Working With The Right People
As an entrepreneur or business owner, working with the right people can be hard to find. You want to make sure you're making the best business decision possible with minor setbacks. The goal of any successful business is to keep making steps forward. I’ve learned over the years, as an independent artist, this is one of the toughest things to do. Artists are an entrepreneur because your brand is your business unless it’s considered a hobby. You must first create the foundation, trust other’s ideas, and understand when it’s time to part ways.
Creating The Foundation
The first step in finding the right people is creating the foundation. Making the music is easy, but getting a team behind your dream and vision is a tough task to accomplish. No one really understands your direction better than you, but you have to create that clear line of transparency. I've found this allows individuals to listen and ask questions to better their understanding. Whether you’re looking for skilled or non-skilled individuals, the choice is up to you. Either way, in order to run a successful reign, the machine has to be oiled and functioning on one accord.
Trust Other’s Ideas
Next, you must be open to trusting other’s ideas. You've created this team and built the foundation, now it’s time to put objectives into play. Every idea you think, may not be the best, and someone on the team may have a more successful way of approach. One thing I know about trusting your team is that when you empower them with their own idea, you will maximize their efforts. I try not to push my team from making decisions, but I encourage every idea that makes good business sense. The music industry is all about being creative, and the world is full of creative people with different perspectives. I strongly suggest trusting other’s ideas because this can make or break a team.
Knowing When To Part
Parting ways are often the next hardest thing to do with anyone. Whether it’s being in a relationship, outgrowing friends or leaving a job. No matter how much I do it, it never gets easier. I find myself struggling with this all the time. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but it can tarnish the team. There are some people that just don’t work well with others, you’re only as strong as your team. Therefore, parting ways with people who are not performing, being unethical or tarnishing the brand must be dealt with immediately. The longer you hold on to a bad seed, the plant will never grow.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, finding the right people is an extremely hard task in and out of daily operations. The steps for creating the foundation, trusting other’s ideas and knowing when to part is crucial. I think about how successful companies like Apple and Microsoft would be if they didn't follow any of these steps. I find the concept and philosophy to be the same when it comes to an independent artist in the music industry. Growth is key and growth cannot happen without consistently finding the right people to work with. I know and can tell you for a fact, this will not happen tomorrow or overnight, this takes time! Whether it’s for a lifetime or for a season, you'll see there's a beauty in the process of finding the right people to work with.