I have to start this post by saying that I am definitely blessed! And yes, I don't mean fortunate, I mean blessed...blessed that I'm such a hard worker at what I do that I have miraculously managed to stay incredibly busy, even with this downturn of the economy. That's not to say my wife and I are on easy street, but we certainly could be much worse off than we are.
One thing that I haven't shared too much on this blog is the fact that my wife was laid off of her job back in January of this year. When that happened, we lost about 47% of our household income literally overnight! As it were, we already were living with pretty tight belts, but her lay-off hurt.
One reason it was such a terrible hit for us was because we were still trying to recover from her last layoff, which had taken place about 16 months prior. That one stretched our resources and this one pretty much killed everything else off.
Another reason that it really hit us hard was because both layoffs were completely unexpected...no warning what so ever! I have to jump in by saying that maybe there are a few things, being self employed, that I don't have readily available to me, but I have NEVER been laid off or fired. And, I ALWAYS know the state of my business and can foresee months down the road if I may encounter a problem that I may have to find a way around or prepare for.
So, anyway, the third reason that this particular layoff has been more challenging is because now we have an extra mouth to feed! By the way, that is actually part of the "blessed" feeling I have!
But getting back to the first thing I wrote in the blog posting, which was feeling blessed that I'm such a hard worker at what I do, I know of so many other musicians who aren't working anywhere near as much as I am. I have really managed to put my bookings into afterburner this year, and next year is already looking to be even more busy.
I have really worked hard at getting my name out there, marketing myself, cultivating new relationships, and so on. Yes, I have new bags under my eyes, but the pay off has been a busier performance schedule than I have ever had at any point of my 10 or 12 years as a full time musician. In fact I can actually remember a time when I used to wish I was this active. Back then, I can remember having the number of gigs in a span of 4 months that I now have in just 1 month's time.
What that means is, though I have not entirely made up the 47% of income that our household lost when my wife got laid off, we have managed to stay in this house for a longer span of time than either some of my friends or even some members of my family had thought we'd be able to achieve.
So why am I making my wife's and my financial woes so public? Well, it boils down to one simple thing. INSPIRATION!
I'm aware of other musicians and artists who read my blog and follow me online in other formats. I've been made aware; via emails, chatroom comments, Facebook messages, and so on, that I'm looked up to by some others in the arts community because I am one of the few full time artists that can say that they are a homeowner and lives some semblance of a "normal" life, (wife, kid, etc.). I have been told by some artist friends that if I can't pull out of this, they don't know what hope that they have for their own futures because I work so hard.
Well, that is exactly my point. I work so hard because I know that there is hope as long as I work so hard. I'm not, and never have been, one who waits for that hope to arrive. My motto has ALWAYS, from day 1, been "if you can't FIND a gig, then MAKE a gig"!
So, I say to my fellow artists who may read this blog, that if I can last for 9 months plugging up holes in a ship that's far from shore, with two other people depending on me and all of the responsibilities that come with trying to support a family by just my income as a full time musician, then YOU should be able to do likewise or even better if you are a musician or artist that doesn't have anybody depending on you, or any home ownership responsibilities.
These times are the ones that will let us know if we REALLY want to try and make a living at what we do. These are the times that will show if we REALLY have what it takes to make it in such a competitive and saturated field.
Don't give up and don't lay down....just work hard and KEEP BUSY!!!!!
