Get in the groove of helping others (Competitors are partners)
In my short venture into real estate, I learned very quickly I needed to get in the groove of helping others to build a solid reputation. One of the best strategies for building a reputation, especially in music business, is to treat others in your field as partners instead of competitors. Whether it’s a music business or some other venture, everyone knows that reputation is extremely important. It takes years to build a solid reputation and only minutes to destroy it. I like the way the band Rush said it in one of their lyrics from the song “Garden”; “The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect, so hard to earn, so easily burned”. Without a solid reputation people will not want to work with you, whether that’s in music or any other business.
Get in the groove of helping others (Real estate comparison)
In real estate, you contact anyone and everyone and find ways you can work with them. In music business the principle is the same. When you find another musician, get in the groove of contacting them, finding out who they are, and finding out ways you can collaborate with them to create win-win scenarios. In the past, when I met other musicians, I often started right in talking about myself or giving my sales pitch. I have found that I would lose the connection with the person. Now when I meet another musician, I try to express an interest in their wants and needs rather then simply talking about myself or giving a sales pitch. If I am able, I will try to find out ways to help them as well. This shows people that I care, because the reality is, people don’t care what you have to offer until they know that you care. People will remember how you helped them. Even if you didn’t get a gig, maybe through a brief interaction with another music professional you were able to refer them to another musician, band, or agent that needed a substitute for a gig or studio session. That music professional will remember your referral, and that you did it for free. That doesn’t mean you’ll always do everything for free, but word will spread around. “Hey remember that guy? He was really helpful. I think we could work with him”. This approach applies to music rehearsals, gigs, studio sessions, networking, marketing, and even every day life.
Get in the groove of helping others (Helping others is like a drum groove)
As a drummer, I try to ask the musicians I work with, “How does the groove makes you feel?” I then ask myself, “What am I doing to support the other musicians?” I try to fashion a collaborative and melodic groove based on the essence of the song instead of my own agenda. When you get in the groove of helping others you build a solid reputation that will last and cause others to remember you. If musicians are competing with one another in a band that’s going to show up in the music and the groove is going to suffer. If I compete with everyone I come in contact with, that’s going to show up in my day-to-day life and it’s going to effect my business. No one wants to work with a competitor, but people do want to work with those who get in the groove of helping others.