Greetings to all from Cali

[MBGuitar3]

Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and am in the process of carefully reading the book. Over the past weeks I've been growing more and more uncomfortable with the thought that the internet is like a new gold rush, a new wild west if you will and I HAVE to join. If somebody wants to work hard an be successful - the internet has the potential to strike gold.

My Experience:
I'm one semester away from graduation, and if it weren't for free rent (I'm the RA) I'd probably drop out. I am a freelance musician and teacher in the Bay Area and have two big ideas I want to turn into a reality.

My Strengths: Exceptional music talent. I know I'm one of the best classical musicians out here and undoubtedly the most active musician for private events. I'm great at emailing, establishing trust with potential clients/event planners, and communicating clearly in a timely manner. This allows me to regularly quote anywhere from $100-400 higher than my competition even though I have only been here 1 year. I'm also great at living below my means while gradually increasing income. I usually save 50-70% of my income per month - which is about 1.5-2k profit.

My Weaknesses: I understand that the only path to freedom is to push for it on your own. However, I often fall behind on large projects because I am wiped out with my schedule. Teach 6-7 days/wk + 3-4 gigs a month on top of full time class work. I hauled a$$ over the holidays and set goals to strive for by graduation - I signed up for the Forum as a public way to hold myself accountable and learn from others because my internet experience is limited to my own website - which is rough but gets the job done. I also have next to no business experience/lingo understanding so I'll be in the library A LOT.

My Business Goals: I'm in the process of branching out into offering DJ services and eventually want to turn that into a one-stop wedding planning website where I hire/collaborate with an event planner and cater co. The idea is that with one site, a couple can plan their entire wedding. Naturally, for the first year or so - I'll end up doing most of the coordinating and play the majority of weddings - however, once enough events are booked, I can hire a friend to do the playing and simply take 20% of each gig as manager. The cons are that there is a definite ceiling to how many events I can play per year (goal is 100)

However, offering ceremony music and DJ and eventually full planning could net anywhere from 5k to well over 20k per event depending on the size of the wedding. I have not thought out the best way to distribute pay for the team this is just a rough draft and what I am transitioning my website for (needs MAJOR updating) It will require major promotion in bridal magazines and probably sponsorship by established lead-generating sites like GigMasters before it can stand on its own. My way to passivity is to dominate my area and then hire separate teams in different cities - they can use my name and website - but I get either 20% of every event or they pay for the leads.

Idea # 2 is a website where users can sell their guitar. I'll offer to advertise it nationally and organize the instruments by brand and model. Haven't decided if I should charge per sale, a % of sell price, or have members pay but I facilitate the process of them to meet a buyer - essentially avoiding retail price at places like Musician's Friend and avoiding bidding wars on eBay. Biggest problem is shipping.

I know this is long - any thoughts on my projects?

 

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[MBGuitar3]

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