"[Career Planning for Music Entrepreneurs] was a fantastic workshop. In many ways, I wish that the topics covered in your seminar were part of the core curriculum for conservatory training. For musicians, self-esteem is closely related to artistic success which is in turn deeply intertwined with successful artistic endeavors. Goal-setting strategies, project planning, asking the key questions which help to unlock hidden information--- these are the skills necessary for building a platform of success.
I thought your seminar was a fresh look at how artists, and specifically musicians can do this. I was particularly interested how you were able to blend aspects of the disciplined-black-and-white corporate world with the artistic needs of musicians. Your advice was direct and pertinent, without being harsh and cold. It created a sense of possibility and enablement, which surprisingly started an ebb and flow of ideas in my mind, even while you were speaking. I was compelled to start jotting down ideas as the seminar was going on.
I look forward to working with you in the future, this is exactly the kind of devil's advocate, brain-picking, and support I need to see my upcoming projects into reality."
— John-Morgan B, New York, NY
legal analyst at major nyc financial institution
Where can I even begin to describe how much Astrid has helped me. I met her when I was beginning my final semester of college. I was unsure of what I wanted out of the next few years; she talked me through each thought I had until I knew exactly what I wanted. I was unsure of how to get what I wanted; she talked me through how to best present myself to potential employers and prepped me for every question I might be asked. Because of my sessions with Astrid, I was able to walk into every interview prepared and confident.
By providing a calming, judgment-free environment for me to reflect on what my hopes and dreams were, Astrid allowed me to focus on my future in a way I had not been able to before. It wasn’t always easy but she stuck with me until I knew exactly what I wanted for my future: two years from now, five years from now, ten years from now, and twenty years from now. My goals may very well change, but because of the skills I have learned from Astrid I know I will be able to apply myself to recognize what I want and go after it.
Not only was she so instrumental in helping me discover a career path that worked for me, I left every meeting with her feeling more in control and more hopeful about my future; in short feeling much happier. Astrid is a wonderful woman and every one she works with is the better for it – I know I am.
— Kate K., New York, NY
Composer
Astrid has turned around the way I look at my career in the most extraordinary way. I used to think that the professional part of what I do was very separate from the creative and deeply personal aspects of being a composer. Going after professional opportunities to get my music out there felt to me like a very daunting task--one that I found a little distasteful because it felt like "selling myself." Astrid really helped me realize that building a career has to come from the most genuine part of myself--in the same way as building a piece. With this understanding, the professional world looks much less scary to me now, and I'm able to reach out to my professional network with the courage of my conviction, and with the kind of personal investment and care that makes professional experiences deeply meaningful. Career building is about believing in what you do, and its validity; it is about communication and courage. It only works if it feels true to who you are.
With her supportive and positive attitude combined with her incredible sensitivity and intelligence, Astrid has created for me a wonderful safe space to discover how I want to develop my goals from the inside out. I have found in her a true kindred spirit as well as a powerful ally and coach.
—Hannah L,. New York, NY
publicist
I chose to work with Astrid because of her background in both the arts and business worlds. After our consultation meeting, it became clear to me that she works with her clients to help them achieve success that rings true for each individual, and doesn't just follow the same formula with everyone. She is also a terrific listener and very easy to talk to. There was nothing about the coaching process with Astrid that felt fake or empty -- we got down to nuts and bolts, and took a good look at the motivations behind my current habits as a means of changing those habits when necessary. As a result of working with her, I have reached a new level of balance in my life, and I have more confidence than before about my business decisions. Though it wasn't my main goal going into coaching, I also have found I am doing better financially than in the past. I am now able to approach new situations and apply what I discovered with Astrid, so the benefits of coaching with her have extended beyond the time we were actively working together. It was an invaluable experience.
If you happened to wander by my classroom at Yale recently, you would have seen and heard my students and their professor (that would be me!) moving their arms, doing knee bends, rolling their lip, singing scales to the tune of “mi mi mi” and reciting tongue twisters under the tutelage of Violinist and Professor Brian Lewis who came to my class to help us learn more about public speaking and overcome “glossophobia”(the fear of public speaking).
In fact, in some surveys, fear of public speaking is the number one common phobia, ranking even higher than the fear of death! So Professor Lewis was there to give us some valuable tips on how to get comfortable with public speaking since he adn I both believe that this is an essential skill for today's musicians. Here is a summary of his remarks, together with my own observations on how to speak in public with power and confidence.
One of the goals of my entrepreneurship class at the Yale School of Music is to help my students develop a mindset of positivity and project confidence since this is at the heart of being a successful entrepreneur. My students have learned two great tools for boosting their confidence—strengths and Flow. These are more than “feel-good props”. Both originate from positive psychology, the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive and whose mission includes “find[ing]and nurture[ing] genius and talent".
What’s not to like?
So here is how strengths and Flow can help you to become confident in your professional and your personal endeavors.
Spring Break is here. My students are on overload. They have been performing a lot, as well as auditioning for DMA programs, summer festivals and orchestra jobs, interviewing for internships and jobs on top of all their schoolwork. We began our last class before Spring Break with a check-in on what’s working.
Let’s start off the New Year with a topic that sends shivers down the spires of many musicians: your finances. What’s the first thing that you think of when you think “money”?
“Dread.”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
“I don’t know where to begin.”
Your attitude about money says a lot about how you make, spend and save your money. By using a combination of the positive mindset of an entrepreneur combined with knowledge of basic skills, you can start to conquer your fears around money and begin to forge a healthy relationship with making and spending money, with the goal of achieving financial freedom.
How do you feel about making money as a musician? Start out by taking the Financial Freedom Quiz.
One of the hallmarks of the music entrepreneur is having a positive mindset that allows you to have a belief in your unique gift, a passion for making a difference through music and the willingness to take charge and learn from challenges in order to create success. In essence, a positive attitude is a form of positive energy that a successful music entrepreneur can use to inspire herself and others in order to create success.
I was therefore quite taken with a recent blog post in Music Career Juice on how musicians should not look to businesses as a model for how to operate but instead to aspire to be expressive energy grids – generating, transforming and distributing energy continually. Since I teach musicians how to create career success, this got me thinking more about the kind of energy that one brings to a situation in order to be successful.
We have all heard about “negative” and “positive” energy. Think of what it is like to be surrounded by a group of people who complain and bemoan the state of the world, which we hear a lot of these days in the world of the arts: orchestras like Philadelphia declaring bankruptcy, fewer spots available in orchestras, the weak economy. I could go on but I don’t want to add to the doom and gloom! That’s what negative energy can do-bring you down. And because energy is transferred, if enough people in the room are spinning out negativity, it tends to drag down others. Let’s look at another scenario:
