Common Mistakes are; a lack of business knowledge, underpricing their work, ineffective marketing, Avoiding/Neglecting Networking and inconsistent branding. We often don’t know what we can get for our work until we see someone else get it. Artists often don’t recognize that friendliness and professionalism can be more important than living the life of an artist. There is a great clip on youtube where Akon the singer talks about how Eminem treats his art like a job, “He comes in at 9 .a.m. every day to the studio, takes his lunch break at 1 PM, and is out of there by 5 PM. It’s like a schedule. I did not expect that from him. The first day I come, I come around 6 p.m. I get to the studio, they said, ‘Em just left! He said, ‘I am out of here!’ I said, ‘I just got to the studio, you coming back here?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be back there at 9 a.m."
Be a good listener. Be aware of what they are saying or really asking. Give the customers choice but not overwhelming amounts of choice. As for me. I always provide detailed pricing so that I can confidently say this is what you’re getting and paying for. Others may disagree and feel that pricing upfront can be picked apart but, I’ll say this. Lead with value. Lead with consistency. Lead with quality and then you’ll have a lot less argument over pricing.