I was originally going to call this post “Success Tips for Artists.” However, artists and the self-employed have much in common. So, these tips are the practical things I’ve learned over 14 years of working for myself and being an artist.

1 - Provide value

The core of success will always be about providing value. Deciding whether or not you provide value in the world is up to you. It might be a giant act of self-esteem to declare that you provide value, especially if you’re an artist. The “Who do you think you are?” voices can creep in at the strangest times. Providing value doesn’t mean that you don’t occasionally sit up at night and wonder if you’re a fraud. Providing value doesn’t mean that you walk around feeling holy and dignified in every situation. Let’s face it - some nights you just wish the audience had shown up. Feeling like this on occasion doesn’t mean that you don’t provide value. It just means that you’re human and still working on yourself.

So, here’s what you do. Wait til you’re in a peaceful frame of mind. Then, get clear on how you provide value, or how you would like to better serve the world. Not just in your paid work, but also in your personal strengths and in your soul. Then, keep coming back to this. Keep revisiting this. It will guide you.

2 - Define “Success”

What does “making it” mean? More importantly, what does it mean to you? Have you ever clarified this?

Too often, artists and self-employed people drive themselves into the ground because of some undefined idea of success. “Gigs.” “Sales.” “Customers.” “Clients.” None of these terms are clearly defined. If you just want “gigs” or “speaking engagements,” then you can fill an entire year with them. Same with clients, customers and everything else. Without definition, you can burn out because you keep taking on more. It’s easy to forget you have boundaries if you’ve never defined them. You’ll keep chasing some nebulous idea of what success looks like.

The best way to begin is to quantify and to describe. How many gigs per month? What kind? How many customers? What are they like? How many sales? Keep them do-able enough so that you can celebrate your small victories along the way to bigger goals.

3 - Question Assumptions

The idea of success comes fully equipped with decades of assumptions about your industry. None of them are the truth. “You have to know people in the music business to make it.” (Not.) “You have to get into a gallery in Soho if you want to be a great artist.” (Not.) All of it is up for questioning these days. Stop assuming that you know how it has to happen. Stop assuming anything. When someone says, “Yea well…” about your idea, question their assumption. When you think you know how it’s gotta look, question that belief. Open up to new ideas for how to do it best for you. If you’re wondering if there’s a better way to make it work - then there just might be. Find it.

4- Separate yourself from your business

There are many ways to separate yourself from your business. Some of them are psychological. Some are environmental. Some are financial. Let’s start with the financial stuff.

Many self-employed people have one bank account and just put all the money in that one place. It’s their money. It’s the business’s money. It all sits together in one account.

Do yourself a favor. Start paying yourself a salary. Create a separate bank account for your business. Even if your business is new and you only have $500 for that account and your salary is $50/month. Even if you’re not incorporated. Get into the mindset of the business owner. Separating yourself from your business is also a great step to help you stop taking everything personally.

5 - Give yourself promotions and raises

This is challenging, but necessary. How you promote yourself is up to you. For some, it might mean raising their rates. For some it might mean saying no to a certain kind of venue while pursuing the next. For some it means paying yourself a higher salary. If you don’t regularly let yourself know that you matter enough to be promoted, then no one else will. Yes, it’s scary when you start quoting a new higher rate to first time callers, but you’ll get better at it and then it won’t be a big deal. (Resist the temptation to explain yourself! Just tell them the new rate, and let them choose whether or not to hire you!)

6 - Start a Roth IRA

J.D. at Get Rich Slowly wrote a terrific in-depth article about Roth IRA’s. He also wrote one about how to start a Roth IRA. The advantage of a Roth IRA is that you fund it with after-tax money. Then when you’re 65 and you get that money, you won’t be taxed on it then.

Set up automatic payments from your bank account into the Roth IRA account over the full year. That way, you don’t even have to think about it. Get into the habit of putting this money away. I wish now that I had started doing this earlier than I did!

7 - Incorporate your business

This is a great way to separate yourself from your business. It’s a way of making your business an entity, and protecting yourself personally. It will also prevent you from getting hit with self-employment tax. I’ve been incorporated for four years. It was a little overwhelming to go through the process of incorporating. Now, I’m glad I did it. I know that many people prefer LLC’s. You can research to find which is best for you.

8 - Create multiple streams of income

I used to think that if all of my income didn’t come from my songs and my shows, then I wasn’t a real artist. I meet lots of artists who still have this antiquated mindset. I’m much happier (and wealthier) now that I’ve let that idea go. And I get to do more interesting things, and spend less time on the road. Creating multiple streams of income takes time - but in the long run, the patience and willingness pays off.

For instance, here are a few of the ways I make money: CD and t-shirt sales on this website. iTunes song sales. Product sales at shows. CD sales in stores and on amazon.com. Performances. Teaching. Creativity training for companies and the government. Donations from blog readers. Facilitating women’s retreats. Song royalties. Affiliate programs on my website. Investments. The amount of money each thing generates varies greatly. But I am less attached to my income source being me in a spotlight on a stage. Life is more fun now, too.

What other ways can you generate income? Can you try one new thing in 2008?

9 - Revisit your plans/desires every four months

Set aside regular times for thinking about your career. Spend the time moodling. Spend the time writing. Too many artists think of themselves as stuck. Recently, I was with some people who were complaining about burn-out and frustration with their entertainment careers - and they ended up shrugging and saying, “Oh well. There’s nothing else I’m good at. So I have to keep doing this.” I disagree. No one has to be stuck. There are lots of options for expansion these days. It’s not always easy to imagine, but there are options. Begin by getting in the habit of spending a day asking the question, “How could I approach this career that is sustainable for me? What options are out there? What would I just love to try?” Revisit your career every quarter. Keep checking in with yourself about it. This is honoring yourself.

10 - Create an Ideal Client Profile

My brother is a landscape architect. He has recently returned to running his own business after spending time away. We talked about how to attract clients that are perfect for him. Knowing what I know about the power of intent, I told him to create an “Ideal Client Profile.” Describe the ideal client in full detail - from how much they pay you to their mindset to the kind of work they want from you to the fact that they pay you on time and like you a lot as a person. (And that they dislike ornamental cabbage every bit as much as you do.)

I’ve done this. It works. Many years ago, a mentor advised me to create an Ideal Performance Profile. At the time, I was performing in clubs and coffeehouses - and I was tired of the smell of stale beer, and the attitudes of some of the club owners. So, my mentor guided me to use my imagination to describe the perfect performance situations. I’ve also created Ideal Employee Profiles for my office. Try it. You’ll be amazed at the new people and contracts you attract.

11 - Hire People

Make a list of the tasks you do that could be done by someone else. Then, hire people to do them. Post an ad on Craiglist. Visit DoMyStuff.com. Post an ad at a local campus for an office intern. If someone else can do it, learn how to let them. Micromanagers rarely succeed! I’ve paid people to walk my dog in the middle of the day when I was over-committed. I’ve hired Virtual Assistants for specific research tasks I needed to do. WebGuy does all my website work. AccountantMan does all my IRS stuff. And I happily pay for this stuff. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that’s where you should put your energy.

12 - Take vacations

It’s easy to forget vacations. There’s always so much to do when you’re self-employed. There’s always something to create when you’re an artist. For instance, I can always write a blog, answer emails, create workshop plans, fine-tune some of my teaching, write songs. It doesn’t end.

For a long long time, I didn’t take vacations. I told my husband that I travel all the time, and I just didn’t want to travel for my vacations. The only problem is that when I’m home, I can continue working for hours and hours. Even on days off, I can hear the siren call of the computer.

Here’s a little saying for you: The In-Box of Life will never empty out. You have to be the one to decide if you are going to take breaks, weekends, vacations, and evenings. If you’re on a budget, try Imperfect Camping. If you don’t have a week off, have an Adventure Day. Or go to a women’s retreat! Get used to taking regular breaks away from your computer and discovering who you are. It will make you a more successful business and a more fulfilled artist.

tags: music, career, self-employment, christine kane

Let’s say you’ve been intending more money in your life. And let’s say you created a vision board, you cleared clutter, and you stated new intents for wealth. And then, let’s say two months later, your aunt sends you a check for $150 out of the blue because she won some money when she visited Atlantic City last weekend.

What do you do with that?

Do you acknowledge it as part of your intent? Do you say, “Wow! How cool is that?” Or do you blow it off because it’s not big enough - or because - oh for Pete’s sake - it came from your Aunt Edna and one of her crazy trips to Atlantic City?

Would you believe me if I told you it’s crucial that you begin to acknowledge the slightest progress on your path? Can you see how the mere act of noticing “coincidences” leads to greater victories? Read on.

Coincidence or law of attraction in action?

A few years ago a friend who does feng-shui visited my record label office to help me clear and re-design the space after I had let go of an employee.

One of the many assigments she gave me was to choose some “symbol” of success and place it prominently in my office. She grilled me about that symbol. She said, “What about a Grammy award?” And I told her - in all honesty - that I don’t care that much about Grammy Awards. I added, “I like The Academy Awards better.” I told her that an external symbol of success would be an Academy Award for a song in a movie. She said, “Perfect!” We found a plastic Oscar for 10 bucks on eBay.

So, for two years now, my plastic Oscar has been sitting in my office on the IKEA cabinet.

Humorous Note: A friend saw my Oscar and said, “Ohmigod, did you win an Academy Award?!” I stared at him for a good long moment. Then I said, “It’s six inches tall. And it’s gold painted plastic. Do you REALLY think this is the same trophy that Julia Roberts has in her living room?”

I hadn’t thought much about my plastic Academy Award until this summer when I won a Telly Award for my DVD Live at the Diana Wortham Theatre. I’m not an awards kind of gal, and this is one of the first I’ve won. So, here’s the small victory: The Telly Awards are designed and created by the very same company that creates the Academy Awards. (And the Grammy awards.) Yesterday the award was delivered. It’s massive. It’s heavy. And it’s pretty, too! It stands majestically next to the six-inch Academy Award - which is now oddly majestic in its own plastic way.

Five reasons small victories matter

So, why would this kind of victory/coincidence matter? It’d be so easy to roll my eyes and say, “Yea well, it’s not an Academy Award. It’s a Telly Award. Who cares about that?” How many times do you block your own good because you won’t simply acknowledge it?

Here are 5 reasons why even the smallest victories in your process matter in a big way:

#1 - Because ALL of it - every single thing in your life - is about you.

Yes, it’s all an illusion. But it’s all your illusion. And so it’s all about you. If you don’t have money, then you have a fabulous opportunity to become a person who attracts it. If you feel rejected by men, then there’s an opportunity to heal the parts of you that create those feelings. The potential for growth is in all of your desires. And then, each little thing that shows up is actually an opening, a healing. How about that?

Bhagavan says it best in Arjuna Ardagh’s excellent book, Awakening Into Oneness,

You can materialize things; you can make them disappear. You can do anything you like because you are actually God, and you can create. People do not realize the power that they hold within themselves. Once you realize this, then it becomes child’s play.

#2 - Because when you notice small victories, you become a container for more.

Songwriters carry small notebooks so they can write down every little idea that shows up. The more you write down, the more ideas you get. You become a container where ideas get poured. You become that container by saying yes. You say yes by writing every idea down. Even the dumb ones. It’s the same thing with noticing small victories. You’re saying “yes.”

Similarly, when you turn away from your small victories, you say, “Oh stop it! I wanted it to show up how I wanted it. Not like this!” And you block the natural evolution of your intent.

#3 - Because attention is a form of gratitude. And gratitude attracts more.

#4 - Because knowing when to take action will be easier if you’ve practiced acknowledging what you’ve attracted.

A month after I intended abundance in my life, I came across a book on investing. Since I’m rarely drawn to books about investing or money, I took it as a nudge in a new direction. Fast forward a year and a half — my Roth IRA has increased by 30% because I digested and worked on the information in that book. I had to take action. But the paying attention part came first. I got good at noticing what showed up and then acting on it.

#5 - Because optimism expands and cynicism contracts.

Cellular biologist Bruce Lipton puts it this way: A cell is either growing or it is protecting itself. Growth stops when a cell contracts for protection. When that contraction becomes chronic, the cell dies. Cynicism is contraction. It’s a way of saying, “I won’t be open until you prove it.” It’s also a way of dying slowly. Instead of wasting your energy looking for proof, use your energy to expand into a more optimistic knowing place.

p.s. Takamine Guitars announced my Telly Award by posting a previously unreleased clip from the DVD. You can see it here.

Today’s post concludes this week’s Are you Saving Money? series. It’s a final exam that will enable us to score you on the wisdom you’ve gained throughout the week.

This exam is a word problem with one multiple-choice question at the end. Please sharpen your Number Two pencils. And raise your hand if you need to use the bathroom during the exam.

Here it is:

A bride-to-be bought a Lazaro wedding dress when she was at Marshall Fields in Chicago. It was a style from a past season. It cost $1000 - about a quarter of the original price of $4500.

After the wedding, the bride took her dress to Swannanoa Cleaners - a chain in Asheville, NC. They cleaned the dress. A few days after she got it back, she pulled off the plastic to find that the dress looked streaky. REALLY streaky. Like, many-cats-of-many-different-sizes-lifted- their-tails-and-sprayed-her-wedding-dress streaky. She took the dress back. Swannanoa Cleaners told our bride they’d “look into it.”

A week later, Corporate Guy A called the bride. Expert Guy B had been in town and had looked at the dress. Expert Guy B concluded that the cleaners had permanently ruined the wedding dress. Corporate Guy A asked the bride how much she had paid for the dress. She told him. She told him the brand of the dress. She emailed him the photo from the Lazaro website so he could see for himself.

Corporate Guy A called later to say he couldn’t be sure that the dress was an authentic Lazaro dress. Then he said, “Besides - one of the clerks at the drop off location said she overheard you mention that you might be selling this dress on eBay. And wedding dresses on eBay don’t sell for more than $500.”

The bride was stunned at his accusation, but simply told him that they had ruined her dress and that it was probably ethical for them to pay for it. Corporate Guy A told the bride he’d have to talk to some of the people at the corporate office, and that he’d get back to her.

She did not get another phone call. Instead, she got a check in the mail with a note. The check was for $350. The note said that wedding dresses on eBay don’t sell for more than about $350 and as far as Swannanoa Cleaners was concerned, the issue was over.

Swannanoa Cleaners never apologized for ruining her dress or for the inconvenience. They chose to take the remaining $650 they could have given the bride and keep it for themselves in the interest of saving money.

So then, here’s what has happened since that August of 2005.

1. The groom stopped taking his business to Swannanoa Cleaners, and moved instead to Asheville Cleaners. His total cleaning expenses since that date is close to $1200.

2. The groom told the story to his business partner, who also stopped using Swannanoa Cleaners. His business partner is quite the persnickety dresser - so we’ll say that his bills since then have been at least as much as the groom’s. $1200.

3. The bride told several friends about the situation. Most of them don’t do cleaning very often - but they’ve stopped using Swannanoa Cleaners. Conservative estimate: $200.

4. The bride was at an upscale clothing store downtown after she received the $350 check. She told the store-owner, who has a very exuberant vocal style. (Read: He’s from New York City.) The owner shouted, “NEVER use Swannanoa Cleaners!” There was a woman in the store who had just moved to town. She joined in on the discussion. We’ll assume that she got the message. Four hundred bucks. (Judging by her clothing that day, this is a conservative estimate.)

5. The bride starts a blog. She reads many blogs on marketing and customer service. So, one day, she decides to take this little scenario and make it into a kicky little math equation. Let’s assume that there’s a bride-to-be among her readers who just looked at her mom and said, “Mom? Let’s not take my dress to Swannanoa Cleaners when the wedding is over, okay?” That’s $200.

Not including any of the other word-of-mouth ways that stuff like this gets around, we will leave you with this final exam question. Think carefully.

Final exam question: Did Swannanoa Cleaners actually save $650?

A] Yes

B] No

[Seven years ago. Before I booked hotels on the internet.]

Suze Orman was marching through my head again. She was shouting at me. It was making my heart race. Listen to Suze, I told myself. You’re an artist. You’re supposed to be frugal! And yet my heart simply could not take two whole days in another economy hotel with orange and brown bedding, and bathroom floors that made my feet curl inward when I walked on them. (And don’t even get me started on bad lighting.)

It was the morning after a show. I was in northwest Minnesota driving towards Minneapolis. I had two days off before my next show. What to do. Where to stay. The marching Suze Orman told me that Motel 6 would save me at least $90, and she said that that very $90 could be worth FOUR MILLION DOLLARS in 2057! And did I want to pass up on FOUR MILLION DOLLARS? I don’t THINK so!

Thom, my coach who had also become my dear friend, was on the other end of the cell phone. I had called him in a state of panic as my voices duked it out. He was silent. He and I had made an agreement weeks ago. I was no longer allowed to stay in places that scared me or depressed me. He had made me swear that I would take extremely good care of myself while on tour.

But here’s the thing: Every touring musician I knew stayed in bad hotels. None of them ever splurged on great rooms. And none of them ever seemed to want to! Plus, I was scared to spend extra money on myself. The mantra of many artists goes something like this: You’re an artist! You’re lucky to even make a living being an artist! Do you want to throw it away on a hotel?

Thom broke the silence, and sighed. “When you start showing the universe that you’re choosing to take excellent care of yourself, then the universe will respond in kind. You have to trust that and make the first move.” Thom was part executive coach, part actor, part businessman, and part guru. He could deliver his new-thought ideas like he was in a courtroom. No big deal. Do it or don’t do it. But here’s the truth, ma’am.

We got off the phone. Just northwest of Minneapolis, I pulled off in a suburb sprawl area. I saw a hotel called Staybridge Suites. I had never heard of it. “What the hell” I thought, and went in to see about a room.

Rooms were $125 a night. (No way! shouted Suze.) I thanked the front desk clerk and left. But on the way to my car, Thom’s words went through my head. It was noon, and I didn’t want to waste the afternoon trying to save $75. I went back in, put down my credit card, and told the clerk I’d be there for two nights.

When I walked into my room, my heart sang. It was light. It was a suite. There was a free laundry room. And a work out room. I felt safe. And I felt like I could trust myself again. My entire experience shifted in that one decision.

After I had unpacked, I called my office to check in. To my amazement, two performance offers had just come in that hour. Both of them were offers to pay me my highest performance fee, plus travel and expenses.

I called Thom to tell him about it. “See?” he said.

I’ve proven Thom’s theory so many times now that it’s ridiculous to recall all the stories. This was just the first of many to come.

And here’s the lesson: Not only do you teach people how to treat you, but you teach the universe how to treat you as well. The challenge of the self-employed or of the artist is to decide. To decide that taking extremely good care of yourself without an expense account means that you become a better artist (or business owner, or whatever). To decide that you serve the world in a bigger way when your needs are met. To decide before anyone else grants you worldly success what it means to value your time and your work.

I was in line at the post office recently. I watched as a man haggled with the postal clerk to see how many brochures he could put in his envelope before the postage price jumped to the next level. When he realized that the next level was only 17 cents higher, he tried to see how many brochures he could fit in the envelope until the next next level. At some point, he decided the cost was too expensive. He then pulled out brochures until the envelope was just at the edge of the price that he deemed to be too high. After ten minutes of this, he paid the postmaster and left.

This is not a rant about how long I had to wait in line. Nor is it a rant about a random man at the post office.

This man is all of us. Especially if we’re self-employed, or artists, or business owners. Maybe we don’t obsess over a postage meter in order to save a dollar. But many of us have money-saving habits that ultimately waste money.

The value of time

Let’s say that the man at the post office is an artisan selling a product. Let’s say that he was sending his brochures to an exclusive crafts conference for display on a small table. Let’s say it took him 15 minutes to drive to the post office, and 15 minutes to drive back to his studio. If we include his haggling time, that’s 40 minutes. Add in the extra time it takes to shift focus and do a task like this - 10 minutes on either end. This brings his time expenditure to one hour.

So, let’s look at this like a junior high math problem:

A man crafts beautiful wood walking sticks that sell for $750 - $1500 each. It takes him five to ten hours to make each stick. How much is his time worth per hour?

If you said, “$75 to $150 per hour,” then you’re correct.

Let’s continue.

A man’s time is worth $75 - $150 per hour. He spends one hour going to the post office so that he can save $1 on postage because he believes in being frugal. How much money did his trip to the post office save him?

If you said, “One dollar,” you’re wrong.

It actually cost him $74. (Plus gas.)

Let’s say the man decides instead to stay home and spend the morning working on a new design of one of his walking sticks. Let’s say he gets lost in the creativity and focus. Let’s say he enjoys the day and almost finishes a new walking stick. At 3pm, he looks up at the clock and remembers the brochures he has to mail. His mailman usually comes at 3:30. The man, unsure of how much postage the envelope will require, stuffs a bunch of brochures into it, and puts $4 in postage on the envelope just so he can be sure it’ll make it to its destination. How much money did he just waste?

If you said, “Three dollars,” you’re wrong.

He actually saved $71 because he spent his time doing what makes him the most money. (Plus the added bonus of being happier and meditative, which contributes massively to his overall health.)

The lesson is this: A penny saved is not always a penny earned. Suze Orman is not always right in her techniques for squeezing every last dollar out of a day. The equation of your finances has to take into account how much your time is worth, and how much you value what you do with your time.

Have you ever stopped to figure that out?