Advice for someone who doesn't have enough time

[Some Other Level]

I haven't posted here in a while, but I will try to make this post as brief as possible. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and help me out! I think alot of other producers might have the same dilemma I have. Here's my situation....

I used to spend 2-3 hours or more per day making beats, and have been doing it for about 3 years now. I feel I am getting very good but I know I still have things to learn.

I attempted, back in the day, to sell my beats via the internet. I wasn't looking to become the next Kanye or anything but I also wanted to see how far I could get, and get some placements, even if with "small budget" artists.

As for the beats themselves, I received positive feedback on them from a number of sources, but never really got them to any artist/label that I know of, and never made any money off it. I concluded at the time that the reason for that was that I was not putting enough time/effort into the MARKETING aspect of it. I was willing to put in the time, but the problem was I did not have the time. And I realize you can't just half-ass it and send out emails and expect the $$ to start rolling in. I've been making beats this whole time but I sort of put the marketing efforts on hold after 2 months or so once I realized I didn't have enough time to dedicate to that aspect.

As far as having time, it's even worse now in that regard because I now have a 6.5 month old baby girl, and I am working 55 hours per week. I barely have time to sleep let alone time to spend hours a day promoting my beats.

So my question is this: What options do I have at this point? Obviously I am not going to quit my job or leave my family to pursue selling beats, but at the same time it is a passion of mine and I do not want to give it up, you know? I feel I have the talent to get some placements but I don't have the time to try to get my stuff out there.

So again, what are some options I could look at? I realize it'll cost me money if I am not gonna be able to do it myself, but I am willing. Any advice would help... thanks again for taking the time to help me out!

(P.S. I haven't updated my Soundclick page in ages so if you're judging me off those beats just know I have much better ones now... and that's not the point of this post anyway).

 

[MadTiger3000]

Find someone willing to shop your beats for a percentage. No upfront money is to come from you AT ALL. They get just a percentage of the final sale.

 

[swagg]

dont quit your job
how many producers do you know that are making a living off of making beats today?
at fast as the music industry is changing making beats wouldnt be long term income

 

[dwells]

I hate to sound like a dick, but I'm going to be real.

there are 2 types of people here, people who do this as a hobby and those who do it professionally. and if you do this as a hobby, great, keep doing it and have fun and stop reading. but if you are doing it professionally, you need to treat it like a business. because that is what it is. it is a small business.

a small business is not something you can do on convenience . it needs time and money. if you don't have either, the business will not work. period. you can short one with the other. for instance, you can save money by doing more yourself, or you can save time by spending more money. but truth be told, you need both.

and right now the most important thing in your life is your baby girl. you need to make sure that she is taken care of, she needs food on the table. you need stability for her, and right now may not be the best time to start a small business.

just because right now isn't the right time to start a small business, doesn't mean you should stop or you shouldn't do it. wait until you have more time and more money to start up the business. right now treat it like a hobby, because that is what it is. keep producing as a hobby, have fun with it and do it when you can. maybe in a year or 2 you can try to produce professionally.