TOURING- GET THE BALANCE RIGHT

There isn’t any questions that you are working hard if your a independent artist   and independent business owner.

Every day you need to effectively handle multiple priorities-

Focusing on the important work of creating and performing  while you have irons in the fire to keep work coming in the door tomorrow and months after.

Staying balance and focused when you are juggling multiple priorities is key.

Summer is heating up-
 Whether you’re a local, regional, or nationally touring musician, your plans must certainly include playing shows so the world can hear, and fall in love with your music right?  
 Summer is one of  the biggest money making time of year for artists- Farmers Markets, Festivals, Fairs, House Concerts and Tours!  This is a time of year when smart artists are booking and playing 7 days a week.

On the long list of many things you need to do include, finish writing more material, then  organize the band and  get your chops sounding great, while you  perfect your performance so your show is mind blowing to watch!  Then, you need to duplicate your  new works of art so your fans can “take you home with them”.   All while while marketing and booking  gigs and plan a summer tour?!

Even if you are only playing your local gigs, you still have to haul your gear to and from the gig. When your on the road you are hauling your gear to and from the gig, after sitting in your car, truck, or van for hours on end,  if your lucky you are able to sleep in a quiet room with a nice bed every night your gone.
 Depending upon which part of the country you are in, you may find your normal healthy food choices  are suddenly VERY limited. 

It doesn’t take very long for the long hours, heavy lifting, no sleep, and cruddy food, start to take their toll on you.  
 You may find yourself coming home from tour exhausted and even sick perhaps you have even had to cut a tour short because you were ill.

It doesn’t give you bragging rights to blow up before a tour ends or to  come home trashed, it is simply a reflection that you haven’t prepared to do your job properly. 
If your plans include bigger tours, supporting mid level or A level acts, it shows the hiring management company that you are not up to the job, you will have missed a huge opportunity and not even known it.

TIPS TO PREPARE:

 If your heading back out on the road, or going on the road for the first time,  We will spend the next couple of weeks sharing ways that will keep you in shape  to take what ever the road throws your way.

Preventative health care:

 Not surprisingly many artists do not have health or dental insurance for themselves, or their equipment feeling they cannot afford it.    You may not feel like you can afford monthly insurance premiums, but you cannot afford  NOT to get your annual medical and dental examinations.  The few hundred dollars you would spend on your annual dental and medical exams *are all expenses that can be written off in your annual taxes! (1)

Many diseases can be prevented or controlled if they are caught in early stages(2)

Stress Related health disorders: Nearly 1/2 of the health issues we are facing today are in some way connected to stress, economic, family, and  work related pressures all take their toll on us, and manifest themselves in a variety of ways. Do you find you have chronic  sinus infections, fatigue, or persistent cough, or allergies? they can all be signs of unbalance in your life.   Recent studies have linked heart attacks and stroke to gum disease. By simply having your teeth cleaned you could reduce your chances of  heart attack or stroke.

Invest a little, Save big:

 The cost of a standard office visit to your doctor and dentist, and flossing every day  is much cheaper that a trip to the Emergency Room. So give yourself the gift of a longer life, save your hard earned money, by spending on the prevention, the price tag of a cure is higher than many can pay.

Do you have any favorite stories from the road,  maybe it was the burger joint outta the twilight zone in Yuma Az? or when the van's horn got stuck ON.  Share your best tales of the road in your comments below-

RESOURCES:

here are links to organizations that offer low cost and preventative health care  services for artists:

Kaiser Permamente

EHealth and TuneCore- provide a resource comparing 10,000  health insurance products from over 180 carriers

ASCAP-Your local P.R.O. has health care coverage available for it’s members

Musicians health insurance

Recording Acadamy/ MusiCares  the good folks at NARAS have MusiCares that provides services for artists needed resources and assistance. 

Tamra Engle is a independent business strategist, Producer, Speaker and Blogger based in the S.F. bay area. She assists artists and business’s via private consultations and project assignments with Artist development, Project management, Production and Lifestyle rebalancing,  to help develop your independent creative business.

You can read more about services to help you and join her mailing list at: www.tamraengle.com    You can  email Tamra at guitartam@gmail.com

Sign up now for your 1 month Master Class’s to help your Creative Business:

Links to References:

(1) http://outright.com/blog/when-are-health-expenses-a-tax-write-off/
(2) http://dentistry.about.com/od/dentalhealth/tp/reasonsdenclean.htm
www.kp.org
www.ehealthinsurance.com
www.musicianhealthinsurance.com
www.grammy.org/musicares


photo credits:


Jugglers- Moscow Circus 
Junk food- Tamra Engle
Roadies- Jen Wester- backstage BonJovi

Inspiration and Vision

The Creative Process-Inspiration and Vision 
pt 3 of Series

The Creative Process: is this  Month's topic featuring weekly installments to help creative business owners-

As we continue our steps through the creative process pyramid we being with the spark that starts it all:

INSPIRATION:  Refers to the "Stimulation of mind, body, or soul to create".

It’s literal meaning “breathed upon”  has spiritual origins of both Helenistic and Hebrew roots,  both sharing  the universal belief that a divine one breathed the inspiration upon us.

What inspires us to create? It varies by individual, ask 5 of your friends or colleges and I bet you'll get 5 different answers.  Some have found solace in a clear bubbling mountain stream, others in watching a sunrise or sunset. Perhaps hearing how a particular melody, verse or story is written alters how you hear music going forward.
Who among us hasn't felt of the joy or heartache from another human, or 4 legged friend.   

INSPRIATION VS PASSION:

Words often have “implied meanings” based upon our cultural mores.

 The word "Inspiration" has a playful connitation, it suggests   fleeting moment that a creative spark or moment occurs- A Divine Presence. You generally don’t think of a “inspiration” being a long lingering event.

Passion on the other hand suggests more of a burning, longer commitment... filled with strong emotional themes like love and rage. 


In creative endeavors this emotional fulfillment is a powerful force that when combined with your personal identity   is the  spark and burining flame of your creative process.

WHICH WAY NOW?

When inspiration hits you, it can be a sudden jolt, like walking around  seeing in dull grey's and suddenly seeing in vivid color. Much like taking dark glasses off when your outside in a beautiful bright sunny garden.
But what do you plan to do with this creative inspiration?


Vision:  is the destination  you are headed to, are you creating a  record label, or clothing line? or does your Vision incorporate other ideas?  Writing down a concise  statement about your overall creative direction of your business, doesn’t tell you how you’re going to get there, it is a blue print that sets the direction for your business planning.

When we find and follow our passion and combine it with our inspiration tied together with our vision, then magic really begins to happen.  Your spark and burning desire can spread, and catch others up in the wave of excitement.

PUTTING  IT TOGETHER:    

A beautiful recent example of combining  identity, Inspiration, and vision features a  astonishing 9 yr old entrepreneur  named Caine Monroy who lives in East LA.  
In this video Director Nirvan Mullick introduces us to Caine, who is armed  with his passion, inspiration, vision  and a few cardboard boxes, gives and gains  personal fulfillment by achieving his vision, and living his dream of “just getting 1 customer”.   Enjoy this video, If you have ever "dreamed" this will resonate with you, even inspire you.

CAINE'S ARCADE

I would love to read or see   how you have utilized your Inspiration and Passion to achieve your Vision in the comments below.

Interested in growing your business? Join our  MasterClass for Artist Business to maximize the success of your creative business http://www.squidoo.com/guitartam-master-classes

Tamra Engle is a independent business strategist, Producer, Speaker and Blogger based in the S.F. bay area. She assists artists and creative business’s via private consultation and project assignments with  Artist development, Project management, Production, Business Planning and Lifestyle Rebalancing,  to help you achieve your creative success.

You can read more about services to help you and join her mailing list at: www.tamraengle.com  email her at guitartam@gmail.com

Sign up now for your 1 month Master Class’s to help your Creative Business

Ref:  Video: Caines Arcade: Directed Nirvan Mullick.

Acceptance and Approval: Dealing w/ Fear (Pt1 of a series)

March Series topic is “Fear” and how it relates to independent artists careers.

“Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you're going to do about it.”  -Kathryn Casey Theisen

ACCEPTANCE:  

"To have your art received as legitimate work and not dismissed as a hobby, craft, or mid-life crisis".

Cultural and societal rituals surround us in our daily lives.  These rituals reinforce morality, opinions, and the expectations of “others” dictating how one behaves in civilized society.

A common childhood playground ritual of getting picked for a team- The desire to be accepted by the cool kids, and the absolute horror and humiliation of being chosen LAST or not accepted by the group.  

As a creative person having your art accepted as legitimate work during your lifetime and not dismissed as a craft or hobby seems to have existed as long as art in all its forms has been created.

For many non-artists, accepting a new form of creative expression that has not been long established, means in their mind it is “not art” and it is dismissed. 

BIRTH OF IMPRESSIONISM:

  In the 19^th  century art world the Beaux-Arts in France  was the standard that paintings were measured.   A small group of realist painters, Monet, Sisley, Renior, Bazille, and later Manet, Pissaro, Cezzane were all artists who's works were rejected by the Beaux-Arts Jury’s.

After seeing the rejected works, Napoleon the III  felt the public should weigh in, and the Salon de Refuses (Salon of the Refused)  was organized.  This ultimatly was the birth of a entirely new art movement “impressionism”  

Despite the huge success of the Impressionism movement, the success eluded Cezzane, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh during their lifetimes  .

APPROVAL: " To have everyone LIKE your art" 

The reaction to creating art, manifesting your inner vision into a reality. As artists we get our energy, inspiration, and fulfillment in the process of creating, and sharing our work with the world.

Christ Piss- Andres Serrano

The outside world may not have any response at all to our work in this lifetime, or any lifetime.   Our job as artists who desire to make a living with their art is to satisfy our inner creative muse, and to improve the quality of your work while attracting fans who want to purchase your creations.

Continue to create, refine, and improve the art you are producing, and importantly listen to the feedback you are getting, good, bad, and if this is what your hearing  It's a sign to get back to the drawing board and keep working. You will  know your own the right track when your creating a lot of excitement.   Do you have a acceptance or approval success or frustration you want to share? Please include them in the comment section below-

Artist Master Class: Special Invitation:

In today's indie market there is TONS of competition. In today's economic market everyone is working harder for even less money. How do you capture the attention of hard working fans that may not even know you exist?

There are lots of ways to invest in your career that help you make meaningful progress toward growing your creative business without breaking the bank.

Each month's Master-class topic is focused on helping you grow your creative business. You will be provided with a syllabus filled with exercises and strategies that are successfully used by top selling artists and businesses around the world, that you can apply directly to your creative business, with the help of successful business professionals.

Visibility Master Class you will learn:

•  Identify and Create multiple revenue streams
•  How to increase your exposure
• Identify who your fans really are
• WIIFTY (what is in it for them and you)
• Which Business partnerships pay off
• How you can use analytics to measure your growth.
• Apply exercises directly to your business

Written monthly exercises keep you focused on the area of development. 

With the guidance of your business development executive and guest experts to educate, prepare, and mentor creative leaders in a safe encouraging creative environment.

• At the completion of each month module you are issued a Master Class Certificate of completion.
•  At the end of 12 months you will have achieved your full Master Class status and receive a  MCC- Master Class Certification

Information and Registration here!  

Tamra Engle is a independent music business strategist based in the S.F. bay area she is available to help you manage your next project, for private consultations to help you develop your independent music business, or to  produce your next musical demo. You can read more about her,  and join her mailing list at www.tamraengle.com  you can email her at guitartam@gmail.com





MASTER CLASS LINK:  http://www.squidoo.com/guitartam-master-classes