A good friend of mine, David a number of years ago was the Chief Financial Officer of a very prominent and successful company. He was constantly interviewed on the TV about the company’s success, written up in newspapers and was heralded as one of the more prominent executives in town.

After spending some time with the company helping build it, an investment firm made an offer to purchase the company and so they were sold. My friend was set for life, due to the stock options he had in the company, he was now a multi-millionaire.

What would you do if you were suddenly flush with cash? Take a long vacation? Buy fancy cars or houses? What do you think my friend did? Well, he got busy going after his dream, that was to be in charge and own his very own company. What kind of company? Not a fancy investment firm or high-brow technology start up, no David started a book-keeping service. He enjoyed working with numbers and his clients were little “Mom and Pop” companies. Retail stores, barber shops, lawn care services, you know - the “less than glamorous” side of Wall Street.

David was out beating the streets for his business. He went to networking events, cold-called for clients, did the work himself if one of his bookkeepers couldn’t do it.

He did everything.

Contrast this to a conversation I had not too long ago with Jerry. He is somebody I met trying to make it in the music business.

Me: “Are you trying to get yourself booked at any nightclubs?”
“Would-be Musician”: “Nah, I’ll let the other guys in the band handle that.”

Me: “How about trying get some exposure for your band on the web?”
“WBM”: “You mean like MySpace? I think Joe’s looking into it.”

Me: “Have you ever entered any contests?”
“WBM”: “We tried that a while ago, those contests are rigged, they’re not looking for talent, they just want something they can market”

Me: “So you closer to your goal to making it in the business?”
“WBM”: “I’ll give it another 10 years and see what happens”

So my friend David, who again is a MULTI-Millionaire who once had the world handed to him on a plate was working his tail off to make his business fly. Jerry on the other hand was a lazy, rotten-attitude, prima donna who felt the world should recognize him for his talent.

It may surprise you to hear, that the hard work (I hope you’re working hard) you put into rehearsals, writing songs and in general refining your craft is only half the battle. EVEN IF you are fortunate enough to have a talented manager working with you, you STILL have to work to promote you. Don’t trust your fate to somebody else, network, be cordial, recognize your customers are your fans. TREAT THEM LIKE GOLD.

It goes without saying that the more that you put into your business, the more that comes out. You may feel like you’re the most talented and beautiful person to ever grace the stage, but really, does the world care? My bet is no, but if you don’t let things go to chance, I bet you’ll be happier with the results.

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