Music Money Strategies
By Jeffrey Fisher, MusicDish.com

I'm always amazed how many creative people ignore their need to invest for the future. Now my particular idea of investing goes way beyond merely saving money and depositing for growth in a bank, stock, bond, mutual fund, etc. (I'll get to that in a moment). While I know that form of investing is crucial to real success as a music professional, there are a few other forms of investment to consider.

Since I advocate running your career as a business, the first place to invest is in your business. That doesn't mean running out a grabbing more gear. The best place to invest in your business is making it grow. That probably means adding music products and services and also spending resources to promote them. The next pace to invest is in your relationships, both business and personal. Nobody achieves success in a vacuum. You depend on people to help you achieve. Today is the perfect day to start building those crucial relationships. Lastly, always invest in yourself. Make yourself a better person by mastering new skills and savoring new experiences. Making all these forms of investment a part of your daily life is the true path to success in your life.

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Let's say your humble music business pays you $50 a month, $600 a year. You would need $10,000 in the bank earning 6% interest to make the same $600 bucks in one year. It can be hard to save $10,000. Even socking away $100 a month takes 6.8 years. If your business nets you just $100 a month and you sweep it into an investment paying 6% a year, you will have your $10,000 in 6.8 years. That same $10,000 will now pay you $50 a month without further intervention on your part. You've accumulated a capital base that pays you a dividend of $600 each year. Add that to your $100 from your business and in less than seven years your business and investments make $150 each and every month.

Now nobody is going to get rich on $150 a month.

You are missing my point. It is the combination of earning, saving, and investing that creates a moneymaking music machine for you. You just need to make some money from your music, save it, invest regularly, and watch it grow. Take the same figures from above and multiply them by 10. Can you use your music career to make $1000 a month? Can you in turn save that amount? In the same 6.8 years you will have $100,000 paying you a whopping $6000 a year in interest. That's $500 a month without touching the original 100-grand.

What choices do you have to make right now to allow yourself to both earn money from your music, save a sizable chunk of it, invest it, and ultimately reap the benefits of all your hard work?

One final thought: Spending some money can help you generate even more money. For example: Spend $25 on my "Moneymaking Music" book. Use the information you learn to land some gigs that pay you $750. You've earned a startlingly 30 times return on your modest 25 buck investment. You'd have to sock a whopping $10,000 in an investment paying 7.5% to get the same cash return.

Now you tell me: which is the wiser, more prudent investment?

I firmly believe that intelligent investing in yourself in a careful, controlled, and cohesive manner will often yield larger dividends than simply plopping the same cash in your savings account. Make sure you keep your perspective, though. Don't become either a miser or a spendthrift. Yet when an expenditure helps you create more success (and more money), you might be better off to write the check.

Provided by the MusicDish Network. Copyright © Tag It 2003 - Republished with Permission