- Do you have support from family and friends?
- Are you willing to put in the time and effort to continually improve your playing, song
writing and/or voice? - Do you have enough confidence in yourself and your abilities to sustain yourself as a
professional musician when things get tough? - Are you prepared, if needed, to lower your standard of living until your musical career
is firmly established? - Do others consider you a team-player?
- Do you have the ability to get along with difficult people?
- Are you willing to learn basic business skills?
- Do you manage money well?
Success in the music industry, no matter how you define it, isn’t usually an overnight
sensation or get famous and rich quick thing. It takes time, effort, work and a decent dose
of patience. You’ve got to be willing to continually improve your musical abilities, busi-
ness skills and hone your showmanship to grow your fan base. Remember, when you’re
starting out without a manager, agent or an A&R person watching your back, and hope-
fully not putting a knife into it, you’re the one who wears all the hats. Be clear and honest
with yourself about what you’re good at and, perhaps more importantly, what you stink at
doing. You can find people to handle the tasks you don’t excel at doing. Sure, it will prob-
ably cost you some bucks, but it can be money well spent and significantly help you to
project a much more polished, professional image.