This is the new Mixtape.
What is it? Me just sharing what’s on my mind at the time. I hope it brings you value.
Here we go:
What I’m Listening To
If Partynextdoor and Meek Mill had a musical child, it’d be Vory.
Philly podcaster turned curator returns with another compilation album and doesn’t disappoint! Philly talent all through this thang.
This is just… a mood.
“I didn’t come this far to only come this far. Gotta keep momentum swinging. Keep momentum swinging.”
Peep Black Thought’s verse on Russ’ “Momentum”.
What I’m Thinking About
In short; growth.
Mentally, spiritually and financially. And as I prepare for 2021, I took a moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished this year as a community and I can’t overstate how proud I am. I hear a lot of conversations around “what Philly needs” but not enough about “what Philly HAS”. I know a ton of Philly creatives winning big right now. No flexing necessary, but here are some facts to share from my lens.
Who you know built a million dollar company out of a warehouse in North Philly?
From 9th & Dauphin to The Fashion District at 9th & Market. Made a million in year one of the new space in a pandemic! Sheesh. God is good.
To teach artists to understand their power as businesses and own their future.
100 educational events produced. 3,564 attendees.
Notable Speakers:
Ryan Leslie, The Black Techie, Earn Your Leisure, Mont Brown, Distortedd, Kayvan of Genius, Lynzie Reibling of REVOLT, Finess of Working on Dying, Alex Hillman, Alex Wolf, Wallo267, Julian Mitchell, OddKidOut, Cosmo Baker, Chill Moody, Brendan Lowry, Devon Milan & more.
And as a result, we grew our community in a pandemic…
Up to 943 active members as of November 2020.
And we connected them to real industry experts and PAID opportunities.
$349,128 in agency revenue generated with our members in 2020 alone.
Covid definitely couldn’t stop the shine.
Who I’m clapping for…
Christian Crosby for Perry Ellis
A seasoned personality doing his thing and taking advantage of the REC resources to level up.
Aaron Ricketts + Lex Mili for Adidas
Love when REC community members team up and get the brand bags.
Mervant gets AirBnB Experience spotlight
Creativity has no bounds. This Philly magician leveled up in the pandemic!
Ben Thomas works with Uzi, Future, Meek and gets the Grammy nod
Wild. At 24 years young, Ben is a prodigy in my eyes.
Me + Dave win Forbes 30 Under 30
I mean… Momma we made it to Forbes!! 🙂
Erving + Human Resources go to SONY
Small label mindset, big label resources. A win for the culture.
Ness + Working On Dying have a HUGE year.
They just keep snapping!
The Queen of Philly takes the world stage, again.
& Many, many more.
What I’m reading…
(Un)Common Sense: Your Strategy Guide to Creative Freedom by William T. Toms (Members Only)
I wrote a book on how artists can think like startups and level up. You should read it.
The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida
One of the best personal growth books i’ve read in a long time. Reading it now for the second time.
The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber
This book changed the way I think about entrepreneurship. Must read for any creator trying to take their business to the next level.
What to look out for…
$30,000 in grants are still available via BlackMusicCity.com
AND
I’m personally committed to helping five creators earn $50k through their passions this year. Will you be one of them? Click here to let me know you’re interested.
In closing…
It’s time for all the “new year, new me” energy to start kicking in. For most, that energy will fade by January 10th. But for the real creative hustlers, now really is the perfect time to get clear on your goals and set yourself up for success in 2021.
Don’t know where to start? We gotchu covered, as always.
January marks the beginning of Season 3 at REC. That means we’ve reloaded our educational programming for the next six months, and will be covering all of the foundational principles to help you build your brand, engage your audience and monetize your craft.
So what’s step one? Getting clear. It isn’t sexy, but before you’re getting paid the big bucks and establishing the major brand partnerships, it’s crucial to know yourself, what you want, and how to articulate your value to other people.
We explain this idea at length in Chapter 1 of REC’s curriculum.
“But if you don’t know who you are, it’s almost impossible to understand who your true fans are or to know what’s working, what’s not working, and why. Without knowing yourself, truly knowing yourself, you will have a more challenging road ahead of you as you build your audience. Or worse– you may build an audience that you don’t truly love.
As complex beings, it isn’t always easy to articulate who we are in a simple manner. One tool that’s been used throughout our lives, whether we know it or not, is a categorization called Archetypes.”
REC Members: Get ahead of the game by reading Chapter 1 and learning about archetypes, branding and more by clicking here.
Next, be sure to RSVP for our Curriculum Deep Dive & Creative Coaching Sessions where we’ll review the key points of the chapter and design strategies to achieve your goals together.
Not a REC Member? Click here to fix that.
Meet me at REC.
Peace + productivity,
Will
