TM #002: How To Think About Your Touring Job
Great tour managers are well-versed in many areas from accounting to travel logistics. And many pride themselves on how well they can plan a tour.
But if you're a tour manager, there could be one area in your life you haven't thought about.
Your business.
Did you know, if you aren't receiving a salary from an artist, you are a contractor - meaning you're technically running your own business.
You may have never thought about running a business or wanted to become a business owner, but here you are! Welcome! (to the dark side)
Regardless of your contract job, you should always work like you're running a business and you are the owner.
Why?
Because as you start to think of your job as your own business, you will begin to work harder and smarter.
Most crew on the road are independent contractors working as "sole proprietors." And the IRS classifies you as a business.
But you shouldn’t only call it a business, you should label it a service business. Because the job you're performing is a service.
Here are a couple examples of service businesses:
If you walked into your kitchen this morning and saw roaches crawling all over the counters, you’d immediately call an exterminator to kill all the bugs. An exterminator is a business that provides a service of killing bugs.
If you’re hosting a holiday gathering at your house and you want the driveway to look nicer, you’d call a pressure washing company to clean your driveway. That's another business that provides a service.
Like each of those businesses, you also provide a service. And the only way your business will grow is if your service solves a problem.
Let’s zoom in a little closer. What is your service?
You help make tours successful by managing:
logistics
travel
schedule
people
budget
The service you provide helps solve problems like:
overspending
crew not arriving to the right places on time
over-exhausting travel
stressed out talent
You may say, “Yes, I understand I provide a tour management service, but why do I need to think of it as my own business?” Glad you asked!
Here are four reasons why you should think about your touring job as a business.
#1 - You will make better decisions.
When you think of your job as a business, and when you think of yourself as the business owner, you will make better long-term decisions.
The work you do will no longer only be about the artist, it will also be about growing your business.
#2 - You will have more negotiating power.
Businesses make their own policies, but employees must follow a given set of rules.
Think you'll ever want to make more money in this job?
As a business owner, you can have the right frame of mind to lead a conversation between yourself and the artist/manager saying, “This is what it will cost to successfully manage your tour.”
As an employee (and with that frame of mind), you’ll have less negotiating power. You’ll be handed a rate simply because that’s what the last tour manager made.
But with an owner mentality, you can continually negotiate that rate higher.
Here’s what’s crazy. That one, uncomfortable conversation about the cost of managing a tour could yield you thousands of extra dollars... get this... for the exact same amount of work.
#3 - Your job probably lacks benefits.
Many artists and managers think of their touring crew as employees, but most don’t offer things that real employees receive - like health insurance, benefits, a 401K, training.
If there isn’t a benefit package offered when working with an artist, you will have to pay out of pocket.
And if you work with multiple artists each year, you'd want your healthcare to stay consistent.
And since you’re covering the cost of all those items, wouldn’t you want to have authority over the price you charge?
The answer is, YES!
#4 - You are expected to be an expert.
When you walk into your kitchen and realize your leftover piece of chocolate cake is covered in roaches, you’re going to want the most expert exterminator at your house to get rid of the bugs.
It’s no different for a tour manager. Once you get contracted, you’re expected to be an expert in your field, able to perform the job at a high level.
Employees are often hired with minimal knowledge and are usually trained on site.
But independent contractors and service-based business owners have to approach their work with confidence, expertise, and authority.
Good business owners know the services they offer, they know how to do their job, and they know how to solve their customers' problems. And that’s what keeps money flowing in year after year.
How to Make Money With Your Service
So now we’ve established the service you offer as a business. In a business, how do you make money?
You sell something! You trade a product or service for money.
In our line of work, you sell a service that helps to create a product. In fact, every job on the road is a service that helps to create a product.
The product is the live show or the tour. And as a tour manager, your service is making sure that each area of the tour executes at the highest level.
The people who think about their job as a business are able to pivot faster when problems arise, they’re able to set goals easier, and they’re typically more respected because they understand what it takes to make money for the artist (and themselves).
Biz Resources
Here a few quick resources I put together for running and growing your own business:
Life's Jam - Financial Coaching & Resources for Touring Crew ⬅️ She's awesome!
Freelance Taxes 101- Dave Ramsey
How to use your small business to get tax deals - Twitter 👇🏽
