Why is it important to surround myself with other artists who are succeeding?

You become the average of the five people you surround yourself with, and you need to monitor the source of your inputs carefully. When you surround yourself with peers who are on the same path, actively marketing, and achieving real wins, several powerful things happen. First, it’s inspiring and motivating—seeing someone sell $35,000 in a month shows you what’s possible. Second, you learn directly from them: how they did it, what techniques they used, which you can reverse-engineer and apply yourself. Third, you realize they’re just like you, which means if they can do it, you can too. Fourth, it provides accountability. As a solo entrepreneur, you don’t have a team or business partner, and the ups and downs can be debilitating. When you’re down, you might stop marketing entirely, killing your momentum and your business. A community of peers keeps you accountable and gets you back on track. It’s like someone who’s been sober for 10 years still attending meetings religiously—the support and accountability are critically important.

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Asked by a solo artist entrepreneur · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-08-05