TEM121: Spotted Online featured Jenna Kutcher, Gary Vaynerchuk and Seth Godin

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TEM121: Spotted Online featured Jenna Kutcher, Gary Vaynerchuk and Seth Godin

Spotted Online features thought-provoking articles, podcast episodes and YouTube clips pertaining to all aspects of being a successful musical entrepreneur.

Today's Featured Content:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons I Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my next goal of 75 ratings at iTunes (I'm really close!) by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM120: Rob Knopper Quotes (TEM Short)

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TEM120: Rob Knopper Quotes (TEM Short)

Rob Knopper is a percussionist with the Metropolitan Opera and the founder of Auditionhacker and Percussionhacker.

Quotes:

  • "Going to the Yes and King Crimson concerts, it's really interesting to see the type of thing that hooks in fans. I think about that when I do my website stuff. You look around the audience and everyone's wearing a black T-shirt and they all have an album cover on the front. There's all these little inside jokes among the fans, just different little aspects of things that happen in the music that people wanna talk about. It's interesting to think about what hooks people in when they start to become a fan of something, whether it's music or business or anything. I think about that when I'm making my stuff."

  • "I just kind of gave myself permission to go explore all the various things I had put to the side for so long."

  • "At the time, I was experimenting. I would do something on my site to see if it would work on my personal site. And then, if it didn't work, I would throw it away. If it did work, I would go to the orchestra committee and say, ‘Hey! Let's do this.’”

  • "I had an idea. I could (lead an individual student through his audition method), but I could literally change the lives of hundreds, or thousands of people, by offering them solutions or a resource that could help them directly improve their own life as they struggle through the process of becoming a percussionist."

  • "When you read entrepreneurial books, and blogs, and listen to podcasts and stuff, you hear people say that you have to understand your audience and you have to survey them and call them…..They say come up with an avatar or choose somebody in your audience who you're writing for."

  • "Everybody listening can think about what their specialty is. They still may feel like a student, or they still may feel like a freelancer, but you have a specialty. Everybody has an area of passion, or interest, that is a blue ocean. Until that starts getting filled in, it's wide open for most things."

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Thanks to everyone who helped me get to my goal of 50 ratings on iTunes! I appreciate it very much!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

TEM119: A heartfelt thank you and the TEM Thanksgiving Challenge

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TEM119: A heartfelt thank you and the TEM Thanksgiving Challenge

This episode is a heartfelt thank you to all of you for supporting TEM plus a challenge for all TEM listeners.

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

Oh, you're a marketer alright

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As Seth Godin points out in Unleashing the Ideavirus, there isn’t a single market place that isn’t more crowded than it was a decade ago. So getting attention is harder than ever. Embrace marketing as an entrepreneurial musician today or fail.

The name of the game today is getting noticed which means every single one of us is a marketer.

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TEM118: Rob Knopper of the Metropolitan Opera and Auditionhacker

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TEM118: Rob Knopper of the Metropolitan Opera and Auditionhacker on the many remaining blue oceans in the music business, time management and how Auditionhacker developed from a personal method to a product

Rob Knopper is a percussionist with the Metropolitan Opera and is the founder of Auditionhacker.

*****Want to make more money in the music business? Contact TEM Coaching for your free consultation today to see if we are a good fit. Find out more at: http://www.andrewhitz.com/coaching*****

What You'll Learn in TEM118:

  • How observing fans at Yes and King Crimson concerts informs how he interacts with the customers on his website

  • Why he ignored everything else and focused solely on audition prep before winning the job with the Met

  • How rewarding it was after winning his gig to give himself permission to pursue the other passions in his life that he had been putting off

  • How getting involved with the Met Orchestra Musician’s website and social media channels showed him it really wasn’t that hard

  • A recording project he completed that was a textbook example of finding a blue ocean, harnessing passion and the principle of scarcity

  • The incredibly honest writings he did about his successes and failures with auditions that really resonated with his customer base

  • Why it is so important to identify exactly who you are writing or speaking to when producing content (and why it is awfully easy when that person is you)

  • The incredible number of blue oceans there still are in music since we have far fewer specialists than a profession like the medical one

  • How Auditionhacker went from a personal method to a product as the result of a demonstrated need by potential customers

  • How he came to partner with Noa Kageyama of The Bulletproof Musician on an online course

  • How Rob is able to manage his time efficiently and keep his playing at a world class level while maintaining so many entrepreneurial pursuits

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM117: Influence by Dr. Robert Cialdini (Book Report)

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A Book Report on the New York Times best selling book "Influence" by Dr. Robert Cialdini.

What You'll Learn:

  • The Six Principles of Persuasion, how they apply to a musical entrepreneur and six action steps to utilize each principle

    1. The Principle of Reciprocity

    2. The Principle of Scarcity

    3. The Principle of Authority

    4. The Principle of Consistency

    5. The Principle of Liking

    6. The Principle of Consensus

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM116: Kristen Sheridan Quotes (TEM Short)

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TEM116: Kristen Sheridan Quotes (TEM Short)

Kristen Sheridan is the owner of the Sheridan Studio of Music, one of the largest private teaching studios in the Washington, DC area.

Quotes:

  • "I sent snail mail letters because it was 2001. I sent snail mail letters with stamps and everything to every middle and high school band director in the county, which there are 23 high schools or something like that, and all the attendant middle schools.”

  • “One of my former teachers did say that his rule of thumb was if you had 10% of your studio empty, then you're charging the right amount.”

  • "But, I literally just woke up in the morning and was like screwing around online, and looking at my website, and thinking it would look kinda lame. I was like, 'Maybe I should get a logo.’"

  • "The other thing is just show up, go to things, go to district band rehearsals. There is more hanging out at district band rehearsals, or all-state band rehearsals, or something. Just go on a Friday in the afternoon or something, just listen and see who's around. Denny (Stokes) always says music is a contact sport, and I love that because it's so true. You have to actually show up and make contact to participate in the sport."

  • "When I was in (college) nobody told me that I had to advocate for myself. Looking back on it, I should've known that. Playing six different ensembles at school that's great, but it's not going to help you get any gigs when you're done. So, do what you can to play, and whatever you can play in. But, also look outside the school and get you some gigs."

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Thanks to everyone who helped me get to my goal of 50 ratings on iTunes! I appreciate it very much!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM115: Kristen Sheridan of the Sheridan Studio of Music on building a large and sustainable teaching studio, advocating for yourself and the importance of not being a jerk

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TEM115: Kristen Sheridan of the Sheridan Studio of Music on building a large and sustainable teaching studio, advocating for yourself and the importance of not being a jerk

Kristen Sheridan, one of the premier private studio teachers in the Washington DC area, talks about everything that went into building her sustainable business.

***** Want to make more money in the music business? Contact TEM Coaching for your free consultation today to see if we are a good fit. Find out more at: http://www.andrewhitz.com/coaching *****

-----

What You'll Learn in TEM115:

  • How when Kristen moved to town she contacted every middle school and high school band director in all of Fairfax County, what she offered in that letter and why only getting one “Yes” out of the 50+ letters sent got her foot in the door which led to the success she enjoys today as a teacher in the area

  • How networking led her to be involved as an artist with both D’Addario and Backun

  • The struggles of being in business while being a people pleaser

  • How to know if you are charging the right amount for your services

  • How she legally structured Sheridan Studio of Music when she launched

  • Where she got a great logo for not much money and how just adding a logo can make a website look really professional

  • How Kristen has figured out that being a DIY-type person doesn’t mean she should try to do everything herself

  • What she uses to keep track of the incoming money for her teaching studio

  • What she would do if she were moving to a new town and wanted to establish a studio and how she would figure out what to charge

  • The importance of just showing up

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

Are you following a map or drawing one?

"We reward those who draw maps, not those who follow them."

—Seth Godin from Poke the Box

College is almost exclusively designed to train you how to follow a map to the best of your ability. As a result, it trains you to think like someone who is trying to follow a map better than everyone else.

The fact that our thinking was developed along these lines means it sticks with us well past college. We have thousands of hours behind the wheel as map followers. But there's a big problem.

If you're the only one with the treasure map, you should like your chances. But if literally thousands of people have the same treasure map, it's a math issue that you probably won't get there first.

SO DRAW YOUR OWN DAMN MAP!

Your first map is going to suck. So will your second map. Everyone's did. But you can't improve a map that doesn't exist. So draw your first map and get started.

What are you waiting for?

Treasure Map.png

TEM114: Yuri Cataldo Quotes (TEM Short)

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TEM114: Yuri Cataldo Quotes (TEM Short)

This TEM Short features thoughts on my favorite quotes from Yuri Cataldo in TEM113.

Yuri Cataldo, who has had success in many different fields, is the host of the Advance Your Art Podcast.

Quotes:

  • "I was surrounded by gobs of actors, and no one wanted to be a designer, so I had access to all the professors all the time because I was the only person who was excited about it."

  • "So, I actually had the idea for the Bottled Water Company on that very depressing drive back from New Jersey to Indiana. And so it took me about two years to go from that idea to actually launching the company…. In between that time, I was a waiter. I was an adjunct professor in costume design at Indiana University, also in South Bend. I worked for a TV station selling advertisements. I was a sign holder at Verizon Wireless. I did a lot of small, crappy jobs trying to pay the bills and figure out what to do next.”

  • "And it was actually at my job as a TV sales rep where I learned a lot about cold calling sales, what people actually look for, what's interesting, because I spent all my time with small business owners.”

  • "You need to have a reason why reporters will write about you. You could be doing cool shit in your life, but you need a reason at that moment for them to write about it, or nobody cares."

  • "I don't know if I would personally want to do another Kickstarter campaign because it's 30 days of exhaustion. You have to be on it all the time, reaching out to your customers, reaching out to press. Constantly. We redid the SEO for the page all the time, and retested things, but as long as you approach it as, like, 'I'm going to test this out, see how this goes for 24 hours,' and then do it again, and then again, and then again. It's constantly tweaking.”

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Thanks to everyone who helped me get to my goal of 50 ratings on iTunes! I appreciate it very much!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

TEM113: Yuri Cataldo of the Advance Your Art Podcast on how to market with no budget, moving on quickly from a big setback and how he got a product into the gift bag at the Oscars

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TEM113: Yuri Cataldo of the Advance Your Art Podcast on how to market with no budget, moving on quickly from a big setback and how he got a product into the gift bag at the Oscars

Yuri Cataldo, host of the Advance Your Art Podcast, shares the story of his wild career path including stops on Broadway, a tech startup and academia.

What You'll Learn:

  • Why the piano, which he no longer plays that much, is the first thing he heads for when creatively stuck

  • How Yuri’s early path included mechanical engineering, journalism and theater and how he kept having the courage to change directions until he found something that worked for him

  • How he was working as a designer on four Broadway shows plus an opera in Los Angeles at the same time when both the 2008 recession and divorce struck at the same time

  • How he came up with his next big idea literally on the drive back home to move back in with his parents which was immediately on the heels of his life turning upside down

  • How it took him two years from between coming up with his big idea and launching it and how he had many crappy jobs in the meantime to pay the bills, all the while working on his idea

  • How one of those crapy jobs led him to learn a lot about sales, which has helped him in every endeavor since then (and how he talked his way into that job with absolutely no experience at all)

  • Why he started selling bottled water that didn’t even exist yet (and why that is common for entrepreneurs and how we can all learn from it)

  • How learning to get press and marketing with no money was born out of necessity

  • Why reporters don’t care about you or your product but really care about the story behind it (and how to use that in your pitch to get coverage)

  • How he raised 2x his goal during an Indiegogo campaign and the important benchmarks to shoot for

  • The origins of Yuri's Advance Your Art podcast and why it has turned into a passion project

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM112: The one thing every musician must have

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TEM112: The one thing every musician must have

Why every musician in 2017 must have a website and some tips on how to make a great one.

What You'll Learn:

  • Why your website is your electronic storefront and why you have to own your own store (and not just rent one on social media)

  • How a website helps you cut through the noise and get found by potential customers

  • Tips to choosing a good URL for your website and where to get one

  • Why checking the availability of URL's and social media handles should be one of the first things you do when brainstorming a new idea

  • The importance of initially developing a website that is a Minimum Viable Product rather than putting it off to make it "perfect"

  • The different platforms you can use to build your own website

  • Solving specific problems for very specific people (your potential customers) through your website and how that can lead to income

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at: 

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons I Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 50 reviews on iTunes by leaving a rating and review (and thanks to everyone who helped me get to 50 ratings!)

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM111: Pop-jazz duo 23rd Hour Quotes (TEM Short)

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TEM111: Pop-jazz duo 23rd Hour Quotes (TEM Short)

23rd Hour is a jazz-pop duo comprised of Sherry-Lynn Lee and George Paolini.

Quotes:

  • "This is the heart of startup land and when you're doing a startup, and Sherry and I have both been in startups at various times, you try everything. Things that work, you keep doing. Things that don't work, you stop doing. You just have to try them and that's what we're doing."

  • "But we have this trust and we we are on the same page with where we want things to go and what kind of voice we want to have. So we are able to delegate but also work together and make it seamless."

  • "If people aren't careful they might not realize that its a marketing email because it’s so personable and that was our strategy. We wanted it to seem like we were really targeting that person and not just sending out a blast email."

  • "The way we do it is we try to take each win that we have and try to push it a little bit further and I think what works really well is when you position yourself as the underdog that just needs a little push to get to the next level."

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Thanks to everyone who helped me get to my goal of 50 ratings on iTunes! I appreciate it very much!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

TEM110: Jazz-Pop Duo 23rd Hour on treating your band like a startup, pulling off a successful album launch and how to rock an email campaign

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TEM110: Jazz-Pop Duo 23rd Hour on treating your band like a startup, pulling off a successful album launch and how to rock an email campaign

23rd Hour is a jazz-pop duo comprised of Sherry-Lynn Lee and George Paolini.

What You'll Learn:

  • How this unlikely pair met and ended up working together (Sherry-Lynn had the courage to ask)

  • Why they ended up targeting the wine industry by using the #WineWednesday hashtag (and the many benefits that have come from it)

  • How they treat their band as a startup

  • How they pulled off a successful album release party at a venue and in a city they had never played in before

  • The benefits of partnering with a local charity

  • How to send a very successful email campaign with much higher than average open rates and click rates

  • The importance of knowing your strengths, delegating and using deadlines when you are in a partnership

  • How they managed to climb all the way to #10 on the iTunes Jazz Chart through a combination of a little good luck and a lot of calculated, specific actions

  • How a physical guest book can be a great tool to getting people to sign up for your mailing list

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons I Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 50 ratings at iTunes (I'm one away!) by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM109: Spotted Online featuring articles from James Clear, Seth Godin and Daniel Pink

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Spotted Online is a new TEM episode format featuring thought-provoking articles pertaining to all aspects of being a successful musical entrepreneur.

Today's Featured Articles:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons I Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 50 ratings at iTunes (I'm really close!) by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM108: Seth Hanes Quotes (TEM Short)

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Seth Hanes is a horn player, digital marketer and author of "Break into the Scene: A Musician's Guide to Making Connections, Creating Opportunities, and Launching a Career".

This TEM Short features thoughts on my favorite Seth Hanes quotes from TEM107.

Quotes:

  • "The tactics don't dictate the strategy. The strategy should dictate the tactics."

  • "I think the first step that anyone should take, before they do anything...don't make a Facebook page, don't even make a website, don't do anything. The first thing you should do is first figure out what is the product or service that you have that solves an actual problem that people have? You have to identify a problem that you can solve."

  • "That's how I got on all of these (podcasts and blogs.) How can I be even kind of useful to this person? That's how I did that. And it cost me zero dollars."

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 50 ratings at iTunes (I'm only two away!) by leaving a rating and review.

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz