Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hey Vincent, I just got wind of this thread for the first time.  So congrats!!!

I know you will be a great asset to the band, not only as a drummer but as a businessman.  One thing I`ve learned is that a successful part of being an artist is running it like a business.  I think most artists (visual, music, whatever) don`t have a clue that they need to think about marketing, finances, etc.

I don`t know if your band has a manager or not but I can bet that you will bring valuable experience to the stage.  Rock on!!!


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Steve Lowtwa

CampSteve... Yes. You hit the nail right on the head. I have past professional music experience and now I have about 4 solid years of experience running my own business. 

I would have to agree. I am so much stronger in my business skills now. I know I will do a better job managing my own career today, than I did `back in the day.`

There is some question as to what the current manager is doing... Matter of fact, I have been stating my opinion about the managers skills and it seems the other members are seeing at least some of the light I am shedding on the subject.

You just never know how you use the skills you have learned throughout life.


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Vincent Wilcox (a.k.a. KRAKR)
Drummer
My band: Letters Make Words

This is my attempt at a standing ovation!  My hearty congratulations!

Jillybeans

Steve`s right! I sometimes wonder at how much differently I would`ve handled my past experience in music had I known what I`ve learned in the business world.

One thing that stands out is when I went to see a friend of mine play. I`d been out of the business for 3 years by that time, and he`d put together a duo. I went in and sat down, and realized certain things about the music.

Being who we are, he asked my opinion. I told him about how now I was seeing the act as an "audience" person. I wasn`t a musician anymore and had been working the day-to-day world for a few years. My entire perspective had totally changed!

I told him that he needed something identifiable, perhaps in the singing voice. He disagreed, saying that his skill on the guitar, and how he`d organized the depth of music through synthesizers and digital recording was most important. He felt that people were listening to his music as if they understood music.

We disagreed and I let it go. I realized I didn`t care anymore how well a particular phrase was played. I was hearing the music not only in totality, but as background. I wasn`t aware, unless I really pushed myself, of each individual note, nuance, and lick. It just didn`t matter.

That`s where so many musicians go off track, I think. They forget that most people in the audience don`t hear music the same way, in all that detail. And so they forget about the presentation---the Show. :-)

Yep, a musician playing in a band for an audience is an entertainer above anything else.  There`s a reason why people love seeing live music over listening to recorded music.  The "show" is about the presentation, the packaging, the branding, as much as it is about the music.

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Steve Lowtwa

Craig,

Love that perspective.

Now, how can we, as entrepreneurs, apply that insight to our own businesses?

As an example & thought-starter, here at SuN we can get quite caught up in some details in each of our individual team member areas of expertise in an attempt to create "art" while neglecting to consider our end product from our members` & site visitors` perspective.

How much time should I spend "creating" (& often perseverating on) the perfect most beautiful SuN newsletter or blog or new forum enhancement? Am I better off, as an entrepreneur, to spend more energies considering what my audience will "hear" and what they won`t even notice?


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Joel Welsh
chief community officer
StartupNation

Joel,

Yes. It`s about them, not "us"! Prioritze by what the customer wants.

Nick

PS: Can you put some "BR`s" in that applause? It`s too dog-gone wide for my screen.

 I know this thread is about Vince, which we all hope to be our next famous drummer!!!!  You Go,Vince, Enjoy!

But Nikko, I just want to tell you, I like what you say. :) 

Joel,
We`ve all been doing a lot toward joining the concepts of entertainment to business, it`s only that most entrepreneurs don`t think of themselves as showmen (showpeople?). Going all the way back to P.T. Barnum, though, the principle is there.

Rich and Jeff do it with gusto and panache, and make a terrific role model. You, yourself, are very much into showmanship. Anyone asking for a Web critique gets back a whole bunch of information about "the show."

I think my point was to say that because of our experience here on SuN, in the marketplace, and as entrepreneurs, when someone like Vince returns to the stage, he`ll carry with him a far better concept of "the show" than most musicians have when they`re younger and starting out.

"The show" is all about marketing, presentation, branding, and the unique selling proposition. It`s only that it isn`t called that in the entertainment business. At least,  not by the musicians and artists. Their managers know all about it, and someone like Colonel Parker (Elvis) was a master.

On the other hand, because few business people get a chance to "grow up" on stage in front of live audiences, they don`t see themselves as entertainers. But just look at Ron Popeil, and remember that he started out on sidewalks as a huckster.

It`s a matter of perspective, as you said. If you get too caught up in your own mind and product, you end up going off the track. You always have to remember to "see" yourself, your company, your Web site, your marketing collateral, and your product from the point of view of "the audience."

That would be your customers, and the market place. :-)

Awesome news Vincent! Congratulations on the band! Don`t forget all of us when you`re out there autographing body parts.... lol

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