💸 When To Pay For Advice

A few weeks ago, I saw a post on the TEAMMATES forum that caught my eye. 👀

Here’s what the OP wrote:

I see this kind of question often. Composers want to spend money to gain experience, connections, and work. 💸

My opinion?

Only spend high amounts of money for specific, high-value problems.

Paying someone $500 an hour will not:

• Get you work
• Get your their network
• Fast-track your way into the industry

Those sorts of things will take good old-fashioned hard work, honest relationships, time, and patience. ⏱️

You can’t buy your way into this industry—not long-term, at least.

So what kind of problems are worth spending $500 an hour for?

Spend money only when you’ve hit specific roadblocks that need specific solutions. 🚷

Examples of this could be:

• Purchasing a template after you’ve attempted to make one yourself (or composed for a while without one)
• Learning strategies or workflow on managing a team or delegating work
• Anything that will save you copious amounts of time or money

Even before this, though...

... try to solve problems for yourself at least once before paying someone else to do it. You'll learn much more that way. 💡

But questions like...
​"How did you find work?"
"How should I network?"
"How can I compose better?"

... aren't the best use of your money at price points like $500/hr. You'll need to be more specific with your questions to maximize the benefit of that cost.

Instead, seek out peers or industry folks one rung higher on the ladder, grab a coffee or Zoom meeting, and build a relationship. You'll get way more value long-term than spending money. 🙂

(P.S. If you’re not a member of TEAMMATES, it’s a great place to learn about assistant work/life from respectable members of the composing industry.)