The Budding Creative Entrepreneur Mentorship Program.
Eight (8) one-on-one bi-weekly mentorship sessions are available for eight (8) budding creative entrepreneurs.
Runs from: September 8th, 2020 - December 8th, 2020.
Opportunity.
In 2011, I entered a music competition in Gravenhurst, ON that forever changed my creative life. Spoiler alert: I didn’t win.
I did however, meet a local studio owner that opened up his private studio doors for a coveted opportunity to learn how to self-record. Every contestant in the competition had the same opportunity but only one spent their fall/winter tucked away working on their first creative project.
Courage.
It was that opportunity that armed me with the courage to make my first CD, plan my first CD release concert, head out with guitar (and CD) in hand on the VIA Rail On-Board Musician Program and more.
There was nothing more crucial to completing my projects than the intersect of opportunity and a DIY attitude.
I was, however, missing one piece of the puzzle and this essential piece resulted in a 40K funded project with FACTOR Canada (Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent On Recordings) going down the drain.
Budget.
I thought I had thought of everything! Outfits for the music videos, hair styles I would spend a small fortune on perfecting, where I would dream of playing. But I hadn’t thought of how.
How would I ever re-coup any of the money I had invested into my dream?
Teens: can you work a couple extra shifts a month and start a “dream” fund?
Pre-Teens: can you help out around the house a little more? Can you save some birthday bucks ?
Adults: can you truly evaluate where your money is going and create a plan to divert some of your wine fund to the “when are we going to finish this project” fund?
Program Details
The Budding Entrepreneur Mentorship Program runs from September 8th, 2020 - December 8th, 2020
It is a flexible program designed to teach how to: write songs & self-record.
Alongside the creative, comes the practical question: How can we help recover some of the costs of this project?
Together we will come up with a way to explore generating revenue with our creative projects.
Will we create CD’s and sell them? Will we create a digital EP and sell it online? Will we put on a local show and sell tickets?
Will we put on a private show and sell tickets? Will we try to share our music in a public space?
First & Foremost…
If your kid doesn’t like me, they’re not going to want to spend time with me.
I tend to work with young women between the ages of 10-16 and I adore this age because nothing feels impossible yet. The mind is both creative and hopeful and should be encouraged to stay both. Songwriting and community is a wonderful outlet for this age group. It allows them to reflect, engage & foster an important understanding of their developing communication styles. (Not everything you think should be said, and not everything you said should be sung.)
My teaching style is a blend of humour, kindness and encouragement. It’s important to combat the natural instinct for pre-teens to begin to feel embarrassed (of apparently everything!). I demonstrate that messing up on a song isn’t the end of the world. Looking silly during a warm-up, doesn’t matter.
Pulling back the curtain on some of the content that is feeding youth minds is essential to developing courage. I like to show the behind-the-scenes of their favourite songs. Why does that voice sound so good? How much money do we think that music video cost? As soon as we begin to compare ourselves to what we digest on social media, we begin to feel critical and I deal with that head on. When your kid watches a video and admires the work, I pull out a spreadsheet and show them that the cost of that video, is likely more than the cost of a normal house…so yes, if we all had half a million dollars, we’d sound and look like Ariana Grande too.
The first session has to be discounted greatly because there is no way to predict if our personalities will be a match and for this reason, the first session is offered at half the rate.
More About Me: J’aime Payne
Formal Bio
I grew up in the rural haven of Huntsville, Ontario before I relocated to Toronto in 2013 where I gained critical behind-the-scenes work experience with a number of high-profile creative businesses specializing in the music industry. Ventures have included television commercial work, successful applications for provincial grants (grossing more than $500K), business management for some of Canada’s multi-million dollar export artists and a cherished stint with CIRAA (The Canadian Independent Recording Artists' Association) as their Director of Member Services before the association sadly dissolved in 2016. In 2018, I founded The Snow Lake Initiative, a social enterprise that exists to support my fellow creative artists across Canada and in 2020, I founded Breeze Business Management.
Informal Bio
In February 2020, I was ecstatic to finally pay off over 20K of debt I had accumulated in Toronto. When COVID19 hit, I was fortunate that the work I was doing through Breeze Business Management was not impacted.
I currently live and work in Bracebridge. My significant other, Fraser, works on-and-off in the United States finishing his clinical rotations with Saba Medical School and we’re crossing our fingers that he is able to find a residency opportunity in Bracebridge in 2021/2022 as we’d like to live in Muskoka. (Anyone know a Doctor that could use a wonderful resident?)
I am currently saving for a down payment on a home with the help of my financial advisor Cooper Schnurr of Unity Group Financial and am trying to remain sane during this pandemic by spending as much time as possible at Sky River Meadows.
Program Fees
Discovery Fee
$50.00 + tax
One Hour.
No commitment.
Session Fee
$100.00 + tax / session.
Session Lengths
1 Hour + 20 Min
Total Program Cost
$850.00 + tax
Cost Recovery Option
One (1) Private Christmas Show @ $25/ticket.
(34 Friends & Family)
What Do Sessions Look Like
Goals.
At the end of the very first discovery session, we discuss & decide what the “goal” is, should they wish to continue in the program.
What’s realistic?
What do we want to work towards?
Examples:
1) We might be able to put together a 3-4 song EP together!
2) We might work towards a live performance featuring cover songs!
3) We might want to work towards a live performance featuring original songs!
Plan.
Depending on the goal, we both have homework.
I don’t ask others to put in extra time at home alone, if I’m not willing to do the same. Together we come up with a list of who is going to accomplish what and in what timeline. This creates structure and a “plan” that we can refer back to.
At this time, we also discuss possibilities for the “event” we want to put on.
We brainstorm and create a mini mock budget based on the comfort level of the parties involved. For example: a shy participant is not going to want to put on a 30 person show. They may be fine with a 5 person show, but those tickets are going to be pricey.
Do.
Whatever the goal is, we’re full steam ahead.
Sessions tasks may include:
Active listening to songs we like to determine why we like them and if we want to bring some of that inspiration into our own work.
Learning GarageBand or Logic (or both).
Learning Guitar.
Learning proper voice warmups for recording.
Recording instruments and voice.
Writing a song from scratch.
Make.
How are we going to recoup the cost of the program?
Together we put together the finale.
Heads up: I have no idea what this is going to look like, but I’m excited to find out!
I have tons of experience in event management and planning and have a PA system, microphone and access to all the equipment we could possibly need!