A Resource Guide for Musicians by a Musician

Are you a gigging or teaching musician?

What if I told you that you are actually running a business?

You might feel as though you’ve been drowning in information about how to deal with all the backend tasks of being an independently employed person, like accounting, taxes, marketing, branding, etc. Social media is awash in business coaches trying vying for your attention, and it can be overwhelming. You might not know who to trust and/or you don’t know where to start.

While I wouldn’t consider myself a business expert, I’ve had to sift through a lot of the information and find the people who ARE giving helpful advice. Below is a curated list* of resources I’ve personally used to learn how to run my business. Work smarter, not harder and check them out to help make your life a little easier when it comes to running your business.

*I receive no commissions from the links below, they have all earned a place here.

Let’s get to it!

Taxes (and Accounting)

-> Sunlight Tax is run by Hannah Cole, an artist and a tax professional. She offers several free resources including a Podcast, a tax deduction guide, and a blog, along with a program called Money Bootcamp, if you are looking to invest a bit. She got into her work as a tax professional after being a frustrated artist who didn’t feel she had the knowledge to successfully run her business. She gets your struggle and does a great job helping people like you who don’t want to worry every time tax season arrives.

-> Elaine Grogan Lutrell at Minerva Financial Arts. I’ve had the fortune of one-on-one time with Elaine, and not only is she a gem of a human, but an incredibly knowledgeable CPA who works specifically with artists and musicians. You can hire Elaine for a consultation to ask about your finances and general business development. She is very reasonably priced and will give you a very detailed recap of your time together along with her suggestions on moving forward. Elaine also has a book, “Arts and Numbers” (I just ordered it!), that promises to be a valuable resource as well.

-> Estimated Quarterly Taxes: One of the questions I dealt with was understanding estimated quarterly taxes. Rather than paying taxes once a year, businesses commonly pay quarterly. You can learn about how this works with these resources:

Nerd Wallet article “Estimated Tax Payments 2024: How They Work, When to Pay”

Sunlight Tax Podcast

IRS website.

As far as bookkeeping, you can absolutely use software like Quickbooks or Wave, but if your income and expenses are pretty straight forward, a spreadsheet will likely cover your needs. I personally do this on google sheets and have separate tabs for expenses, income, and mileage. It’s a good place to start!

Marketing

This might be more challenging than taxes…getting your name out into the world is hard! Having a basic marketing plan can be really helpful. Creating a website and social media presence are really helpful these days in sharing you and your “brand”.

-> The Fearless Artist Mastermind is run by 2 amazing professional musicians, Deanna and Michele, who are all about creating actionable and accomplishable goals to get you working and making money. They are especially fantastic at helping musicians find sustainable social media strategies. They offer affordable workshops all the way to a monthly membership. I really cannot recommend them enough! Check them out on Instagram: @thefearlessartistmastermind

-> Sara Campbell at the Savvy Music Studio is a business and marketing coach who primarily works with independent music teachers. I highly recommend her website audit service, where she will walk through every facet of your website and give you suggestions on how to optimize your site to get viewers to turn into students.

LLC Resources

Registering for an LLC isn’t for everyone. It’s best if you are interested in creating true separation from your personal finance and want to limit financial liability if something goes south. Registering for a single member LLC can help you take your business to the next level.

-> A great place to start looking into creating an LLC is LLC University . This is a fantastic resource where you can learn about creating an LLC in your specific state and get answers for any questions you have about why you might want an LLC.

-> Small Business Development Center: This is a government run organization that helps small business owners build their business savvy through free in-person and online events with experienced professionals and offers one-on-one meetings to help you get started. I found this to be a really valuable resource when I was first starting out. You can find information for your local center by clicking the link above!

This list was meant to serve as a curated starting point for musicians to build their business skills through vetted resources. It’s far from exhaustive, but, hopefully it relieves some information overwhelm. Let this serve as a starting point for you. Many of these resources can help you with multiple facets in your learning beyond the categories here. Go explore!

Link Round-up

Taxes/Accounting

Sunlight Tax

Minerva Financial Arts

Marketing

The Fearless Artist Mastermind

Savvy Music Studio

Business Creation/LLC