For 12 years, I was happy. For 12 years, I followed the one I loved around the country, saw new and exciting places, and experienced new and exciting things. 3 years ago, I fell in love with the location that I found myself in with her. 1 year ago, her new job took me away from that place. 10 months ago, the relationship started to crumble, and 6 months ago I found myself on my own for the first time in my adult life.
But if you read my blog, you know this.
I now find myself having gone through an emotional hell over the last 6 months, and am coming out content on the other side. But now that my life is in my own hands for the first time, what am I gonna do with it? I'm 30, have no savings, have a college degree that could easily land me a job at Pizza Hut, and have started a business but am not able to rely on it's revenue as income as of yet. Things are tight.
But, again, if you read my blog, you know this.
I've sworn a pact that by the time I'm 35, I'll be in a better place financially. I don't wanna be worried about living paycheck to paycheck in 5 years. So I've started saving at least 10% of my paychecks, now that I'm employed again at my old day job and making a somewhat decent wage (for an unskilled position that is).
But, yet again, if you read my blog, you know this.
So what's new then?
I'm starting to realize that I need the mountains. My soul cries for them. I listen to beautiful music, and place myself there mentally. I listen to piano music in thunderstorms and picture that I'm actually listening to it in a blizzard, and I'm holding a cup of coffee while wrapped in warm winter clothes while sitting near the fire, and I'm watching the snow fall. I will be sitting in traffic in Columbus Ohio and have a sudden flash of a vision of a mountain pass I used to drive every day and took for granted. I think all the time about returning, and honestly feel such a connection with them that when I do see them again I might start crying (yeah, I'm a whiny wuss, but have YOU ever fallen in love with where you lived?)
So now that I know what I want, how do I get there? The easy answer would be to just find a job in Denver and move. But I've uprooted and moved somewhere new every two years for the entirety of my adult life. Since Sarah left, I've planted roots in Ohio again. I don't wanna uproot and start over yet again, only to have to struggle to re-start my business in a new market AGAIN and work a crappy day job to make ends meet AGAIN! I need to set up some sort of financial support structure for myself, and I need to stay here for a while to get my life in order first.
So how do I get back my majestic mountains? By making a 5 year plan, and sticking to it. My life is now in my hands, and I'm not young anymore (only 30, but still, the clock is ticking). These are in no specific order, and needs fine tuning, but here is what I'm hoping to accomplish over the next 5 years.
1. Build the studio business.
If I establish a solid client base and body of work, then it'll be much easier for me to get work in other markets. It'll take less time too, and as I hone my networking skills in Columbus, I'll be able to jump into a new market that much easier. Also, if I decide to start up another studio somewhere else, and have a self sustaining operation here, then I would be able to generate an income from the studio in Columbus while focusing my efforts on establishing myself in a new market.
2. Establish myself as a producer.
This one will be trickier, because when I tried the whole freelance producer / engineer schtick before it didn't go very well. It wasn't until I bought my own studio gear and opened shop that I started actually earning anything resembling an income doing this. But now that I've had some experience getting clients, have learned about running my own business, have marketing and networking skills, ect. I think I could give it a more succesful go this time. Establishing myself as a producer would mean that I could be more flexible. I could go from studio to studio to work on projects, as opposed to worrying about my own studio. This would be tricky, but it would also mean that I could go anywhere and be flexible. This is actually a key part of me getting back to where I want and need to be.
3. Project DIVIDE and my solo musical efforts.
A band is a business, and with the internet even a studio band can generate a living income. Just look at Jack Conte for a classic example. Here's a guy who's diversifying his income potential by not only promoting himself as a solo artist, but as 1/2 of the wildly successful Pomplamoose. Here's a guy who's cracked the code, and shown me the path to success in the music industry on a completely independant level. Here's a guy who shows that it can be done, and he's doing it. So my plan is to use the tools now at my disposal to promote my solo career, as well as that of the collaborative project I'm in with Josh Zeise known as Project DIVIDE. With Project DIVIDE, I have a rock and metal project that will fulfil my itch to play that style of music, and if we can market it correctly, it will be profitable for both of us. With my solo efforts, here's a chance to venture into new territory artistically and experiment. This will also be a chance for me to tap into a marketshare that might not be as into the Project DIVIDE material, which would increase my earnings potential.
The basis of all of this is, of course, money. I can't just pick up and do what I want with my life because money is too much of a constriction for me. My 5 year plan is in place to give me some financial independance, allow me to live my life as I see fit and on my own terms, and allow me to make it back to Colorado with a healthy financial status. Because of the roots I'm establishing here, I'd likely have dual residency in Colorado and Ohio, but that's the beauty of where I want to go with my career in music. It would allow me the freedom to get what I want, and be able to keep the mountains in my life, while not neglecting the roots I'm establishing here in Ohio.
All I can say at this point is that it's a rather ambitious conquest. I realize that, and I realize that the odds will always be stacked against me. But I want my life to be completely different when I'm 35 than it is now at 30. Let's see if I can pull it off. Stay tuned.
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