How I used my classical training to jumpstart an online business
Most musicians tell me they don’t know the first thing about running a business. But I want to point out—if you’ve put in your 10,000 hours in the practice room, you’re capable of a lot more than just playing your instrument.
Beyond the Concert Hall—How I used my classical training to jumpstart an online business
I was sitting at home today (where else?) trying to remember what was supposed to be on the LA Phil schedule for this week, had Covid-19 not shut our season down. Was it Shostakovich? Strauss? Mozart? I couldn’t remember.
We don’t know when we’ll be back on stage. We’re in the same boat as a lot of other professionals, not knowing how all of this will affect our jobs and organizations. But still, I’m feeling really lucky to be a musician. Even though I can’t work as a classical musician right now, I have a lot of other options available to me because of that training.
And so do you, even if you don’t know it.
The skills required to become an employable, professional musician are exactly the types of skills you need to run a business:
focus
discipline creativity
ability to set goals
Music students start their professional lives working on one thing—becoming proficient on the instrument. That takes a very kind of specific focus. It takes single mindedness.
But if you want to pivot from playing to running a business, there is a lot more to being successful than just showing up and being able to play the right notes. You also need to know how to:
create programs
set your pricing
work with online platforms
market yourself
manage your finances
balance work with life
Most musicians don’t realize that there is a lot more available to them than playing on stage. They’ve never considered the other ways they can reach an audience and create an income stream. They never considered that they can generate income outside of concert halls and traditional teaching.
You know that thing that people always tell you you’re really good at? Maybe it’s audition coaching, teaching a specific method book, or showing high school students how to put together a string quartet. Or maybe you’re an expert at helping students prepare for competitions. That one thing is an amazing opportunity to create an online business. It’s your superpower. And by sharing that skill with the online universe, you can find your perfect audience and help them in ways you never dreamed of.
Of course, there are a lot of unknowns with starting an online business, and it can be as simple or complicated as you make it. But I want to suggest that right now, in the middle of this uncertainty, you can still start.
You can create things and figure out ways to serve your audience. And you can make a living doing it. If that sounds like something you want to explore, I’ve got just the thing for you.
Join me next Mon-Wed, May 11-13, for a free Facebook Live Training and Q&A “Beyond the Concert Hall: How I Used My Classical Training to Launch an Online Business.”
This free training is the perfect blend of motivation, information, and tangible action steps. You can reserve your spot by clicking this link right here.
Need a little inspiration to get you moving? I’ve lined up an interview series of musician entrepreneurs who are already out there crushing it. If they can do it, so can you. You can watch the first episode right here.
I certainly hope our concert seasons start back up again soon. But in the meantime, we have an opportunity to reinvent ourselves. We can create additional income streams, start our retirement careers, and give ourselves more control over our lives, no matter what the future brings.
Okay. See you in the FB Training next week. Enjoy the interview series!
P.S. I almost forgot! I’ve also got a surprise announcement to make on Day Three that you will not want to miss! Register here.
