How to (not) get paid composing work 🙃

Have you ever inverted a question?

This is a technique I learned recently from a business mentor of mine, and the concept blew my mind.

Here’s why.

When faced with a problem, we often ask ourselves how to solve the problem at hand.

But here's the problem:

If we knew how to answer that question, we’d already be doing it.

Composers looking to find more work often fall into that same trap:

• "How can I get clients to find my work?"
• "What can I do to raise my rates?"
• "How do I convince people to work with me?"

See the problem?

Each question here is open-ended.

(There might be answers to these questions - but it all feels a bit foggy.)

Now...

Imagine now that we invert the questions:

• “How can I get clients to NOT find my work?”
• ”What can I do to NOT raise my rates?”
• ”What can I do to convince people to NOT work with me?”

See how the inverted answers become clearer?

If we wanted clients to NOT find us, we would...

• 📲 Stop posting online
• 📩 Stop reaching out
• 🤝 Stop asking for referrals

If we wanted to NOT raise our rates, we would...

• 👍 Say “yes” to any budget
• ❌ Never negotiate
• 💡 Never learn higher-value skills

If we wanted to convince people to NOT work with us, we would...

• 🫵 Focus on our needs instead of theirs
• 😡 Be difficult to work with
• 🗑️ Deliver poor work

Inverting a question allows us to get answers for the opposite result.

So...

This week, I challenge you to invert a question you’ve been asking yourself and getting stuck on.

(Then invert your answers to get yourself back on track 😉)

👋 Ready for more?

When you're ready, here's 4 ways I can help:

1. 🎥 My YouTube. Watch 350+ videos including music tutorials, career tips, and more.
2. 🗞️ The Newsletter Archive. Read articles from previous weeks of this newsletter.
3. 🎬 Composing Career Bootcamp. Join my 6-week cohort-based course to learn how to land paid composing work from anywhere in the world. (100+ students, 5 stars)
4. 👋 Work Directly with Me. I'm offering private mentorship to a handful of select media composers. If you're interested, click the link to apply.

That's all for now!

Hit reply to share your thoughts, questions, or just to say hi.

(I love hearing from my readers. 🙂)

Otherwise, happy music-making and I'll see you next Tuesday!

- Zach

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