Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pamela Slim
When I first left college, I worked in a cubicle farm, in a basement with no windows, for two years. It was a real eye opener, and I’ve worked hard never to work in a cubicle again. It’s mostly worked, but I’m still not sitting at home working on beats as I’d like.
As musicians and aspiring rockstar DJ’s, we all dream of leaving our day jobs (yes, I still have a day job, too). It always feels scary, and most of the time seems unobtainable. Fuck that.
Escape from Cubicle Nation, by Pamela Slim, starts with the psychology behind leaving your job. Why do you want to leave? Are you ready for it? Are your friends and family ready for it? (it’s a weird question but surprisingly real.)
Once you’ve made your peace, it helps you look at what kind of business to start and what it might take. You want to be a jetsetting DJ, but how do you actually make your money? That’s sort of the important part. And will you need money to get started (Can you really become a DJ using those same old Gemini’s?). Should you incorporate your label? Does your band have a tribe that will help you succeed? (by the way, complete digression, but watch that video about tribes. Amazing.)
The book next talks about the different things it takes to run a business. Just like throwing a party or having a gig, just because you do it doesn’t mean people will show up. So you need to understand marketing more than just handing out flyers. You want mentors more than talking to a poster of Kurt Cobain.
And don’t forget health insurance, organization and money. All these topics are touched upon.
I’m a big reader of books that inspire, and books that teach. This book does both. It aspires to give you both the tools and the courage to escape the cubicle, the day job and to become independent. It’s a great book for getting you thinking, and there are enough excerpts and links to helping you get started. It’s fairly corporate and business oriented for musicians, and I hoped for more detail on some of the bigger topics. But each topic really does warrant it’s own book, and that’s where more research and yr real desire to succeed comes in. Maybe the first question is … do you have what it takes?
