Bad mistakes you can make with networking and referrals

Recording, Mixing and Producing
#1

I don’t know why, this one kind of hit home. I’m somewhat self conscious (call it insecure even) about what peers think of my work and business acumen. The general public, and critics…maybe not so much. You develop pretty thick skin in any highly competitive field, but there’s a sense of vulnerability when it comes to people who’s opinion you do value and respect.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2017/04/21/the-four-mistakes-bad-networkers-always-make/#62962ace675d

For me, the scariest thing about some of these points is how easily you can screw this stuff up and never even realize it.

I have always looked at any career as a three way triangle between
1- trade skills
2- communication (people skills) and
3- business smarts

Lack any one of the three and you’ll struggle. Lack two of the three and you’ll fail.

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#2

In all honesty, if anybody needs to read that article in order to understand what they are doing wrong, they are a lost cause in the first instance.

The article is talking about basic requisites for life: punctuality, respect, willingness to help others etc. If you haven’t got these, reading an article isn’t going to make any difference.[quote=“Jonathan, post:1, topic:1325”]
I have always looked at any career as…
[/quote]
OK, but the article is specifically about networking, i.e. business relationships. That’s different to the requirements for a career.

#3

I suppose it all rests on what career an individual has…

These three points you have raised are somewhat relative to my current full time employment and to my semi-pro musician status too.

  1. Trade Skills, yes, us semi-pro musicians need to have the skills to perform well when on stage or recording…

  2. Communication, this is probably the most important point out of the three. It is very important that one takes two steps back before making communication with another party, whether it is face to face, telephone, email, social media, or, dare I mention it, posting on this site!

  3. Business Smarts, this probably covers a multitude of potential headings, but yes, whether you’re full time or part time in the music business, you will not get by without business acumen! Also a band is effectively a business partnership, but that can be made a lot easier if individual relationships within the band are solid too!

#4

Jonathon’s topic reminds me of this Graham Cochrane interview that I watched a few weeks ago.

Some people in the youtube comment section were saying things like “So these guys in the video are basically saying, don’t be yourself and be a slave to everyone in the industry.” …I personally didn’t think that’s what they’re saying. What they were saying is pretty common sense stuff though. No big secrets that they revealed. Be courteous, respectful, diligent, give a lot of your time and effort to others, don’t be late, etc., etc.

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