Music Entrepreneur News

I taught guitar for over 10 years. And I hated it.

It should have been a dream job. I got paid to play music. I connected with other musicians. I could practice or write between students. But teaching guitar one-on-one, 30 to 40 students a week? It felt like a grind.

Meanwhile, I knew teachers handling 60, 70, even 80 students a week—and they loved it. They'd been doing it for 10, 20, 30 years.

That's when I realized: The problem wasn't me. It was the vehicle.

Here's what creatives often don't realize: You could be doing something you're great at. Something in your field. Something you're getting paid for. And you think, "I should be grateful. Maybe I just need to push through, and the hate will turn into love."

But that's how we justify things as creatives. We stay loyal far longer than we should.

So how do you know if your vehicle is wrong?

Here are 5 signs: (1) You dread it. (2) It doesn't give you leverage. (3) You feel trapped by someone else's rules. (4) You're constantly in survival mode. (5) You can't see a future that excites you.

If you resonate with three out of five of those? Chances are you're not in the right vehicle right now.

So, what do you do next? You don't need to burn it all down tomorrow. I didn't. But it's good to examine what parts were good, what parts you enjoyed, what didn't work, and what you'd change. And then explore other formats. If one-on-one isn't working, try one-to-many. Teach groups. Hold workshops. Create courses. Sell something online.

Teaching guitar wasn't a waste. It gave me an income. It allowed me to sustain my music career. It funded other experiments. It gave me skills I still use today. But did it cost me years of energy, income, and clarity? Perhaps.

Here's what I learned: You don't owe anything that degree of loyalty. Yes, leave things on good terms. But you're doing yourself a disservice if you stay in something too long that drains you.

In this post (and video), I share how to tell if your creative work vehicle is wrong for you—and what to do next. https://davidandrewwiebe.com/?p=28043