How do I prioritize as a self-employed Artist Manager?

I was struggling with time (full time employment at the bank and self-employed artist manager!). That has all changed as of this week, as I left the bank, so now I guess I struggle with prioritizing! I have three artists which are all very messy in terms of business structure and format.

Meg, Australia

Prioritizing can be very challenging at times. If all 3 of your acts are active at the moment, than my first suggestion would be to try to give them each the same amount of attention. Then, you have the challenge of prioritizing the activities for each artist. FIRST. Set out the year ahead (at least). You should always have a good idea of what the next year is going to look like for your artists. Once you know this, than you figure out what you need to work on first. 

One way that I prioritize, is through the ABCDE system (I believe it was a super smart entrepreneur and author named Brian Tracy who came up with it). Let’s say you start with Artist X. Write down a long list of things you need to do for Artist X, and then start labeling them A, B, C, D, or E. 

“A” stands for “very important;” something you must do. There can be serious negative consequences if you don’t do it.
“B” stands for “important;” something you should do. This is not as important as your ‘A’ tasks. There are only minor negative consequences if it is not completed.
“C” stands for things that are “nice to do;” but which are not as important as ‘A’ or ‘B,’ tasks. There are no negative consequences for not completing it.
“D” stands for “delegate.” You can assign this task to someone else who can do the job instead of you.
“E” stands for “eliminate, whenever possible.” You should eliminate every single activity you possibly can, to free up your time.

After you’ve done this, you can take it to the next level by writing out all your A’s one page, B’s on one page, etc. Once you have all your A’s on one page, you can start numbering them in order. A1, A2, A3, etc, to help you work in order, crossing off each one as you go. Don’t let this stress you out. If you need to get something else done or don’t follow your order sometimes, it’s completely fine. As long as you’re not always getting distracted by the bright and shiny non-priorities. 

General rule of thumb: you’re working on a BUSINESS. Which means you need to make money to survive. So work on the biggest revenue generating activities more than you work on anything else. 

Hope this helps! 

Comment below if you have other tips for Meg!

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