7 Things Playing In A Rock Band Taught Me About Business
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Playing guitar in a rock band and running an online business have quite a lot of similarities in fact. Let’s see:
The Right People
We all know how important it is to partner up with the right people, either in music or in business, it’s quite the same thing. When you spend most of your time with the same 3-4 people, working on songs, recording and rehearsing, you quickly realize how important it is you work with the right people. Or else the band will fail. Everyone has to be on the same page.
Attitude Is Everything
It definitely is! When meeting other musicians or recruiting a new member for the band, you have to look for someone who will be able to put on a show and who feels comfortable playing in front of people. No band needs members who will blank out on stage.
It’s the exact same thing in business, imagine you meet with partners or investors and your business buddy just draws a blank at the meeting. Not fun huh?
If You’re Having Problems With A Band Member…
… but his skills are extraordinary, you have to be able to put up with his bad habits or attitude. It’s all for the good of the band. In business it’s no different. In the past, you probably had to work with someone who was a real pain, but could sell stuff to almost anyone, and was bringing in more sales than the rest of the team? Well, just because of that, I’m sure you were able to put up with him/her. :)
It Usually Takes More Time Than Expected
You have a plan, you want to record an album, get it out by a certain date, start doing shows as soon as possible, and go on tour, but end up doing the record launch 4 months later because… of hundreds of reasons. It takes time to build a profitable business, just as it takes time to put a band together and make it work. Usually it takes more time than you first expected. Even if everyone is on the same page, you have to be prepared for that.
Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect
Perfection doesn’t exist, it’s a ongoing process, you get better each and every single time you play. You have to practice before you go on stage or you’ll sounds like crap. You have to be prepared, whether you’re expecting 200 people or 20,000 people to come to the show, it makes no difference at all.
In business, whether you’re meeting that guy who’s broke or with a millionaire you have to make sure both sees you the exact same way. You cannot afford to put on a bad show just because there’s 200 people and not 20,000, every single person there wants to see quality. What if the guy who’s broke right now has a million dollar idea? ;)
It’s Hard To Keep It Together
But you have to, if you want the band to work and eventually make a living from it. You have to make damn sure everyone knows where the band is going, so that none of the members will wanna leave the band if you have to go on tour for 3 months. It can be scary for some, so you gotta make sure you have no weak links in the band.
Most entrepreneurs that are successful have a “whatever it takes” mentality. Whether you’re playing in a rock band and hope to tour the world or you’re in business and want to make a (quite decent) living from your business, everyone involved has to know what others are expecting. No one is allowed to leave till we make it!
Don’t Get Discouraged Or Depressed
That won’t help anyway, so might as well enjoy what you do. It is a load of fun playing in a rock band, just as it is a lot of fun to run your own business. It is completely normal to feel exhausted, tired, or a little down sometimes, take a break and come back stronger. Enjoy every step and stay positive, because a negative attitude can easily ruin things.
Your Turn To Talk
How does your “other” experiences help you in your business? What do you do or did in the past that still serves you today in your business? Stuff that is not necessarily related to your current business. Like playing tennis for example? Or anything else really. What have you learned from that sport that helps you in your business? What are your hobbies and how do you use those experiences in a business context? What have you acquired, you experiences that makes you and your business stronger today?
That’s it! Take care!
PS: this is kind of a response to Dawud’s latest post on eMoms At Home, I haven’t really learned a lot from Harry Potter though :)
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great correlation b/w guitar playing and business. i really like the “whatever it takes” b/c hearing that is encouraging. often i get bummed when my business isn’t making as much as i’d hoped by this time, but like you said it usually takes longer than expected, and it’s an ongoing process.
Hey Bryan, yep it usually takes longer than expected and you kinda have to get past the obstacles, not easy, but definitely worth the efforts :)
Jon,
Brilliant post and great insights!
I’m not sure what to say about what I do that I apply to business except … a little bit of everything.
But I do stand by one core philosphy. To quote Nike … Just do it.
Shane, thanx a bunch! ;)
Yeah Nike really nailed it with this slogan, simple, yet effective.
Hey Jon,
Another good sharing post. I have one more point to add. You members/biz partners need to have the same vision or the whole team would be walking down a diverging path and it can be very destructive. :)
Hi James, you’re absolutely right, if there’s even just one member that has a different vision and not everyone is on the same page, cchances are it won’t work, that goes for a rock band just as with any business.
Well in fact, a rock band is actually a business :)
The conclusion from this post is that we should pay attention to everything, because we can learn something valuable from every little thing.
Hi Banquet Room, exactly, I believe we learn so much every single day from almost everything we do, it’s just a matter of applying it and using our “other” experiences in many contexts.
:)
[…] Pour une autre vision des choses:7 Things Playing In A Rock Band Taught Me About Business […]
Jon,
Thanks for the article and the insights. That’s a great title.
Hi Steven, thanx a lot, I’m happy you liked it! :)
Great creative article Jonathan. As you know, I too am a guitarist and have played in several bands over the years. These are all valid points and you did a great job connecting them to the entrepreneurial world!
“It Usually Takes More Time Than Expected” could be my mantra.
Hi Daniel, thanx a lot! :)
It’s true, it usually takes more time than expected, but it’s so worth doing it anyway! :)
Love the metaphor in this article! I’m a piano player and I know a little guitar. All of these are great points. Especially the attitude. :)
Hi Grace, I’m happy you liked the post!
Attitude is everything :)
For how long have you been playing piano?
[…] 7 Things Playing In A Rock Band Taught Me About Business […]
Jon, I can’t wait to hear your album. It would be nice if you can post a sample for us to look forward to when it gets released in fall….. :)
Is it going to be indie?
Sharon, I sure will! :)
We’re putting together quite a diffferent-than-usual marketing plan for the album and the band. It should be interesting. Yep it’s gonna be indie, our signer has his own pro recording studio and label, we’ve been working on the album for a year now, can’t wait to hit the stage! :)
[…] at Smart Wealthy Rich tells us what playing in a rock band taught him about running a business. Having played in several bands myself, I concur with him on each point. Playing in rock band will […]
[…] at SmartWealthyRich wrote about 7 things he learned about business by playing in a rock band. I stumbled it shortly […]
Cool. Let me know when you guys hit Vancouver :)
[…] totally relate to this post, as everything I do usually turns into a business at some point, and music is no […]
Sharon, sure will! ;)
[…] yourself to your ideal is like trying to reach the horizon, or like Jon at Smart Wealthy Rich put it, like trying to reach perfection. Both are impossible! As soon as you arrive at the horizon […]
You can learn many things from life this will be a simple example for that. If you think widely you will get different kinds of idea. So, you have found a business by playing a rock band. As you said the partner is most important in business. you must cop with the problems done by him if he is really good for business. That was an interesting topic thank you.
perfect practice makes perfect (and total perfection is a myth). the phrase “practice makes perfect” is misleading because if you go to a practice (of any type) and only put in 50% effort, that is going to show when it counts and won’t be anywhere near perfection.
Being a business savvy person consists of being able to read people and deliver what they need according to their specifications.
Great idea to point out the parallels of business and band life and how to deal with it.
How’s the album coming?
Happy New Year
Jens
Hehe, I wish I played in a rock band…some really good info there, thanks for sharing!