Side/Main Hustle?

iLLxANT

iLLxANT

long live the ghost
What do you guys do to finance your biz? How do you set aside money to invest in music? And if you do have a side/main hustle, how do you find time to be productive with your music?

I work a phone job four days out of the week, 10 hour graveyard shifts on the weekend (Tuesday by ILoveMakonnen is basically about me, don't really turn up much tho). I've tried working on music here but it's kind of strange since there's me and another coworker here. I can't seem to vibe out to my fullest. So I usually just do some research/strategizing and marketing in my down time.

On the money side, I really just take a decent chunk out of my paychecks each month and put it towards new gear or anything else beneficial to my music, then use the rest to take care of essentials. I spend a lot more on music than I used and a lot less on anything else.
 
For time, it's really about figuring out how much time you can commit to music, and when, and then sticking to that schedule. If you're really using your time well, that's the best it gets until you can ditch that day-job.

Financially, a crucial part of running a business is money management. If you can't control the money coming IN (slow sales), then you gotta do something about the money going OUT (buying yourself new gear). I like to keep things moderate - I don't believe that spending every available dollar I have will mean the difference between "success" and "failure", but I do believe that I gotta spend some money to make money.

If you asked Kobe Bryant, he'd tell you to put every single resource you have towards your craft if you really want to win. Can't really argue with that either, based on his success.

Everyone does it differently. Set realistic and reasonable goals for yourself, and just keep things moving in the forward direction. It might take years for you to hit your stride. Be mentally ready for that reality.
 
^^Definitely.

I haven't had a whole lot of money in the past to invest in my craft, and that's helped me utilize what I do have. My friends are into film-making and we've seen some awesome stuff done on a Galaxy S5. So if money is an issue, grind out until you have enough, but learn to use what you do have. Just a little advice for anyone in the same ship as far as financing goes.
 
I work construction and other types of labor-intensive jobs. I enjoy it much more than sitting at a desk or managing a store or any other corporate type jobs. Don't have the attention span for that, nor can I keep my mouth shut when I get hassled by some dumb ***** from human resource departments. I like lifting weights so moving heavy **** around all day and getting paid for it is great.
 
I work a full time job, but my work schedule (7 on/7 off) gives me alot of time to practice. I take weekly jazz lessons on the guitar so thats pretty much where a little bit of my money goes. Its expensive at $200-250 a month, but its worth it. I work on music while I am at work, mostly reading music charts (sheet music), listening to jazz, making up licks in my head, practicing scale/arpeggio fingerings, and studying my flash cards.
 
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