Whether you want to promote events, start a record label or DJ agency, run a website, radio show or magazine, or anything else in the scene, the following tips should help you get started. Only you know what you uniquely have to give. Don't be afraid to step up, learn some new skills and make something happen. Once someone takes the lead, people are likely to follow and come along for the ride.
Whether you want to promote events, start a record label or DJ agency, run a website, radio show or magazine, or anything else in the scene, the following tips should help you get started. Only you know what you uniquely have to give. Don't be afraid to step up, learn some new skills and make something happen. Once someone takes the lead, people are likely to follow and come along for the ride. If you have a passion or desire to see something happen, or if you wish something could happen and you don't know where to start, why not do some soul-searching and see what God may have for you? Remember God never sent Isaiah until he said, "Here am I. Send me!" The following tips are divided into general subcategories and all concepts apply to just about any type of project you may carry out.
MINISTRY:
1. Put God first. "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain." (Psalm 127:1) If it’s about you, you'll fail. If you're doing this for God, let Him take control, give Him the glory, and you'll succeed. Even if only two people showed up at an event they may give their hearts to the Lord.
2. Prayer. You can start a ministry and struggle to get noticed... or you can spend two hours in prayer each day, and find people walking up to you asking how they can help (divine appointments). Every revival movement begins with people seeking the face of God. Commit yourself to a lifestyle of prayer and your ministry will be effective in time. Prayer and obedience are a supernatural combination. So are prayer and faith.
3. Get ready. Get knowledge in the field you wish to work in, and if possible get experience working for others first. You can learn from books, the Internet, career centers, courses, networking seminars, or from professionals. Learn leadership ability; learn to organize people and projects, and any other skills you may need to learn. Prepare yourself spiritually, through consistent prayer and reading the Bible, to walk in Christ-likeness.
4. Find support. If you go where fish are thick, you'll catch more fish. Show up often and network everywhere people might be who might be interested in your project. That may mean churches, young adults groups, music schools, networking events, DJ pools, industry events, festivals, concerts, etc.
5. Meet the need. Look for your opportunity. Find a need and fill it. If there are too many DJs, maybe what you need is not just another DJ but someone to coordinate a service to serve all the DJs, and get more gigs all around for everyone including yourself. Be creative. Look for what's missing and fill that need. You can achieve success this way, because what you have will be in demand. If you establish your own club night or record label, and create opportunities for others as well as yourself, it will keep you in continual contact with others in the scene, and establish you more permanently in the scene, rather than waiting for the phone to ring hoping for gigs. Likewise if you have a radio show where you can spin others' new music, or a website with events listings, you may soon find yourself a leader moving the scene forward. As for your audience, if the fastest way into their hearts is to meet their deepest needs, then look deep inside, and find out just what it is that you have that they really need. That may be your message. As an artist you may become like a friend to them, as you share your experiences from your heart, and reach out in compassion with words they understand.
6. You are the message. Who you are will be the lasting impression you leave. The quality of your work, attitude, and people with you will affect how people perceive you. Learn what you can from others who are doing what you want to do well. Have an attitude of excellence, and a heart for God and people.
LEADERSHIP:
7. Know who you are. Stay in touch with your soul. Your personality will show in everything you do. Know what makes you different from the competition. Be confident, step up and be a leader worth following. Know your strengths and weaknesses, and focus on your strengths, get help in your weaknesses. Take initiative and make things happen. Be creative. Try new things sometimes. Don't be afraid to be different and on the cutting edge as long as you maintain quality. Keep your vision clear and focused. Enjoy the process. Always keep learning and growing. Read books on leadership and business to expand your mind and hone your skills. Be strong but remain humble. Be a man or woman not of too much talk but of action and consistency in word and deed. Ask questions in situations where you need to learn more. Learn to make decisions, keep your perspective, and execute well thought out ideas and plans through effective action.
8. Know the rules of the game. Research and know your business and industry inside out. Be familiar with contracts, and how the business is changing. Whether you use verbal agreements or written contracts, don't ever rip anyone off!! Negotiate win/win agreements and keep your word. Build trust into your business relationships. Be wise, and don't leave yourself open to easily get ripped off by others. If it happens, rise above the situation, be mature, cut your losses, and move on. Keep your integrity, and eventually you will come out on top.
9. Get organized. Write down your vision and ideas. Define your mission in one short sentence. Create clear goals and use checklists. Keep it simple and make it happen. Keep your contacts, any legal business documents, and financial records simple and organized.
10. Build a team and create a system that works. You may have assistants, partners, contractors, or volunteers depending on your project. Hold meetings, lay down the goals, delegate tasks, and use your checklists to put your vision into action. Be flexible and willing to serve. Know your roles but be willing to do whatever it takes, especially when it comes down to the last minute crunch.
11. Know your budget and break-even point. If you want to be a promoter here is a simple equation: [ticket/door price] multiplied by [paying attendees] subtract [all costs, including venue, performers, all expenses] equals your profit or loss. You need to know how many tickets minimum you need to sell in order to break even on your event. Use a proper budget sheet and checklist. Depending on your venue, you may be able to sell food or snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, and cool stuff like t-shirts to increase profit potential. You can also come up with some creative fundraising techniques, or pool your resources with others for a local event. Usually you have to place a deposit on a venue in advance. Record labels work on a similar break-even concept, with upfront manufacturing costs, and optional additional merchandise income. DJ agencies are a commission-based service. Media makes money selling advertising and sometimes copies or subscriptions, like magazines.
12. Treat everyone with respect. Give people from the media free guest list passes and free copies of your music, and be available for interviews, because their free promotional support is often worth far more than expensive paid advertising. Make sure when you rent venues that you clean up, and if possible leave the place in as good or better condition than when you arrived. When you hire out of town performers, make sure they have sufficient food, a place to stay, transportation, security if needed, and peace of mind so they can be in top shape to perform. When you speak to people on the phone, always treat them with respect. People will remember you, and you want repeat business and referrals.
13. Pay attention to details. Make sure people can find your website, contact details and event locations. Use spell check and double check addresses, phone numbers, websites, emails, and correct spelling of performer's names before printing thousands of flyers. Pay people on time. If you hire a performer, understand your obligations and don't leave anything out of the rider contract (they may request certain foods if they are allergic to others). Read and understand contracts and if you need clarification ask questions. (For record contracts, get a lawyer to look it over.) Make sure you or the venue have event insurance, and pay any required licenses for events. Don't break any laws. Never serve alcohol to anyone under legal age.
AUDIENCE:
14. Know your audience. Listen to them. Stay in touch with some one-on-one relationships. Know their subcultures and what's cool. Know their likes and dislikes and what matters to them. Find the keys to their hearts. Love them, encourage them, and invite their friends too. Know your competition, stay a step ahead of the game, be full of new surprises, keep them coming back for more. Create a heart to heart bond with your audience. Be real and they will respect you. Above all always love them.
15. Promote. Promote. Promote. Keep promoting. Still keep promoting. Reach out to your audience on every possible level, from the media, to the Internet, to the street, to their friends. Find cost effective ways of advertising and don't overpay. Over promote 200 times more than you think people may come. Make a list of every possible way you could reach out to get people to come, keep coming back, and bring their friends. Use what works. Here's a start: flyers, posters, street team, websites, email, message boards, mailing lists, media listings, feature stories, interviews, radio spots, local TV, co-promotion, licensing, networking, charity and festivals, word of mouth. Be creative, be cool, be quality. Be excited about your project and start a buzz... keep cool things happening so people will talk about your projects and tell their friends. Pray that people will come.
MAKE IT HAPPEN:
16. Prepare for problems. If anything can go wrong, have a backup plan. You could lose your shirt if you lost your venue at the last minute. I've seen one event lose their venue and top performer at the last minute, get on the phone and get a new venue, find some more local performers, drop the ticket price and pack out the new venue. For every piece of the puzzle have a few alternatives, and people you can call on short notice. Don't get stuck if your gear or sound system breaks down, or if someone is sick. Don't get discouraged, but view every problem as an opportunity to find a new creative solution. Find a way to make it happen. And if someone is depending on you, find a way to come through on time, one way or another.
17. Be persistent. Work hard and be committed to your projects. If you're an artist developing a skill, your growth and excellence will be apparent as you put in time in practice. If you want to be pro, be prepared to put in your dues learning, and slug it out for the long haul. Don't let minor setbacks or mistakes stop you. Learn from them and keep going. Use your creativity to find ways to overcome obstacles and solve problems. If you need to, fail your way to success, until you finally succeed, like many successful people have.
18. Don't try to do everything yourself. Know your areas of strength and focus on those. Delegate in areas you are weaker or don't have time to do. Build a team of people who have talent and leadership ability if you want to multiply your efforts. Don't reinvent the wheel if you don't have to, use existing supports. Make a list of resources available to you, and people who may be interested in helping you. Know whom you can depend on in a pinch. Know when to say no. If you're starting a business, know what you can and can't realistically do, and where your focus will be. For what you don't want to do yourself, hire people on contract agreements and commissions.
19. Stay in balance. Eat right, try to get enough sleep, exercise, pray and read the Bible. Love what you do. Keep relationships with family and friends in good standing. Have people you can call if you go through tough times, need support, accountability, and prayer. Keep your eyes on the goal, and enjoy the journey.
20. Start small and create something that works. Keep it simple with a clear and focused vision. Little steps one day at a time can add up to a big impact over a long time. If you write down what you want to do, brainstorm how you can go about doing it, then clarify your vision, create clear goals, make checklists and just do it, it will happen. Everyone starts somewhere. There's a saying, "All you need to start is a phone and a desk". I think maybe we can add "an idea, business card, website and email address". Tell all your friends what you want to do and see what happens. Don't give up if it doesn't take off right away, because sometimes it takes time for new things to catch on. If your ideas aren't perfect the first time, adjust them and get better as you go along. Nothing's ever perfect anyway, but if you don't step out and take risks, nothing will ever happen.
Consider this, if you really want a thing you will find a way to make it happen. God will strongly support you if you have a heart after Him (2 Chron. 16:9). He will provide what you ask for in prayer with faith believing (Matt. 21:22) and He will give the Spirit without limit (John 3:34). Be sensitive to others' feedback, but don't let negativity get in the way of what God can do through you. If I listened to people's opinions instead of the Word of God and what I felt in my heart, none of this would have happened. If you always remember where you came from before God called you, you will never stop reaching out to touch others like you. I will close with this from Isaiah 6:1-9:
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" He said, "Go..."