Why My First Business Failed

Many do not know but I once had a business before Lucky 6 Marketing. In fact, I almost had two but the one previous to my first business would have never qualified as actual ‘business’.

The one that did not make it as an actual business was that of being a band manager. That’s right, I gave a year of my life to managing a rock band. How exciting you many exclaim. Maybe not, we gigged predominantly around Chorley. That is maybe another LinkedIn article for another time.

When I left the band I setup my first actual business. It was called Lucky 6 Music Mix Limited and was a digital mastering company. For those who know a little about the music industry, mastering is the stage of music production just before CD manufacturing and radio release.

I was in digital mastering because I did not have a spare million to spend on the high-end audio equipment. I also have a BSc in Music Technology so my higher education suited that of a mastering engineer. Physics and audio is still a passion of mine but I will not inflict you with the tedium of the science behind acoustics, sound waves and digital audio that made up my first limited company.

Mistake 1 – I Can Do It On A Budget

At the time of Lucky 6 Music Mix Limited I had some advantages. A house to live in, a set of professional speakers (known as near-field studio monitors in the trade) and a PC. That’s all I need right? I was lacking a few other key essentials. Little things such as money, a car and even the basic understanding of business.

Money was the biggest hurdle. I was flat broke. At that time in my life I would only ever have enough food in the house for four days a week. I barely scrapped the electric bills and for the first six months didn’t even have internet. I would walk up to my mums house every day just to logon to her internet and steal a bite.

With all the best will in the world I was totally oblivious to the outrageous toile I put myself through just to complete basic tasks. I honestly thought with just hard work alone and no budget I could make it work. I was very wrong.

Without money for the basics you are set to fail. Just enough food to survive and no internet is not the foundation of a good business. I spent every evening working in a local warehouse to put money into my new business. After a year, my accountant at the time told me to quit. I never forgot this advice and soon found myself quitting on that accountant for a better one!

Mistake 2 – The Wrong Market With The Wrong Customers

I found work via the internet. I use social media, which back in 2008-9 was mainly Myspace, YouTube and a little bit of Twitter. Also a platform some of you may know called Reverbnation. In fact every last job I got for Lucky 6 Music Mix was via online marketing.

Many of my customers were based abroad in places such as America, Canada and Spain. It was at this point that I learnt about a little thing called the exchange rate. Back then, in the good-old-days, pound sterling was very strong. This was to my detriment. I would charge ￡30 per track for mastering (a stupidly low price I know but I really did not have a clue) and to the poor musicians in America and Canada this came to $60. Almost double.

I struggled to convince them to use me over native digital mastering companies whom, without the exchange rate, were the equivalent of half price. Via email and social media, however, I did convince them and I won new customers. The success of landing a new customer soon gave way to despair when I realized they struggled to afford ￡30. After all, they were in the same situation as me!

The reality of the music industry I soon learnt was that if you are not at the top you are at the bottom. There is no in-between. My market was the bottom and they could not and did not want to afford my service. It was not needed. My mistake was to sell something that was not needed and did not offer value to enough musicians.

Mistake 3 – Other Interests

After spending two solid days mastering gospel tracks sung by a children’s choir I found it hard to stay motivated. Mastering involves listening to a single piece of music hundreds of times. This was not easy when you were not particularly a fan of that music.

I soon found an escape in the marketing I performed online to win new customers. I loved making the graphics and copy to promote my business. I love generating new followers on Twitter and interacting with people from around the world. In fact I spent a lot of my time doing this.

It soon got to the point that I was spending more time marketing that actually mastering. This is when I began to think about what I enjoyed and weather this would work going forward. An idea sprouted in my mind and the concept of a marketing company was formed.

Mistake 4 – An Accident

I was working every day of the week between my business and my part-time job. I was healthy, skinny and very active. Or at least that is what I thought.

When I felt too stressed I would go for a run and push myself to obliteration. Silly I know but I loved doing it. One such time I found myself doing this and set a very good pace. In fact I have yet to beat the times I used to set back then.

Following this run I did a full day shift of 11 hours at my part-time job to bring in a wad of money. I was short once again on the electric bill and wanted to buy some new equipment for my digital studio. Following the frantic run and my shift at work I went home to relax. That night I stood up from a seated position and dislocated my knee.

This was bad news because following this injury I could not do any work at my part-time job. The money I was earning stopped and my world collapsed. Fortunately, my family came to the rescue and helped me through the month of recovery financially and physically. However, this was the end of the business.

I really started to think about my future.

Mistake 5 – I Gave Up

The final nail in the coffin that now encased Lucky 6 Music Mix was a decision that I made one night. I would no longer continue with this business.

Overall I was surprised at how easy a decision it was. I just thought about how I felt. Asking myself questions such as “Do I actually enjoy doing this anymore?” and “What do I enjoy?”

I am massively stubborn. A quality I like to think I got from my Irish Grandmother. Giving up was not an easy thing for me but in hindsight it was the right decision.

In Summary

Although the mistakes above lead to the end of my first business I do not see them as negative. I love Lucky 6 Marketing. In fact my current business was born of the ashes that came from the first. It is a journey. Although hard at times I cannot and will never regret.

My parting words from this experience are to never see the end of something as a failure but as the start of something better. It is a journey worth taking and far better than standing still. Keep going and maybe just like me you will find a little Luck on the horizon.