FOUND Bites - Platform - 4/19
Everyone needs a platform now. Well, not everyone. Maybe every performer. I’ll explain. In 2020, many artists who are Independent Contractors mainly, have had to lay and wait for the organizations who act as gatekeepers, to come up with a plan for how to live off the money they make, depend less on or lean more onto the money that is contributed, then think about the people they hire and whether they can hire them to meet their organizational goals. This is what every business has to think about but, for some, having a direct focus on where your money comes from had to shift, dramatically.
Maybe you were consistently working with a couple of organizations who use your talent to meet their ends. Now, the focus has to be on the value you yourself place into the world. That has been my thought and I have paid more attention to that over the past few years. So, what is it? What do you (I) contribute to the world that only you (I) can? That has to be your focus…mine.
Now is the time for everyone to become a business or, at least, think like one. If you are not earning what you need in order to make your ends meet, we have to ask ourselves, what more can we do? It could be anything. There has been a lot of creativity displayed in the past year and much of it is due to the explosion of technology accessibility. Tik Tok allows you to create content and find an audience for it as well as YouTube and Twitch, Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify, Square space, so many new websites are built on platforms that allow you to blog, host songs and podcasts, food recipes, set up a store and sell your stuff, sell other people’s stuff, make recommendations, the list goes on.
The point is, you can do any of that on your own. Did we ever need to wait for a company’s selfish goals to align with our own needs? What was stopping us from taking control…fear? We all have that, even the most successful companies have fear and take risks. We all take risks.
It’s a lot to take in, I know but, the most important thing to do is make a plan. You have to plan. It is the thing that may set you apart from the very organizations you once worked for, your plan.
Make a plan to bring into the world something that only you can bring into the world. Write a song, a play, a blog post, build something and be consistent about it. Before you know it, you will look back on a body of work that would not have existed if you did not make a plan. Start small, see what you can handle. Gradually challenge yourself to do more. Ideas will come from your original ideas, they will present more ideas. Soon, you will be so full of ideas. Sell those ideas.
Be the machine, not the cog in the machine. That mindset can propel you to such great heights. At least, that is what I have been telling myself, consistently, over the past year. Make it. Do it yourself. Plan it out. Take control.
I have heard bits and pieces of these very statements from many different resources but, until it makes sense in my mind, I cannot act on it. So, what do you have to do to act? What is next? Once, you have that answer, let us begin.
