Find More Than One Benefit in Your Activities

I have often been heard telling a potential or even existing client that just stepping out of the house to go perform one show already has five benefits:
1.    No matter how long you’ve been performing, it’s still always good practice (practice makes perfect, right?)
2.    An opportunity to get more/new photos and video
3.    You never know who might be there
4.    If you’re a songwriter, it’s a chance to test out your original songs on a live audience of “strangers” (meaning, not someone at your residence who’s going to just say nice things)
5.    It keeps you looking busy, which makes you more in-demand to others who will want to do business with you.
And then I always say, “And I didn’t even mention getting paid.”  So, I could’ve added a number 6, which would be, a chance to sell your music and merchandise. But, you see that there are benefits above and beyond the obvious.

That brings me to the point of this week’s blog, which is to always look for more than just one incentive, or, maybe a better way to say it, one positive outcome from your activities (not necessarily just performing).

Yesterday I flew back from our nation’s capital, where I was a featured speaker at DC Podfest.  Someone asked me, “So, did you get any business from that?”  Hmmm, maybe I should’ve written this blog a while ago so that I could’ve just answered by saying, “Here, read this.”

By presenting at the two-day event, I:
1.    Was able to educate attendees, and that, in itself is just the right thing to do (helping others, and not keeping all the information to myself)
2.    Added to my résumé as a speaker, which now makes me that much more attractive to other events
3.    Positioned myself as a thought leader, an expert
4.    Yes, got pictures and video of me speaking
5.    Promoted the “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast to the standing room only crowd who attended my presentation, which I’ve already seen translate into new Facebook Likes, Twitter and Instagram follows, and surely more listeners and subscribers to the podcast
6.    Met and made a good connection with an individual that has a recording studio in Nashville, where my regular readers and podcast listeners know I do a lot of business
Now, did you notice I listed all that even before – like the list at the top – talking about anything like a speaker fee or selling my eBooks or even sales of podcast merchandise?

Yes, make no mistake, fringe benefits don’t pay the bills.  My wildly popular blog about non-profits needing to realize that musicians can’t pay the rent with exposure attests to that.  However, the lesson is that you are leaving assets, experiences, opportunities, and relationships on the table if you have too narrow a focus that all you can see is the paycheck.

What others did I miss?  Post them here for others to see and comment on.