Hey gigging pros, it's Jared. And I wanted to chat a bit about the partnership strategy I've mentioned in previous podcast episodes. And just a little update about me because I am still using that partnership strategy today, I don't think I'll ever stop using it. Because it's incredible. It's the cheapest way for me to get somebody else to refer a potential client to book me and my string quartet for their wedding. But it can also be used in other types of gigs to like corporate planners, or Honestly, even Bar Restaurant gigs. But those aren't ones that I pursue, because that's not part of my strategy. So if you're not familiar with the the local partner strategy for booking gigs, it is insane, it's free, really just cost you your time. And you have to know the strategy to do it. And then you also have to be committed to the strategy. So just to recap, the strategy is that there are literally hundreds of hungry partners in your area that they have, maybe a venue, or they're a events industry professional, who they work with your dream customer, the one who can book you for a high paying gig, they work with dozens 50, if not 100 of them every single year, maybe more. And these people are just waiting to partner with you, you just have to find them. And, you know, you have to build a list of them really big list, well, I'll go into the details a little bit later, then you have to introduce yourself. And you have to showcase your ability to serve their dream clients, help them get what they want. And then from there, it's just a matter of staying in touch and following up. So that's, that's the strategy. And I've been doing that, you know, ever since I started my group Dream City Strings, not as consistently as I should have, because pretty much in the middle of the pandemic is when I realized, this is the strategy I should go all in on. Because that's how you get unlimited gigs. That's how you make a name for yourself. That's how you establish yourself, as the top gigging group in your city is just by being everywhere. And everywhere in the gig industry means all the event planners and venue owners that the gigs happen. So I was thinking about this, there's, you know, there's several partners that I have here in Milwaukee. And there's one I was doing like a study on one of them. And I had established myself as a partner got on their preferred vendor list, I'd say about like three months ago. And then since then, I've been reminding them I exist by liking their posts on social media, and just trying to stay top of mind for them. And they put me on their website and everything, which is amazing. Since then, though, it like literally within three months, I've gotten three gigs from them, which means, you know, they've referred three people who are ready to book me in three months, that's like one a month. So that's insane. Because, you know, if we were to extrapolate that data to a full year, that would mean 12 gigs, and I'll round down to 10. Because, you know, it's not, not wedding season all all year round. But if they give me 10 gigs a year, just from one partnership, and my group can handle 150 gigs a year. How many partners do I need, in order to make this a career in music? That would only be 15 Partners, which is insane, because I mentioned that in every city, there are hundreds of partners, hundreds of venues, hundreds of event planners, and hundreds of other industry partners like DJs or could even be your partner as a live musician. And I don't know, it's just insane. It blows my mind that there's just so much untapped possibilities. And so I'm my current target list is about 200. Venues large. And so I've not even made it halfway through that list. And it's, it's a credible prospect. So I went yesterday, what day say Sunday, I went on Friday, to visit another partner, potential partner. It's the War Memorial in Milwaukee. And I've played a couple of weddings there. They have this beautiful terrace that overlooks Lake Michigan. It's just gorgeous, super windy though. So if you play there, make sure you either use an iPad or bring wind clips for your music. And so I decided, you know, even though I've played there before, the people who run this venue probably still don't know me And that was my hypothesis going in. So, I, I sent an email, you know, as part of the strategy, introduce yourself sent an email, saying who I am, what group, I run here some videos, and then told them I would love to come and tour your space for potential weddings coming up. And I also want to bring my instrument so that I can hear how the venue sounds. And it's crazy because like, you know, I, I know how the venue sounds I played there before. But the goal of me bringing my instrument really isn't for me to hear how the venue sounds, it's for the person who runs the venue to hear how I play my instrument. And that's what gets the seeds planted. And they know that, hey, this guy's a good musician, he would make our clients happy. So I sent that email, then they didn't respond by email, they called me. And they said, Yeah, hey, how about you come in Friday at one o'clock, said, sounds amazing. Let's do it. Then I got in my car, Friday afternoon, pulled up, went to their office. And the person who called and scheduled the appointment with me, was not in that day, which is crazy. I get it that we're all busy. And it's hard to manage your schedule sometimes. But what was cool was that there was another member of the events team who was actually his superior. And she was there, she was happy to show me around. And we walked to the two indoor spaces, because it's November, it's not always this beautiful out. Typically, it's a little colder here in Wisconsin, in November. And when we got to the first space, took out my violin, put on my shoulder rests, and then just played a couple tunes. And the venue sounded great. And then she, the person showing me around, loved what she heard. She told me it sounds beautiful. And I was like, oh, it's the space. It's me, whatever. It's hard. You know, I'm a humble person. So it's kind of uncomfortable, taking compliments and have an episode about taking compliments. But you got to take those compliments, and then make it about their clients. Again, we play this kind of music for weddings, corporate events, and all that. And then we walked to the second space. And it was again, beautiful. The reverb in that was just super cool. Sounded like a cathedral and played a little more, thanked her for the tour. And she I asked her, do you have a preferred vendor list? Like could we be on it? I handed her some materials. She said absolutely. And I made a couple other conversations because I also helped run a little community orchestra here in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Philharmonic. And we talked a little bit about maybe using one of the spaces for a concert. So it's always nice to have more conversation starters, to keep the conversation going and demonstrate your expertise in music. So yeah, that's kind of the update. And that's a real case study of going on one of these venue tours, because they work like that is another person Oh, I met I mentioned that my thesis was that she didn't know who we were. And so I tested that hypothesis. And I asked her like, hey, my group is Dream City Strings. Have you ever heard of us? And she said no. So that proved my hypothesis that most musicians problems is not that they're not talented enough. It's just that they're not well known. They're not. Somebody had a good word for this. There. It's not obscure. That word will come to me after I finished this episode. But yeah, they're just not prolific enough. So the strategy is just be everywhere, introduce yourself to everyone and then also have a good sales process for when they are ready to book and that is all what book Love Academy and Gigging Secrets teaches you. So that's it for this episode. Thank you so much for tuning in. And if you have not gotten your free copy of Gigging Secrets, the book The underground playbook, to making a living performing, go ahead and grab your copy. It's free just pay a little shipping and handling and you can get that at GiggingSecrets.com And remember, you are just one gig away.