Monica Strut could be seen as a first aid specialist when it comes to musician social medial and digital marketing. Responding to the call of bands who are in crisis and needing consulting and support, Monica is providing her expertise to help musicians succeed in the often murky waters of the music industry and online marketing.
Starting out on your own is tough, especially when you’re branding yourself as the product/service. Monica made the decision to put her name and personal reputation on the line rather than utilising a business name. No doubt a daunting decision but it has brought Monica many advantages including a relatable, trust worthy resource for people who are on the hunt for help and it also building her own profile as a subject matter expert within the industry.
As a musician herself, Monica has seen the mistakes made first hand and has watched as peers have given up on their music pursuits. Monica is using these real life experiences to create tangible resources and tools for others. She’s also using these experiences as a personal and professional compass to ensure that her goals to impact and help others are always in sight/focus.
In our chat, Monica talks about how she has been taking a measured approach when it comes to building her business, managing it all on the side of a day job, how she got started with consulting and how her decisions to invest heavily in herself, such as using business coaches, have impacted her success to date. It’s a daunting journey but as Monica shows, you don’t have to do it on your own.
Follow Monica Strut via Main Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube |
Location – Melbourne, Victoria
1. Be coachable – Monica took a large and critical step in her own development by investing in a business coach. Leaning on others who have had their own success, Monica has been able to get guidance and possibly more importantly be held accountable to her own goals and actions. Monica admitted that it was an expense that needed to be considered but she can confidently say that it’s been worth it in allowing her to grow, get better and achieve her business goals.
2. Too busy to get stuff done – Monica spoke about how she, like many of us, falls into the procrastination trap and finds herself doing a lot of “busywork”. In other words, keeping busy with tasks that serve little purpose to the bigger goals. Friends, don’t worry about the 20 dot point to-do list, start your days off with 3 to 4 main action items. You will get far more meaningful work done. As coined in the book “The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, “What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” – Keep it simple, and tackle those critical tasks first!
3. Creating advocates – By using her name as the branding of her business, Monica certainly puts a degree of vulnerability out into the public domain. The benefit is that she can build deep trust and loyalty from her audience as it’s easier to connect and relate to Monica as a person as well as her mission. This creates a natural advocate who is quick to talk positively and, when it arises, defend unnecessary criticism that Monica may receive. Corporations spend huge sums of money in their marketing in the hope of creating brand advocates, Monica is creating this herself by being herself.
4. What’s your mission/story? – We know that a story behind a business is important and Monica’s background as a musician and her experiences watching people give up on their dreams has created a foundation to her cause and mission. When people can see “why” you are doing something and those origins, it’s easier for people to connect, relate and most importantly support.