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Why You’re Passed Over For Gigs Even Though You’re Qualified & How to Fix it

Christian Howes music business coach

Read if you get passed over for gigs/clients/projects even though you’re more than qualified.

People often assume that if they practice harder or get more credentials it will translate into opportunities.

However, answering “yes” to either of the following proves this false:

  • Do you know musicians with tons of ability who don’t get gigs?
  • Do you know musicians with less ability who work all the time?

Ability matters, but getting the gig often depends on other things like:

1) Whether the person hiring, joining, or buying feels comfortable with you. People won’t hire you if they don’t feel comfortable. In fact, if you’re really good at what you do this can make people feel afraid to ask you for what they want on the gig.

Bear in mind that the people hiring you often don’t know the difference between how good you are and how good someone else is. I don’t know the difference in quality between three home repair companies.. or three restaurants.

2) The chances of you making them look good. I’d rather hire a good musician who shows up on time than a great musician who’s late.

I see the negative effects of missing this all the time when people come to me focused on press kits, websites, albums, or practicing harder, only to have their effort not lead to clients or gigs. We can easily experience years of disappointment and frustration because of missing this basic truth of entrepreneurship.

It’s more important to show people they can trust you than to show how good you are.

Or as they say in the South: “People don’t care how much you know; They want to know how much you care”.

I was disappointed 20 years ago when winning jazz awards didn’t instantly turn into massive tours. I took it personally; and then I realized 1) It wasn’t about me, and 2) I could do something about it.

Once you understand this you can focus on the right things and take control of your career.

Instead of “getting better” at your craft, you’ll realize that you’re more than good enough. Then you can focus on the things which will actually attract opportunities.

Package your services/programs to help people understand and trust you, and how you can help them.

There are time-tested, non-weird ways to do this.

To save you from reinventing the wheel, Evan Gregor and I revamped Music Biz Mastermind.

You’ll get access to 5 of our courses addressing common problems of freelancers.

Get your questions answered directly from us during regular group calls.

Expert guidance is worth investing in when you consider how much time and money you’ll save by focusing on things that actually work.

If you want to attract/enroll more clients, students, or projects, I recommend you try it out.

Try it out here.

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