The Business Side of Things

Music has always been fun to me. Isn't that how it should be? It's never been a money-making venture, a means of finding approval, etc. I've kept playing because I enjoy playing. Being both a perfectionist and an innovator is what has driven my enjoyment and has definitely helped to further my "career."

This all being said, I haven't really taken much mind to the business side of things. My reasoning for wanting exposure is primarily to help expose people to what the guitar really is and because I enjoy playing for new people. Not that this is changing, by any means, but recently I have given more thought to how I am accomplishing my goals.

My friend, Ken Mueller, runs a blog on social media in business and I have learned quite a bit from him. Basically, the big push I've made to be more present in social media has been prompted by how much of an impact social media can have. Playing guitar professionally is much like a business, so much can be learned from Ken. I've had a facebook and a twitter for a while, but have recently added not only this blog, but my own website as well. Yes, there is a lot of upkeep, but it's a challenge that I am enjoying quite a bit.

Beyond the business side online, there is also the business side in person. Everything from how you carry yourself on stage to how you interact and network with other musicians is vitally important to being successful. Lately I've been trying to talk to people more after shows as a little bit of self-promotion and it's worked out great. It's helped me to sell some CDs and even get some engineering job contacts. I've also been carrying myself a little bit better, dressing nicer, etc. Again, this is all stuff that's been really enjoyable and a good challenge - this is still fun for me.

One group that I haven't gotten to cater to as well are all of the people who hear/see me, who are interested, but not ready to commit to being a fan or buying a CD. You can't talk everyone into it, and I understand that. However, there's a good chance that these are opportunities that I'm missing big time. Be it a potential fan who wants to remember my name, other musicians who want to get in contact with me, a DJ at a wedding, or someone wanting me to play somewhere, I've recently realized how important reaching out to them is.

This realization, along with a commercial online, has led me to finally order up some business cards. I designed them late last night and placed the order. It's been quite some time since I tried anything with business cards, but since I've finally got a website to throw up on them, I feel it's time to do it professionally. I would almost liken a business card to a physical piece of social media and think similarly of their potential importance. So here's a screenshot of the design. Let me know what you think:

Again, despite this making it feel like I'm trying to make this a career, I'm not. I like playing for new faces, playing new venues, and watching my abilities progress. Since I'll soon be leaving the safe-haven of Messiah College and all of the people who already know me, I feel that it makes it that much more important to connect with the general public and the real world. This is a means of getting there - one that I thoroughly enjoyed designing and will later enjoy handing out to everyone. My goal was to have these by the MMC next weekend, but it looks like they'll take a bit longer... Still, this is pretty exciting.

-Alex