You Have A Quartet. Now What?
This is where the work begins.
Yo, it’s Drew.
Earlier this week, I gave you my playbook for starting a string quartet in 2025.
Find your quartet players
Focus on a specific niche
Create an avatar for a customer in your niche
Package solutions to a bundle of painful, sequential problems, and create an offer.
Now is the part where things get difficult. Now is the part where things get real.
If you wanna learn exactly what I did to build my quartet, keep reading.
None of the services or brands discussed are paying me via affiliate links or any other form of compensation. My opinions are my own, and I encourage you to research the best options for your situation!
Now Comes The Elbow Grease
This is the part where most people quit. This is where it gets hard.
Here is how you build your quartet machine:
Start an LLC (optional)
Open up a bank account
Get a company credit card (optional)
Build a performance inquiry form
Build a website
Build a contract template
Build an invoicing system
SHEESH.
I will walk you through how I accomplished each step with wholesoul.
I do not have all the answers. I am just simply sharing my experience!
Start an LLC (optional)
You do not have to do this at the beginning.
But I recommend it. You can’t sell a business that is not incorporated.
You can do this on your own, but, for wholesoul, I hired a lawyer to do this for me.
Save cash before you start your business. Cash allows you to move quickly.
Because I saved a bit of cash from every gig I did for a couple of years, I had capital. Cash lets you move FAST. I do not regret spending this money, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
With all that said, you can do it yourself. You can go to legalzoom.com and get your LLC set up.
Why incorporate?
It helps you separate your side business income from your main income. As the owner of a string quartet, you will receive large lump sums of money that you must distribute to other people.
For me, I wanted to create a financial barrier between ThatViolaKid and Whole Soul Music LLC. As wholesoul makes more money, this move becomes more tax efficient. My system is built to withstand growth.
I am not sure if this is real, but I have noticed it in my own experience. Since operating under an LLC, I get much less pushback on my fees. I believe incorporating gives your an air of legitimacy and justification for your price.
This is merely anecdotal though. Take it or leave it.
Open Up a Bank Account
Once you receive your business documents from your respective Secretary of State, you can now start applying for a bank account.
While I like brick and mortar banks, I personally wanted to build my business with an online bank.
I did some research on Nerdwallet ultimately chose BlueVine.
Open A Credit Card (Optional)
This is completely optional, and it was never a priority for wholesoul.
Never carry a balance.
Credit cards are risky.
I only use them for capital expenditures that I KNOW the client will cover.
Purchase protection is nice, and using them to farm reward points is capital efficient.
Inquiry Form
Urging clients to fill out inquiry forms has been a game-changer for me.
Here is why I think you should create one for yourself:
It allows you to quickly qualify clients. Clients who are unwilling to fill out a form will likely be unwilling to pay me for my services. I do not take chances.
It organizes information and makes the contracting process much easier.
It allows us to collect data. We use this data to recognize trends. We also use this data to refine our marketing, tweak our offers, and learn more about our target audience.
Make an inquiry form, invite people to fill it out, and watch the money flow.
Build A Website
This is your home base.
You can use Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, or WordPress.
It does not matter. Choose what is easiest for you.
I use Squarespace for my website.
Once you make the site, PUT AN INQUIRY FORM ON THE HOME PAGE.
I made a few huge website mistakes at first:
I did not insert an inquiry form (or a “book me” button) in the front page
I did not showcase my work clearly. My services were not clear
I did not showcase testimonials or reviews. As a matter of fact, I never collected them either.
I have had a website for 11 years now. Over that time, people visited it, wanted to hire me, got kinda confused with what they should do, and left disappointed.
Do not be like me. Make a website that:
Clearly communicates what you do for clients
Showcases your portfolio (proof of work)
Highlights testimonials from happy clients (social proof)
Gives people a way to hire you to solve their painful problems (booking form)
Do this, and people will make buying decisions from your website.
Check out mine if you want some inspo.
Here’s wholesoul’s too! It is a bit different.
Build A Contract Template
A contract is a source of truth. Never work without a contract.
If you do not have a contract for your events, go to ChatGPT and write one.
Once you’ve created a draft, hire an attorney to go through it and make additions.
Here’s a prompt you can use to get started:
“You are the world’s top entertainment attorney. Your specialties are entertainment contract law, copyright law, influencer marketing law, and corporate finance law.
I am the leader of a string quartet called {quartet}. We specialize in {niche}. Our target audience is {audience}. We provide services for weddings, luxury events, brand activations, award shows, galas, world tours with artists, corporate parties.
I want to create an event performance contract template for my quartet.
Here is a list of elements that the contract should include:
Parties involved in the contract and the date of origination
Details of performance
Number
Type
Rehearsal?
Venue Name, Address, Seating Capacity, Entrance, and Parking
Person(s) to Notify upon Arrival
Client’s Representative & Phone Number
Compensation Details
Total fee for service
Deposit or Retainer Fee and Due Date
Method of Compensation
Timing of Compensation
Late Fees
Overtime policy
Force Majeure
Protection of our likeness
Cancellation Policy
Whether conditions:
Protection from sun, precipitation of all kinds, and low temperatures for outdoor events
Governing Law; Jurisdiction
Under the jurisdiction of the State of {State}
Rider - Special Terms
Can we build this template step by step? Ask me questions for each of these bullet points until you have enough information to move to the next bullet point. Once we have clarified each bullet point, THEN generate the contract template.”
I did this myself, and the contract came out CLEAN. Just answer the questions and it will build it for you.
AI prompting is a powerful skill.
Build An Invoicing System
I use bill.com for both ThatViolaKid and wholesoul.
I like it because:
I use the free version
The invoices I generate allow clients to pay you with credit cards or ACH with the click of a button!!
You can send invoices directly from the platform
Keep it simple.
And There You Have It
This is the exact playbook that I used to build wholesoul in Year One.
After building these systems, we went from making $13K in Year One to making $87K in Year Two.
Your business is a machine. Focus on tinkering with it a bit every single day.
Make it 1% better every day, and you’ll be blown away by how much better Year Two will be.
Messy action > Perfect inaction
Talk to you next week.
Drew