The seeds of Music Entrepreneur HQ were in a humble podcast I started in 2009, aptly named the David Andrew Wiebe Podcast.
As the podcast transformed from a promotional tool into an educational hub for independent musicians, we ended up creating manyresources for musicians. And one thing that ultimately made Music Entrepreneur HQ a go-to destination for our audience was the free PDFs – eBooks, cheat sheets, transcripts, and other bonuses we generously gave away (in exchange for an email address, of course – but we deliver plenty of value to our subscribers too).
These downloads, though, were mostly loaded up in Leadpages (and in some ways, that meant we didn’t have complete control over our resources and their organization). We still think it’s a great tool and recommend it highly, though we stopped using it a few months ago. We knew that abandoning this tool would mean turning many active links on your website into broken ones, and we’d need to go in and changes these one by one, by hand. Despite this, our gut said take a chance. Much to our surprise, this ended up being a blessing rather than a curse.
Because, as you may well know, we have been more heavily invested in utilizing 10XPro for our books, courses, and coaching programs in the last couple of years. And while I was on a drive the other week, I suddenly realized that we could be using our platform at Content Marketing Musician to host all our PDF files. Not just that but I started to see that we could put them all into a singular vault, so that when you sign up to receive a specific download, you don’t just get access to one – you get access to all of them!
And so, the project is already underway, and as of today you can sign up for access to the brand-new PDF Vault. We are adding new files daily and will have a complete archive in the coming weeks, as we continue to build it out.
So, whether you want to read about how to get more listeners on Spotify, increase your YouTube subscriber base, or read complete transcripts of past podcast episodes, I have no doubt you’ll love this new resource. Sign up for the Music Entrepreneur HQ PDF Vault now.
My productivity tool stack hasn’t gone through any major changes for years.
But because of the intensive, yearlong leadership program I’ve been taking, this has fast become a moving target.
So, here I share my current tool stack to help you find your path in 2022 and beyond.
Desktop Calendar Pad
I’ve explored why this is an indispensable part of my tool stack in a previous post.
I typically use it:
To track upcoming meetings, interviews, and events
To track income (in the memo section)
As an editorial calendar, so I can keep my content queue (on various platforms) full
The calendar pad is great for record keeping as well.
Yellow Legal Pad
I used to use my yellow legal pad for my to-do lists.
These days, I find myself using it to take notes, project and contact lists,scribbles, and for the occasional short-form to-do list.
Because of that, I use it more spontaneously than in the past, and most of the notes I produce have a short lifespan.
Samsung Galaxy S7
I do not own the latest, flashiest phone on the market. I only upgrade after wearing down what I happen to be using at the time, and the Samsung Galaxy S7 is what I’ve been using for the last few years.
It’s easy to become a slave to your device, so I’ve turned off most notifications. I even deleted TikTok off my phone once I logged in on my desktop, because I only use it for marketing purposes.
My phone is great for capturing quick photos and videos, maybe the occasional thought or idea. Besides texting and calling, that’s the main way I use it.
I also read Kindles on my iPad, though I still prefer physical books to digital ones. An iPad is still lighter for travel.
Evernote
This is where my to-do lists now reside. I don’t completely understand how this switch happened myself.
It could be because I hadn’t logged into Evernote in a long time, and when I finally returned to it a couple of months ago, I found it a more comfortable working environment.
It could also be that writing down the sheer number of tasks I have to do each week on a yellow legal pad is less practical than it used to be.
Dropbox
Dropbox is so integrated with my workflow that I sometimes forget that it’s a vital part of my creative endeavors.
I’m often moving a lot of files around – screenshots, pictures, raw video files – and often need to be able transfer these files from one device to another. Dropbox is a convenient tool for that.
Even if not for that, though, I use Dropbox for my staff writing duties at Music Industry How To as well.
Google Workspace
Gmail, Drive, and Calendar are powerful productivity tools if used correctly.
Gmail is great for organizing your communication and filtering your emails.
Drive is highly searchable, and that makes it easy for you to pull up all your documents, spreadsheets, presentations (and anything else) at a moment’s notice. My Learning folder and LifeSheet are stored inside Google Drive, and I also have them bookmarked in Firefox.
I’m also finding that Drive works well as a storage device. If I’m having trouble sending files over via email or Dropbox, Drive usually does the trick.
Slack
I initially had some resistance to Slack. I’d heard about its power. Entrepreneurs raved about it. Even after giving it a chance, to me it was just another app.
Because of the previously mentioned leadership program, I’ve had to get used to communicating on Slack, and have also been using it for my own team’s ongoing collaboration.
I still think of it as “just another app,” but I like that it’s highly searchable and you can use it as a file repository, feed reader, and so on.
Notion
Every team (and ambitious solopreneur) needs their own internal wiki, online bulletin board, or project management system.
Notion makes it easy for you to create a highly organized database with tables, calendars, to-do lists, and more. You can even embed media.
Zoom
Although I still use Google Meet here and there, most of my video conferencing needs are covered by Zoom. It integrates nicely with most calendar solutions as well.
Microsoft Office
Almost all my writing is done inside Word.
Google Docs are fine, especially if I want to be able to write wherever, whenever on any device, but they don’t catch all my errors.
I have not used Grammarly, and don’t intend to. Word suits my writing style best.
I also use Excel for ledgers here and there.
Adobe Photoshop
Canva is nice, but I know my way around Adobe Photoshop better.
Photoshop is also far more versatile, and if you design in a professional capacity, you need all the power you can get.
I’m not the best designer in the world, and don’t claim to be. But Photoshop is part of my workflow because my various duties require it, and a different app (like GIMP) would just slow me down.
10XPro
Campaigns and sales funnels would take me much longer to build with any other piece of software. 10XPro lets me set up websites, membership sites, campaigns, and sales funnels with the click of a button.
I will be setting up more products and programs over at Content Marketing Musician because of how amazing this piece of software is.
Remember – productivity doesn’t necessarily mean more tools.
But if you’re doing everything by the seat of your pants, guaranteed you’re sacrificing productive time.
What structures will you be putting into place? What systems do you already have?
Although I don’t come cheaply, as a champion of artistic success, I’m always here to support you. If you’d like my coaching on setting yourself up for an effective 2022, get in touch. You would also merit from a read through of my latest, The Music Entrepreneur Code – 2022 Edition.
👉 Friendly reminder… Your week is what you make of it. It doesn’t matter what you’ve encountered this past week, you can get something from everything if you have the right mindset. Just look at me. I’m playing catchup with my projects on a Saturday.
🎛️ My new musical gear came in (and I’m able to get back to recording my demos):
💻 I continue to enjoy myself on BitClout. When will you be joining me? You do know we can elevate each other on that platform, right? I’ve decided once and for all it’s the better Twitter.
It’s Scribble Tuesday again, and I’m already starting to get the sense that I’m going to have stacks of scribbled yellow legal sheets by the end of the year. Especially since I now find myself working on more than one page at a time…
Today’s scribble is one you may have seen already. It’s from one of the recent episodes of The New Music Industry Podcast in which I shared about our plans for 2022.
I just finished setting our 2022 goals yesterday and published a long form review of 10XPro today, so this scribble seems quite appropriate.
In Japanese (I grew up in Japan), we would say:
Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu. (今年もよろしくお願いします。)
Which would basically equate to “keep us in mind – we’re counting on your patronage this year.” 🙏
I honestly can’t think of a more appropriate thing to say. Thank you for 2021! I’m looking forward to serving you better and helping you get the results you want in 2022!