Female Entrepreneur Musician with Bree Noble

What do you do when your music goals just aren’t inspiring you? When you look at that to do list, you get this heavy feeling, or you have a knot in the pit of your stomach, or maybe you just want to run away. You might start to think,  “Maybe I really don’t want this music career as much as I thought I did. Because if I did, I’d be so excited to tackle my goals. I would jump out of bed every day ecstatic to work on music. Is this just a slump? Or is there something else going on?” Your Music Goals And Your Journey If you’re feeling this way, you’re definitely not alone. I want you to know that this is very common. All of us musicians go through periods like this. When you have lofty music goals, when you have goals that are really important and integral to following your calling and your life’s purpose, you are going to have these periods of feeling disconnected with those goals. Maybe it’s because you’re just tired of the grind. Is it because you’ve got all these shiny objects around you that you think you should be focusing on. It’s totally normal when you have a very big goal to want to run away from it, especially if you’re getting close to that breakout point. It feels scary when you’re about to do something that’s far out of your comfort zone. If it’s going to take you to the next level, it probably feels a little or even a lot uncomfortable. Staying Consistent with Music Goals But sometimes it’s just the grind of consistency. If we really want to accomplish something, we have to work super hard to stay consistent at it. Remember when you first started learning how to play an instrument, how to sing properly or to write songs? You had to do a lot of work in that area. And some of it wasn’t fun. A lot of it took time when you felt like you were kind of spinning your wheels. So know that it is always part of the game. There are always ups and downs. And you will experience super high highs and sometimes super low lows. That is just part of the journey. When It’s Hard I remember when I was in college and I was performing with the school’s ensemble. We used to go out on weekends and perform all over Southern California, sometimes even Northern California. For me, academics were very important. I was getting a double major so I had a lot of work to do. And I could have just decided to toss these academic goals aside to focus on music, because that’s what was taking a lot of time for me. But I didn’t. I figured out how to do them both at the same time even though it was hard. I remember times where I was doing homework in the van late at night with a flashlight on the way home from a gig. Often I had to go find a quiet place in between gigs or when we were doing a soundcheck for somebody besides me and just get some reading done because I had very limited time. So just know, if that’s the kind of thing you’re going through right now, that is totally normal. But if you feel like it’s something else, if you feel like you’ve been super consistent, and you’ve been very steadfast, and you felt good about it for a long time, but now there’s just something going on, I’ve got an idea of what it might be. Measuring Your Music Goals When I’m feeling really disconnected from my goals and really out of alignment, the reason is usually that I am using the wrong measure of success. Now don’t get me wrong. I do think it’s important to measure whether our music goals are successful. We need to have a metric for that. But a lot of times you’re using the wrong metrics. You’re probably using vanity metrics. Vanity metrics are things like how many Facebook likes you have. How many Instagram followers do you have? How many Twitter followers on your account? How many email subscribers do you have? How many people are showing up at your shows? Now, I’m not saying those aren’t important metrics. They absolutely are. But when it comes down to it, when you’re feeling stuck and unmotivated, those are just numbers. They aren’t something that are going to fuel you forward. How You Should Measure Your Music Success Where can you get the motivation you need to keep going? What should you be using as a metric to measure your music goals? I say the best metric, especially when you’re feeling a little bit in a slump or not excited, is engagement of your fans. Measure in the times when people come up to you after shows and want to talk to you and tell you how much that song that you did or that story that you told really touched them. They explain how it reminded them of a time in their life. Think about the people sending you direct messages on Instagram telling you how much they love your new single and how they shared it with a friend. Consider those times when people come up to the merch table and want to buy not just one CD, but two. They want to take one home for themselves to remember the fantastic experience they had. But they also want to take one home for their friend because they weren’t able to make it and they wanted them to have even a bit of the experience that they did at your show. And then there are those amazing emails that you get. I got a few of these recently that got me thinking about what really fuels me towards my goals. These emails say something like, “what you said on that video, or what you said in your song was exactly what I needed to hear today.” Staying Motivated You need to save these emails. Create a special folder for that. Go back and read them when you’re feeling like maybe you want to give up. Read them when you fear you’re not as serious about your music goals as you thought because it feels hard and it feels like maybe you’re just not that excited about it. That’s when you open up those emails and you remember the feeling that you had when you first read them. These metrics help remind you what you are doing is having an impact on people. We are not just creating music for the sake of creating music. We are making a better world because of our music and because of our message. Don’t ever forget that. Let that light a fire under you to achieve your music career goals. How To Improve Those Metrics Are you getting the kind of engagement that I was just talking about? If not, I want to invite you to come to my free masterclass at www.musiciansprofitpath.com. I will teach you how to attract your 1,000 true fans without wasting valuable time and money on the wrong marketing techniques. So go over to www.musiciansprofitpath.com and register for free now.

As a musician, you always have so much to do to work toward music success. Your mind is constantly juggling priorities. Whether it’s booking your next tour, engaging with your fans online, writing new music, or marketing your new EP,, it can seem like you never have any time to take a breath. You may even have those days where you’re ready to throw in the towel and give up on your music career altogether.  But let me ask you a question. When in your life have you reached success without being a little stressed, frustrated or overwhelmed?  Seriously, I want you to name one area of your life that you’ve achieved excellence without experiencing any of those emotions. For example, academic achievement, building a strong marriage, raising kids, mastering a sport or talent. Most things in life that are worth doing aren’t easy and the journey involves a lot of ups and downs. And when you’re doing something difficult, you’re hard-wired to have negative emotions, especially if you’re doing something really important to you, like working to achieve music success. But what separates stressed-out musicians from successful Indie artists? It’s simply how they deal with those emotions.  The Vicious Cycle of Stressed-Out Musicians You see, where most stressed-out musicians work is from a place of negative emotions and fear. They see their list of to-dos and without even planning out how they can be as efficient as possible with the time they have, they immediately have negative thoughts. “There’s no way I can do all of this. Why should I even bother. With my limited time, I can’t even make a dent in my to-dos. I’m not like all those other musicians with a big team to support them and money to spend.” Without even realizing it, they’re weighing themselves down with tons of negative thoughts, stories and emotions – all of which keep them completely held hostage. This negativity creates a vicious cycle. After all, how are you supposed to make any progress in your music career if you are always stuck, thinking that you can’t do it? That’s like entering a bicycle race and then showing up with 2 flat tires. It’s a broken model. And if you’ve experienced any of this, then you get it. You probably already know how much slower your career is moving when you’re caught in the vicious cycle of frustration and overwhelm that most stressed-out musicians live in.  The Shift That Leads To Music Success But the good news is, the fix is simple. And it may be easier than you think. You just need to shift your thinking and react to these negative emotions like successful musicians do. Instead of looking at that to-do list with fear, look at it with excitement and anticipation, with the perspective that each task is bringing you one step closer to the music career you want. Each task helps you accomplish your goals and achieve the impact you want your music to have on the world. You decided to pursue a career in music for many important reasons. You have unique talent. Your music that needs to be heard. You have a message you are passionate about sharing with others. And each task you do brings you one step closer to making that vision and mission your reality.  So are you going to let your emotions and those cripplling stories you tell yourself keep you from fulfilling your life’s purpose? Or are you going to put yourself in the driver’s seat and harness the power of your emotions and let that fuel your music career forward? And once you’ve gotten your emotions in check, it’s time to tackle that to-do list. But first, let’s make sure everything on that list will actually move you forward. Based on the stage of music career growth you’re in right now, some of the things on your list might actually cost you valuable time and money without moving your closer to your goals. To learn how to know exactly what to put on that to-do list, attend my fee online masterclass at www.musiciansprofitpath.com. Just click the link around this video to register.

There’s a common belief out there that being a mom means you have to put your dreams on hold. A belief that you should prioritize your family over everything else. And when your dream is to be a touring musician, well, that can make following your dreams feel completely out of reach, especially if you have young children. We hear things like: I get it. It’s easy to fall into that belief and give up on our dreams because that’s what society tells us. But if your kids are truly your #1 priority, wouldn’t you want to be the role model who follows their passion. Society doesn’t tell you that. Why don’t they tell you to be the role model who shows their kids that anything is possible? And how much better of a mother do you think you’ll be if you’re filled with passion every single day. Instead of pulling your dreams aside, your children get to go on the journey with you. They’ll get to see first hand what it looks like to fulfill your life’s purpose. And yes, I understand there are mothers out there whose passion is being a mother. It’s mine too, but my passion doesn’t stop there. This isn’t for them. This is for the female musician who is sick and tired of putting her dreams aside and is ready to realize she can be an amazing mother, wife and touring musician all at the same time. I’m not going to tell you that juggling all these identities is easy, because it is not. But it most certainly is possible. It just might look a little different from the traditional touring musician’s path. I started my music career as a mother of a 2 year old. I released my first album and did several mini tours of California during her preschool years.  Instead of leaving her home with a babysitter, I brought one along – my own mom. Not only did my daughter get to spend quality time with Grandma, she got to watch me following my dreams, living out my purpose and sharing my music and stories with people who were excited to hear them.  Instead of bars and venues inappropriate for children, my tours included lots of women’s groups, community organizations, senior groups, fundraisers, large coffee houses, churches and outdoor festivals. Sometimes my daughter even got to participate by helping setup the merch table. Even at 4, she had a great eye for how the table should look.  Working at the merch table allowed her to be involved in my work and to see me interacting with my fans and hear how they were moved my vulnerability in my music and my stories. It showed her the impact you can have when you follow your dreams and live out your purpose. It taught her that a traditional career isn’t the only option and that when she’s a mom, she can be a great mom and continue to follow her dreams too. So if you’ve been putting your music career on hold because you think being a mom means giving up your music dream, I want to show you how you can do both. I map it out in my free workshop at www.musiciansprofitpath.com. If you’re ready to stop putting your music career on hold – Register for the free workshop now. And to hear an interview with a musician mom who was also a touring musician check out my interview with Rebecca Hollweg.

My goal with the Profitable Musician Summit 2019 is to eradicate the starving artist paradigm for good. I realize this is not an easy task. That’s why I not only brought in Music Industry Experts this year, but I also tapped some creative-friendly experts in the financial space. Our mantra for the 2019 Profitable Musician Summit is “Get smart, get profitable, get back to making music.” My partner in this summit venture, Steve Palfreyman of the Music Launch Co, and I want to make this whole “money” thing less of an enigma and more intuitive and systematized so you can get back to the best part of your career – making music. To that end, we chose 33 phenomenal speakers. To join us for the summit, register for free at this link. This episode gives you a sample of 5 of my favorite sessions from some Music Industry heavyweights. Cari Cole Cari Cole is a celebrity vocal coach and A&R consultant.  In her summit session, we talk about how to create a breakthrough release. This process involves artist development, repertoire, finding your signature songs, picking the right producer and more. Making the right decisions when working on your album or EP is crucial to not only spending smarter but also to making the most income from the release. A great release can propel your career to a new level and Cari Cole shows you how to do that during her session. Ari Herstand Ari Herstand is a seasoned musician which years of experience in the trenches. In his session he shares his strategies for how to fill your local shows, conquer the college market and budget for your next release with his 50/50 rule. As the writer of his Ari’s Take blog, he has become know as somewhat of an industry watchdog. Along those lines, in his summit session he explains how the “pay to play” venue model works and how not to get caught up in that trap. Rick Barker Rick Barker was a speaker on our 2018 summit and we asked him back to share his strategies for finding fans, nurturing them, and offering then new and exciting ways to spend money with you. We also talk about unique fan experiences and how artists can maximize the value of each fan by creating a value ladder in both their live offerings and merchandise. Corrin Campbell Corrin Campbell of Indepreneur is a data nerd – in the best kind of way. In her session she explains how to utilize the amazing tools at our disposal today to understand our fans’ behavior and help them to move along the fan discovery journey with us. She breaks it down with plain language that anyone can understand so you won’t be intimidated by experimenting with tools like Facebook Ads. Graham Cochrane Graham Cochrane of the Recording Revolution is a master at helping musicians diversify their income streams so they create the lifestyle they want without fear and hustle. In his session he not only gives you the formula for creating income as a freelancer (whether it’s as a home recording engineer or with another artistic skill), but he also shows you how to build an income portfolio that will allow you to create a career in music that fits your talents and lifestyle. Join Us For The Profitable Musician Summit 2019 If these “sneak peak” snippets from the summit got you curious and excited to hear more from these experts plus 28 other knowledgeable and experienced speakers, then sign up for the Profitable Musician Summit 2019 now. Our live summit starts April 22, 2019 with a live opening party, surprise guests and tons of prizes to give away. Hope to see you there! ABOUT HOST BREE NOBLE Bree Noble is an entrepreneur, musician and speaker. She founded Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres, in 2007.  She launched the Women of Substance Music Podcast in November 2014, a 5 day per week show which promotes Independent female artists. Her podcast has hit #1 in New & Noteworthy for the Music, Arts and Society & Culture categories and #4 Audio Podcast on all of iTunes. She draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and as an Industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians. Learn more about the station, the show and the artists atwww.wosradio.com. Connect with Bree on Twitter @BreeNoble or on Facebook or on Instagram

Is music business management, especially the money part, stressing you out? You’re not alone. Particularly this time of year, you may be scrambling to get your taxes done and realizing that you don’t have a good system for managing your money. Or maybe, you’ve been avoiding music business management and tracking income and expenses completely. If that’s you, ignorance may feel like bliss right now, but I promise it will catch up with you. So in this episode of the podcast, I brought in some experts on music business management, some from the music industry and some from the finance industry, to help. Music Business Management – How To Keep More Of the Money You make Alexis Louis of Growth Group talks about the biggest mistakes she sees with her clients when it comes to music business management, money and taxes. Tiana Clewis of Selah Financial gives some really practical advice on how to decide what is a good investment for your music career and what is just a “want” but not a need. Wade Sutton of Rocket To The Stars gives a great example of a non-negotiable when it comes to investing in your music career. He also explains how to know when it’s time to pull the trigger on making this investment. Nancy Moran of Azalea Music offers some really practical tips on how to save money while touring and how to make sure you’re considering all of your expenses when deciding whether a tour if profitable. And finally you’ll get a little taste of my favorite music business management system, Profit First, from Moshe Amsel of Dreambuilder Financial. You will definitely want to dig into both the Profit First book and his session during the Profitable Musician Summit. And speaking of the Summit, the live online event is happening April 22 – May 1, including full 45-60 minute value-packed sessions from these 5 amazing speakers and 28 more. You can get your free ticket for the  Profitable Musician Summit by clicking this link. ABOUT HOST BREE NOBLE Bree Noble is an entrepreneur, musician and speaker. She founded Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres, in 2007.  She launched the Women of Substance Music Podcast in November 2014, a 5 day per week show which promotes Independent female artists. Her podcast has hit #1 in New & Noteworthy for the Music, Arts and Society & Culture categories and #4 Audio Podcast on all of iTunes. She draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and as an Industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians. Learn more about the station, the show and the artists atwww.wosradio.com. Connect with Bree on Twitter @BreeNoble or on Facebook or on Instagram

Whether you realize it or not, as a musician, you are a music entrepreneur. If you’re wondering what a music entrepreneur is and how to act like one, check out this Podcast Episode. In order to succeed as a music entrepreneur, you first need to acknowledge that working on your business skills is important. I realize that focusing on the business side of music might not come naturally. You might even be resisting learning about business because you think that either you won’t be good at it or that it will hamper your creative side. As a business woman and a creative, you can not only learn the business side, but you can find ways to make it easier, fit more with your personality and gifts and even make it fun. Advice For The Prospective Music Entrepreneur In this episode of the podcast, I talk with several experts about the practical tools and mindset you need to be a successful music entrepreneur. These conversation excerpts are taken from sessions during the Profitable Musician Summit. Graham Cochrane talks about how you can create a business model that serves you and your lifestyle.  It is very common for a music entrepreneur to become burned out and give up their career because they are trying to do everything. Graham teaches strategy over hustle. Randy Chertkow of Make Money With Music explains the process you can use for choosing income streams for your music business model. His method of Tap, Boost & Reduce will help you take full advantage of every income stream and be more profitable. Debra Russell is on a mission to banish the starving artist paradigm. This passionate creative teaches creatives that music business skills are not hard or out of reach. Just like learning your instrument or vocal craft, you can learn the basic business skills you need to be a successful music entrepreneur and even have fun doing it. This is just a sample of the great speakers during the summit. There are 33 total sessions from world-renowned presenters from the Music and Financial Industries. Join us for the Profitable Musician Summit at www.profitablemusiciansummit.com

Are you an artist who has tons of great music ideas but has trouble figuring out a plan for them or suffers from overwhelm? There’s a misconception that having a bunch of great music ideas and actually following through on all of them can be a shortcut to career success. In reality, having too many ideas is actually stopping your music career in its tracks, stealing your time, dividing your focus and keeping you stuck and broke. In this video, I share a process I teach my Academy members, so they can create clarity and maintain momentum in their music career. Your Own Music Ideas Other musicians Ideas Create an inspiration vault Are you overwhelmed? Check out my SMART Goals workbook, which will help you condense all the great ideas you have into 5 goals and create a plan to achieve them in 90 days. Click here to grab your copy.

Suzanne Paulinski, The Rockstar Advocate, and I discuss topics like mindset, goal setting, planning, productivity and habits . Although music goals are approached by Suzanne and I in similar ways, they are still very different. With her background in counseling, she brings a fresh perspective when it comes to setting up and running a music business so musicians can find success without the burnout. This podcast comes just in time for my once yearly Get More Done in Less Time training. Get ready for 2019 by setting up a system for success with 5 days of training that starts December 11th. Sign up here. This episode of the Female Entrepreneur Musician Podcast is brought to you by the FREE Musician’s Profit Path Masterclass. If you are an artist ready to grow your fanbase and expand your income from music, this masterclass is for you. I’ll show you the 5 stages of music career growth and help you gauge where you are now, what you need to focus on and what not to focus on so you’re not wasting time and money. You’ll also learn benchmarks relating to live performing, fanbase growth, social media, recording and more. Free classes are running everyday! Rockstar Advocate Business Getting Over Stumbling Blocks Setting Music Goals Working Through Fear and Resistance @rockstaradvo The Rockstar Advocate Resources ABOUT HOST BREE NOBLE Bree Noble is an entrepreneur, musician and speaker. She founded Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres, in 2007.  She launched the Women of Substance Music Podcast in November 2014, a 5 day per week show which promotes Independent female artists. Her podcast has hit #1 in New & Noteworthy for the Music, Arts and Society & Culture categories and #4 Audio Podcast on all of iTunes. She draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and as an Industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians. Learn more about the station, the show and the artists atwww.wosradio.com. Connect with Bree on Twitter @BreeNoble or on Facebook or on Instagram

Raw, real emotions and struggles inspire pop, gospel, soul artist, Jenn Bostic, to write music that her fans can relate to. Connecting with fans seems to come easy for Jenn Bostic. Her music is unpredictable and she isn’t afraid to follow her heart in the music she creates. In her most recent album, Revival, she openly shared the struggles she faced when chasing her dreams and focuses on the hard work, the pain and the outcome. In a world where playing the highlight reel is mainstream, Jenn isn’t afraid to keep it real as an independent artist. In fact, Revival has nominated her for International Touring Artist of The Year, International Album of The Year and International Song of The Year at the British Country Music Association Awards. This episode of the Female Entrepreneur Musician Podcast is brought to you by the FREE Musician’s Profit Path Masterclass. If you are an artist ready to grow your fanbase and expand your income from music, this masterclass is for you. I’ll show you the 5 stages of music career growth and help you gauge where you are now, what you need to focus on and what not to focus on so you’re not wasting time and money. You’ll also learn benchmarks relating to live performing, fanbase growth, social media, recording and more. Free classes are running everyday! Booking Gigs Connecting with Fans Streams of Income Revival Record jennbostic.com Resources ABOUT HOST BREE NOBLE Bree Noble is an entrepreneur, musician and speaker. She founded Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres, in 2007.  She launched the Women of Substance Music Podcast in November 2014, a 5 day per week show which promotes Independent female artists. Her podcast has hit #1 in New & Noteworthy for the Music, Arts and Society & Culture categories and #4 Audio Podcast on all of iTunes. She draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and as an Industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians. Learn more about the station, the show and the artists atwww.wosradio.com. Connect with Bree on Twitter @BreeNoble or on Facebook or on Instagram

Vicki Ambinder has been a professional in the performance and media arts for almost 40 years, helping musicians and artists deal with common issues around performing live and in the studio. Artist development and performance coach, Vicki Ambinder, works with musicians of all ages, levels and genres to enhance their performing skills in both the studio and on stage and to reach their artistic goals. In addition to working with her clients, Vicki’s extensive knowledge around performance arts makes her a go-to artist development coach and she can be found teaching masterclasses at conferences, camps, festivals, schools and more. This episode of the Female Entrepreneur Musician Podcast is brought to you by the FREE Musician’s Profit Path Masterclass. If you are an artist ready to grow your fanbase and expand your income from music, this masterclass is for you. I’ll show you the 5 stages of music career growth and help you gauge where you are now, what you need to focus on and what not to focus on so you’re not wasting time and money. You’ll also learn benchmarks relating to live performing, fanbase growth, social media, recording and more. Free classes are running everyday! Developing her Business, Practice, and Methodology Artist Development Artistic Preparation Intentional Rehearsal Resources Website Theactorswork.com blog Alan Arkin – An Improvised Life Patti Smith – Just Kids Marcus Samuelson – Yes, Chef Resources ABOUT HOST BREE NOBLE Bree Noble is an entrepreneur, musician and speaker. She founded Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres, in 2007.  She launched the Women of Substance Music Podcast in November 2014, a 5 day per week show which promotes Independent female artists. Her podcast has hit #1 in New & Noteworthy for the Music, Arts and Society & Culture categories and #4 Audio Podcast on all of iTunes. She draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and as an Industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians. Learn more about the station, the show and the artists atwww.wosradio.com. Connect with Bree on Twitter @BreeNoble or on Facebook or on Instagram