We caught up with the brilliant and insightful T3MPO TAI a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, T3MPO TAI thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

For me this subject of team building is one that I try to stress so often with other business owners and artists in the music entertainment industry. Early in my career I was fortunate enough to read a quote from an artist manager saying that “majority of the time your manager and publicist are the people closest to you already”. I think too often when trying to grow our brand from the ground up we look to outsource services when the best work you’ll receive is from the ones who truly care about you, your services, and believes in the brand to a level that promoting it and working isn’t a 9-5 for them. We can learn anything with research and effort so hiring and surrounding yourself with high character, hard working individuals has always been a priority for me. Everyone on my team has been a part of the process at least 2-3 years prior to us actually becoming a brand and business. Needless to say it’s one of the things I wouldn’t do differently and am extremely proud of. Grateful for my team always!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I originally was a fan of the artistry and music only later gaining an understanding of the business. I was highly influenced after an experience at Bonnaroo music festival where I saw my favorite artists J Cole perform. I watched him guide 50,000 people with his hands and never say a word. It was at that moment that I thought if I could one day have a similar positive influence then I could make a change directly in my community and many others. After writing and making the music I researched and started to learn and understand that the music is less than half of the actual music business. As an artist You Are the business, so creating an LLC and trademarking name and likeness are essential. Learning how to market, promote, and network were/are a huge part of my growth and current success. What sets myself and my team apart from other artist brands is that we look to physically go to these different cities and not only perform but to work with other local artists and community outreach programs. We look to be more than an artist but a brand, business, employer, and positive influence in the community. There’s so much for us to do but the consistency at which we’ve progressed is easily what I’m most proud of. It’s very easy along the way to get discouraged and distracted but the discipline to contribute to your business daily whether big or small is sometimes all the difference in getting results.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn was beating taught to stay quiet and move forward. Granted it’s a great way achieve small goals and stay focused but it’s the staying quiet part that isn’t always good for business. No matter what business you’re a part of majority of the growth and what happens is determined by networking and relationships. No one likes the over the top loud person but to be so humble that you don’t promote yourself can be detrimental to anything you’re looking to accomplish.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

As an artists a lot of my following and profile was built through social media engagement at the beginning. I think everyone should understand that with everything you do there’s a way to do it better or the best, so learning to understand the use of hashtags, posting times, and interactions with other entrepreneurs can sometimes be all that’s even needed to get a certain level of recognition. Whether someone likes it or not social media is necessary for businesses currently.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/t3mpo_tai?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/T3MPOTAI?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@t3mpotai396

Image Credits
Cidny Broughton & Trigger Jones