The Entrepreneurial Musician with Andrew Hitz

Latest Episodes:

TEM122: Chrysanthe Tan on being yourself as an artist, killing it on Patreon and tips for better time management Dec 14, 2017

Show notes

TEM122: Chrysanthe Tan on being yourself as an artist, killing it on Patreon and tips for better time management

Chrysanthe Tan is a composer, violinist, poet and entrepreneur based out of LA.

*****

Want to make more money in the music business? Contact TEM Coaching for your free consultation today to see if we are a good fit. Find out more at: http://www.andrewhitz.com/coaching

*****

What You'll Learn from Chrysanthe in TEM122:

Why the cost of being anything other than yourself is never worth it (and how she learned this through experience)
How assuming the three traditional paths for classical musicians were the only possible routes to success almost led her out of music altogether
How a regular customer at a restaurant where she waited tables ended up giving her the break of a lifetime in the music business
Why she found college much more rewarding after dropping out and coming back a little later in life
How she is able to kill it on Patreon (in spite of it not being as successful out of the gate as she thought it would be)
Why her fear of relying on others for all of her income inspired her to blaze her own path and start her Patreon
How Chrysanthe relies on multiple coaches to keep her career and life on track
Why batching and planning are the secrets to her time management success

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Also be sure to check out all the cool, entrepreneurial stuff the Hogtown Brass Quintet have going on including their latest album, A Holiday Album, Vol. 1, at http://www.hogtownbrass.com/.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM121: Spotted Online featured Jenna Kutcher, Gary Vaynerchuk and Seth Godin Dec 11, 2017

Show notes

Spotted Online features thought-provoking articles, podcast episodes and YouTube clips pertaining to all aspects of being a successful musical entrepreneur.

Today's Featured Content:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons I Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my next goal of 75 ratings at iTunes (I'm really close!) by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM120: Rob Knopper Quotes (TEM Short) Nov 29, 2017

Show notes

TEM120: Rob Knopper Quotes (TEM Short)

Rob Knopper is a percussionist with the Metropolitan Opera and the founder of Auditionhacker and Percussionhacker.

Quotes:

"Going to the Yes and King Crimson concerts, it's really interesting to see the type of thing that hooks in fans. I think about that when I do my website stuff. You look around the audience and everyone's wearing a black T-shirt and they all have an album cover on the front. There's all these little inside jokes among the fans, just different little aspects of things that happen in the music that people wanna talk about. It's interesting to think about what hooks people in when they start to become a fan of something, whether it's music or business or anything. I think about that when I'm making my stuff."
"I just kind of gave myself permission to go explore all the various things I had put to the side for so long."
"At the time, I was experimenting. I would do something on my site to see if it would work on my personal site. And then, if it didn't work, I would throw it away. If it did work, I would go to the orchestra committee and say, 'Hey! Let's do this.'"
"I had an idea. I could (lead an individual student through his audition method), but I could literally change the lives of hundreds, or thousands of people, by offering them solutions or a resource that could help them directly improve their own life as they struggle through the process of becoming a percussionist."
"When you read entrepreneurial books, and blogs, and listen to podcasts and stuff, you hear people say that you have to understand your audience and you have to survey them and call them…..They say come up with an avatar or choose somebody in your audience who you're writing for."
"Everybody listening can think about what their specialty is. They still may feel like a student, or they still may feel like a freelancer, but you have a specialty. Everybody has an area of passion, or interest, that is a blue ocean. Until that starts getting filled in, it's wide open for most things."

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Thanks to everyone who helped me get to my goal of 50 ratings on iTunes! I appreciate it very much!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

TEM119: A heartfelt thank you and the TEM Thanksgiving Challenge Nov 24, 2017

Show notes

TEM119: A heartfelt thank you and the TEM Thanksgiving Challenge

This episode is a heartfelt thank you to all of you for supporting TEM plus a challenge for all TEM listeners.

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM118: Rob Knopper of the Metropolitan Opera and Auditionhacker on the many remaining blue oceans in the music business, time management and how Auditionhacker developed from a personal method to a product Nov 14, 2017

Show notes

Rob Knopper is a percussionist with the Metropolitan Opera and is the founder of Auditionhacker.

*****

Want to make more money in the music business? Contact TEM Coaching for your free consultation today to see if we are a good fit. Find out more at: http://www.andrewhitz.com/coaching

*****

What You'll Learn in TEM118:

How observing fans at Yes and King Crimson concerts informs how he interacts with the customers on his website
Why he ignored everything else and focused solely on audition prep before winning the job with the Met
How rewarding it was after winning his gig to give himself permission to pursue the other passions in his life that he had been putting off
How getting involved with the Met Orchestra Musician's website and social media channels showed him it really wasn't that hard
A recording project he completed that was a textbook example of finding a blue ocean, harnessing passion and the principle of scarcity
The incredibly honest writings he did about his successes and failures with auditions that really resonated with his customer base
Why it is so important to identify exactly who you are writing or speaking to when producing content (and why it is awfully easy when that person is you)
The incredible number of blue oceans there still are in music since we have far fewer specialists than a profession like the medical one
How Auditionhacker went from a personal method to a product as the result of a demonstrated need by potential customers
How he came to partner with Noa Kageyama of The Bulletproof Musician on an online course
How Rob is able to manage his time efficiently and keep his playing at a world class level while maintaining so many entrepreneurial pursuits

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM117: Influence by Dr. Robert Cialdini (Book Report) Nov 11, 2017

Show notes

A Book Report on the New York Times best selling book "Influence" by Dr. Robert Cialdini.

What You'll Learn:

The Six Principles of Persuasion, how they apply to a musical entrepreneur and six action steps to utilize each principle
1. The Principle of Reciprocity
2. The Principle of Scarcity
3. The Principle of Authority
4. The Principle of Consistency
5. The Principle of Liking
6. The Principle of Consensus

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM116: Kristen Sheridan Quotes (TEM Short) Nov 01, 2017

Show notes

TEM116: Kristen Sheridan Quotes (TEM Short)

Kristen Sheridan is the owner of the Sheridan Studio of Music, one of the largest private teaching studios in the Washington, DC area.

Quotes:

"I sent snail mail letters because it was 2001. I sent snail mail letters with stamps and everything to every middle and high school band director in the county, which there are 23 high schools or something like that, and all the attendant middle schools."
"One of my former teachers did say that his rule of thumb was if you had 10% of your studio empty, then you're charging the right amount."
"But, I literally just woke up in the morning and was like screwing around online, and looking at my website, and thinking it would look kinda lame. I was like, 'Maybe I should get a logo.'"
"The other thing is just show up, go to things, go to district band rehearsals. There is more hanging out at district band rehearsals, or all-state band rehearsals, or something. Just go on a Friday in the afternoon or something, just listen and see who's around. Denny (Stokes) always says music is a contact sport, and I love that because it's so true. You have to actually show up and make contact to participate in the sport."
"When I was in (college) nobody told me that I had to advocate for myself. Looking back on it, I should've known that. Playing six different ensembles at school that's great, but it's not going to help you get any gigs when you're done. So, do what you can to play, and whatever you can play in. But, also look outside the school and get you some gigs."

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Thanks to everyone who helped me get to my goal of 50 ratings on iTunes! I appreciate it very much!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

TEM115: Kristen Sheridan of the Sheridan Studio of Music on building a large and sustainable teaching studio, advocating for yourself and the importance of not being a jerk Oct 27, 2017

Show notes

TEM115: Kristen Sheridan of the Sheridan Studio of Music on building a large and sustainable teaching studio, advocating for yourself and the importance of not being a jerk

Kristen Sheridan, one of the premier private studio teachers in the Washington DC area, talks about everything that went into building her sustainable business.

-----

Want to make more money in the music business? Contact TEM Coaching for your free consultation today to see if we are a good fit.

Find out more at: http://www.andrewhitz.com/coaching

-----

What You'll Learn in TEM115:

How when Kristen moved to town she contacted every middle school and high school band director in all of Fairfax County, what she offered in that letter and why only getting one "Yes" out of the 50+ letters sent got her foot in the door which led to the success she enjoys today as a teacher in the area
How networking led her to be involved as an artist with both D'Addario and Backun
The struggles of being in business while being a people pleaser
How to know if you are charging the right amount for your services
How she legally structured Sheridan Studio of Music when she launched
Where she got a great logo for not much money and how just adding a logo can make a website look really professional
How Kristen has figured out that being a DIY-type person doesn't mean she should try to do everything herself
What she uses to keep track of the incoming money for her teaching studio
What she would do if she were moving to a new town and wanted to establish a studio and how she would figure out what to charge
The importance of just showing up

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

TEM114: Yuri Cataldo Quotes (TEM Short) Oct 23, 2017

Show notes

TEM114: Yuri Cataldo Quotes (TEM Short)

This TEM Short features thoughts on my favorite quotes from Yuri Cataldo in TEM113.

Yuri Cataldo, who has had success in many different fields, is the host of the Advance Your Art Podcast.

Quotes:

"I was surrounded by gobs of actors, and no one wanted to be a designer, so I had access to all the professors all the time because I was the only person who was excited about it."
"So, I actually had the idea for the Bottled Water Company on that very depressing drive back from New Jersey to Indiana. And so it took me about two years to go from that idea to actually launching the company…. In between that time, I was a waiter. I was an adjunct professor in costume design at Indiana University, also in South Bend. I worked for a TV station selling advertisements. I was a sign holder at Verizon Wireless. I did a lot of small, crappy jobs trying to pay the bills and figure out what to do next."
"And it was actually at my job as a TV sales rep where I learned a lot about cold calling sales, what people actually look for, what's interesting, because I spent all my time with small business owners."
"You need to have a reason why reporters will write about you. You could be doing cool shit in your life, but you need a reason at that moment for them to write about it, or nobody cares."
"I don't know if I would personally want to do another Kickstarter campaign because it's 30 days of exhaustion. You have to be on it all the time, reaching out to your customers, reaching out to press. Constantly. We redid the SEO for the page all the time, and retested things, but as long as you approach it as, like, 'I'm going to test this out, see how this goes for 24 hours,' and then do it again, and then again, and then again. It's constantly tweaking."

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Thanks to everyone who helped me get to my goal of 50 ratings on iTunes! I appreciate it very much!

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz

TEM113: Yuri Cataldo of the Advance Your Art Podcast on how to market with no budget, moving on quickly from a big setback and how he got a product into the gift bag at the Oscars Oct 17, 2017

Show notes

TEM113: Yuri Cataldo of the Advance Your Art Podcast on how to market with no budget, moving on quickly from a big setback and how he got a product into the gift bag at the Oscars

Yuri Cataldo, host of the Advance Your Art Podcast, shares the story of his wild career path including stops on Broadway, a tech startup and academia.

What You'll Learn:

Why the piano, which he no longer plays that much, is the first thing he heads for when creatively stuck
How Yuri's early path included mechanical engineering, journalism and theater and how he kept having the courage to change directions until he found something that worked for him
How he was working as a designer on four Broadway shows plus an opera in Los Angeles at the same time when both the 2008 recession and divorce struck at the same time
How he came up with his next big idea literally on the drive back home to move back in with his parents which was immediately on the heels of his life turning upside down
How it took him two years from between coming up with his big idea and launching it and how he had many crappy jobs in the meantime to pay the bills, all the while working on his idea
How one of those crapy jobs led him to learn a lot about sales, which has helped him in every endeavor since then (and how he talked his way into that job with absolutely no experience at all)
Why he started selling bottled water that didn't even exist yet (and why that is common for entrepreneurs and how we can all learn from it)
How learning to get press and marketing with no money was born out of necessity
Why reporters don't care about you or your product but really care about the story behind it (and how to use that in your pitch to get coverage)
How he raised 2x his goal during an Indiegogo campaign and the important benchmarks to shoot for
The origins of Yuri's Advance Your Art podcast and why it has turned into a passion project

Links:

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.andrewhitz.com/shownotes

Don't miss the debut of the TEM Newsletter! Sign up to receive a free copy of 7 Lessons Learned from the First 100 Episodes of TEM.

1. Help me get to my goal of $50 per episode on Patreon by pledging as little as $1 per episode to support the show: https://www.patreon.com/tempodcast.

2. Help me get to my goal of 75 ratings at iTunes by leaving a rating and review.

Follow TEM on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook

And finally, a huge thank you to Parker Mouthpieces for providing the hosting for TEM.

Produced by Andrew Hitz for Pedal Note Media

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