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Ten Steps Towards Creating Your Plan For Success

There are many types of success and various ways to get it. For me, the first step of being more successful is to create a plan. Once you have established that you must plan, there are a series of steps to help your agenda come into fruition. Below I have listed 10 tips that I consider to be the most important ways for you to create a successful plan.

1 _ CREATE A GAME PLAN: Do you know what it is you want to accomplish? Does your band know your agenda? It is important that all members of your band know what the goals of the band are. Get input from your band and write down your goals. Don’t forget to refer to this list regularly.

2 _ KEEP YOUR PLAN IN A JOURNAL: Now that you’re writing things down … create a system for keeping your thoughts organized. For me, I prefer writing and gluing my ideas in an art journal. You may have other ideas, the format is not important. What is important is the paper trail of ideas.

3 _ KNOW WHO YOU ARE BEFORE YOU TELL OTHERS WHO THEY ARE: Does it annoy you when others tell you who you should be? Why do you think that is? Perhaps it’s because you sense that they have no idea who they are. For this reason, I suggest you establish who you are. Know what your goals are, where you’ve been, and where you’re going. Others will see your success and refer to you as the person that has direction.

4 _ TAKE A RISK, BUT DON’T BE RISKY: Sometimes being safe is the best answer. However, there comes a time in every career where you need to take a leap of faith. I suggest that you take that leap, but make it a calculated one. Don’t take a leap when a tiny step was the only thing your project required.

5 _ DON’T BE CHEAP OR YOU’LL LOOK CHEAP: Everything costs money, some things cost more money than other. This is why many bands lean towards using cheap alternatives to the more costly commercial products. The downside is … you look cheap! You didn’t realize you were being judged, but every time a potential fan receives your lame flyer, CD, or poster you’re being judged. Consider this the next time you’re trying to save a couple of bucks.

6 _ DON’T SPEND MORE THAN IT’S WORTH: You are not the first band that needed a CD and you’re not the first to create a website. So you better know how much other bands paid and who they paid. There is absolutely no reason you should get burned. Use other bands as a resource when making big decisions such as these.

7 _ DON’T CREATE MORE THAN YOU CAN SELL: Sale or no sale … don’t get duped into purchasing more than you can sell. I know too many bands with big boxes of old CDS in their closets. It’s not sexy, cool or legit to be selling CDs from your last band on the merch table of your new band. You may save a dollar per CD if you order 500 vs 200. However, money in the bank is better than money tied up in 300 unsellable CDs.

8 _ DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES OTHER BANDS HAVE MADE: Have you heard the statement, “it’s all been done before?” GOOD! Then why are you acting like a fool and making the same mistakes other bands already made? Learn and grow from the mistakes other bands have already made. Before starting your next project, do your research. Find out which bands have done what you’re about to do. Copy their good choices and avoid the bad ones.

9 _ DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF, EXPLORE ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS: Band’s print flyers, hang posters, promote on Facebook. Not everything other bands are going to work for your band. Try it, then consider alternative ways to reach your fans. Your fans might not collect in all the same places other fans are. Perhaps your fans hate the internet but love sitting in the park with a boombox, eating cupcakes, and drinking a bottle of Cooks champagne. How are you going to reach them?

10 _ EVALUATE AND REEVALUATE YOUR PLAN REGULARLY: Awesome! You made your plan, now you’re all done, everything will go smoothly from now on. WRONG!!! Always refer back to your plan and be prepared to change or update your approach. Be flexible and keep track of your plans changes in your journal. It is always possible you will return to your original plan in the future.

Obtaining success is something that every driven person struggles with. At Balanced Breakfast, we encouraging industry professionals to share their stories of success and failure with the people around you. Together we can help our friends and others in the industry experience the success they are aiming to capture.

About the author

Music Promoter, Marketing Manager, Art Director, Photographer, Radio Host & DJ who co-found @blncdbrkfst.