Music Careers Mentoring Program Frequently Asked Questions
This page answers many of the questions you likely have about the Music Careers Mentoring Program.
I answered the questions with a ton of info to help you understand what you can expect from me when I mentor you…
…as well as what *I* expect from you when I mentor you.
Because when we both do our part (and I always do mine), there is only outcome possible.
And that outcome is:
You Become A Successful Professional Musician With A Music Career You’ve Always Dreamed About!
I also show you case studies and success stories of results musicians I mentored have achieved.
Of course, your results my vary. Other people’s results are no indication of the success you may or may not achieve. Your results may be the same, better or worse.
Your success depends on your actions.
With that said – dive into the questions below. If you have other questions I didn’t answer on this page, email me directly at hess@tomhess.net
- Why Do I Really Need A Mentor?
- Can't I Just Learn This Stuff At Music School Or Books?
- Can't I Just Learn This Stuff On My Own?
- Can I Do This Later?
- Who Are You And Why Should I Listen To You?
- Will This Program Work In My Country?
- Will The Things I Learn In The Music Careers Mentoring Program Work For My Style Of Music?
- How Does The Program Work?
- Can You Help Me Quit My Day Job?
- I Don't Have A Lot Of Free Time, Can You Help Me Anyway?
- Do You Think This Is For Me?
- Will You Show Me How To Avoid Going Broke While Pursuing A Career In Music?
- Do I Need To Be An Advanced Musician To Join This Program?
- Am I Too Old?
- Can You Help Me Make Connections In The Music Business?
- How Much Time Am I Expected To Invest Into This Program Each Week?
- How Do I Connect With The Other Musicians In Your Program?
- Can You Help Me Get More Music Career Opportunities?
- Will This Work For Me?
- Can You Help Me Attract The Right Musicians To My Current Or Future Band?
- Can You Motivate Me And Keep Me Focused?
- What Guarantees Come With Your Program?
- Can I Quit This Program At Any Time, Or Am I Forced To Keep Paying?
- Will I Need Tons Of Additional Money To Implement The Things I Will Learn In Your Program?
- What If I Don't Get Any Support From My Family And Friends?
- What If I Don't Hear From You After Sending My Application?
- What Is Expected Of Me?
“I’ve done what’s in the Music Careers Mentoring Program and made some great advances, and hope to make many many more.”
I’m a full time musician, I have my own music instruction business and I’m a full time musician. I’m part of a band called Firewolfe with one other member from Tom’s Music Careers Mentoring Program. Nick Layton is the other guitar player and we’ve been able to work together. We just put out an album a couple months ago. We just signed a record deal with a Japanese label, Rubicon Music. So we’ll be distributed in Japan. We’ve made many contacts and many steps in the industry where we’re going to continue to move forward in other parts of the world. And hopefully continue this for a long time and continue to grow it. That’s the biggest thing I got from the Music Careers Mentoring Program, to be able to do something on a level where I’ve always wanted to do that, where I’ve thought about that you know, above and beyond just you know trying to be a local guitar hero… trying to get things out to that next level, and continue to go to the next level from there.
The time and money that I’ve invested into the Music Careers Mentoring Program has definitely been worth it. I make my living as a musician, as a full time musician, so anything I’ve invested I’ve gotten back and beyond. It’s made it possible to have a schedule and a life that allows me to do what I want to do. As a musician, one of the greatest obstacles I face is having time to work on your band, to work on your album, to work on the business side of things. And if you have a full time job in some other industry that completely drains you of your energy and your time, maybe you’re working 60 hours a week, you don’t have the time to devote to these other things that you really want to do in your music career. So Tom’s Music Careers Mentoring Program has help me set myself up in a way to where I have the freedom of time, and the freedom of money and those valuable resources so I can put them where I want to put them to be able to do the things that I want to do.
It’s really motivating to be around other members of the Music Careers Mentoring Program…. Nick Layton the other guitar player in Firewolfe is in the Music Careers Mentoring Program. Nick and I would’ve never met had we not come together through Tom. So none of this would’ve been happening on the level that it’s happening.
A lot of things that I learned in Tom’s Music Careers Mentoring Program apply directly to Firewolfe in the way that we promote. The way we’ve learned how to promote the band, that I’ve learned how to promote the band. Organization… structure… how to handle the business side of things and get organized so you can get things done and not just sit there and spin your wheels. I think from what I see talking to other people, and what I see online, you get bands, they’ll get an album done and then they go, then what? So you got a CD done, you’ve invested all this time into writing these songs, getting your production together, getting the duplication done, and now you’ve got these boxes of CD’s and you have no idea what to do with them, they just sit there. So the biggest, one of the biggest benefits I’ve gotten from the Music Careers Mentoring Program is learning you know how to promote and how to lay the ground work, how to build relationships within the industry, finding ways to present yourself so that you have value to those people in the industry that will help them want to work with you, so it’s a mutually beneficial relationship that you can create. You know those principles from Tom’s programs have been really really valuable. Not only for the planning on how we were going to do things, but you know the implementation of that so we didn’t just have a CD full of great music and now no way to get it out there. So it’s been big. It’s been really big for the band.
Paul Kleff, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
See how other musicians have developed successful music careers on this Tom Hess mentoring program student accomplishments page.