Let’s Talk More Money, Shall We?

Ah yes…doh-reh-mee. Clout. Benjamins. Greenbacks. Financing. Funding. Cold-Hard-Cash. Money. You know…the stuff we all need, right? Some of us have been blessed with more than others, but do we all find all that we need? Most likely not. There is always plenty of reasons we need more money, but never enough resources to get it, though it seems. Today, I am going to try and help explain some things, so that we can continue to move forward in our endeavors as artists, musicians and business owners. Please bear with me, because yesterday I had some dental work done where the dentist literally pulled on my teeth like a fish pulling away from a crappy line. So my jaw feels like it has had quite the work-over, not to mention that it is swollen and feels like a baseball in the right side of my mouth, but I am tough, and I am handling the pain pretty good. So let’s get started, shall we?

How Can I Attract Private Investors?

A lot of people think that an artist must be quite a ways into their careers before they can attract investors, but this simply is not the truth! I remember that when I first got started in my music career as an artist, I was very uneducated in the world of business, much less the music business. My talent was a major factor in attracting investors, but because I had no “business sense”, I fell into some very risky situations, but thank God, He never allowed me to get too far with these charlatans who were out to capitalize on my talent and ignorance, while screwing me out of what was rightfully mine. As time moved on, I learned what to do and what not to do, who to get involved with, and who not to get involved with. In my previous post, I mentioned resources like angel investors, ventures capitalists and private investors. These are very resourceful, and can be some major vehicles in helping you reach your musical goals and agendas.

A lot of people may be thinking, “Why is he focusing on money and funding so much?” and the truth of the matter is, this is the very first place to start in any musical business career. Sure, artistry is important, as with talent, but this is about getting known, and getting out there in the public eye in a massive way. Whether you are an independent artist, or aspiring to be a major label artist. It takes money, and lots of it, to reach a massive audience and making a brand for yourself. Corporations spend millions of dollars to be major hitters in the game of business, and you are no different. You are as big as you think you are…even if you’re not there yet. The Bible states that, “Whatsoever a man thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7). What do you think of yourself? Are you worth the investment? If so, how much are you worth? I won’t preach to you, but there is a whole lot of truth in this passage of biblical scripture alone. If you see yourself as a $50,000 act, that is what you will always be, but if you see yourself as a $5 million dollar act, then you have the potential to get there. Granted, you must have the talent, business savvy and connections. The talent should already be there. The business savvy comes with time and experience, and the connections will come in time as well, through exposure and due diligence. Yes, it will take work, and lots of it, but it can be well worth it when you finally arrive at your ultimate destination.

Angel Investors

Angel investors are individuals that are millionaires, multimillionaires and billionaires who are looking for places and causes to “nest their eggs”. Angel investors are very business-minded people, and will be smart enough to know whether you have what it takes to run a business, entertainment or not. This is why it is all the more important that you understand business, the business model, and how it all works and comes together. As an artist, I was discovered one night, playing in a club, when an angel investor had come to see a different act who was scheduled to play later on that night. The angel investor wasn’t even there for me, he was there for them. But when he seen me perform, he rushed up to the stage after we stopped for a break, and he said, “I really like what you have going here! How do you feel about meeting later on this week over dinner with you and your wife?” I agreed, so we met later that week. He was astonished at my business sense, and loved the idea that my talent was there too. He had told me that he invested in artists that were nowhere near where I was as far as my business sense and talent, so he said that he was ready to do business as soon as I was. I said that I would think about it. Even though I could have jumped for joy, I kept my cool, and walked away, letting him think that I could slip through his fingers and he could lose the deal. This is a technique of closing the sale, so-to-speak. We met again, and at the end of our meeting, he concluded by saying ot me, “Whatever you need, no matter the costs, just tell me and it is yours.” You can imagine how that made me feel! Later on, the same angel investor told me that he trusted me so much, that he would trust me with his own son’s life, and that made me feel pretty good. Knowing that your investors trust you enough to have full access to their bank account is an amazing feeling. He knew that I am a man with integrity and that I eould never abuse that relationship. Your investors are there to help you succeed, and in doing so, they in return, make money. It should be a win-win relationship. But always keep in mind that the “triple-win relationship” is when you win, your investors win, and your fans win. This should always be your ultimate and foremost goal.

Private Investors

What is the difference between private investors and angel investors? The main difference is that private investors usually are people in whom you already have acquaintance with in some form or fashion, and angel investors are people in whom you most likely don’t have some acquaintance with. Private investors usually can be family members, friends, co-workers, church affiliations, group affiliations, club affiliations so on and so forth. They can also be business savvy, or are just big fans of your talent, and/or are those who wish to be a part of the music industry, and you can be an intricate part of helping them obtain that goal or dream. Some of them may have a good grasp on the entertainment industry, where others are not so industry savvy. Either way, they both can be very good resources in helping you reach your goals, but if they don’t know anything about the music business or the entertainment industry, you would do best to keep them as “silent partners” and let them enjoy the ride, rather than allowing them to have a voice in an industry they know nothing about. However, don’t disregard their talents! If they are business owners, or if they know about marketing, sales, branding or product development, use them as a resource to bounce ideas off of. Use every resource that you have to your disposal! Also, I want to reiterate that private investors may have more than one type of resource available to you! Use every resource that is available to you. This is what every smart business owner does to succeed.

Venture Capitalists

Although this is probably the toughest of all categories of investors, it is not impossible to achieve their funding in your business plans, but you must know from the start, they are “all business”, and they will not even come close to considering your proposal without a:

• Business Plan

• Marketing Plan

• Financials

 • 5-Year Projection

 • Funding Proposal

• Exit Strategy

It takes a more professional approach, and they need a proposed guarantee that they will get their money back in a certain duration or amount of time. They will want to know how long it will take them to receive their initial investment back, and when to expect a profit from their investment. There are some angel investors, however, who will come across the very same way. Venture Capitalists are mainly investment groups, investment clubs and businesses that focus on entrepreneurial investments. Their main focus is finding projects and/or businesses to fund and help get off the ground. So in essence, they are just looking for people to give their money to! To use these resources to your advantage is a great way to fund your projects, and even business structures that you are currently forming, or plan to form in the future! Things like album projects, tours, merchandising, label formation, business development, collaborative works and mergers. You may be saying that none of this really applies to you, but if you are planning to make it to the big time, get ready, because this is how the big stars play. Platinum=selling artists. Corporate moguls. Major record labels. The serious artists who dream big and think big. Remember when I said you are what you think you are? Remember what the Bible says in the book of Proverbs? This holds true here. Think ahead. Think about where you are going, and not where you are right now at this moment. Plan. Execute. Succeed. Spread The Wealth. This is the formula to success.

One More Thing Before I Close…

I want to share one little tidbit on how to start setting up your plan. I will not go into too much details, because then I would be giving away all of my secrets, and that would cost you some major bucks, but I will however, give you a nice little tidbit to savor upon for a while. Are you ready? This is really cool, and will be a huge advantage for you, if you can grasp its content and start to apply it to your current business model. Let us say that you have a corporation, and you want to create asset protection for you and your projects, while at the same time, you create (and harness) each project that you start.

What you will want to do is first, create your corporation. Then, under the corporate name, you will form limited partnerships, or new sub-corporations, under the main corporation. This will cause a bulletproof effect for your businesses and projects (if set up the correct way). For instance, you can make one “project” your album, another, your merchandising “company”, and another your tour “project”. Each should be set up as separate entities, independent one from another. Why? to control investor shares or percentages. This also will help you to be more organized, and will help in building multimillion-dollar companies that become bullet-proof and have asset protection. Do I dare go on? Hm….that would mean that I would have to charge you! OK…OK…one more tip, Okay? Here it is: When you are raising money for each project, by you “harnessing” your projects by forming separate entities, you can be specific in where and how the money will be used, and this will attract more business-savvy investors in your ventures. We must have money to move forward, so now is the time to consider making money your priority while pursuing a professional music career.

~The Music Millionaire

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