Continued from this post: @nathankaye/the-top-22-secrets-sabotaging-your-artistic-career-part1 - If you haven't, then read this one first.
8) Pride. Are you too proud to ask for help?
Are you reluctant to ask for help or guidance from peers, mentors or friends?
Maybe you think they’ll lose respect for you or that you’ll somehow place yourself underneath them in some weird hierarchical structure you’ve created in your mind if ask them for help.
Get rid of the hierarchical structures in your mind.
Nobody is more special than you are and you are no more special than anyone else.
“I am nobody’s slave. I am nobody’s master.”
We are all in this journey of life together with the same kinds of trials and tribulations. Sure some may seem to be born with the silver spoon in their mouths, but I know many of these so-called better-privileged people and believe me, they also want the exact same things as you and the fear the exact same things.
We all want to be liked, respected and loved.
None of us want pain, rejection or struggle.
And if you don’t believe that truth, then write a song or a whole album about this particularly negative philosophy.
I guarantee there are others that will relate and will want to buy your creative expression of it! (side note: a friend of mine wrote a really good song that was a negative perception of our world situation about how ‘we’re all going down’ and that inspired me to write a song that was kind of the opposite about ‘we don’t have to be going down in the end.’ It became my biggest requsted song.)
But mark my words, if you think others are better than you, or more deserving than you, or more lucky than you, then that is how things will always be for you.
Are you trying to do everything yourself?
There’s no point in reinventing the wheel.
Ask others who’ve already made mistakes and gotten through the other side so you don’t have to be impeded by the same problems.
For example, early in my music touring career I reached out to an artist in the same genre as me from the other side of the country that was only a few steps ahead of me with his career via email. I asked him a question about something he was also passionate about with music touring, specifically to do with a problem I needed ironing out.
Not only did he enthusiastically answer my question, but he made me his main support act for some out of town gigs.
After my career boomed, we double-billed some shows together.
So leave the social media aside for a bit and focus on planning some actual strategies to grow your arts business.
No conscious plan equals no consistent forward momentum.
And every plan should include finding help or assistance or advice from others who are more experienced than you.
ACTION:
If there’s something that you’re stuck on to get your artistic career rolling and flowing abundantly then do something about it now! Find a mentor. Pay for that online course (which is like having a mentor). Email that other artist a question, but don’t waste their time by not knowing what you want and need. (and yes, don’t be afraid to contact me either!)
9) Stuck in the Past. Are you stuck in Nostalgia from the Glory Days long gone?
We can’t deny that all the arts industries have radically changed in the past 25 years as the digital era has kicked up several gears.
It seems that audiences value things like music far less now, especially that most people can easily get these creative products for free online as the floodgates have opened with the general population’s access to music, film and art. Where there used to be scarcity and lack of accessibility, now it’s free for all, unless you’re smart, if course.
Despite inflation rising massively, music venues pay less than they used to, but regardless of this, there are far more people going to live shows than ever before and anything can change drastically (and positively) in the future as new technologies evolve.
Moreover, there are musicians just like you who aren't superstars, but are making a living from music.
Look, I'm not saying that there aren't things to complain about, but if we truly are creative beings then we can find more creative ways to create our art and make a living from it.
Complaining gets us nowhere fast.
Visioning gets us eventually to where we dream of being.
We must not get stuck in the past.
The past is gone.
The future is waiting.
ACTION:
Next time you catch yourself complaining (either to someone else or in your own mind) about the state of the industry. Stop yourself and find or think of 3 things that you could do to counteract or replace that particular problem. OK? For every 1 complaint or negativity or jealous thought you have, replace it with 3 positives that are directly related.
Re-brainwash yourself for success!
10) Wait for a Muse. Do you wait for inspiration to come before you create?
When I was in my teens I had an ongoing debate with my art teacher about inspiration vs work.
She insisted that art was 90% work, 10% inspiration.
I was like, WTF!?!?! “No way miss! All art is 90% inspiration 10% work.”
This debate went on all year and I didn’t put much work in. Then 10 days before the art works were due for my final year assessments in High School, I had a flash of intense inspiration!
I furiously created a bunch of these amazing art pieces.
As I handed them in her jaw dropped as she gazed upon the pieces. And if I can say so myself, they were damned good! I smugly said, “90% inspiration miss!”
It seemed I had won the debate.
I was marked in the top 5% in the state for my artworks, but despite qualifying for inclusion in the biggest art gallery exhibition in Australia, my works were not included.
You see, my teacher was the head of the board of selectors and she deliberately excluded my art from the exhibition. As she told me this, she snidely said, “90% work, Nathan.”
Who was right?
The truth is that whilst I obviously had natural talent, without having put some kind of work in refining the skills I had developed prior to making the pieces, the art wouldn’t have been at the high level that it was. In my impetuous youth, I just couldn’t see that. I’d interpreted creating something that I love doing as not being work because it was enjoyable because that’s how most people in our culture are inculcated to believe, but creative, enjoyable work is still work, it’s just more rewarding work, and it must be valued by you before others can value it.
Similarly, the years I spent practicing guitar was the same.
It was only after picking up the guitar consistently every day to develop skills, as well as reading & studying poetry, that songs would come through to be written.
The more work you put in, the more results you’ll get rewarded with.
Confession.
I still don’t fully agree with my old art teacher's perspective, but neither do I fully agree with my younger self’s ideology either. (I agree with Pareto's 80/20 rule though - more on that in another article)
To be a great artist in any field or art-form, it takes lots of hard work, dedication, perseverance, passion, love, heartache, pain, ebullience, focus and time… It’s naïve to think otherwise.
The more time, energy and focused work you dedicate on a daily basis to your chosen art-form, the higher the skill level you achieve, the more creations you will create and the better the creations will become.
We do get better at what we spend quality time doing the most.
We become what we practice most.
ACTION:
Set a schedule time per day/per week to just create a new piece of work. Make it or at least begin it or finish it.
Indications that your perception of money is unhealthy
“Money, money, money, money is the root of all evil..”
Horace Andy
Gosh! I used to believe this idea, but it’s just not true. Now whilst I think that the world would be a more fair and just place for all if we didn’t allow the monetary system to exist, it is what we currently have and money itself isn’t evil.
It is just a form of energy measurement that humans can use to do good or bad things with.
Having lots of money doesn’t automatically make you a bad person. In fact, the friends of mine that are multimillionaires are not only very generous people, but they generally tend to be the kindest people I know, whereas many of the excruciatingly parsimonious and untrustworthy people I’ve known tend to be poor. Now, this is just a personal observation, and I know the sweetest poor people and the nastiest rich people too, so I’m not going to get into a debate about class and privilege, because that’s a separate issue altogether.
As creative, we must face this topic of money if we are to be successful.
11) An aversion to anything financial. You have no real accounting books & no real idea of what your monthly expenditure is.
Do you feel like you’re just keeping your head above water when it comes to all your bills, debts and general money flow?
Do you have that thought in your mind that you’ll pay everyone you owe back (threefold) when you get your big break and the money starts rolling in in massive chunks (but until that point you kind of avoid it)?
Does it just always seem like you’re behind in your bills?
Does it all just seem like too much, like money is a big monster against you, like this unfair system of disparity just doesn’t support the arts?
What you resist, persists!
You need to know what your cash flow is if you wish to operate your creative art as a business.
How much is going out?
How much do you need to make to cover that expenditure?
How much more od you consistently need to get ahead?
Calculate the total amount of your weekly expenses.
ACTION:
I know it’s feels scary, but don’t skip this essential step of your success plan - work out exactly what your monthly bills are. Include these:
Rent,
Phone (mobile),
Groceries,
Transport (Public Transport, Petrol, Uber),
Online subscriptions (Internet, Netflix, Stan, Patreon),
Debt Repayments (Credit Card Debt, Loans, Higher education),
Health/Fitness (Martial Arts, Bootcamp, Gym, Yoga),
Savings (You should be putting a small percentage away from each pay),
Lifestyle/Recreation, Instrument Maintenance (Reeds, Cables, Strings).
Then the total is what you need to earn per month.
12) No idea what truly makes people want to buy from you
Do you sometimes get great sales of your works (CDs, prints, merch, etc) and then other times almost nada?
You probably have this perception that when someone buys your creative works that they’re somehow doing you a favour, so you don’t fully comprehend the value you and your art are giving to them. Or conversely, you take it for granted when people buy your stuff and miss making a deeper long-term connection.
Moreover, you may not be aware of the underlying emotional triggers that drive people to purchase your goods or services. If you don’t understand these emotional drivers then you can’t consciously increase your sales.
ACTION:
Read some books on marketing (I know, I know, not very appealing), but this is one, recommended by a multi-millionaire musician I know, and I highly recommend it & it’s not what you expect - The Go-Giver by Bob Burg & John David Mann
13) A misunderstanding about how long it takes to build a (creative) business that supports you financially
Do you just want to only do your creative work, not all this boring ‘heady’ money and marketing stuff?
Do you often feel like you’re barely making it, perhaps relying on only one income stream, so you’re often finding yourself at that point of nearly giving up?
You have this concept of ‘build it and they will come,’ but it’s a misnomer.
Sure build it – your skillset in your chosen art-form should always be growing and getting better, but once you’ve built your creative abilities to a certain professional level you must get it out to people.
That is why dealing with the financial and marketing aspect of your business is crucial. Otherwise you’re just a hobbyist. Ouch! Right?
But you aren’t a hobbyist, so you are going to take this negative perception of money and marketing and transform it into your ally. Aren’t you?
My dad drilled it into me as a kid to put away 10% of whatever I earn. The times that I have done that, my life has been more abundant in every way. When I haven’t done it, I would find myself in a cycle of struggle.
ACTION:
When you get paid from now on make sure you put 10%-15% of what you earn into a savings account that you just don’t friggin’ touch! Plus, you need to put back in to your business, so also put another 10%-15% into a kitty account. For example, possibly the world’s most successful Independent artist, John Butler, puts 70% of what he earns back into his career. He’s been doing that since he was a busker. What an incredible way to ensure that your career grows and grows quickly! Be like John with money.
Are you clueless about marketing?
14) But marketing is Evil
I know, you loath those salespeople and charity spruikers on the sidewalk or shopping mall that approach you. It just feels pushy and sleazy and awkward and you don’t ever want to come across like that to people, especially with your music.
But really, you’re just an artist who needs to communicate and build relationships with other awesome humans who actually need what you create. In a capitalist system, all people must sell themselves, or their time, or their work, or their creations. You just get to do it with your creative passion. How friggin’ awesome! But sell it you must!
All artistic creations serve a necessary and vital function in our society and all people need it.
There’s not a single human that doesn’t have a soundtrack to their life (unless they are severely dysfunctional).
So instead of offering your work out there you convince yourself that you hate marketing or snub it as being somehow anti-artistic.
For example, Years ago, I had a very talented troubadour friend who asked advice about his posters, but then scoffed at me when I asked which market his music appealed to most.
He superciliously exclaiming at the dinner table, “I’m an ARTIST! I don’t believe in that rubbish.”
I bumped into him at a farmer’s market years later and asked him how his music is going and he begrudgingly shrugged that he ‘bowed out to give the younger artists a go’ and seemed rather miserable surviving on social security.
Don’t know who your market is? If not, then you had better plan on doing something else for a living.
15) You think email lists are from a bygone era that only Gen Xer’s still do
Something that the internet created was the democratisation of the arts.
It spawned the era of the independent artist.
The net made it possible for us to communicate directly to our audience and prospective fans instead of having to rely on a corporation to do it for us.
Now, whilst social networks have replaced the need of group emails we sent when we went travelling overseas, they haven’t replaced the power of email altogether.
All the social networks, like bookface, Insta, Snapcrack, and twatter are owned by billion dollar corporations.
They control your connection with people. What if the fold or lose their mass appeal? Look what happened to Myspace!
Now, as most Steemians know, social networks like Facebook restrict what your ‘likers’ can see when you post. Less than 7% of your Page posts get seen by your 'likers'.
Now they make you pay to reach the very people you spent so much time and energy getting to ‘like’ your page.
When someone joins your email list.
You have control over that connection.
ACTION:
Take mailing lists seriously.
Build it up and continue to build it. At gigs, place your email list in a prominent, easy-to-see and access place. Talk about your mailing list often. Use it as a means to make a connection with your fans. Do it!
16) You haven’t sent a newsletter to your mailing list for aaaaaages!
Maybe you feel like you no longer have anything valid to say, especially now that so many people jump at the chance to spruik their 2¢ worth of opinion in the comments section of every Facebook and Youtube post they disagree with. Armchair expert keyboard warriors! Lol!
But your audience are your supporters and they are interested in what you do, what you create, what your philosophies are, etc. even if you think they’re not.
I know that you may have become a bit complacent and find it difficult to just sit down and come up with something juicy and thought-provoking to say.
I mean, you think about writing a newsletter often enough, but getting around to it seems too hard.
So chunk it down!
ACTION:
Just start by committing to write only 1 line in your next sitting. Make sure you schedule a time each week to write your newsletters. Decide you'll write your newsletters as Steemit posts first. For inspiration (and sometimes to see what not to do), join other artists’ mailing lists.
To be Continued...
Nathan Kaye IS AN INDEPENDENT ARTIST THAT WITH 25 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE TOURING THE WORLD AS MULTI-INSTRUMENTAL ONE-MAN-BAND AND AN ACTOR, AND IS PASSIONATE ABOUT SHARING THE SECRETS OF MAKING A LIVING AS AN ARTIST.
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