WARNING: Somewhat long
Hi everyone I'm Christian. I believe this is my second post on the forum. I've been reading and watching this forum for a while. I'm currently a rising senior in college - I'll be 22 in August. I found out about the Millionaire Fastlane in my Sophomore Year of College. It totally changed my life!! Huge thanks to MJ, and some of my favorite "posters?" Andy Black, Lex Deville, and Ice Cream Kid. I'm soooo grateful for this community and the forum. It is super inspiring to read everyone's progress/execution posts.
I'm a multi instrumentalist - (drums, piano, classical percussion), Composer (Jazz to Funk, Film Scoring, etc). One of the reasons I found MJ's books were because I was very unhappy with the way the music industry was. For me as a drummer - the highest paying job is me being on tour for the majority of the year - playing jazz festivals. I had already done a good amount of this during the summers when I wasn't in school. I started playing drums when I was 2 and then later got into piano, etc. Ended up getting a full scholarship to a top music conservatory in NYC for college and now I am playing gigs with some of the best musicians in the industry.
My issue was that music had always been my passion and when I got to college I was doing it all the time. At a music conservatory it's all music classes. No science, math, or English. On top of doing music all the time for school now music is my job and I have to worry about making money too. So I wrestled with quitting music or not simply because I didn't love it anymore and I wasn't passionate. I was searching the internet for answers. I heard numerous famous internet guru's say fOlloW uR pAsSion. But I wasn't passionate about music and I couldn't think of other options. Then trying to find a passion transformed into being disciplined. Suck it up - You don't have to be passionate. You just have to play it smart and make a lot of money through a fastlane idea.
This led me to start a marketing agency based on one of the posts here in the forum. Basically outsourcing the marketing work to a whitelabel agency - didn't need to be an expert or anything. I would be doing sales. I was mainly just looking for quick cash. It was also hard for me to provide value as well since I was starting from scratch. Yes, I had videography and social media experience in building a fan base for music. That's how I got the cream of the crop music gigs and the full ride scholarship to college. - knowing how to brand and market myself, build relationships, etc. - All of this was based on the confidence and experience I gained from playing drums at 2. Everything was building on top of each other. I ended up trying to sell marketing services for a few months and that didn't really pan out. Started the agency in January - Tried cold calling and doing cold email marketing but it didn't work out. No sales, nothing and then corona virus hit. So now I had no gigs, no job, nothing coming in. This really hurt cause I worked incredibly hard to build up my music skills and secure some of the best music gigs by age 21. - Which not many other people my age and older have. I was trying to figure out what I can do during this corona virus time to 1. make money (I didn't feel comfortable with the Marketing Agency. It didn't sit right) and 2. not waste next 4-5 months until school starts back again.
Which led me to starting an online course/membership site for music. Specifically on the drums and then branching out to other topics/instruments that I've studied in. This will allow me to provide a lot of value to the music community around me. I remember when I was younger I had so many questions about getting a scholarship to college, how to get accepted into these prestigious music programs for high school students. - For an example for drums there is usually 1 spot for the program. There's about 6-7 of these nationally acclaimed music programs for the "best" jazz students where you play, learn and tour with a group, or big band. I made almost all of them except for 1. I was the 1 drummer they accepted for that year. But all these questions I had in high school about how to practice smarter and effectively, how to get the top music gigs, how to get a great scholarship to college, and how to submit great audition tapes - those questions still aren't being answered now.
I'm answering all of the questions I wish I knew in this online course. I've been a student and have consumed a lot of the courses that the current drum influencer's are talking about. I am very certain that I can provide value to the students who are like me. - who are searching for answers.
I'm using Podia to make the membership site - it has unlimited video hosting - which is great since I'll be recording a lot of video drum lessons. I'll keep tweaking the content of the lessons and adding new stuff but I think in 1-2 months it will really be amazing. The first batch of video lessons will probably be put out this week. I'm creating the music pdfs and already have the logo and 3-4 hours of video lessons done. I'll just be adding more in the near future. I think this can help a lot of people - adults and especially elementary/high school students practice effectively. This will also help them understand how to create opportunities for themselves and brand/market themselves.
Now my focus is more so on long term brand and helping as many people as I can. Mainly just focusing on bringing value. I know the money will come if I do this effectively.
Marketing wise I plan to do these things to get students.
1. cold email marketing. 2. Ads on social media.
3. I built a decent following through content and collaboration on social media platforms.
4. Progess video - showing my transformation from noob to really good. My parents documented my journey from me playing drums since I was 10 until now. So I have a lot of footage and it really shows how much I have improved. I also have a lot of pictures too.
5. Podcasts. 6. Ebook. 7. Touring. Currently there are no touring gigs but before the corona virus happened I got booked for a gig with a jazz legend and this most likely would've turned into touring for a part of the year. I would still have free time and I'll get paid really well. So along with the tours I would have clinics at schools in those different cities/countries I visit. I would meet students in the audience that would come see the jazz legend play. Almost 3x my age. So now everything is building on top of each other. 8. Drum brand deals and sponsorships - they will also publicize me - free marketing.
As my career grows to me being the next big drum influencer my students will also increase. And by doing these lessons and setting it up now, I'll be able to help so many people.
Revenue wise - Selling the drum course at $30 a month. 30 x 3000 = $90,000 a month = $1,080,000 a year. Also, going to give private lessons/coaching. The growth for the business is crazy - especially when I'm thinking long term brand over short term quick cash.
Things that I'm trying to keep in mind is living a balanced life. This is really important to me. I also want to get married and have kids so that is waaay waaaay down the line, but I hope things work out sooner than later. Making sure that I am still healthy, hanging out with friends, working out. Being disciplined. I'm still not super passionate about music. It doesn't feel anything close to how magical it did like when I was younger. So I'm doing my best to make sure I don't get burned out. I am passionate about taking as much control of my life as I can and really building something great. My goals are more grand than just playing drums. Maybe that was also why I lost passion for music. When I got to college I was already near the top. I had reached almost all of my goals and didn't have a new one yet. There's a lot of things that I can't control and are outside of my reach.
Also, I hope I'm not coming across as cocky or anything. I've just worked really hard and I've gained a lot of awards, recognition, scholarships etc. I'm used to getting everything I put in the work for.
Next Steps: 1. Finish the Website - plan to launch this week. 2. Finish the pdfs. 3. Put out the course. 4. Market it - help as many people as I can. 5. Update the course with new lessons - keep growing and learning.
I'm excited for the future!
P.S. - If anyone has any resources/threads they think might help me, I am down to read/watch them. I am mainly focusing on action and my intuition, but will set aside time for learning and consuming.
Hi everyone I'm Christian. I believe this is my second post on the forum. I've been reading and watching this forum for a while. I'm currently a rising senior in college - I'll be 22 in August. I found out about the Millionaire Fastlane in my Sophomore Year of College. It totally changed my life!! Huge thanks to MJ, and some of my favorite "posters?" Andy Black, Lex Deville, and Ice Cream Kid. I'm soooo grateful for this community and the forum. It is super inspiring to read everyone's progress/execution posts.
I'm a multi instrumentalist - (drums, piano, classical percussion), Composer (Jazz to Funk, Film Scoring, etc). One of the reasons I found MJ's books were because I was very unhappy with the way the music industry was. For me as a drummer - the highest paying job is me being on tour for the majority of the year - playing jazz festivals. I had already done a good amount of this during the summers when I wasn't in school. I started playing drums when I was 2 and then later got into piano, etc. Ended up getting a full scholarship to a top music conservatory in NYC for college and now I am playing gigs with some of the best musicians in the industry.
My issue was that music had always been my passion and when I got to college I was doing it all the time. At a music conservatory it's all music classes. No science, math, or English. On top of doing music all the time for school now music is my job and I have to worry about making money too. So I wrestled with quitting music or not simply because I didn't love it anymore and I wasn't passionate. I was searching the internet for answers. I heard numerous famous internet guru's say fOlloW uR pAsSion. But I wasn't passionate about music and I couldn't think of other options. Then trying to find a passion transformed into being disciplined. Suck it up - You don't have to be passionate. You just have to play it smart and make a lot of money through a fastlane idea.
This led me to start a marketing agency based on one of the posts here in the forum. Basically outsourcing the marketing work to a whitelabel agency - didn't need to be an expert or anything. I would be doing sales. I was mainly just looking for quick cash. It was also hard for me to provide value as well since I was starting from scratch. Yes, I had videography and social media experience in building a fan base for music. That's how I got the cream of the crop music gigs and the full ride scholarship to college. - knowing how to brand and market myself, build relationships, etc. - All of this was based on the confidence and experience I gained from playing drums at 2. Everything was building on top of each other. I ended up trying to sell marketing services for a few months and that didn't really pan out. Started the agency in January - Tried cold calling and doing cold email marketing but it didn't work out. No sales, nothing and then corona virus hit. So now I had no gigs, no job, nothing coming in. This really hurt cause I worked incredibly hard to build up my music skills and secure some of the best music gigs by age 21. - Which not many other people my age and older have. I was trying to figure out what I can do during this corona virus time to 1. make money (I didn't feel comfortable with the Marketing Agency. It didn't sit right) and 2. not waste next 4-5 months until school starts back again.
Which led me to starting an online course/membership site for music. Specifically on the drums and then branching out to other topics/instruments that I've studied in. This will allow me to provide a lot of value to the music community around me. I remember when I was younger I had so many questions about getting a scholarship to college, how to get accepted into these prestigious music programs for high school students. - For an example for drums there is usually 1 spot for the program. There's about 6-7 of these nationally acclaimed music programs for the "best" jazz students where you play, learn and tour with a group, or big band. I made almost all of them except for 1. I was the 1 drummer they accepted for that year. But all these questions I had in high school about how to practice smarter and effectively, how to get the top music gigs, how to get a great scholarship to college, and how to submit great audition tapes - those questions still aren't being answered now.
I'm answering all of the questions I wish I knew in this online course. I've been a student and have consumed a lot of the courses that the current drum influencer's are talking about. I am very certain that I can provide value to the students who are like me. - who are searching for answers.
I'm using Podia to make the membership site - it has unlimited video hosting - which is great since I'll be recording a lot of video drum lessons. I'll keep tweaking the content of the lessons and adding new stuff but I think in 1-2 months it will really be amazing. The first batch of video lessons will probably be put out this week. I'm creating the music pdfs and already have the logo and 3-4 hours of video lessons done. I'll just be adding more in the near future. I think this can help a lot of people - adults and especially elementary/high school students practice effectively. This will also help them understand how to create opportunities for themselves and brand/market themselves.
Now my focus is more so on long term brand and helping as many people as I can. Mainly just focusing on bringing value. I know the money will come if I do this effectively.
Marketing wise I plan to do these things to get students.
1. cold email marketing. 2. Ads on social media.
3. I built a decent following through content and collaboration on social media platforms.
4. Progess video - showing my transformation from noob to really good. My parents documented my journey from me playing drums since I was 10 until now. So I have a lot of footage and it really shows how much I have improved. I also have a lot of pictures too.
5. Podcasts. 6. Ebook. 7. Touring. Currently there are no touring gigs but before the corona virus happened I got booked for a gig with a jazz legend and this most likely would've turned into touring for a part of the year. I would still have free time and I'll get paid really well. So along with the tours I would have clinics at schools in those different cities/countries I visit. I would meet students in the audience that would come see the jazz legend play. Almost 3x my age. So now everything is building on top of each other. 8. Drum brand deals and sponsorships - they will also publicize me - free marketing.
As my career grows to me being the next big drum influencer my students will also increase. And by doing these lessons and setting it up now, I'll be able to help so many people.
Revenue wise - Selling the drum course at $30 a month. 30 x 3000 = $90,000 a month = $1,080,000 a year. Also, going to give private lessons/coaching. The growth for the business is crazy - especially when I'm thinking long term brand over short term quick cash.
Things that I'm trying to keep in mind is living a balanced life. This is really important to me. I also want to get married and have kids so that is waaay waaaay down the line, but I hope things work out sooner than later. Making sure that I am still healthy, hanging out with friends, working out. Being disciplined. I'm still not super passionate about music. It doesn't feel anything close to how magical it did like when I was younger. So I'm doing my best to make sure I don't get burned out. I am passionate about taking as much control of my life as I can and really building something great. My goals are more grand than just playing drums. Maybe that was also why I lost passion for music. When I got to college I was already near the top. I had reached almost all of my goals and didn't have a new one yet. There's a lot of things that I can't control and are outside of my reach.
Also, I hope I'm not coming across as cocky or anything. I've just worked really hard and I've gained a lot of awards, recognition, scholarships etc. I'm used to getting everything I put in the work for.
Next Steps: 1. Finish the Website - plan to launch this week. 2. Finish the pdfs. 3. Put out the course. 4. Market it - help as many people as I can. 5. Update the course with new lessons - keep growing and learning.
I'm excited for the future!
P.S. - If anyone has any resources/threads they think might help me, I am down to read/watch them. I am mainly focusing on action and my intuition, but will set aside time for learning and consuming.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Last edited:
Membership Required: Upgrade to Expose Nearly 1,000,000 Posts
Ready to Unleash the Millionaire Entrepreneur in You?
Become a member of the Fastlane Forum, the private community founded by best-selling author and multi-millionaire entrepreneur MJ DeMarco. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has poured his heart and soul into the Fastlane Forum, helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time, win their financial freedom, and live their best life.
With more than 39,000 posts packed with insights, strategies, and advice, you’re not just a member—you’re stepping into MJ’s inner-circle, a place where you’ll never be left alone.
Become a member and gain immediate access to...
- Active Community: Ever join a community only to find it DEAD? Not at Fastlane! As you can see from our home page, life-changing content is posted dozens of times daily.
- Exclusive Insights: Direct access to MJ DeMarco’s daily contributions and wisdom.
- Powerful Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of successful entrepreneurs who can offer mentorship, collaboration, and opportunities.
- Proven Strategies: Learn from the best in the business, with actionable advice and strategies that can accelerate your success.
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with the most..."
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Surround yourself with millionaire success. Join Fastlane today!
Join Today
