Self Management For Musicians

You want to be a rock star, you want to do it yourself. When you take into consideration what it would mean to do it yourself, you would never have
time for your music. There are so many things to consider and cover, that if you don't have a team- those that work for you and are on YOUR side- you would never spend time creating.
Having a team in place will help see you through things that are taken for granted. You will need to have an attorney, an accountant, some one to help with health and insurance and someone to help with your long term finances. You don't want to loose sleep thinking you've made a faulty choice. Have the team in place to help you stay creative. We will cover most aspects as it relates to a musician on their own.

Not enough can be said for having your professional team in order. Make sure the accountant, lawyer, insurance and finance persons are all trained and practicing in the entertainment industry. There's nothing worse than having an accountant who doesn't know the ins and outs of what you can deduct on your yearly return.

Do make sure you shop for a bank that fits your needs. Your money should be working for you once you get it, not going out in fees to the bank. If your personal and business accounts have to be in two different banks, so be it.

As well, be sure to do your homework on insurance, a financial advisor, of course your lawyer and accountant. Those last two could possibly become your best friends. If you want to have a business manager to keep all this in line, be sure they meet your professional expectations and understand what you want. Then again, this person will need to be paid. If you want to do that, it's up to you.

This is the part of the team that will make sure that what you make is yours and you get to keep as much of it as you can and will help you with plans and programs to make your life run smooth. We'll elaborate further later.

Not unless you are teaching or you are a session/studio musician, someone has probably told you do not quit your day job. It's that day job that keeps the roof over your head and the other necessities taken care of.
Now as a musician who wants to manage themselves it can be a bit rough. Besides making time to create the music that's going to end that day job, you have to be concerned about being seen and heard. You have to either have a product to promote physically or on line or you have to find places to perform live, both is the ideal situation.
This is where time management plays a large factor and having someone on your team who can help you find the sites to get your music on line or get that list of places you can contact to perform live. Being able to spend a couple of hours each day or a few hours each week mapping your action plan for promotion will be necessary. If you are serious, this is an ongoing process. This is one of several things to keep in mind when you manage yourself.
See the resources listed in the Amazon section to help you get started. We'll be back with more information on getting your act together.