In Stage 3 of my Musician's Profit Path, you're creating more content, connecting with more fans, and generating more opportunities. It's exciting! And also overwhelming.
What sneaks in is this little voice that says, "If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself." And so we do. We DIY the heck out of everything because that's our superpower. It's what got us everything so far.
And since things are taking off we think, "I have to just keep pushing forward because what I'm doing is working."
But here's the truth - a little cliche but totally true - What got you here won't get you there.
I had to learn the hard way: doing everything yourself is not sustainable. It's a fast track to burnout.
And worse, it robs you of the creative energy and joy you need to do the things that only you can do. Writing, recording, performing. Your zone of genius: the work no one else can do for you.
I remember collecting email addresses at my shows using paper sign-up sheets, but never finding the time to actually input them into my list. One day I handed that stack of papers to someone else and said, "Please take care of this." That simple act gave me back hours of energy and lifted a weight off of me emotionally.
I think we underestimate the mental load the "shoulds" place on us.
Eventually, I hired a local college student to help me with booking outreach. She emailed venues, followed up on leads, and even found some opportunities I wouldn’t have known about.
Delegating felt risky, but once I saw how much mental space it freed up, I was hooked! I wondered why I waited so long.
And when I finally hired my first assistant in my current business, it was terrifying. I didn’t think I could afford it. I worried I wouldn’t find the right person. And I was convinced no one could do things as well as I could. After all, it was MY business.
But after a few weeks, I started breathing differently. I had time to focus on creating new offers, on relationships, on strategy, on the deeper work that only I could do.
And I was able to bring more presence and joy to every interaction because I wasn’t buried in admin and guilt about all the things I "should" be working on.
If you’re feeling like rehearsals have lost their spark or your live shows feel more like a chore than a celebration, it may not be about the music. It may be about everything else that’s crowding it out.
You are the artist. Your job is to create, connect, and perform. What would it feel like to hand off just one task this week that someone else could do?
I've helped a lot of artists over the years free themselves from being the bottleneck in their own career.
Reply and let me know what's holding you back from delegating a few admin tasks to an assistant a few hours each week (or if you've been thinking about using some AI tools to do things faster but you're not sure how).
Always in your corner,
<3 Bree
***This Friday newsletter is created for Female Artists & Advocates, and focuses on our mission to amplify quality music by Female Artists & Female-Fronted Bands in all genres and help them build a thriving music career and solid business. If you'd like to unsubscribe from FEM Fridays but still receive our regular Wednesday Profitable Musician Newsletter, click here and we'll note your preference.
