In the creative and music industries, the topic of multiple six-figure leaps in your business is not discussed often enough. In fact, it often feels like an almost taboo subject. As artists, we’re trained to be “about the art” and not “in it for the money.” The starving artist stereotype prevails. But that’s simply not realistic nor is it fair.
As musicians, we tend to set the income goal bar really low in terms of what’s possible, because of the way the industry is traditionally set up. Most university salaries for example, for faculty professors, are usually below the six-figure mark. Most orchestra positions are below the six-figure range. Many of the traditional music industry-related jobs are usually below the six-figure point. So the conversation often becomes about simply hitting six figures rather than going beyond it. And that’s not how I like to approach business.
What’s The Mindset Difference Between Six Figures And Multiple Six Figures?
When we are below six figures, the primary focus tends to be on sales and marketing. It is all about client acquisition and our goal is to get paying students, paying clients to sign up for our services, whether that is teaching or performing, etc. We have a desire for acquiring clients, getting people to come in, and being able to enroll them successfully. That tends to be the primary concern, without much consideration for the long-term sustainability of the business. And that’s understandably so – we need to get the cash flow going, we need to get the profit coming in, so that we can continue doing everything else.
To make the leap in growth beyond just hitting the six-figure mark, we need to expand our thinking long-term. Instead of focusing on current acquisitions, we should build out further into the future. Every short-term goal should have a long-term counterpart that it feeds. If we’re not building for greater sustainability, what are we building for?
What Should You Consider In Building A Multiple Six-Figure Business?
What is the perspective that basically allows musicians to cross that six-figure leap initially, and then what happens in the transition between simply crossing six figures to actually going into multiple six-figures and even seven-figures and beyond? What does that look like?
Once you scale past that initial six-figure threshold, a lot is going to need to change. It’s not simply going to be a matter of more clients – even clients paying at a higher rate; the mindset and the considerations that need to take place will change. How do you leverage your business more? How do you scale your business without you yourself having to be an active part of every single aspect of the business? You need to build and flip your mindset to creating systems that run without you, to optimizing your efficiency, to defining structure. A business can only grow bigger and bigger when you are freed from having a hand in every detail of it. A lot of growing is letting go.
Did you know that 90% of the top 10% of earners in the United States never go beyond the six-figure mark? 90% of people that are able to reach six figures just stay there because they feel accomplished. They don’t realize the next set of considerations to scale beyond that mark. And let’s be honest: for musicians, looking at a six-figure income is not bad at all. The standards for most of the traditional jobs in the industry are way below six figures, so hitting that six-figure mark is not a bad place to be. But if you want to do more, you need to make those systemic changes into hands-off systems and structures so your business can earn money without your direct touches.
How Will This Change Your Life?
Going beyond the initial six-figure mark means a lot will change. For one, your mindset will be rewired for efficiency and building structure. Your business will change, too, as you’ve got systems and teams in place. That leads to your own life changing, as you won’t need to be in every minute detail of everything every day.
What you learn to cross the initial six-figure mark, when you master your sales and marketing skills, when you’ve learned how to communicate your business effectively, the message, the purpose, the value proposition and address your ideal clients effectively – everything that got you to that point needs to be unlearned. I know! But it’s true.
You need to unlearn those old ways because they don’t suit your new business style. You need to start adopting a different way of going about your calendar, you need to be focusing less on doing all the things and more on strategizing more on thinking about the optimization opportunities in your business, and leading others and building a team. When you’re able to do that effectively, in many ways, you’re unlearning what you had to learn to cross the initial six-figure mark – and you’re operating as you need to in order to grow beyond.
Are you ready to take the leap to six figures and beyond in your music business? If you’re a musician with an online music business, I can show you how in my upcoming Musicians Profit Masterclass on May 15th at 12pm EST. Click HERE to join me to discover the 5 steps to multiple 6 figure leaps, how to take your time back, and how you can make your music business self-sustaining so you can live your life on your terms!
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