Your Band's Best Friend

Regardless of your affiliation with a manager, label, publisher or agent, there are inevitably areas of your career that you look after yourself. The most important part, of course, is the creative side, which means that you are, in the simplest of terms, in charge of creating your product/service.

Like it or not, that makes you an entrepreneur. Sure, you may have other people taking care of some business stuff, and yes, that can cross over into the creative space. But essentially, you’re the CEO of your own company, namely your band or your solo career.

Don’t believe me? Think of it this way: you wouldn’t have signed with that label/manager, or taken that last gig, or hired that producer, or went with that manufacturer, etc., if you didn’t think that they could help you reach your career goals. So, you essentially made a hiring decision, a vital role for anyone who runs their own business.

So what does this mean? Well, if you’re the CEO of you, you need to act like it. Entrepreneurs are savvy, resourceful, imaginative, frugal, and selective. Are you? Do you know what it really means to be those things? If not, do some research and figure out how to get better in the areas that you’re lacking.

Lastly – and I cannot stress this enough – the most important trait of all for any entrepreneur to have is patience. Yes, swift decisions and actions are important, but you need to realize that building a company (and yes, you are) takes time, consistency, and the determination to stick it out. Careers are built, not created, and they’re done so over significant lengths of time. Know what you want, figure out how to get it, and go for it.

Just be sure you’re prepared to be in it for the long haul that awaits you.