Entrepreneurs in Music — and Don’t Forget about Mozart!

Well, I and others have said that entrepreneurs need (or successful entrepreneurs usually have) these traits:

· Broad education. They need things that are difficult to teach in advance. For example, you don’t need to know about copyright until someone is asking to use your creative material. Or, you don’t need to know about lawyers until someone tries to sue you.

· Evangelistic spirit. This is specially important when the going gets rough. If you’re not really into the project, it can be too easy to quit when faced with adversity and failure. With passion you can power through problems. Passion also makes it fun.

· Most successful entrepreneurs have a strong belief in themselves and are willing to stretch themselves to try what others would avoid. You must not be afraid to fail. It’s OK to fail, but separate yourself from the music. You are not a bad person if you are out of tune on one note!! If you do this it will ensure that, if you do fail at something, it is not a life failure. It’s just an event failure.

· Passion to follow your dream, but don’t kid yourself. Make sure you have the qualifications and have a deep knowledge and expertise to make your dream happen. Most entrepreneurs fail as a result of what they don’t know.

· Do something you like. Don’t do something just to do it. If you can’t add value, why bother.

· Envision the future. Look for opportunities and find solutions to problems. What are current trends? Is anyone addressing these issues that you may identify? Do some research.

· Think big. Envision the Mercedes version of your project or venture, then back off to Buick if you have to because of resources. What would you do if money and time were not an issue?