The most important thing I've learned since Juilliard
This System Took Me 10 Years To Develop
...and you'll understand it too by the end of this newsletter.
My road forked into 2 well-defined branches:
Audition for orchestra. Maybe I get in. Probably I don’t.
Continue my path of entrepreneurship, not really knowing what to do next.
If you’re reading this newsletter, you probably are thinking about choosing option 2.
I chose 2 as well, and I’ve spent the last 10 years learning everything I could about business. I have read dozens of books, listened to weeks worth of podcasts, failed multiple business ventures, and confided in many mentors.
If you give me 4 minutes of your time, I will crystalize 10 years of lessons into a quick, overview of a repeatable system. If you would like me to go in depth on any of these topics in the future, let me know!
It’s so easy, you can implement it TODAY and begin your path of entrepreneurship.
Let’s get started.
So, what is the first step in starting a business?
Identify a painful problem. Emphasis on painful. Pain inspires action.
Build or create a product or service that solves this painful problem.
If the problem is truly painful and your solution is convenient and effective, you will win.
Can’t find a problem? Do this every day.
Develop a journaling habit. Pick a quiet time every day and take 15 minutes to write. Write about anything.
Here’s what I would do:
Wake up at 7:00am
Sit down with a cup of coffee at 7:30am
Write for 5 minutes:
5 things I’m grateful for
1 thing I am hoping for
Write for 10 minutes:
I will brainstorm for the remaining 10 minutes. Ask yourself this: “What painful problems do I suffer from?? What are painful problems that other people suffer from.
After 10 minutes or more listing as many as I can, I’ll put them in order from most painful to least painful.
Repeat every day for 1 week.
Validate the Problem
Don’t stay in your head. Take your list of painful problems and show it to your closest friends. Ask them what they think of these problems. Ask each of them to order your painful-problem list in order from most painful to least painful.
Compare the results to your own. Do their orders match yours?
Is your experience of pain unique or universal? Remember: what’s painful for some may not be painful for others.
Build a solution
Pick the most painful problem.
Then, use your morning brainstorming sessions to construct solutions. For example:
Problem: A desert courier is dying of thirst. He’s been walking through the desert for 2 days straight and is at the brink of exhaustion. Unfortunately, he is still a 30-minute walk away from civilization. (Very painful)
Solution: Load up a chopper, pick him up, and get him to safety (Very effective, very expensive).
Aim to create the highest-quality solution you possibly can.
Then, give the solution to others.
If your solution is good, they will be satisfied. If it exceeds their expectations and the delivery is beyond their imagination, they will tell their friends about you.
Now, you’re in business.
Takeaways:
After 10 years of hustling in the music industry, I break down building a successful business into 6 steps:
Identify a painful problem.
Build the solution
Test the solution
Market the solution
Sell the solution
Lead others by teaching them how to deliver the solution (for tips and tricks for Networking, check out this newsletter).
If I’m being honest, I’ve only really gotten to step 5 in my current endeavors. I’m a voracious learner that make it a priority to learn something new every day.
As I learn more and grow more, I hope that these newsletters become more valuable to you!
Business Updates
I wanna try something new! At the end of each newsletter, I’ll give you a sneak peak into what my business are doing, and how I’m trying to grow them.
ThatViolaKid Productions
This month, I have meetings with prospective video editors and social media managers! I want to scale the amount of content that I create in 2024.
This quarter, I plan to finally incorporate officially and open up a business bank account.
I’m implementing a batching strategy for writing my newsletters. This will allow me to get these letters out to you when work kicks up and I get super busy <3
Whole Soul Music, LLC
We are discussing collaborations with 3 different artists.
We are pivoting our strategy away from live performances. We’re going all in on creating content and building our discography