How To Achieve Your Music Career Goals Using Effective Music Career Planning
I would like to share with you a very valuable organizational tool that I borrowed from outside of the music business and applied to my own music career and business to help them grow. I will also show you how you can use it to increase your value to record companies or management companies.
So what is this valuable tool you ask? I am talking about Maps! I know you are probably scratching your head right now thinking: "What are talking about Hess??!!"
Let me give you a little back story to help clear things up for you.
There was a point in my music career where I began feeling overwhelmed trying to keep track of all of the ideas, processes and steps I had to take to reach certain goals. I also needed a way to manage the strategies that my employees, partners, manager or band mates would use to be sure that all of our efforts were congruent so that we would stay on course towards what I or we were trying to accomplish.
Using maps allowed me to have things laid out in an organized way. I also did not have to try and keep track of everything in my head anymore!
As you learn and do more in your musical projects, it will become more difficult to keep track of every detail that must be done within your music career planning. This is why I am a firm believer in creating actual, physical maps - taking a pencil and paper and literally building maps. Having things written down is absolutely the best way.
Benefits To Using A Map For Your Music Career Planning
- No need to worry about forgetting ideas
- All steps to be taken, processes and strategies are laid out in a clear way
- You always know exactly what step needs to be taken next
- You can clearly see how individual tasks are related to each other
- You avoid becoming side-tracked by unimportant tasks
- Maps can be used like blueprints to reduce miscommunication or misunderstandings with partners or employees
- Maps enable you to easily track progress
- Maps help you to identify and overcome potential problems or obstacles
Creating Your Music Career Map
1. Draw a little box or oval on a piece of paper and write information about what that specific task is.
2. Then create another box for next task to be done and draw a line from the first box to the second.
3. Repeat until you have all of the tasks for a specific goal written down.
Remember, you don't have to have all of the answers right now. Even if there are only two things on your map write them down now! This map will expand over time as you learn more from experience.
Another Benefit!
Having things written down in an organized way will allow you to see additional opportunities or benefits that most musicians completely overlook.
My ability to find opportunities for myself (and others) is what raised my value on the business side for music industry companies. I build maps and look at all of the ways I can milk out every possible value from all situations.
So in closing, here are some actions you should take:
1. Create a simple map and hang it on your wall where you can see it. Look at it daily to see where you are at and where you are going.
2. Never stop thinking! There is always more value than you see on the surface. Search for additional hidden benefits and you will begin to see music career possibilities that you never knew were there and find ways to bring massive value that most other musicians overlook. In my Mentoring Program we will discuss maps in more detail so that you can move forward in your music career in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Learn more about music career planning with these music career resources.