We’re still slightly recovering from a massive Thanksgiving holiday over here in the US (I know, I know, it’s been weeks). We took a few days off to eat, rest, and take stock in the things that make our life awesome.

One of the things we’re most thankful for are all of the amazing people that help us get through life and help our business run smoothly (... or as smoothly as possible in the ridiculous world of music). We didn’t always have a solid team and there were times that we each borderline had a mental breakdown (luckily, not often at the same time). After multiple nights of tears and asking if we should go get new jobs, we finally decided we needed to start looking for help.

There is going to come a point in your career when you need to ask for help. And that’s 100% ok.

Recognizing when is the hard part. We previously talked about adding team members and how to know when to do it. That’s not what this post is for. This post is dedicated to the long, hard nights when you just don’t think you can add anything else to your plate. When you think it might be easier to give up then to figure out how to move forward. If you just said “heyyyy, that’s me, get out of my brain!” then it’s probably time to figure out a way to get some additional help.

Getting help doesn’t necessarily mean adding on a permanent team member - nor does it mean that it has to be some massive expense. Here are five ways to go about it:

1. Get an intern. If you want to give school credit in lieu of payment, you’ll likely need to get set up as an LLC (depending on the school), but there are plenty of kids out there that want to learn more about the music business and would be perfect for day to day tasks.

2. Start regular “office hours” with a group of artists. Sometimes just sitting with other people getting shit done is super motivating. Plus then you can bounce ideas back and forth and share contacts. Set up a recurring time each week -- you know I love a good routine.

3. Get a therapist. Seriously. Sometimes you just need to talk shit out to see stuff more clearly and a path forward. If you can’t afford a therapist, call your mom! Or best friend! Or another artist who “gets it.”

4. Look into label services. I am not going to vouch for every label services group out there, but there are some that can really get your plans in order and help you get stuff done. Like in most of my posts, I’m going to tell you that you need to have assets already in order before you do this. Music recorded, press photos shot, website up and running, socials set up.

5. Hire hourly or freelance help. If task based things are weighing you down (getting a website created, polishing up social media, organizing your finances), take a look into hiring for a one-off job.

We know that asking for help can sometimes feel like you’ve been defeated, but that’s actually the opposite. It just means that you’ve built your project to a place that you can’t physically do it all on your own anymore and that’s a great thing!

REASON TO IGNORE THIS ADVICE: You are the only person in the music industry who actually has incredible time management skills. (Generally, we all suck at it at times).