Bob Baker's The Buzz Factor

Here's a message I sent to my Buzz Factor ezine subscribers this week. It moved a lot of people to bare their souls and reveal some deep personal issues that many musicians face. Here's the message ...

I would really like your input on something.

For the last few months I've been feeling like I'm on the verge of evolving into a new stage of my career.

It seems that every 5 or 6 years, some shift occurs that takes me into a new phase of this life adventure. And considering the last one happened in 2004, I'm about due.

Only thing is, I'm not quite sure what shape this new phase will take. A new product? A new service? A new information delivery method? A new direction altogether?
I believe that the best way to serve others and make a living doing something you love is to find that sweet spot where your talents, gifts and passions overlap with a need or hunger in the marketplace.

So the questions we need to ask are: Who can really benefit from and crave what we love to do? And specifically, what do they want and need?

So I ask you ...

What Do You Want From Me?

What book, report, program, workshop, course, or service should I offer to satisfy your most pressing need?

What valuable music resource would you be willing to pay for that would help you the most?

I welcome your ideas. Of course, I won't act on all of them. But I will keep my mind open to what resonates as something I can deliver in the next stage of my journey.

I also encourage you to ask these same questions of yourself. Are you ready for the next stage of your musical evolution? And if so, what shape will that take for you?

I want to share some of the common responses I got to this email, but first ... Some people thought I was implying that I'm getting bored with my work, or that I might be ready to completely switch gears. That's not true. I love what I do and am still quite passionate about it.

In fact, the real motive for this message is a feeling that I want to impact more people in a bigger and more effective way. I don't want to coast or ever feel that my current success is the finish line, because it isn't. It's all part of an evolution to do greater good in the world -- and enjoy the fruits that come with it.

Thanks to the dozens of people who responded and shared their biggest challenges. So far, I'm seeing some patterns.

One of the biggest needs has to do with prioritizing an infinite number of career and promotion choices. There is no shortage of activities to spend time on. But there are only so many hours in the day. How do you decide which ones to focus on?

I've been aware of this one for some time. I experience it myself on a daily basis. So one possibility is a resource or planning system to help indie music people prioritize their time. Another is some sort of music marketing blueprint -- a step-by-step, fill-in-the-blank system or checklist that anyone can follow to build a buzz.

Despite all the attention on social media and Internet exposure, live performance continues to be one of the best ways to build a fanbase and a music career. So I got a lot of responses related to booking more and better gigs, and how to leverage them. That's another resource I'm pondering.

What else do you have for me? Leave a comment below or send me an email. I'm all ears. And I thank you for helping direct me to the next stage of my own career!

-Bob

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