America is the greatest country in the world – in what other place could someone with an advanced music degree and no prior experience, obtain a job in a completely different field, then move up the ranks through hard work?

Persistence is nearly as important, if not as important as talent – I submitted 83 resumes to obtain my first business job and landed it because I called the employer every two weeks after my first interview. It just so happened that I called on the day the CEO asked her when she was going to get the position filled, and she invited me to come in for a second interview. Lesson: if you really want your music performed, then you’ve got to send it out, and send it out again and again, and take time to invest in the relationships that can help it see the light of day.

Create a Plan, then Execute It – Artists have no shortage of vision, but they often struggle with creating a plan as to how to turn the vision into reality. My time in the business world has taught me how to get from the point where I’m at today, to the point where I imagine myself being. I need to come up with a tasklist, order those tasks, and assign timelines for the completion of each task. Ironically, many folks in the business world have the opposite problem, where they have plenty of experience creating project plans, but are lacking in vision.

Business Writing 101 – There’s a marked difference between business writing and academic writing. Guess what? Granting agencies prefer the former – write as if you are someone to be trusted with money and people will give it to you.

Leadership – Lots of things fall into this category, like the ability to run a meeting and to organize others around a common goal. I’ve learned how to give people a very specific task with a due date, and follow up with them to ensure the task is completed. As members of an artistic movement, we can’t accomplish all that much on our own, but we can accomplish a lot with the help of many others. Most people have a good heart, but many need a capable leader to show them how they can be helpful toward moving the cause in the right direction.

Branding and Marketing – Ford, Sony, Verizon, these brands conjure up different images in our minds, and we’re aware of them through marketing. Composers have a brand too, their name. How do we get our name out there more often in front of peers, performers, and other interested parties? Blogging, writing articles for music publications, social networking, serving on the boards of music organizations are but a few examples of getting our brand name out there.

Web Design – In my previous position, I was fortunate enough to be a site administrator for an internal website. Boy have these skills come in handy with my website and blog!

Most deals are made on the golf course – well not literally, but the analogy speaks volumes. All dealings, in the business world and in the arts world, are made based on a certain level of trust and comfort between the two parties. Most commission and performance opportunities are going to come from people that you have a real relationship with, not through mailing off large padded envelopes to people you’ve never heard of.

Networking is crucial – The more relationships you have, the more likely it is that opportunities will come your way. I obtained my second and third jobs in the business world partly because someone at the new company knew me. Treat everyone with respect. It’s the right thing to do and you'll reap benefits in the long run because of it.

Living Comfortably – For me, I’ve got to take care of the basics for my family before feeling as though I can engage in creative desires like composing. If day-to-day expenses were constantly on my mind, the stress wouldn’t create the sort of environment I need to be creative. Because I earn a decent income, I don’t have to think twice about making a trip to hear my music, purchasing new equipment, or sending out musical materials – that’s a nice benefit!

Meeting Deadlines is Important - Prior to working in the business world, I was very poor at working toward a deadline.  A pattern of missing deadlines at work can mean losing one's job.  This sort of ability to negotiate deadlines and make decisions quickly has benefited my composing as well. Sometimes, there are two equally valid solutions to a musical problem, choose one and move forward!

Don't put all of your Eggs in One Basket - If I face disappointments in music, there are other things to 'hang my hat on', like achievements at work or solid time with the family. These things hold true in the reverse as well.   In 2002, when I became a victim of a mass layoff at Worldcom, it was music and my family that kept my spirits up, and allowed me to keep a healthy attitude.  I had a new job within 8 weeks!

Artists should not insulate themselves from the ‘real world’ – It’s helpful to talk with people on a daily basis that have not heard of Stravinsky and have a CD by Green Day in their music collection. You can find out lots of great information this way – like the fact that most people think that composers are dead, and that many people find classical music ‘stuffy’. Could they think we’re dead because we insulate ourselves from the real world? Hmmm…. I think I see a correlation here.

I can be my own artist – Working in the business world allows me to follow my own musical instincts, without the pressures one can feel to write music ‘a certain way’ when making their living as a composer.

Music is still an escape – I have the luxury of not being burnt out on music. It can be tough for composers that teach music all day to have the fortitude to write music at night. For me, music is still an intoxicating escape, a completely different, and refreshing way of thinking from what I’m engaged in throughout the day.