10 years ago I had the opportunity to give a Ted talk. I called it “Everything I Needed To Know About Business, I Learned From Being In A Band.” From the moment I walked off stage, I wanted a do-over. I felt like my talk was unfocused and didn’t stick the landing. Now, with an additional decade of reflections, I thought it was a great time to return to this topic and give it another go. So here we go! 
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Music: My First Love

When I dug through my parent’s record collection at around seven years old, I discovered The Beatles. I put on The Beatles “Yesterday and Today” record and I was immediately hooked. The chiming guitars and harmony vocals of “And Your Bird Can Sing” was unlike anything I had ever heard. I needed to know how to make those sounds, to write those kinds of songs. 

I started my first band in high school in South Bend, Indiana. I was in a small class, only 17 kids.  I convinced one to learn bass and another to sing. We recruited a drummer from another school. We were not good. I had a minor “hit” with a very small local audience: a song called “John Wayne,” which was mostly me talking nonsense during the verses and then during the chorus we’d all sing “John Wayne” like it was an anthem. My mom still brings it up. 

DIY Days: Recording! Basement Shows!

I got my first 4 track cassette recorder around this time, and I was absolutely obsessed. Over the course of a summer, my buddy Simon and I wrote and recorded enough music for two 90 minute cassettes. We sold one set, total, to a classmate. He would later would play the tapes to torture his college roommate. I take weird pride in this fact. 

My parents let me use our basement to host shows. I would book the bands, charge cover, have soft drinks etc. And then my bands would play alongside other local bands. It was mostly an awful racket. My dad would sometimes come down to the basement and walk around with a decibel meter, shouting, “130 decibels!” But he never shut it down. Both my parents knew how important these shows were to me and others. 

The Big Leagues of Bloomington, IN

In the Fall of ‘92 I moved to Bloomington, IN to attend the University of Indiana. Bloomington in the 90s felt like entering the big leagues. There were hundreds of bands and some were building regional and national followings. Nirvana had just happened and it was the height of the CD era. Record labels were awash in cash and scouring every scene looking for the next big thing. Bloomington was on their radar. It felt like things were about to happen. Sure, I was technically there for college, but mostly I was playing music and hanging out with other musicians. Nothing seemed anywhere near as important or cool as music. I guess that hasn’t really changed. 

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My Second Home

In Bloomington, Second Story was the place to play. There were a number of venues but Second Story was truly home to the local music scene. No cover bands, only originals. Here is a flier from February 1995.  And if you look closely, you will see one of my bands, The Staple Guns, played on the 10th. 

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By this time, I had built a relationship with the guy booking Second Story. He was tired of booking local shows and fielding all the cassettes being sent in by bands wanting to play the club. I was more than happy to take all of this off his plate. I also signed up as a door guy and janitor. Second Story became my second home. 

A Taste of the Artist Life in Chicago

After I graduated in 1996, I moved to Chicago. I moved into a ballroom with a bunch of musicians. They had paid a year’s rent after signing a publishing contract. We all worked odd jobs while we worked at playing music. It ended up being something of a “lost weekend” but I grew as a songwriter and musician. When the lease to the ballroom was up, everyone scattered. I moved to Indianapolis to be near some musicians I knew there. 

The Elusive Music Career

A career in music was, and is, elusive. When I moved to Indy, I came to terms with the reality that I didn’t have what it took to be a professional musician. It was hard to give up the dream, but I have never stopped making music. I find freedom in not expecting any kind of commercial success. 

I had no plans to stay in Indianapolis - it was just another stop on the way. But life had its own plans. Soon I met my future wife, Jenny, and by early 2000 we were expecting our first child. A low level sense of panic started to kick in, I needed money! 

Entering the Business World

I had taken a job with an antiques dealer, Dan Ripley. I became fascinated by the industry and how small objects could have such large values. I read all the books, auction catalogs, scoured antique malls and went deep. I also thought I was pretty clever and well informed. So with a tax refund check in hand, I hit the road with Jenny to buy antiques and bring them back to sell to my employer. When I unpacked a mini-van full of stuff I’d acquired I was a little shocked when Dan rejected it all. Then, he said some words that changed my life: “Have you ever heard of eBay?”

I had not. I didn’t even have an email address. Jenny did so she set up an eBay account for me. Soon I was buying and selling actively on eBay. I didn’t realize it then but I was about to unlock my future. I was a natural entrepreneur. I just didn’t know it yet. 

Soon I came across a massive record collection and borrowed money from my dad to buy it. I got one of my best friends to join as a partner and soon we were in business, selling stuff on eBay. We called it… StuffE. 

I really had no idea what I was doing, but I did a good job acting like I did. I built systems to inventory, photograph, list, and ship items on eBay. We churned through the vinyl collection, turning me and my business partner into lifelong collectors along the way. 

As we grew, I was able to hire my friends to help out. Since almost all of them were musicians, I hired musicians. I saw how they rolled up their sleeves, took initiative and generally acted like owners. I assumed this was just how everyone was (it’s not)!

Building Businesses Like Bands

Soon one business led to another and then another. An auction house, a creative agency, several nonprofits, a couple of music festivals, a software company. And now Opendate. I finally have a job in the music business! It feels like a full circle moment to be back working with venues and promoters. It’s really a dream job to help people who share my love of music. 

Steve Jobs once said “My model of business is The Beatles.” That has always rung true for me. 

Through it all I have continued to work with musicians and music lovers. I have consistently found that the skills learned playing music, especially being in bands, is highly relevant for working in a business - things like creative problem solving, teamwork, leadership, and work ethic. In many ways, every business I have built has been my attempt at putting together a band.

In my next post, I will unpack some of these “musical” skills and share some thoughts on how to build the right “band” for your business. Stay tuned!