should you pursue?

In my last post, I asked you some pointed questions to help you identify potential income streams. As musicians, teaching and performing are primary income streams for most of us. What if that isn't enough? What if you have additional interests that still relate to music, but you would like to expand your list of income generating activities?

While some people may not have enough income streams, others may have too many ideas that they can't focus on one long enough to get any real work done. While my last article was meant to get you thinking about any additional skills you could bring to the table (including the possibility of getting a day job to help you build skills), this is going to be a post to help you focus and refine the income streams.

1) What do you value? Time with family? Fame? Money? You can determine the number of income streams you can handle answering this question first. As I refine my own streams at this time, I'm discovering that I must preserve a work/life balance and this is my current priority. My goal is to eventually be able to work no more than 4-6 hours a day, so I cannot handle more than 3 or 4 different streams. A great site to help you figure out your strengths is the VIA Character Strengths Profile which you can take for free. My profile says my best character strengths are curiosity, gratitude, judgment, appreciation of beauty and excellence, and honesty. All my current income streams of performance, teaching and writing play to these strengths.

2) Do you thrive on multiple projects or would you rather work on just one or two? Again, this goes back to determining your strengths and values. I'd argue that no one is able to multitask too much. Our brain simply can't function at its optimum level. Instead, determine your work preference and choose your streams from there.

I would also point out here that this question is important to consider when you get calls for gigs or new students. It's so easy to take any opportunity that comes through the door when we don't have a full performance schedule or teaching roster. I don't believe that it's necessary to take every opportunity. If it doesn't align with your values, don't do it. Instead, spend your time on efforts that play to your strengths. Long term financial security is much more important than the short term.

3) Do you have an idea for a new business but don't know how to get started? I discovered Lea Woodward through colleague Marion Harrington. Lea has now begun offering free e-courses to help you establish your path. Consider her latest offerings from her Path Finding for Pioneers site.

I am currently working through Path Finding for Idea Pioneers and working through it task by task (which come to you every other day in an e-mail so you can work on the course when it's convenient) has left me focused and energized. I see great value in what Lea is offering and I'm happy to be able to take these courses to determine whether I want to invest in her paid options down the road.

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When we're working on our own, the hardest thing to do sometimes is to maintain laser focus when you don't have a separate office outside of your home. If you can discipline yourself to set work boundaries for yourself to preserve focus and concentration, I believe the payoff is worth it. If you begin laying the groundwork by answering these guided questions, finding your strengths and taking advantage of the resources available online, you can begin working in a new way that doesn't take every waking minute.

Regardless of whether people understand what you do, the key is to communicating what you do to prospective clients and customers so that they understand the benefit to them. Focus your income streams for maximum results.

How many hats do you wear?

photo moolanomy.com

Ask a classical musician what they do for a living and be prepared for a less than straight forward answer. We do a lot. Most of us perform, teach, compose, write and do many other things that all fall under the freelance title. The challenge of succinctly describing to laypersons what I do is ever present, and most time I simply reply that I play the flute.

I have many income streams that I'm in the process of developing. Currently, I teach, perform and write. I'm also working on capitalizing on my day job experience to create new work. My goal as a musician is to be portable and flexible; however, like any small business, income streams take time to develop into money making ventures. The key is to not give up.

What unique skill sets and interests do you have? Does being a musician completely define you or do have a broader scope of experience that you can draw on? I worked a full time day job outside of music for nearly three years. I treat that work experience as my business management education since my job consisted of accounting, human resources and operations components. Aside from that, my other day jobs have been primarily clerical in nature so I draw on my organizational and administrative skills there to handle day to day stuff and not get overwhelmed. Although I'm now beginning school to obtain my physical therapy degree, these skills will serve me well.

Don't be afraid of the additional experience a day job can give you. If you feel you need more business experience, try to find a administrative position. The hours may not be as flexible, but you're gaining experience, honing your skills and earning a paycheck in the process.

Another question to ask yourself as you begin to develop income streams is how many can you handle? For instance, if you're interested in self-producing concerts, the amount of work involved in handling all the details from securing a space, negotiating fees, hiring additional musicians and promoting the event to get an audience is a huge undertaking. I didn't even mention the hours of practice needed to prepare a program!

Instead of thinking about each separate hat you have to wear under the auspice of generating income via performance, think about the project in its entirety then break down the steps into manageable bits from there. You'll otherwise risk burnout and becoming overwhelmed with all the little bits of work that need to be done.

Become a self-sufficient musician means that you have to develop business skills. Choose income streams that reflect your interests and match your values. You'll be more likely to stick with it especially when the monetary payoff isn't immediate.

We're artists, but we're also forced into the tricky world of business in order to cobble together a living for ourselves. My next set of posts will attempt to give you some perspective on how to overcome these challenges and keep moving ahead even when it seems that you're stalled.