As part of my class at Yale, my students create a project in order to experience entrepreneurship in action. I am thrilled at how my students delved into the unknown and created a wide variety of creative and innovative projects that opened up new vistas for them. My ground rules were as follows: Do something you never done before; and …
Top 10 Confidence Boosters for Arts Entrepreneurs
Just think of how often confidence comes up in the course of your life, whether it is in rehearsal, in performance, speaking in public, making presentations or pitches, networking or interviewing for a job. Confidence is at the heart of your personal motivation and self-esteem to put you at ease. It is also essential when you interact with others in order …
Insights from 4 Yale Music Entrepreneurs: How To Create Success in The Changing Classical Music World
This year, I once again invited four enterprising recent alumni of the Yale School of Music to speak to our students about how they created their career success, as well as to hear how they are navigating the possibilities and opportunities in today’s ever-changing world. This year’s panel provided pithy insights and encouraging advice on how to create success in …
Networking for Music Entrepreneurs: Using Emotional Intelligence to Connect and Build Your Network
I enjoy teaching networking because it involves complex relationship building skills and requires a high degree of emotional intelligence. Rather than thinking of networking as trying to “get” something from others, it is, instead, a powerful way to make new business friends and expand your circle so that you can create a mutually-supportive community. At the heart of networking is …
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Public Speaking For Musician Entrepreneurs: Draw In Your Audience with an Enticing Theme
People love music. It has been around since the early days of human’s existence on the planet and it is not going away. But classical music is under attack for being too elitist, too difficult, too alien to the experience of today’s audiences. That’s why it is important to find ways to invite audiences into the world of classical music. …
Turning Arts Entrepreneurs into Inspired Leaders: Know Your WHY
My project in working with musicians and arts leaders is not only to teach arts entrepreneurship—the mindset, skillset and process of actualizing an innovative idea—but also to take entrepreneurship to the next level of cultural leadership To do so, I have my students articulate the greater purpose underlying WHY they make music, teach, perform and then communicate that purpose to the …
Conversation with David Shifrin: Creating Opportunities Throughout Your Career
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of interviewing renowned clarinetist and beloved Yale professor David Shifrin, one of only two wind players to have won the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize since the award\’s inception in 1987. With a wide-ranging career as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, chanber musician, university professor, artistic director and collaborator, he has constantly created and sought …
The Life-Long Journey of Music Entrepreneurship: Where are you now and how can you improve?
We hear a lot today about “arts entrepreneurship” but what exactly does that mean? Let’s start with “entrepreneurship”: the process of transforming an idea into an enterprise that creates value—economic, social, cultural, or intellectual– through innovation risk-taking and actualizing an idea. To me, “arts entrepreneurship” is: applying the entrepreneurial mindset (including taking risks, creating and recognizing opportunity, grit and growth) …
How to Develop the Growth Mindset: 4 Steps for Music Entrepreneurs To Achieve Success
My class has started and I am thrilled to have another wonderful group of budding music entrepreneurs! This year, I have framed my entrepreneurship course under the umbrella of change: How can you change over the course of this semester and learn the mindset, skills and tools to enable you to create your career success? One important element of success …
The Growth Mindset of Arts Entrepreneurs: An Essential Element in Creating Success
With summer behind us and everyone back in the saddle at work or at school, this is a great opportunity to start off the new year with a new mindset. Whether I am teaching conservatory music students, working with arts leaders or coaching individual clients, my project is the same: how can I help you to create authentic success and …