IndieBiz - Asking for Help (from Toronto)

Help in Toronto - photo by Blair Stirrett.

Today I’m sitting in Toronto, thinking about art and business and making a living. We drove over from Montreal for a quick weekend mission, and rather then just see Fringe shows and enjoy the 20th annual Toronto Fringe theatre fest and drink beers, I decided to try and also squeeze in meetings with anyone I could think of who might be able to give me advice. Today I sat down with an arts lawyer / theatre producer, and the president of a non-profit arts production company.

I wanted to pick their brains, tell them about where we’re at, and have them ask questions about Indyish to try and see it (strengths and weaknesses) from their eyes. My general policy these days is ASK FOR HELP. The great thing about Toronto is there are very “big” arts players here, working hard at the heart of the biggest city in Canada to create good work and live off the fact of creation. To me at least it seems they give advice on a whole other scale.

I’ve always powered Indyish with advice and insight from other people, but I haven’t always been good at it. Aside from the constant and invaluable input from volunteers over the years, I got advice from the head of the Montreal Fringe, from the founder of POP Montreal, from Suoni organizers, from a web start up millionaire, and from the founder of Ile Sans Fils, and, and, and… And I have to admit, I still have no idea what I’m doing. The tricky thing for me is to balance a humble awareness of the fact that you’re making it up as you go along with enough self-confidence to properly convey what you’re trying to do so people can understand and help you.

Elran and I have been able to learn a lot from experience and research and common sense, but there’s nothing quite like the input of a generous professional. And the wonderful and not-so-shocking thing is that a lot of professionals are more then willing to give you advice, for FREE! Not always, of course, and there’s no trick to making sure they say yes to an advice session except to ask nicely, succinctly, and to be clear why you’re asking them in particular. I’ve learned that it helps to do your research first, get a clear idea of what the person does so you’re asking relevant questions; to not make speeches about what you do or use your advice meeting as a grandstand; not to expect that any one person will solve all your problems for you or even be interested in helping beyond a quick conversation. Stay calm and humble, prep a list of questions in advance so you can stay on track if you get nervous, and build whatever kind of relationship you can. The relationship is more important than anything you’ll get out of one sit down. To get over the panicky need to get all your questions asked and problems solved, ask moore people! Go through first and second degree family and friend connections, and then to ask those people “is there anyone you know who I could sit down with to talk about that?”

Following the links, yo… That’s a good one when I remember to do it. At minimum these days I make sure to at least remember to ask if I can email them again, so I have a door open to ask allll the things I forgot.

Last note on asking for help, and IndieBiz in Toronto - I walked into a bar in Toronto yesterday and ran into Kaya Fraser, in town for a show at the Smiling Buddha on Sunday night, and she was telling me about her adventures in Indie Musician land. She’s got a great head on her shoulders and works hard and it’s paying off - dream goals like playing a show with Ron Sexsmith came true in under a year of performing because (well because she’s wildly skilled, but also) she calmly reaches out, introduces herself, makes goals and goes after them, quietly confident in her own music. Another good example - she recently emailed the president of a major label, just out of the blue on the off chance he’d pay attention. Not only did he answer her personally, he introduced her via email to several of the right people to talk to and they are coming to her next show. Ask for help. It’s the real secret =). Now, it’s 2PM at the beer tent and I’ve been in meetings all morning so it’s time for some beer and some theatre, then back to the Fringe Club tonight for the free show by Sandro Perri!