inBachs / Every Is Musician Entrepreneurial

Here's my random classical music hot take: if you're making a career out of music, an entrepreneurial mindset is completely necessary.

Did you know that you are more likely to go from college basketball to the NBA than you are from a college music degree to a full-time performance organization?

For most of us, that wider path looks like a portfolio career. This basically means that we are signing up for multiple revenue streams. I’m not a financial advisor, but I have heard this advice thrown around as a good way to make a living. I think it’s even better for creatives that have multiple interests and want to be fulfilled in their career.

A private studio, performance gigs, accompanying for the local school, weddings in the summer, consulting hours or social media content.

Putting it all together is the career and run it like you would a business.

Which means you're already doing sales and marketing, you just might call it something else:

• Emailing a choir director to ask if they need an accompanist is outreach.

• Telling a parent at a recital what your lessons are like is a sales conversation.

• Posting a clip of your student's performance is awesome for marketing.

• Quoting your wedding rate and holding to it is professional pricing.

For more on what it looks like to have a portfolio career in music, check out this Reel I posted on Instagram and let me know in the comments what it is that you are striving for in your music career.