Female Entrepreneur Musician with Bree Noble

I've been doing a lot of work lately on productivity and I'm really getting a lot more done in my business because I'm splitting my time. Working hard, taking care of my family and having a lot on my plate, I've really been working hard to make sure I get stuff done in each aspect of what I need to do.I've come across something lately that has really helped me manage my tasks. So today we're talking about gamifying your to-do list. In the past, I've talked about breaking your to-do list, knowing how to prioritize and keeping 5 goals within 90 days. Even then there are certain things that keep falling to the bottom because I don't really want to do them.I've been working with a book called "Free to Focus" by Michael Hyatt and it has helped make things clearer to me on how I can run my business and make sure I get everything done.How do you get rid of that overwhelming feeling that you have endless things on your to-do list? I learned from the book that we can choose 3 big things for the week and around those big things, choose 3 smaller things per day. Before I start my work during Sunday or Monday morning, I organize them into first priority, check the deadlines then I fill in the rest. The gamification comes in here. Usually I procrastinate stuff that I don't like doing so I put them off. Since I started this 3 big things, I only focus on 3 things a day and 1 of those 3 things is something I don't like, and the other 2 are things I like.It's reality that there are things we procrastinate but with this gamification, we focus on only 3 things a day and 1 of those things is something we don't like. But that's how we go forward. The other 2 things that you like get to be a reward or a motivation that you only need to do 1 thing you don't like and you usually do it first.Gamifying your to-do list makes you feel more in control of things you need to get done. Doing this makes you feel better and so accomplished.If you want some help about figuring out your priorities, grab my Smart Goals Workbook at femusician.com/goalsLink mentioned in this episode: femusician.com/goals

I rarely talk about products on this podcast and today I am going to talk about UniqCube. It's a great product that can really be used by musicians offline or online and will make us stand-out. CEO Anna Sedleniece will talk about its benefits and how it has helped musicians stand out during their gigs. I heard about UniqCube from Wade Hutton on the Six Minute Music Podcast, went to their website and I thought this is really cool! This is a product that is great to use for your branding, can be used for gifts to family members or friends and other applications for various events and purposes. You can check how this product looks like on our website, femusician.com and search for Episode 214 or on femusician.com/cube. If you decide to purchase it, you can also use my discount code "BREE".  UniqCube was founded in 2016 and the product itself was originally created as a home decor. It's basically a cube with a light inside. Since it's a cube, it has six sides which you can personalize and DIY online. Originally, it was not really intended for musicians until record companies started ordering them for marketing purposes. The product design is minimalist so your DIY design really stands out. You can choose to put your photos, logos, website address, social media handle, upcoming albums or releases and so on -- the design ideas are limitless! This is a great way to use offline to promote your merch and also for online promotion.One way to use it is when you're live streaming. It's a great way to catch people's attention so that when they are scrolling on their phones, they will get visually attracted by the cube and will notice your live. Also, because of its size, the cube is easy to bring from one gig to another. The price is affordable as well for start-up musicians.Benefits of UniqCubeGreat way to market yourself and your brandHelps you stand out in a livestream or offline eventEach of the six sides of the cube can be personalizedAffordableMinimalist so your own design really stands outSmall enough to be conveniently brought from one event to anotherCan be used as a unique gift idea for holidays and eventsYou can check them out at femusician.com/cube and use code "BREE" to get 10% off.Link mentioned in this episode: femusician.com/cube

My friend, Chris SD, from Sync Songwriter will talk all about sync licensing -- all the ins and outs, all you need to know, all the different ways you can get licensed, how you can build relationships in the business and how to get more of your music licensed. Be ready to get excited about sync placements just like how Chris is so passionate about it. He is bringing 5 of his music supervisor friends on a virtual panel this October 11th so you can learn inside tips directly from them. Join us on this free workshop at femusician.com/chris. Chris started as a touring indie musician in Canada. The band parted ways then he got into music production and working in different roles with bigger artists and won some awards. He was then given the opportunity to move to LA for work. After his wife got pregnant, he yearned to spend more time with his daughter instead of being in the studio for 12-14 hours a day. He thought about moving his work online which he did, then he started getting inquiries about sync licensing. He previously had a similar job in Canada and so he started connecting with music supervisors in the US. So now his job is connecting indie artists with music supervisors for television and film. There is so much great music from indie artists but they lack relationship with the right people in the industry. When Chris was working with indie artists in Canada, he did notice that the indie artists were just as good as the bigger artists except that they do not have the managers and labels to push them. When Chris started doing sync licensing, he didn't know anything about it. He thought having the connections was enough so he did all the mistakes. He sent the wrong music or sent it at the wrong time and did the wrong approach. By talking with music supervisors and learning more about the behind the scenes, he cracked the code about sync licensing and helped people do that. After teaching people, he brought them infront of the music supervisors and let them build that relationship themselves. Here are other important things Chris shared:Types of Payments from Sync LicensingWhen your music if played on TV or film, you got performance fees from your PRO. Sync Fee - lump of cash to license your music from the productionRoyalties - Everytime that show airs, you get royalties for that. You can have one song playing in more than one show and you can get a lot of royalties for that.Typical Ways to Submit Your Music for Sync LicensingPay-to-submit sites (ex. Songtradr, Broadjam, TAXI)Non-exclusive Music LibrariesExclusive Music LibrariesLicensing AgentsTips on Sync LicensingMusic supervisors prefer songs that was written from the heart rathen that music written specifically for sync.There's no way to submit a demo. Whatever you submit has to be the final mix that is played.Your songs also need to be cleared ahead of time and fully and legally authorized to be used in the show.When you get yourself a placement, you have to be ready. You will get a lot of attention but that is fleeting. You need to capitalize that moment. You need to make sure your music is out there and people can find your music and find out who you are. Having your lyrics on your website also helps in a big way so people can search you just by your lyrics.The ultimate way of getting your music into TV and film is developing relationships and your reputation with the actual people who play the music.Chris will be having an amazing event on October 11th at 11 AM Pacific Time where he brings 5 music supervisors and hear all the behind the scenes of sync licensing so you can see a road map on how you can get your music into TV and film. To join, go to femusician.com/chris and register for free.Link mentioned in this episode: femusician.com/chris

Cristina Ibarra from Women's Audio Mission is going to share with us how they are getting women and girls more involved in the areas of creative technology, audio and STEM. Right now, less than 5% of the audio and music we have is created by women. WAM has been able to help over 2000 women per year to be involved in the Creative Audio Arts. They were able to help more women during this pandemic through doing virtual conferences. Go to womensaudiomission.org and check how you can get involved.  Women's Audio Mission (WAM) is based in San Francisco and Oakland, CA. They are a non-profit organization that use music and media to attract over 4000 women, gender non-conforming folks and girls for music, audio and STEM studies. They have the only built-in studio entirely built and run by women and gender non-conforming folks. Audio is a critically underrepresented field and their mission is to amplify voices of women and gender non-conforming folks in this field.My friend, Fett, has been sharing to me how women have been producing but their work is not being highlighted and how girls are not realizing that this is a field they can go into. Through WAM, when they see themselves represented in the studio, in the instructors, on stage and behind the board, they begin to realize that this is a road they can choose to take. The 8th WAMCon is coming up and this has been an iconic way for Women's Audio Mission to take their mission and community to tap into existing communities. There is such a need for this and this is why they are figuring out how to push it further and reach out to more people in 10 countries using virtual.  They offer a membership program for $40/year for professionals and $30/year for students. With that, you get access to courses, access to the job board and get to work with our great community. The gap between equity inclusion and the challenge is now moving from conversations about that gap to actual change. WAM's mission is being part of the conversation. We have to keep going to push that change and make a difference.If you'd like to know more about membership or events of WAM, find us at womensaudiomission.org. They are also on social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. WAMCon is coming on October 23rd and 24th and it's a fantastic way to drop in and get some fantastic workshops. They'll also have 3 top engineers talk about their journeys followed by a whole day of workshops.Link mentioned in this episode: womensaudiomission.org

We love to compare ourselves and the things we have with others. Feelings that we don't like what we have or what we achieved and we prefer what others have instead can be crippling. These thoughts can hold us back from fulfilling our purpose. We have to overcome this and it's not at all easy. In our free Facebook group, Female Indie Musicians Community, Community Managers Beth Matthew and Cayla Brooke did a live about this. If you need a place where people understand you and will support you, go to woscommunity.com and join our group.Comparing ourselves with others is a learned behavior that has been passed on from generation to generation. Everybody deals with comparison and is an unfortunate part of life. With the pandemic, it's more difficult more than ever. It's easier to compare ourselves with other women who we might think are doing better than us.It all comes down to authenticity and the power that we have as women. We must understand our power as individuals. We all have our individual strengths and individual power. Mary Ann Williamson says that we serve no one by hiding our light. We need to start hearing our own voice and understanding our inner strength as women. Our thoughts that we are not good as others affect our actions and our lives. We should accept ourselves. For Cayla, her trauma came from abuse and abandonment from her family. This translated to her comparing herself to those people who have families. She found herself looking longingly at other people with families and asking herself why nobody loves her. She felt abandoned and worthless. She was in that spiral of negative thoughts and emotions for ten years. She lost the prime of her life because of that. When she came out of it, she no longer chose to allow her circumstances to steal away her joy, her power, her life, her strength and her purpose. It is normal to feel those feelings but we should not allow ourselves to stay in them and be controlled by them. We cannot compare our beginnings with somebody else's end game. Comparing should be something that propels us to become better. We should stop it whenever we have negative comparisons in our heads.Becoming aware of our triggers help us avoid that inner critic. Beth grew up in a loving family but she also experienced some emotional and verbal abuse. It affected her in a way that she became more compassionate. However, it allowed her to put up with more than what she should have and did not allow her to have firm boundaries. When she pursued her music career, battling that inner critic showed its ugly head and gave her thoughts like, "Who do you think you are?, Why were you qualified?" There were a lot of hard things in her family and she learned to hide her authentic self. She remembers being bullied during childhood and that has really affected her. She also experienced infertility in her marriage and she battled with that before too. She compared herself with others but eventually realized that there was a different plan for her which is adoption. Social media also triggers that inner critic. We should set healthy boundaries in our lives and in our minds.As you continue to grow, aim to be the best version of yourself. Don't beat yourself up when you sometimes fall back into that inner critic and into that spiral. Be aware that your happiness does not come from others but from yourself. Sometimes, we put too much pressure on our loved ones to give us happiness but that is not fair to them. We should accept that our happiness should come from ourselves. Even in social media, people can tell if we are authentic. They care less about what we look like than what we are truly about. We should learn to accept and love ourselves. Do not mind how others might react to you, shine your own light, feed your soul and continue to grow as a person.When thoughts of the inner critic show up, remember the little light. What's most important is you let your light shine, not the thoughts that get into your head. It's our thoughts that hold us back. Circumstances happen and that brings thoughts and feelings that cause us to hide our true selves. If we could change and re-orient what we think the circumstance means, that can change the way we feel about it and what we end up doing. If we can be mindful of those things and make the choice to change those thoughts and actions, we can shine our light no matter what has happened in our past.Link mentioned in this episode: woscommunity.com

I'm glad to have Tara B back on the show. I met her in 2015 and she has been a partner in the Academy since then. She has her own courses and trainings. She knows a lot about booking and has always been scrappy and proactive. Since she has the same experience as everyone else this year, I know she will share a lot of insights when it comes to booking in 2020.Tara has an upcoming event called 3 Days to Book Like A Boss from September 29th, 2020. Being in these types of challenges is a great way to keep you accountable and keep you going on your booking. Go to femusician.com/tara and sign up for her free challenge.2020 has been crazy for musicians especially about booking. Tara previously had 10-12 gigs a month and due to the pandemic, she experienced 50% cancellations. How was she able to bring in income during the pandemic? First, she started calling people right away to offer virtual concerts. Second, she explored different ways of virtual events. She believes there are ways in the midst of hardship.Tara's Tips on BookingsBuild and maintain relationships with the people in venues. How we are connecting or approaching people in the venues is important. Make sure that you're in a relationship with places you have events on so that when you contact them in the future you can easily offer bookings (in person or virtual). She called venues and asked if there is a possibility of doing a virtual gig or even an in-person event.Have the right mindset. Mindset is also very important before we approach opportunities for bookings. An approach I learned from Beth Matthew is that before you make booking calls, sit down and sing a song to remind you how much you like it and put you in the mood. Also, when you get turned down or feel frustrated, make sure to vent out only when you're off the phone or email.Don't think of the person doing the booking with as your enemy. In reality, venues are struggling in this situation, too, so they're not the enemy. Try to think of how you can come together and find solutions. They're just people too who are trying to make a living for their family.Remind yourself how much value you can bring to people. Get out of that negative spiral. There is still a lot of preparation and energy you put into a virtual show so make sure to put the right pricing for yourself.How Bookings Changed in 2020New things opened up. Big names and even shows like The Voice are doing virtual now. Facebook Live, Instragram Live, YouTube, Pre-recorded Concerts on YT, Zoom meetings, Twitch, Sessions Live -- there are just so many choices now. Online events are now normalized. So many people are used to it now, even going to church is now done online.There are now so many ways to get tip jars online like Venmo, Paypal, Cash App, Zelle, etc. Allow people to give you gratitude to give you the gift of money to support you.Some venues are closing down due to the pandemic but some venues that previously didn't have bookings are now opening up. There are definitely people who are going to find solutions and who value music so don't assume that they do not want to work with you.Diversifying Income for TaraI have always been stressing the point of diversifying your income. How has Tara dealt with losing 50% of her income through cancellation of events during the onset of the pandemic? She did have other income streams such as teaching private lessons for piano and voice. She was even able to get more students. Airgigs and Fiverr among others. You do need to set up equipment for offerings you can do on these platforms. However, it is now much easier and cheaper to have a home studio set up as compared to before and there are free apps you can use too.Online courses also bring in income. You can teach whatever you are good at online.Affiliate marketing. You can promote products on your website and get a percentage from it.Always look at possibilities. There are always people who are going to give up and those are who are going to find ways. Let us be a part of those that bring solutions. Think about what alternatives you can offer and be that go to person that they want to book.How 3 Days to Book Like A Boss will be different this yearA. Learn how to approach people and how you are going to say itB. Learn about pricingC. Dig in and find ways to get gigs during 2020Go to femusician.com/tara and sign up. It will start on September 29, 2020. I highly recommend it.Link mentioned in this episode: femusician.com/tara

I did a similar episode back in 2015 and I've gotten a number of feedbacks from artists who were really glad they followed my advice and released their holiday CDs. I thought it was time to have an update about this in relation to the present time. Since we are in September, I want to give you 10 reasons why you should consider releasing an album, a single or an EP this year.In relation to this, you might also want to check out my free masterclass, "How to Confidently Plan and Execute Your Next Release Without Feeling Overwhelmed or Regretting Missed Opportunities". You can find it at rockyournextrelease.com. Here are 10 Reasons Why You Should Do a Holiday EP in 2020:#1 - 2020 needs a little bright spot.Terrible things have happened and is still happening this year. With a holiday release, you can allow yourself and other people to take your minds off all these things and give you joy.#2 - You can do this from home.In 2011, I recorded my whole album at home for 2 months and got it out for Christmas so I know this can be done. During this time, we're already home so why not use that to create an album? You have more time to do this now and technology is cheaper nowadays. You can either do this on your own or find someone you trust who has a home studio and can help. #3 - Holiday music is much easier to record especially if you're doing some cover songs.I found an arrangement for one of the songs I included in my album for $60 online.#4 - You can create a fun event around your release.Some places are opening up for events so there may be some opportunities for you do some events during the holidays. If not, you can do an online release party and the good thing is people are much used to these types of online events by now. #5 - Spotify allows you to get free promotion. Having holiday music on Spotify allows you to get more followers through this platform. #6 - Having followers allows Spotify to promote all your music to these people. You can then also find some Spotify playlists to get your songs featured on. #7 - Holiday CDs make such great gifts.#8 - It's great to invest in holiday merch.Since people have not seen them for some time, holiday merch always seem new. It never feels old and always seems fresh.#9 - Holiday music can help you create a new program that you can pitch.I created a program when I released my album, "Gift Beneath the Star". People are always looking for programs during the holidays to use for their events. The program makes it more interesting when you pitch it to people.#10 - Holiday songs are a fresh new way to promote yourself every year.Holiday music is almost always new news every single year unlike other songs or releases which eventually feels tired and old after some point.I hope you guys take my advice and do this. We will be having our Holiday Series on the Women of Substance Podcast as we do every year. We'll be taking original song submissions this year between October 1st and November 10th, 2020. We would love to consider your songs for the show.If you'll be releasing music, I highly recommend my workshop that will provide you chock-full of great ideas at rockyournextrelease.comLink mentioned in this episode: rockyournextrelease.com

I'm excited to be recording this podcast in my new remote office in Maine. We currently have one desktop which I use for my podcast and my husband also uses to teach his students. Good thing he works in the evening. I also have to balance looking after my kids, especially my 11 year old.If you need help in planning and prioritizing things, you can check my Smart Goals Workbook which you can download at femusician.com/goalsBeth Matthew and Cayla Brooke, our Community Managers from Female Musician Academy will share how they balance their lives during this time.Beth shared about having focused time with no distractions. She works for 25 minutes then takes a 5-minute break and literally gets away from her computer, making sure she does something else and not spend time on her phone screen instead. What she does is called the Pomodoro technique. Those blocks of time are called Pomodoros. There are apps out there that tell you when a Pomodoro is over and when it's time to take a break. This works most for people that have a hard time focusing. Cayla talks about some days that felt like managing their business became a total grind but during this time of the pandemic, she is now so thankful for that income. I love how she talks how having gratitude can allow you to be more productive. Having a lot on our plate such as running a business, writing a book, doing speaking engagements, Cayla found that organizing her time is very important. Prior to that, she thought that she had to work really hard in order to get anywhere. She also had the mentality that if somebody else is working and you are not working, that somebody is going to beat you to the goal since they are working and you are not. She realized that it was a dangerous path and we have to realize that it's not all about work. I totally agree with Cayla and that is one reason why we decided to stay here during this time in Maine. Cayla also talks about organizing using her planner. In relation to what Beth mentioned about the Pomodoro, Cayla does some of her chores during her breaks so technically, she still uses those breaks productively. Since she is old-fashioned, she still loves using her Passion Planner. She loves doing a big brain dump and then figure out what she needs to do in chunks. She suggests that you take a look at your life and figure out what you can do to have time for yourself while doing all the important stuff. Like for example, she pays to have somebody do her meal plans for her but that in turn allows her to have more time for more important stuff on her list. She also bought an iRobot to clean her house for her. So for Cayla, doing that has value. One other thing is doing the task part by part during the Pomodoro breaks allow you to finish a task that could have otherwise occupied your whole weekend. Anything you can delegate, automate, plan in little chunks so you can have more time in your life and allow you to get your life back and enjoy it, is worth it.I, too, outsource a lot of chores at home to others or my family. Be kind to yourself so you can show up for things only you can do and delegate the rest. Beth does her own chores and she agrees with Cayla that it is best to do it in small chunks so that it won't get overwhelming. She shares a quote from Steven Cotler, "If we are hunting the highest version of ourselves, then we need to turn work into play and not the other way around. Unless we invert this equation, much of our capacity for intrinsic motivation starts to shut down much of our passion." For those who are working, due to the current situation, everyone else is at home and we may feel that we are actually working all the time. It's a good motivation that if you are productive and did a good job, you will get rewarded for that. Cayla and Beth both agree that doing similar tasks in batches allow you to get them done faster rather than doing one each day or so. You also avoid feeling that you are working all of the time. A good example of such tasks are scheduling emails or creating social media graphics for your business.Aside from using an old-fashioned Passion Planner, Cayla shared about using an online tool which imports the regular things that you do into a calendar.Batching, planning, organizing and basically putting structure into your day to day activities allow you to have more time for yourself and your goals.We should also have a "Stop Doing" list so we can be aware and remove those activities and people that waste our time. Good examples are watching too much television or social media. Once we learn how to do that, we can instead spend that time being more productive and doing something that gives us more energy.Perfectionism can also cause a waste of time. We need to get started instead of just thinking about it. We also need to figure out when we are most productive. If you are more energetic in the morning, you can do more work including the hard stuff during that time. On the time of day you feel less energetic, you can do other things that need less energy from yourself.Morning and evening routines are also important. For Cayla, her morning routine starts her day off well. She also has an evening routine to help her shut down well. When she wakes up late, she still makes sure she does a mini-version of her morning routine.She also plans her week every Sunday. She has her main works and needle mover stuff. Needle mover are little things that allow you to progress your bigger goals. Each day, she schedules 3 main works and 1 needle mover. She also gives herself time for small things that allow her to be happy -- like draw, take pictures, call a friend and other small things that make you feel good. Consciously taking some time for yourself and the little things you want to do allows you to feel better and happier about yourself. In turn, that makes you feel more energized for your work too. You can join our very cool Facebook group which has been named one of the top Facebook groups for musicians. Just go to Facebook and look up "Female Indie Musicians Community". Don't forget to also get my Smart Goals Workbook at femusician.com/goals.Links mentioned in this episode: femusician.com/goals

Amy Barbera has been strategically connecting with people she has been submitting music to. And when she was winning competitions, she was utilizing that to get more publicity and bring her fans on board. I met Amy through the Women of Substance Podcast when she submitted her music. If you are interested to get on our show where we can promote you through our different social channels and our listeners, you can leverage that exposure to show your fans that you are doing something fun and also get to rally your existing fans to share it. You can also connect with other artists who are featured on the show and possibly collaborate with them. If you want to submit to our Review Board, you can do so at www.wosradio.comIt all started when Amy was in elementary school. Though she lacked confidence, Amy joined a talent show where she won money by singing "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. That made her feel that music could be her destiny. Eventually, she joined a choir and musical theater while in college.When she was young, she had anorexia. Through healing, she realized she had to move out of Maryland to seek for opportunities to pursue her passion. She already knew that time that her calling was singing and music. She went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida. In that place, she also found a local church. The pastor in that church immediately told her she was to be a lead singer and that started her musical journey.She only started vocal training in her twenties. Back in Maryland when she was young, she developed vocal chord nodules when she was a cheerleader and had undergone surgery. All her vocal teachers said it was a miracle that she sings the way she does even after that.Amy knows her calling was to reach people with her original music. Her message through her music is mainly about God's hope, healing, love, grace and other inspirationals like nature and pursuing your dreams. She does not feel the need to stick to the usual genres. She's not afraid to explore other music styles outside of her genre as well. Before the lockdown happened, she did shows with her mom on her Youtube channel. During the lockdown, she was able to slow down, take much-needed rest and became more active in Youtube doing home videos to let people hear her message. Amy advises to step out of the box and stretch to an area you are not that familiar with as an artist. She invested in doing videos over the years and she has submitted them for competitions. Two years ago, she released an album called "Make Me a Butterfly". Her friend, Robynn, used one of her songs, "Breath of Angels" to close out her short film, "You're Never Alone". She was the one who told Amy about Filmfreeway where she can submit songs and music videos. This outlet has thousands of festivals all over the world and this is where she won a bronze medal for the Global Music Awards and got good reviews and wins for other such competitions. She has gotten a lot of exposure due to joining different international competitions. She also creates promo videos and gets a lot of support from her fans. Even if she doesn't win in some of the competitions she joins, she does get other awards like people's choice and is otherwise happy to get nominated. Winning awards has opened a lot of doors for her. People have reached out wanting to work with her and interview her. It also helped build up her credibility. The Global Music Awards is recognized as music's golden seal of approval and they also have affiliations with other big companies. Even big movies are in Filmfreeway. It's an avenue that opened a lot of opportunities for her. It really helps that through this, even during the Coronavirus she has something great to look forward to.Aside from joining competitions, she also promotes her music even behind the scenes so when judges check her videos they are able to see the views. Her attitude is, even if the song has been released, there are still millions of people in the world that haven't heard it. For example, when she has a new follower on Instagram, she sends them a private message introducing herself and encouraging them with a link to her music. Through that, she has gotten some radio interviews among other stuff. She loves doing this apart from doing Filmfreeway.If you want to connect with Amy Barbera, you can find her online at www.amybarbera.com. She is also on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Reverbnation among others -- just look for her name, Amy Barbera.Links mentioned in this episode: www.wosradio.com and www.amybarbera.com

Motherhood was something central to my music career. I only started pursuing it after I had a 2-year old. I experienced a lot of what my guest, Rachel Mason, will talk about in regards to balancing a thriving music career and being a mom. I would love you to join our Female Musician Academy. The first step is to join my free masterclass on www.musiciansprofitpath.comRachel Mason is a jill-of-all-trades and has helped many people internationally. She has always loved music and song since she was around 4 years old. She has a condition similar to Tori Amos called synesthesia wherein apart from hearing music, she can see it as colours and taste it too. Music has always been a part of her life. She studied it in school and took up classical music in University during the day and at night, she wrote music in the studio. Recently, she took up Masters in Songwriting. After University, she taught voice to students. Although she loved pop, she took up Classical Music since that was the one available in their schools. She felt her voice did not belong in usual genres so she created her own path where she does belong. One time, she had an admin job that she hated. She contacted all the local schools to see if they needed a music teacher. Eventually she found a school that took her and she was able to quit the job she didn't like. She eventually needed to set up a local group for the school and from there, she and her friends set up Euphoria Show Choir. Since show choirs were not common in the UK during that time, that venture opened a lot of doors for her, which included being invited outside of the country for judging choirs.On top of all that, she also manages independent musicians. She won a competition for self-employed people in the UK as "Freelancer of the Year". It was tough competition but the judges loved that she was so diverse and she's come through really difficult things. She works with independent musicians who do not know how to start and she is like their mom who motivates them and support them in their journey. She manages the artists but it is more of mentorship that she provides. If the publicity side is doing really good and the artist feels ready, that is where she prefers to come into her management. Being a mom of little kids, she is grateful to have a good support network that includes her husband, her parents who live nearby plus her sister and her husband. She can be home with her children during the day and does her teaching in the evening. She avoided going abroad too much since that upsets them. She takes it step-by-step since there is no real blueprint for being a working mom. She loves writing for herself and collaborating with other people. She is aware that there are some things she is good at and there are some that she is not and that other person may complement it. Aside from that, she also records music and she did one with her 3-year old.She is also a patron of a Mental Health foundation. She struggled so much going through motherhood, having post-partum psychosis (also known as postnatal depression). Eventually, she admitted to herself that there was a problem and she sought treatment. It's really good that she got the support and treatment she needed and eventually recovered. She also used songwriting to cope with how she felt whenever she was depressed. That makes her really passionate about her company, Lyrical Light. Everyone is welcome to join the group, not necessarily songwriters or singers only. I previously thought I had to give up being a mom after I had a child. You do not. Rachel agrees that it's a difficult balance but it's rewarding. You can have it all just at different points and times. She has a number of income streams she keeps. Her main one is teaching which she does at home which includes teaching choirs. She's had to do the classes virtually during this time. Aside from that, she writes songs and does commission work for choirs and other outlets. She also writes articles for different magazines and does public speaking. Just like Rachel, I always encourage musicians to have 5 or 6 income streams that you build up so that no matter what is happening in the world, you still have something to tap into. There's a lot of opportunities online now which allows us to participate in events outside of our location and still stay in the safety of your home.You can find Rachel on her website at rachelmasonmusic.com, on her Instagram @rachelmasonmusic, her Facebook Rachel Mason Music and twitter @iamrachelmason.Links mentioned in this episode: www.musiciansprofitpath.com and rachelmasonmusic.com