(7 min. read)
If you're still in school or just stepping into the real world, this article is for you. I hope that my experiences and observations will help you make the decisions that are right for you to help you go in the right direction.
Surrounding yourself around successful people is a way to improve your network in the music industry.
Utilizing your connections and effective marketing can help you get more work as a musician. It will you help you get hired by other music professionals and non musicians. Because to make it as an entrepreneur musician, you need to realize one thing,
Your Network Is Your Career
Depending on the type of music work you want to do, you should be surrounding yourself with those types of people.
If you want to be an orchestral player, great! Surround yourself with people who are better than you who have mastered orchestra excerpts. If you want to do session work in a studio, AMAZING! Give business cards to people who are already in the recording scene or invite them out for lunch to get to know what that kind of work is like. If you want to open up your own private studio, wonderful! See who's teaching in your area and observe what they're doing to attract more students. In many ways you can see what they're doing and ask for some advice. If they're not willing to give you advice, then those are not the types of people you should be around anyways.
The people you surround yourself with will help you get into the work that you're aiming for. Your future colleagues will have an important role in giving you success. They're not just your colleagues, but they're your friends that want to see you succeed! Having that support system behind you will contribute to your success in the real world. If there are people that come into your life and aren't helping or inspiring you to do better, then don't mind them. Focus on being the best entrepreneur YOU can be.
People who talk poorly about you is just noise. Channel it out. If you're not worth their time, then they're not worth yours.
Surround yourself with people you respect and admire the most.
Establishing your own strong network can get you opportunities that you may never have thought of getting and get you the opportunities that you DO want to get. That network acts as the foundation to your success and will help you have the career you want.