You, Inc. and the Basics of Business
In my last article, I introduced you to the concept of You, Inc. Since you now understand that you are the CEO of You, Inc., it’s time to give you your areas of responsibility. We’ll start with the three basics of business: products, a board of directors and goals.
Products
A business does not exist without products.
In simplest terms, a product (or service) is anything you can exchange for something of value, like money. This means your product(s) must be so important to other people that they’ll willingly give you something in exchange. As you think about that, realize that you have two products:
- What you do: The first product is what you actually do in music. It could be drumming, singing, songwriting, producing or whatever. This is the “thing” you produce in direct exchange for money.
- Who you are: The second product is you. Of the two, this is the most important because no one can copy you. This means it’s usually the main reason people choose to buy from you instead of someone else.
Keep this in mind as you think about how you interact with others, talk about what you do and carry yourself. Everything you do is affecting whether or not people know the real you and therefore buy what you have. The better you become at all your “touch points” the more successful you’ll become. Fortunately, today’s music industry and related tools give you more and better opportunities to interact with people than ever before.
Board of Directors
Big, successful companies know something that most individuals do not: success is a team sport. So follow in their footsteps and assemble a Board of Directors. I’m not suggesting paying a group of high powered executives and holding formal meetings, but I am suggesting getting around people who are in life where you want to be. Purposely and often.
Your Board of Directors should be a group of go-to people made up of your trusted advisors and friends from the music business, non-music business, law, banking, marketing, etc. And pick people that have healthy relationships and personal lives too. Once you know who they are, get with each of them regularly and ask lots of questions. This will help you to always make the right steps forward.
Goals
There’s been much written about goals and everyone knows they are critical to success. So instead of rehashing all that here, I want to add a different perspective on the subject by going back to the King’s English.
Our word goal originates from the word ‘gol’, meaning boundary. Though we all believe the power of goals is the target, the real power of a goal is the boundary it gives you between what you’re doing and what you WON’T do. Goals force you to say no to anything and everything that doesn’t directly contribute to your success.
Atlanta
For example, if I have a goal of driving from Nashville to Atlanta, this goal guides my plan:
- Drive South on I-24.
- Proceed South on I-7
- Arrive in Atlanta.
But along the way, I will have hundreds of other choices. I can go to Chattanooga, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and beyond. All of which would be worthy, exciting and fun to do! But since my goal is reaching Atlanta, I have a solid boundary to stay on plan.
The same is true in life. You have millions of opportunities you can pursue and thousands of options every day. Goals allow you to cut through all that clutter and focus, focus, focus.
What About You?
So what are your current goals? Where do you want to be in 2 months, 6 months and 2 to 5 years? What are the goals you’ll have to accomplish along the way to get there? And what are the distractions that these goals (boundaries) will help you avoid?
Take the time – with a sheet of paper or your laptop – to answer all these questions for yourself. These are critical parts of succeeding as the CEO of You, Inc. Next time I’ll tell you how to make sure your goals are SMART.
After 20 years as a professional drummer, Steve Grossman left the music business for a career in the “Real World.” Learn how NOT to follow in his footsteps at www.whyifailed.com
