You know, sometimes you have expectations about something, and when its over you say…”Well…that was ok.” Then other times you say “OMFG I can’t believe what just happened!”
That was my experience at The Savvy Musician in Action at the University of South Carolina. This workshop challenged arts entrepreneurs to grow unique ideas and develop them into full blown business plans in only 3 days.
I’ll tell you all about the experience, but first let me just say that the guests were out of this world. We were joined and taught by:
- Ariel Hyatt — how to get our facebook and twitter pages (among others) to really shine.
- World pianist Kimball Gallagher — business development and marketing.
- Howard Herring — CEO of the New World Symphony helped us discover new ways to be a leader and threw some mind-blowing inspirational talks.
- Ranaan Meyer — Ok, this guy not only has a hilarious sense of humor, he also just happens to really how his marketing skills. He provided great insight on developing your business and on how to survive in the “real world.”
- Michael Harley — This AMAZING bassoonist went from room to room making sure none of us had lost our minds yet, and provided great ideas for our businesses. There is nothing better than to be able to talk to someone who has “done it.”
AAAAANNNNNND last but not least:
- David Cutler — founder of this amazing workshop and ridiculous arts juggler. The ideas just flow from this man’s mind I tell ya! I owe him more than you might yet know…
One of the best parts of this workshop was the opportunity to be able to do a real 60 second pitch of your business idea in front of a crowd. It was nerve racking, but damn it was it worth it. You can learn so much about yourself in 60 seconds. THE best part of the workshop though, was gathering a team of people to develop your business idea…for freaking free. Following the pitch challenge we got to pick our groups, and of course, I was there to win. I just HAD to get my hands on those I saw as honest, team-working people to help me develop my idea.
Then came the crazy part…actually working on the business. Countless hours of work from everyone in my group would be an understatement. We had “business school” class to go to, teamwork time and then more teamwork time, for 3 days. I have to say, getting home at 3:30am the night before the final presentation was not my idea of fun, but I was driving home inspired…and excited.
This was by far the BEST experience of my life. I cannot say thank you loud enough to those who helped me. I definitely cannot express my gratitude towards Dr. Cutler, for it was in his class at the USC School of Music that my business was born. That was the beginning of MusicFit Academy. It’s been just over a month since the retreat, and already my studio has increased and my students are advancing faster than ever.
Oh yea…did I mention we won?
:)
Since winning this competition I have made some great new contacts in the music world, found new friends and increased my income. I’m running my business out of my home in Columbia, SC at the time and through Skype Lessons, but fear not…in the future we might be in your hometown! This has opened not only many doors, but really opened my mind. If you have the chance to do this….DO IT.
THANK YOU SMIA!
What a bunch of good looking people!