We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Lynn recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have been very fortunate to build my career in to something that is full-time, however, it has nothing to do with luck but rather, persistence, hard work, sacrifice and a lot of dedication. Growing any career is a never-ending task full of many twists and turns and rollercoaster of highs and lows. We cannot be just artists, but must have an entrepreneurial spirit to accomplish making a creative career a real business. It took me many years to be able to make a living off being a musician and an artist and it has not been easy.

From day one, it has been putting every penny into my growing business rather than taking for myself. It has been a lot of working around the clock for free and investing in myself and my abilities to take my dreams further. You have to not be short-sighted and believe in yourself and your capabilities and because of that, you will reach the next level. Although the money does grow at each level, so do your expenses and your worries in regards to “what to do next,” (which has to be the most confusing and exhausting part in my opinion) however, if you always use your creative mind, not just for your art, but for your business, and think outside the box and discover ways to set you apart in your field, you will keep progressing. Eventually, you will be able to take money for yourself or, invest back in to your career in ways that were never possible before.

My best advice for this is to explore every aspect and nook and cranny that encompasses your career. As a singer, I don’t just sing. I broker brand deals, I mentor, I social media influence, I design graphics, I organize events, etc. You wear many hats. By wearing many hats, you can begin to see your finances grow, all while doing things that feed your own career and skills. Every time I learn more about distribution or marketing to teach an aspiring musician student, I also learn more about how to improve my own career. Every time I learn how to create better content for a social media influencing deal, my own content gets better. Every time I take a job singing a cover song, my vocal range and control improves. You have to open your mind to how all of these other little pieces play a major role in the trajectory of your musical and artistic career and then in turn, your finances.

I don’t unfortunately feel there is any way to speed up this process. I am a big believer in slow and steady wins the race. Keep your eye on the prize and keep forging forward no matter what difficulties emerge in your path. That determination will get you there.

Jessica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have been making music for as long as I can remember. It sounds cliché but I never chose this path in life. It certainly chose me. I am a self-trained singer, drummer, and guitarist but did take classical piano lessons in elementary school and middle school which is really the foundation of my musical knowledge.

When I was 13 I started my first band after seeing a poster for the battle of the bands outside of my chorus classroom. I was writing all of the material for the band and my parents helped me to get us out gigging. We were performing at every local fair and festival we could and we were also playing all over Manhattan, working extremely hard to establish something special for ourselves. Unfortunately, that band fell apart and broke my heart because we had interest from some record labels. I was devastated and thought my dreams were over. The other kids in the band were, well, kids, and I always had a much more of an adult mindset in regards to this being my dream and career. I spent years trying to replace the magic we had within that first group and it was impossible. At that point I decided to become a solo artist so my career was solely in my own hands and my heart was telling me to go after country music, which I always loved growing up.

I asked my father, who co-manages my career with me, to help me record a demo to shop my new material and he had the idea to do something different. Already being an outsider and commodity, a New York Italian country singer, he said we should also try to break into the business in a unique way to add to the story. On a shoestring budget and a dream, we filmed a television concert special. An hour long program of all of my new material with a band I had thrown together in a month. It was entirely “grassroots.” That show wound up going nationwide on PBS and it has been a really wild ride.

Since then, I’ve been blessed to tour in 15 countries, have had a number one record, radio success, two more television specials, and through a lot of hard work, tears, smiles, and laughter, I’ve built a life and business I am truly proud of from nothing.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think the best goal you could ever set for yourself as a creative is to just “be better than I was yesterday.” Life throws so many curve balls at us and we never know where we will end up or what opportunities will come our way. If we are so dead-set and hard-focused on one particular goal or path, we may miss something wonderful sitting right in front of us. If you can achieve growth in any way shape or form and you can look back on the past year and say, I am a much better singer now, or I have mastered my social media more than before, or I have gained handfuls of new fans, then that’s an incredible achievement and I say you have definitely succeeded.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, that absolute most rewarding part about being an artist is the relationships that can be formed with others. Music is truly a universal language that connects people of all walks of life in a very special way. To see a song I wrote about my own life experiences truly making a difference for listeners across the world, is a feeling I can’t quite describe. It keeps me motivated.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.JessicaLynnMusic.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/jessicalynnmusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jessicalynnmusicpage
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/jessica__lynn_
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/jessicalynncountry

Image Credits
All Photos: Scott Vincent