Clear the Plate – the 2nd Key to Maintaining Focus
In the first installment of this series we created a big brainstorm list of all the stuff that makes up the chaos. Just to remind you of the overview: 5 Keys to Manage Chaos Acknowledge the reality of your current circumstances Take everything off the plate that you can Ask for help Manage your emotions […]
Maintaining Focus in the Face of Chaos – 1st Key
The Holiday Season can be so joyfully chaotic, can’t it? Parties and travel and family (with all the baggage that goes with that!). For many performers there are also holiday gigs and holiday gift promotions to promote on top of that. It can all be so overwhelming. So many things to do, so many demands […]
Marketing 101
Marketing is fundamental to your success. If you’re out to make a prosperous living doing what you love, it just won’t happen without marketing. Yet few artists spend much time learning this foundational set of skills.
Copyright and Trademark Basics an Interview with Jeff Fabian
Trademark and copyright protection are fundamental components of a sound business strategy for all artists and professionals in the Music Business, Visual Arts or Film and Television Industry. But do we have to be lawyers to understand the basics? Jeff Fabian says “NO!” and he is going to going to prove it to us in […]
Overcoming Fear
Fear is an emotion. Courage is a skill. We will show you ways to develop the skill of courage in response to the emotion of fear … so you can move forward and achieve your desired level of success.
Embrace Your Unique Voice as an Artist
This is primarily directed to artists, but really, it applies to all of us. Being a unique voice in a world that values sameness can be a rough row to hoe. As children, we’re taught, encouraged, sometimes even bludgeoned and beaten into sameness. Don’t be too loud. Don’t show how smart you are. Don’t blow […]
Don’t be a Needy Artist
Over the past few years, since I started doing the Ask Coach Debra Calls and being more active on Twitter and Facebook, I’ve had many encounters that go something like this:
How to Embrace Your Unique Voice as an Artist
As children we are taught, by our parents, our teachers, our siblings and our peers, that in order to be loved, we must blend in. We must conform our uniqueness to be “appropriate”. And its an important skill to have – to know society’s rules and be able to act accordingly with volition. But as […]
Facebook Promotion Etiquette
In the last week, 2 people have gone onto my Facebook Pages – Debra Russell and Artists Marketing & Business Academy – and posted that I should check out their Facebook Page or ReverbNation Page. And my first reaction was – wow, that’s rude.
Money Management: Building Your Financial Foundation
Many of us think our trouble with money is that we just don’t have enough. If we had more money, our problems would disappear. But the vast majority of lottery winners are broke within 3 years. The problem isn’t the money – it’s how we think about, manage, and use this essential resource. “Money is […]
FEARING PARIS
Suppose that what you fear could be trapped and held in Paris. Then you would have the courage to go everywhere in the world. All the directions of the compass open to you, except the degrees east or west of true north that lead to Paris. Still, you wouldn’t dare put your toes smack dab […]
Transform Your Inner Critic into Your Staunchest Ally
Are you plagued by internal doubts and self-criticism? Think you’re not good enough, or don’t deserve the success you long for? Do you find that even when you know what to do, you find all sorts of reasons not to do it? We all carry an internal critic in our heads, and it never shuts […]
Some Fun Alternative Definitions of FEAR
False Evidence Appearing Real – the canonical one False Emotions Appearing Real Future Events Appear Real False Expectations about Reality Finding Excuses and Reasons For Everything A Reason F*%# Everything and Run Failure Expected and Received Fighting Ego against Reality Frantic Effort to Appear Real Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 A positive […]
Multiple Streams Step 7: Strengthen Relationships
All the principles you’ve put into practice and hard work that you’ve done in the previous steps come together in this 7th Step of the Multiple Streams of Income business model. Your pink spoon and product funnel draw them deeper into relationship with you. The research you’ve done on your niche, their language and preferences […]
How to Write the Dreaded Business Plan
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Benjamin Franklin We’ve all heard this quote, and yet, we struggle and resist against writing a business plan. For most artists and creatives, there’s the myth that the plan will cramp your creativity. But what my private clients discover over and over again, is that the […]
Multiple Streams Step 6: Convert Prospects
A lot of marketing and sales programs talk about how to Drive Traffic – and we cover that critical area in Step 5. But if all you do is get people to “Like” your Fan Page or even sign up on your email list – you will not succeed. The key to success in your […]
Confidence
Believing that confidence is something that you have, something you can get, something someone else can give you – that is a misunderstanding. Confidence is defined as: a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers. If you believe in your own power and ability, you will FEEL confident. Confidence is an emotion. It is an emotion […]
An Open Letter to LunarPages
or Why I Recommend Against Using LunarPages to Host Your Website The last 2 months have been a virtual hell for me (pun completely intended). Sometime in the middle of May, I started noticing real problems with my website. I was in the midst of doing a lot of content creation and tweeking to the […]
Confidence
Confidence, as an issue, comes up for my clients, in one form or another, on an almost daily basis. Over the years, I’ve worked with them to build their confidence and spent a lot of time reading, thinking and studying the issue. I’ve observed that those who struggle with confidence can get a boost when […]
Systems Creation – Work Smarter, Not Harder
Ever feel like a rat on a wheel, spinning and spinning and not getting where you want to go? A great way to get off the wheel is to set up systems that automate your business. Anything you do more than twice in your business will be easier, faster, and simpler to delegate if you systematize it.